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      Gary Neville predicts how many points will win the Premier League title as he backs Arsenal to LIMP over the line

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      GARY NEVILLE reckons Arsenal will limp over the line and win the Premier League title this season.The Sky Sports pundit previously stated he believed Manchester City would recover to beat Mikel Arteta’s side to top spot.
      Gary Neville has changed his mind on the title raceCredit: PA
      Arsenal have been tipped to win the titleCredit: EPA
      He has now changed his stance, but thinks the Gunners WON’T keep up their flying pace from the first half of the season.
      Arsenal achieved a remarkable total of 50 points from their first 19 games – but after their 1-0 loss to Everton on matchday 20, Neville thinks they’ll stumble over the finish line.
      Explaining his reasoning on The Overlap, the 47-year-old said: “I believe that 85 points will win a team the Premier League this season.
      “This is a traditional season where Arsenal won’t win the league easily, which it never is after not winning it for many years.”
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      Explaining how he thinks the Gunners will win their first league title since the 2004 Invincibles, he added: “Arsenal will limp over the line in May and will come under pressure.
      “But in terms of Arsenal having a big lead currently, we were thinking on Saturday afternoon about how quickly the points difference will change – the lead over Manchester City can change very quickly.
      “It could happen multiple times between now and the end of the season, where Arsenal will lose, Manchester City will win and then the gap closes quite rapidly.
      “If Manchester City overtake Arsenal with 5-10 games left to go, they’ll win it by 10 points, but if Arsenal are to win the league, they’ll win it in the penultimate or last game of the season.”
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      On why the reigning champions won’t retain their crown this year, Neville pointed to strange decisions being made by boss Pep Guardiola.
      He continued: “Do you know something, we were at the City game on Sunday and when the team came through I thought for the first time that Arsenal could win the league.
      “And that’s not looking smart after the event because City had lost, but I just thought he is messing around, he’s tinkering far too much.
      “I don’t know why Kevin De Bruyne isn’t playing, I don’t know why Ilkay Gundogan is not playing, I don’t know why Ruben Dias is not back in the centre of that defence with Aymeric Laporte to make them solid.
      “I saw the team and I thought, from the point of view of my prediction – which is that City will catch Arsenal – I was less sure on Sunday than I’ve ever been.
      “I was pretty certain two weeks ago, I was actually certain on Saturday afternoon, I thought, ‘Right, City will do it proper tomorrow, this will be a proper champion’s performance, he won’t mess around’, but if he carries on doing what he’s doing…”
      Man City currently trail Arsenal by five points, having played a game more than the Gunners.
      Manchester City fell to defeat to SpursCredit: Getty More

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      Man City’s 115 alleged rule breaches NOT mentioned in four-hour Premier League meeting as rivals want club relegated

