Zubimendi Fights For His Arsenal Future
Martín Zubimendi has yet to start a Premier League game this season after falling down the pecking order at Arsenal and the Spain midfielder is likely to be the subject of speculation that he could seek to depart in January.
The emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly as an alternative in the No 6 position at the end of last season has had an impact on Zubimendi after he had been a regular starter for most of his debut campaign in the Premier League.
The 27-year-old signed from Real Sociedad for around £55m 15 months ago and Mikel Arteta has insisted he remains an integral part of his plans.
But with the Arsenal manager trying to find the right balance in his midfield after the arrival of Bruno Guimarães, Zubimendi will be hoping he gets another chance to stake his claim against Hull today after starting in the narrow win over Slavia Prague in midweek.
*Arsenal v Hull City, Saturday.
Will Glasner’s Risky Words Inspire Forest Against ‘Desperate’ Man City?
Oliver Glasner has previously led Wolfsburg from mid-table to the Champions League but fell out with the club hierarchy and left in 2021.
Glasner next guided Eintracht Frankfurt to Europa League glory but was openly critical of the squad’s imbalance and quality in four separate outbursts and departed in 2023.
His time at Crystal Palace was a great success but after accusing the Eagles’ board in January of “abandoning” his team with the sale of Marc Guéhi to Manchester City, the Austrian left this summer for Nottingham Forest, where he became the fifth head coach in less than a year. You can probably guess where this is going.
After Saturday’s defeat by Brentford left Forest 19th, Glasner was typically abrasive: “If the players buy in [to my methods], I think we can have a turnaround. And if not, the sixth manager will come in.”
We’ll soon find out if Glasner has won the players around with City visiting Nottingham this weekend. If Forest’s woeful form continues, Glasner may either walk or get his marching orders from the trigger-happy owner.
*Nottingham Forest v Manchester City, Saturday.
Will Liverpool Provide Platform For Nketiah To Step Back Into Limelight?
Pierre Sage pulled no punches in his assessment of Eddie Nketiah’s career after his excellent winning goal against Fulham last week in the EFL Cup.
“I think his potential is higher than his performance for the moment,” said the Crystal Palace manager. “And we have to reduce this gap – because he needs it, the team needs it.”
Nketiah is now 27 and won his solitary senior cap for England in 2023 after becoming the record scorer for the under-21s while he was still at Arsenal.
His chances of adding to that look unlikely these days having been relegated to third-choice striker at Selhurst Park behind Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jørgen Strand Larsen.
But with Mateta suspended for three matches after Palace’s appeal over his red card against Tottenham was rejected, Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool could be another chance for Nketiah to show his ability after scoring a late winner against them in Palace’s thrilling win over Arne Slot’s side last year.
*Crystal Palace v Liverpool, Sunday.
Brighton Dream Bright Champions League Nights
It has been three weeks since Brighton’s fans were savouring a famous 5-0 thrashing of arch-rivals Crystal Palace at the Amex. But the quirks of the fixture list meant that Fabian Hürzeler’s side played five successive games on the road since then, including two trips to face Manchester City.
While they lost some of the momentum from the Palace victory in the defeat by Liverpool at Anfield, last week’s Premier League win over City showed they are serious contenders for the top four and perhaps even more.
But Brentford’s visit to the south coast should provide a real test of those credentials as the owner, Tony Bloom, renews his rivalry with his west London counterpart Matthew Benham, who traditionally eschews his seat in the directors’ box for one in the away section.
*Brighton v Brentford, Sunday.
Chelsea Return To A Very Different Sunderland
It is not quite six months since Sunderland beat Chelsea 2-1 at the Stadium of Light and qualified for Europe for the first time in 53 years. A day when Régis Le Bris’s side eclipsed the Club World Cup holders and Enzo Le Fée upstaged Enzo Fernández concluded with Sunderland finishing seventh.
During the prolonged post-match celebrations, the captain, Granit Xhaka, grabbed a microphone and declared: “This is just the beginning – we want more.”
Fast forward to gloomy November and it is not quite working out like that with even the excitement of next month’s trip to Milan overshadowed by anxiety.
Sunderland are bottom of the Premier League, Le Bris concedes his side are in a relegation fight and Xhaka has looked a shadow of his former self ever since Chelsea tried and failed to sign him in the summer.
Is Xhaka capable of turning back time? Sunderland securing just a second league win of the season depends on it.
*Sunderland v Chelsea, Sunday.
Man U Brace For Another Chaotic Weekend
Can Manchester United win two games of football on the bounce for the first time this season? Being able to pose this question sums up the state Michael Carrick and his side are in as they seek to build on Tuesday’s chaotic comeback victory over Roma.
Aston Villa arrive five points better off than their hosts and are everything United are not: stable, upwardly mobile and boasting a manager in Unai Emery who consistently improves players and yields results.
As the international break beckons after this last Premier League fixture of the weekend, will Carrick survive what could be an eighth loss in 15 matches?
Possibly, if it is not another humiliation; but the truth may be that even United’s erratic executives do not currently know the answer.
*Manchester United v Aston Villa, Sunday.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Chelsea players after scoring a goal.
