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Now that Arsenal FC  has been on a bender of losing streaks, the uk football world is dwelling on when Mikel Arteta’s last day as a Gunner manager could be. Rumour has it that the ex football player turned manager has the upcoming 5 football matches to come up with a plan to save Arsenal’s Premier League performance.

Kicking off the season with a low blow defeat of 2-0 against newly promoted Brentford, has had a massive impact on the dressing room morale. UK online bookmakers have speculated that the manager and coach has lost the dressing room, and potentially his job is on the line.  Following more defeats against Tottenham and Chelsea seems to have sealed the deal for the doomed football manager.

We could all argue that Arteta should be given more time to place his reign and mark on Arenal, yet do we really have time in football? Not really, as time and lack of action could mean a Champions League spot and also relegation in football. Many times established teams have sacked and replaced managers and coaches mid season, and with good reason.  When Jose Mourinho was sacked from his top dog job at Manchester United, ex player and interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed, and the team went on to secure winning streaks, comparing the newbie coach to his mentor Sir Alex Ferguson. It was evident that Jose aka The Chosen One, had lost the dressing room and Manchester United needed to act fast not to lose the legacy, the league and their reputation in the process.  Will the Jose saga be repeated again at Emirates Stadium?  And will Arteta suffer the same fate as his peers at the Red Devils?

English newspapers have already started speculating about Mikel Arteta being given until November to turn around Arsenal’s performance. True or not, the UK’s best bookmakers are taking note. Keeping in mind that the Gunner football manager has spent 100 Million in players for the season, a return is expected from the club, and this translates into the next 5 upcoming games.

The upcoming matches will decide Arteta’s fate at Arsenal, and next in line to take the job is of course Antonio Conte, the notorious yet respected ex football manager of Inter Milan. And for those of you questioning Conte’s capability, just know that Conte managed to get the team the top spot in the Italian league, and only walked away from the club because of financial debt and uncertainty that Inter Milan faced. Conte was never sacked from his role, and would be an ideal candidate to turn Arsenal’s performance from rags to riches.

Unfortunately for Arsenal and for Arteta himself, the team has some tough games coming up.  Starting off with facing league winners Manchester City, followed by games against Norwich, Burnley, Tottenham and Brighton. Odds are that Manchester City will secure a win over Arsenal, hence Arteta would need to win the next 4 games following that, to at least be considered as keeping his job at the Emirates.

In the meantime, the Gunner bosses would need to see a significant change and turnaround from Arteta in leading his team to stardom. Sports commentators have also chimed into the Arteta sacking ordeal, and have deplored Arteta’s ameature skills against an out for blood Chelsea. Arteta’s plan just failed to materialise, and everyone in the sports and football worlds took notice. Arteta was not criticized for not having a plan of attack, a strategy if you will. The football world knows Arteta has a plan, yet the plan did not pan it. The question is: Does Arteta have any more tricks in the bag or is this all that he’s got to offer? This is the harsh decision that the Gunner bosses would need to take into consideration.

You can have a million star players on the football pitch, but if the manager’s plan is not a solid one, you have nothing. Plus, the game against Chelseas is a living proof of that statement. You can have a million Lukaku’s and a thousand Chaka or Mari’s, if the plan and strategy is not there, you have nothing.

One failed strategy after another as Arsenal sinks into misery

Of course sports commentators fault the manager when a team fails to perform well in a league. This is the norm, as in when all goes wrong, sack the team leader first and strive to get a new strategy going. Unfortunately the formation that Arsenal have adopted when facing their opponents in recent games, has failed to materialise in wins, and this only means one thing: the strategy is upright failing.

Arteta was blamed for not adopting the 3 at the back game formation, and of course this has resulted in losses rolling in one after another. The notion is simple, if you have a fortified back of the pitch, you will have a better defense. Arteta seems to go all in when it comes with attack and fails to acknowledge the back weaker side of Arsenal.

Head over to British bookies and place your bets on if Mikel Arteta turns the tables around at Arsenal. The future does look quite grim for the football coach, but with some fate and some new strategies every sport can be enhanced. Let us just hope that the ex football player has what it takes to make it in the coaching world.

Nigel Jemson insists that he fears for Nottingham Forest if they are relegated to League One this season.

The club have endured a horrific start to the season and have taken just four points from their opening eight games, prior to the appointment of Steve Cooper this week.

They came in a draw with Derby County, their fierce rivals, losing six of their other seven games under former manager Chris Hughton before they beat Huddersfield Town 2-0 away at the weekend.

Those defeats came against Coventry City, AFC Bournemouth, Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City, Cardiff City and, most recently, Middlesbrough, which convinced Forest to axe Hughton.

