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One goal and one assist. Not bad for a night’s work for Nicolas Pepe. But whilst Arsenal’s record signing got himself on the score-sheet and contributed to another, Thursday night’s display against Molde in the Europa League was the perfect snapshot of his Gunners career thus far.

His debut season in English football was one filled with promise, with fans no doubt prepared to accept a difficult start to life in a new country and environment.

And when you think that he scored eight times and provided another ten assists last season, that’s not a bad return at all for someone trying to acclimatise to life in north London.

His start to this new campaign however, has been rather more frustrating. Mikel Arteta has played him in just 202 minutes of Premier League football, with his only start coming against Manchester City, whilst he didn’t even come off the bench against Manchester United last Sunday.

And on Thursday, the £36m-rated ace proved exactly why even though he may catch the headlines with his goal and assist, Arteta surely won’t be trusting him in the important Premier League games anytime soon.

As per Sofascore, he completed just 50% of his attempted dribbles, provided just one accurate cross and lost possession 15 times. What was most infuriating about his display however, was the sheer amount of times a lack of concentration and sheer carelessness saw him either lose the ball, or just mess up an easy pass or cross.

It was something Arteta himself picked up on after the game, saying: “Consistency. Throughout the game, throughout 90 minutes, every ball, in every action and every time he’s on the ball in the final third he (needs to) make a difference. And do it more and more and more.

“The final product has to be better, not just from him but if you want to become a top top team and score many more goals then it’s something we have to put higher demands on at the moment. Today he scored a really good goal and got an assist and he can do more. I think he’s on the right path.”

Unless he becomes more consistent even within a game, let alone over a period of a few matches, Arteta will simply rely on other players to do his work, as he did against Manchester United. It’s exactly why the Arsenal boss won’t be too carried away with the fact Pepe contributed to two goals on Thursday.

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has revealed the reasoning behind the signing of Kai Havertz after the German came under criticism for his opening two performances in a Blues shirt.

The Blues spent an initial £72.7million to bring the Germany international to Stamford Bridge this summer in attempt to freshen up his attacking options.

The 21-year-old arrived alongside compatriot Timo Werner, but he has failed to impress during his first two outings for the club.

Chelsea opened the new season with a 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion before losing to last season’s champions Liverpool at the weekend.

Discussing Havertzs’ impressions thus far ahead of his side’s EFL Cup third round tie with Barnsley, Lampard called for patience to be put on the shoulders of the attacking midfielder.

“Kai has played in various positions through his career,” the former Derby County boss is quoted as saying by The Metro.

“I think the main point at the minute with Kai is getting him fit. He is heavily, what I mentioned about the squad, in pre-season mode, because of the situation we aren’t in a position where we can bring in players, back-up players with big levels of money, that we can wait and integrate him into the team.

“Kai has come here to be a huge talent for this team and we just need to get him fit and ready and then the position will become very clear.”

Lampard took Havertz off at half-time against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon and with the likes Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech both vying for a starting place, it will be interesting to see who starts from now on.

At just over £70m, you would have to think that Havertz will be a regular starter but Lampard does have some superb options in his squad.

Patience is key though, especially given the attacking midfielder’s age. You cannot judge him off just two matches, he needs more time to settle in.

Who do you think should start? Havertz, Pulisic or Ziyech, or can more than one start…… Let us know in the comments section below…

Loads of Everton fans have been reacting to former West Ham United, Chelsea and England international goalkeeper Rob Green’s view on Robin Olsen and what it means for Jordan Pickford.

Writing in his column for BBC, Green thinks that Pickford should not be threatened by the arrival of Olsen, who joined the Merseyside club on loan on transfer deadline day.

However, he did say that Olsen could provide some competition to Pickford and may even replace him as the number one in between the sticks at Goodison Park should he impress Carlo Ancelotti in training.

Pickford was guilty of an error that lead to a goal for Neal Maupay’s strike for Brighton last weekend in the Premier League, which luckily did not prove costly as the Toffees ran out 4-2 winners in the end.

Olsen made zero errors leading to goals while playing in Serie A last term and so is perhaps a more reliable option than Pickford in this sense, but Green believes that the Sweden international has not been bought to replace the 26-year old as the number one for the Blues.

These Everton supporters reacted to Green’s claim on Twitter:

Evertonians, would you drop Pickford for Olsen? Comment below with your views!

Glasgow Rangers will kick off their Europa League campaign against Lincoln Red Imps on Thursday.

