Tag: FOOTBALL

Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:

Gabriel, Saliba and Haaland to do battle
Versatile Gray a bright spot for Spurs
Iraola’s defensive innovation
A player to watch this weekend

Gabriel, Saliba and Haaland face off again

Erling Haaland telling Mikel Arteta to “stay humble” was the headline-grabbing moment from the fiery exchanges which followed September’s 2-2 draw between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. But his battle with Gabriel was where it all started.

Haaland could be seen throwing the ball into the back of Gabriel’s head after John Stones’ stoppage-time equaliser, with the pair clashing again from the kick-off. On Sunday, live on Sky Sports, they will renew their “war”, as termed by Gabriel, at the Emirates Stadium.

It’s a battle, a war. It’s normal to have provocative acts in football, it’s part of the game. Now this is over and we are waiting for them at our ground

Haaland scored the opener in that last meeting, racing onto Savinho’s pass and finishing coolly. But few centre-back pairings have made life more difficult for him than Gabriel and William Saliba.

His goal in the September game came after three meetings without even a shot on target, including last season’s Community Shield.

Since the start of last season, Haaland has averaged 0.33 goals per 90 minutes against Arsenal compared 0.91 per 90 minutes against other sides. He has taken fewer shots and those he has taken have registered lower on the expected goals scale.

Gabriel and Saliba have shown the capacity to stifle him, in other words, as they have so many others. Arsenal have a superior defensive record to any other Premier League side since the start of the 2022/23 season. The importance of their centre-backs is clear.

Arsenal have conceded an average of only 0.8 goals per game with Gabriel and Saliba starting compared to 1.4 per game without them. The difference in their points per game and win rate is similarly stark, from 2.3 to 1.8 and 73 per cent to 47 per cent respectively.

Even in the context of Arsenal’s difficulties, the pair have been particularly effective this season, limiting opponents to a meagre 0.71 goals per game when starting together, putting them just ahead of Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk on 0.78.

Of course, they know full well just how devastating Haaland can be.

Manchester City’s Haaland-inspired 4-1 thrashing of Arsenal in April 2023 came with Rob Holding deputising for the injured Saliba but both were present for their 3-1 loss two months earlier, in which Haaland also scored. His goal at the Etihad Stadium in September came when he exploited a gap between them.

Sunday 2nd February 4:00pm


Kick off 4:30pm

Haaland also comes into this meeting in fine form. After a dip between September and December, he has scored six goals in his last seven games. He will be just as fired up as those tasked with stopping him on Sunday. Expect more fireworks to follow.

Gray filling holes for Spurs

Micky van de Ven came through Tottenham’s Europa League win over Elfsborg unscathed on his return to action but an injury to Radu Dragusin, his second-half replacement, means there’s little prospect of Archie Gray getting a rest against Brentford on Sunday.

The 18-year-old has started 14 consecutive games for Spurs amid their injury crisis. The fact he has shone so brightly during a dismal run of form for Ange Postecoglou’s side is even more impressive given the number of roles he has been asked to fulfil.

Gray started as Spurs’ right-sided centre-back against Elfsborg having played at left-back in their previous two games, against Hoffenheim and Leicester. Before that, against Everton, he started in central midfield, having been their left-sided centre-back against Arsenal only a few days earlier.

The circumstances would be demanding enough for a young player even without the positional changes. But Gray has taken it all in his stride, demonstrating extraordinary versatility and emerging from a torrid run for Spurs with his own reputation enhanced.

Iraola ripping up defensive rulebook

Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth host Liverpool on Saturday having extended their unbeaten run to 11 games with last weekend’s 5-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest. A point off the Champions League spots, they continue to defy the odds, despite a lengthy injury list.

They are doing it with one of the youngest sides in the Premier League this season. But what is really unusual about Bournemouth is that their youthfulness is concentrated in defence.

At centre-back, a position in which experience and knowhow are traditionally deemed crucial, Iraola is using the 22-year-old Illia Zabarnyi and the 19-year-old Dean Huijsen, a pairing roughly six years younger than the Premier League average this season.

Not that you would know it to watch them. The pair have developed an excellent understanding, displaying a level of assuredness to bely their years. Iraola’s side have only lost one of the 12 Premier League games they have started together and kept clean sheets in five.

Iraola’s preference for youth is not limited to his centre-backs. At left-back, there is the 21-year-old Milos Kerkez. At right-back, Julian Araujo, 23, was generally favoured before his injury, with James Hill, also 23, subsequently emerging as second choice when fit.

In Huijsen’s case, it is partly a story of circumstance, with Marcos Senesi unavailable due to injury. But it is also a stylistic choice. Iraola’s commitment to throwing bodies forward in attack demands defenders with the dynamism to cope when the ball is turned over.

“There are probably times when we suffer, experience-wise, because a lot of them are very young,” he explained to Sky Sports in an office at the Vitality Stadium in October. “But they give us the ability to defend big spaces and cope with those situations.”

The club have recruited with Iraola’s high-intensity approach in mind, making youth a priority. “You have to play to your strengths,” added Iraola. “That is why it helps to have a young team with players who can play with high energy, in a high rhythm.”

Carry on like this and it might prove difficult to keep their defensive unit together. Huijsen, a bargain £12.8m signing from Juventus, is sure to attract interest. Kerkez is a reported target for Liverpool.

But don’t expect Iraola to change tack. In fact, in Kerkez’s case, he may already have a successor in place in Julio Soler, the 19-year-old signed from Argentine club Lanus earlier this month. Bournemouth and their head coach continue to do things their own way.

Player Radar: Who else to keep an eye on

Kevin Schade continues to quietly impress for Brentford. The 23-year-old has scored six goals at an average of 0.50 per 90 minutes this season, putting him level with Wolves’ Matheus Cunha and not far behind his team-mate Bryan Mbeumo on 0.61. Spurs beware.

Live Radar: What’s on Sky this weekend?

Wolves host Aston Villa in a Black Country derby on Saturday Night Football, with coverage starting on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 5pm ahead of the 5.30pm kick-off.

Super Sunday sees Brentford take on Spurs in the early game, kicking off at 2pm, with Arsenal’s meeting with Man City following at 4.30pm. Coverage of that double-header begins on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event at 1pm.

Don’t miss Monday Night Football as Graham Potter returns to his former club Chelsea with West Ham. Kick-off is at 8pm, with David Jones and Jamie Carragher live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 6.30pm.

Read last week’s Radar column

Cole Palmer or Phil Foden? The Radar backed the wrong horse for Man City’s meeting with Chelsea! Murillo’s outrageous long shots for Nottingham Forest and Leicester’s struggles were also covered.