Mikel Arteta is a player like so many others who split opinion. Either a sign of a declining, settling for fourth Arsenal or a suave, professional, deep-lying midfielder.

From a rare piece of Iberian flair at David Moyes’ Everton to club captain, calm-head and consistent presence at Arsenal, Arteta’s career in the Premier League was a varied one. Signed by Arsenal on deadline day in 2011, the Spaniard quickly ascended up the club’s hierarchy as he was given the honour of becoming vice-captain for the next season after the departure of Robin van Persie. A sign of Arsenal’s shortage of natural leaders, perhaps.

The loss of Alex Song to Barcelona in the same window led to Arteta playing the deepest midfielder role. He adapted well initially, having primarily been an offensive or wide player when at Everton and Rangers. It was a transition that was becoming increasingly common; taking a technically gifted attacking player and converting them into a position-aware controller of tempo.

Arteta remained a constant in an Arsenal squad that was in a consistent state of minor turmoil. A repetition of last-16 Champions League eliminations and poor runs of Premier League form left a club hitting its targets, but only just. The ex-Real Sociedad midfielder was influential, not only through his importance tactically, but in his role as a leader off the field. It was, of course, Arteta who lifted Arsenal’s first trophy in far too many years with the FA Cup in 2014.

Although the Spaniard’s career waned with injuries stifling any hopes of playing deep into his thirties, Arteta was an iconic figure through a time of reinvention and disappointment at Arsenal. Often the glue that held weak, young squads together, he will go down as one of the most reliable players in the history of the club.

His choice to retire at the end of his last Arsenal contract in 2016 and move straight to Manchester City to work with Pep Guardiola as a coach reflects the ambition of the man. If any player has the credentials and personality to develop into a world-beating coach, it is the cool, thoughtful Spaniard.

A younger, fully-fit Arteta could have been key for Arsenal this season, which makes his decision to not only retire, but leave the club, all the more frustrating. With the long-term absence of Santi Cazorla, Granit Xhaka continuing to find himself out of position in transition and Francis Coquelin too often rash, the guidance of Arteta either as a team-mate or a coach would surely have been a great benefit to Arsenal.

Good players of do not translate to good coaches, but Arteta could have remained in a mentoring role at the very least. As a partner for Xhaka, there are a few that would have been much better. He could have fulfilled the Cazorla role perfectly up until a mere couple of years ago and it would have left Arsenal’s midfield and 2016/17 season looking resoundingly healthier.

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Despite a convincing victory over Everton at Anfield, Liverpool fans were left massively annoyed by the performances of two Toffees players; Ross Barkley and Ashley Williams.

Both were involved in incidents throughout the 90 minutes with Barkley in particular attracting the ire of the Reds support after a late challenge on Dejan Lovren that could have done serious damage to his ankle.

Williams was perceived by some supporters to have stamped on Emre Can in the first half.

Derbies are rarely without controversy or the odd naughty challenge but supporters felt Everton beyond even the context of a derby with their combative and physical style.

Overall it was a joyous day for Liverpool after Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi banged in goals to boost their chances of a top four finish in the Premier League this season.

Everton had been looking to spring a surprise result to potentially push for a top four position themselves but those hopes have now been dashed.

Was the referee too lenient on the Toffees or is this all a fuss over nothing? Liverpool fans took to Twitter to share their displeasure with the antics of Barkley and Williams…

Earlier this week, it was reported that Arsenal had offered Alexis Sanchez a £300,000-a-week contract in a bid to convince the Chilean to pen a fresh deal at the Emirates Stadium.

As it stands, the former Barcelona attacker will be out of contract in the summer of 2018, and it is understood that a number of clubs, including Chelsea, want to sign him at the end of the season.

Arsenal’s rotten 2017 has seen them fall away in the Premier League, in addition to suffering more embarrassment against Bayern Munich in the knockout round of the Champions League.

During a press conference on Friday, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger was asked whether the club had indeed decided to smash their wage structure in a bid to keep Sanchez at the club.

The Frenchman remained coy when questioned on the reported contract offer, however, and conceded that he ‘could not confirm’ that an offer had been made at this stage of the season.

He said:

“First of all, I cannot confirm that we have offered that. Secondly, we will do as always. We have to consider our financial potential to sustain the wages of our whole squad.”

