“The field in Centro do Meio, Brazil, where two young men were killed after an altercation at a pick up soccer game last June. Late last week, Jeré Longman and Taylor Barnes of The New York Times relate one of the most chilling stories I have ever read in briliant, gory detail. This is a story of violence, poverty, anger and of course, soccer.” Soccer Politics
“It sounds ridiculous to suggest a player with two European Cup winners’ medals should regard the competition as unfinished business — but Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian midfielder Thiago Motta will be desperate to triumph in the competition for a third time. After all, while Motta has a variety of hard-earned medals — he’s won titles in three different countries — his European successes must feel rather hollow.” ESPN – Michael Cox
“The past summer was one in which change was the watchword in the upper echelons of the Premier League. The top 3 of last season all have new managers at the helm; a fact that many hope will lead to another exciting title race. This upheaval also means that teams such as Arsenal and Liverpool have an excellent opportunity to challenge for the title. Coming into the game it was a case of so far so good for both sides. Since their defeat to Villa on the opening day of the season, Arsenal dropped just 2 points out of a possible 24 and occupied the top spot in the league table. Meanwhile, Liverpool have been impressive and boast of arguably the most dangerous strike partnership in the league right now in the form of Sturridge and Suarez.” Outside of the Boot
Arsenal: Premier League’s top side answer their critics in style
“Arsene Wenger will face the same questions until the day he can hold up a trophy in front of his inquisitors and remove the 2005 FA Cup triumph as the last entry in his and Arsenal’s list of honours. Wenger knows there are still doubts about his team’s resilience and staying power – but he can deliver the answers with increasing confidence after a 2-0 win against Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on Saturday that left Arsenal five points clear at the top of the Premier League.” BBC
Rodgers must resist urge for wholesale change
“Liverpool’s defeat at the Emirates on Saturday has thrown up far more questions than it provided answers. The most simplistic way to break the game down would be to say that Brendan Rodgers’ men lost to a better side and that it highlighted the remaining gap between the Reds and where they want to be. That’s the line most have taken and while it’s mostly a fair one, I don’t think it paints an entirely accurate picture as a lot of Liverpool’s problems in this game were of their own making and are therefore — hopefully — fixable.” ESPN (Video)
Three Things: Arsenal vs. Liverpool
“Three observations from Arsenal’s Premier League victory against Liverpool at the Emirates. After the difficulties of the past two weeks and the past two big games, the surprise here was how thoroughly easy it was for Arsenal in this 2-0 victory. They were a step above Liverpool in almost every facet of the game and proved themselves a class above as a team. In many ways, this was reminiscent of the defeat Arsenal themselves suffered to Borussia Dortmund here. Liverpool simply came up against a more sophisticated outfit, both in terms of tactics and technique.” ESPN
Matchday Musings: Arsenal 2-0 Liverpool
“… Koscielney dispatches SAS. In the lead up to the game, Liverpool’s new ‘SAS’ strike partnership was on everyone’s lips. Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez have been in scintillating form this season, scoring a superb amount of goals. Therefore when they lined up in front of a packed Emirates, goals were to be expected. Arsene Wenger stuck with his trusted pair at centre back, and they did an excellent job of stopping the most in form strikers in the league. Per Mertesacker put in a great shift, but Laurent Kocielney’s performance was to be admired. Sturridge tended to drift in to wider positions, with Suarez employing most of the Frenchman’s time. He dealt with him with ease, limiting him to very few opportunities. Staying tight to Suarez isn’t everyone’s idea of how to tame him, but it worked today and really gave Arsenal a great platform.” Beyond The Ninety Minutes
“… Gerard Pique, 7.1. Pique had one of his best games of the season. He was making plays all over the pitch, even getting involved on the attack, creating a good scoring chance with Alexis. Pique was near the top in just about every defensive category, even leading the team, by a large margin, in clearances. He was positionally very sound, though he did venture out of position on a few occasions. Pique’s distribution was excellent all game long as me misplaced just three short passes.” Barca Blaugranes
