Eddie Nketiah &#8211; CaughtOffside

Mikel Arteta says he wants defender “respected by everybody” to stay at Arsenal amid Bayern links

Mikel Arteta confirms Arsenal star with four appearances will start vs Brentford

Chelsea fans need to wait longer to see huge summer signing in action as Fabrizio Romano provides injury update

Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with four goals in league and cup competitions for Everton in the 2023-24 season, boasts an England career record of four goals in 11 caps.

Despite a hiatus of more than two years from wearing the England shirt due to injury issues, Calvert-Lewin has made a notable impact since returning to action. His contributions include scoring four times this season, including the decisive winner against West Ham last month.

Callum Wilson

Callum Wilson has demonstrated fine form with seven goals in league and cup competitions this term. Despite being older than Harry Kane at 31, Wilson’s impressive performance earned him a recall to Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad.

Unfortunately, injury troubles have once again forced his withdrawal from the squad.

Wilson holds an England career record of two goals in nine caps.

Tammy Abraham

Tammy Abraham is yet to make an appearance for Roma in all competitions this season due to an injury.

With an England career record of three goals in 11 caps, Abraham’s last appearance for the national team was almost 18 months ago.

Abraham has previously showcased his goal-scoring prowess with 25 goals in 75 Serie A appearances.

The post England’s attacking depth: Who will be Harry Kane’s understudy at Euro 2024? appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Former Arsenal defender gives verdict on the Gunners’ struggles

Jake Staniland — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 21:15:36 +0000

Former Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre remains unconcerned about Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard’s “small dip” in form, emphasising the team’s readiness to contend for the Premier League title.

Odegaard, who has been dealing with a hip problem according to manager Mikel Arteta, has scored three goals, two from the penalty spot, and registered one assist in nine Premier League appearances this season.

The four-time Premier League winner provided insights into why he believes Arsenal has faced challenges in scoring as prolifically as the previous season. Additionally, he addressed Ødegaard’s recent dip in form and discussed the potential for Nketiah to evolve into a more dependable player for the Gunners.

Odegaard hasn’t been at his best

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“I don’t think there’s a specific reason for the lack of creativity. Teams are finding ways to control the space that Saka, Ødegaard and Martinelli like to occupy,” Silvestre said via bettingexpert.com.

While acknowledging the slight downturn, the former defender expresses confidence in Odegaard’s ability to recover and contribute positively to Arsenal’s campaign.

The ex-Gunner stated: “It’s just a little dip in form and he has the mental ability to come back to his best and be the leader for this season for Arsenal.”

Last season the Norwegian international found the back of the net 15 times and set up seven teammates in 37 Premier League starts, it was this sort of form that got many people believing Arsenal could lift the title come the end of the term. However, the form could not be maintained and Manchester City were relentless in their pursuit of the North London club.

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Arsenal could be without three players for Burnley game

Jake Staniland — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 22:43:03 +0000

Arsenal are awaiting news on the injury front with three potential players unavailable as they prepare to face Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Arsenal injury news

In their recent UEFA Champions League match against Sevilla, Arsenal secured a 2-0 victory with goals from Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka. However, Saka picked up a knock and had to be substituted in the second half, casting doubt on his availability for Saturday’s game, as Gunners’ manager Mikel Arteta confirmed in his press conference that he didn’t train on Thursday.

Defender Takehrio Tomiyasu was also withdrawn during the Sevilla match, coming off at half-time due to a minor fitness concern.

Additionally, striker Eddie Nketiah missed the midweek game due to an ankle injury sustained against Newcastle United last weekend, leading to Leandro Trossard taking his place. Arsenal supporters may now be worried by the potential unavailability of all three players for the upcoming Saturday fixture.

Burnley injury news

For Burnley, Hjalmar Ekdal recently returned from a knee injury and featured in an Under-21s game against Sheffield United last week. He wasn’t the only player making a comeback; winger Manuel Benson also saw his first minutes on the pitch since the end of September.

Aaron Ramsey is expected to continue being sidelined, while Michael Obafemi is still working on his recovery from a long-term hamstring injury.

A win for the Gunners on Saturday would result in them joining Manchester City on 27 points before Pep Guardiola’s men kick-off against Chelsea on Sunday.

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Arsenal injury update as Saka & Tomiyasu to be assessed while duo push to return vs Burnley

Mark Brus — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 12:08:35 +0000

Arsenal have had a difficult season with injuries, and there were two new concerns for Mikel Arteta to contend with after the win over Sevilla in the Champions League last night.

The Gunners won 2-0 against Sevilla thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka, but there was a worry later in the game as Saka hobbled off.

According to the Evening Standard, the England international is now set to be assessed by Arsenal, as well as Takehiro Tomiyasu, another player who went off against Sevilla.

