EXPERT ANALYSIS: ALAN SHEARER BREAKS DOWN THE ARSENAL VS MAN CITY TITLE RACE
Alan Shearer warns Mikel Arteta that Arsenal must increase their goal tally to fend off Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Alan Shearer shared what he thinks Arsenal needs to do to beat Manchester City and Aston Villa for the Premier League title.
Right now, the Gunners are favourites to win. Mikel Arteta’s team is in first place, two points ahead after 17 games.
Arteta has the best squad in the league, with good players in every position. But their results haven't been great lately.
Arsenal has lost points against Sunderland, Chelsea, and Aston Villa. Meanwhile, Man City and Villa are putting pressure on them by winning their games.
The Gunners and City play again on Sunday. Arsenal plays Brighton, and Nottingham Forest plays Man City.
Shearer thinks Man City will win against Forest
“Haaland’s 38 goals for club and country are crazy. I’m betting on City,” Shearer told Betfair (via The Metro).
“It’ll be hard for Forest since City is playing well. They’re confident and putting pressure on Arsenal. I think City will win away.
“City needs to keep it up. They didn't have to try very hard against West Ham. City was already winning 1-0 early on. They easily won this weekend, but it’ll be tougher at Forest.”
Shearer also thinks Arsenal will win, but he mentioned one thing they need to work on.
“I thought Arsenal played well against Everton on Saturday night. They controlled the game and deserved to win, even though it was close,” Shearer said.
“It was a good result and game. I like how Gyökeres took the penalty; it would have been understandable if he had been nervous. It was a good game for Arsenal.
“I don’t think Brighton is doing great; they weren’t good against Sunderland, so I think Arsenal will win.
“City and Arsenal have different strengths. City is great on offence and always scores.
“Arsenal is a better defensive team, for sure. There are good and bad things about both teams, but Arsenal needs to score a few more goals.”
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.
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.
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.