^ ^ Alan Shearer names Arsenal’s three best players this season after Bruno Fernandes claim

Premier League record goalscorer Alan Shearer (Picture: Getty)

Alan Shearer has named Arsenal’s three Player of the Year contenders with the Gunners on the verge of winning the Premier League.

Arsenal were at risk of throwing away another Premier League title as they suffered a minor blip at the business end of the season, giving hope to title rivals Manchester City.

But Mikel Arteta’s side have responded superbly to a defeat to Man City last month to put themselves within touching distance of a first Premier League trophy since 2004.

Beating already-relegated Burnley on Monday night and London rivals Crystal Palace on the final day will see Arsenal become Premier League champions for the first time in 22 years.

Get ready for the World Cup

Get previews of every single team at the World Cup sent directly to your inbox, featuring the players to look out for, games you shouldn’t miss and Metro’s big England predictions. Don't miss out, sign up here.

Arsenal might not even need two wins as Man City will need to beat in-form Bournemouth away and Europa League finalists Aston Villa to stand any chance of catching the Gunners.

A long-awaited Premier League title win would likely lead to an Arsenal player winning the Player of the Year award and Shearer has identified the three top contenders in Arteta’s squad.

Premier League record goalscorer and England legend Shearer went into bat for three Arsenal players after Gary Lineker revealed he would vote for Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes.

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes (Picture: PA)

Fernandes has enjoyed another superb season at Old Trafford and equalled the Premier League record for assists in a season as United beat Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

‘Bruno Fernandes is just a joyous footballer to watch,’ Lineker said on The Rest is Football podcast. ‘He’s equalled that Premier League assists record and got the Football Writers award.

‘I think he’s a major contender for Football of the Year. We often given these awards to players of teams who win but it’s just the best Footballer of the Year and I find it hard to go against him.

Arsenal and England midfielder Declan Rice (Picture: Getty)

‘He would get my vote actually, he’s just such a great player to watch, his passing range and vision is exquisite.’

Responding to Lineker, Shearer said: ‘I would chuck three Arsenal players at you for that.

‘If Arsenal win the Premier League, which we expect them to do, I’d chuck David Raya, Gabriel and Declan Rice in there.

Up Next

‘I’m not taking anything away from Bruno Fernandes, I’m a huge fan of his and he’s been outstanding, God knows where Manchester United would be without him.

‘But yeah, I would chuck those three Arsenal players in there as well.’

Lineker replied: ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t complain at all if any of those three were crowned Footballer of the Year.

Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya (Picture: Getty)

‘Bruno is the one player outside of Arsenal probably should they go on to win the Premier League.’

Arsenal are expected to prove far too strong for relegated Burnley on Monday night and Chris Sutton cannot see anything but a routine home win.

‘It is Arsenal’s title. They are not going to blow it now, against Burnley,’ the ex-Premier League striker told BBC Sport.

‘I can see it being quite a comfortable evening for the Gunners, actually. The home crowd will be nervous until they score but I can see Mikel Arteta’s side making an early breakthrough.

‘As much as Burnley are still scrapping, which they showed with their draw against Aston Villa last week, they have frustrated their own supporters much more than they have frustrated the opposition this season.

‘Arsenal are a much better team and, whether it comes from a set-play or open play, they will have too much for them.’

After hopefully clinching the Premier League title, Arsenal will attempt to win their first ever Champions League, taking on holders PSG in the final.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Comments Add as preferred source

^ ^ Gary Neville urges Xabi Alonso to replace Chelsea star and sign four players

Man Utd legend and ex-England defender Gary Neville (Picture: Getty)

Gary Neville believes Chelsea can ‘very quickly’ become a ‘decent side’ under incoming manager Xabi Alonso with the addition of four new signings.

Former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Alonso will take over at Stamford Bridge in July after signing a four-year contract with the Blues.

Alonso, who was sacked by Real Madrid in January, will become Chelsea’s third manager in a year following Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior.

Chelsea finished fourth in the Premier League last season while winning the Conference League and Club World Cup, but have gone backwards this term.

Get ready for the World Cup

Get previews of every single team at the World Cup sent directly to your inbox, featuring the players to look out for, games you shouldn’t miss and Metro’s big England predictions. Don't miss out, sign up here.

Sitting tenth with two games remaining, Chelsea are in real danger of not only failing to qualify for the Champions League but missing out on European football altogether.

Chelsea had the chance to at least partially salvage their season in the FA Cup final on Saturday but suffered a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at Wembley.

Neville feels Chelsea are not too far away from once again competing for major trophies, however, and has identified the three positions Alonso needs to strengthen in his first transfer window.

Incoming Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso (Picture: Getty)

‘Chelsea have such an inexperience in the club at every single department,’ the Manchester United legend said on his Sky Sports podcast. ‘They’ve got inexperience on the pitch and they’re going to have to change their model.

