Dennis Bergkamp believes Arsenal became focused on “too much midfield play” shortly after their most recent Premier League title win.

Arsenal won the Premier League title in 2004 but have only finished in the top two twice since: to Chelsea in the subsequent campaign and as distant runners-up to Leicester in 2016.

Bergkamp, a vital part of that Invincibles side, believes Arsene Wenger advocated “too much midfield play” at a time when Cesc Fabregas was breaking through and establishing himself in the side.

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Portrait of an icon: Dennis Bergkamp

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That, the Dutchman says, left “only one striker who was lonely” and in turn contributed to their downfall as they started to fall out of regular title contention.

“Arsene started experimenting,” he told the Daily Mail.

“Arsenal after 2006, there was too much midfield play. There were no players going into attack, and only one striker who was lonely.”

Martin Keown, interviewing his former teammate, concurred.

“With five in midfield, instead of having you there, he had Cesc Fabregas. You would start high then drift into midfield.

“Then Wenger reversed it. Then the player started deep and went high, as Fabregas did. Many years later, I spoke with a big-name winger at Arsenal. I asked him: ‘Why do you always stay wide?’ Play with freedom. Be instinctive. That’s what the boss wants.”

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The ‘remarkable’ figures involved in Arsenal signing David Luiz from Chelsea for one season have been revealed.

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Luiz joined the Gunners in a surprise move in summer 2019, with Frank Lampard deeming the Brazilian surplus to requirements at Chelsea.

The fee was reported as £8m and considered a fair bit of business at the time, but the ‘remarkable context’ of the deal has now been revealed.

The Athletic report that the final sum was closer to £24m when payments to ‘intermediaries’ (£6m) and Luiz’s £10m salary are taken into account.

Arsenal used the ‘justification’ of bringing in Luiz’s ‘calibre and experience for a relatively cheap fee’, while the sudden departure of captain Laurent Koscielny left them in ‘a desperate situation’ and necessitated a move for a player who ‘ticked a lot of boxes’.

Agent Kia Joorabchian is also mentioned as key in negotiations due to his ‘good relationship’ with Raul Sanllehi and Edu.

Arsenal now face a dilemma as to whether to let the ‘very popular and influential’ Luiz’s current deal expire this summer or negotiate an extension, as it has emerged that he only ever signed a one-year contract in north London as opposed to the widely reported two years.

Jamie Carragher feels that while Luiz is prone to mistakes, he still has a lot to offer Arsenal and in particular William Saliba, the teenage centre-half who will join for £27m from Saint-Etienne this summer.

Benfica is thought to be Luiz’s preferred destination, but he faces a wage cut of at least half to facilitate a move to the club he featured for between 2007 and 2011.

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Eden Hazard and Willian were among the Chelsea players who got “bored” of Maurizio Sarri’s methods, according to Blues legend Gianfranco Zola.

Zola served as assistant manager under Sarri during the current Juventus boss’ sole season in charge at Stamford Bridge, in what was a campaign of mixed success.

Chelsea won the Europa League and finished third in the Premier League, but Sarri struggled to get the best out of key players like N’Golo Kante, and the season ended on a low note when Eden Hazard left for Real Madrid.

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Now, Zola – who left his post when Frank Lampard was appointed as Sarri’s successor last summer – has revealed that the manager’s methods in training had a negative impact on Hazard and fellow winger Willian, among others.

“They were talented players, like Hazard and Willian, players who know how to win games on their own, but they were suffering from the type of exercises and type of training we were doing – but it was necessary for the others,” Zola told beIN Sports.

“I’ll be honest, they were brilliant because they got bored, but they kept doing it throughout and that was the reason why, when everyone was dropping, we were going up towards the end.

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“At the beginning the players were very much behind everything that we were saying, they were brilliant. They were following everything, but then as the weeks passed due to the repetition and the amount of games they were playing, the players got tired and they also got bored in a way.

