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Lots of Arsenal fans have been lauding Mesut Ozil for his ‘brilliant’ performance against Liverpool, despite the Gunners losing the Carabao Cup clash on penalties.

Ozil featured in Unai Emery’s starting line-up for time first time since the Third Round win over Nottingham Forest when he played at Anfield, having been omitted from the matchday squad on the six occasions across all competitions in between.

The German’s recall sparked a performance one fan has since described as unlocking one of the best defences in the Premier League, after the £350,000-per-week midfielder offered a creative presence the Gunners have lacked ‘for ages’.

Watch the moment Granit Xhaka’s Arsenal career may have come to an ugly end in the video below…

While only being credited with the assist for Arsenal’s fourth of the night, Ozil had a hand in three of the Gunners’ five strikes at Anfield, with his incredible flick feeding Bukayo Saka before playing a hand in Lucas Torreira’s equaliser and a later quick free-kick to Ainsley Maitland-Niles creating Gabriel Martinelli’s first.

The 6 foot playmaker was clearly not short of confidence following his lengthy spell out of the side, as he completed 94% of his 36 passes – more than any other Arsenal player.

Emery hooked the 31-year-old in the 65th-minute, though, and later insisted the decision came as part of a pre-arranged strategy but could offer Ozil another outing against Wolves at the weekend.

Here are some of the messages shared on Ozil’s performance at Anfield…

You’d have to go back to 1974 to see the last time Manchester United were dumped from the English top flight, but given how they’re currently performing, there’s a very real chance we’ll see history repeat itself in 2020.Following their 1-0 defeat to Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United side on Sunday, the 20-time champions of England have slumped to just two points above the relegation zone where Everton, Norwich City and Watford are currently keeping the seats warm.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The concept of United suffering relegation seems fairly alien to most that have only ever experienced the wonder that was Sir Alex Ferguson and the success that he brought.

However, after years of unrest following his departure, and as they tail off in a new direction under one of the stars that helped develop the invincible façade, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, there’s a creeping feeling that maybe, just maybe, the unthinkable could happen at the “Theatre of Dreams.â€

Speaking to talkSPORT, former England manager Sam Allardyce recalled the last time the Red Devils dropped into the second tier and explains why he thinks there’s a chance they could suffer the same fate again…

Bold. Very bold indeed.

Crystal Palace welcome Manchester City to Selhurst Park this Saturday evening, where they’ll once again be hoping to give the Citizens a competitive game.

While Pep Guardiola’s side like to walk over teams, scoring ridiculous amounts of goals at times, Roy Hodgson has proved to be a difficult opponent for the Spaniard to overcome in recent meetings.

A 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park in the 2017/18 campaign – in which Luka Milivojevic missed a last-gasp penalty – was followed by a stunning 3-2 win for Palace at the Etihad Stadium last season, before a close 3-1 win for City in south London followed – that was the last meeting between the pair.

On that note, we think Hodgson should take inspiration from the aforementioned 3-2 win in regards to his team selection this weekend…

In that 3-2 win, the former England manager opted to pad his midfield out with four centre-midfield players and Andros Townsend (scorer of a Puskas nominee in that game).

Max Meyer started on the left of midfield, James McArthur on the right, with Milivojevic and Jeffrey Schlupp in the middle – Wilfried Zaha was alone up top.

The south Londoners had just five shots and 21.7% of the ball in total, but as the Eagles have already shown this season, they don’t need a load of goals to win games – they have scored just eight in eight games but sit in 6th.

On that day, packing out the midfield did the trick and allowed for the unit as a whole to remain organised, with pace on the break in Zaha, Schlupp and Townsend to pose the occasional problem for City.

Contrastingly, in the 3-1 defeat at Selhurst Park in the reverse fixture, Hodgson started Christian Benteke. The Belgian’s height allowed for long balls to be played if wanted, but he doesn’t possess the pace to cause issues in behind and City won quite comfortably, albeit after a nervy last 10 minutes.

It may have been a once-in-a-lifetime result last season in Manchester, but Hodgson should take inspiration from the game plan that day and look to utilise it once again.

[ad_pod ]Let’s face it, Manchester United are rubbish at the moment.We thought we’d seen it all last season when Jose Mourinho’s third season curse struck the club with a vengeance, but we hadn’t. Not even close.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may have been happily sat at the wheel when he first arrived, guiding the club on an eleven game unbeaten run, however since that dream night in Paris, the tyres of whatever vehicle he was driving have been stolen, the engine has burnt out, the springs are popping out of the seats and Ed Woodward has been sat in the back the entire time repeatedly asking if they are there yet.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Sunday’s 2-0 defeat against West Ham United at the London Stadium means the Red Devils haven’t won a single competitive game away from home since February. Now, with just two wins in six games, they are officially worse off at this stage in the season than they were under Mourinho, who received his p45 in December after a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool.

