The Gunners take on the Irons at the London Stadium in the Carabao Cup round of 16 in what should be a great meeting between the two Premier League sides.
It will also be the first time that Rice will be back at his boyhood club after swapping East for North London over the summer in a record transfer worth £105million.
With Thomas Partey injured, Mikel Arteta confirmed that the England internationalwill play some role in the match, though it is uncertain whether he’ll be in the starting XI, especially with a tricky league clash at Newcastle on Saturday.
‘I hope we’ll see Declan back,’ the Irons manager said in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
‘This is the man who lifted the first European trophy in 50 years at West Ham. He should be welcomed back with open arms.
Rice and David Moyes won the Europa Conference League with West Ham last season (Photo: Getty)
‘He was a brilliant member of the team and conducted himself impeccably as a West Ham captain. I’m really looking forward to seeing him, I’ve not seen him since he left.
‘I’m not sure I want him to play! But I hope he is there.’
After making his debut in 2017, Rice would go on to play 245 times for West Ham, establishing himself as one of the world’s best players in his position in that time.
He would be named club captain in his final year at the London Stadium, leading the club to the Europa Conference League title, and though his departure had felt inevitable for ages, there is nothing but praise for the amicable way in which it happened.
‘The way Dec conducted himself, he was involved with the supporters, he was always seen helping the club out,’ Moyes added.
‘And the most important thing was he gave 100% in every game even though we all sort of know he wasn’t staying at West Ham. For that alone he deserves to be cheered.’
Mauricio Pochettino insists Chelsea were ‘better’ than Brentford on Saturday (Picture: Getty)
Mauricio Pochettino has urged Chelsea supporters to ‘trust the process’ after he clashed with a fan during the 2-0 loss to Brentford at Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, Chelsea fans booed the team off the pitch following the west London derby defeat, with Blues supporters losing their patience at the team’s horrific home record.
Pochettino, speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Carabao Cup clash against Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday, has now fired a message to the fanbase.
‘I think [the message] is to be with us,’ Pochettino said. ‘I know it is difficult to keep your feelings.
‘It is normal that the fans want to win and are sometimes frustrated when we don’t win, they show their emotions.
‘The message is about belief and trusting us and for sure, it’s about the process that we need to trust and believe.’
Pochettino insists that Chelsea were ‘better’ than Brentford on Saturday and suggested his side should have won the match.
‘We were better than Brentford,’ Pochettino added. ‘Brentford played with the block very low and were only waiting for some counter-attacks.
‘In the first half they didn’t create, one chance and the first chance we concede. We need to be more aggressive and it’s not enough and we need to criticise ourself and be better and it’s not enough at the moment.’
The 30 year-old has hit the ground running for Thomas Tuchel’s men after Bayern parted with £100m to finally prize Kane away from Tottenham, with whom he had spent the entirety of his career.
And the Bayern hierarchy and fans alike can barely hide their pleasure at having one of the greatest players in the world amongst their ranks, with Kane finally filling the void left by legendary forward Robert Lewandowski following his move to Barcelona last year.
So, exactly how many goals has Kane scored for Bayern Munich in all competitions so far in the 2023/24 season?
Here is everything you need to know.
How many goals has Harry Kane scored for Bayern Munich?
Kane has scored 14 goals for Bayern Munich so far in the 2023/24 season.
Of these 14 goals, 12 have been scored in the Bundesliga, with Kane netting in all but two of his nine league outings this term.
Kane has picked up from where he left off in the Premier League (Picture: Getty)
The Spurs legend scored on his Bundesliga debut against Werder Bremen in August, which was followed by a brace in his home league debut against Augsburg in matchweek two.
Kane then bagged a hat-trick against Bochum in the 7-0 home drubbing in September, with a further three goals arriving in the 8-0 win over Darmstadt at the end of October.
Kane also managed to find the net on his Champions League debut against Manchester United, slotting home from the penalty spot in the 4-3 win in Bavaria.
One further Champions League goal was registered against Copenhagen in Bayern’s third group game.
