^ ^ Arsenal urged to avoid making ‘dangerous’ £30m transfer mistake

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal have been told they would be making a huge transfer mistake if they decided to cash in on Martin Odegaard in the summer transfer window.

Odegaard has been one of Arsenal’s standout players since his £30m move from Real Madrid in 2021, making over 200 appearances for the Gunners.

But persistent nagging injuries and a dip in form have seen his influence in Mikel Arteta’s side wane this season.

The Norwegian international has started just 13 of Arsenal’s 31 Premier League games this season, scoring just one goal in all competitions.

And the recent form of Eberechi Eze and the exciting development of Max Dowman have led some fans and pundits to question Odegaard’s long-term future in the team.

But former Gunners midfielder Anders Limpar believes that Arsenal should pay no attention to the outside noise, and would be making a ‘dangerous’ move if they decided to sell Odegaard in the summer.

‘It would be dangerous for Arsenal to sell Martin Odegaard,’ Limpar told FruityKing.

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Martin Odegaard’s future at Arsenal has come under question (Picture: Getty)

‘The other players rely on him so much. The way he shows for the ball and dictates games, who is he taking the pressure off?

‘Declan Rice and that lets Declan Rice do his stuff. He takes the pressure off Martin Zubimendi too.

‘Suddenly Odegaard, the playmaker, is out. So the players look to Declan Rice. He is an engine but he is not a player who will make 20 assists with his passing. Zubimendi is not that player either.

Odegaard’s season has been hugely affected by injury (Picture: Getty)

‘They are the link players between defence and attack. Odegaard is the playmaker. He makes the other players better. He makes Zubimendi and Declan Rice better.

‘It’s not fair what people say about Odegaard. To say that he’s been a bad player or we need to sell him, no, I don’t think so.’

Odegaard currently faces a fit to be race for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final with Manchester City as Arsenal look to end their long major trophy drought.

Speaking on Monday about the midfielder’s fitness, Arteta said: ‘We’re really.

‘He really wants to try to be available, but we’ll have to wait and see in the next few days when he trains with the team how he feels.’

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^ ^ Chelsea make decision on sacking Liam Rosenior after brutal Champions League exit

Rosenior took the reins at Chelsea in January (Picture: Getty)

Liam Rosenior still has the full backing of the Chelsea hierarchy with no plans to sack the head coach after a damaging week for the Blues.

Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League in woeful fashion on Tuesday night, losing 3-0 to Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge after shipping five away in the French capital last week.

The 8-2 aggregate defeat equalled their worst ever result in Europe across two legs, matching the 7-1 battering handed out by Bayern Munich six years ago.

In between those two games was a home defeat to Newcastle United in the Premier League, a result which leaves them outside the Champions League places and six points behind third place Manchester United.

Rosenior has enjoyed an impressive start to life in west London after replacing Enzo Maresca in January, losing just three of his opening 15 games – all coming against Arsenal in the Premier League and Carabao Cup.

But his methods have come under increasing scrutiny with former England boss Fabio Capello labelling him ‘out of his mind’ after an incident on Tuesday where he handed notes to Alejandro Garnacho with just minutes left on the clock.

The furore over Chelsea’s pre-match huddle and ‘respecting the ball’ during the defeat to Newcastle also provoked little sympathy.

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Rosenior passed on notes to his team when they were losing 8-2 (Picture: Getty)

Despite a difficult week, Rosenior’s position is not under threat with reports claiming the Chelsea board are already losing patience with their manager wide of the mark, according to the Daily Mail.

The 41-year-old is said to maintain a good relationship with Chelsea’s shot callers with the report also claiming the squad remain behind him.

The Sun meanwhile report the head coach will remain in charge until at least the end of the season and could remain in the job even in the event of Chelsea failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Some of Rosenior’s methods have been questioned (Picture: Getty)

Results aside, Rosenior has had plenty on his plate this week. Just days after signing a new contract, club captain Reece James was sidelined again with a hamstring injury with the head coach’s team selection ahead of this week’s game against PSG leaked in the French media.

Enzo Fernandez, wearing the armband in the absence of James, then proceeded to cast doubt over his long-term future at Stamford Bridge.

Amid all that, the club was fined £10.75m handed a suspended transfer ban for breaching transfer rules relating to secret payments made to agents between 2011 and 2018.

The Blues face another stern test on Saturday when they take on Everton at Goodison Park.

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^ ^ Michael Carrick told Man Utd cannot ‘move forward’ until £60m star leaves

Manchester United caretaker manager Michael Carrick (Picture: Getty)

Chris Sutton has dismissed claims Manchester United should perform a U-turn on Casemiro and insists he should be released to ‘move forward as a club’. 

