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Tag: Epl

  • EPL: Why Ozil was left out of City clash – Arteta

    Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has explained briefly why Mesut Ozil was left out of Wednesday’s squad to face Manchester City.

    The Gunners were blown away by Pep Guardiola’s side, eventually losing 3-0 at the Etihad.

    One notable absentee was the club’s highest paid player in Ozil, who didn’t even make the match-day squad.

    Asked after the match about the decision, Arteta said: “It was a tactical reason.”

    This will only fuel speculation that Ozil will be sold this summer, with Fenerbahce reportedly hopeful of securing his signature.

  • Bellerin to plant trees for every Arsenal win

    Hector Bellerin has pledged to plant 3,000 trees for every win Arsenal amass between now and the end of the season.

    The Gunners return to action in the Premier League on Wednesday night after a 102-day hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic when they take on Manchester City at Etihad Stadium.

    That will be the first of 10 remaining league games for Mikel Arteta’s side, with victories vital as they attempt to earn a spot in next season’s Champions League.

    Any wins will now have added significance to Bellerin, who has partnered with global charity One Tree Planted and committed to plant 3,000 trees for every success the Gunners enjoy before the end of the campaign.

    “As a child growing up in Barcelona, I spent a lot of my with my grandad in his garden planting trees and playing in forests so it’s an issue very close to my heart,” said Bellerin.

    “When I saw the great work that One Tree Planted do, not just the planting of the trees but within the communities as well, I knew it was something that I wanted to get involved in. I hope that by doing this and using my platform, others will see how important it is to look after our world and donate to a cause which really affects us all.”

  • EPL: Arsenal boss Arteta responds to Aubameyang

    Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has responded to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s latest contract comments.

    Aubameyang, with a year to run on his current deal, is still no closer to making a decision on his future. And over the weekend, he challenged Arsenal to convince him to stay.

    Yet despite pressure on Arsenal from Aubameyang, Arteta is adamant he does not have to convince anyone to stay at the club.

    “We have a very clear plan of what we want to do from now on,” the Arsenal boss told Premier League Productions.

    “The players know where the club is standing and we are moving in the right direction.”

    However, Arteta admits reaching the Champions League places could be key to keeping his captain.

    “Financially for the club the fact that in the last three years we haven’t had any Champions League it puts the club in a very difficult position,” Arteta added.

    “We have a structure that is designed to be in the Champions League so when we don’t have that financially it creates a lot of issues and instability. But that’s the situation we are facing.

    “We have ten games to go, we have to go full gas and get as high as possible in the table.”

  • EPL: Aubameyang says career at a crossroads

    EPL: Aubameyang says career at a crossroads

    Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang says he is at a turning point in his career and it will be a difficult decision whether to extend his contract or not.

    The Gabon international, whose deal ends in June 2021, has scored 61 goals in 97 appearances at the London club since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2018.

    But he has yet to lift any major silverware in England.

    “I haven’t had an offer recently. But I did speak with the club quite a few months ago, and they know why nothing has happened yet,” Aubameyang, who turns 31 on Thursday, said.

    “They have the keys. It is up to them to do their work and, after that, we will see how things go.

    “It’s a turning point in my career and I want to be honest with everyone. It’ll certainly be a very difficult decision to make.”

    Arsenal were ninth in the table when football was suspended three months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    They travel to second-placed Manchester City when the English Premier League (EPL) restarts on Wednesday.

  • EPL players to wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ on shirts

    Premier League players’ names will be replaced on the back of their shirts with ‘Black Lives Matter’ for the first 12 matches of the restarted season.

    The Premier League will also support any player who chooses to ‘take a knee’ before or during matches.

    Players in Germany have made gestures of solidarity with people protesting about the death of George Floyd.

    “We, the players, stand together with the singular objective of eradicating racial prejudice,” read a statement.

    In a joint message from all 20 clubs, players added that they were committed to “a global society of inclusion, respect, and equal opportunities for all, regardless of their colour or creed”.

    A Black Lives Matter badge will feature on all playing shirts for the rest of the season alongside a badge thanking NHS staff for their work during the coronavirus outbreak.

