“At half-time in the Carabao Cup final, Arsenal’s hopes of a quadruple remained strong. They were unbeaten in 14, 11 of them won. They were drawing 0-0 against Manchester City and it wasn’t unreasonable to think that if the second half carried on as the first half had, they would eventually find a winner – quite possibly from a corner. They had drawn a Championship side in the sixth round of the FA Cup and a Portuguese side in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. They held a nine-point lead in the Premier League. This was shaping up to be the greatest season in Arsenal’s history. …”
Guardian
Guardian: Premier League shootout arrives with odd twist for ‘feelings guy’ Guardiola
Arteta’s desire for complete control may derail Arsenal’s wobbling title drive – Jonathan Wilson
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“It comes out of nowhere. Like being hit by a sniper. Some people even recall hearing a loud pop, like the sound from a gunshot. Others simply feel it, a sudden, intense pain in the back of their lower leg as their Achilles snaps in two. For Hugo Ekitike, it came, as they often do, in the most innocuous of circumstances. An attempted change of direction, pushing off with his right foot and then, bang. The Liverpool striker crumpled to the turf, believing he had been kicked from behind — surely, a blatant foul from a Paris Saint-Germain defender. When Ekitike rolled over onto his back, he realised that there was no one there. …”
“Football, Rayan Cherki said during a day-in-the-life feature with Manchester City earlier this week, is like art for him. The Frenchman talked about the joy he gets from entertaining people and playing in a way that allows supporters to forget about their everyday lives for 90 minutes. Prodigiously talented, equally comfortable on either foot and blessed with an extraordinary repertoire of flicks and tricks, Cherki would have lit up the Premier League in any season. …”
Scissors Kick 