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EIGHT BACK: THOMAS FRANK CONFIRMS SENSATIONAL SPURS BOOST FOR DERBY

Tottenham receive a massive injury boost with eight players, including Pape Sarr and Randal Kolo Muani, returning for the North London derby against Arsenal. Thomas Frank's squad is significantly strengthened.

EIGHT Back: Thomas Frank Confirms Sensational Spurs Boost For Derby
Kudus & Sarr LEAD

Before Sunday's Premier League game between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in North London, the team received an incredible eight injury boosts.

Before Sunday's crucial Premier League North London derby match against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur has received an incredible eight injury boosts.

The Lilywhites were without ten players for their 2-2 draw with Manchester United before the international break, and Spurs manager Thomas Frank has been dealing with a fitness crisis for weeks.

After the kickoff two weeks ago, the Europa League winners were given two more blows: first, Randal Kolo Muani sustained a nasty facial injury that turned out to be a fractured jaw.

Pape Sarr, a midfielder for Spurs, then suffered a knock while playing for Senegal, while Lucas Bergvall, another key player, was unable to play in the Red Devils' draw due to a concussion he suffered against Chelsea.

Eight injury boosts for Spurs' match against Arsenal.


"They are good, most of them," Frank stated during his pre-game news conference, confirming that all three are expected to be healthy for the Emirates match.

"Pape is prepared and trained today. Lucas was prepared and accessible for training today. Kolo Muani, who has a mask to play with, trained today.

Additionally, Mohammed Kudus (knock), Ben Davies (thigh), Kota Takai (quad), and Archie Grey (calf) are all in team training, and ACL victim Radu Dragusin is about to make a competitive comeback after playing a friendly with the Under-21s during the break.

"Radu is undergoing extensive training. Last Friday, he played his first 45 minutes in nine months. Completely trained today. He is really close to being chosen. Ben and Kota worked out with the team today. Frank continued, "Archie trained with the team today." Then, regarding Kudus, he stated, "He trained today and is available."

Which Tottenham players are still sidelined due to injuries?


Tottenham's team is suddenly looking much healthier thanks to an incredible eight injury boosts, but Frank will still be missing a few players for his first North London derby.

Due to knee ailments, creators Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison are still sidelined, and Yves Bissouma is recovering from ankle surgery; his return date has not been set.

Furthermore, Frank was hesitant to predict when Dominic Solanke would return from his own ankle surgery, saying, "Dom's not ready yet; he had a piece where he spoke about it."

"It is the same; we want to be as certain as possible that there will not be any future setbacks when we put him out there. I do not want to set a deadline, but I am confident he will be ready shortly."

Tottenham is hoping to snap a string of three straight derby losses in Sunday's Premier League main event. They are now four spots and eight points behind Arsenal in the Premier League standings.

VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE

Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.

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Antoine Semenyo’s clumsy challenge handed Chelsea a vital lifeline

Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.

This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.

What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.

VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."

VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.

At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.

Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.

The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.

Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.

A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.

Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth

Referee: Sam Barrott

VAR: Craig Pawson

What: VAR check for a foul in the box

When: 11th minute

BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW

Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.

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Emery snubs Arteta's handshake

Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.

This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.

Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.

Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.

Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.

After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.

It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.

“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.

“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”

About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.

“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.

“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.

“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.

Premier League Standings

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