“But boring is part of our job. Sometimes you need to get bored, but when you get bored you persist in what you’re doing and you get better. I remember that when I was learning to play football, kicking a ball for example, I used to do it 300-400 times a day at least.

“There were moments when I got tired but I needed to do it repeatedly because if I wanted it to become a part of me, this was the process I needed to go through.”

Upon leaving Chelsea last summer, Sarri admitted that Hazard had “caused issues” with the system he intended to use.

He said at his unveiling with Juventus: “In recent years, I’ve had 4-3-3, but the 4-3-3 at Chelsea was very different to the one at Napoli. We had to accompany Eden Hazard’s characteristics, as he could change the game, but also his presence caused issues in defending that we had to work on.”

 

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Ryan Giggs claims Rio Ferdinand was teased by his Man Utd team-mates when he first joined ‘as he was “one of the worst players in training”.

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Ferdinand went on to become a Man Utd legend, winning six Premier League titles, two League Cups and a Champions League during his 12 years at the club.

When asked about the attitude required to succeed during his time at Man Utd, Giggs told beIN Sports: “I used the example of Rio Ferdinand, he was a brilliant player when he came to Man Utd.

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“But all of a sudden he’s one of the worst players in training in the boxes we used to play, the little keep ball 8 vs 2 and he’s thinking wow! All of a sudden you are under pressure before training has even started because that’s part of the warm up.

“He wouldn’t get the mick taken out of him at Leeds or West Ham if he was in the middle. At United it was constant. If you are in the middle they are putting the bib on you, just keep it on, and instantly you are probably going home thinking what’s just happened there? I used to enjoy training!

“You have to step up to that next level. There is no hiding place. And he cost £30million, the most expensive defender in the world. It didn’t matter. And of course by the end of it he was the best. He was the best in the box because he was so good with his feet, he was confident so there is a bit, or was a bit, of sink or swim.”

 

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Fort de son buzz cannois et de son joli succès en salles, le deuxième film de Valérie Donzelli, “La Guerre est déclarée”, a été choisi pour représenter la France aux prochains Oscars.

Réunie ce matin au CNC (Centre National de la Cinématographie), la commission chargée de sélectionner le film qui représentera la France dans la course pour l’Oscar du meilleur film étranger 2012 a rendu son verdict: c’est le deuxième film de Valérie Donzelli, La Guerre est déclarée, qui a remporté les suffrages. Fort d’un très joli succès en salles, l’histoire d’amour bouleversante de Juliette et de Roméo, et celle de leur combat acharné pour sauver leur fils atteint d’un cancer, a fait l’unanimité auprès de la critique comme du public français.

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Ovationné lors de sa projection en ouverture de la Semaine de la Critique au dernier festival de Cannes, le film a depuis continué son chemin, remportant au passage le Grand Prix du Festival de Cabourg, ainsi que trois prix au Festival Paris Cinéma. Reste à savoir désormais si La Guerre est déclarée fera partie des cinq longs-métrages retenus pour décrocher le très convoité trophée. Le cinéma français pourrait briller dans d’autres catégories, les rumeurs faisant déjà de The Artist de Michel Hazanavicius, l’un des grands favoris de la 84ème édition des Oscars (voir notre article).

Camille Lamourette

EU Confidential #154: Commission’s €750B recovery plan — Battles ahead — Making ‘Parlement’ funny

Listen to the podcast on Spotify | Apple | Google | Soundcloud | Stitcher

The European Commission this week unveiled a sweeping €750 billion proposal to get the EU’s economies back on track. POLITICO’s budget guru Lili Bayer, along with Andrew Gray, Matthew Karnitschnig and Rym Momtaz break down the plan and preview the battles ahead. We assess the mood in Commission HQ and around the Continent, and ask whether Ursula von der Leyen and her team have emerged strengthened from the skirmishes so far.

Noé Debré, the creator of “Parlement,” a TV comedy set in the European Parliament, is our special guest. POLITICO’s Cristina Gonzalez and Maïa de La Baume get the behind-the-scenes scoop on how the show came about, how it’s been received inside the Parliament and what makes EU lawmaking funny.

