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Although the current controversy surrounding Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka points to a club without a leader who is connected to the fanbase, this has not always been the case at the north London side.

Captains such as Patrick Vieira led the club through a period of considerable success, but it is the anniversary of Gunners’ legend and former captain Tony Adams’ debut that has got these fans reminiscing and singing the praises of the centre-back from his time with the club.

Adams, who made over 660 Arsenal appearances whilst winning ten major trophies, led the club through a period of considerable success and rose to second on the all-time appearance list – sitting solely behind David O’Leary.

Whilst Arsenal’s current predicament under Unai Emery is a far cry from the era that Adams was a part of, there can be no doubting these fans would love to see the centre-back back at their club. 

Here are some of the best reactions following an official club tweet from Arsenal celebrating the debut of their former captain 36 years ago.

According to le10sport, Juventus could offer Tottenham Hotspur the chance to sign Adrien Rabiot as part of a move for Christian Eriksen.

Rabiot only joined the Italian champions over the summer after running down his contract with Paris Saint-Germain.

The Frenchman has struggled to make his mark in Turin, though, featuring in just three Serie A matches at the start of the 2019-20 campaign.

Eriksen, meanwhile, has reportedly decided that he wants to leave Spurs in January with his contract due to expire at the end of the season.

According to le10sport, Juventus could look to tempt Spurs into allowing Eriksen to leave at the mid-point of the campaign by using Rabiot as a makeweight.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

As expected, a number of Tottenham fans have been on social media offering their views on the speculation, and it would be fair to say that the majority are simply not interested in a swoop for the central midfielder.

Indeed, Rabiot was previously reported by ESPN to believe that Spurs were “below” him prior to his exit from PSG.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Some Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to reveal that they think their side is better off without club captain Luka Milivojevic in the starting XI.

The 34-cap Serbia international has started all but one of the Eagles’ nine Premier League games this season, missing the trip to West Ham after picking up a one-match suspension for five yellow cards.

In that game against the Hammers, Roy Hodgson’s men recorded a 2-1 victory with Milivojevic’s replacement, James McCarthy, particularly impressing on what was his first league start for the club.

The former Anderlecht midfielder immediately came back into Hodgson’s XI for the following game against Manchester City, but was subbed off in the 76th minute with the south Londoners 2-0 down.

While it would’ve been a tough game against the Citizens regardless of who started in midfield, a number of Palace fans on Twitter think that they would be better off without the No.4 in the XI.

Let’s take a look at some of the Twitter reaction…

Sheffield United have made a fine start to the Premier League, taking eight points from their opening seven matches.

The Blades are defying the odds in the top flight, and have already taken points from the likes of Everton, AFC Bournemouth and Chelsea.

At the heart of their success is manager Chris Wilder, who has guided his boyhood club from League One to the Premier League in just three years.

The 52-year-old is considered by Jamie Redknapp to be one of the best English managers around. Indeed, he has masterminded an innovative system at Bramall Lane in which the outside centre-backs of his 3-5-2 formation overlap the wing-backs and get themselves into attacking positions.

He was even named the LMA Manager of the Year last season ahead of the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, which shows just how highly he is rated amongst his peers.

Following his success, Wilder can do no wrong in the eyes of Sheffield United fans. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that many of the Blades faithful were left furious when talkSPORT pundit Natalie Sawyer labelled his style as “dinosaur management” on Monday.

Her comments came after the former Oxford United chief said that he would not “put his arm around” goalkeeper Dean Henderson after his mistake against Liverpool on Saturday.

Fans of the South Yorkshire club were quick to respond to Sawyer, mainly criticising her for using the word dinosaur to describe one of the most forward thinking managers in the English game.

Here is what some of them had to say…

What did you make of Sawyer’s comments about Wilder? Let us know your views by commenting below!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

According to The Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino is having a less hands-on approach to training at the club, and that is certainly a surprise development if he really wants to turn the fortunes of the north London side around.

The Daily Mail reports that a source has told them that the 47-year-old is less visible in training, and that even watches some sessions from indoors rather than being out on the pitch and playing an active role with the players.

Presumably given the claim, this is different to what the South American has done in the past when he would have had to work extensively on pressing and tactics to get Spurs to improve like they did, so this drop off means he is hardly doing himself any favours.

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Assuming it’s a credible story, you do have to wonder whether that is having an effect on the players, performances and results – there have been plenty of bad ones in recent weeks when it comes to the latter.

The 7-2 defeat against Bayern Munich this week especially suggested not enough time had gone in on the training ground to prepare for the Champions League clash, and it is clearly something that needs to change following other notable matches against Newcastle United, Arsenal, Olympiacos, Leicester City and Colchester United already this term.