Despite making the round of 16 in 2019/20, they will now have to start again in the second qualifying round. However, they will be hoping to make it to the next stage as they go into the tie as favourites, although they will have to be wary of a side that beat Celtic in a Champions League qualifier in 2016.

With the match taking place in Gibraltar, the ‘Gers have had to travel overseas for the match, but it seems that they will be living in luxury. It has been confirmed that the 54-time Scottish champions will be staying in a £120m yacht as they prepare for the match, where rooms reportedly cost £160 a night on average.

This has attracted plenty of attention from ‘Gers supporters, and the response has been mixed. Some seem perfectly happy with the itinerary but others are not too pleased considering that the club have made some employees redundant recently.

These fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below:

‘Gers fans, what do you make of the club’s accommodation plans in Gibraltar? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

After being linked with a summer move, Leicester City are now the odds-on favourites to sign Burnley attacker Dwight McNeil according to some bookmakers, via Leicestershire Live, with manager Brendan Rodgers looking to snap up a creative outlet ahead of a busy 2020/21 Premier League campaign. 

This also comes after Demarai Gray’s future has at the King Power Stadium has become more doubtful, especially after a report from The Telegraph linking him with a move to Newcastle United, and now the Foxes are ‘favourites’ to sign McNeil as a potential replacement.

Left-back Ben Chilwell has already departed the East Midlands in a £45m move to Chelsea, putting pen to paper on a five-year deal, and McNeil could be high on the list of candidates to come in and strengthen Rodgers’ squad.

Defender Timothy Castagne is reportedly set to join Leicester as Chilwell’s direct heir, but the Burnley youngster has been strongly tipped to follow him.

Valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, the left-sided midfielder started all 38 Premier League games for the Clarets last season, marking himself out as a key figure under Sean Dyche by scoring two goals and providing six assists from the flanks (WhoScored).

Out of Burnley’s entire squad, only Ashley Westwood managed to provide more key passes per game, perhaps attracting Rodgers and his staff at Leicester to a player deemed to have vast potential.

Speaking to Sky Sports via Lancs Live, pundit Jamie Redknapp has also waxed lyrical over McNeil’s ‘real quality’ and correctly predicted that top six sides would be after him in this window, now that Leicester could be in the chase.

Given the quick run of games over 2020/21, strength in depth may well be key, and the Englishman could provide a new dimension for the Foxes going forward.

Foxes, would you be happy to sign McNeil? Join the discussion by commenting below…

Noel Whelan believes that Glasgow Rangers striker Jermain Defoe’s age is catching up with him, and that his fitness has now become a worry for Steven Gerrard.

Since joining the Ibrox outfit, initially on loan in January 2019, the 37-year-old has played an important role for the 54-time Scottish champions. In 52 matches, he has scored 25 goals, 17 of which came last season alone as he finished as the club’s second-top goalscorer behind Alfredo Morelos.

However, he is yet to feature this season as an injury keeps him out of the action. And Whelan is now worried that this could be the beginning of the end of the former England international. He told Football Insider:

“I’ve got nothing but admiration for Jermain Defoe. He’s been one of the best strikers in the Premier League for a number of years.

“Sometimes, when you start picking up these injuries it’s your body telling you, it’s the wear and tear from the games you’ve played over your career is catching up with you.

“That intensity that you need to play football, sometimes your body can’t handle it and that’s the problem when you come to the back end of your career.

“It is worrying because we’ve seen what a quality player he is. In pre-season he was banging in the goals and looked very sharp.”

As Whelan says, the injury problems are a worry for both Defoe and Gerrard. At 37, it is an awful lot harder for the body to recover on a regular basis, and as such even the smallest of issues end up becoming bigger problems.

Gerrard does have Morelos, Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe to choose from, so it isn’t as though he is struggling for options up front, but Defoe has years of experience at the highest level which could be hugely important as the Gers look for a first major trophy since 2011.

Let us know what you think below!

Aston Villa are among a list of Premier League clubs reportedly showing interest in Queens Park Rangers midfielder Eberechi Eze.

After a final day draw with West Ham United, Villa’s top-flight status has been secured and the focus will now be on manager Dean Smith to utilise the transfer market and potentially improve his squad options.

Finishing 17th in the Premier League table, the Claret and Blue outfit face a number of potential summer exits with club captain Jack Grealish linked with a departure, whilst the likes of John McGinn have also received interest from elsewhere.

Whilst Smith will be keen to keep hold of those two players, it has now been reported that he could be set to swoop for QPR’s Eze, who was in superb form over the course of the 2019/2020 season.

