Sports
Arsenal, Man Utd Square Up, Today
David Moyes’ tactical acumen will be closely scrutinised as Manchester United take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium today.
The Scot is facing mounting calls to change United’s attacking approach following the disappointment of being held to a 2-2 draw against bottom side Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday.
According to Opta, United made more crosses (81) in a single game than any other Premier League team since the start of the 2006-07 season during the Fulham encounter, but were left to rue their wastefulness in the final third.
United also appeared over-reliant on crosses during the 2-1 defeat at Stoke City in their previous game to give Moyes plenty to ponder ahead of a trip to Arsenal.
The fact that today’s game is not a clash between two title rivals – as is traditionally the case – speaks volumes of United’s continued struggles during Moyes’ first season in charge.
The defending champions trail second-placed Arsenal by 14 points and have lost their last three away games in all competitions.
Yet this is a fixture that United has a decent recent record in.
Unbeaten in their last five games against Arsenal and having suffered just one defeat in their previous five visits to the Emirates in all competitions, United know how to grind out results against Arsene Wenger’s men.
But Moyes must inspire a much-improved performance if his players are to prevent Arsenal bouncing back from their 5-1 thrashing at Liverpool on Saturday.
The ease with which Liverpool scored four times in the opening 20 minutes will concern Wenger and the club’s supporters.
Humiliation at Anfield coupled with Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Newcastle United saw Arsenal knocked off top spot in the Premier League.
Wenger, though, is confident of a response against United, pointing to Arsenal’s fine home form as the reason behind his optimism.
Indeed, Arsenal lost only twice at the Emirates in the Premier League in 2013 and are 11 games unbeaten at home in the league – a run that stretches back to the opening day of the season.
There is no question that Arsenal’s success has been built from the back, with the team keeping four successive clean sheets on home soil in the Premier League and seven shut-outs in their last eight league outings at the Emirates.
One United player capable of ending Arsenal’s proud defensive record will need no introduction to Wenger, though.
Former Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has scored eight times in his last nine Premier League games, including the only goal when the two sides met at Old Trafford in November.
Van Persie has netted in each of the three games against his old club since joining United and will be keen to silence the boo-boys as he braces himself for another hostile reception from the Emirates faithful.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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