    Several Premier League squads have already ‘taken a knee’ in training-ground images shared on social media, and anti-racism charity Kick It Out had asked that players feel free to do so on the pitch.

    The Football Association has said it will take a “common sense approach” to such protests.

    Four players, including Borussia Dortmund’s England forward Jadon Sancho, were initially investigated by the Bundesliga authorities for making clear their support for anti-racism demonstrations in the wake of the death of 46-year-old Floyd in police custody in the United States last month.

    None was subsequently punished and the German Football Association said it would continue to allow such displays of support over the coming weeks.

    The Premier League resumes behind closed doors on 17 June after a three-month suspension caused by the pandemic.

     

  • English Premier League to restart on June 17

    English Premier League to restart on June 17

    Premier League season in England will restart on June 17, according to a media report on Thursday.

    However, a spokesman for the Premier League, which stopped play in March, declined to comment as the meeting of 20 club officials was ongoing.

    The season will get under way on the Wednesday date with Aston Villa versus Sheffield United and Manchester City versus Arsenal, which are both games in hand.

    A full fixture list would then be played on the weekend of June 19 to June 21, the report said.

    All games will be behind closed doors.

    The Premier League was suspended on March 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but teams returned to small group training last week.

    On Wednesday, clubs agreed to move to Phase Two of the comeback with players working in larger groups and closer to each other.

    The next step would be full contact training and preparation for the return to action.

    Liverpool, searching for their first league title in 30 years, lead the standings by 25 points.

  • EPL players are being treated like lab rats – Danny Rose

    EPL players are being treated like lab rats – Danny Rose

    Newcastle United defender Danny Rose says English Premier League (EPL) players are being treated like “lab rats”, after teams were given permission to return to training in small groups this week.

    The England international, who is on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, has been a vocal critic of the league’s plans to restart the season.

    The 2019/2020 season has been suspended since mid-March due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

    The league said on Tuesday that six people from three different clubs had tested positive for COVID-19 out of a sample of 748 individuals.

    “People are suggesting we should go back to football, like we’re guinea pigs or lab rats. We’re going to experiment this phase and see if it works or not,” Rose said.

    “I can just imagine people at home saying, `Well, they earn that amount of money so they should be going back.’

    “For stuff like that, I think, is it worth the hassle? I could be potentially risking my health for people’s entertainment and that’s not something I want to be involved in if I’m honest.”

    Watford have confirmed that three people from the club, including one player, have tested positive for COVID-19.

    Burnley said their assistant coach Ian Woan was among those to return a positive result after being tested on Sunday.

    Watford skipper Troy Deeney has said he would not resume training out of concern for his son’s health.

  • Premier League clubs to resume training today

    Premier League clubs to resume training today

    Premier League clubs will return to training on Tuesday after agreeing to allow “small group” sessions to begin, the first step on the road to a return to competitive action.

    The league held a conference call for all 20 clubs on Monday where the move was given unanimous backing.

    It is the first move in the league’s `Project Restart’ plans to restart play in the league, which has not held a game since March 9 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

    Failure to resume the season could cost the league around 750 million pounds (913.80 million dollars) in lost revenue from broadcasters, according to British media estimates.

    Some reports said clubs could lose out even if the league restarts should broadcasters demand a 330 million pounds rebate.

    “Premier League Shareholders today voted unanimously to return to small group training from tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon —- the first step towards restarting the Premier League, when safe to do so,” the league said in a statement.

    “Step One of the Return to Training Protocol enables squads to train while maintaining social distancing. Contact training is not yet permitted,” it added.

    The Government last week opened the door for the return of elite sport.

    But several hurdles remain before the Premier League can resume behind closed doors with the aim of completing the remaining 92 matches of the season.

    Clubs will have been encouraged, however, by the return of the Bundesliga at the weekend —- the first major football league in the world to resume after the lockdown.

    Project Restart was originally looking at a June 12 resumption date.

    But should the clubs agree and, if there is no rise in infections in the country, a return date of June 19 or June 26 appears the most likely.

    However, the prospect of clubs playing their remaining matches at neutral venues has receded with more than half speaking out against such a proposal.