Nigeria international Victor Osimhen will only join Spurs if Harry Kane leaves the club, according to the Lille striker’s agent.

At the start of the month Telefoot claimed Lille had received an offer for the 21-year-old striker, who has been linked with Liverpool and Chelsea.

Le10Sport reported that Liverpool were leading the race for Osimhen and 21-year-old midfielder Boubakary Soumare, who is believed to be interesting some of the world’s biggest clubs.

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However, according to Les Cahiers du Football editor Abdellah Boulma, the £75m bid, plus bonuses came from Tottenham.

Kane has also been the subject of much speculation, with Man Utd linked, after he warned that he will not simply stay at Tottenham “for the sake of it”.

And Osimhen’s agent, Ariyo Igbayilola, has insisted that with Kane at Spurs it will be unlikely that his client will move to north London.

Igbayilola told The Cable: “We told Mourinho that if he wants Victor, will Harry Kane be leaving?

“If Harry Kane is still playing for Tottenham will Victor play? Because he will always be benched for him.

“Kane is their number one striker and he is the captain of England, all these will always work for him in the club but at Victor’s detriment.

“He needs a club where he will always play full games week in, week out. Not to be kept on the bench.”

 

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The Premier League has confirmed it has “a neutral venue contingency” after it emerged that Man Utd were ‘perplexed’ at one of their games being chosen.

Man Utd were scheduled to host Sheffield United at Old Trafford in their second game back from the Premier League’s enforced suspension.

But South Yorkshire Police named that fixture as one of at least five they wish to be played at a neutral venue to ensure social-distancing measures are adhered to while ‘minimising the demand on policing’.

It has since emerged that ‘some connected’ to Man Utd ‘are perplexed’ at that game in particular being picked.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters spoke out on the matter on Friday.

Masters anticipated a decision on neutral venues in the next seven to 10 days, and hoped the number would ultimately be “low”.

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“Ultimately what we want is the season to be played out on the pitch, and try and keep it as fair as it possibly can be,” he said.

Masters is holding out hope that supporters can return to matches at some stage during the 2020-21 season.

“There is optimism that we will see fans back in the stadiums next season and it may happen on a phased basis,” he said.

The Premier League later issued a statement which read: “The Premier League’s ambition is to complete all of our remaining fixtures this season home and away, where possible.

“We are working with our clubs to ensure risks are assessed and minimised, while co-operating with the police at a local and national level.

“Discussions with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and UK Football Policing Unit have been positive and are continuing. We are prepared for all outcomes and have a neutral venue contingency.”

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Liverpool could still sign Timo Werner as their pursuit of the Germany striker has taken yet another twist.

Werner has long been considered the club’s primary summer target but the current global situation was thought to have curtailed any transfer plans.

That was reiterated by the Daily Mirror on Thursday, who stated that Liverpool ‘will not negotiate a price tag below his £50million contract release’ and thus had ‘withdrawn completely’ from talks.

The Reds were still said to be playing ‘transfer poker’ over Werner as late as this week, however, and Klopp seems reluctant to give up on the deal.

The Guardian claim he discussed the prospect of signing the striker with Liverpool’s board this week, stressing that he would be a ‘perfect’ addition to his squad.

The Premier League leaders are said to be ‘still keen to make the transfer happen this summer’ if possible, with Werner’s £52.7m release clause expiring on June 15.

Inter Milan are also interested in the forward but it is thought that he would only entertain a move to Liverpool at this point.

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The 24-year-old might otherwise be happy to stay at Leipzig, where he has scored 30 goals and assisted 12 in 39 games this season.

Werner has even continued his thrilling form since the return of the Bundesliga, netting a hat-trick in a destruction of Mainz last weekend.

He has three years remaining on his contract in Germany and his ‘representatives are aware of Liverpool’s situation’ of wanting to ensure financial security in the midst of a global pandemic.

The proposed return of the Premier League could see their previous stance of not wanting to make any major signings relaxed.

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