Sports
Mikel Arteta delivers tactical masterclass with William Saliba plan
Arsenal were without Martin Zubimendi for the first time this season as they took on Slavia Prague in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.
The summer signing from Real Sociedad has been almost ever-present – in the Premier League and Champions League at least – playing the full 90 minutes in nine of the 13 matches across the two competitions.
Arsenal signed the 26-year-old in a £55million deal and he has already established himself as an integral cog in the Mikel Arteta machine at the Emirates Stadium.
Zubimendi does a lot of the hard work in the middle of the park, picking the ball up from the defence and getting attacks started from deep, allowing the likes of Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze to get further forward.
Without him due to suspension, having picked up three yellow cards in three UEFA Champions League games prior to the trip to Czechia, fellow summer signing Christian Norgaard was called upon to fill the void.
Tactical genius
But it was something else Mikel Arteta did, particularly during the first half against Slavia, that was something of a tactical masterclass.
There was a stat going round in the first few minutes of the match that Arsenal had only managed a 53% passing success rate in the opening 10 to 12 minutes because of the extreme press Slavia employed to disrupt the Gunners’ play.
In response to that – or maybe it was the plan all along from Arteta – the Gunners boss pushed
centre-back William Saliba further forward.
Saliba could be seen regularly moving out of the back four, creating a back three instead, and become an auxiliary central midfielder.
That led to an overload in the middle of the park, allowing Arsenal to get round the home side’s press and get Arsenal on the front foot with more regularity than they managed in the opening exchanges. It also helped given Norgaard’s slight lack of technical skill on the ball, in comparison to Zubimendi, Odegaard and Eze.
Step up
The Gunners grew into the game as a result, taking a stranglehold on the match and securing a well-deserved victory thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka – from the penalty spot – and Mikel Merino.
Saliba stepped up when his team needed him most, with Zubimendi missing, and proved to be a decisive figure in the contest. Defender often have the most passes of any players on the pitch and can often have a very high success rate too, because of the nature of some of the passes being sideways or simple ones into midfielders. Saliba, however, enjoyed an 85% passing success rate with his 33 attempts and even played two balls into the final third.
The decision to allow him to move further forward was not at the detriment of his defensive duties either, with the Frenchman making six defensive contributions, two interceptions and three recoveries, as well as four clearances.
Sports
Tottenham Receive Official Offer for Richarlison
Tottenham have received an official offer to sell one of their players in the summer transfer window from one of the ‘big teams’ in Turkey.
We could see a host of players leave Spurs in the summer transfer window, with Roberto De Zerbi’s side looking to bring in a host of reinforcements.
Spurs have already confirmed the signings of Mateus Fernandes, Jan-Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, and Martin Dubravka, which could lead to a number of players leaving the club.
Midfielder Joao Palhinha has already confirmed that he won’t be remaining with Spurs next season after the North London club had an opportunity to sign him on a permanent deal following his loan spell.
Yves Bissouma also departs at the end of his contract, but further exits are likely.
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Tottenham Receive Official Offer
According to journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, Tottenham have received an official offer from one of the big sides in Turkey, likely meaning Fenerbahce, Besiktas or Galatasaray, for Brazilian forward Richarlison.
It’s unclear which team has submitted an offer for Richarlison or how much. Either way, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Spurs were willing to accept the deal.
Richarlison is unlikely to be the starting striker for Spurs heading into the new season. It wouldn’t be a surprise if De Zerbi’s men look to bring in a new centre-forward.
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Tottenham to Make Big Loss on Richarlison
Regardless of how much Tottenham have received in terms of the offer for Richarlison, they look set to make a huge loss on the Brazilian forward.
Richarlison, who will reportedly be allowed to leave this summer, made the move to Spurs from Everton back in 2022, signing a five-year deal after Tottenham paid £60 million.
Considering he has hardly set the world alight during his time in North London, it is going to be difficult for Tottenham to even get near that in terms of a sale.
It would be a shock to see Tottenham receive even £30 million for Richarlison. They may have to accept that they are going to make a huge loss in order to get him off the books.
Sports
Berhalter Slammed For Comments About USMNT Boss Pochettino
A former USMNT manager has gone viral this week after being called out for comments he made about Mauricio Pochettino following the USA’s 2-0 win over Bosnia in the World Cup Round of 32. The Stars and Stripes secured their first World Cup knockout victory since 2002 on Wednesday night.
Folarin Balogun – one of the standout performers at this summer’s tournament – played both hero and villain in Santa Clara. He scored the crucial opener to put his side in the driving seat, but then threw a spanner in the works for Pochettino and co. when he was shown a red card in the 64th minute. That left Mark Tillman to step up late on and double the co-hosts’ advantage.