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      AS Manchester City chief Ferran Soriano walked into the Premier League lions’ den on Thursday, he might have been excused for wondering if the Super League would provide a warmer welcome.After all, the breakaway scheme is being plotted from Madrid and Barcelona.
      Chelsea owner Todd Boehly arriving at the Churchill Hotel in Central LondonCredit: Andrew Styczynski
      Newcastle chief Amanda Staveley arriving to the meetingCredit: Andrew Styczynski
      And Soriano, along with Pep Guardiola and director of football Txiki Beguiristain, will always have part of his heart in Catalonia.
      If the Premier League does carry through the demand of some clubs and send City spinning through the relegation trapdoor over the alleged 115 rule breaches, the grass might look greener.
      Certainly, there was little sympathy for City’s plight from the other club chiefs who gathered around the conference table in a swanky central London hotel on Thursday.
      Greetings were perfunctory at best, with the City situation the ghost that was floating around at the back of every mind, even if it was not even mentioned during the four-hour club “strategy” meeting. 
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      But even what the Football Supporters Association slammed as a “walking corpse with all the self-awareness of a zombie” has, for now, shut the door in City’s face.
      Real and Barca, through their unofficial Madrid-based marketing arm A22, have portrayed the Premier League as European football’s enemy within.
      It is, they claimed in their presentations, a voracious beast hoovering up most of the available cash and, in terms of dominating the transfer market, “a train that has left the station”.
      But even if a new train can be put onto the rails, City, it seems, would not be welcome to hop on board.
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      Not, that is, unless the Premier League and its clubs can be persuaded to back the rebooted concept.
      A22 say they are unable to provide a concrete plan – given the way the initial one went down the pan two years ago, that makes sense – but “10 principles” for the future.
      They include “meritocratic” competitions – qualifying on merit – with the final decisions made by the clubs involved rather than Uefa.
      A22 added: “Clubs also need greater stability and predictability in annual revenues so they can make sensible, long-term commitments to player and infrastructure expenditures. 
      “Substantial improvements in the format and attractiveness of the current European competitions would generate additional resources.” 
      Key among them, though, is “strict financial sustainability rules” and an acceptance that domestic leagues are fundamental to European club football and that there must be “harmonious” relationships, not conflict.
      In other words, if City are relegated from the Prem, then they will not have any European opt-out offer on the table – because British teams will NOT be invited.
      A22 chief Bernd Reichart said he envisaged a “sustainable sporting project for European club competitions available to, at a minimum, all 27 EU Member States”.
      That, of course, does not include the UK, sparking complaints from Prem clubs that the plotters want to boot English clubs out of the Euro big-time.
      Not that Soriano was made to feel particularly comfortable on home soil on Thursday.
      Soriano, accompanied by an aide, was the first club chief to arrive at the Churchill Regency Hotel off Oxford Street around 11.15am.
      Having found the Prem’s meeting room empty, he retreated to the lounge and an animated conversation eventually, but briefly, disrupted by Manchester United opposite number Richard Arnold.
      The pair shook hands and exchanged smiles before Arnold moved on, with Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish the next club executive to engage with the City chief.
      Two more did stop for a handshake but as the remainder of the club bosses gathered in small groups, one involving Parish, Arsenal’s Vinai Venkatesham and Brighton’s Paul Barber, Soriano upped sticks and left for more than half an hour.
      When he returned, Arnold had been joined by Chelsea owner Todd Boehly, Newcastle’s Amanda Staveley and Christian Purslow of Aston Villa.
      Soriano stalked past, briefing waving at the table as he did so. 
      Not exactly a warm embrace of pals showing empathy for his plight, with one club chief admitting there was no fellow feeling and that many of them believed this was a day long coming.
      That acrimony did not surface in the talks about the future of the Premier League.
      But neither did anybody bend over backwards to show understanding. You reap, it seems, what you sow.
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      Another club boss said: “Ferran isn’t exactly a mixer. But I don’t think anybody really wanted to say too much to him.
      “It’s in the hands of the Commission now, not us.”
      Brighton chairman Tony Bloom arriving in central LondonCredit: PA More

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      Premier League clubs blast European Super League rebels for planning new competition WITHOUT English teams