The hands-off approach clearly isn’t paying off for Pochettino in what has been a largely dismal start to the 2019/20 campaign for Tottenham, and the former Southampton boss isn’t doing himself any favours whatsoever by doing it, if The Daily Mail’s sources are correct.

Now the message is clear. He needs revert back to being on the pitch for the whole session organising his players to ensure that he gives Spurs every chance of turning things around, otherwise the miserable displays and defeats will continue and the north London outfit will simply continue to go backwards.

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Everton left-back Lucas Digne says the likes of himself and teammate Richarlison need more time if they are to build something good at Goodison Park.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the summer addition from Barcelona was speaking to evertonfc.com ahead of his team’s next match against Cardiff City in Wales on Tuesday night, which comes on the back of a run of five defeats in their previous six fixtures in all competitions.

The Merseyside outfit have slipped down the Premier League standings as a result and are now six points adrift of seventh-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers ahead of this weekend’s games, but Digne says the players are working hard to turn things around during the run-in.

Speaking to evertonfc.com, the Frenchman said: “We are giving everything in training and want to continue to work and finish as high as we can.

“We are building something in the Club. We are changing a lot of players, new players, like me, like Richie, we need a bit of time.”

More time needed?

It certainly is.

While the recent form and season in general is once again disappointing given how much money Everton have spent in the transfer window, it once again shows it isn’t easy to build a successful team overnight.

The likes of Digne and Richarlison are still relatively young and need to add more consistency to their game, and patience will be required in order for that to happen over the coming weeks and months.

There is no doubt that there is great potential at Goodison Park, and once Silva has a settled XI that know each other’s strengths inside out, the results will follow on the pitch.

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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… 

Aston Villa dropped into the relegation zone after throwing away any chance of a result against a ten-man Arsenal side on Sunday afternoon.

The club’s poor run of form continued as they remain with just one victory from six league matches.

John McGinn handed the visitors the lead in the 20th minute, meeting Anwar El Ghazi’s cross from deep and things appeared to get better as Arsenal right-back Ainsley Maitland-Niles picked up a second yellow card just a few minutes before half-time.

The Villa defence showed rare signs of frailty throughout the match, having recorded two clean sheets prior to this encounter – none more so than when Bjorn Engels felled an onrushing Matteo Guendouzi to give Arsenal an equaliser as Nicolas Pepe stepped up to score his first for the club.

Though, the lead lasted less than 60 seconds as Jack Grealish’s cross from the byline met Wesley inside the six-yard box.

Arsenal then mounted a stunning comeback in what was to be a thrilling finish at the Emirates stadium – substitute Calum Chambers tied things up in the 81st minute before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired in a winning free-kick.

Villa had been tied for first in the Premier League for clean sheets, but after leaking three goals despite having a man advantage, there are certainly some fair question marks being raised.

One of which has to be at Neil Taylor considering the club spent £15m in that position over the summer.

The Welshman’s place amongst the starting lineup has to be hanging by a thread after evidently losing his key battle with the Gunners’ club-record man, Pepe.

Taylor was dribbled past three times, most of which you’d imagine by the 24-year-old considering he registered three successful dribbles himself.

Per SofaScore, he also lost possession seven times, conceded two fouls and just won two of his seven duels on the ground and aerially combined.

The experienced 30-year-old struggled offensively too, failing to provide a single accurate cross.

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Villa boss Dean Smith signed Matt Targett from Southampton this off-season, but his game time has been limited due to injury.

This performance from Taylor, if anything, strengthens the claim for the summer arrival to become the regular option at left-back this campaign.

In his last two seasons in the Premier League for the Saints, the 24-year-old averaged 1.4 crosses per game or more which is a drastic increase on Taylor’s 0.2 per match so far.

The Villans should have exploited the man advantage and that could have been done through the wide play considering winger Bukayo Saka was the man sacrificed in the wake of Maitland-Niles’ sending off.

Tottenham Hotspur are back in action following a busy end to the January transfer window.

Antonio Conte’s side host Brighton and Hove Albion in north London for a fourth-round clash in the FA Cup, where Spurs will be looking to advance in the only piece of silverware on offer this season.

After such a long break without any action, the Italian head coach has been left with plenty of interesting dilemmas over team selection, not at least because he is able to welcome back key players from injury and now has two new signings at his disposal, too.

It’s in defence where there is a decision to be made after Argentina beast Cristian Romero returned to training during the winter break. He should come straight back into the side, taking the place of Japhet Tanganga, who has been a liability in recent games, in the back three.

Indeed, the young academy product has been at fault for a number of goals during their three matches against Chelsea last month and at one stage, looked set to depart for AC Milan.

During their Carabao Cup semi-final exit against the Champions of Europe, the versatile defender was dubbed the “weak link” of the side by the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick as he walked a tightrope following an early booking. He struggled to deal with the threat of Callum Hudson- Odoi all game.

