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Arsenal’s 3-0 loss at Everton on the weekend offered a small positive: it marked the return of Aaron Ramsey, who had been out of action since Boxing Day.

The relief at seeing Ramsey back on the pitch would have been muted considering everything else that was happening. But what should be said is that upon his introduction – alongside Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Arsenal’s attack finally rediscovered this season’s vital component.

Goodison Park wasn’t really a time to pick up on any positives that may have been present. Mainly because it’s difficult to imagine anyone wanting to thrust small bright spots forward as beacons of hope.

The worry is that too much will be laid upon the shoulders of Ramsey. Arsenal are rock bottom in terms of confidence, something that has become a common theme in recent seasons. Ramsey, though, injected some aggression, however small, and vitally some interest and passion into Arsenal’s performance.

The Welshman has been without doubt Arsenal’s star player this season, even ahead of blockbuster signing Mesut Ozil. Ramsey had been instrumental in taking Arsene Wenger’s side to the top of the league, while his goals and assists were balanced out by often outstanding defensive work in the midfield.

What has become clear in these past few weeks is that Arsenal lack leaders and voices. Away from that, there has been no one outstanding player who always looked capable of changing a game. Ramsey has been out for three months and will need to get back into the rhythm of playing each week. What he doesn’t need is the rest of the squad leaning on him as the saviour of the club’s season.

It’s easy to forget that this time last year Ramsey was in the first stages of becoming the player he is now. It was a back-to-basics approach that saw him back in the centre of midfield alongside Mikel Arteta and focusing on recycling possession and leaving the burden of creativity to others.

A similar approach will be needed now. After so long out, it would be negligent to throw him back into the thick of things. What is problematic, though, is that with possibly seven games left in all competitions, there may not be much time to allow him to find match fitness in his own time.

Ramsey gives Wenger another option. He’s proven himself to be capable of producing out of nothing this season. Importantly, he gives the other players something to look out for on the pitch. At Goodison Park, he was one of the few looking to run into space and create scoring opportunities.

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His inclusion in the squad for the FA Cup semi-final will undoubtedly give the supporters a lift. A responsibility will also fall to the rest of the squad to ensure Ramsey isn’t hampered during his comeback. He may prove vital and decisive in ending Arsenal’s wait for a trophy, as well as landing them fourth in the league table. But much more is needed from those around him. The regulars in the first-team must to raise their game now that there is a tangible boost to morale.

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Mikel Arteta has demanded Arsenal beat QPR at the Emirates Stadium this weekend and get their season back on track after two defeats on the spin, the Mirror report.

The Gunners followed up their defeat at Norwich last Saturday with a feeble display in the Champions League against Schalke on Wednesday, in which they failed to register a shot on target until the 93rd minute.

Spanish midfielder Arteta has vocally admitted his concerns that Arsene Wengers’ men have taken their eye off the ball and says they need to stop making errors at crucial times during games.

“We have to bounce back. We have two days now to get this result behind us and hopefully we can get a win on Saturday,” he said.

“The way we are giving these points away, for me it is not good enough.

“We are controlling most of the games but then we seem to make mistakes at certain times which is costing points.

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“We cannot allow for that to happen.”

Everton fans are praying they can sign Gelson Martins, after reports this week suggested Marcel Brands could do plenty of shopping in Portugal this summer.

According to a report from A Bola, William Carvalho is not the only Sporting CP player Everton are interested in this summer, and they could swoop for both Bas Dost and Gelson Martins.

While the links to Dost don’t seem to be causing too much excitement, fans would absolutely love to beat Arsenal to Martins.

The speedy winger has been the subject of interest from the Gunners, but could opt for somewhere like Everton if he feels he will struggle for playing time in North London. He reportedly has a whopping £60m price tag, but could go for much less due to the chaos surrounding Sporting.

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The report from A Bola says Brands has good connections in Portugal, which could give the Toffees the advantage in the race for Martins.