“With their 2-1 win against Hoffenheim, Bayern Munich have equalled Hamburg’s record of 36 consecutive Bundesliga games without a defeat, set back in 1983. The win also means that Pep Guardiola is undefeated in his first eleven games in charge of the club, the first coach in club history to do so. Goals from Mario Mandzukic and Thomas Müller put Bayern back atop the league after Dortmund’s win on Friday night and it also continues Hoffenheim’s winless record against the defending champions.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“The final game on an action packed Saturday saw Fiorentina travel to Milan to take on the Rossonieri. Milan have struggled in the league so far, and found themselves in 10th place going into the game. Fiorentina had played some fantastic football, but failed to convert it into results thus far. Neither team was especially close to the top or even the Champions League places, and therefore it this match was very significant to both teams, as a win could get them back on the trail for Champions League football.” Outside of the Boot
“The seduction of the beautiful game, and loyalty to our team of choice, had brought us all to the same point: currently joint top in the English Premier League. Far from being a unifying occurrence, it kindled and stoked differences of opinion, reflective of our diversity and richness of thought perhaps; not that many saw it that way. Once more, the debate became fractious; fans were reading from the same book – except not all were on the same page.” Tomkins Times
“While Arsenal’s excellent beginning to 2013-14 has owed much to Mesut Ozil’s arrival, Mathieu Flamini’s return and Aaron Ramsey’s sudden transformation into a top-class midfielder, the Gunners’ form has actually been very good over the course of 2013. No side has collected more points than Arsenal this calendar year and the Gunners have lost just one of their last 19 league matches, on the opening day, at home to Aston Villa. The turning point, it seems, was in the wake of the defeat to Tottenham at White Hart Lane in early March, a match in which Arsenal’s defensive positioning was awful. The back four was repeatedly opened up by a combination of through-balls and runs in behind, because of Arsenal’s high defensive line, combined with no pressure on the ball.” ESPN – Michael Cox (Video)
“The eminent economist Jonathan Portes, Director of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, likes to cite two examples in attempting to convince audiences of the merits of free movement of labour. The first is his own field – economics – where collaboration between academics trained within country traditions has produced the field’s most innovative work, and seen real international powerhouses established in the UK, the USA and Canada. His second example is the world of post-Bosman professional football. This is, thinks Portes, an infinitely better place for the impact of that landmark, shackle-loosening judgement in the mid-90s. The cross-breeding of nationalities in European leagues has encouraged them to flourish, and seen a heightened competition both within and across borders and, crucially, an overall improvement in both the quality and saleability of the product.” thetwounfortunates
“It began while much of Europe was still asleep, and indeed many Russians would have only been stirring in their beds when the first goal went in. Vasily Karmazinenko’s 28th minute goals for SKA-Energia Khabarovsk against Volga arrived just before 4.30am in the UK, and by the time the final whistle blew, British clocks were yet to strike six. Nevertheless, Volga were out of the Russian Cup. Karmazinenko grabbed a double was enough to see off the Nizhny Novgorod side 2-0, and before long they were joined on the cup scrapheap by ‘local’ rivals and an altogether much bigger side in Rubin. Tasked with the equally daunting prospect of a trip to the Far East to take of Luch-Energia Vladivostok, Kurban Berdyev’s men responded by falling a goal behind inside the first three minutes. Ruslan Mukhametshin responded after another ten minutes, but a devastating spell of ten minutes either side of the break saw the hosts breeze through into the next round with a 4-2 win. Things had only just begun.” Russian Football
“The new Premier league season has seen an unlikely leader- Arsenal. With the lack of transfer activity for large parts of the window, fans were getting restless and a terrible opening day loss at home to Villa only worsened things. However, it has all been smooth sailing for Arsenal since then, with the team pulling out great football, a lot of wins, and some excellent signings like Flamini and Ozil to find themselves leading the pack in October. However, before we begin to wax lyrical about the Gunners and their prospects, we must all remind ourselves that this could be classic Arsenal, terrific start, but mess ups at key moments. And of course, one or two signings cannot really paper over the cracks of a squad that just about managed to finish 4th last season, or can it? Which leads us to the topic of the latest installment of our debate feature: Can Arsenal win the Premier League?” Outside of the Boot
“There could be a goalfest at the Emirates; Paul Lambert’s Hi Viz army will be out in force; Fernando Torres can continue his form; and Joe Hart faces an anxious wait” Guardian
“Roy Hodgson and David Moyes have a common problem — even if of late he has gone under the guise of the solution. But for Wayne Rooney’s goals, England might not have qualified for the 2014 World Cup. But for his all-round input, Manchester United’s undistinguished start to the season would surely have been far worse. After a summer of speculation about his future, a fitter, happier and more prolific Rooney has been in a rich vein of form this season.” ESPN
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