And Jemson is hopeful that is how things pan out, as he believes that the club could genuinely struggle if they are relegated, fearing owner Evangelos Marinakis could well look to leave at the first opportunity if the worst happens.

Indeed, he has drawn a comparison with Sunderland, who have languished in League One for some time.

He said: “Sunderland, it’s been very hard for them to get back to where they should be or where people think they should be and that’s certainly the Championship, at the bare minimum.

“I don’t want to think about Nottingham Forest being in League One because I fear for them if that happens. I fear for them in the fact that the owner, Marinakis, may not stay there long.”

Sheffield United defensive midfielder Sander Berge is attracting interest ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claim that a number of clubs, including Newcastle United and Glasgow Rangers, are keeping a very close eye on the progress of the 23-year-old in the first half of the season, ahead of a potential move for the Norway international in the winter market.

Reports back in July had claimed that Arsenal, Atalanta and Napoli were all also keen on a move for the midfielder, however, Sheffield United’s £35m asking price saw Berge remain at Bramall Lane upon the closure of the summer transfer window.

Jokanovic must avoid disaster

Considering just how poorly Sheffield United have started their 2021/22 Championship campaign, having picked up a mere two points over their opening five fixtures of the new season, it would appear fair to suggest that losing the services of a player who is undoubtedly one of the most talented Slavisa Jokanovic has in his first-team squad in January would be something of a disaster for the Serbian boss.

While, admittedly, Berge has not exactly been in breathtaking form so far this term, averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.76 over his five Championship appearances, the 23-year-old has nevertheless proven in previous campaigns that he has the ability to play a starring role for the Blades in this season.

Indeed, over his 14 Premier League appearances immediately following his move from KRC Genk back in January 2020, the £16.2m-rated man scored one goal, registered one assist and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.4 shots per game.

The player Albert Stuivenberg dubbed a “leader” also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 0.7 interceptions, 1.6 tackles, 0.9 clearances and winning 5.5 duels per league fixture.

These returns saw the £38k-per-week midfielder earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.90, ranking him as United’s seventh-best performer in the top tier of English football that season.

As such, it is undeniable that Berge has the ability to help get the Blades out of their current mess, as well as the talent to fire his side towards the top of the Championship table.

However, should Jokanovic decide to cash in on the Norwegian in January, it would very much appear as if the 53-year-old would be waving goodbye to any hope of promotion he may this season – no matter how slim.

In other news: Get rid: Jokanovic must ruthlessly axe £5.4m-rated SUFC flop, he’s stealing a living

More Aston Villa ratings for the upcoming FIFA 22 game have been leaked on Twitter by The AVFC Faithful on Twitter.

As to be expected, a number of Villa supporters have been weighing in with their thoughts via social media.

Lots of Villa fans were quick to react to Emiliano Martinez (84), Leon Bailey (82), Danny Ings (81) and Ollie Watkins’ (78) ratings earlier in the week, and plenty more figures have emerged.

The AVFC Faithful shared the Villa inclusions in Fut Mind Official’s top 1000 database. Along with the Villa quartet mentioned above, it is believed that Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Matty Cash, John McGinn and Ashley Young are all rated at 78.

Meanwhile, Matt Targett and Douglas Luiz are thought to have 77 cards, with the remaining members of the Villa squad not in the top 1000.

Villa fans react

The AVFC Faithful shared the news regarding the latest FIFA 22 ratings on Twitter in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Here is what these Villa supporters had to say in reply, with many debating the rumoured cards.

“Mings 78? Luiz 77? McGinn 78? And Watkins 78??? No way!!! They should be in the 80’s”

Credit: @Dazzler07317507

“Targett 77 is a joke”

Credit: @grealish_szn

“Watkins and Targett’s ratings are a joke man”

Credit: @avfcjosh_

“Not surprised but more confused that McGinn is higher than Luiz. Our worst midfielder last season”

Credit: @ViIlaI_

“McGinn and Watkins robbed”

Credit: @edwards2779

“Only one I disagree with is McGinn, had him pegged at 80”

Credit: @MikeAVFC2

In other news: ‘Smith out’ – Matt Maher’s Aston Villa update has lots of fans fuming. 

Arsenal have received a timely boost ahead of tonight’s Carabao Cup clash…

What’s the latest?

The Gunners kickstart their first domestic cup campaign of the season with a trip to the Hawthorns to face West Bromwich Albion in the second round later this evening.

Mikel Arteta’s squad have lost back-to-back league matches, so a different competition could be a welcome sight and the Spaniard has been given a major boost ahead of kick-off.