‘This strategy of only signing young player on massive contracts… no one is saying that signing young players but only signing young players is a big mistake.

‘So the first thing I think Xabi Alonso will do, he will want a new goalkeeper, a centre back and a centre forward with experience.

Liam Rosenior was sacked by Chelsea last month (Picture: Getty)

‘They’ve got some experience in central midfielder with Caicedo, Fernandez and Lavia, so they can keep those together and they’ve got something there.

‘They’ve also got a sprinkling of those fizzy wingers but they need a top centre forward. Joao Pedro is very good by the way, I like him, and Liam Delap is young.

‘But they need a top centre forward with strength and class, they need a centre back or two and they definitely need a new goalkeeper.

Up Next

‘I think if they can get those four players by spending a couple of hundred million and recycle fee out of the club, Chelsea can become a decent side very quickly, very quickly. They just lack experience and physicality down the spine.’

Two-time Champions League winner Alonso emerged as Chelsea’s top managerial target after Rosenior was sacked last month after just 106 days in charge.

After putting pen to paper on his deal with Chelsea, Alonso said: ‘Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and it fills me with immense pride to become manager of this great club.

‘From my conversations with the ownership group and sporting leadership, it is clear we share the same ambition. We want to build a team capable of competing consistently at the highest level and fighting for trophies.

‘There is great talent in the squad and huge potential at this football club and it will be my great honour to lead it. Now the focus is on hard work, building the right culture and winning trophies.’

Chelsea face London rivals Tottenham on Tuesday night before visiting Sunderland on the final day of the season.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Comments Add as preferred source

^ ^ Jack Wilshere expects Arsenal star to play key role against PSG in Champions League final

Martin Odegaard will likely be key if Arsenal are to overcome PSG, says Jack Wilshere (Picture: Getty)

Jack Wilshere has heaped praise on Martin Odegaard and expects the midfielder to play a key role if Arsenal are to produce a shock and beat Paris Saint-Germain in this year’s Champions League final.

Odegaard has had a frustrating season with injuries, missing a total of 25 matches across the campaign in all competitions.

However, the Arsenal captain returned to the fold at the beginning of April and has produced a string of outstanding performances, including last weekend, when the Norwegian came off the bench to set up Leandro Trossard’s crucial winner against West Ham.

The north London giants play host to Burnley in their next contest on Monday night and the 27-year-old will no doubt be desperate to start at the Emirates in what is the club’s penultimate match of the top-flight campaign.

Get ready for the World Cup

Get previews of every single team at the World Cup sent directly to your inbox, featuring the players to look out for, games you shouldn’t miss and Metro’s big England predictions. Don't miss out, sign up here.

Victory over the Clarets would send Mikel Arteta’s men five points clear at the summit, with second-placed Manchester City travelling to Bournemouth 24 hours later.

‘I’m happy for them,’ ex-Arsenal midfielder Wilshere – now the manager of League One outfit Luton – said of the Gunners’ impressive season, with hopes of a historic double still intact.

‘I know there’s a lot of haters out there who are questioning whether they deserved it, whether they played the right football, but they need to get it over the line.

Odegaard assisted Trossard’s vital goal against West Ham (Picture: Getty)

Arteta’s men are chasing a historic double this season (Picture: Getty)

‘They’re at that point, Mikel’s at that point, where they’ve got close and they just have to get it over the line. And I think they will.’

Looking ahead to Arsenal’s eagerly anticipated Champions League showdown with PSG, Wilshere said he was anticipating a tough day at the office for his former club.

However, the former England international has been encouraged by Odegaard’s recent form and believes he could have a major part to play at Budapest’s Puskas Arena on May 30.

‘There was a time in the season when they weren’t playing as much football as I thought they could have and then they started to a little bit,’ Wilshere went on.

Up Next

‘I think a big part of that is Martin Odegaard, you saw it when he came on the pitch the other day and he just brings a bit of control in midfield. I think they have to try and find some control.

‘PSG are a different type of team, they just want to attack. They don’t necessarily want to control the game with possession anymore, they just want to get it in forward areas and they’ve got some dangerous players.

‘Arsenal’s full-backs are going to have to defend really well, really, really well, and accept at times that they’re going to get beat and defend their box well.

‘Because PSG don’t really want that control, I hope that Arsenal can take that control. It will be difficult but that’s what they need to do in my opinion.’

Wilshere won two FA Cups with the Gunners (Picture: Getty)

Asked if he would rather Arsenal won the Premier League or the Champions League, Wilshere replied: ‘I think if you’d have asked that question at the start of the season then it would have been the Premier League.

‘They’ve been so close over the last few years and that’s been the big focus.

‘If you win that then you are the best team in the country, the league doesn’t lie.

