HesGoal

Eze Helps Arsenal Stay At The Top

LONDON: Eberechi Eze scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal against his former team, Crystal Palace, helping the Gunners maintain their grip on the top of the league after a 1-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.

The 26-year-old midfielder, who played five seasons with Palace before moving to Arsenal in August, scored the winning goal in the 39th minute.

The goal came after Gabriel Magalhaes’ header fell right in front of Eze who calmly pushed it in past goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

The victory allowed Arsenal to extend their unbeaten run to six league games and 10 games in all competitions this season.

Mikel Arteta’s men now have 22 points after nine matches, four points ahead of second-placed Bournemouth.

The second half saw Arsenal continue to press for additional goals with several opportunities presented, including one where Bukayo Saka almost pushed the ball into the goal, but Palace defender Marc Guehi acted quickly to clear the ball on the goal line.

The narrow victory maintained Arsenal’s positive momentum in their quest for a first Premier League title since the 2003-04 season.

Klopp Not Rule Out Returning To Liverpool

LONDON: Jurgen Klopp admits it is not impossible for him to return to coaching Liverpool, but insists that he does not miss life as a coach at the moment.

The German-born former manager left Anfield in 2024 after nine successful years, citing his lack of energy.

Klopp now serves with Red Bull as Global Chairman of Football.

Despite previously ruling out the possibility of returning to coaching, Klopp admitted the door to a return to Liverpool is still open, at least in theory.

“I’ve said before, I won’t coach any other team in England. So if I come back, it will only be for Liverpool,” Klopp said in an audio broadcast of The Diary of a CEO.

“So yes, theoretically it’s possible. But I’m very happy with what I’m doing now.

“I don’t miss coaching players, I don’t miss standing in the rain for two or three hours, or attending press conferences three times a week. I don’t miss any of that.”

Klopp added that after more than 1,000 games as a manager, he is now enjoying a break from the pressures of the dressing room.

“I’m 58 years old. From one perspective, it might be considered old, but from another perspective, it’s still not too old. So maybe in a few years I can make a decision.

“If I had to make a decision today, I wouldn’t train anymore. But fortunately I don’t have to do it now, I’ll let time decide,” he said.

At the same time, Klopp also praised his replacement at Anfield, Arne Slot, who finished his first season in great form when he helped The Reds win the Premier League last season.

“We kept in touch after that, he was a great guy. He got the best out of this team and they became champions in an incredible way,” he said.

Klopp also described Slot as wise in not making too many drastic changes at the beginning of his appointment, and stressed that any major changes take time to show results.

“Change always has an impact and it takes time. If he keeps the old team, people will say ‘we need change’.

“Now he’s bringing in new players, they’re good, but maybe not fully compatible. Development takes time, no one can speed it up. Everything will be fine,” he said.

Italy Confirms Place In World Cup Playoffs

UDINE, Italy: Italy secured at least a place in the World Cup playoffs after defeating Israel 3-0 at home with two goals from Mateo Retegui and a late goal from Gianluca Mancini, early this morning.

The victory brought relief to Gennaro Gattuso’s squad, who failed to qualify for the previous two editions of the World Cup, both after losing in the playoff round.

Now, a similar path is expected to be their main hope as Norway leads Group I with 18 points, three points ahead of the Azzurri who have collected 15, with two matches remaining.

Italy is now six points ahead of Israel, who only have one match left and no longer have a chance to overtake.

Next, Italy will travel to Moldova on November 13 before awaiting the visit of Norway three days later, an action that is expected to be the group decider.

The group winners will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while the runners-up will have to go through a playoff.

“We played as we should have today. We knew everything could be lost if we made a mistake. But the players came out with their best performance,” Gattuso said after the match in Udine.

“We all remember the match against Israel a month ago, they really made us struggle,” he said, referring to the thrilling 5-4 win last month.

“We are building a strong team, not only offensively, but also defensively,” Retegui said after the match.

The match was also shrouded in tension when incidents broke out between police and pro-Palestinian protesters in the city centre of Udine, with authorities having to use tear gas and water cannons to control the situation.

About 10,000 spectators were present at the 25,000-seat Friuli Stadium, including a small group of Israeli supporters carrying their country’s flag.

Although they still have a chance to overtake Norway if they record two wins, Italy is expected to have to go through the playoff route next March as the goal difference advantage favors the Scandinavian team.

“Now we just have to pray that no players get injured and they continue to excel with their respective clubs,” said Gattuso.

Tuchel Fears Decline In Number Of English Players In EPL

LONDON: England manager Thomas Tuchel has expressed concern over the sharp decline in the number of English players in the Premier League (EPL) this season.

Less than a quarter of the players in the starting eleven so far have qualified for the Three Lions squad – with just 23.2 per cent, the lowest figure ever recorded in the league’s history.

The percentage is much lower than during the Gareth Southgate era, which at that time recorded between 30 and 33 percent, although it is considered low compared to the previous decade.

“I just found out about that statistic,” said Tuchel.

“Of course I would like to see more English players in action.

“The more, the better, but I also understand the reality of club football, no one stops anyone. If they deserve to play, they will play. Quality will always shine through.”

Southgate has previously expressed concern several times about the dwindling number of local players and now the situation is seen to be getting worse.

Ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Latvia, Tuchel explained that England still have key players on international duty.

“Don’t forget we have Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Fikayo Tomori, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek outside the Premier League. Some of them are even performing brilliantly in France,” he said.

“We still have enough players to compete at the highest level.”

Despite his squad beating Wales 3-0, Tuchel continues to face selection questions after not recalling Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish in this camp.

“I still believe the players in the previous camp deserve to be here. They proved their quality against Wales but the team’s door is always open to everyone.”

Southgate, who will step down after Euro 2024, has previously warned about the issue of a lack of homegrown players in England’s top flight.

Chelsea’s Squad Is The Highest In The World

LONDON: Chelsea now have the most valuable squad in the world after a study by the CIES Football Observatory revealed that Enzo Maresca’s team is worth 1.56 billion pounds.

The figure puts Chelsea at the top, ahead of Real Madrid in second place by around 100 million pounds, in a list that also sees seven English Premier League clubs in the world’s top 12.

Since Todd Boehly’s takeover in 2022 – after Roman Abramovich sold the club – Chelsea have spent almost 1.5 billion pounds on bringing in new players.

This summer alone, Stamford Bridge has seen the arrival of names like Joao Pedro, Estevao Willian, Alejandro Garnacho, Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens.

Although some of the spending was offset by player sales, the overall value of the squad increased by 315 million pounds.

The financial strength of the English Premier League is also evident when all 20 clubs in the league are listed in the top 60 teams in the world in terms of squad value.

Manchester City is in third place with a value of £1.28 billion, followed closely by Arsenal in fourth with £1.27 billion. Liverpool is also in sixth place with £1.21 billion — one place below European champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcelona are seventh with a value of over £1 billion, while Tottenham Hotspur are eighth with £907 millions. Bayern Munich and Inter Milan complete the top 10.

Despite their luxurious status, Chelsea are currently seventh in the Premier League after seven matches, but a 2-1 win over Liverpool last weekend, courtesy of a late goal from Estevao Willian, has given new confidence to the fans at Stamford Bridge.