The Portuguese had his say on the “sad reality” at his former home…

It is now seven games in a row unbeaten for Arsenal in all competitions.

It comes as a bit of a surprise, certainly considering some of the flak manager Unai Emery has taken in recent weeks. But it is true all the same.

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The latest match of that run came against Standard Liege on Thursday night in the Europa League. The Gunners were 4-0 winners, with Gabriel Martinelli – twice – Joe Willock and Dani Ceballos grabbing the goals.

The fixture also saw a second start of the season for Kieran Tierney since the 22-year-old joined the north London outfit from Celtic in the summer. He has been unable to feature regularly due to injury up until this point, but he now seems to be approaching full fitness.

Reacting to the match against the Belgian side, it seems the team’s supporters were delighted with the Scotland international’s performance.

They took to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

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Kurt Zouma returns from his one-match suspension for the Merseyside derby against Liverpool at Goodison Park on Sunday and could take his place in the starting XI, but he may have an unexpected issue to deal with.

On the chalkboard

The Chelsea loanee missed the 3-0 win against Cardiff City in Wales on Tuesday night as a result of his dismissal against Watford earlier this month, but the 24-year-old is available again for the massive derby clash with the Premier League title hopefuls.

While Phil Jagielka came in and kept a clean sheet against the Bluebirds alongside Michael Keane with Yerry Mina on the substitutes’ bench, it is the partnership between Zouma and Keane that has seemingly become Marco Silva’s preferred one.

Should the Frenchman get the nod at the weekend he may well have thought he would be competing against either Roberto Firmino or Mo Salah, but instead it could be Sadio Mane.

Tough opponent

Not many would have predicted that Jurgen Klopp would start the Senegal international through the middle against Watford on Wednesday in Firmino’s absence through injury, given the German had Salah, Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi to choose from.

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

However, that is exactly what he did and the former Southampton man impressed in the centre, scoring two goals in the opening 20 minutes of the 5-0 success against the Hornets.

Mane has the pace and sheer unpredictability that perhaps someone like Firmino doesn’t, and even if the Brazilian is back it is the African star that could keep the spot he excelled in during the week, considering he can also play behind the striker or out wide.

That isn’t good news for Zouma, as even though he can be relatively quick when he wants to be he may not have the mobility to deal with the twists and turns of the 26-year-old.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

West Brom are the only side in the Championship that remains unbeaten following their 1-1 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage – but that record wasn’t easy to keep hold of.

The home side took the lead early in the second half when Anthony Knockaert’s cross fooled Sam Johnstone in the Baggies net by dipping over him at the far post, but that was cancelled out late on by Semi Ajayi’s equaliser.

The defender headed home from a Matheus Pereira corner with Marcus Bettinelli being left to protest in spite after he believed Charlie Austin had fouled him during the build-up.

Albion’s young prospect Nathan Ferguson, primarily a right-back, stunned on debut at the start of the season winning the Man of the Match award.

This time he deputised in Kieran Gibbs’ absence on the left and put in a performance that will leave Slaven Bilic with a rather welcoming headache.

The 18-year-old already showed his versatility when playing for England’s Young Lions over the international break, featuring at centre-back, and his latest performance further proves how he can be a vital player in the Croatian’s defence.

He won all nine of his duels on top of five clearances. He also won three of five tackles, per SofaScore, all of which came while playing out of his regular position in unfamiliar territory.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Gibbs, the usual option on the left, has failed to find his feet this season – averaging the lowest rating of any player that has featured in five or more matches at 6.45.

He has won an average of just 0.4 aerial duels per game while recording a respectable 1.4 tackles per match.

There are over ten years between the two and Gibbs has even won honours with Arsenal, but Ferguson could well be the answer long-term.

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Tottenham Hotspur could yet move for a centre-back on deadline day…

What’s the word?

The north London outfit are closing in on the double swoop for Juventus duo Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski but it appears they may not be done just yet with hours left to go in the window.

That’s according to reliable Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor, who delivered an exciting claim to GIVEMESPORT today. He said:

“At centre-back, I believe – effectively – we could see a rabbit out of the hat. But that could hinge on outgoings.”

Much-needed addition

Spurs manager Antonio Conte is adding some solid depth to his Spurs squad in the aforementioned signings  – the Uruguay international adds a better option in the engine room with club-record flop Tanguy Ndombele on his way out, whilst the Swede offers a hugely versatile presence in the attack.

However, that isn’t enough if he’s to truly get the north London outfit back in the top four. The Italian head coach has already worked his magic, losing only one league game since his arrival in November, so just imagine what he could do with a couple more additions.