On top of that, Arsenal were also without Martin Odegaard and Eddie Nketiah in their game yesterday, and the Standard suggests both players are pushing to return to action this weekend when the Gunners take on Burnley.

Takehiro Tomiyasu of Arsenal

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Arsenal are also without the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey, while summer signing Jurrien Timber has barely played for the club since his summer move from Ajax due to picking up a serious injury on his Premier League debut.

Arsenal fans will hope for some better luck before long because it’s going to be hard enough to compete with Manchester City this season even with a fully fit squad.

The post Arsenal injury update as Saka & Tomiyasu to be assessed while duo push to return vs Burnley appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Arsenal facing injury crisis ahead of Sevilla clash as three attackers miss training

Andrew Walker — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 14:54:28 +0000

Arsenal could be without as many as three first-team players for Wednesday night’s Champions League group game against Sevilla.

The Gunners, who will come into tomorrow night’s narrowly top of Group B, will welcome Sevilla to the Emirates Stadium but could now find themselves as the match’s underdogs.

And that’s because according to a recent report from the Evening Standard’s Simon Collings, attacking trio Eddie Nketiah, Gabriel Jesus and captain Martin Odegaard have all been forced to miss the Gunners’ most recent training session.

Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard not training.

No Eddie Nketiah either.

Arsenal attack looking very light all of a sudden.

— Simon Collings (@sr_collings) November 7, 2023

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Although Nketiah could still make Mikel Arteta’s lineup, the Englishman will need to pass a late fitness test, and that is not something that is guaranteed after he picked up a knock against Newcastle United last weekend.

And with Jesus and Odegaard expected to miss tomorrow night’s game, Arteta will be forced to re-think his attacking line, which could now include Emile Smith Rowe and Leandro Trossard.

Wednesday night’s match at the Emirates, which is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. (UK time), will be broadcast live on TNT Sports.

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Comment: Arteta can rage all he like about VAR but his signings have taken Arsenal backwards this season

Mark Brus — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 11:34:46 +0000

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had plenty to say about the VAR decision that he felt cost his side the game against Newcastle on Saturday, but the truth is that it looks like his post-match rant is little more than a convenient distraction from the fact that the changes he’s made this season have taken his team backwards.

Many will have had Arsenal as one of the title favourites this season, with the signing of Declan Rice from West Ham during the summer showing huge ambition to pull off against their bitter rivals Manchester City. Rice aside, however, the Gunners have not spent their money particularly well, and it’s allowed both Liverpool and Tottenham to overtake them as more likely rivals to Pep Guardiola’s treble winners this term.

Arsenal were truly excellent last season and may well have won the title if not for William Saliba’s injury meaning Rob Holding had to fill in for so many important games – an enforced change that looks even worse now with the benefit of hindsight as Saliba has returned to fitness and form while Holding has barely kicked a ball since his summer move to Crystal Palace.

So while last year was no fluke, there was a huge opportunity here for Arsenal, and it’s starting to look like they haven’t taken it: losing Granit Xhaka, one of their players of the season, seems all the more baffling after his tremendous start at Bayer Leverkusen, while Kai Havertz’s signing never really looked like it made sense and still doesn’t, while big questions have to be asked of Arteta for bringing in David Raya as his new number one when Aaron Ramsdale had a perfectly good season in 2022/23.

David Raya hasn’t looked convincing for Arsenal so far

Of course, Arsenal have had some awful luck with injuries which shouldn’t be forgotten – Jurrien Timber, most cruelly, didn’t even last his full Premier League debut and will be fortunate to play any meaningful role this season. Elsewhere, Gabriel Jesus has only played a handful of games, following on from some fitness issues last term as well. Thomas Partey also can’t seem to stay fit, begging the question once again as to why it was Xhaka rather than him who was shown the door over the summer.

The continued absence of Jesus has meant more playing time for Eddie Nketiah – a popular figure at the Emirates Stadium after rising up through the club’s academy, but not a striker who is ever likely to be good enough for a title-challenging team. Hat-tricks against teams like Sheffield United will of course bring a cheer to the Emirates crowd, but it’s pretty worthless when he can’t seem to score away from home or make much of an impact against teams in the top half. There’s no guarantee Folarin Balogun would have been a better option, but you could again forgive Arsenal fans for asking if they sold the right striker this summer.

Mikel Arteta was furious after the defeat to Newcastle

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All in all, it’s not looking good for Arteta and he knows it. “There’s so much at stake here … it’s so difficult to compete at this level,” the Spanish tactician said after the game, almost hinting that Newcastle’s controversial goal may already have cost his side the title this year – but the truth is arguably more frustrating than that: Arsenal were in a position to take a positive step forward, but, for whatever reason, ended up over-thinking it and reinventing the wheel when the old one was rolling along quite nicely in the right direction.

