Articles
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Previewing Matchday 3 of the Premier League Season
After a thrilling opening two matchdays to the 2021/22 Premier League season, the third matchday of the campaign — and the final before September’s international break — is right around the corner. We kick off the action at 12:30 p.m. GMT on Saturday as Manchester City host Arsenal at the Etihad. Arsenal come into…
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Juninho: From Icon to Puppet Master at Lyon
“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Seven-straight Ligue 1 titles, six French Supercups and a French Cup are sitting pretty on the mantelpiece at the Groupama Stadium and much of it down to club legend Juninho. The Brazilian has a free-kick compilation that’ll have…
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Karim Adeyemi: Salzburg’s Teenage Goalscorer
There are three certainties in life; death, taxes and an incredibly talented young striker leading the line for Red Bull Salzburg. In the last three years, the Austrian club has had Erling Haaland, Patson Daka and now Karim Adeyemi as their main centre forwards at different times. The latest in that lineup is Karim…
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Luke Shaw’s Revival at Manchester United
“I’d heard other players talking about dark times when they were trying to get back from bad injuries.” Those were the words of Luke Shaw the man himself from his interview with The Guardian back in 2016 where he spoke about his mental well-being, after being sidelined for 10 months from a double fracture on…
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Emile Smith Rowe: Maybe Arsenal’s Number 10 Shouldn’t Be a Number 10
Last weekend, in the Premier League’s curtain-raiser, Arsenal lost to newly-promoted Brentford in what was an extremely disappointing performance from the Gunners. Ignoring Arsenal’s defensive frailties, in attack, they look stumped. Kieran Tierney is relied upon far too heavily to be the side’s chief creator, with almost no threat elsewhere. Although an inability to create…
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Can Martin Ødegaard Finally Cure Arsenal’s Creative Troubles?
Creativity: the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness. It ebbed and flowed through the veins of the Arsenal midfield during the Arsène Wenger era. Ranging with personnel, from Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp and Cesc Fàbregas to Mesut Özil, Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey. It was finesse, decisiveness, and a sharp…
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N’Golo Kanté; Europe’s Finest Midfielder, Fiercest Competitor and Chelsea’s Most Irreplaceable Asset
Very few times in football does a player transcend their role and become something entirely out of the scope that was once used to define a position. In the early 2000s, there was the Makélélé role, associated with the one man conductor – Claude Makélélé. In the mid-2000s there was the false nine – associated…
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Player Analysis: James Sands
Gregg Berhalter has gotten a lot right throughout his spell as U.S. Men’s National Team manager. With a generation full of talent unbeknownst to long-time United States fans, Berhalter has the privilege of the deepest player pool a U.S. manager has ever had. Encouragingly, he’s given lots of this young generation debuts and put his…
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A Guide to the 2021/22 Süper Lig Season
Merely three months after Beşiktaş snatched the league title from Galatasaray’s grasp on the final day of the season, the Süper Lig is already back and ready for action. The defending champions opened the 2021/22 campaign with a 3-0 victory over Çaykur Rizespor, and the league, one that is consistently teeming with young talents and…
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Player Analysis: Gleison Bremer
Torino has been living in the shadow of city rivals Juventus for many years and the last decade has been no different. While Il Toro were the dominant side in Serie A in the 1940s with their “Il Grande Torino” squad, the Bianconeri won nine consecutive Italian league titles from 2012 until 2020. During…