After topping their group and recording back-to-back World Cup wins for the first time since 1930 with victories over Paraguay and Australia, the USA have well and truly caught football fever this summer. There’s a sense of optimism surrounding the team unlike anything seen before – but that doesn’t mean everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.
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Perhaps a little salty, Gregg Berhalter was unimpressed with Pochettino’s tactical set-up during the 2-0 victory over Bosnia, and believes superstar Christian Pulisic needs to be utilised more ahead of their Round of 16 tie vs Belgium.
Speaking on FanDuel’s Coaches Corner, which features Berhalter alongside fellow former coaches Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley, he was critical of the way the US was getting ‘Captain America’ involved. “I want to touch quickly on Christian, because I don’t know if you guys remember the first time he touched the ball in the game?” he asked the studio.
“It really came from us building in our shape, it was like a 3-1-6 (formation) almost. (Bosnia) are playing, as Bob, mentioned a 5-3-2. So they shifted over once to our three, but then on the next pass to our open center back, they’re released with a midfielder. When they did that, Antonee Robinson was high, Malik (Tillman) was high, Christian was wide and we played in the ball.
“Malik runs behind the back line and Christian cuts across the middle of the field like a knife – just accelerating across the field. That was a really dangerous attack.
I would have liked to see that more. Stay wide, get the ball, take the opponent on and have been have players running from there. I don’t think we did that enough. I don’t think there was enough intention to get Christian the ball in those positions to really set him loose.”
While Berhalter – who has sat in Pochettino’s seat on two separate occasions, between 2018 and 2022, and again between 2023 and 2024 – was just providing some analysis, as he was called upon to do, he has been destroyed by his former supporters after the video quickly went viral on social media.
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World Cup History Quiz
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Pochettino’s tactics are superior to those of the fired coach. That’s the opinion of a majority of USA fans right now, and so scrutiny towards the current manager’s predecessor has been swift, with one X user remarking: “Yes, let’s ask the guy who was fired for being bad at his job what we should’ve done,” as others pointed out that he “failed” to do what his heir has managed to do.”
“He needs to stay in his lane,” a third added, as a fourth wrote: “His opinion is irrelevant.” Elsewhere, a fifth brutally concluded: “If I were Greg Berhalter watching what’s happening right now I think I would be spending 100% of my time trying to make sure people don’t remember that I exist.”
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In his first spell in charge of the USA, Berhalter’s side reached the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and won the Concacaf Nations League Gold Cup in 2021, but his second spell lasted only 14 games. After a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay to knock them out of the Copa AMerica at the group-stage, he still claimed he was the right person to lead the team to the 2026 World Cup, but faced the axe instead.
Sports
Wrexham and Coventry Eyeing Move to Sign Everton’s Mark Travers
Coventry City and Wrexham are both interested in signing Everton goalkeeper Mark Travers in the summer transfer window, according to GIVEMESPORT sources, with his release clause now revealed.
Travers made the move to Everton last summer from Bournemouth, signing a four-year deal to keep him tied down until June 2029.
The Republic of Ireland international came in as the number two goalkeeper for Jordan Pickford, spending last season predominantly watching on from the bench.
Travers made just two appearances for the club last term, with both of those coming in the Carabao Cup.
With Pickford likely to remain the number one option between the sticks for the Toffees’ next campaign, it could be an opportunity for Travers to head through the exit door.
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Duo Eyeing Everton Goalkeeper
According to GIVEMESPORT sources, both Coventry City and Wrexham are showing an interest in signing Everton goalkeeper Travers in the summer transfer window.
Travers is believed to have a release clause in his contract worth around £4m, meaning Everton have no say in allowing him to depart if either of the clubs decide to pay that figure.
The Republic of Ireland international arrived at Everton for a fee believed to be in the region of £4m, according to the Liverpool Echo, meaning Everton are likely to make their money back if they do offload him.
Despite showing an interest in signing Travers this summer, GIVEMESPORT understands that Coventry’s top target remains Brighton goalkeeper Karl Rushworth.
The 25-year-old spent last season on loan at Coventry, helping Frank Lampard’s side gain promotion to the Premier League.
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Exit Could be Beneficial to Travers
At the age of 27, it could be time for Travers to go out and play regular first-team football.
The former Bournemouth goalkeeper is going to struggle to displace Pickford in Everton’s starting 11, so a move to a club where he is going to play regularly would be smart.
If Coventry fail with a move to sign Rushworth this summer, then joining Lampard’s side could see him become a regular first-team player.
That would give Travers the opportunity to become a number one in the Premier League, something he has struggled to do consistently in his career.
The 27-year-old has played 24 times in the Premier League, never making more than 12 appearances in the top flight in one season.
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