•Arteta, they point out, faces a considerable challenge when he arrives at the Arsenal training ground alone and without Pep Guardiola standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
•Everton’s misfit Moise Kean is looking for an escape from Merseyside. It is highly insulting to a player to be called on as a substitute and then to be hauled off after only 19 minutes to be replaced by another substitute.
Image: REUTERS
Timing is everything and that is why Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are so upset with Arsenal.
To lose Mikel Arteta mid-season means City have to re-organise at a time when they should be concentrating on preparing the leaks to their creaky season.
Results of late are not what we expect of City, the world’s richest team. At first Guardiola said he would not let Arteta go and then realised that he could not stop his assistant’s departure.
It is a combination of these two things that has motivated City to ask for maximum compensation from the Gunners. Because Arsenal are having a tough time financially, the compensation issue means that they will not have a lot to offer the new manager in the January transfer window and therefore do not expect a dramatic change of players at the club.
It was interesting that every top official at Arsenal was at the Emirates Stadium last weekend when they lost 3-0 to City. Even the owner’s son Josh Kroenke was there but I have discovered he was leading the negotiations to bring in Arteta and he has now returned to America.
This again angered City officials because they realised that, despite interviewing about 10 candidates for the manager’s job, it was Arteta who Arsenal had decided to employ and no one had spoken to them.
However, talking to people around Arsenal, there are plenty of players and staff who are questioning the appointment of Arteta. Why? Because you have to remember that he has never managed a club and there are some big players at Arsenal such as Ozil, Luiz and Xhaka.
Arteta has to boss these players around and it is one thing to look good and strong under the umbrella of Pep Guardiola but it is quite different when you are standing on the touchline on your own.
I have picked up news from the Arsenal dressing room that many players would have preferred Carlo Ancellotti because he has done it all before; he is very experienced and is a proven winner at all levels.
Arteta, they point out, faces a considerable challenge when he arrives at the Arsenal training ground alone and without Pep Guardiola standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
Chelsea look to strengthen attack
I have seen a list of possible forwards who Chelsea will be considering signing in January. Frank Lampard, the Chelsea manager, and his assistants, have realised that they cannot simply expect young players to perform week in, week out without some sort of rest.
£150million has been made available to Lampard and on that secret list are Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, Leon Bailey who plays for Bayer Leverkusen and Villareal’s Samuel Chukwueze.
The Blue’s scouts have also watched Timo Werner of RB Leipzig and Lyon’s Moussa Dembele. Olivier Giroud and Pedro Rodriguez are likely to leave in January. Nigeria’s 20-year-old star Chukwueze has already scored three this season and finished with eight last year.
However, Lampard also recognises that he also needs a big solid centre back of the calibre of Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk, Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte and United’s Harry Maguire. These players don’t grow on trees but Frank does have money to spend.
Kean looks towards a possible return to Italy
Everton’s misfit Moise Kean is looking for an escape from Merseyside. It is highly insulting to a player to be called on as a substitute and then to be hauled off after only 19 minutes to be replaced by another substitute. It happened in the match against Manchester United and then to add insult to injury, caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson ignored Kean as he came off the pitch. Kean was furious and strode off down the tunnel instead of re-joining his fellow players in the dugout. Kean is yet to score in 14 games since he was signed for £27million. Last month, he missed a club meeting and was dropped from the squad as punishment. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. If the new manager Carlo Ancelotti does not pick up Kean’s career, Italian club Roma are likely to take him back and he will jump at the chance.
Pellegrini finally understands
Manuel Pellegrini has finally understood why his West Ham team have been performing so badly of late. Players and critics have been desperate for him to play two up front and finally he tried the combination of Michail Antonio and Sebastien Haller which worked superbly and the 1-0 win at Southampton has probably given Pellegrini a stay of execution from being sacked. Antonio was brilliant and Haller scored the winner. The West Ham board are monitoring the situation over the Christmas period and the Chilean will remain as manager for the Boxing Day match against Crystal Palace. Pellegrini refused to switch from his favourite 4-2-3-1 formation which was not working well for them and his reluctance to change almost brought his downfall. It really is Pellegrini’s fault because Antonio has recently been very off form and Haller has struggled despite forming one of Europe’s most feared strike partnerships last season at Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany. Pellegrini’s assistants persuaded him to train with the two strikers working together. In our after match briefing, Haller and Antonio were full of praise for each other and it is clear that they like playing together which again will help Pellegrini. I took time to find out about the rumoured rift in the dressing room but I can tell you that the players are in complete support of the manager.
Zaha comes to term with non-transfer
Wilfried Zaha is one incredibly gifted player. I watched him in the match against Brighton and his superb goal saved the match for Roy Hodgson’s team. Wilfried is top of Chelsea’s list of wanted players and he admits that all the speculation surrounding him being transferred to a top four club last summer distracted him from playing well at the beginning of this season. It didn’t happen and now Wilfried has knuckled down, worked hard in training and is once again a threat against any team. He said this week: “You realise that you can only control the things you can control. That’s why I am once again enjoying my football. What happened in the summer affected me and when the season started it was still in my head. Going around sulking, I told myself, is not going to help and I can’t be like that. The team hasn’t disrespected me, or the club, or the fans. So they don’t deserve me disrespecting them.”
Espirito demands more protection for Traore
I wrote recently about Wolves winger Adam Traore and his rise as one of the most feared strikers. Unfortunately many defenders have wised up to Traore’s danger and he is constantly being singled out for rough treatment. 24 players have been booked for fouls on Adam in his 26 games this season. Now Wolves manager Nuno Espirito has come out and demanded more referee protection for his winger. He said this week: “We know he is tough to defend against and the opponents do what they have to do. It’s up to the referee to judge. If Traore is fouled over and again it should not be allowed. All referees know that with a player like Adam he has to be protected and therefore avoid serious injury. It is not fair!”
It’s Christmas and players are real Santas
It’s Christmas and I love to write about the generosity of football players. They are, many think, incredibly overpaid. However it is nice to see some of them giving back. It is easy for players to enjoy all the luxury their talent brings them and forget about the backroom staff who make it all happen. However, Manchester United full back Luke Shaw has delivered 50 gift baskets to backroom staff and each one is worth £250!
*Crystal Palace are also setting a splendid example. The UK weather is often freezing at this time of year and homeless people suffer as they live on the streets. Palace have opened one of their club lounges as a shelter when temperatures fall to below freezing point. The club provide a camp bed, a hot evening meal, breakfast and washing facilities. Palace have a long established homeless charity called Crisis and work hard for the community. I congratulate them for doing such excellent work to help less fortunate people.
* Crystal Palace ace Wilfried Zaha gives a percentage of his salary to charity every week! He also donated £10,000 to his local Sunday League team to help the youngsters who play every Sunday and he has bought shirts and shorts, coaching equipment, team tracksuits and training equipment.
*And my favourite Christmas story concerns Watford’s Ben Foster. He was driving home in the dark after the match against Crystal Palace when he saw an 80-year-old man had fallen into a ditch whilst walking along the road. Apparently his car had broken down. The man has been a Watford fan for 60 years and is a season ticket holder. Ben rescued him and took him home and also asked what he was doing for Christmas. He then welcomed him to join his own family for Christmas Day. He also told the fan that he was going to sort out his season ticket and he would become a special VIP fan at Watford. The story moved me enormously and Ben, you are a star! This is what the spirit of Christmas is all about.
# I would like to wish all Premier League football supporters a happy holiday season. Thank you for joining us every week.