The 22-year-old London-born footballer featured in no less than 46 Championship games for Rangers, netting an impressive 14 goals and securing eight assists in the process.

That form has now seen the likes of Villa, joined by West Ham United, Crystal, Palace, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion with interest in the £20 million valued youngster.

Reacting via Twitter account @villareport, who shared the news of Villa’s reported interest in Eze, fans gave their opinion on a potential move for the youngster. One suggested that he would be an ideal replacement for Grealish – indeed he plays as an advanced midfielder or wide on the left, just as the current Villa captain does.

Do you think Eze would make a good signing for Villa this summer? Let us know in the comments section below…

This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how bad a deal the club got.

Glasgow Rangers were a very successful side during the 2000s, and that was possible thanks to some fantastic recruitment along the way.

Signing such as Sasa Papac, Carlos Cuellar, Daniel Cousin and many, many more helped the Gers to win five Scottish Premiership titles in the decade, whilst they also reached the UEFA Cup final in 2008 – they remain the last Scottish side to make the showpiece of any European competition.

Filip Sebo was a player who was signed during that period, coming in from Austria Vienna for the fee of £2.25m, but it is fair to say that his arrival was not one of those that contributed to the club’s success. He had scored eight goals in 40 matches during the 2005/06 campaign, which was not exactly impressive, but perhaps the 22 goals in 29 matches in the Slovakian top tier the season before that convinced the Gers to take him to Ibrox.

It was a transfer that just didn’t work out. In 31 matches during his first and only campaign with the club, he scored a paltry two goals. It wasn’t long before he was shipped out on loan to Valenciennes in Ligue 1 and, despite netting just five time in 36 matches, the French side parted with £1.08m for his services.

That meant that the Gers lost £1.17m, and that each goal he scored for the club had effectively cost them around £1.13m. This is a deal the club would probably rather forget.

Let us know what you think below!

The talk around Liverpool right now is of reported transfer target Timo Werner and his latest exploits have left supporters dreaming about what could be.

On Monday night, the 24-year-old scored yet again as RB Leipzig won 4-2 on the road to FC Koln with Werner bagging their third goal in the 50th minute.

The German talisman scored with ease as he pounced on longball from his goalkeeper, former Red Peter Gulacsi.

As per the Guardian, manager Jurgen Klopp is really keen for Werner to join Liverpool but the club are running out of time with his €60m (£53.5m) release clause set to expire in two weeks.

And fans at Anfield have absolutely been lapping it up on social media, drooling over his display…

Fans were begging the club to sign Werner this summer, labelling him an “absolute steal” whilst one supporter claimed that a front three involving Mo Salah and Sadio Mane would be “dangerous”.

That strike took the Leipzig forward’s total for the season to a massive 31 goals. He’s also provided 12 assists, all from 40 appearances in all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

Can you spot your Xabi Alonso from your Bruno Cheyrou? This Liverpool quiz will have you questioning your knowledge…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

Many in Merseyside claimed to have recognised Werner’s effort as it’s eerily similar to the one that Salah bagged against Manchester United.

Reds shot-stopper Alisson launched a long-ball over the top for the Egyptian star to net, some can already see the potential linkup between the Brazilian and Werner…

And then there were a few members of the Anfield faithful that recognised just how perfect a fit Werner is for Klopp’s system at Liverpool…

AND in other news, Georginio Wijnaldum sends defiant message amid PL update…

It’s fair to say Bruno Fernandes showed in a couple of months why he might be one of Manchester United’s most inspired signings in recent memory.

The Portugal international arrived from Sporting CP in the January transfer window, and hit the ground running at Old Trafford. In just nine games for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, he struck three times and provided four assists, and judging by his latest comments, he is already establishing himself as a real fans favourite.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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In a Q&A session posted on the club’s official website, the attacking midfielder admitted that he wants potential new signings to have a winners mentality, and that they should be “hungry for titles”.

After hearing what Fernandes had to say, United fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the 25-year-old.

A couple of United fans felt their 21st league title is on its way to Old Trafford thanks to Fernandes and his mentality.

Fernandes just can’t seem to do anything wrong.

The Portuguese star has revitalised United, almost single-handedly changing the atmosphere surrounding Old Trafford. Since his arrival in the final week of the January transfer window, Solskjaer’s men remained unbeaten, in large part thanks to Fernandes himself.

And with ambitious comments like these, he is well on the way to becoming a cult hero at the club.

Meanwhile, Man Utd fans discuss their interest in this La Liga powerhouse.