Sanchez has scored 22 times in 40 appearances for Arsenal during the 2016-17 campaign, but the club’s inability to challenge for major trophies has seemingly led to his unhappiness.

Any Newcastle United fan will tell you the recent blip in form is typical of the Toon Army. While the magnitude of throwing away their lead at the top of the Championship pales in comparison to the 12-point one they held over Manchester United in the Premier League back in 1995/96, the memories are bound to linger over St. James’ Park.

With Brighton having secured promotion to the proverbial Promised Land yesterday, Chris Hughton’s Seagulls side are all but certain to win the league, too. Obviously, the Magpies still have a chance of lifting the trophy, though the seven-point gap those on the south coast hold would take some overcoming between now and the end of the campaign.

Still, there will be no emotional meltdown from Rafa Benitez. Outsiders will point to the fact Newcastle not only boast a Champions League winning manager – one who was appointed Real Madrid boss as recently as 2015 – and a hugely expensive team as reasons why they should have walked the league title. Perhaps that’s true, though it doesn’t quite tell the whole story behind between Benitez’s revolution in black and white.

Newcastle have been a mess for years. As an ardent follower of the Toon Army, the main sources of excitement to have radiated out of Tyneside in recent years have come from the final day of the 2014/15 campaign when John Carver just managed to retain Premier League status, as well as the arrival of Benitez in March 2016.

It’s been that bad.

After stagnating under Alan Pardew ever since the fifth-placed finish at the end of 2011/12 season, rot began to set in. Poor recruitment and a distant owner, the Magpies failed to capitalise on the momentum of that campaign as Newcastle’s most exciting team in years was pulled apart by bad management and player sales.

While Steve McClaren was barely the most popular choice to take charge of the club in the summer of 2015, there was little the former England manager could do. A limited coach, perhaps, but even a manager with a CV as impressive as Benitez’s is showing just how deeply set the problems at the club are.

The manner in which Newcastle bounced back from the relegation of 2008/09, as well as the way in which they may do this time around lends itself to the adage that going down is the best thing for a club in those situations. Certainly, there is something to be said for that, though the impact of relegation shouldn’t be understated. It’s terrible.

In many ways, skipper Jamaal Lascelles sums up this current incarnation of a black and white side. A hugely popular figure amongst the support, a captain finally prepared to take responsibility of his team, though a player who can still see his solid runs of form outdone by nerves and silly mistakes.

Nerves have proved a sewing motif throughout this season. The pressure the players feel when playing at St. James’ Park when things aren’t going their way has been well documented, though Steven Taylor’s comments prior to the loss at Ipswich suggest that sort of anxiety has now crept into Newcastle’s away games this season. At the worst time in which to do so.  

“I’ve spoken to a couple of their players, I’m not going to mention who, but they’re a bit nervous because they’ve seen that we’ve picked up a few draws against big sides, and are making a good go of it.”

When reading that before the game, that looks like a standard pre-match comment from an opposition player. Still, after, it would at least suggest Newcastle’s players are feeling the pressure – even away from home.

Instilling confidence in a club that has been on its knees, one who sold their best players during the summer after a ridiculously meek relegation is a mammoth task. While many supporters will claim the exits of the universally unpopular Moussa Sissoko, the inconsistent Georginio Wijnaldum and the hot-headed Daryl Janmaat are much to cry about, there’s little doubt these are good players and wholesale changes take time to set in.

So, Benitez isn’t just changing a squad of players. He’s changing a club to have lost a great connection with the city it stands so proudly in the middle of, a losing mentality to have engulfed the various players to have donned the famous strip in recent years and a feeling of inherent distrust amongst sections of support to owner Mike Ashley.

This is a process. A long one. Other than the passionate support of their long-suffering fans, Newcastle have been a loveless club for years. It’s taken the arrival of Benitez to change that, though the damage to have been done requires yet more TLC. Having been neglected for so long, that sort of attention is almost an alien concept to many of the players to have stagnated with the club, one that needs some getting used to.

From the outside looking in, just how hard the Toon Army have made it this season looks like a failure. However, other than the period in which Kevin Keegan’s pulsating side of the mid-1990s captured the hearts of a nation, Newcastle have never been a club those from the outside understand.

Promotion is paramount this season. Lamenting the fact a team as expensively assembeled as this one, in the Championship, are hoping Huddersfield Town and Reading go through a blip in order to keep them at arm’s length will do little to help now. 