How many assists does Harry Kane have for Bayern Munich?
Kane has also registered seven assists for Bayern Munich this season.
Along with the opening night goal against Werder Bremen, he also set up Leroy Sane with a brilliant through ball in the 4-0 triumph.
Kane bagged a brace of assists against Bochum to go with his hat-trick, with two more assists notched up in the Champions League against United and Copenhagen.
Kane has also found his scoring boots for England (Picture: Getty)
How many goals has Harry Kane scored in all competitions this season?
In all competitions for Bayern Munich and England this season, Kane has scored 17 goals for club and country.
Axel Tuanzebe left Manchester United at the end of last season (Picture: Getty Images)
Axel Tuanzebe will finally make his debut for Ipswich Town on Wednesday evening against Fulham in the Carabao Cup, after joining the club in September.
The 25-year-old left Manchester United at the end of last season, ending a connection with the Red Devils which began when he joined the club at just eight years old.
The centre-back signed a one-year deal with Championship side Ipswich, with the club holding an option to extend the contract by a further 12 months.
Tuanzebe was dealing with a long-standing back injury when he arrived, which is partly why he only signed such a short-term deal, but he has now recovered and is ready to be involved.
The Tractor Boys take on Fulham on Wednesday and assistant manager Martyn Pert confirmed Tuanzebe will make his debut for the club at Portman Road.
‘Axel’s obviously been in since the early part of September,’ said Pert. ‘He has trained really well, built that foundation there that he can get some minutes in the game.’
Tuanzebe was close to a debut on Saturday when he was on the bench for the 3-2 win over Plymouth in the Championship, a victory which kept Ipswich second in the division after an excellent start to the season.
Ipswich are managed by former Manchester United coach Kieran McKenna, who worked with Tuanzebe at Old Trafford, and was delighted to bring him in when he arrived in September.
‘He’s settled in really well, really well,’ said McKenna last month. ‘He’s training with the group and he’s looked in really good condition.
‘We have a time period that we’re working towards with him. He’s still probably in what you’d say are the earlier stages of pre-season in terms of time on the grass.
Kieran McKenna is doing an amazing job at Ipswich Town after leading them up from League One (Picture: Getty Images)
‘He trained for maybe a week or so before he arrived with us (on trial with Luton), but we want to be really methodical and sensible in terms of how we reintegrate him to the group and how we reintegrate him to matches because he’s had 18 months really of a (back) issue that we think now is in a really good place.
‘But we don’t want to rush him back into competitive action too soon and enhance the chances of there being a setback.
‘So we’ll do it in a careful and well-considered way to hopefully get the benefits of a fully-fit Axel Tuanzebe for the rest of this season and beyond, which would be a big benefit to us as a club.’
Pinnock headed Brentford into the lead at the far post. (Picture: Getty)
Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf has pinned the blame for Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Brentford on Axel Disasi and Noni Madueke after their role in the first goal on Saturday.
Chelsea started the game on the front foot against their south-west London rivals but failed to find an opening in the first half.
After the break, Mauricio Pochettino’s side were punished when centre-back Ethan Pinnock found acres of space at the back post to thump home a header before Bryan Mbuemo wrapped up the victory in stoppage time.
The defeat ended Chelsea’s four-match unbeaten streak and continued their barren recent form against Thomas Frank’s side, with the Blues now without a win against Brentford since December 2021.
After impressive performances against Burnley and Arsenal in recent weeks, the pressure is now firmly back on Pochettino with his side languishing in 11th place, but former Blues centre-back Leboeuf believed the blame should be pinned largely on two players.
‘The first goal is initially a mistake from [Marc] Cucurella but it’s then an even bigger mistake from Disasi and Madueke at the far post,’ he said speaking on ESPN.
‘That was bad communication, bad covering, bad everything. It’s crazy.’
The defeat extends Chelsea’s poor recent record against Brentford. (Picture: Getty)
Offensively, Chelsea continued to falter with Saturday’s marking the fourth time already this season that they have failed to score a goal in a game.