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      PREMIER LEAGUE clubs have ridiculed rebooted “reverse Brexit” plans for a European Super League WITHOUT English teams.Conspirators Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus are refusing to give up on their breakaway project despite it crashing and burning inside 48 HOURS two years ago.
      Florentino Perez is determined to revive the hated Super LeagueCredit: AFP
      Fans rallied against the despised projectCredit: Getty
      Now the three rebels are using Madrid-based sports marketing firm A22 to rehash another version of the plan that would see up to 80 clubs leave Uefa to form a new competition.
      But that would NOT include any Premier League clubs, with A22 using the success of English football as a justification for the new tournament.
      Top-flight club bosses were scathing about the plans, while Spain’s LaLiga boss Javier Tebas posted a cartoon portraying the whole scheme as a fairytale, blasting: “Super League is the wolf who disguises himself as a granny.”
      The European Court of Justice is expected to confirm within weeks that Uefa DOES have the right to ban rebel clubs and players if they try to form a new elite competition.
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      But A22 chief Bernd Reichart insisted: “The foundations of European football are in danger of collapsing. It’s time for a change. It is the clubs that bear the entrepreneurial risk in football.
      “But when important decisions are at stake, they are too often forced to sit idly by on the sidelines as the sporting and financial foundations crumble around them.”
      However, the company backed a 12-club ESL proposal in 2021 that failed to materialise following furious protests against it.
      And Prem club bosses last night accused the Super Leaguers of wanting to boot English teams OUT of Europe. One insider revealed: “This is a reverse Brexit.
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      “We are talking about a closed league that is trying to justify itself by pitting Europe against England.
      “At the same time, they claim they want to emulate the Prem’s success. To say people are bemused is an understatement.”
      A22 argued in meetings with 50-plus European clubs that the Prem’s wealth has already created an elite, pointing to the fact relegated Norwich earned more in domestic TV revenues last season than champions Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.
      But Tebas blasted: “Super League is the wolf who disguises himself as a granny to try to fool European football. But his nose and his teeth are very big.
      “Four divisions in Europe? Of course, the first is just for them.”
      The European Club Association, representing the 245 biggest teams in Europe, said: “We note the latest dispatch from A22’s alternative reality.
      “However, in the real world, this rehashed idea has already been proposed, discussed and comprehensively rejected by all.
      “This is just another deliberately distorted and misleading attempt to destabilise football’s real stakeholders in their efforts to move things forward in the best interests of the European club game.”
      So when you thought it was safe to come out from behind the sofa — the Super League could be back.
      But what’s it all about this time?
      TELL US ABOUT THE LATEST PLAN
      Super League bosses envisage between 60 and 80 clubs competing in three or four divisions every season.
      It seems there is a version of promotion and relegation on offer with three up and three down.
      Each club would play “a minimum of 14 matches” and the competition would be “based solely on sporting merit”.
      WHAT’S DIFFERENT, THEN?
      The original breakaway proposals in 2021 saw a 20-club elite, with 15 “founder members” including the Premier League Big Six.
      One of the biggest criticisms was it created a self-selected, closed shop of wealthy and powerful clubs, providing a glass ceiling barrier to the rest of Europe.
      Many think this is just a rebranded version of the same thing.
      SO WHO IS DRIVING IT?
      Real Madrid and Barcelona, through a Madrid-based company called A22, together with troubled Italian giants Juventus.
      A22, who will not confirm the source of their funding, claim they have Europe-wide support.
      They would, wouldn’t they?
      AND THEIR PITCH?
      Basically, that all the problems of European football are due to the power of the Premier League.
      So this is a way of fighting back.
      BUT IT’S ABOUT THE MONEY?
      Yes. Although A22 cannot provide any details, other than a promise to split £350million per year to clubs left out of the new set-up.
      The first plan saw the founders share £3bn up front and earn £130m minimum each season.
      WHAT WAS THE RESPONSE TO THE DRAFT?
      Universally damning, from the Prem and LaLiga — which depicted Super League as the Big Bad Wolf to the European game’s Little Red Riding   Hood  —  as well as fan groups and the European Club Association.
      ISN’T THE SUPER LEAGUE DEAD ALREADY?
      Not yet. But it is on life support with the European Court of Justice expected to pronounce the final sentence of execution soon.
      This looks like a desperate attempt to breathe life into a failed concept.
      WILL IT WORK?
      Who knows? Uefa is bullish it will have the power to sanction rebels.
      Read More on The Sun
      Prem clubs, who can be hit by huge fines if they join any future breakaway, will be banned from joining by proposed new Government legislation.
      Without English clubs, it is hard to see where the TV revenue comes from.
      The Super League failed in pathetic fashionCredit: AP More

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      Chelsea make another key signing as Graham Potter’s side struggle to cope with injury crisis

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      CHELSEA have made yet another new signing – an expert to stop their hamstring crisis.Top physio Fearghal Kerin has been brought in to solve the riddle of why so many top stars are going down.
      Chelsea have struggled with persistent injury issuesCredit: Getty
      Chelsea have recruited highly respected physio Fearghal KerinCredit: Rex
      Three of Graham Potter’s players have been struck down by hamstring problems in recent weeks.
      Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka and N’Golo Kante have all faced spells on the sidelines this season.
      Kerin has worked with Irish rugby union giants Leinster and is noted for his ability to work on hamstring issues, in particular the rehab of top sports stars.
      In another bold move, Chelsea have recruited former Manchester United physio Dave Fevre to try to overcome the crippling injury problems that have dogged Potter’s first season as head coach.
      READ MORE CHELSEA NEWS
      At one point he had 11 players – an entire team – on the sick list.
      England right-back Reece James missed the World Cup with a knee problem and promptly broke down again less than an hour into his comeback game against Bournemouth in December.
      He only returned successfully to the first team last Friday in a 0-0 draw at home to Fulham.
      Chelsea have swept through their backroom team with a transformation of the staff at every level – including medical and fitness.
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      They have employed outside company Remedy – run by Kerin’s fellow Irishman and former Cambridge United defender Freddie Murray – to oversee player treatment.
      Remedy have looked after celebrities like Dave Grohl, drummer of American rock band the Foo Fighters, former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp and France World Cup winner Florian Thauvin.
      Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly is determined to change the way things are done at his club at every level.
      There has been a boardroom clear out, Potter signed eight new players during the transfer window and spent more than £300million and he is looking at each department to see if it needs shaking up.
      Reece James has suffered from a number of injuries this seasonCredit: Getty More

