Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur: how the players rated - Telegraph.co.uk

Per Mertesacker 7

Made a good early block to deny Soldado and began the build-up to Giroud's goal with an important tackle on Chadli, as the Spurs winger threatened to break through.

Laurent Koscielny 6

Returned from a one-match domestic ban and was a solid presence in the Arsenal back line. Set the tone by snuffing out a dangerous early burst from Townsend down Arsenal's left.

Kieran Gibbs 6

Was exposed at times defensively, particularly by the pace of Townsend, but he really grew into the game and was a useful outlet for Arsenal on the left.

Aaron Ramsey 8

Missed a really good opportunity in the first half, ballooning over from 16 yards when dangerously placed, but he broke the play up magnificently and drove the Gunners midfield forward.

Jack Wilshere 6

Wilshere had looked strong in the centre of midfield before being forced off in the first half. The good news for Arsenal and England was that his early departure was down to illness, rather than injury.

Tomas Rosicky 7

By the time he was withdrawn late in the match, his impact had diminished, but he was heavily involved in the first half and set Walcott free with a nicely-weighted pass in the build-up to the goal.

Santi Cazorla 7

A creative menace who was at the heart of so much of Arsenal's good work in the first half. Proved an elusive target for Spurs, who struggled to get to grips with him.

Theo Walcott 8

His speed was a constant problem for the Tottenham backline. Got a lot of joy from running in behind them, including for Giroud's goal, for which he supplied the cross.

Olivier Giroud 7

Has now scored in all three of Arsenal's Premier League games this season. Showed the sort of predatory instincts for his goal that Arsenal forwards have so long been accused of lacking.

Substitutes:

Mathieu Flamini for Wilshere (43 mins) A tenacious display that helped overcome the loss of Wilshere. Booked for a strong challenge on Rose 7

Nacho Monreal for Rosicky (79 mins)

Bacary Sagna for Walcott (90 mins)

-----------------------------------------

Tottenham Hotspur

Hugo Lloris 8

Made a string of excellent saves to keep Spurs in the match, and also produced an accomplished sliding tackle out of his area to deny Walcott. Could do little for the goal.

Kyle Walker 6

Overlapped well with Townsend down the right, nearly setting up a goal for Soldado. The majority of Spurs' defensive troubles came on the other side of the pitch.

Michael Dawson 5

Partly at fault for Giroud's goal, allowing the forward to get across him far too easily, although it was an episode in which many of his colleagues were also culpable.

Jan Vertonghen 5

Won't be pleased with his role in the goal, as he failed to track Walcott's run in behind, and did not look as comfortable throughout as you would normally expect.

Danny Rose 5

Drawn out of position all too easily for the goal, and struggled to cope with Walcott. Was a better option when he got forward down Spurs' left-hand side.

Etienne Capoue 6

Was wasteful at times in the first-half, losing control of the ball far too easily. His day was ended early when he suffered a nasty-looking injury that required him to be carried off.

Paulinho 6

Promises to be a fine signing, and was accomplished on the ball here, but he could never quite influence Tottenham's midfield in the way Andre Villas-Boas would have liked.

Andros Townsend 7

A threatening presence down Tottenham's right, he gave Gibbs a hard time at left back in the first-half. Spurs might feel they didn't take advantage of that matchup well enough.

Mousa Dembele 6

One of many players in the Spurs midfield who looked powerful and solid, but, like his colleagues, was not able to provide a great deal in terms of creativity.

Nacer Chadli 6

Tormented Jenkinson early on, turning the Arsenal left back inside and out on occasions, but that early promise came to nothing, as his influence dulled as the match wore on.

Roberto Soldado 6

A quiet afternoon for the striker, who showed signs of frustration at times. Might have had better luck, had it not been for important close-range blocks from Mertesacker and Giroud in either half.

Substitutes:

Jermain Defoe for Dembele (69 mins) Went close to equalising with a deflected shot, only for Szczesny to deny him 6

Sandro for Capoue (75 mins) 6

Eric Lamela for Townsend (75 mins) 6

Liverpool v Manchester United: Anfield club remain a work in progress under ... - Telegraph.co.uk

First, I like the formation – and how fluid it is. They practise lots of rotation, with players popping up all over the place, but they also have a firm structure at the back, with Lucas sitting in front of the back four.

They look secure. I have been impressed also with the new goalkeeper, Simon Mignolet, who looks a safe pair of hands. The way they are trying to play is very forward thinking.

Rodgers looks a shrewd judge of a player. Bringing in Daniel Sturridge was a masterstroke. The inevitable question followed him to Anfield: if he was so good, why were Chelsea letting him go – and why was he sent to Bolton on loan – but he has been a resounding success. Every time I have watched him I have been impressed.