    The league said the decision to return to `group training’ had been taken in consultation with players, managers, Premier League club doctors, independent experts and the government.

    “Strict medical protocols of the highest standard will ensure everyone returns to training in the safest environment possible,” it added.

    “The health and well-being of all participants is the Premier League’s priority, and the safe return to training is a step-by-step process.

    “Full consultation will now continue with players, managers, clubs, the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) and LMA (League Managers Association) as protocols for full-contact training are developed,” the statement added.

    Safety measures are expected to include tents where temperature checks will be conducted, strict hygiene criteria, no canteens and no showers.

    A maximum of five players will be allowed per pitch, with tackling forbidden.

    Players will be tested twice a week and are being asked to provide written approval that they have received and understood the club’s COVID-19 policy.

  • EPL: I should’ve done more at Liverpool – Shelvey

    EPL: I should’ve done more at Liverpool – Shelvey

    Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey regrets not making the most of his time with Liverpool.

    Shelvey admits he should have “probably” stayed at Liverpool in 2013.

    He told Sky Sports: “It could have been a lot better, to be honest with you. Don’t get me wrong, by the time I finish I will have had a fantastic career.

    “But you do sit there sometimes and think, ‘could I have gone higher? Could I have been playing in the Champions League?’

    “Hopefully one day I still will, but time’s running out now. You go back in the past and you’ve probably made certain decisions that were wrong.

    “I was only 21 when I left. I don’t think you would find many other players who go there at 17 and leave at 21 and I think that speaks a lot of what I’m like as a character.

    “I wasn’t happy playing one or two games then coming out of the team. I wanted to carry on playing week in, week out.

    “I’d been on loan at Blackpool, and at Charlton I’d been obviously playing at such an early age. I don’t think that helped because you get that knack for playing games and constantly being in the team.

    “When you’re playing once and then not playing for six games, I don’t care what any footballer says, you don’t feel involved. You don’t feel part of the team.

    “I think that was the feeling I wanted but, in hindsight, should I have stayed? Probably, yeah.

    “Even if it was only for another year or two, just to see how things changed. But it is what it is at the end of the day.

    “Every decision I’ve made in my career was just to play, to try and get as much game-time as possible. I can’t say I’ve got too many regrets.”

  • EPL relegation, promotion must be decided on the pitch – Norwich

    English Premier League (EPL) clubs should be relegated only if both of the top two divisions restart and complete the season, Stuart Webber, the sporting director of Norwich City, says.

    The Canaries are six points below the safety line with nine games to play.

    Webber however said on Wednesday it would be unfair to relegate or promote clubs based on an incomplete season.

    “It’s fine if we restart and three clubs get relegated,” he said. “Football should be played on a pitch and not in the boardroom.

    “But the Championship (second tier) has to restart and play all their games also.

    “What we cannot accept is a situation where we play out all our games, get relegated but then the Championship can’t play… and then they automatically promote some teams who haven’t finished the season.”

    Premier League clubs are in discussions to finish the season, with the possibility of a restart next month given a boost when the government said elite sports could return after June 1.

    The fate of lower divisions remains uncertain.

    The media has since reported that top-flight clubs would have to spend a combined four million pounds (4.92 million dollars) on testing players for COVID-19.

    Such an outlay would likely be beyond the resources of smaller clubs who are reliant on gate receipts but have already furloughed staff and would not be allowed to admit spectators.

    Bottom side Norwich were among those who opposed plans for Premier League games to be held at neutral venues to limit the risk of supporters turning up.

    But clubs now hope such a measure can be avoided.

    Webber was critical of the way the debate had been framed last week.

    There had been accusations that those threatened with the drop were using concerns about neutral venues as an excuse to try and avoid relegation.

    “I’m just glad that’s been levelled up a bit this week and it’s no surprise that once bigger clubs than us talk about it suddenly people want to get around the table and don’t want to beat us up any more,” he said.

    “I think (the) most important (thing) is that we try and find a way of getting back (to) playing where it’s safe and where the competition is fair.

    “What we can’t do is play it all out in the media and when an agenda suits us we beat up clubs for suggesting that playing in neutral venues might not be fair.”