Izuchukwu OkosiWith the Premier League seeing an exciting two days of great football on Match Day 11, Prime Business Africa presents seven observations from the weekend games.
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1. Arsenal’s Left Back Conundrum
Arsenal’s winning streak in the Premier League came to an end on Sunday evening after they were held by Southampton in a 1-1 draw at the Saint Mary’s Stadium.
Visits to the South Coast has been nemesis of sorts for Arsenal players who were not able to assert their attacking impetus against a disciplined Saints.
One tactical error made by manager Mikel Arteta was starting Takehiro Tomiyasu in the left back position at the expense of Kieran Tierney. Tierney may be injury-prone and was a doubt for this game, but he made the bench anyway and should have started if he was fit enough to come off the substitute bench.
Starting Tomiyasu against Liverpool worked very well as he moderated Mohamed Salah’s threat, but Southampton do not have such star dust and Arteta should have gone with Tierney who could have supported the attack as shown by his cameo appearance.
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2. Man United & Ronaldo Error
‘No player is bigger than his club’ is a mantra in the Premier League, but Manchester United’s Manager, Erik ten Hag, should have been honest enough to admit that his team would have been more dangerous with the ostracized Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo was barred from training with the senior team and banished to train with the U-21 side after his strop against Tottenham Hotspur . Ronaldo left the pitch and dressing room before his teammates returned after the game, which the team won 2-0.
A disciplinary action was applied against him and this make a lot of sense, given that there are emerging talents who need to see things unfold. The message there is: ”If it can happen to Ronaldo, then it can happen to any of them.”
However, the game against Chelsea was a humongous one – a game that needed the active presence of an experienced player like Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo should have been fined, or simply denied some benefits like free medical attention usually given to players. To completely ‘suspended’ for such a big match was the biggest mistake of the hierarchy.
Prime Business Africa is of the opinion that the matter should have been resolved internally.
3. World Cup Fears
Raphael Varane wept unconsolably after he went off injured in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea on Saturday. The emotion was ominous. He was almost admitting that his World Cup dreams has been shattered by the injury barrier.
However, his manager, Ten Hag, clarified that it would be too soon to make conclusions until after 48 hours (Monday, October 24, 2022), when the medical department would have carried out crucial tests.
Indeed, the fears of the players in the buildup to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is real: Any long term injury which recovery time exceeds two weeks at this time could be considered pretty serious, too risky.
Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz are two Liverpool forwards whose World Cup hopes for Portugal and Colombia respectively are virtually over after sustaining injuries for the long term. That adds to the already known absence for players like Reece James (Chelsea), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal), N’golo Kante (France).
4. Haaland All The Way
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has now notched up 17 Premier League goals, after scoring a brace against West Ham United on Saturday.
The Norwegian has been referred to as ‘The Terminator’ by a section of the English media.
The way Haaland is going, he appears set to shatter goal-scoring records left in the English topflight should he stay with the club for a very long time.
The former Borussia Dortmund striker is only 22 and still has a lot to cover as his growth in the game progresses.
5. Leicester Will Avoid Relegation Battles
Leicester City have had a topsy-turvy season, losing to the big teams and those around the relegation areas at the end of last season. However, the embattled Manager, Brendan Rodgers, led the Foxes to a comfortable 4-0 hammering of Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday evening to take them to the 16th place on the Premier League table.
Two more wins and favourable results in the games of opponents around the 2016/2017 champions could guarantee safety and comfort for the time being.
6. Liverpool European Hopes Fading?
Liverpool were stunned by Nottingham Forest 1-0 in the first Premier League game on Saturday.
The only goal was scored by Nigeria’s Taiwo Awoniyi, who was a Liverpool player though has always been loaned out and never played a single game for the Reds.
With their injury woes, it’s becoming increasingly possible that Liverpool will not sufficiently make up lost grounds for the title assault. Champions League qualification remains a possibility though due to the star quality in their ranks.
7. Referee Decisions
The Premier League Referees will continue to divide opinions and some of their calls this season have left teams bemoaning their luck with the choice of referees for their matches as determined by the Premier League’s Referees Association.
Prime Business Africa will, on Monday, return with a more extensive analysis of last weekend’s Premier League Referees and their actions.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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