Sturridge would doubtless prefer to play straight through the middle. But with Philippe Coutinho and Iago Aspas also there he is also encouraged to go wider when necessary and swap positions. It comes back to that fluidity. These players find pockets here and there and I wonder how much defenders dislike having to play against them. The first-half performance against Stoke was as good as I have seen from Liverpool in a long time. They could have scored a dozen times.

My reservation is that they have dominated teams in first halves and gone in at the break 1-0 up. Against Stoke they played some fabulous stuff but relied on a penalty save in the last few minutes to get the three points.

That cannot happen every week. We saw it as well against Aston Villa, where they scraped through 1-0. They need a bit more of a killer instinct. They need to score more goals. Although it looks pretty they need to convert more chances than they currently do.

Coutinho is another in the bargain bracket. Again, there is scepticism when Inter Milan let a player go – and not for huge money, in this case £8.5? million. You wonder why Liverpool are buying in that price range.

Surely they should be spending £20 million or £30 million on the top players around Europe? Aspas, from Celta Vigo for £9?million, is another with that kind of valuation. Yet Rodgers has clearly spotted something in these players and now we have seen it too.

On the subject of fluidity, the first Liverpool side I played in was built around Steve McManaman. Wherever there was a weakness in the opposing team, Macca had that free role to go and hurt them, with Robbie Fowler and me to complete the damage.

When Gerard Houllier arrived we were a lot more structured, playing 3-5-2 under Roy Evans, and then everyone knowing their specific jobs under Gerard, with a largely fixed shape. The game has changed. The top teams are now very fluid in the forward areas, with players arriving from all angles and areas. Often you struggle to write down the precise formation.

Liverpool do have one mega-valuable player to add to the mix, of course. Luis Suárez is probably grateful that Gareth Bale and Wayne Rooney have taken the transfer spotlight off him in recent days. There is a confidence, a stubbornness about Suárez, that enables him to block out distractions and jog out on to that pitch with only the game in his mind. I would expect him to return to the side without any problems.

Then the question becomes Liverpool's forward line, and whether Suárez will go back to playing straight down the centre, with Sturridge alongside him, and Aspas perhaps dropping out. They will certainly have to tweak it when he returns.

So there is progress in plenty of areas at Liverpool, but if they are going to step up and beat Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United then something will need to change. The owners will have to dig deep again.

Everyone has the right to be the best they can
Going out in Manchester I would not expect to encounter any hostility. In Liverpool I could not be sure that a trip to the shops or a restaurant would end without someone having a go at me. But I have been to Anfield three times this season and heard only one comment along the lines of: 'I bet you wish you hadn't left.' Otherwise it has been mostly handshakes and autographs.

The mentality changes when people are in groups. Individually they tend to be fine, but if you find yourself standing in front of one of the stands and one person shouts something then others tend to join in. Liverpool people in the inner sanctum – the stewards and club officials – have all been great with me, very welcoming.

I would never have moved from one of these great clubs straight to the other, but when you then move abroad, as I did, to Real Madrid, the tribalism fades in your head.

You look more at your own career and no longer see it through the eyes of a supporter. Growing up, I wanted to play for Everton, and would never have imagined myself playing for both Liverpool and Man United.

But football takes you along some unexpected paths. Everyone has the right to make the best of their career and play for the best clubs.

Liverpool 1 Manchester United 0: match report - Telegraph.co.uk

Liverpool have added other ­defenders, Mamadou Sakho and Tiago llori, but that Skrtel-Agger axis will take some breaking.

Liverpool's supreme work-rate also underpinned the movement of Sturridge, who harried Manchester United's defenders relentlessly and took his early goal superbly on his 24th birthday. Shankly memorably advised Ian St??John to put the ball in the net first "and then we'll discuss the options afterwards", an approach that defined Sturridge's instinctive header.

The second element of the holy trinity, Brendan Rodgers, got his tactics right, using a 4-2-3-1 system with Gerrard and Lucas commanding central midfield. Rodgers's tweaking of Gerrard's position is paying off. At 33, Gerrard is slightly deeper than in his barnstorming pomp but remains a huge influence. Tom Cleverley resembled an apprentice in comparison to the master.

Rodgers's pressing game unsettled United while he has clearly been drilling the defence successfully. The one negative was Iago Aspas, the No?9 who looked overwhelmed by the manic nature of the most important fixture in the English calendar.

Rodgers is making Liverpool feared again, making the "This is Anfield" sign put up by Shankly even more of a statement of intent. "This is to remind our lads who they're playing for and to remind the opposition who they're playing against,'' Shankly had said of the sign above the steps en route from the dressing-room to the pitch.