Newcastle won’t win the league, though still have their desinty in their hands. That’s easy to forget. The ‘Rafalution’ is still coming people, just in typical Newcastle United fashion.

Tottenham Hotspur’s chances of winning the Premier League title look to be over after their nine-match winning run came to an end when they were beaten 1-0 by West Ham United at the London Stadium on Friday night, and fans were quick to turn on right-back Kyle Walker.

Despite Kieran Trippier starting in the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea and the 2-0 success against Arsenal in the final ever north London derby at White Hart Lane last weekend, Walker was given the nod on the right against the Irons.

The England international has been linked with a move away from the club in recent weeks and his below-par performance won’t have done anything to dismiss those rumours – he was substituted for Trippier in the second half.

Tottenham supporters were quick to have their say on his showing via social media, and some even said they don’t want to see him in a Spurs shirt again.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

According to reports in Portuguese media outlet A Bola, via Sport Witness, Newcastle United are ready to rival Everton and Southampton in the race to sign Sporting Lisbon centre-back Ruben Semedo this summer.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Rafa Benitez is keen to significantly strengthen his Magpies squad this summer following their immediate return to the Premier League, and he looks set to be handed a transfer war chest by owner Mike Ashley after committing his future to the club.

One of the areas he is looking to bolster is at the heart of the defence, and reports in Portugal have suggested that he has sounded out Semedo with a view to moving to St James’ Park.

However, the supposed €45m (approximately £38m) release clause in his contract would throw the rumour into some doubt even though they could probably get him for less than that amount.

How good has Semedo been this season?

The 23-year-old has made 22 Primeira Liga appearances this term, and despite picking up two red cards earlier in the campaign he has still impressed.

A big presence in the air – he has won 55 aerial duels – the defender has made 66 clearances and 57 interceptions while he has also shown he is good on the ball with a passing accuracy of 90%.

However, he has been dropped from the starting line-up by manager Jorge Jesus in seven of their last 11 league matches to show that he still has some improving to do.

Would he be a good signing for Newcastle?

It’s difficult to say.

While he is highly-rated it would be something of a risk for Benitez to rely on him coming in and making an instant impact in the Premier League.

The Spaniard has also said that he is looking for players with knowledge of the English top flight, which certainly makes the rumour linking him with Semedo a bit of a mystery, considering he would be a similar addition to Chancel Mbemba in terms of age and experience.

That said, he does have all of the attributes to be a brilliant centre-back and it could be a risk worth taking.

What’s the verdict, then?

Well, with Benitez looking to sign players with Premier League experience and Sporting likely to demand a high fee for the 23-year-old, a deal for Semedo doesn’t really look like a possibility.

Southampton and Everton are likely show more of an interest in him, and if they did Newcastle would find it difficult to sign him anyway.

According to reports in the Daily Mail, Chelsea are confident of keeping hold of Barcelona target Cesar Azpilicueta this summer.

Spanish publication Sport had claimed on Wednesday that the defender is one of new Barca manager Ernesto Valverde’s summer targets after the former Athletic Bilbao coach was officially unveiled as Luis Enrique’s replacement at the Camp Nou.

It is no surprise given the 27-year-old enjoyed yet another impressive and consistent season at Stamford Bridge, helping the Blues win the Premier League title and adapting to boss Antonio Conte’s preferred 3-4-3 formation.

The La Liga giants are desperate to strengthen their squad over the course of the next few weeks following a disappointing campaign in which they finished second to Real Madrid in the league, and were easily beaten by Juventus in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

While the potential move could be tempting for the Spaniard, the Premier League champions have to stay strong.

Here are three reasons Chelsea must fight off interest in Azpilicueta from Barcelona this summer…

He is reliable

During his whole career with Chelsea, each of the managers that have worked with Azpilicueta would have known that they would be guaranteed a positive showing from the Spaniard if he was named in the starting line-up.

While defensive partners Gary Cahill and David Luiz can have off days, there are very few occasions when the 27-year-old gives anything less than a seven or an eight out of 10 performance on the pitch; and that is the very reason that he will have caught the attentions of Barcelona.

The Blues will need more of that next season as they return to the group stages of the Champions League and look to retain their Premier League title.

He has so many qualities

The Spaniard has so many impressive attributes and he is probably one of the most underrated players in the Premier League.

