Declan Rice &#8211; CaughtOffside

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Tuchel, however, can perhaps offer some glimmer of what that would’ve looked like as he uses both players for England, while he also has plenty of other exciting talents at his disposal.

Even though his predecessor Southgate did well to get a previously under-achieving nation to a couple of finals, there’s also the sense that he didn’t quite make the most out of a generation of players full of more quality than we’ve seen in the past.

It will be interesting to see if Tuchel can get more out of these players, and perhaps make some smarter selection decisions – such as not leaving Cole Palmer out of the team for virtually an entire tournament!

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“I was really surprised” – Mikel Arteta criticised for one tactical error in Arsenal defeat vs Bournemouth

Mark Brus — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 07:21:46 +0000

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has received some criticism for picking a midfield without any creativity in the 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth at the weekend.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for the latest edition of his Daily Briefing column, Arsenal expert Charles Watts admitted he was surprised by Arteta’s selection in that area, even if the Spanish tactician had the obvious issue of Martin Odegaard being out injured.

Arsenal lined up with Declan Rice, Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino in midfield, but Watts admits he immediately felt that looked like a trio that would struggle to provide much in the way of an attacking threat, and that’s precisely how it played out.

Even if it’s a big ask for a relatively unproven young player, Ethan Nwaneri might be a better pick in upcoming games as he’s more of a natural like-for-like replacement for Odegaard in terms of his qualities and playing style.

Watts clearly has a lot of faith that Nwaneri could do the job, so could Arteta take that gamble after his use of Rice, Partey and Merino clearly failed?

Arsenal’s midfield criticised – time for Ethan Nwaneri?

Ethan Nwaneri in action for Arsenal (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

“It was just a really poor night for Arsenal and I don’t think the team selection helped,” Watts said as he reacted to the defeat at Bournemouth.

“I was really surprised that Arteta went with all three of Declan Rice, Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino in midfield. That always looked like a midfield that would struggle to create and that’s how it played out.

“With No Martin Odegaard or Bukayo Saka and with Gabriel Martinelli only starting on the bench, I would have liked to have seen Ethan Nwaneri start just to give the team a bit more creativity and attacking intent in those central areas.”

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Nwaneri has had some first-team outings this season and looks a huge prospect, but it remains to be seen if he’s ready to start games regularly and take on the huge challenge of filling in for a world class creative midfielder like Odegaard.

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Declan Rice is getting attention for his words to the referee after Bournemouth defeat

Ahad Shaukat — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 06:08:00 +0000

According to the Metro, Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice told referee Robert Jones ‘every week it’s the same’ at the end of the match against Bournemouth.

The Gunners suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat against Bournemouth, which was Mikel Arteta’s first defeat of the season not only in the Premier League but in all competitions this season.

Arsenal defender William Saliba was sent off in the first half and the Gunners had to play with 10 men for more than an hour.

It was Arsenal’s third red card of the season after Declan Rice was sent off earlier in the season against Brighton and Leandro Trossard received a controversial red card against Manchester City.

All three red cards that the Gunners have received this season have created discussion and debate among the fans and Arsenal fans, as well as players, feel they have been on the wrong end of these decisions by the referees.

Rice was spotted saying to the referee ‘every week it’s the same’, showing how the players feel that Saliba did not deserve to get a red card, as well as Rice himself and Trossard in the previous matches.

However, after the match, Rice admitted that his teammates have made mistakes and their sending off incidents are making life difficult for them.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice against Bournemouth. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

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‘We’ve kicked ourselves in the foot three times in eight games and we got away with it at home to Brighton and away at Manchester City. Bournemouth kept probing and made it 2-0,’ Rice said.

‘I’m proud of the players for fighting, even with 10 men, but the naivety, we need to stop making mistakes because you want 11 players for 90 minutes and that’s what wins you football matches.’

Former Arsenal attacker and football pundit Theo Walcott pointed out a mistake that the Gunners made against Bournemouth and called it more costly than Saliba’s red card.

Is Declan Rice right in protesting Saliba’s red card against Bournemouth?

Saliba pulled down the Bournemouth attacker as the last man and the Gunners cannot have any complains about that sending off.

They might have a case in the previous red cards of Rice and Trossard but this one was an easy decision to make for the referee.

Three red cards in eight Premier League matches should be a huge cause of concern for Arteta and his management team.

In the three matches they have had players sent off, they have only managed to win two points out of a possible nine. In order to compete against Man City in the league, they cannot make such mistakes.

Football pundit Jamie Carragher fueled conspiracy regarding Saliba’s red card against Bournemouth involving referee Howard Webb.

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Collymore’s valid but controversial reason why Thomas Tuchel should never have got the England job

Jason Pettigrove — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 21:05:34 +0000

There have already seemed to be a number of ex-players willing to give their two penneth on the English FA’s appointment of Thomas Tuchel, with Stan Collymore offering a simple reason why the German should never have been given the job.

It was, perhaps, the most obvious outcome to the announcement earlier this week that former players and other pundits would pop up on TV and radio shows to denounce the Football Association for not going with an English manager.

Indeed, Alan Shearer let it slip that Eddie Howe wasn’t even approached during the current process, which seems staggering given his standing in the game.