However, for Leboeuf, Chelsea’s lack of potency going forward is no justification for their defensive errors, with Saturday another game where they should have come away with at least a point.
‘If you cannot score goals, at least in that game you have to draw and keep the clean sheet. It’s possible and not complicated; they proved it in the first half but let it go in the second,’ he added.
‘They played better, and were maybe a bit unlucky, but there are some things that I see that make me think they do everything to not win and sometimes everything to lose the game and that is very annoying.’
Pochettino’s side, however, have a chance to get back to winnings way immediately when they they host Championship side Blackburn in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Amad Diallo has been out for three months. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Manchester United winger Amad Diallo has taken a significant step in his recovery from a serious knee injury.
The Ivory Coast playmaker has been out of action since the start of pre-season, when he injured his knee ligaments.
Diallo enjoyed an impressive loan spell with Sunderland last season and was named the Black Cats’ player of the year.
The former Atalanta winger had hoped to break into United’s first team this term following his year in the north-east but his injury scuppered his chance of impressing Erik ten Hag in pre-season.
But the good news for Diallo is that he’s now closing in on a return, and he was able to train on the grass at Carrington today.
Diallo suffered a knee injury in July (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
The majority of Ten Hag’s squad were given the day off following the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City but Diallo participated in an individual session.
The winger will be hoping to feature in a matchday squad before the international break but a more realistic return is pencilled in for the end of November.
United have struggled for goals this season, and have a -5 goal difference in the Premier League.
Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund, Anthony Martial and Antony have just one Premier League goal between them this campaign.
Jurgen Klopp’s team won three points on an emotional day for them (Picture: Getty Images)
Jurgen Klopp says it was impossible to make football feel important on Sunday after Liverpool winger Luis Diaz’s parents were kidnapped in Colombia the previous day.
With Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah completing the scoring it was a good day on the pitch for the Reds, but Klopp says the preparation for the match was as difficult as he has ever experienced given what Diaz was dealing with.
‘How can you make a football game really important on a day like this? It’s really difficult,’ said Klopp.
‘I never struggled with that, it was always my safe place. But it was impossible to do that [today], so we had to give the game an extra sense. That was fighting for Lucho.
‘The preparation was the most difficult I had in my life. Didn’t expect it, couldn’t prepare for it. We try to help Lucho as much as we can. The only thing we can do is fight for him.’
Diogo Jota paid tribute to his teammate after scoring the opener against Nottingham Forest (Picture: Getty Images)
Jota said of the awful circumstances for the Diaz family: ‘It’s a situation we can’t even imagine if we [have not gone] through that same situation.
‘All we can say is we are here for him and hopefully the things work out well in the end.
‘It’s always nice to score goals and obviously for me it’s really important. Especially today as well for Lucho. I was quite feeling that I was going to score; I actually played instead of him. We are all with him and it was an important moment for me, but for him as well. We’re all with him and I think it was a nice occasion to show him that..’
The Norwegian was rested in Saturday’s 5-0 win over Sheffield United (Pictures: Getty)
Mikel Arteta has revealed that Martin Odegaard has been carrying a small injury issue in recent weeks while he was delighted his rotated Arsenal side did not drop their intensity in Saturday’s win over Sheffield United.
The Gunners closed the gap to Premier League leaders Tottenham back to just two points with a thumping 5-0 victory over the struggling Blades at the Emirates, with Eddie Nketiah bagging a hat-trick.
In the absence of injured frontman Gabriel Jesus, Nketiah was tasked with leading the line and opened the scoring after collecting Declan Rice’s low cross and poking the ball into the bottom corner.
He doubled his tally shortly after the restart, rifling home as United struggled to clear a corner, before completing his hat-trick with a stunning, powerful finish from the edge of the box which arrowed into the top corner.
Nketiah could have had a fourth late on when Arsenal were awarded a penalty but let Fabio Vieira get on the scoresheet, before Takehiro Tomiyasu bagged his first goal for the club in the 96th minute.