Arsenal will be able to welcome back striker Alexandre Lacazette to the side after the 30-year-old returned to first-team training this week. He had missed both their opening two matches, against Brentford and Chelsea, due to testing positive for Covid-19.

Timely boost

The north London giants couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start this season as they sit 19th in the Premier League standings and with defending champions Manchester City at the weekend, it could get even worse.

This evening’s encounter with the Championship outfit could instil some extra morale and confidence into the side, heading into that fixture, and their chances of getting a result are boosted with the return of the talismanic Frenchman.

In his absence, the Gunners have struggled to find the net. Indeed, they are yet to score this term after suffering back-to-back 2-0 defeats. Across both of those matches, Arteta’s squad have registered only seven shots on target.

Lacazette found the net 13 times in 31 appearances in the Premier League last season, whilst he also averaged 1.5 shots per game, which is slightly below his career average of 2.1, via WhoScored, but that shows that he’s a constant threat up front.

Not one Arsenal player has managed more than an average of two shots per game thus far, further highlighting the need for the former Lyon man in attack.

Arteta really needs to pick up a result against the Baggies, otherwise, there could well be pressure mounting on his position in the dugout, particularly after such a disastrous start.

He will surely be buzzing with the news that Lacazette is available for selection.

AND in other news, “Huge chances”: Fabrizio Romano drops Arsenal transfer claim, fans will be delighted…

Former Premier League striker Nigel Jemson insists that Bruno Fernandes’ goalscoring record last season was inflated by the amount of penalties he scored.

The Portugal international emerged as a key player for United throughout the campaign.

Fernandes scored a total of 18 goals in the Premier League last term, and also laid on 11 assists in 37 games as United finished second in the table, 12 points behind champions Manchester City.

Of those goals, half were penalties, while he also scored four penalties in European competition, two in the Champions League and two in the Europa League.

Fernandes did score a hat-trick from open play on the opening weekend of the season against Leeds United but Jemson believes that he has had his record artificially inflated by the spot-kicks he took last season.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Jemson said: “Fernandes has got off to a great start, scoring a hat-trick, but he scored a lot of penalties last year. Take those out and his goalscoring record wasn’t as good.”

Fernandes will be out to add to his tally this season on Sunday, when United take on Wolves at Molineux before the international break.

After a delightful opening day win over Fleetwood in League One last weekend, Portsmouth failed to carry on their momentum as they were sent crashing out of the League Cup by Millwall on Tuesday night.

Despite taking the lead through Reeco Hackett-Fairchild in the fourth minute, Portsmouth were unable to progress through to the next round as the Championship side ultimately showed their class. Goals from Scott Malone and George Saville, within the space of six minutes in the first half, turned the game on its head and that’s the way it stayed.

One player, in particular, who struggled was summer signing Gassan Ahadme. The Norwich loanee scored a stunning eight goals in four pre-season outings for Pompey, which helped build an air of excitement over what he could do for the club when the real stuff kicked off.

Unfortunately, he has been unable to translate his form into the competitive matches as of yet. He lined up behind John Marquis against Millwall and failed to grasp his opportunity to impress, with a nightmare performance on his second appearance for the club. SofaScore handed him a rating of 6.3, which was the second-lowest in the Pompey team – only behind Callum Johnson who was sent off.

In fact, Ahadme was so poor that he was hooked off soon after Johnson’s red card as Pompey had a re-shuffle.

Danny Cowley will be fuming with the loanee’s display, as he noticeably looked off the pace throughout his time on the pitch. To this point, Hampshire Live reporter Jonty Colman gave Ahadme a score of 5/10 after the game in his player ratings piece. He wrote: 

“A tough night for the Moroccan, whose only sniff of goal came on the end of an early cross where he failed to get a shot off. Tried to do too much and was often smothered on the ball in possession. Sacrificed early in the second half when Johnson departed.”

Ahadme gave the ball away nine times despite only having 24 touches, which shows that he was not reliable with the ball at his feet. He also only won four of his 13 ground and aerial duels during the match, highlighting how he off the pace with the opposition beating him to the punch in challenges both on the ground and in the air.

You could possibly forgive all of these lapses in concentration and losses of possession if he produced a moment of magic to score or create a goal, but he did not create a single chance for his teammates.

He also had two efforts on goal and both of them were off target, which further goes to show why Cowley will be frustrated with the forward’s nightmare showing.

French football expert Adam White believes Brandon Soppy would prove to be a hit if he seals a move to Celtic before the transfer window closes.

Soppy broke into Ligue 1 side Rennes’ first-team last season and made 11 appearances.

