Zoltan Gera has insisted that he is happy being part of Steve Clarke’s rotation policy at West Brom.
Despite impressing in the Baggies’ impressive start to the season – which has seen them enter the top four of the Premier League – Gera has found himself dropped to the bench in recent weeks.
But the 33-year-old insists he is happy to share the midfield responsibilities with the likes of James Morrison, Chris Blunt and Graham Dorrans for the good of the club.
“I’m happy,” said Gera.
“I’m playing well, so if the manager sees I can help the team he will pick me. It’s no problem at all.
“We have a good squad with lots of good players.”
The Hungarian played a pivotal role during Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea but knows it wont guarantee him a start in the first team.
“Of course as a player I always want to play but I know we have other players who are as good as the ones in the team.
“So when I have a chance I want to play well to keep my place in the team.
“I wouldn’t say I’m happy when I’m not playing, but I expect it and there is no problem at all.
“After the first game of the season when I scored against Liverpool, I didn’t play the next two or three games.
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“But I said ‘it is no problem’ because I trust in the gaffer to know what is best for team,” he added.
“You always need to fight for your place now, there is no question about that.”
According to reports in The Express, West Ham United are ready to reignite their interest in Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter this summer with a £10m offer.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Express says that David Moyes had two bids – the last of which was £8m – for the Republic of Ireland international during the January transfer window.
The Express says that the 28-year-old remains a major target for the Scottish boss though, who intends a significant shake-up of the Hammers squad if he manages to keep the club in the Premier League this season.
The report adds that Moyes is confident that he can prise the energetic midfielder away from the Cherries and bring him to the London Stadium.
How has Arter done this season?
It has been a strange campaign for the 28-year-old.
He had been a key player for Bournemouth up until this term, and while he was a regular in the opening weeks of the 2017/18 season he was largely in and out of the team up to 2018, while he has only played 71 minutes of Premier League football since the New Year after falling out of favour under Eddie Howe.
Would he be a good signing for West Ham?
It’s difficult to say.
The fact that the 28-year-old hasn’t been a regular for Bournemouth in recent weeks would certainly be a worry for the Irons supporters, but Moyes obviously feels that he can add something in the midfield area.
Perhaps the fact that he was linked with a move to the east London outfit has affected his focus, and that must be taken into consideration.
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The fact that Arter has a never-say-die attitude and always puts in 100% will mean that he gets the London Stadium faithful on side quickly with his performances on the pitch, and in that way he seems similar to Irons captain Mark Noble which could perhaps throw his future with the club into doubt.
Will they get him?
Considering Moyes is clearly a big fan of Arter and he has fallen out of favour at Bournemouth, it seems that a move is on the cards – especially if West Ham cough up £10m for him in the summer.
It’s no haven at Craven Cottage at present; as if the ignominy of relegation from the Premier League after a thirteen-year sojourn wasn’t bad enough, West London club Fulham have started life in the second tier of English football in disastrous fashion, earning a solitary point from six league games, which sees them propping up the Championship table.
The same recurring issues are usually identified when examining a club going through a period of crisis; more often than not, this is any combination of financial instability, a universally despised or irresponsible owner, an unpopular, inept manager or a mutinous fanbase.
Fulham, however, seems to be an exceptional case insofar as none of the above appear to be the cause of the club’s current plight. The £11 million spent on Ross McCormack over the summer suggests that the club’s coffers aren’t exactly scarce, while the man who made such lavish purchases possible, club owner Shahid Khan, has so far been exempt from major criticism from a largely benign fanbase who are as likely to spark a mass protest as a North Korean at a mass rally in Pyongyang. Manager Felix Magath, meanwhile, is hardly clueless, having achieved great success as the coach of Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg in the past.
So what exactly is the problem at Craven Cottage? After Fulham’s most recent league defeat at the hands of Reading, even Magath seemed to suggest that the cause of the problem could not be explained. If the manager cannot pinpoint the source of the hardship then things do not bode well at all for the club.
