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Lacazette shines in a deeper role; Are you in contention for the North London Derby?
When Alexandre Lacazette threw the ball from 30 meters past goalkeeper Richard Strebinger, it was a moment of euphoria as the Frenchman celebrated with the returning Arsenal fans.
There was probably some relief there too, as the coup ended a 488-minute streak without a goal in all competitions.
While the goal will have given the 29-year-old a huge boost, it was his performance in a deeper role that would have given Mikel Arteta a lot to think about ahead of Sunday’s North London derby.
“He played a good game in that position,” Arteta said after the 4-1 win over Rapid Vienna. “It suits him well. He’s very good at linking the game, he worked hard and scored a beautiful goal. It’s great to have him on the scoresheet and a very good individual performance as well.”
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Arsenal fans said it was ‘good to be back’ at the Emirates for their Europa League win over Rapid Vienna, as 2,000 fans were able to attend a home game for the first time in nine months.
In the 63 minutes that Lacazette was on the pitch, he looked sharp and pulled the strings for Arsenal. It was his pass from deep that released Nicolas Pepe in preparation for Eddie Nketiah’s goal. The Frenchman could have added more to his own goal tally had it not been for a good save from Strebinger and the outside of the post.
He looked like a different Lacazette than we’ve seen in the Premier League so far this season, and with Arsenal’s creativity issues in the league well documented, he might as well provide the answer to Arteta. Playing behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, he can even provide the spark that his teammate has been missing so far this season.
Tottenham will be a tougher proposition than Rapid Vienna provided, but his excellent display will undoubtedly boost confidence ahead of the trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Oliver Yew in the Emirates
Arsenal fixtures
Sunday, December 5: Tottenham (a)
Thursday, December 10: Dundalk (a)
Sunday, December 13: Burnley (h)
Wed Dec 16: Southampton (h)
Saturday December 19: Everton (a)
Here we go again with the Spurs fringe players
Despite eight changes from Saturday’s draw at Chelsea, it seemed the Spurs’ starting lineup, which leads the table, would have, on paper at least, more than enough to deal with a Lask team humiliated 7-8. 1 overall by Manchester United in last season’s Europa League.
With a Premier League-winning goalkeeper between the sticks, one of the world’s most expensive players in attack and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Tanguy Ndombele, two of Tottenham’s best players this season, all starting, the point the team needed José Mourinho seemed a relative formality.
Mourinho had moved into his second team after their defeat in Antwerp two games ago, but he couldn’t help but be impressed with Ludogorets’ 4-0 demolition last week.
Back to square one, then, when Spurs held on to a point in Austria, with the commitment and intensity of the hosts more than matching the seemingly superior skill of the visiting Premier League.
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Harry Kane was not involved in Tottenham’s Europa League game with LASK Linz on Thursday, but manager José Mourinho believes the forward will face Arsenal again in the North London derby on Sunday.
Mourinho held back a bit this time. “The only good thing I get from the game is that we are qualified,” he told reporters after the game, but 16 years after he first moved to these shores, we know exactly what that means.
But he was even more explicit when later asked what he had learned Thursday night. “Nothing new really. The fact that the Europa League group stage doesn’t motivate some of the players, I knew … The players know it and I share my feelings with them, I’m usually right.
“When I saw the warm-up before the game, I had a feeling and told the players before the game that there was a big difference in intensity, communication and enthusiasm in their warm-up and in our warm-up because I was watching both. Nothing surprises me.”
After the defeat in Antwerp, he said his players had made life “very easy” for him by choosing a starting lineup for Tottenham’s next game, and selected only four of those 11 in Austria on Thursday. But after another chance to impress was largely wasted, the number of players you really trust may be less than ever.
Ron Walker
Tottenham fixtures
Sunday December 6: Arsenal (at home)
Thursday, December 10: Antwerp (h)
Sunday, December 13: Crystal Palace (a)
Wed Dec 16: Liverpool (a)
Sunday December 20: Leicester (h)
Arfield reborn in Rangers with Gerrard
The Rangers’ determination continues to show no limits. On Thursday, they extended their unbeaten streak to 24 games in all competitions with Scott Arfield once again coming to the fore when they beat Standard Liege to reserve their spot in the Europa League round of 32.
A key reason Steven Gerrard’s team has come to December without a blemish on their record has been the resurgence of Arfield, reborn at Ibrox and a role model for his teammates. Gerrard praised the midfielder for his contribution to the victory of the match, making it impossible to leave him out.
