Aaron Ramsey joins Mark Chapman & Nedum Onuoha to talk Liverpool, Odegaard & Amorim.

Midfielder started on Sunday for first time since AugustNorway manager says: ‘We cannot risk his health’ Arsenal’s captain, Martin Ødegaard, says he has “listened to my body” and returned home after being ruled out of international duty for Norway. Ødegaard started for the first time since August in Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Chelsea after an ankle injury. The 25-year-old flew to Oslo for Nations League fixtures against Slovenia and Kazakhstan but will complete his rehabilitation work in London. Continue reading...

On the plus side, the Norway midfielder shone against Chelsea. On the minus, Arsenal only have one of him Seconds before the final whistle at Stamford Bridge, as Leandro Trossard narrowly failed to get a touch on a low cross from Jurriën Timber, Mikel Arteta could be seen rolling on his back on the touchline like a frisky labrador puppy. Still immaculate in his buttoned black anorak, hair flawless, he was very publicly agonised by such knife‑edge margins and in the process, perhaps tweaking the narrative a little, seeking some montage prominence, a final word on this tight, bruising 1-1 draw. There was one major positive for Arsenal here, closely followed by one major negative. On the plus side Martin Ødegaard returned to the starting XI, played 90 minutes and notably improved the team. On the minus side, well, there’s only one of him. There is no other Ødegaard-shot lurking in the medicine bag. The difference he made here, even in half-fit form, that instant glaze of craft and control, will also be cause for a few regrets. Continue reading...

Arteta’s side without league win since 5 OctoberArsenal visit Chelsea in London derby on Sunday Leandro Trossard has admitted Arsenal must become more ruthless if they want to turn around their fortunes against Chelsea. Mikel Arteta’s side have not won in the Premier League since 5 October and failed to score for the second game in succession in their defeat at Inter in the Champions League on Wednesday, when they registered 21 shots but only four on target. Trossard has been shouldering some of the creative responsibility in the absence of the captain Martin Ødegaard, who is expected to play some part at Stamford Bridge on Sunday after returning from injury against Inter. Continue reading...

Pep Guardiola looked like he didn’t know what had hit him. As Brighton’s players and supporters wildly celebrated Matt O’Riley’s winning goal, the Manchester City manager must have been contemplating an experience he has never had as a manager. A fourth consecutive defeat for the first time in his career will have been especially hard to stomach given how much his side had dominated Brighton in the first half. But a stunning turnaround sparked by João Pedro, who equalised Erling Haaland’s opener before setting up fellow substitute O’Riley five minutes later. Continue reading...

Although unlucky in Milan Arsenal have forgotten how to score away from home and are looking to returning captain To borrow a line from Catch-22: just because you’re trailed around the continent by a frothing cloud of online paranoia over questionable refereeing decisions, doesn’t mean the game isn’t also out to get you. Arsenal were undoubtedly a little unlucky in the divvying up of competing penalty claims during the first half of this 1-0 defeat by Inter at the San Siro. But bad luck does also tend to look for a space to loiter, a ledge on which to perch. The continent-wide Masonic refereeing conspiracies may eventually get you in the end. But you can also make it difficult for them. Continue reading...

Arsenal put up a valiant fight at Inter Milan as a controversial penalty proved their undoing, but ultimately it was another disappointing result in what is proving a tough spell for the Gunners.

David Raya: ‘We should celebrate every win the same’Goalkeeper says Saliba foul deserved ‘just a yellow’ Criticism from the celebration police promptly followed Arsenal’s victory over Liverpool at the Emirates last season, with Jamie Carragher left unimpressed by Martin Ødegaard’s attempts at amateur photography. But “the same emotions” will be on show if the result is repeated on Sunday, says David Raya. Arsenal were 3-1 victors when the two teams met in February, with Ødegaard marking the celebrations by borrowing the club photographer’s camera on the pitch. The Sky Sports pundit Carragher fumed: “Just get down the tunnel. You’ve won a game, three points, you’ve been brilliant. Back in the title race, get down the tunnel. I’m serious, honestly.” His fellow pundit Gary Neville added: “There’s a little bit of immaturity” in Arsenal’s celebrations. Continue reading...

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says Southampton are 'one of the best in the Premier League' after Erling Haaland’s early effort proved enough to beat Southampton 1-0.

Manchester City keep powering on in a relentless mode that tells Liverpool and Arsenal they must do the same. Pep Guardiola’s champions took top spot with this tight victory and if either Arsenal or Arne Slot’s side can win Sunday’s late kick-off, they will land a bodyblow to the other. City, with 23 points, lead Liverpool by two and Arsenal by a yawning six, so Mikel Arteta’s team dare not lose. Guardiola’s charges were a touch flat here. Recently, he has preached the need to be patient and though Erling Haaland could have had a hat-trick instead of his solitary winner, injuries meant the manager had scant resources on the bench to change up his team, with only Ilkay Gündogan an attack-minded senior option. Continue reading...

Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Philippe Auclair, Mark Langdon and Sid Lowe wrap up the latest Champions League action Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today: another win and another clean sheet for Liverpool away in Leipzig, while Erling Haaland provides some acrobatic flair to Manchester City’s thrashing of Sparta Prague. Continue reading...

Erling Haaland's "unorthodox" backheel volley doubles Manchester City's lead in the 58th minute of their match week three tie in the Champions League against Sparta Prague at the Etihad Stadium.

In the goalfest that is Erling Haaland’s remarkable career, the reverse-flick while airborne that beat Peter Vindahl while facing away from Sparta Prague’s goalkeeper is surely a glittering standout. It was Manchester City’s second, coming on 58 minutes, and Haaland’s nonchalant, whadda-you-expect grin illustrated precisely how impressed with his own work he was. After a victory that began with Phil Foden’s impressive solo effort and which ended in Sparta mangled, City have seven points and – as Opta’s “supercomputer” calculates nine should secure progress to the playoff round, and 15 to the last 16 – Pep Guardiola’s relentless team are in cruise control. Continue reading...

Plus: stands delivered from one club to another; Erling Haaland denied; and a brutal time for Ängelholms FF Mail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU “Pakistan caused a stir in the cricket world at the weekend by applying patio heaters and giant fans to the pitch that will be used for the third Test against England at Rawalpindi,” writes Harry Trumpston. “The hope was that this would make the pitch more helpful to the home side’s spin bowlers. What tactics have football clubs used to make their pitches provide more assistance to teams?” You can’t start this answer anywhere other than with John Beck and his early-1990s Cambridge United side, who rose rapidly from the fourth tier to second and came very close to reaching the top flight with their uncompromising, committed and direct brand of the beautiful game. Beck instructed Cambridge’s ground staff to let the grass grow long in the corners of the Abbey Stadium pitch, so that the ball would sit up on the turf when the U’s got it launched to their wingers … who would, in turn, supply their potent old-school front pairing of Dion Dublin and John Taylor. Continue reading...