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The speedy winger grabbed eight goals and eight assists in 30 league games for Sporting last season, a sensational return for a 23 year-old.

Everton fans are praying they can get this one over the line, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

As reported by The Daily Mail, Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is insistent that the club should not be selling their top players like David De Gea at the end of the season.

What’s the story?

The paper report that the Spanish shot-stopper is number one of Madrid’s shortlist of potential goalkeeping signings this summer.

However, Jose Mourinho has poured cold water on a potential deal for Old Trafford favourite, believing selling their best players is a bad strategy if they want to continue signing the biggest and best players around.

As quoted by The Daily Mail, the Man United boss said:

Do you think a club that is trying to attract the best players is the club that is open to sell the best players? It makes no sense. ‘If you want to go to that level you have top attract the best players like we did with Alexis, Matic and Pogba and so on. And don’t let our best players go.

Can United hold on to the man rated at £45m by Transfermarkt, or are they destined to lose him to the La Liga giants eventually?

How important is he to United?

With 114 clean sheets in 300 matches for Manchester United, De Gea has proven to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world while at Old Trafford and will leave an impressive legacy whenever he does decide to leave the club.

It’s incredibly difficult to find goalkeepers that can produce such a high level of consistency over a long period of time and retaining De Gea should be seen as a big transfer priority over the next few transfer windows.

If United are ever going to challenge for major silverware once again, they need players like De Gea to pledge their long-term future to the club.

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He’s become a defensive rock at the club and losing him would undoubtedly cause instability at a critical time in the development of Jose Mourinho’s side.

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Manchester United offered Juan Mata a passage out of Chelsea, one of a few the Spaniard would have had to take if he was to get his season back on track and salvage a place in Spain’s World Cup squad.

United were an option, a very good option alongside PSG, Atletico Madrid (perhaps more short term) and whoever else Jose Mourinho and Chelsea were happy to negotiate with. But Mata chose United for the club that it is, what its standing is in English football, and in spite of the difficulties faced under David Moyes.

It’s hard to believe that players look to managers as one of the deciding factors for not wanting to join a club. Of course, it works the other way around quite often. Cesc Fabregas, for obvious reasons, went back to Barcelona to link up with Pep Guardiola. Mario Goetze did the same with the current Bayern manager, and Mesut Ozil spoke of Arsene Wenger’s talents of persuasion following his move to Arsenal last summer.

More often than not, players prioritise wages, likelihood of trophies and comfort of family and personal life before tackling the issue of whether they’re going to get on with the manager and what his reputation says about him. That is unless Felix Magath is the manager in question.

PSG will continue to see a steady stream of high-profile talents arrive at the Parc des Princes this summer, as they did last year. Yet it would be hard to imagine Edinson Cavani paid too much attention to the fact that at the time of his signing, PSG were without a manager and director of football Leonardo was clearing his desk for a permanent departure. Nor did Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Thiago Silva kick up a fuss when Laurent Blanc was named manager, an individual who was nowhere near the club’s list of top candidates a month or two prior to his appointment.

United are in a difficult period in their history, but Moyes won’t deflect star players who find themselves making their way towards Old Trafford in the coming months. Football really doesn’t work like that.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have a history of changing managers frequently, so too do a number of Serie A clubs in recent years. Chelsea are famed for their low tolerance of underachievement. But players continue to sign on at these clubs. There’s the prestige and history of a club that players want to attach themselves to, or simply money talks.

The fact that United have already signed Mata, and for big money, should be a sign that world-class players remain very much available to the club. One man, in the space of 12 months, won’t change the perception of one of the world’s biggest football clubs.

Click below to see Chelsea vs Everton LIVE!

We live in a world that is fuelled by stereotypes and within the cliché driven environment of Premier League football, that notion is by no means any different. And for the public persona of the professional footballer, there is no short supply of ill-feeling, no matter who you are or who you play for.