At the back, the 27-year-old is strong in the air despite not being the tallest, while he is the quickest of the three centre-backs when he lines up alongside Gary Cahill and David Luiz.

He also brings an attacking threat as well having scored two goals and provided a further seven assists this season.

That determination not to let anything beat him and his impressive reading of the game has to be admired, and Antonio Conte will not want to lose those qualities this summer.

He is versatile

Prior to this season, Azpilicueta spent much of his Chelsea career playing at left-back despite being right-footed, and it shows just how impressive his performances are and how highly-rated he is at Stamford Bridge that he consistently did that.

The 27-year-old has once again shown his versatility by playing in five different positions alone during the current campaign.

The fact that he is able to play on the left or on the right, as well as being an impressive centre-back in a three-man defence, means that he is almost irreplaceable for the Premier League champions.

Do you agree, Chelsea fans? Let us know below.

According to reports in The Times, Chelsea are leading Newcastle United in the race to sign Manchester City goalkeeper Willy Caballero this summer.

The 35-year-old is in demand after leaving City following the end of his contract, and he is a target for both the Magpies and the Blues who are looking to strengthen between the sticks.

Antonio Conte is looking for back up for Thibaut Courtois after this season’s second choice stopper Asmir Begovic completed a move to Bournemouth last month, while Toon boss Rafa Benitez is looking for a new number one as he doesn’t feel Karl Darlow, Matz Sels or Rob Elliot are good enough to make the step up and be first choice in the Premier League.

It appears as though the Argentine would prefer a move to London, but Benitez will try to persuade him to make the move to Tyneside.

Here are three reasons Newcastle must beat Chelsea to the signing of Caballero…

Experience

The reason that Benitez is looking for a new goalkeeper this summer is because he doesn’t believe Karl Darlow and Matz Sels have the experience to cope with being the number one choice in the Premier League, but Caballero certainly has that.

While he has only made 23 appearances in the English top flight, the 35-year-old has also made 117 outings in La Liga and more than 400 appearances in total in his career, meaning he has seen it all and done it all.

That experience could be priceless as Newcastle look to avoid being embroiled in a relegation battle next season.

He’s on a free

While Benitez is said to have been handed a significant transfer war chest by owner Mike Ashley this summer to ensure that his Newcastle squad is strong enough to comfortably survive next term, the Spaniard will know that signing Caballero on a free would be hugely worthwhile.

Having been released by Man City following the expiry of his contract, bringing the 35-year-old to St James’ Park for nothing would allow him to use more funds on other areas of his team.

Ability

Even though Pep Guardiola brought in Claudio Bravo to be his first choice at the Etihad this season, Caballero displaced him halfway through the campaign and went on to make 17 Premier League appearances and 27 in all competitions.

The 35-year-old showed his qualities by conceding just 13 goals and keeping seven clean sheets in the top flight, and fans may also remember his outstanding performance in the penalty shootout of the League Cup final win against Liverpool in 2016.

He produced three brilliant saves to help City lift the trophy and prove what a good stopper he is.

Do you agree, Magpies fans? Let us know below.

When considering the many top-class talents to have graced Stamford Bridge since Roman Abramovich became Chelsea’s ludicrously rich owner in 2003, Florent Malouda probably isn’t a name that instantly comes to mind.

A quality player for sure, but one that seemingly pales in comparison to the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba. Even excepting club legends, players like Deco, Juliano Belletti, Arjen Roben and Hernan Crespo stand head and shoulders ahead of the France international.

Yet, 2009/10 was arguably the greatest campaign of the Abramovich era, ending in a Premier League and FA Cup double. Of course, Carlo Ancelotti is by no means the first or the last manager to add silverware to the Russian’s trophy cabinet – countryman Antonio Conte has done so this season – but the real difference was how Chelsea won it, adopting the adventurous, attacking style of football Abramovich has always craved.

The pragmatic Jose Mourinho refused to share that ideal and Conte’s approach can be described as balanced at best, whereas Phil Scolari, Andre-Villas Boas and Roberto Di Matteo implemented attacking football their own detriment. Consequently, Ancelotti is the only Chelsea manager hired by Abramovich to date who has found the balance between scintillating and successful football, and even he could only keep it in place during one incredible season. The Blues still hold the record for the most goals in a Premier League season, a staggering 103, and goal difference at +71.