It’s thought that he requested signings in three priority positions, whilst there has always been suggestions of a desire to bolster his backline, where the likes of Davinson Sanchez and Japhet Tanganga have struggled to look the part in recent months.

Spurs have been linked to a number of options in the role, including Conte’s ex-Inter beast Stefan de Vrij, Milan’s arch-rival captain Alessio Romagnoli and sensationally, Juventus star Matthijs de Ligt, who sporting director Fabio Paratici has signed before.

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All three would be outstanding additions to Spurs’ squad but time is running out if they are to secure any one of them, if not any other central defender.

If the Lilywhites can land Conte a new colossus late on in the January transfer window, then both he and the fanbase will surely be absolutely buzzing.

AND in other news, Spurs eye club-record swoop BEFORE deadline, it’s Conte’s dream signing…

Southampton are reportedly in advanced talks over the potential signing of Brazilian attacking midfielder Tete as a free agent from Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk.

What’s the story?

According to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook, the Saints have held advanced discussions with the 22-year-old, on whom Premier League rivals Brentford and Leicester City are also keen, whilst the midfielder has received offers from AC Milan, Atalanta and Benfica.

The Daily Mail reported earlier this month that Brazilian players at Shakhtar Donetsk are looking to terminate their contracts with the Ukrainian outfit prematurely given Russia’s invasion of the country.

Tete is one of 12 Brazilians at Shakhtar and, at just 22 years of age, he certainly appears to be a bright prospect.

Hasenhuttl must secure Tete’s signature

It’s no secret that signing young players and developing them is in Southampton’s transfer blueprint under Ralph Hasenhuttl, as the acquisitions of Tino Livramento, Armando Broja and Kyle Walker-Peters have shown, and Tete certainly fits that bill.

The attacking midfielder already boasts a plethora of experience, having made a combined 27 appearances in both the Champions League and Europa League whilst playing 108 times for the Ukrainian giants, scoring 31 goals and setting up another 15 in that time.

Valued at £18m, the prospect of signing the midfielder, who prefers playing on the right flank, on a free transfer would certainly be a mouth-watering deal for the Saints, who are all but certain to compete in the top flight once again next season.

In fact, there is still a genuine possibility of Hasenhuttl’s side securing their first top-half finish in five years, as they sit 11th with nine league matches remaining.

The Saints struggled to score in the early stages of the season but the return of Stuart Armstrong has provided a major boost.

Since the Scotland international returned from a calf injury at the back end of 2021, Southampton have picked up 18 points in 12 league matches whilst also reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, showing how instrumental the 29-year-old has been for Hasenhuttl’s side.

There’s certainly competition for places in attacking midfield, with the likes of Nathan Redmond, Mohamed Elyounoussi, Nathan Tella, Theo Walcott, Moussa Djenepo and Will Smallbone all playing there at some point this season.

However, there is only room for two wide 10s operating on each flank in the Austrian’s preferred 4-2-2-2 setup, so if Tete is to join Southampton, other players may need to be moved on to accommodate the Brazilian.

Nonetheless, just imagine the prospect of him and Armstrong wreaking havoc in the final third at St Mary’s. It’s one that Hasenhuttl would surely love.

In other news – Forget Broja: Ralph must unleash 17-year-old Saints prodigy who “leads the line very well”

Celtic are facing a major injury blow over Kyogo Furuhashi ahead of their Scottish Premiership clash against Hibernian on Monday…

What’s the story?

According to The Scottish Sun, the Japan international did not train with the rest of Ange Postecoglou’s side and now faces a race to be fit for the clash at Parkhead.

Ange will be gutted

With a whopping 16 goals in his 26 games for the club, it’s fair to say Furuhashi has well and truly hit the ground running, with Kevin Campbell waxing lyrical about just how well he has adjusted to life at Celtic.

He said: “Wow, what a phenomenal impact he is having on that football club. When a player has confidence he can produce goals like that.

“Let’s be honest, he has been the difference for Celtic this season. They are a different team when he plays. They need him fit and available every week. He can carry the team and that is what he has done. He has been nothing short of awesome since he has signed. You have to give Postecoglou credit.”

It’s not just for his on the pitch actions where Furuhashi seems to have endeared himself with the Celtic supporters.

Frank McAvennie said: “He really is a breath of fresh air. The boy can’t put a foot wrong. You see things like him picking up litter off the pitch when he’s coming off.

“When he was injured he was sat in with the fans as well. That’s so good to see. It’s like he’s in love with the club already and you can’t buy that. He is so enthusiastic, it’s no wonder people have taken to him.”

It’s exactly why Postecoglou and the club’s fans will be devastated to be without the Japan international for Monday’s game.

Meanwhile, Anthony Joseph has dropped a transfer update…