Arteta made four changes to his team for the visit of Sheffield United and despite saying pre-match that it was a simple case of ‘refreshing’ the line-up after a tough trip to Sevilla in midweek, he has now confirmed that Odegaard has been dealing with an injury niggle.
Asked about the decision not to play his skipper at all on Saturday, Arteta replied: ‘Obviously we went through all the minutes that everybody has played in the last three weeks and some of them they played an enormous amount of minutes.
Arsenal put Sheffield United to the sword on Saturday (Picture: Getty)
‘Martin has been as well carrying a little thing and wasn’t very comfortable in the games. So we have players with enormous quality and we have to trust them, and we believed it was the right day to do so.’
Asked how tough the load has been on Odegaard recently, Arteta continued: ‘I think he has enjoyed a lot the last couple of weeks.
‘They’ve been really good for the team, he’s playing every game. Yes, he had a difficult period with the national team because it was a big blow for them what happened, but this is football and he needs to get on with that and he is a massive player for us.’
Arteta was also pleased that his rotated side did not drop their intensity, saying: ‘Obviously they came from the national teams. We beat City, then they go to the national teams, we then had to go to Stamford Bridge and we did what we did with it at Stamford Bridge.
‘And then you have to go to Sevilla, and that’s a really, really stressful week, with as well what they were experiencing in the last few weeks [with the national teams].
‘So then you can have the tendency to [relax] and go, “OK now we’re going to play at home” and that would have been the worst thing we could have done to compete against this team today.’
The assistant coach was sent off as tempers boiled over (Picture: Getty)
Mauricio Pochettino has apologised to Brentford after Jesus Perez was sent off following a confrontation with their coaching staff in Chelsea’s 2-0 home defeat on Saturday.
The Blues have been overtaken in the Premier League table by their west London neighbours, slipping down to 11th place, after losing at home for the third time this season.
Pochettino’s side actually made a bright start to the match and had Brentford penned back inside their own box for large spells, but they failed to convert their pressure and chances into a goal.
Ethan Pinnock then headed the visitors ahead on the half-hour mark from a corner before Bryan Mbuemo wrapped up the victory in stoppage time, stroking the ball into an empty net after Robert Sanchez had gone up for a late corner.
The west London derby was a somewhat heated affair – as much off the pitch as on it – and assistant coach Jesus Perez was sent off by referee Simon Hooper after he clashed with Brentford’s coaching staff in the second half.
Pochettino has now apologised on behalf of his long-serving assistant and says he was simply trying to get the ball back quickly from in front of the visitors’ dugout so Chelsea could restart the match in their search for an equaliser that never came.
Perez usually joins Pochettino at his press conferences to provide translation assistance but was absent after the match, with the Argentine saying: ‘Yeah, because in the rules he cannot go to the [other team’s technical area].
Referee Simon Hooper brandishes a red card to Perez (Picture: Getty)
‘We apologise to Brentford and apologise to the referee because he wanted to take the ball in front of Brentford. Nothing more than this.
‘It’s normal. They said, “What are you doing here?” and he said, “I want to take the ball”. That’s it. Nothing more.’
Asked if Perez was not permitted to join him at the post-match press conference as a result of the red card, Pochettino replied: ‘I think the rule is to be banned. I think it is better to stay away.’
Reflecting on the defeat, the Chelsea boss continued: ‘I think the analysis of the defeat is clear because after the first half we should score and we didn’t score. It is easy when you dominate and create chances and you don’t concede chances and the opponent doesn’t cross the halfway line.
‘I think you should score. If you don’t score you need to blame yourself and we are going to blame ourselves because we were not nasty or clinical in front of the goal. We created chances but did not score.
‘Sometimes you need some luck, you know, to score and after the game changed in the second half but I think we give the belief because we didn’t score and the second half, I think we cannot concede these types of goals. It was our mistake. That is why we lose the game.’