When Rodgers's players emerged on to the field, they were greeted rapturously. The most numerous section of the holy trinity, the fans, certainly played their part, forming a mosaic of Shankly on the Kop, exhorting Liverpool throughout and finishing with a deafening You'll Never Walk Alone as old foe were defeated.

United's August was always going to be arduous. David Moyes never has any joy here and this was the former Everton manager's 13th visit without a win.

Moyes spoke afterwards of his pleasure in his team's display, but this was surely the old Sir Alex Ferguson trick of shielding the players from gusts of criticism. It is hoped that Moyes is more candid with his players in private. Too many individual mistakes scarred their performance.

These are early days in Moyes's tenure, far too soon for any ­judgments, but he needs to inject some life into the flanks again, where Ashley Young was unconvincing, and particularly spend quickly and heavily to install urgency, authority and creativity into central midfield. Marouane Fellaini cannot arrive from Goodison Park soon enough. Shinji Kagawa must wonder what he must to do to convince Moyes that he can bring some vibrancy to the final third.

Van Persie laboured without any service of note. Moyes was unlucky that Rooney, the man who can provide touch and vision, was absent, having had his forehead accidentally sliced open in training by Phil Jones.

Roy Hodgson looked slightly forlorn at times at Anfield on Sunday, learning that Rooney was out of the World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine, and then seeing Jones and Glen Johnson limp off and out of his squad. Shoehorned into the scouts' section, Hodgson was not sitting comfortably, partly because a clerical error by Liverpool meant he was denied access to the directors' box and the boardroom.

It will have crossed Hodgson's mind that this could have been some form of revenge by someone at the club for his unsuccessful stint here as manager. Hodgson briefly considered leaving at half-time but eventually stayed for 85 minutes. Liverpool, whose American owners are big on etiquette, apologised "profusely" to Hodgson and were clearly embarrassed by the oversight.

One Liverpool fan mused on whether Hodgson "should apologise to us for Poulsen and Konchesky" but this was a time for Liverpool to honour a past manager in Shankly and salute the current one in Rodgers.

His team started strongly, scoring after four minutes. Gerrard curled a corner across, Rio Ferdinand was too sluggish and Agger angled a header towards the far-post. Sturridge intervened, meeting the ball, heading it past Cleverley on the line. Cleverley, anticipating the direction of Agger's header, failed to react to Sturridge's interception, almost ducking out of the way.

Liverpool largely controlled the first half, particularly when the ball was enjoying the company of the elegant Coutinho. The Brazilian glided around Cleverley but shot wide. Gerrard went close with a shot and a free-kick. For United, Danny Welbeck momentarily worried Mignolet.

The fixture's usual hand-bagging broke out. Van Persie and Agger had a staring match. Van Persie and Giggs took it in turns to bring down Coutinho. Cleverley clattered Coutinho. Van Persie nailed Agger with a late challenge in front of an enraged Kop. The sour atmosphere continued with Michael Carrick catching Aspas and the half ending with Van Persie accusing Skrtel of an elbow and Liverpool claiming a punch thrown.

The second half was an advertisement for United's shortage of ideas and Liverpool's abundance of defensive excellence. Van Persie and Young had shots blocked and Mignolet made a good save from Nani. Down the other end, Raheem Sterling was denied by David De Gea and, shortly afterwards, the final whistle confirmed Liverpool's victory and brought an unbelievable roar from the Kop.

Shankly would have approved.

Liverpool v Manchester United: Steven Gerrard claims he has no regrets about ... - Telegraph.co.uk

"How can I leave after a night like this?" an exuberant Gerrard hollered into the television cameras on that astonishing night in Istanbul when the Champions League was won in 2005. He has not thought about leaving since even if it was an agonising decision.

That triumph means even more to Gerrard because he won it with Liverpool, the club he has served all his career. "This is where I'm going to live the rest of my life," Gerrard says.

"These are the people that are important to me. When it came down to my crunch decision, it was basically: 'Do I want to win more trophies at Chelsea or another club?

"Or do I want to win less but win medals that mean more to me?' I could have moved. I could have earned more money. I could have had a better chance of winning the league, the Champions League. But I am absolutely happy with my decision. I've no regrets."

Gerrard does not want Suárez to have any regrets either and he says he knows his team-mate's motivation is about glory "not money".

The link to Liverpool, for a man born in Salto, Uruguay, rather than Whiston, Merseyside, is not as strong. But, as Gerrard points out: "Surely Luis Suárez wants to walk away from this club with his head held high and clapped out, rather than fall out with fans?"