Arteta and Wilshere shared a dressing room for five years (Picture: Getty)

‘It’s a tough question because they’re now in a position where they can win both.

‘I would probably rather win the Premier League. Growing up as a young person in this country, I watched the Premier League all my life and to win it is a massive, massive thing.

‘Saying that, the Champions League is as well but I’d say the Premier League for me.’

Wilshere agrees with Scholes’ recent comments about Arsenal (Picture: Getty)

Speaking on a recent episode of The Good, The Bad & The Football, Manchester United legend Paul Scholes took aim at Arsenal, claiming Arteta’s side would not be remembered as a ‘great team’.

‘Listen, right now I agree with him. No, they won’t,’ Wilshere said of Scholes’ remarks.

‘But if they go on to win this then they’ve earned the right to then go again and win, go again and win. And if they can do that that’s when you get remembered.

‘It would be a massive achievement for them as a team, as a club. They haven’t won it in 22 years so they’ll be remembered within the club as the team that brought it back, but then they have to go again.

‘I’m sure that Mikel will do everything he can to try and do that.’

POLL

Will Arsenal win the double this season?

• Yes
• No

Get previews of every single team at the World Cup sent directly to your inbox, featuring the players to look out for, games you shouldn’t miss and Metro’s big England predictions.

Email

I agree to receive newsletters from Metro

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Comments Add as preferred source

^ ^ New Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso convinced Mikel Arteta to sign £45m Arsenal star

Former Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso (Picture: Getty)

New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso helped convince Mikel Arteta to sign Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie.

The Gunners beat north London rivals Tottenham to a deal for Bayer Leverkusen star Hincapie last summer.

While Arsenal signed Hincapie on a season-long loan, they had the option of making his stay permanent this summer for £45m.

Arteta was always planning to keep Hincapie beyond the current campaign and has been impressed by the 24-year-old Ecuador international’s first season at the Emirates Stadium.

Get ready for the World Cup

Get previews of every single team at the World Cup sent directly to your inbox, featuring the players to look out for, games you shouldn’t miss and Metro’s big England predictions. Don't miss out, sign up here.

While not a guaranteed starter, Hincapie has been a reliable presence for the Gunners, helping them open up a healthy gap at the top of the Premier League and reach the Champions League final.

Hincapie returned to his former club Leverkusen earlier in the season as Arsenal beat the Bundesliga side in the Champions League knockout stages.

Arteta heaped praise on Hincapie ahead of that game and revealed he spoke to former Bayer Leverkusen boss Alonso before sanctioning the transfer.

Arsenal signed Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen (Picture: Getty)

Arteta was close to Alonso growing up and the pair kept in touch during their playing days and the start of their managerial careers.

Friends will become foes next season after Alonso was appointed as the manager of Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea on a four-year deal.

Speaking to TNT Sports earlier in the season, Arteta said: ‘When I spoke to Xabi just before we were going to sign him, I said if you have to describe him in one word, what would you use, and he said, “He’s a warrior.”

Xabi Alonso was sacked by Real Madrid in January (Picture: Getty)

‘He will play through brick walls for you and he’s one of the most competitive players that I have had.

‘He’s come into the Premier League after surgery and a difficult start without a pre-season, and when you see him around his team-mates and competing on the pitch, it’s like he’s been here for 10 years.

‘He has an aura, a charisma – a really special character.’

Piero Hincapie has impressed for Arsenal this season (Picture: Getty)

Hincapie was not the only former Bayer Leverkusen player who featured in Arsenal’s squad in the Champions League.

Kai Havertz started out at the German club before joining Chelsea in 2023 and then moving to London rivals Arsenal three years later.

‘It’s impossible not to love Kai,’ Arteta added. ‘He’s so kind, so humble, so honest, so hard-working.

POLL

Will Arsenal win the Champions League

• Yep!
• Doubt it

Get previews of every single team at the World Cup sent directly to your inbox, featuring the players to look out for, games you shouldn’t miss and Metro’s big England predictions.

Email

I agree to receive newsletters from Metro

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

‘When you meet his family, you understand straight away how he’s been raised and what is important to him in life.

‘I know Kai in the very best moments and Kai in the low moments as well, especially when a player picks up an injury, when you see the real person.

‘It’s very difficult to find a better person than Kai in football.’

Arsenal proved too strong for German side Bayer Leverkusen before beating Portuguese champions Sporting and Spanish giants Atletico Madrid to reach their first Champions League final since 2006.

Champions League holders PSG await Arsenal in the final, which will be held on May 30 in Budapest.

Arteta’s side look set to lift the Premier League trophy before that showpiece event, with wins in their final two games against Burnley and Crystal Palace guaranteeing them their first league title in 22 years.

Chelsea turned to ex-Spain midfielder Alonso after sacking Liam Rosenior last month. The Liverpool legend takes over at Stamford Bridge in July.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Comments Add as preferred source