Collymore explains why Thomas Tuchel shouldn’t be England coach

Gary Neville also believes questions should be asked as to why his former club, Man United, weren’t more decisive in bringing Tuchel to Old Trafford.

He’s been handed the job for the next 18 months in any event, but Collymore suggested a valid reason why he should never have been approached – though it might cause controversy to some.

“International Football is about people from one nation versus people from another,” he told CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.

“However, there’s been a genuine ‘clubification’ of international football over the past few years. Everything from players swapping allegiance (higher profile, bigger contracts playing for the glamour nation if they’re dual nationality), to high profile coaches effectively using international football as a nice part-time job before the next one of half a dozen plum jobs comes up.

Stan Collymore has explained why Thomas Tuchel shouldn’t be England coach. Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

“It’s turning the purest form of the sport a farce.

“A simple remedy is you declare, aged 18 and on signing a pro contract as a pro player or in completion of your pro licence as a coach, which country you wish to play for. Which country that you’re eligible to play for or coach. It’s that simple.

“The joke of players picking one country after representing another then ends, and countries via UEFA and FIFA can concentrate resources on making sure EVERY football nation knows who they can pick but more importantly know who to invest money in on their coaching pathway.

“That would mean Tuchel can only manage Germany and Declan Rice, Jack Grealish etc would have had to make a choice aged 18 and back themselves as adults to make and stick to that choice.”

Of course, for some people, such as West Ham’s Michail Antonio, if he hadn’t have swapped allegiance to the Jamaican national team, he would never have been able to experience playing in international matches.

Collymore certainly has a point though.

If England, for example, don’t have the playing resource to be able to win major tournaments, they shouldn’t just be allowed to go around hoovering up talent via the back door.

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Officials “missed the mark” on decision that could cost Arsenal the title admits Howard Webb

Darren Looney — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 16:22:27 +0000

Head of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) Howard Webb has admitted that the officials during Arsenal’s match with Brighton earlier this season made a big mistake and it could cost the Gunners the Premier League title.

Mikel Arteta’s team played out a 1-1 draw with the Seagulls at the Emirates Stadium in August and it was a clash surrounded by controversy as a result of the red card handed to Declan Rice.

The England international nudged the ball away from Joel Veltman as the Dutch star tried to take a quick free kick, which ended up with the midfielder being shown a second yellow for delaying the game.

Weeks later, Leandro Trossard was dismissed for the same offence in a huge match against Man City at the Etihad, which left Arsenal playing the entire second half with just ten men. Although it was a big talking point, this incident didn’t spark as much debate as the Rice red card.

One reason for this is the role of Brighton’s Joao Pedro as the forward hoofed the ball away after Arsenal had been awarded a set-piece and escaped any punishment.

The Brazilian footballer would go on to net the equaliser for Brighton with 58 minutes on the clock, which infuriated Arsenal fans due to the lack of consistency in the same game.

One man who did not forget this was legendary Arsenal figure Ian Wright and when given the chance to speak to Howard Webb, the pundit questioned him on the Gunners’ match against Brighton.

Howard Webb has commented on Declan Rice’s red card during Arsenal vs Brighton (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

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Howard Webb admits officials made a mistake during Arsenal’s clash with Brighton

Speaking on the latest episode of Stick to Football, Ian Wright brought up the controversy around the Joao Pedro decision against Arsenal when speaking to Webb, resulting in the head of the PGMOL admitting that the officials on the day made a mistake.

Highlighting the Brighton star’s actions, Wright said: “With that one, I cannot understand how he can kick the ball so far away and not get booked. It’s the consistency.”

To which Webb responded with honesty, stating: “We missed the mark on that one Ian, and I did say that publicly as well… We have to be as consistent as we can.”

This decision cost Arteta’s side two points and having lost the Premier League title by that amount last season, the officials’ decisions against Brighton could prove pivotal once again come the end of the current campaign.

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Arsenal legend tips Mikel Arteta to sign star who’s shown “he can play alongside Declan Rice”

Mark Brus — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 07:51:28 +0000

Arsenal legend Lee Dixon has suggested that he could see Lille midfielder Angel Gomes being a transfer target for his old club as he looks like a quality player who’d link up well with Declan Rice.

Gomes has done well to revive his career in Ligue 1 after previously failing to make it at Manchester United earlier in his career, and he’s now a key part of the England international fold, while it perhaps feels inevitable that there’s now growing talk of him possibly coming back to the Premier League.

According to Simon Phillips via Substack, Chelsea have been long-standing admirers of Gomes, but Dixon has now talked up the possibility of the 24-year-old heading to north London instead.

We’ve now seen Gomes playing alongside Arsenal star Rice in the England midfield, and Dixon thinks this could be the kind of thing that convinces Mikel Arteta to make a move.

Angel Gomes transfer: Do Arsenal need the England midfielder?

Angel Gomes in action for England (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Discussing the possibility of Gomes moving to Arsenal with pjelmo, as quoted by the Metro, Dixon said: “I think Angel Gomes would fit in at Arsenal superbly.

“His qualities are clear to see, he’s a very good link-up player and we’ve seen that he can play alongside Declan Rice.

“He’s got a lot of potential and although there will be plenty of clubs looking at him, I could see him at Arsenal next season.”

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