As per SofaScore, he was rated ever so poorly (5.8) as the only player to manage below a 6.3 rating. It was that bad that analyst Statman Dave described the outing as a “horror show” on social media.

Earlier in the season, he received his marching orders for getting into a tussle with Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha and that moment of madness was slammed by BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand.

“It’s a lack of experience and rush of blood. He’ll get over it but it cost them today,” he said during the game (via the Daily Mail).

Not to mention his role in League One outfit Morecambe taking the lead in the round prior to this one. He lost his man from a corner. It’s the basics and it happens far to frequently.

As such, Conte must be ruthless in his team selection and axe the £18m-rated calamity against the Seagulls this evening.

AND in other news, Conte concerns emerge at Spurs amid huge transfer claim…

Sunderland are set for a huge injury lift this week over defender Danny Batth… 

What’s the latest?

According to the Sunderland Echo, the centre-back is hopeful of being back fit and available for selection against Gillingham this weekend in League One.

Sunderland Echo quote the player as saying: “It’s been a niggly injury so we’ve kind of had to let it build up and obviously I’ve been working hard off the pitch in the gym and physically.

“The injury was pretty unfortunate, it was in a blocked tackle. I’ve won the ball and the guy has put all his weight into my ankle. There was no massive damage on the scan, it has just been niggling and niggling so hopefully that’s behind me now and I can crack on.“I’ve just been using the international break to get up to speed.” Buzzing

This update will surely leave Alex Neil buzzing, as having the 31-year-old back will be a major boost to the Sunderland squad heading into the final weeks of the campaign.

The Black Cats are vying for a place in the play-offs and need as many of their best players available as possible to give themselves the greatest chance of making the top six. They are currently seventh and two points off sixth in the table, so Batth’s return will be a timely boost.

He has already proven himself to be a reliable option at a higher level. The defender averaged a superb SofaScore rating of 7.10 for Stoke as he won 68% of his duels and made 2.6 tackles and interceptions per game in the Championship this season.

This shows that he has the quality to be an outstanding performer in the second tier as he delivered brilliant displays for the Potters. His statistics prove that he is playing below his station at the moment, and Sunderland supporters can look forward to seeing him hit top gear in the coming weeks.

Therefore, he should be able to replicate that form whilst playing at a lower standard of football. His experience and ability as a centre-back should make him an excellent player for Neil to call upon between now and the end of the season, as he could be able to have a huge say in their campaign if he can get back to the form that he showed for Stoke in the Championship.

This is why the 40-year-old will be buzzing that the defender is on his way back from injury and could be in contention to face Gillingham next weekend.

AND in other news, Sold at £9m, now worth £720k: Sunderland played a blinder with “unit” whose career has flopped…

Everton officially sacked Rafa Benitez after just six months in charge at Goodison Park, and the race for finding the sixth manager in six years begins with many names already being thrown into contention, but one favourite for the job has reportedly already ruled himself out.

What’s the word?

Brighton and Hove Albion manager, Graham Potter, was named as one of the potential options on the shortlist for the Everton job yesterday, but Sky Sports have now reported that he “isn’t currently interested” in the job.

Reporting live last night, they revealed:

“Sky Sports News understands Graham Potter, one of the names being linked with the job, is very happy at Brighton and isn’t currently interested in talking to Everton about their managerial vacancy.”

The Toffees are on the hunt for the successor of Benitez, with many names including Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Roberto Martinez being reported by Sky yesterday, however, no official talks or offers have been made as of yet.

Everton sacked Benitez after his tenth defeat in charge of the side, in an embarrassing performance against relegation battling Norwich City, who took all three points from the Toffees with a 2-1 win at Carrow Road.

Fans surely gutted

After a nightmare season so far, Everton fans will be relieved that Benitez has been sacked, but will also be concerned about the manager that succeeds him as many big changes clearly need to be changed, and an instant impact is integral in saving the Toffees season.

Fans will surely be gutted that Potter has ruled himself out of the job, as he became a talking point on social media last night, with many fans making him their number one choice. One supporter tweeted:

“Was always a strange decision to hire Benitez in the first place, Everton seem to get it wrong time and time again. Next one has to stick. Graham Potter would be my choice in the summer. Big Dunc in until the end of the year.”

There was no doubt that Potter would be linked after making impressive strides at Brighton, with only  Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea losing fewer Premier League games than the south coast side, with the manager leading them to six wins, ten draws and only four losses.

His attacking and progressive philosophy, meanwhile, will have surely been of interest to Farhad Moshiri but he will already have to consider other targets. They must regret not targeting the former Ostersunds boss more seriously last summer.

Everton will now continue in their search and simply have to appoint somebody as soon as possible to guide the club out of their current demise, sitting 16th in the Premier League only six points off the relegation zone.

In other news: Moshiri must axe Michael Keane after Benitez sacking