Wayne Rooney, a close friend of Gerrard's, had a similarly tense stand-off with Manchester United this summer. Both Liverpool and United — who meet today at Anfield — took a hard-line stance, especially to the notion of selling to a Premier League rival. Just as Liverpool said 'no' to Arsenal, so United did not budge over Chelsea's persistent approaches.

"I think it was important for the game, for English football, that a lot of clubs have stood firm," Gerrard says. "People always talk about player power and stuff like that and players have got to realise there's a loyalty people have to pay back to clubs at certain times. Luis has got to openly admit this club have stood behind him on a couple of massive occasions and they've rewarded him with new contracts as well. I think he's got to stop and realise that the club have been fair to him.

"The support the fans have given him has been phenomenal. They haven't once jeered him or tried to push him out or fell out with him. They absolutely idolise him so surely he wants to go out with his head held high and go to a Real Madrid, or a Barcelona, or Bayern Munich? He could walk into any side in the world."

The speculation, the distraction, the attention can take its toll, however, as Gerrard knows from his own experience. It can affect a player's focus with friends, family and agents all wanting a piece of him. Suárez remains suspended for biting Branislav Ivanovic in April, taking him away from that limelight – something of an unexpected blessing – but Gerrard has been impressed by Rooney's response, and his performance against Chelsea last Monday.

"He was the best player on the pitch," he says. "I know Wayne, the character. I've been in that situation myself when there's speculation swirling around you. Of course – it does affect you. It's in every paper, on every TV channel you put on. But I think Wayne's experienced enough to cope with that type of attention.

"He's always had attention on him since he was 16 and if he's playing on Sunday there's no doubt in my mind he can play well, because he's a top player. But I think Manchester United have had a touch if he stays, because I think he'll be wanting to break records very soon and I think he'll have a fantastic season for them, which is not very good news for everyone else in the Premier League."

Still, Liverpool, whose vibrant young team is evolving quickly under manager Brendan Rodgers, have made their best start in five years. They have secured two straight victories, to follow on from the fine run of form at the end of last season when they were again without Suárez as he started his ban.

"I think Luis was so good when he was playing that it was natural the media and fans said we're a one-man team, because Luis was playing unbelievably. At times we were a one-man team," Gerrard says. "But results have been good since he's been out of the team. That's not because he's been out, it's because everybody has shared the responsibility.

"We'll get judged in games like Sunday and there's no doubt about it, I'd love to have Luis Suárez available, he's that good a player and he certainly strengthens this XI and this squad. So hopefully we get the transfer window out of the way and he's still here. That's my hope anyway."

Victory today and it would help close that gap to United and fuel belief that Liverpool can finish in the top four, once again.

"That would be a dream for me, to lead this team out again [in the Champions League]," Gerrard says.

It would also help convince Suárez to stay, beyond that one more year.

Liverpool's Gerrard tells Luis Suarez: Give us one more year then join Real ... - Mirror.co.uk

Steven Gerrard has told Luis Suarez that he is too big for Arsenal.

The Kop skipper became a confidante for the Uruguayan striker when he was trying to force through his departure from Anfield this summer.

Liverpool stood firm in the face of a £40,000,001 bid from the Gunners that sparked fury at the Merseyside club.

And although Gerrard knows from ­experience how a player can have his head turned, having twice been on the brink of leaving Liverpool to join ­Chelsea, he does not think a move to the Emirates would have been a step up for ­Suarez.

Gerrard said: "I didn't ever think Luis would leave – well, not to another English club anyway.

"I don't want to disrespect Arsenal, because they are a fantastic club, but I don't see joining them as being a step forward for Luis.

"There are only really two or three clubs he should leave this football club for if he is taking a step forward.

"If we don't qualify for the ­Champions League this ­season he can go to Real Madrid, ­Barcelona or Bayern Munich – and he can go with his head held high.

"The one thing I can assure you, it's not about money with Luis Suarez."

Gerrard added: "I understand we're a little bit off the Champions League here at the moment, but I think he would ruin the relationship he has got with the supporters here if he went to another ­English club.

"I saw what happened to Fernando Torres. I didn't want Luis to make the same mistake and that's the advice I gave him. He'll have another chance to move forward to a club that he deserves to be at."

Suarez will miss the clash with Manchester United today as he serves the final three games of a 10-match ban for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic last season.

And Gerrard believes that the Liverpool No 7 will learn from the inner torment he ­suffered when it came to ­rejecting Chelsea in 2004 and 2005.

He said: "It was all about whether I wanted to win more trophies with Chelsea or ­another club, or whether I was content to win less with Liverpool knowing that those trophies would mean more."

