Tim Sherwood said something this weekend that really made my blood boil.
The former Tottenham manager turned pundit provided some post-match commentary on Arsenal’s 3-2 comeback victory against Aston Villa on Sunday, and while most of what came out his mouth was typical drivel about “wanting it more” and “grit,” Sherwood had a pretty unique take on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s decision to let Nicolas Pépé take a penalty kick:
With this week's Champions League matchups done and dusted, you might be tempted to think European football is finished until the weekend. Well think again! The Europa League kicks of today and there are a ton of matches worth getting excited about. Here are the 10 I'm most excited about, and my corresponding predictions for each match.
Basel vs. Krasnodar
It’s been an eventful week for building from the back. It began with Mexico’s beatdown of Gregg Berhalter’s longterm vision for the USMNT in East Rutherford, a result which led to a cry for abandoning the philosophy.
Things reached a crescendo yesterday with Arsenal — the masterful architects of their own downfall in recent times. Sokratis Papastathopoulos showed exactly why 2-0 is the most dangerous lead in football by passing the ball straight to Gerard Deulofeu in his own area.
Perhaps beginning with AC Milan’s historic Centro Sportivo Milanello and continuing to this day in previously undreamt of places like Atlanta and Utah, training facilities for the world’s most prestigious clubs have grown in importance as the most ambitious of organizations attempt to align the best in first-team training, sports science and academy development with a physical representation of an overarching ideology.
Arsenal’s business in front, party in the back squad met Tottenham’s unsettled ensemble on Sunday, and a 2-2 finish to the North London derby only cemented those thoughts of self-hatred rather than illuminating a way forward for either club.
The Europa League schedule was released Friday not long after the group-stage draw. One club, an opponent of Arsenal in Group F, will feel particularly aggrieved when looking at the fixture list, and not because it has to play the Gunners.
The Europa League groups were announced at a draw on Friday, with plenty of familiar faces.
Liverpool defeated Arsenal 3-1 in an early first-vs.-second Premier League battle on Saturday at Anfield. The final result wasn’t really a surprise for anyone who has paid attention to the Premier League the last few years, even if the Gunners had looked improved in their first two matches of the season.
But Arsenal did manage to end one of the most impressive stats in the Premier League.
Money is becoming increasingly inflated in soccer over the last five years. It seems like each year a new record transfer fee is set both at a club level and international level. This has been possible thanks to incredible broadcast rights fees in other countries that then trickle down to teams in each league. Teams then have more money to spend on players and clubs take advantage of that, setting ridiculous asking prices for their players as the sponsorship money just rolls in alongside the lucrative TV deals and funding from club owners.
FIFA is finally bringing back its street mode, now named Volta, amid many changes and enhancements to modes across the platform. Now, a big name, at least amongst Arsenal fans, is being added to help voice the new street mode. It's none other than Troopz from ArsenalFanTV. “Oh my days, fam!” as he would say.