Casemiro announced in January that he would be leaving Old Trafford at the end of the season, but the Brazilian’s recent form has led to calls for him to stay. 

The 34-year-old has impressed all season but has been particularly eye-catching since Michael Carrick took over from Ruben Amorim, helping the Red Devils climb to third in the Premier League. 

Ex-Manchester United captain Bryan Robson wants his former club to convince Casemiro to stay for another season but Sutton believes now is the right time to move on from the five-time Champions League winner. 

‘I don’t really get the debate,’ ex-Celtic, Blackburn and Norwich striker Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live. 

‘I think under [Ruben] Amorim he was really exposed. Under [Michael] Carrick his numbers and performance level has improved but so has the team’s. 

‘I think this is a bit of sentimental guff more than anything. If Manchester United want to really move forward as a club, Casemiro isn’t the future for that. 

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Casemiro is set to leave Manchester United (Picture: Getty)

‘He’s been a great player but it comes to us all, he just doesn’t have the legs he once had.’ 

Former Premier League manager Sam Allardyce also believes the time is right for Manchester United to move on from Casemiro. 

‘They shouldn’t try to get Casemiro to stay,’ Allardyce said on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast. ‘He’s done tremendous in terms of how he’s performing at this moment in time. 

Ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton (Picture: Getty)

‘It comes down to what they’d pay him. He’d be on one of the highest salaries at the club and his age is against him. 

‘Is he playing so well because he’s out of contract? You can see that as a criticism, but Mohamed Salah did the same. 

‘I had it at Bolton where players would be playing out of their skin, then they’d get a new contract and you’d think “what’s happened to him?”’ 

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Casemiro remains a hugely popular figure in the Manchester United dressing room and is being advised to stay by fellow Brazilian Matheus Cunha. 

‘I’m always asking him, “come on, stay at Manchester United!” Just one year with me, let’s go for a second year,’ he told TNT Sports Brasil. 

‘We’re very close, he’s always helping and it’s incredibly rewarding to play with him here and with the national team. 

‘l always learn from him and understand more and more how he won so many titles. He’s reached a stage where he can decide where to play, and I hope it is with us.’ 

Manchester United defender Leny Yoro added after Sunday’s win over Aston Villa: ‘Everyone wanted him to stay, he’s a player [who is] really important for us. 

‘Even in the dressing room, every day, he has the experience that no one else has in the team. He won everything, so this helped us a lot in the games and even outside the pitch.’ 

Casemiro will hope to help Manchester United secure a top-four finish before his summer departure. Carrick’s side return to action on Friday night against Bournemouth.

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^ ^ Troy Deeney names two clubs that will deny Arsenal the Champions League

Ex-Premier League striker Troy Deeney (Picture: Getty)

Troy Deeney has praised Arsenal’s ability to ‘grind teams down’ and ‘get over the line’ but says they are unlikely to overcome two rivals in the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta’s side booked their place in the quarter-finals with a 3-1 aggregate win over Bayer Leverkusen in the round-of-16.

Arsenal topped the Champions League group stage but needed a late Kai Havertz penalty to avoid defeat in last week’s first leg against Leverkusen.

The Gunners had home advantage in the second leg, however, and sealed a 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium thanks to goals from Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice.

Deeney insists Arsenal are ‘answering every question’ both domestically and in Europe but doubts they will go on to win their first Champions League title.

The former Premier League striker even thought Bayer Leverkusen were ‘better’ than Arsenal for large periods and says he would back both PSG and Bayern Munich to eliminate the Gunners in Europe.

Champions League holders PSG thrashed Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate in the last-16 while Bayern have an insurmountable 6-1 lead over Atalanta ahead of their second leg on Wednesday night.

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Arsenal beat Bayer Leverkusen to reach the quarter-finals (Picture: Getty)

‘It’s interesting because I was watching the Arsenal game and thinking what you can say about them,’ Deeney said on CBS Sports.

‘They’re winning football games, 100%, but they gave Leverkusen a lot of chances in terms of breaking through the lines and getting out wide.

‘Leverkusen kept stopping and trying to rebuild but Sporting [who Arsenal face in the quarter-finals] won’t do that, they will be direct and get crosses in.

PSG battered Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea (Picture: Getty)

‘But Arsenal love that, the two centre-backs love crosses into the box so I can’t really put my finger on who it suits.

‘If you ask me right here, right now, do I think Arsenal win the Champions League? I would say no.

‘The feeling I get with them is there is more for you to give for me, but then again they keep winning games and answering every question.