“It’s inside … it’s inside,” the Rangers chief repeated to BT sport. “If you play like him every day, you stay on the team. We will have to take care of him sometimes, but Scott has his merits.”
It’s remarkable to think of the progress the former Burnley player has made after a difficult preseason, but he now has seven goals to his name this season.
Arfield added: “We are thriving and I am one of the pillars right now in this team, but the moment you think you are going to play every game, it is when someone takes your shirt off. It is the mentality that the coach has established. from day one and it’s the mentality I’ve always had as a player. Everyone on this team has the same mentality. “
Combining the right attitude with undoubted quality, the opposition will be eager to avoid the Rangers in the knockout stages.
Ben grounds
Rangers Schedule
Sunday December 6: Ross County (a)
Thursday, December 10: Lech Poznan (a)
Sunday, December 13: Dundee United
Wed Dec 16: St Mirren (a)
Saturday December 19: Motherwell (h)
Ndidi shines, Ricardo returns, Soyuncu reversed
Although Leicester still needed to secure the top spot in Group G, the main objective of their trip to eastern Ukraine would have been to help Ricardo Pereira, Caglar Soyuncu and Wilfred Ndidi into the first team group.
It was a mixed night in that sense.
Leicester was asked to defend a lot in the early stages and perhaps overwork was the reason that caused Soyuncu’s injury in the 16th minute. It seemed like a fairly simple defense, but he immediately pointed to the bench holding his groin when he reappeared a recurrence of the injury that kept him out for eight weeks.
Best news with Ricardo, who played 45 minutes, and Ndidi.
“He is one of the best full-backs in European football,” Brendan Rodgers said of Ricardo’s return. And while there weren’t the usual wild runs we’ve come to expect of him, he received good defensive training on his first outing for nine months after a serious knee injury. This was a good starting point for him, but there are still a few weeks left to start in the Premier League and Luke Thomas replaced him at halftime.
Meanwhile, Ndidi reentered as if she had never been absent. A perfect example came in the 25th minute when a dangerous attack was broken up with a typically robust challenge but right in midfield. Not much of the overall midfield happened in his 55 minutes of action. Rodgers must be tempted to pitch it early on against Sheffield United, live on Sky Sports on Super Sunday.
Lewis jones
Sunday, December 6 2:00 pm
Start 2:15 pm
Leicester fixtures
Sunday December 6: Sheff Utd (a)
Thursday, December 10: AEK Athens (a)
Sunday, December 13: Brighton (h)
Wed Dec 16: Everton (h)
Sunday December 20: Tottenham (a)
Positive for Celtic, but defense is a problem again
There is a lot of gloom and gloom around Celtic right now, but there were rays of light at the San Siro. The visitors took a 2-0 lead with two well-scored goals from Tom Rogic and Odsonne Edouard. Celtic may be struggling right now, but they pounced on Milan’s defensive mistakes and made them pay.
The problem is that Milan did the same and there were many more.
Ryan Christie fouled out unnecessarily to concede Hakan Calhanoglu’s free kick expertly fired home. There was no denying the quality of the delivery, it was world class, but Vasilis Barkas had to at least try to cross to save it. He just saw it land in the bottom corner.
There were five players on the court ahead of Samu Castillejo when he scored the tying goal, and Jens Petter Hauge outscored the Celtic defense on Milan’s next two goals, exposing their shortcomings and exploiting their lack of confidence.
But Celtic had another hot run between the two second-half goals and arguably should have scored another. Jeremie Frimpong, Celtic’s most creative attacking outlet, stepped in and Christie pulled off a sensational save from Gianluigi Donnarumma with a free kick nearly identical to Calhanoglu’s. The difference was the quality that Milan has in its goalkeeper.
Neil Lennon returned to the drawing board, but there were positives and some backlash after the Scottish League Cup defeat on Sunday, although it was not the victory fans were hoping for.
Now all your attention should be on the Scottish Premiership, starting with St Johnstone out this weekend.
Charlotte Marsh
Celtic fixtures
Sunday December 6: St Johnstone (h)
Thursday, December 10: Sparta Prague (a)
Sunday, December 13: Kilmarnock (h)
Wed Dec 23: Ross County (h)
Saturday, December 26: Academic Hamilton (h)
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