According to French media outlet L’Equipe, the right-back has entered the final 12 months of his contract and been the subject of interest from Scottish Premiership giants Celtic, who could complete the signing by meeting his €5m (£4.25m) price tag.

The report claims Celtic are facing competition for Soppy’s services, with newly-promoted Premier League outfit Watford and Udinese, of Serie A, also keeping a close eye on proceedings.

The 19-year-old has won five caps for France’s under-18 side and could add another dimension to Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side after a disastrous start to the campaign.

Having already exited the Champions League in the second qualifying round for the second consecutive year, the Glasgow-based club then lost their opening Scottish Premiership clash of the season at Hearts.

Get French Football News’ White has urged Celtic to boost their options by signing Soppy.

He told Football FanCast: “He’s very inexperienced and very attacking. Soppy likes to take players on and is very good on the ball.

“He has a lot of potential and there’s a reason why all these clubs are interested in him – he has talent.

“I definitely think he has the potential and can make an impact at Celtic, absolutely.”

Derby County are interested in a deal to bring Tom Carroll to Pride Park this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by the Derby Telegraph, who claim that the former Queens Park Rangers midfielder has started training with Wayne Rooney’s side, and could feature in the club’s pre-season friendly against Salford City on Saturday.

The news comes after the EFL granted Derby permission to sign up to five out of contract players in the summer transfer window, although the Championship side still remain under a transfer embargo.

Finally, the report states that the Rams currently have Phil Jagielka, Ravel Morrison, Curtis Davies, Andre Wisdom, Sone Aluko, Sam Baldock, Richard Stearman and Ryan Allsop training with the first team, all of whom are playing for a contract ahead of next season.

Carroll could finally replace Johnson

While a knee injury saw Carroll sidelined for the second half of last season, the 29-year-old nevertheless demonstrated in his time at QPR that he would prove an extremely useful addition to Wayne Rooney’s Derby side ahead of next season.

Indeed, over his 22 Championship appearances for the Rs last term, the £1.62m-rated man provided one assist and created three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.5 shots and making 1.1 key passes per game.

The central midfielder also impressed in more typical metrics for his position, making an average of 0.6 interceptions, 1.3 tackles, 0.7 clearances and winning 2.7 duels per match.

These returns saw the man Jamie Carragher dubbed an “outstanding” player earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.74, with his performances leading to Mark Warburton trying to tie the 29-year-old down to a new deal at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, although he would ultimately reject the club’s advances.

Furthermore, it could be argued that, following Bradley Johnson’s departure from Pride Park in the summer of 2019, the Rams have failed to adequately replace the midfielder, something that the potential capture of Carroll could prove to resolve.

As such, as long as the former Tottenham Hotspur man can prove his fitness in training with the Rams, it would seem highly advisable for Rooney to do all he can to secure a deal for the midfielder this summer, with his signing very much appearing to be a welcome step in the right direction for the crisis-hit club.

In other news: John Percy drops Derby transfer claim on “frightening” 28 y/o ace, he’d be a huge coup

Celtic are interested in signing Israel international Liel Abada, according to The Scottish Sun.

The Lowdown: Abada profiled

Abada is 19 years of age and is primarily a right winger. He can also play on the left or through the middle and has already made 76 senior appearances for current employers Maccabi Petah Tikva.

The youngster, who has one international cap to his name, has scored 20 goals and registered 10 assists at club level and is under contract until 2024.

Abada’s Transfermarkt valuation has rocketed from £293,000 to £2.7m in just over a year, and it seems that Celtic are now keen on his services.

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The Latest: Israeli sources share update

Israeli sources, relayed by The Scottish Sun, have claimed Celtic are interested in the 1.68m (5 foot 6) winger, along with clubs in Belgium, France and Greece.

Israeli agent Dudu Dahan has been given a mandate by Maccabi Petah Tikva to secure a transfer, with The Scottish Sun touting a £3.5m fee for Abada.

The teenager has left Israel to discuss a transfer with interested clubs, but it remains to be seen whether Celtic are one of those.

The Verdict: Wingers are needed

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou is in need of some attacking additions to bolster his first team squad ahead of the new season.

He has just James Forrest, injury-plagued youngster Mikey Johnston and the returning Maryan Shved as senior wide options ahead of a Champions League qualifier later this month.

Dahan has helped Celtic to sign a number of players in recent years, including Nir Bitton and Ismaila Soro, so should the Hoops firm up their interest, they could be in a good position to get a deal over the line for the in-demand Abada.

In other news: Fabrizio Romano claims Celtic are keen on £2.5k-p/w French ace, find out more here.