 

Arsenal must be competing for more than a top-four place, insists Carl Jenkinson - Telegraph.co.uk

Consistency, however, needs support and depth in a squad. Arsenal's lack of investment – with no signings up until this weekend apart from young French striker Yaya Sanogo and the return of Mathieu Flamini for free – has dimmed optimism especially as Spurs have completed a seventh high-profile transfer, that of Ajax's Christian Eriksen.

The understandable perception is that Arsenal have stood still, despite their promises to spend up to £70?million and a raft of high-profile names being linked, while Spurs have rearmed.

And, of course, the two sides meet on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium with Arsenal also affected by an injury crisis that has claimed Lukas Podolski as well as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mikel Arteta.

Resources are stretched with Jenkinson a likely starter at right-back as Bacary Sagna continues as a makeshift central defender.

"It means an awful lot to me. It is a massive game," Jenkinson says of this encounter.

"It is the first game I look for when the fixture list comes out at the start of the season. I shall be spreading this message throughout the dressing room, in terms of how important it is.

"You don't have to be here long and experience one to realise how important this is to the fans.

"Like I said, I have grown up supporting the club and know the importance of these games. I spread the message and so do the other boys.

"The boys need to be aware of the importance of what it means. That won't be an issue.

"[Last season] It was fantastic. There was an edge as we beat Spurs to fourth place.

"We are in the Champions League and that is where we want to be. We went on a fantastic run at the end of last season and it was great.

"There was a point we realised we would not compete for the title and we wanted to ensure we were playing Champions League football. It was a massive battle to get there and it meant an awful lot to us."

There is hope that the one advantage Arsenal might have, beyond their experience of finishing ahead of their north London neighbours, is that the changes at Spurs may take time to settle down. Almost a new team has been bought, wholly from overseas.

"We have won a lot of games lately, if you include the end of last season," Jenkinson said.

"But Spurs have signed some great players and we cannot kid ourselves. We have to be aware of that."

Arsenal 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0: match report - Telegraph.co.uk

With Bale's world record move to Real Madrid set to be concluded before Monday evening's transfer deadline, Spurs have embarked on a frenzied spending spree.

Villas-Boas has splashed out over £100 million on seven players and four of those new arrivals, Roberto Soldado, Paulinho, Etienne Capoue and Nacer Chadli, were in the starting line-up at the Emirates.

But, with little time to gel, Tottenham lacked cohesion and unity in their first serious test of the post-Bale era.

Spurs were under duress from the start and Santi Cazorla's free-kick brought a fine save from Hugh Lloris with just two minutes gone.

Arsenal were playing with an intuitive understanding their rivals badly missed and they took the lead in the 23rd minute with the kind of immaculately constructed goal that makes Wenger's teams such a joy to watch when they hit top gear.

An Aaron Ramsey pass located Tomas Rosicky in space on the right of midfield and the Czech veteran quickly shifted possession onto Walcott, who surged into the penalty area and whipped over a low cross that French striker Giroud, fatally granted too much space by Michael Dawson, met with a superb flicked finish past Lloris from close-range.

There was no let-up from Arsenal and Ramsey showed tremendous determination to fight his way past Mousa Dembele before slipping a pass into Walcott, whose shot was pushed away by Lloris.

Lloris was then forced to race out of his area to make a last-ditch tackle on Walcott as the England winger surged clear of Tottenham's alarmingly flat-footed defence.

Walcott crashed to the turf, drawing inevitable Arsenal appeals for Lloris's dismissal, but referee Michael Oliver waved play on and replays showed he got the decision spot on.

Deprived of Bale's blistering pace and lethal finishing, this was a Tottenham side sorely lacking inspiration.

Chadli, Paulinho and Capoue were lacklustre in midfield, while Soldado was starved of service up front.

The loss of England midfielder Jack Wilshere, forced off just before half-time due to an illness, gave Mathieu Flamini the chance for his second debut after returning to Arsenal on a free transfer and offered Spurs hope of a second half fightback.

But it was Arsenal who remained the more potent force and Giroud went close when his shot deflected wide off Danny Rose.

Villas-Boas sent on Argentine forward Eric Lamela for his debut following his move from Roma in the closing stages, while Capoue was stretchered off wearing an oxygen mask after falling awkwardly.

Tottenham finally threatened an equaliser when Wojciech Szczesny pushed Jermain Defoe's deflected strike out to Soldado and the Spaniard lashed in a shot that drew rejected penalty claims for a handball by Carl Jenkinson.

That was the signal for Spurs to throw bodies forward in the frantic final minutes, but Arsenal held firm to inflict their neighbours' first defeat of the season.