The English Premier League and Serie A crossed the equator with unlikely leaders. “Football” and “Calcio” are experiencing a “counter-cultural” season, with two teams edging out the usual “winners” who in August were among the “greats” of the tournament but are far from in the running for the title.
in England, Arsenal keeps Manchester City from Guardiola and giant Haaland in trouble. Meanwhile, United, Liverpool, Chelsea… and the entire Big Six watch the unstoppable Arteta from afar. And in Italy Napoli is sweeping without Milan, Inter, Roma and the ‘approved’ Juventus being able to confront Spalletti’s team.
Away from the Irons for decades, huhArsenal haven’t defended since they were “invincible” in 2003-2004 with Wenger, Henry, Bergkamp, Vieira, Pires… They were still playing at Highbury! It has been 19 years since the last Prime Minister, and now the dream of making it come true. More time has passed since the last “scudetto” in Naples. Diego Armando Maradona still runs for the San Paolo which now gives his name. In 1989-1990 he accompanied Careca, Carnevale, Ferrara, Zola… Diego who led Serie A to southern Italy for the second time. Since then, 33 years of periodic drought.
Two crossings through the desert can finish this course. The season was an oasis for Arsenal and Napoli, the two best teams in the major leagues. Neither Barcelona, La Liga leader with 44 points, nor Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1, 47) nor Bayern (Bundesliga, 35). They reached the 50 they had accumulated in the ‘Gunners’ and ‘partenopei’ in the Premier League and in Serie A after the first round.. They have parallel lives.
in 19 days, They both had 16 wins, two draws, and one defeat. They scored almost the same goals (46 and 45) and had identical goals (14 and 16). They have a lot of fire on top and they are behind the wall. Two attacking devices, high intensity football perpendicular in the Italians and more integrated in the English, which beat their rivals, who did not leave a hole. Total football with different nuances. A masterpiece by Arteta and Spalletti.
Arsenal “dog”
Arsenal are stuck since the end of the Wenger era. In December 2019, Arteta arrived at Arsenal in crisis, replacing Emery. The Spanish coach’s work went deeper than re-floating the team in the league. Mikel was responsible, with the support of the club’s owners, for modernizing mechanisms and structures that had been in place – and outdated – since the time of the Frenchman. However, success on the turf took three years to come.
Premier League (J21): Summary and goals Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United
Arteta won the FA Cup in his first season, but finished eighth. He repeated his stance in 2020-21, staying out of Europe for the first time since 1995-96. And last year they lost their place in the Champions League, which they haven’t played since 2017 in the last few days. However, Kroencz has been patient and has kept him at bay, providing him with signings to build a progressively winning team with his seal. .
the Arsenal have invested 417.5 million euros since Arteta’s arrival in Odegaard, Gabriel Magalhaes, Thomas, White, Ramsdale, Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus, Trossard… Who joined youngsters like Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah and Saliba… Important pieces like Aubameyang, Lacazette and Zil left the team… The Spaniard formed a dressing room to his liking that now dominates the prime minister with an iron fist.
We haven’t won anything yet. We are in the middle of the season. There are other teams with bigger teams that have already been champions, so you have to go day by day
“We haven’t won anything yet. We are in the middle of the season. There are other teams with bigger teams who have already been champions, so you have to go day by day,” said Arteta. A 3-2 win over United. artillery They lead with five more points and one game less than City. Their 50 added in 19 days constitutes the fifth best first-innings in the history of a prime minister after those signed by City (55 in 2017-18), Liverpool (55 in 2019-20), Chelsea (52 in 2005-06) and “The Reds” (51 in 2018). -19). They have improved Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ (45 points) at this stage after a radical change: a year ago they were fourth and they added 35 units!
“We’ll need to get over 90 points to win. We have to be close to perfection. It’s very difficult to win a premiership, there’s a small margin,” warned Arteta who is getting “juice” from his young side. To the voice of Captain Odegaard (eight goals and six assists), Saka (seven and seven), Martinelli (seven and two)… They are shining in a team that lost Gabriel Jesus to injury, but his replacement (Nketiah) has already scored four crucial goals. “I told my teammates to forget about fighting for the top three, that they should think about the title. Some laughed, but nobody does that now,” said Zinchenko. They have 19 games left, two against City, who have won four of their last five league championshipsBut Arsenal is “on fire”: only Southampton (1-1), Newcastle (0-0) and United (3-1) have points in this league. They are “dog”.
The best team in the history of “Calcio”
The record-breaking “Napoli” is on the way to the third “scudetto” in its history. Spalletti’s men, who scored 50 points in the first round (they were winter champions a few days ago), never stop breaking records: They are the team with the most points in Italy in the first round and their goalscoring figures (46 goals in 19 matches) are unmatched by anyone. Inter is the only team in “Calcio” that can boast of beating “partenopei” in the league (1-0). Radical change: a year ago they were in third place with 39 units.
Osimhen (13 goals in 15 matches) and Kfaratskhelia (7 and 9) lead a group led by Luciano Spalletti. The Tuscan coach, who has been left at the gates of glory on other occasions, seems to have done his job this time: a vertical team, physically strong, massively attacking but right at the back and with a group of players who are not limited to the starting eleven. Alternatives such as Gio Simeone, Raspadori, Ndombl, Mathias Olivera or Lozano keep the level high.
We know that we have a one-time opportunity: we must not waste the possibilities we have, be humble and do things professionally
“We know that we have a one-time opportunity: we must not waste the possibilities we have, be humble and do things professionallySpalletti announced after his win last weekend In Salerno (0-2). Knowing that they can achieve something important but trying to keep their feet on the ground.
It all started with the transfer market. If Coulibaly, Fabien, Insigne or Mertens left in the summer, Guintoli and De Laurentiis kept their word and surprised everyone. ‘Kvaradona’, Min-Jae Kim, would complete the purchase of Anguissa… not to mention the signings from years ago that have now exploded like the man himself Osimin, Lobotka, Meret or Captain Di Lorenzo.
Serie A: Summary and goals of Napoli 5-1 Juventus
In addition to “helping” the task of emulating Diego Maradona’s team and winning the Serie A title again, it should be noted that the rivals are not at their best level: Milan and Inter have doubts and not regular results, Juventus receive a penalty and are disqualified (unless appealed to CONI ) from the race for the “scudetto”. Thus, those coming from the south have 19 matches left to complete a historic feat. The same arsenal.