And to some extent, how could you possibly expect any different? Within recent times, we’ve been exposed to certain somebodies taking air rifles into the training ground, igniting pyrotechnics in their country mansions and a whole backdrop of stories detailing a seeming perpetual hobby of adultery. It’s fair to say that sympathy isn’t exactly in abundance for the current crop of pros basking in the top flight.

But are we often too quick to paint all footballers with the same brush? Has the sort of exposure given to the likes of the John Terry’s, Wayne Rooney’s and Ashley Cole’s of this world been so prominent that it is now almost impossible to view a footballer with any sort of objectivity?

Such is the way that scorn is poured – often more than justifiably – upon the likes of Cole et al, that footballers seem to represent more characters, than real life people. The personal lives of top-flight players have always been tabloid fodder since what feels like the beginning of time, but it feels uneasy to think that popular opinion has been built up over a lifetime of News of the World ‘exclusives’.

A tabloid newspaper’s job is to first and foremost, sell itself and make a profit. A back page exclusive of ‘Premier League footballer opens soccer school in poverty stricken country’ is hardly going to see copies start flying off the shelf. But throw in a celebrity, reality television star and a little bit of kiss ‘n’ tell and you have yourself an instant classic. As close to a scientific formula for marketing success as you’re ever likely to find.

Of course, the argument is that there aren’t that many charitable footballers or men of good measure residing in our leagues. But that feels like an aged and certainly an unfounded opinion, at best. With a tabloid media that are unremittingly ruthless in their baying for footballer ridden gossip, has it been any surprise that players resemble something of a distant, enigmatic and frustratingly out of touch breed?

Indeed, The Guardian’s resident anonymous man on the insider, The Secret Footballer, has spoke at length about the reluctance to let their guard down. Digressing about life within the public realms, he said:

“Today if I go out to see friends, I have to be on my toes. Everybody seems to be a reporter. If you meet a footballer and he comes across as a rude, arrogant *****, the chances are that he is simply trying not to give anything away.”

Some will rightly deride such a viewpoint, although it gives an interesting insight into the thinking behind a modern day footballer. Public opinion is unlikely to seismically shift away from the current derogatory viewpoint, if players are simply too fearful to parade any part of their natural persona: good or bad.

Because the issue with stereotypes is that so often, it allows a certain minority to come to represent the majority. In truth, how much do we really know about the characters and the people behind the players that we see every weekend?

The hideously inflated and horribly out of proportion wages that they receive every week will always draw a rightful degree of negativity. But it’s unfair to decree that all who earn such money to be harness such woeful characters.

Indeed, one Craig Bellamy has taken pelters his whole career for his perceived abrasive attitude on the pitch and he is often a popular figure of derision within the media. Although despite being more than capable of earning another lucrative Premier League contract, Bellamy dropped down a division and took a permanent pay cut to move to Cardiff, for the good of his family. That got almost as little exposure as his self-funded football academy in Sierra Leone has. But hey, let’s never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Didier Drogba is another who takes his share of relative flak from supporters. His connection to the likes of Cole through his professional background has most people tarring him with the same brush. But we’ve never seen too many back pages dedicated to his long-standing work as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development programme.

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Even in recent weeks, the news that Manchester United winger Ashley Young, had stopped en route to the Tottenham game to attend to an injured child, was greeted with a sense of surprise and genuine malaise on the Internet. Some commented that they were surprised he’d do something 99% of the rest of the country would do. On what grounds have they formed that opinion about Young the human being, not the footballer?

With such unimaginable wealth and an unrelenting amount of media interest in their every move, it is almost impossible to harness any form of relatability towards a Premier League footballer. But can we honestly say that we don’t often unfairly bracket them as a group of people, based on the extreme actions of a very select group of their peers?

No one is suggesting to cut them any slack, to refrain from judging their every decision on the pitch or to even offer an element of sympathy towards them. Perhaps more, just a degree of fairness.