The arrival of no fewer than 14 new players during the summer transfer window may be one explanation. This, coupled with the departure of experienced, long-serving players (in Fulham’s case Brede Hangeland, Damien Duff and Steve Sidwell) can often lead to a case of too much change coming too soon in football, and such rapid upheaval can have a destabilising effect on a football club (see Tottenham Hotspur circa summer 2013 for another example). Though Fulham do still possess a squad containing a good balance between experience (Scott Parker, Fernando Amorebieta, Bryan Ruiz) and youth (George Williams, Chris David, Cauley Woodrow), time is still needed for the squad to form a cohesive unit.
The continuing interference of former owner Mohamed Al-Fayed doesn’t help matters either. His feud with Magath, which started when the German blamed Al-Fayed for the club’s relegation last season, is bound to distract the manager from doing the work for which he is paid, while the businessman has also questioned Khan’s transfer dealings. With Al-Fayed being such a key factor in the club’s rapid ascent up the football league fifteen years ago, it is only natural that he retains an interest in the club’s fortunes, though such an interest may be unwelcome in the eyes of its current owner and manager.
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A number of Fulham supporters have understandably called for the sacking of Magath, though for a Championship club to dispense with the services of a three-times Bundesliga winner would be unwise. Although the miserable state of affairs currently being experienced at Fulham is hard to fathom, it may simply boil down to a case of a squad still getting used to playing together. With forty games of the season still to go, there is ample time for the troubled waters of the Thameside club to be calmed.
Liam Ridgewell believes West Brom deserve their current fifth spot in the Premier League table and more.
The Baggies have moved into this arguably unexpected position, after a 2-0 victory over Nigel Adkins’ Southampton on Monday night.
However, the defender has given a warning about the club’s busy schedule ahead, and insists that West Brom must keep gaining points.
“We deserve to be there. In fact, I think we deserve to have even more points, to be honest. We’ve done really well but the main thing is to keep that going and show people it’s not just the start of the season,” he told the club’s official website.
“We are going into a lot of games now with the Christmas period coming up and we’ve got to try to keep it going and keep picking up points. Monday was a big game because it was probably the biggest test for the new team since Roy left. I thought we did it very well and came through solidly.”
The left-back claims the team were not put under too much pressure by Monday’s match and that this relaxed approach helped them win the game.
“We didn’t really feel lots of pressure. Pressure is playing against Manchester United at Old Trafford when you’re bottom in the league. Monday was a night when we had to make sure we did the right things, start well, get the first goal and make sure they didn’t come back at us,” he added.
“If we’d lost people would have started saying it was a fluke start to the season, blah, blah, blah. But we know what we’re all about, we know we’re a good team and hopefully we can keep showing that.”
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Boss Steve Clarke has warned the team about not getting complacent following Monday’s victory reiterating that “you always have to be careful in the Premier League.”
Iago Aspas will not go down in Liverpool history as one of the greats; in fact he has not left any sort of legacy at Anfield.
Some fans, though, feel that the attacker had plenty of potential, but former manager Brendan Rodgers failed to get the best out of him.
Aspas joined the Reds from Celta Vigo in 2013 and spent two unsuccessful years at Anfield before rejoining the Spanish club.
Last season, the 30-year-old impressed by scoring 23 goals in 37 appearances for the La Liga outfit in all competitions.
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Aspas also created five assists, and he has played an important role at the World Cup for Spain.
On Monday, the forward replaced Diego Costa in the 74th minute of the nation’s final Group B clash against Morocco.
La Roja were trailing 2-1 before Aspas flicked the ball into the back of the net in stoppage time.
VAR was required to grant the goal, which helped Spain secure top spot heading into the last 16.
On Twitter, some Liverpool fans took aim at Rodgers for Aspas’s failings at Anfield.
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Have Manchester City been under any real pressure this season?
In individual games, for sure. Last minute winners were a common theme of the City of the autumn time, who were on such a hot streak that they just found a way to win somehow. There’s immense pressure in those final few minutes, and Guardiola’s side showed their mettle and held their nerve.
But there has only been, perhaps, one time all season in which the Blues have come into the game itself under pressure.
It wasn’t the Manchester derby in December. A win at Old Trafford was always going to be a bonus, and even a defeat was only going to cut their lead to five points – hardly win or bust. Every game since then, no matter how big, has been tempered by the knowledge that the league title is all but secured and even their Carabao Cup semi-final was played against a team City knew they could beat if they focused well enough.
