LAURA WOODS: AMORIM’S RIGHT, THIS IS WORST MAN UTD TEAM IN PREMIER LEAGUE HISTORY
ARSENAL CAN WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!
Why not? Arsenal have proved they’ve matured enormously. They’ve had very slack moments in the Premier League and they’ve thrown that away this season, which really frustrates me.
But cup competitions are different and Arsenal have sparkled on that stage. They have a different feel and a belief in Europe this season.
Beating Real in that fashion, even though Real were under par, will give them a world of confidence.
PSG are looking incredible, though. Very different to the last time Arsenal played and beat them in the league phase.
Arsenal will have to be defensively sound once again because PSG’s front three can cause a lot of damage and I hope for a bit of Declan Rice magic again.
The teams in the other semi look pretty decent too, it’ll likely be Barcelona into the final and their improvement has been huge too.
It can absolutely happen, but it won’t be easy.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WIN WOULD BE ARSENAL’S GREATEST
If they did win, it would be the greatest night in Arsenal’s history.
This is the absolute pinnacle of club football and Arsenal fans have been starved of European success.
The Invincibles’ season is iconic and is so hard to beat, no other team has managed it yet.
But this would be a statement and would reflect the way Mikel Arteta has crafted this team from a squad in 10th place in the Premier League, to winning Europe’s elite competition beating Real Madrid and PSG along the way.
It would be absolutely huge. But it hasn’t happened yet so I’m not going to get too excited!
ARTETA STILL NEEDS TO DO MORE TO JOIN ELITE
A 5-1 over two legs against the 15-time champions is a massive statement for Mikel Arteta. They outplayed Real Madrid in the first leg – and did it without Gabriel, who has been key for Arsenal in defence this season – while scoring spectacular goals and keeping Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr quiet.
Winning at the Bernabeu is rare but Arsenal were very disciplined. They also didn’t seem phased by the occasion, the setting or the fact it was Real Madrid.
I think huge credit goes to the manager for the self-belief he’s instilled in the team.
But also the game management, the control they had in midfield, the solid defence. He outfoxed Carlo Ancelotti in Carlo’s backyard. Arsenal just had Real’s number from start to finish.
He’s also done this with a number of injuries. I already believe Arteta is an elite manager but to convince the world I think Arsenal need to go deeper than the semi-finals.
They need to beat an in-form PSG and Arteta needs to win more than just the FA Cup.
And he needs to do it consistently to be up there with the best.
ISAK A MAJOR UPGRADE ON NUNEZ
The worst thing a team can do is sit still.
If you’ve dominated a league for a season, go again in the summer and dominate again and dominate further.
Liverpool were knocked out of the Champions League, so there’s still room for improvement. And the manager hasn’t had a chance to flex his muscles yet really.
Imagine giving him a summer window and some proper backing. If they got Alexander Isak it wouldn’t be fair though – and I say that as an Arsenal fan who desperately wants him!
Isak is clinical and that’s where Liverpool have been lacking. He’d be a major upgrade from Darwin Nunez. He’s a proper number nine but is also pretty versatile so he’d fit in as a striker or on the wing if needed.
He can drop deep too and link up play so he can fit into Arne Slot’s system in a number of different ways.
I can’t see it happening, though. He’ll cost about £150 million and Newcastle will never let him go to a top-four rival.
TRENT EASIEST TO REPLACE AT LIVERPOOL
Liverpool letting Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah’s contracts run down was never good business in the first instance.
It’s also not great for the fanbase with all the uncertainty.
Objectively, Alexander-Arnold will be the easiest to replace with Conor Bradley coming through, but he’s a local boy so it’s always going to hurt the fans.
I’ve seen conversations online that he’ll tarnish his legacy but I don’t think that’s fair. Not many players would turn down Real Madrid and he still has a lot more to achieve.
I think it would cause more of an impact to their form right now if Liverpool lost Salah, who is back in the form of his life, or Van Dijk who is an important figure at the club in terms of his captaincy and experience. You’d create a big hole in defence that would be almost impossible to replace.
If Trent does go, I hope they don’t create a villain out of him.
He’s given Liverpool some incredible moments and silverware. I’ll never forget “corner taken quickly…”
LAURA WOODS’ GOLDEN GOALS PICKS FOR MD33
- West Ham 2-0 Southampton
- Everton 1-3 Manchester City
- Crystal Palace 1-1 Bournemouth
- Aston Villa 2-3 Newcastle
- Ipswich 0-2 Arsenal
- Leicester 0-2 Liverpool
WORST MAN UTD TEAM IN PREMIER LEAGUE HISTORY
When do serious questions begin to be asked about Ruben Amorim and do the results since he took over suggest Erik ten Hag wasn't doing as bad a job as people thought?
I watched Newcastle absolutely trounce United on Sunday and, when the camera cut to Amorim, I thought ‘that man has aged already’.
The stress he must be under. It’s a job like no other at Old Trafford – there’s the step up in scrutiny plus a very hungry and deprived fanbase who still think they’re capable of getting back the glory years.
The questions are already being asked, and they are loud.
Amorim has been there five months; the results have been dire and his tactics have been exposed.
He also called his team ‘maybe the worst’ in United’s history – and he’s factually correct now.
This is already confirmed as their worst finish in the Premier League era. The squad is a mess and not anywhere near the quality you’d expect.
But that’s not Amorim’s fault. It’s because of years and years of terrible recruitment.
To make a comparison, Mikel Arteta inherited a squad that needed a complete overhaul and now he’s got it to a place where they are consistently in the top two.
It takes time and United knew what they were signing in terms of Amorim’s style. They should give him the summer window and they should back him.
Otherwise this is another failed, costly experiment.
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