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Is Max Dowman Good Enough To START For Arsenal? 🤔 After an impressive 20 minutes against Everton, and becoming the Premier League’s youngest ever goalscorer, you could make the argument that Max Dowman should be a starter for Arsenal. And that’s because of how underwhelming Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke have been on the wing in terms of output, and the same with Eberechi Eze in the middle. #maxdowman #arsenal #startingxi #saka #championsleague

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‘I think they can do more and can be fantastic but do I think they beat PSG? No. Do I think in a two-legged game they beat Bayern Munich? No. I know they beat them in the group stage but over two legs?

‘The point I’m making is when you watch Arsenal they don’t give you a sense they’re going to win the Champions League but you do expect them to get the job down so it’s a weird feeling.

‘The only criticism I have of Arsenal at the moment is the performances. They won the game, they were great, but it took a massive save from David Raya to keep a clean sheet and they still gave up moments.

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‘I thought in terms of the performance Bayer Leverkusen were better, they played the better stuff.

‘But Arsenal just keep grinding you down and know they won’t make mistakes. They didn’t have that in the backend of Arsene Wenger but they have that now.

‘They have this horrible, steely nastiness to get over the line under Mikel Arteta.’

Arsenal looked set to face Bodo-Glimt in the quarter-finals after the Norwegian side beat Portuguese champions Sporting 3-0 in the first leg.

But Sporting produced an incredible comeback to win the last-16 tie 5-3 on aggregate and set up an intriguing clash with Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Arteta’s side still have outside hopes of a historic quadruple and can win their first trophy of the season on Sunday when they face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.

Man City head to Wembley having slipped nine points behind Arsenal in the title race and been knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid.

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^ ^ Enzo Fernandez tipped to join Champions League club after Chelsea’s defeat to PSG

Enzo Fernandez suggested he could leave Chelsea (Picture: Getty)

Enzo Fernandez has been tipped to join another Champions League club after Chelsea’s embarrassing last-16 defeat to PSG.

Liam Rosenior’s side were beaten 5-2 in the first leg in Paris before suffering a 3-0 defeat in the second leg at Stamford Bridge, losing 8-2 on aggregate.

Drawing Champions League holders PSG in the first knockout game was brutal on Chelsea but the one-sided nature of the tie will be of great concern to Rosenior and the Stamford Bridge board.

To make matters worse for the Blues, their record signing Fernandez suggested he could be on the move this summer after Chelsea’s Champions League elimination.

Fernandez is contracted to Chelsea until 2031 but has attracted interest from rival clubs and has now refused to rule out the possibility of a summer move.

When asked if he could guarantee that he will be a Chelsea player next season, Fernandez told ESPN Argentina: ‘I don’t know, I don’t know.

‘There are eight games left and the FA Cup. There’s the World Cup and then we’ll see.’

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Chelsea players after their Champions League exit (Picture: Getty)

Chelsea’s Champions League conquerors PSG have previously been linked with Fernandez but it has been suggested that the Argentine would be perfect for Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.

‘If there was ever a player who fits the mould of Atletico Madrid it’s Enzo Fernandez,’ MLS legend and ex-Venezuela striker Alejandro Moreno told ESPN.

‘It’s a wait and see type of scenario. He’s basically saying “let me wait and see what’s going to happen at this club, I don’t need to make a final decision now, with more information I can make a decision which is the best for me.”

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‘That’s how I see it.’

Ex-Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley added: ‘Well that’s his choice, every player has that choice. He’s a good player but he’s a bit of a cry-baby on the pitch.

‘If you look at it from a serious player’s perspective, the club is hiring and firing managers and they’ve brought in this young it who is very inexperienced and there’s already some talk of him being under pressure from the boardroom.

Luis Enrique’s PSG stormed into the quarter-finals (Picture: Getty)

‘So maybe Enzo does have aspirations of going to play in Spain or somewhere else. I haven’t got a problem with that.’

Meanwhile, Chelsea hero Frank Leboeuf said he ‘would not mind’ if Fernandez left Stamford Bridge as he has never ‘forgiven’ him after a racist video he posted after Argentina won the Copa America in 2024.

Fernandes issued a public apology after the French Football Federation (FFF) criticised the Chelsea star and his Argentina teammates for a chant that used ‘racist and discriminatory’ language.

‘Good luck to him because I never forgave him for what he did after the World Cup to his French friends,’ Leboeuf said.

‘So I don’t mind if he leaves the club, he’s a good player but he’s not the kind of player I want to see at my club because he’s not an example.

‘What he did after the World Cup, I know the players forgave him but I never forgave him. The song he sung was absolutely stupid.’

Chelsea, currently sixth in the Premier League, return to domestic action on Saturday against Everton.

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