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Instead, you probably have to go all the way back to the very end of September for the last time City came into the game itself under pressure. That was an away trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea back when the Manchester clubs were neck and neck at the top of the Premier League table. That day, City bossed the game and came away with a 1-0 victory which seemed to prove just how good they were – that this wasn’t a fairweather team who would crumble when the going got tough.
And so there’s no suggestion that City will crumble now, either.
But the fact remains that only one trophy – from this vantage point, with the Premier League already won – would be a failure. Given how dominant this team have been, and how their football they’ve played has been historic, and will go down as some of the best in history, to only win the league would be disappointing. In effect, they won it before Christmas. If nothing else, lifting only one cup would mean having a failure of a second half of the season. But far from attempting to pile on the pressure, I believe this only shows how high this see-it-to-believe-it team have set the bar.
Out of the FA Cup now, there are only two more chances of silverware left for Guardiola’s side. The Champions League which is the holy grail, and given the level of teams in the competition there’s no shame in not winning it. And the Carabao Cup, in which the manager has done his job and brought his team to the final – now they have to perform on the day.
But that’s just the problem: City are coming into their first game in quite a long time aware of the pressure of what’s at stake. They have been almost too far ahead in the league for so long, with little pressure on each game. In the Champions League, the failure of Napoli to beat Shakhtar Donetsk meant that City never really had a challenge for progression and their reward was Basel, duly dispatched with ease.
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Now, suddenly, after defeat to Wigan, there’s pressure on City. Whereas they could have had a quadruple at the start of the week, they could be staring down the barrel of having to win the Champions League to lift a second trophy this year, and that’s no guarantee.
In some ways, defeats to Liverpool and Wigan could be something of a blessing in disguise, showing City they aren’t invincible in a way they Premier League table simply doesn’t. But it will also tell us a lot about this team like nothing else has so far.
On Sunday against Arsenal, we’ll see the real Manchester City: the one who will continue to dominate, or the one who will run out of steam before the trophies are handed out.
Arsenal appear to be well down the road to signing Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona, essentially killing two birds with one stone in their need to address the centre-forward position and add depth beyond Theo Walcott for the flanks.
If there was any doubt about Alexis’ credentials, especially after a frustrating and completely forgettable 2012-13 campaign with Barcelona two years ago, the World Cup in Brazil has shown the Chilean to be exactly the kind of marquee forward Arsenal’s supporters have been crying out for.
We’ve been here before though, and many will be sceptical until pictures of Alexis with an Arsenal shirt in hand emerge. Last summer, Arsenal were said to be on the brink of signing Gonzalo Higuain, only for the Argentine to land at Napoli instead. The north London club had accused Real Madrid of moving the goal posts on the deal at the last minute.
But Alexis would more than make up for that loss. With Olivier Giroud also experiencing a good World Cup with France, Arsenal, on paper at least, would look a far more threatening outfit over the course of next season.
The Chilean would also negate the need for Angel Di Maria, who is another big-name South American who looks set to leave La Liga.
Arsenal were interested last year and could have landed the Real Madrid winger had it not been for Carlo Ancelotti’s intervention, instead securing the signing of Mesut Ozil. What is certain is that Arsenal need two forwards, one capable of playing on the wing. In the case of Alexis and Di Maria, one would cancel the other out.
Di Maria does provide different qualities to the Chilean. This past season he showed himself to be a more than capable central midfielder, playing alongside of Xabi Alonso and Luka Modric and given the freedom to roam. He was sensational against Barcelona in particular, while his best season in the white of Real was capped with victory in the Champions League.
There’s no doubt that Di Maria is a player who would improve Arsenal over the coming seasons. He and Mesut Ozil would interchange roles in the attacking three while both were playing at the Bernabeu, and there’d be an opportunity for both midfielders to strike up a similar partnership.
But Arsenal would be getting that and much more in Alexis, who, unlike Di Maria, can play at centre-forward and relieve some pressure from Giroud.
To venture down the avenue of suggesting Arsenal don’t need Di Maria would be wrong; it wasn’t too long ago that many, including myself, were talking up the value of having Cesc Fabregas return to the club. Above all, Arsenal need strength in depth.
