Ballon d’Or: Dembele was a scatter-brained boy wonder who did not even know which was his stronger foot
Inevitably, Dembele’s rapid rate of goal-scoring could not last forever, but what his goals lost in frequency, they more than made up for in importance. Against Liverpool in the Champions League last 16 and Arsenal in the semi-finals, he scored strikingly similar goals that showcased both his tactical intelligence and his newfound poacher’s instincts.
How new role, learning to love tap-ins and not ‘cheating’ propelled Ousmane Dembele to Ballon d’Or
Following Mbappe’s exit, Dembele had been assured by the PSG hierarchy that he would be “the leader of the attack”, according to a source close to the player. He was subsequently disappointed to discover that central midfielder Vitinha, and not he.
Mirror images or complementarity? Fans wonder if Man City and Arsenal managers are football’s Siamese twins
Last season, Arteta was promoting the idea of two squads to cope with the packed calendar, while Guardiola was an outlier, complaining about having a bloated squad. Arsenal have improved their depth drastically to reach a head count of 25, but it is Guardiola who has moved position by starting the season carrying 26 senior players for the first time.
A reset Arsenal hands Nottingham Forest a hiding in a match ‘Nigerian’ boys Eze and Madueke’s flair wowed opposition
This has not been the first time the first international break in the season has been necessary for Arteta to rejig things. The biggest example was in the 2021-22 season, when Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Gabriel and Kieran Tierney became his new-look back five to help recover from a poor start to the season.
Eberechi Eze’s switch to Arsenal illustrates just how Premier League transfers are an incoherent mix of art and craft
Except, it wasn’t really a hijacking at all. Arsenal had actually struck the principles of an agreement with Palace as early as the morning of August 10. They managed to keep it extraordinarily quiet as illustrated by how it was only after Wednesday evening’s sensations that multiple sources were willing to talk about it.