Spurs now have 26 points from a possible 30 so far this season (Picture: Getty)
Tottenham have taken a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table after second-half goals secured a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Friday night.
The north Londoners were frustrated for large spells of the match but showed their class after the restart as an own goal from Joel Ward and Son Heung-min tap-in saw them extend their unbeaten run and their lead at the top, at least until others have played this weekend – though they had to survive a nervy ending.
Spurs made two changes from the side that beat Fulham on Monday night, with Destiny Udogie not fit enough to play and Ben Davies picked instead, while Yves Bissouma came back into the starting XI for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg after serving a one-match suspension.
Ange Postecoglou’s side quickly settled into their possession game but it was Palace – looking to bounce back from a 4-0 defeat to Newcastle last time out – who had the first sighters on goal, with Guglielmo Vicario forced into two solid stops.
Spurs continued to dominate the ball and James Maddison started to find pockets of space against Palace’s deep, disciplined back-line; a burst down the left channel nearly presented him with a chance to square for Son, while he fired over from close range moments later after Richarlison did brilliantly to keep the ball in play.
Those two were starting to click down the left-hand side and another flowing move created space for the Brazilian on the edge of the box, but he dragged his effort wide of the near post. More quick interplay between Son and Maddison nearly released the latter, but Jefferson Lerma made an excellent recovery challenge.
Crystal Palace were frustrating Tottenham, though, and ended the half with a flurry of dangerous corners. Postecoglou did not wait around to make a change, withdrawing Davies at the break – who was targeted in the air by Palace – and bringing on Emerson Royal.
Ward’s own goal broke the deadlock at Selhurst Park (Picture: Getty)
Despite some swift mopping up from the rapid Micky van de Ven, Palace continued to threaten on the break and a burst to the byline from Jeffrey Schlupp gave him the chance to fire a low cross into the box which Spurs just about managed to clear.
Tottenham went up the other end and created a similar opening moments later, though were rather more fortunate than their opponents; Pape Matar Sarr’s pull-back ricocheted to Maddison and he fired a vicious volley across goal that rebounded off Ward and into the back of the net.
Despite their lead, Spurs lacked a bit of control in the match at this stage and were being hounded by Palace’s spring-loaded pressing. Bissouma was caught on the ball deep in his own half, with Odsonne Edouard’s shot deflecting for a corner. From the resulting set-piece, Marc Guehi had a free header but put his effort wide.
Tottenham kept playing their football, though, amid a chorus of boos and whistles from the Selhurst Park crowd as they passed it round the back and tried to lure the hosts out, ending the match with 76% possession. Palace were given a warning shot with one back-to-front move that almost came off, but they would not escape a second time.
Vicario started the move but the injection of tempo came from a raking switch of play from Sarr; Substitute Brennan Johnson headed the ball onto Maddison, who played it back, and the Welshman squared for Son to double the lead. A razor-sharp, devastatingly clinical goal.
Son rounded off a brilliant Tottenham move (Picture: Getty)
Spurs were convinced Ayew handled the ball for his late goal (Picture: Getty)
Palace seemed to run out of steam as the match wore on, a consequence of Tottenham’s constant passing and moving, but pulled a goal back deep into stoppage time with a controversial moment.
Andre Ayew controlled a deep cross on the edge of the box and fired a stunning volley past Vicario, but replays appeared to show a slight touch off his arm. Despite multiple checks from VAR, the goal was given and Tottenham had to endure a nervy final few minutes.
This was arguably Spurs’ most underwhelming performance of the season so far, yet they came through it with a dogged win, a memorable goal, a late cameo for the returning Rodrigo Bentancur and a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
The 38-year-old has lost his first two matches in charge of the Blues (Picture: Getty)
Rio Ferdinand says he won’t reach out to Wayne Rooney amid his difficult start to life as Birmingham City boss but has backed his old team-mate to turn things around.
The former Manchester United striker, who replaced the popular John Eustace earlier this month, has lost his first two games in charge of the Blues as they have tumbled down the table from 6th to 12th.