We all know it took Manchester City a bit of time to get going last season as they continued to trail Arsenal in the title race, and some Gooners may comfort themselves that a similar phenomenon is occurring here and that the tide could change in particular once Partey and Jesus are available again, and if Timber can return earlier can expected, but the truth is that for all the faith placed in Raya and Havertz, Arsenal are not yet seeing any kind of return on their summer investment – unless those two can really step up soon, that will be where Arteta and co. have to look back and take some responsibility for their own poor decision-making.

The post Comment: Arteta can rage all he like about VAR but his signings have taken Arsenal backwards this season appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Arsenal star’s position safe despite transfer links with £65million star

Mark Brus — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 13:17:00 +0000

Transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on the Arsenal striker situation ahead of this January’s transfer window.

Eddie Nketiah was in superb form to score a hat-trick in the win over Sheffield United at the weekend, and Romano insists the Gunners are very happy with him, despite there also being some interest in Brentford striker Ivan Toney as well.

For now, Romano insists Arsenal have nothing agreed over Toney, who is also wanted by Chelsea and who won’t come cheap, so it’s currently looking unlikely that his arrival can be taken as a given, and therefore Nketiah’s place in Mikel Arteta’s squad is surely safe.

“Arsenal really wanted him (Nketiah) to stay, they extended his contract months ago, so the idea has always been to trust him. I have no indications of him leaving,” Romano told The Debrief podcast.

Ivan Toney in action for Brentford

“Toney is really appreciated by Arsenal, same at Chelsea, so I think the race is absolutely open. At the moment nothing is agreed with the player or Brentford, but for sure he’s appreciated.

“We’ll have to see Arsenal’s situation in December, it will depend on their position in their Champions League group and the Premier League table. It’s not guaranteed that they will spend big money on Toney, because it would have to be at least £65m, so Arsenal want to take their time to decide on what they need.”

Some Arsenal fans will surely want to see an upgrade come in up front, even if Nketiah is a decent squad player who can do damage to teams like Sheffield United from time to time.

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Toney, however, would likely be able to take this team to the next level, giving more of a guarantee of 20-25 goals a season than either Nketiah or Gabriel Jesus can give.

It won’t be easy, however, so as Romano says, this is surely an open situation ahead of January.

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Arsenal ace could still be a problem despite superb recent performance, says pundit

Mark Brus — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 10:43:43 +0000

Pundit Garth Crooks believes the striker position could still be an issue for Arsenal this season despite the impressive display of Eddie Nketiah over the weekend.

The 24-year-old forward filled in for the injured Gabriel Jesus as Arsenal thrashed Sheffield United 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium, and he couldn’t have done much better with his opportunity as he hit a hat-trick.

This earned Nketiah a place in the Premier League team of the week, as selected by Crooks in his BBC Sport column, but it seems the pundit is still not entirely convinced by the Gunners attacker.

Nketiah has had his ups and downs for Arsenal, and usually isn’t a regular starter, and one imagines a lot of fans would feel more comfortable about the second half of the season if there were a more proven alternative to the slightly injury-prone Jesus.

It seems Crooks wants to see more from Nketiah before changing his mind about the player.

Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal

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“Having had two challenging away games in a week – at Chelsea in the Premier League and Sevilla in the Champions League – Arsenal were fortunate on Saturday to face a Sheffield United side ravaged by injury and lacking in know-how. Eddie Nketiah stepped in for the injured Gabriel Jesus and grabbed himself an impressive hat-trick,” Crooks wrote.

“Last week I raised the issue around the Gunners requiring a clinical striker if they are serious about stealing the title from Manchester City. Nketiah’s hat-trick has not changed my view, although his third goal was a fabulous strike. If he were to score three goals against Liverpool, Manchester City or Spurs, I might be forced to reconsider my position.”

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Premier League team of the week: Arsenal, Tottenham & Manchester City stars in BBC XI

Mark Brus — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 10:24:04 +0000

The latest Premier League team of the week is in, and it’s unsurprisingly dominated by Manchester City after they enjoyed a convincing 3-0 win away to rivals Manchester United in Sunday’s Manchester Derby.

The reigning champions were a level above Man Utd on the day, with Erling Haaland scoring twice and Phil Foden bagging the other, leading to Garth Crooks to naming as many as four players from Pep Guardiola’s side in his team of the week in his BBC Sport column.

Ederson, Haaland, Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva are the four City players to make it in, and it’s hard to argue with that choice as they dominate the full XI, as you can see below…

Elsewhere, Arsenal’s hat-trick hero Eddie Nketiah is an obvious pick after a superb performance in the Gunners’ 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United, while Micky van de Ven put in another fine display as Tottenham continued their superb recent form.

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