But Real want £40 million for Di Maria, while Alexis would be a little under £30 million. With a high-class defensive midfielder needed, as well as a right-back and another forward (possibly Loic Remy), the focus must be on what the team need first and foremost. In addition, Fabregas was available for a deal that was far better value for money than Di Maria’s price tag.
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If the club can wrap up a deal for Alexis in the coming weeks, it will be a positive sign to the supporters, who need convincing after the failure to properly strength during the last two windows and the complete collapse last season.
If what is said to be on the table does come to fruition, missing out on Angel Di Maria will be dusted away with the kind of renewed confidence that can only be delivered by star forwards such as Alexis.
James Morrison has said that West Brom have “to move on as quickly as possible” from defeat to Newcastle on Sunday, insisting they have a chance at home to Southampton.
Morrison believes they have an opportunity to win because of their record at home.
He said to The Birmingham Mail: “It’s a good opportunity to get three points and forget about what happened on Sunday. We need to move on as quickly as possible.
The Baggies star has also admitted that morale amongst the team was low after the loss at the weekend.
He said: “The dressing room was very flat and we almost wanted to shed a tear as we played really well. We were the only team that looked like winning. The second goal was particularly difficult to take. He shanked the ball and I don’t know whether it hit one of our defenders or Cisse but it hit the back of the net and I think that’s our luck at the moment. We kicked on from there and we had chances to win the game.”
Midfielder Morrison signed a deal lasting four years last month, with boss Steve Clarke calling him one of the side’s “best players.” It has been five years since Morrison left Championship side Middlesbrough to join West Brom, and he had had two more years left on his last deal.
Manager Steve Clarke is hoping to be able to bring back skipper Chris Brunt, Claudio Yacob, Jerome Thomas, Boaz Myhill and Billy Jones for Monday’s match.
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Newcastle United have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Middlesbrough winger Adama Traore as Paris Saint-Germain have entered the race for his signature, according to Arab News.
What’s the story?
Adama Traore joined Middlesbrough in 2016 and the pacy and tricky winger has shone, scoring five and assisting ten goals last season.
The 22-year-old Spaniard has been rumoured to be a target for Newcastle but now according to Arab News, PSG are interested in signing the hot prospect.
According to the report, Traore is understandably excited by the prospect of playing at one of Europe’s top clubs and this would make it very hard for Newcastle to convince him to stay in the north-east of England.
What does this mean?
Traore would be a great signing for Newcastle if they could get him, with his great pace and direct running offering a real threat going forward.
However, when a club like PSG come calling, you don’t often say no.
The report states that PSG are looking at the Boro player to bring their finances in line with UEFA financial fair-play regulations, which gives the rumour more than a ring of truth.
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If PSG are genuine in their interest, Newcastle don’t stand a chance of landing the player, but it may be worth them keeping an eye on developments in case any deal falls through.
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According to Aksam, Arsenal have offered a contract to their former player Oguzhan Ozyakup, who will see his Besiktas deal expire at the end of the season.
What’s the story?
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has spent heavily in the last two transfer windows, with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both arriving for huge fees.
It remains to be seen whether the Gunners spend big again this summer, but there is no question that the capital club are still in need of players to boost their squad.
According to Aksam, Arsenal have offered their former player Ozyakup, who is valued at £9m by transfermarkt.co.uk, the chance to return to the club.
The 25-year-old will see his current deal with Besiktas expire at the end of the season, and it is understood that the two parties are currently struggling to come to an agreement.
What is his history at Arsenal?
Ozyakup spent four years with Arsenal between 2008 and 2012, but the Turk only made two first-team appearances for the Gunners before moving on to Besiktas.
The midfielder signed schoolboy forms with Arsenal in September 2008, and was a regular in their youth set-up before appearing in two League Cup matches during the 2011-12 campaign.
Ozyakup was actually on the bench when Arsenal lost 8-2 at Manchester United in the Premier League in August 2011, but he never made a league appearance for the Gunners.
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The 30-time Turkey international has developed into a key midfielder for Besiktas – making more than 200 appearances for the club in all competitions.
He scored 10 times for the Turkish giants during the 2015-16 season, whilst he has impressed during his 27 first-team appearances this term.
It seems strange that Besiktas have allowed Ozyakup to enter the final months of his contract, but that could see Arsenal profit as they look to re-sign a player that has developed into an impressive performer since he left the Gunners in 2012.