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      Four little-known Man Utd youngsters spotted training with first-team in huge hint they could feature in Ten Hag’s plans

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      FOUR little-known Manchester United youngsters were spotted in first-team training in a huge hint they could feature in Erik ten Hag’s plans.The Red Devils are back in training ahead of Sunday’s visit to Elland Road for a second clash with Leeds this week.
      Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho, Noam Emeran, Anthony Elanga and Bjorn Hardley of Manchester United – all have played in the Red Devils’ academyCredit: Getty
      Mateo Mejia training with Casemiro behind himCredit: Getty
      Sam Murray is also highly rated at Man UtdCredit: Getty
      Leeds held Man Utd to a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford on Wednesday – but Ten Hag’s men won’t be too keen to drop points again.
      They’ll have to see off the relegation-threatened Leeds without a number of key players.
      Midfield enforcer Casemiro is still serving a three-game suspension after being sent off in the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
      And first-team midfielders Christian Eriksen, Donny van de Beek and Scott McTominay are all nursing injuries.
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      The arrival of Marcel Sabitzer has, however, handed Ten Hag a huge boost in the midfield department.
      Nonetheless, Ten Hag decided to hand four little-known Red Devils youngsters the chance to impress in first-team training.
      Bjorn Hardley, Mateo Mejia, Noam Emeran and Sam Murray were all snapped training alongside Man Utd first-team regulars.
      All of the players involved have impressed for the youth sides so far this term.
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      It could also be a hint that Ten Hag could deploy them in the future.
      After Sunday’s clash with Leeds, United will travel to the Nou Camp to face Barcelona in their Europa League last 32 tie.
      A home game against Leicester follows soon after.
      Barca will then return for the second leg before United play Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final on February 26. More

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      Martin Odegaard reveals incredible reason he joined Arsenal – and it goes back to when he was a teen

