• Mourinho faces his first crisis after only one game of the new season because the players were clearly upset with his “I am not to blame” excuses.
• Kepa conceded another soft goal against Brighton which was a long-range shot from Leandro Trossard.
Image: /REUTERS
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was all smiles this week after his striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finally signed a new contract which will tie him to the Emirates for the rest of his career.
It is a sign of the times that 100,000 tuned in on Instagram to witness the signing. Arsenal also streamed a live video across the world so fans could be part of this important move for the club.
Arteta claimed this is still not the end of bringing in new players and they are actively chasing two midfielders and Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Partey is certainly one of them.
Lyon playmaker Houssem Aouar is another but the French club value the 22-year-old at £40m which means that Arteta have to sell before he can bring in both players.
Already out this week is stand-in goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who joined Aston Villa and Arsenal have made it clear they want to ship out Sead Kolasinac and Mateo Guendouzi, who is likely to sign for Spanish club Valencia.
Hector Bellerin will only leave if Arsenal cannot sell those two players and Paris St-Germain continue their interest in signing the Frenchman.
No good Mourinho blaming players for loss
I am pleased I was not present at Tottenham’s Enfield Training Centre on Monday. Several players certainly wish they did not have to go there either.
Prior to taking on Carlo Ancelotti’s reborn Everton, Jose Mourinho had told his players to be more ruthless in their tackling, more aggressive in their forward play and more energetic in their movements, closing down opposition attacks and playing quickly into attack.
What he got in return was exactly the opposite. It seems lost in history now but Mourinho had once played 150 home games without defeat in his managing days at Porto, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. That was between the years of 2002 and 2013.
During those years, Mourinho’s approach was to field physical and well-drilled teams who were tough and ruthless to play against. As he explained, in not too pleasant terms, to his team on Monday, what he received against Everton was a “lethargic and unfocused” effort.
During the post-match analysis, in the magnificent gym at Spur’s training centre, Mourinho went through everything his Tottenham team had done wrong…and it took him over two hours!
Mourinho’s reputation is on the line this season…failure with Tottenham this time around will see him relegated to the large volume of out of work managers and he knows that he has to toughen up his current team, install a winning mentality or it could be a long painful season.
Mourinho faces his first crisis after only one game of the new season because the players were clearly upset with his “I am not to blame” excuses. Turning on your own players in 2020 is very different to 10 years ago and they are not afraid to voice their own views.
A clearly annoyed Ben Davies said: “I think everybody worked hard. I gave it my all and don’t doubt that everybody else in the team did the same. But the performance was not up to scratch. It’s hard to put it down to lack of effort."
"We’ve worked hard in training and are convinced we can put in a better performance than we did against Everton. We’ve had boys coming back to train at different times because of holidays, international games and the coronavirus and that makes things difficult. But we have to deal with these things.”
Henderson wants to be No1 at United
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson has put everything into his training since returning from a successful loan spell at Sheffield United. Henderson has been away from Old Trafford for five years and feels he has learned his trade well and can replace David de Gea as No1.
He recently signed a five-year contract and at the age of 23 will not accept a permanent place on the bench. He said, in a frank interview: “I’m so close now so I’m not going to give up. David de Gea has been a great goalkeeper (notice the words ‘has been’). He’s been phenomenal and that’s something I want to aspire to be. It’s down to me. I’m well up for it and I want first team football.”
Henderson has not actually made a first team appearance for United since joining at the age of 14.
He finished off by saying: “I am not going to improve sitting on the bench and there is no substitute for game time. I know what I have got to do.” Beware Mr de Gea, young Dean is after your spot between the posts so you can’t afford any more mistakes!
Chelsea will never win with Arrizabalaga
Many people are saying that Chelsea will never challenge for the very top of the Premier League with Kepa Arrizabalaga between the posts.
Kepa conceded another soft goal against Brighton which was a long-range shot from Leandro Trossard. I was reminded that Jurgen Klopp ousted both Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius and signed Alisson Becker in 2018 and he played a vital part in helping Liverpool win the Premier League title.
Pep Guardiola did the same thing at Manchester City when he axed Claudio Bravo in 2017 and brought in Ederson and won the title the following season. Kepa signed for Chelsea two years ago for a massive £71.6million but he has let in 19 goals from outside the area which is more than any other keeper in the Premier League.
Lampard still supports Kepa. However, the Blues are still chasing Rennes keeper Edouard Mendy who has a much better save rate at 76.3 per cent against the Chelsea keeper’s 53.3. Apparently, the deal has become more complicated with the French club wanting Fikayo Tomori as part of the deal.
Spurs beat United for Bale’s signature
As I write this, Gareth Bale has agreed to leave Real Madrid and return to Tottenham on a year’s loan with the Spanish club sharing his wages of £600k a week.
Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett was in negotiations with both Real Madrid and Tottenham on Tuesday and Wednesday which will see Bale lining up with Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min in a strike partnership and Jose Mourinho describes it as his “final piece of the jigsaw”.
It is looking more and more likely that Jadon Sancho will stay at Borussia Dortmund as Manchester United will not accept the German club’s valuation of £110 million and this opened the door for Bale at Old Trafford but the Manchester club did not move quickly enough.
Spurs was also Bale’s preference. Bringing Bale, his skills and merchandising opportunities to Spurs was always an attractive proposition.
Tottenham also look like beating United to sign Real Madrid left back Sergio Reguilon and they have made an offer of £25 million for the 23-year-old which I understand is acceptable to Real.
My insiders tell me that Tottenham’s doctors are waiting for Reguilon to arrive for his medical.
Carroll comes out fighting
As if responding to my comments last week that Newcastle’s new signings would mean the end of Andy Carroll, manager Steve Bruce selected the big striker for the match against West Ham and he bossed the Hammer’s defence into submission. Carroll terrified both West Ham defenders Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop.
It was typical Carroll, receiving a booking in the first few minutes and sparking much controversy regarding his aerial challenges in the penalty box. His big body was dominant, his arms flailing about and any defender jumping for the same ball was going to endure a rough time.
He literally ran over defenders which delighted Bruce. Carroll has to remain fit and that is his biggest challenge. He has lost 5kg, not missed a training session and he received the public backing of his manager. Personally, I am delighted for the big man who has spent far too much of his career in the medical room.
Salah is so special
Jurgen Klopp is in awe of his striker Mo Salah and loves him for what he brings to Liverpool’s attacking options.
Klopp could not think of any new words to praise Salah highly enough after his hat-trick against Leeds. Salah himself has posted his intent on winning the Golden Boot this year. Three is not a bad start after only one game.
Klopp said: “He should be proud because it’s very special to score these numbers.” Salah became the only Liverpool player to score in their four opening matches each season and he was the difference for Liverpool in beating a splendid Leeds team who are going to be tough to beat this season on their first game showing.
Rodgers delighted with new signing
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has been singing the praises of new signing Timothy Castagne this week. The Belgium defender was solid in defence and even scored a goal in Leicester’s 3-0 win at West Bromwich.
Rodgers said: “To come in and defend as well as he did and get a goal is a great debut. He is made for the Premier League.”
Fulham cement new deals
I must admit to having a soft spot for Fulham. They are a traditional, highly respected family London club who have never had the financial funding to rival their illustrious neighbours Arsenal and Tottenham.
But here they are, battling in the Premier League again but I fear for their season if last weekend’s poor showing is anything to go by. The West London club haven’t made the perfect start to the season, losing 3-0 to rival club Arsenal.
However, the week has some positives with contract extensions for Joe Bryan, Denis Odoi and Josh Onomah. All three will potentially be with Fulham until 2023.