Are footballers unfairly typecast? Or do they deserve such a generalised reputation of negativity? Let me know how you see it on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me all your opinions. 

Southampton are interested in bringing Aston Villa duo Keinan Davis and Andre Green to St Mary’s this transfer window according to the Daily Mail.

What’s the story?

It’s no secret that Villa are desperately trying to raise funds to avoid going into liquidation and that could mean selling some of their prize assets.

20-year-old Keinan Davis broke into the first team last season and had a very impressive spell up-front, while Green, 19, would have added to his four appearances before he suffered a bad injury that ruled him out for the remainder of the season.

According to the Mail, the duo could be available for £3-4million and Southampton are keen on bringing the young duo to the south coast.

Are they worth it?

With so few senior games between them, it’s hard to judge the pair at the moment but they clearly have a lot of promise.

They are available on the cheap because of Villa’s financial troubles and Southampton would be wise to invest in two such talented English youngsters.

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They are unlikely to feature for the Saints any time soon and will likely be loaned out to gain more first-team experience, but they could represent a shrewd investment in years to come.

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According to Sky sources, Newcastle United have agreed to loan Aleksandar Mitrovic back to former club Anderlecht.

What’s the word?

Sky Sports’ North East correspondent Keith Downie alleged on Twitter this morning that Newcastle had reached an agreement with Anderlecht to loan them game-shy striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, provided they could seal a replacement in the form of Leicester City’s Islam Slimani. Well, it appears the Magpies have now got their man – something also reported by Sky Sports – suggesting Mitrovic will return to his former club before tonight’s deadline.

Why hasn’t it worked out at Newcastle?

The strange irony of this situation is that, in the eyes of many, Mitrovic has been the best strike option at Rafa Benitez’s disposal this season. He offers the height and power the Spaniard wants from his centre-forwards and his first Premier League season produced nine goals – an incredibly impressive return for a striker who was just 21 years old at the time.

But Benitez never felt like he could trust the Serbian international because of his discipline problems, sent off twice in his Magpies career, and has accordingly issued him just six Premier League appearances this season, all from the bench, equating to just 89 minutes’ worth of game-time. And the fact he’s not getting in the team despite Newcastle’s other strike options – Dwight Gayle, Joselu and Ayoze Perez – providing just nine league goals this term made it patently obvious the 23-year-old doesn’t feature in Benitez’s plans.

Have we seen the last of Mitrovic?

Mitrovic rejoins the club where he made his name with 44 goals in 90 appearances and his return to Anderlecht is rather symbolic of how the 6 foot 2 striker never reached his full potential on Tyneside. When he first joined Newcastle, he was seen as something of a coup after being linked with a number of big clubs from around Europe.

But it’s only a loan deal – most likely until the end of the season – and his contract will have another two years left to run come the summer. Perhaps Mitrovic is hedging his bets here; aware of the possibility that Benitez could well leave Newcastle at some point before next season, and that he could accordingly get another chance under a new manager.

Even if he doesn’t have a future at Newcastle though, we could well see Mitrovic in the Premier League again at some point. He’s well suited to the English game and despite the narrative of untapped potential, he’s still just 23 and remains Serbia’s main striker with 33 caps under his belt – including seven alone in 2017.

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Brighton have already failed with an £8million swoop for Mitrovic this month and if he’s made available in the summer, it wouldn’t be surprising for the Seagulls and other Premier League sides to come in for him. He still feels like a player who could be a real force in the Premier League under the right manager.

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The cynics have been waiting for the day when the Arsenal title challenge grinds to a halt, November was meant to be the month where the wheels finally came off but Wenger’s men continue to flourish.

They have taken the Premier League by storm so far, and there was a point this weekend where the gap at the top was as wide as 7 points. Those that had Arsenal down simply as early season pace setters and nothing more have had to seriously re-evaluate their position, the Gunners are no doubt major title contenders.