Birmingham were booed off the pitch after their 2-0 loss to Hull City on Wednesday night, while one fan was even heard yelling at Rooney to ‘f*** off back to America’.
But Ferdinand is convinced the former DC United manager is the right man for Birmingham and will happily pick up the phone if he calls for advice, though says he won’t make first contact.
Asked if he has reached out to his old United pal, Ferdinand told his FIVE YouTube channel: ‘Na, in these moments I don’t really like to speak to people when they’re under a bit of pressure a little bit and they’ve lost a couple of games.
‘Hopefully he gets out of it. I’ll drop him a text and stuff but speaking to him? I’ll just let him get on with it.
‘His head is filled man. Wazza is the type actually, if s**t is going on, he’ll call me and that’s how our relationship has always been.
Rooney faces a tough trip to Southampton next (Picture: Getty)
‘Sometimes he can bounce stuff off me, or air what he needs to air out. We’ve had that relationship for a while. I think he’s got a couple of people he speaks to like that.
‘We might not speak to each other for a couple of months and then all of a sudden, bang! And he just vents a little bit.
‘And it’s what works for you as well, you know? That’s how our relationship is.
‘Listen, I think he’ll get it right. I hope he does. It won’t be for the want of trying and his professionalism, that’s for sure.’
He added: ‘I think the awkwardness comes from the players have been used to something that was working and then that guy goes – it’s not natural that a manager goes when they’re doing well.
‘I think that’s probably the hardest thing for Wayne going in there, that it’s a dressing room that were used to their manager, they would have been happy because dressing rooms are happy when you’re winning, and then that’s been ripped up and they get a new hymn sheet and a new manager comes in.
‘I think that’s the biggest thing for Wayne, converting those guys into being believers, but you need results to get that. They could be saying he’s good, but until you’re winning players don’t genuinely believe in you until you hit three points regularly.’
The pundit feels United aren’t playing to their new striker’s strengths (Pictures: Getty / FIVE)
Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester United’s wingers are not providing Rasmus Hojlund with the type of service he thrives off and says he is ‘scared’ about their chances in Sunday’s derby.
The Red Devils have struggled for form so far this season and their marquee summer signing, 20-year-old striker Hojlund, is yet to open his account in the Premier League.
But he has netted three in three in the Champions League and Ferdinand feels wingers Antony and Marcus Rashford must go back to basics and do more to provide the towering Dane with the service he requires.
‘I think we need to get to a place where we’re actually playing to our players’ strengths,’ said Ferdinand on his FIVE YouTube channel.
‘You look at Hojlund, he wants the ball crossed. You saw the header he scored in the Champions League, you see the way he attacks crosses.
‘Get the ball wide and cross it! Antony keeps chopping back on his left foot, doesn’t cross it. Marcus doesn’t really cross from that [left] side.
‘Get past your full-back, or get a yard, and put the ball in the box! And he’ll attack it.’
Hojlund has displayed his finishing prowess in the Champions League (Picture: Getty)
United host City at Old Trafford and can actually close the gap to their rivals to just three points with a win despite their lacklustre start to the season, though Ferdinand is not holding out much hope for an upset.
‘I’m scared, man, I’ve got to be honest. I’m scared,’ he continued.
‘I’m fearful, I’ve got to be honest with you. Your heart is telling you, “Maybe we can nick something and defend, defend, defend” but we’re miles off it if you look at it in terms of where City are and where we are.
‘The one positive I take going into the game is the way that the game ended the other day [against Copenhagen], I don’t think it could have ended any better for our team.
‘Harry Maguire scored the winner, but also Andre Onana making that save in the final seconds of the game and you saw the way the team was around Onana and that euphoria hopefully travels into the next game.
‘Whereas if we’d won that game 1-0 and just won it, scraped through it, you’re going into the derby on a bit of a low ebb, but hopefully a bit of confidence grew from that.
‘I don’t think it’s going to be enough confidence, but you’d like to think we’re in a better place given where that game finished.’