Of course, the usual suspects all played their part as Ancelotti revelled in a squad about as vast and varied as it gets. Even a young Daniel Sturridge chipped in with five goals, whilst pre-Benfica Nemanja Matic, now-Crystal Palace’s Patrick van Aanholt and Sunderland’s Fabio Borini all featured in the Premier League from the bench.

But the Players’ Player of the Year award that season didn’t go to Lampard or Drogba, who netted a whopping 64 goals between them, Terry, Cech or any of the old guard. Indeed, Florent Malouda was the pick of his team-mates and rightly so. He finished the campaign with 15 goals and 15 assists to his name – a significant improvement from the season previous, where he’d racked up nine apiece.

Perhaps that return doesn’t seem so incredible for a left winger in a team designed to win games by enormous margins, that season claiming eight league victories by four goals or more and eleven across all competitions.

But Malouda was never a flashy player in the conventional sense of delicate turns and intricate goals; even his many impressive long-range goals for the Blues were more clinical than stylish, calmly and accurately rolling in off the woodwork.

It was hard graft and industry that moved him from the fringes of Chelsea’s first team to the beating heart of the starting XI in time for 2009/10 after arriving from Lyon two years earlier, and he actually ended the campaign more as part of the engine room alongside Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard than the attack.

Indeed, Malouda was not only Chelsea’s third top scorer and third top provider that season, but also boasted the fourth-most tackles per match and the most interceptions per match of any player in the division to make more than ten appearances on the left wing. It was that all-round game, combined with the fact Malouda simply had his shooting boots on that season, which made him such an integral cog in Chelsea’s 2009/10 side.

The next season, Malouda continued to hold up his end of the bargain, producing 13 goals and four assists in the Premier League, but certain team-mates did not. He actually ended up as Chelsea’s top scorer that term, whilst Lampard and Drogba could only produce 26 across all competitions – less than half of the year previous. Ancelotti lost his job to Villas-Boas in the summer, an appointment that proved to be the start of Malouda’s demise.

The following domestic campaign was Malouda’s least productive since turning out for Guingamp in 2000/01, although it ended in the greatest honour of his career – a Champions League title after coming on from the bench in the final.

After refusing a number of opportunities to leave the club in summer 2012, the Frenchman was completely frozen out at Stamford Bridge for the final year of his contract. He wasn’t selected for the registered Premier League squad and was made to train with the U21s. An unspectacular, almost unfair end for a player who had been instrumental in Chelsea’s greatest Premier League campaign and present for their biggest trophy scalp under Abramovich.

Today, Malouda celebrates his 37th Birthday, and you have to wonder how he’ll be remembered by not only Chelsea fans but the beautiful game in general; likely a talented player and a successful player, but probably not in the way a Premier League title winner, a Champions League winner and an 80-cap international should. Ever-underrated and overlooked, there could be no better fitting present than a bigger and more accurate share in the annals of Chelsea history.

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As reported by The Daily Record, Aberdeen have given Rangers a firm rebuttal in their quest to sign Dons midfielder Kenny McLean this summer.

What’s the word?

Having made almost a full team of signings already this pre-season, Pedro Caixinha continues to dominate the transfer window in Scotland and he’s eager to wrap up a deal for one the Scottish Premiership’s most consistent midfielders.

The Daily Record say that the Ibrox side notified the Pittodrie hierarchy that they were planning a bid for Kenny McLean.

However, the report also states that the Dons have said he is categorically not for sale, even though he only has 12 months left on his contract at the club.

After already losing their captain Ryan Jack to the Light Blues and Jonny Hayes to Celtic this summer, it’s clear that Aberdeen are desperate to make sure that no more make the switch to Glasgow.

Worth pursuing?

Of course, there’s every chance that Rangers don’t heed Aberdeen’s hands off warning and continue in their bid to bring McLean to Ibrox.

He’d certainly add something to Pedro Caixinha’s first team alongside the likes of Ryan Jack and Carlos Pena. Having made over 100 appearances in three seasons at Pittodrie, he’s emerged as one of the division’s best in the position, certainly outside of Celtic.

With a class first touch, excellent vision and a desire to impact the game in the final third, he could become a fan favourite at Rangers.

That’s why Aberdeen will want to hold onto him though and even if it means he eventually leaves on a free, it could be worth it to stop Rangers’ attempt to destabilise them further this summer.