Having a world-class midfield is almost taken as a given with Arsenal, the Gunners continually dominated the middle of the park throughout their darkest days under Wenger. The difference now is that they have a rock-solid defence to back up this attacking menace. The back four of Sagna, Mertersacker, Koscielny and Gibbs has been an almost constant feature this season, 5 clean sheets last month is a testament to this newfound solidity, add to this the  bonus of an ever more competent Szczesny and you can start to understand the reasons for the new solidity.

This isn’t a trait picked up over-night, Arsenal’s impressive run to pip Spurs to fourth place was characterised by defensive rigidity above all else. This is all the more important given that Arsenal appear to have that same attacking incision as before, a particularly powerful combination.

But how long can it all last?

Arsenal’s lack of depth has been a hot topic, a failure to bring in the necessary resources last summer has left Wenger with a strong first XI but with very little else. The teams around Arsenal all have the necessary depth to carry a title challenge throughout the season, a Chelsea second choice XI may well contain the likes of Ashley Cole, Willian and Juan Mata to name but a few. Contrast this to an Arsenal bench that has seen the likes of Gnabry, Zelalem and Sanogo upon it in recent weeks and you can start to understand the problem here. Arsenal’s title challenge is precarious, and without management and possibly investment it could well become unachievable.

Arsenal’s depth in midfield isn’t a major concern, with Podolski and Oxlade-Chamberlain still to return there is increasing support going into the winter months. The problem though is in the defence, the bedrock of a title tilt. Wenger has persisted with the same back-line for 14 of the clubs 20 league and Champions League fixtures this term and as a result those waiting to enter the fray are lacking that match sharpness to compete.

When injury and fatigue catches up with Arsenal will the likes of Vermaelen and Monreal be able to answer the call?

It is a concern for the club, the festive period means midweek fixtures and a definite need for rotation, the worry being that Arsenal may lose the cohesion that has made them so successful to date. This test starts against Hull with Jenkinson moving in to deputise for a suspended Sagna, and the possibility for more rotation given trickier fixtures ahead. Wenger won’t want to upset the balance too much, but he will also know that keeping his defensive unit together is also unrealistic.

Arsenal do have some cover at the back, club captain Thomas Vermaelen has been forced to miss out for much of the season, something Wenger clearly feels quite bad about:

“It is a difficult decision,” he said of Vermaelen, “because of his attitude, influence at the club, and because he is a top-class player. He certainly suffers but he handles it with great dignity and great professionalism.” 

Everton at the Emirates this coming weekend and then crucial trips to Naples and Manchester; Wenger is going to be forced to shuffle his defensive pack. The gulf between the starting line-up and bench is growing and in my opinion could well prove detrimental to the clubs chances in the next few weeks.

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With other clubs rotating with ease, will Arsenal’s inadequate squad finally catch up with them this December?

A title challenge that has been built on firm defensive foundations, for me the next few weeks could well be Arsenal’s undoing as Wenger is forced into rethinking his defensive outfit.

See who England will face in Brazil on our World Cup Draw LIVE Blog below!

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It seems like the criteria for being a Manchester United goalkeeper is not just how good you are in between the sticks, but also how good you are at pulling gorgeous women! We have previously featured David de Gea and his WAG Edurne García Almagro and now Anders Lindegaard’s other half Missé Beqiri takes centre stage.

Missé Beqiri is a Swedish model who doesn’t seem to be a big fan of clothing. The 24-year-old is actually Albanian-born but has resided in Malmo, so it’s easy for her to get the train to Lindegaard’s homeland, Denmark. Misse not only models, she even has her own blog and is quite a wordsmith.

Rumours of the pair hooking up emerged on Facebook, as Misse replied to Anders’ brag that he had the best girlfriend in the world by saying: “as good as it gets”. The pair also follow each other on Twitter, where Bequiri’s bio states: “it’s simple”. As is viewing the Missé Beqiri WAG Gallery.

Click on Misse Bequiri below to see her WAG Gallery

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