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      ARSENAL captain Martin Odegaard has declared there are no limits to what the club can achieve with Mikel Arteta as manager – and revealed why he joined the club.The Norwegian international, 24, has forged an unbreakable bond with the boss he describes as: “Passionate, intense and a bit crazy.”
      Martin Odegaard says there’s no limits to Arsenal’s success under Mikel ArtetaCredit: Getty
      The Spaniard has the Gunners sitting pretty at the top of the Premier LeagueCredit: EPA
      And he reveals that everything he was promised when he first joined the club from Real Madrid has come true.
      With Arsenal currently sitting five points clear at the top of the Premier League, Odegaard says: “I challenge anyone to come away from a meeting with Mikel Arteta and not believe everything he tells you.
      “When he speaks to you, you understand that whatever he says will happen, will happen.
      “He’s next level. He’s passionate, he’s intense and sometimes, yeah, he’s a bit crazy.
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      “So if there is anyone who still doesn’t believe in this Arsenal team, take it from me that there are no limits to what we can achieve. No-one can tell me otherwise.”
      Odegaard was first lured to Arsenal by Arteta on loan from Real Madrid before making his move permanent in a £30million deal in the summer of 2021.
      And even though Arteta was fighting for his job at the time, he was still able to convince Odegaard that his future was in North London.
      Speaking to The Players’ Tribune, Odegaard recalls: “I spoke to Mikel on a Zoom call and he told me all about the project.
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      “Arsenal were not doing well at the time. They were way down in like 15th in the table.
      “But he told me his plan, everything he was building towards and he knew exactly what he needed to change at the club.
      “He told me all about these amazing young players in the squad – Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Emile Smith Rowe – and he explained how I was going to fit in and improve.
      “I got this strong feeling that he was onto something really special. And even when we finished eighth at the end of my first season here, no-one at the club lost faith in what we were doing.
      “It was all part of the plan and though we’re in the title race now there is still a long way to go and no one is thinking about May yet.”
      Odegaard’s love for Arsenal as a teen may also have played a role in the move.
      The midfield maestro has admitted that he’d always play with Arsenal on video game franchise FIFA.
      He said: “I’ve always had this weird connection to Arsenal.
      “It started long before I signed. I don’t even really know how to explain it, except with one little story.
      “I’ve never been that much into video games. I am of that generation that always played outside, but the one exception was FIFA.
      “I mostly played Career Mode. You know, where you get to be the manager?
      “The club I always chose to manage was Arsenal. They were my FIFA team.
      “Growing up in Norway, I watched a lot of Premier League and I just had this good feeling about Arsenal. I’d seen clips of Thierry Henry and the Invincibles.
      “I knew the club had a history of developing playmakers like Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Mesut Ozil — really smart, technical players, who were good on the ball and played the difficult passes. My kind of players. 
      “As I got older, around the 2015 edition, I started actually appearing in FIFA.
      “I didn’t look much like me at first. I think I was like a 67 overall, but I was actually in the game and it was a big deal.
      “So, naturally, one of the first things I did when I was pretending to be Arsene Wenger on Career Mode was to buy myself.
      “Me and Arsenal. It just seemed like a good match in my head. 
      “That special connection turned into a reality when I signed here two years ago. It was a decision that changed my life around. I come into training smiling every day.
      Read More on The Sun
      “But my story is definitely not Career Mode. This has been a very different journey to how I imagined it on FIFA.
      “In real life, you can’t just select where you want to go and everything will be perfect.”
      Arsenal’s average stats per game More

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      Chelsea CONFIRM signing of 17-year-old wonderkid as club open chequebook again despite spending £330m in January

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      CHELSEA have completed the signing of Jimmy Jay Morgan from Southampton.The Blues have splashed out £3million plus add-ons to sign the highly-rated England youth international.
      Jimmy Jay Morgan impressed for Southampton at youth levelCredit: Getty
      Morgan, 17, is the latest wonderkid to come through the Southampton academy – following in the footsteps of the likes of Gareth Bale and Luke Shaw.
      According to Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the striker has penned a three-and-a-half year deal with the Blues.
      The youngster scored 27 goals for Southampton’s Under-16s last year, before adding another 13 after being promoted to the Saints’ Under-18s.
      Morgan’s exploits saw him reach the fringes of the first team, being named on Southampton’s bench for the 3-1 Premier League defeat to Brighton on Boxing Day – as well on further occasions in both domestic cups.
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      After it became apparent that he would not sign a new deal at St Mary’s, Southampton opted to sell.
      Morgan has represented England at Under-17 level – scoring six goals in eight games.
      He is the latest starlet to be recruited during Chelsea’s unprecedented transfer splurge.
      Todd Boehly and Co splashed out an astonishing £330m on fresh talent in January – with a new emphasis on recruiting the world’s best young players.
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      Morgan has represented England at Under-17 levelCredit: Getty
      Chelsea made seven permanent signings last month, with an average age of 20.2.
      Argentine star Enzo Fernandez headlined the incomings at a cost of £107m.
      They also brought in Benoit Badiashile, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana – while agreeing a deal for teenage right-back Malo Gusto to join in the summer.
      Despite their lavish spending, the Blues are yet to experience an upturn in form on the pitch.
      Graham Potter’s side currently sit ninth in the table – languishing behind the likes of Fulham and Brentford – and sit TEN points off the top four.
      Graham Potter’s side are enduring a disappointing seasonCredit: PA More

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      Leicester vs Tottenham LIVE SCORE: Premier League latest as Spurs look to build on Man City win

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      LEICESTER host Tottenham in the Premier League – and both sides will be determined to build on their recent victories. The Foxes came from behind twice to beat Aston Villa at Villa Park.
      While Harry Kane became Spurs’ all-time top goal scorer with his winning strike against Manchester City.

      Kick-off time: Saturday 11, 3pm GMT
      Live stream: Peacock (US)

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