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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Starting his first Premier League game of the season, Michael Obafemi was undeniably the surprise inclusion in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s line-up to face Arsenal on Saturday afternoon. The 19-year-old has been on the fringes of the first-team squad, so getting the nod to start up front at the Emirates was some show of faith from his manager. And boy did he deliver.

The teenager may not have gotten on the score-sheet, but he made life for the Arsenal defence a living hell. The Republic of Ireland international buzzed around at the top of the pitch, spinning in behind the opposition back-line and harassing them into mistakes. In one instance in the first-half, one simple ball over the top was chased down by Obafemi, and the 19-year-old nipped in ahead of Sokratis, only for the Greek to get back to spare his blushes.

It was the kind of high-intensity pressing that worked well alongside main man Danny Ings. The latter has scored six times in the Premier League this campaign, which is just under half the total goals his entire side have netted (13). It all means the Saints could desperately do with a strike partner who can take the load off his shoulders. And in Obafemi, they have someone who has the desire to work hard for the team, and act as the perfect foil for their star goal-scorer.

As per Sofascore, the 5 foot 7 man had a 93% pass accuracy against the Gunners at the weekend, ensuring safe possession of the ball and rarely losing it. His two key passes were actually the joint second-highest in the entire Southampton team, and it showed he could link up the play well too. So whilst Hasenhuttl may more high-profile options like Sofiane Boufal on his bench, the Austrian must simply keep faith in the man who vindicated his decision to start him.

Arsenal fans are freaking out over a shock admission from Brendan Rodgers, who openly admitted he “probably” has a release clause at Leicester City.

Rodgers’ Leicester side showed everything Arsenal lack on Sunday. After the Gunners had stumbled to a 2-2 draw at Norwich City, Leicester came from behind in stunning fashion to beat Everton and move within eight points of leaders Liverpool.

They showed grit, determination, heart and of course quality, none of which were on show when Arsenal limped to a point at Carrow Road.

Following the match, Rodgers, who is one of the favourites to replace Unai Emery as the permanent manager at the Emirates, was asked if he had a release clause amidst speculation linking him with a switch to north London.

Rather surprisingly, he was completely open about the fact he may have an out at Leicester, as he told Sky Sports, via The Mirror: “There probably is (a clause) in most manager’s contracts. It is all hypothetical.

“Most manager’s contracts will have something in but my focus is here.”

He of course assured Leicester fans that he is “very happy” at the King Power Stadium, but that hasn’t stopped the Gunners faithful from going wild on Twitter over his comments, with many feeling this is a ‘come and get me’ plea.

Given his success at Celtic and so far with the Foxes, he would almost certainly be an upgrade on Emery, and the Twitter reactions down below tell you everything you need to know about what Arsenal fans think…

Ever since that 5-0 loss against Leicester City, Newcastle have looked a far better side.

In the next four games, they have lost just once – 1-0 against Chelsea – with two wins against Manchester United and West Ham and a draw with Wolves being the other results during that run. Now, they are up to 15th in the Premier League table and are four points clear of the relegation zone.

Take a trip down memory lane to a time when Newcastle were giants on the European stage in the video below…

That victory against the Hammers was their latest fixture, with the end result being 3-2 to the Toon. Federico Fernandez, Ciaran Clark and Jonjo Shelvey scored the goals, meaning that £31.5m-valued striker Joelinton (as per Transfermarkt) still has just one goal in the Premier League since signing for the club.

However, he had a good game at the London Stadium, providing an assist and picking up a WhoScored rating of 7.88. And the St. James’ Park faithful were quick to praise their record signing for his display.

They took to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Newcastle may have turned a corner with the performance and result against West Ham, and the front-three showed that when on top form they can be a handful for any opponent.

On the chalkboard

Steve Bruce has faced a tough challenge during his first three months in charge of the Magpies, in what was meant to be a dream job for the boyhood Newcastle fan.

From day one, some fans were against him, and though he was given money to spend he inherited a squad which scored just 42 goals in the league, yet lost 23 goals from that total with the departures of Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon.

Despite that, he has done well in parts, and proved that much of the criticism aimed his way has been unwarranted.

He has maintained faith in both his system and his players, and could be about to reap the rewards, starting with Newcastle’s fine display against the Hammers on Saturday, a game they very easily could have led 3-0 at half-time.

With the front three scoring just once between them in ten league games prior to the visit to the London Stadium, some managers would have decided to withdraw them from the team – but not Bruce.

The former Manchester United player has built much of his career on effective man-management. The combination of Miguel Almiron, Allan Saint-Maximin and Joelinton has showcased both that and his tactical skills, and Bruce was the reason why his team looked so accomplished in their 3-2 win.

Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Signs of progress

One of the reasons why Bruce has been somewhat under fire is because of the Magpies’ lack of goals, with six in ten scored before the trip to London.

However, with two summer arrivals starting in attack as well as one who only arrived in January, Bruce should have been afforded more time, as he is now starting to prove that once gelled together, his players are capable of producing winning football.

Alan Shearer noted as much on Match of the Day, as quoted by The Athletic:

“The concern this season for Newcastle has been a lack of creativity and a lack of link-up play between Saint-Maximin, Almiron and Joelinton. But not (against West Ham).”

Bruce knows the limitations of his squad, and should be praised rather than ridiculed for operating with a system which best suits them.

Players like Jetro Willems and Saint-Maximin are beginning to excel under him, whilst his handling of Matty Longstaff and Jonjo Shelvey has also resulted in match-winning moments against Man United and West Ham respectively.

Newcastle may not be a team which dominates the ball, but they have pacy wingers and a target man in Joelinton who, with a bit of confidence, will be able to seek out their runs, and that is now beginning to work well for the Magpies.

A number of Sunderland fans have voiced their support for Will Grigg after the under-pressure forward missed his penalty in the EFL Cup shoot-out defeat to Oxford United.

Grigg stepped up to take the Black Cats’ third spot-kick against the U’s, but blasted his effort sky high to the left and watched on as it sailed over the bar.

The 28-year-old had entered the action in the 55th-minute for Joel Lynch after the centre-back suffered a knock, although his only telling action of the game came a quarter of an hour later when Grigg won a free-kick in the attacking third.

Solihull-born Grigg has come in for a range of backlash on social media since the Carabao Cup clash, with a quick search on Twitter showing Sunderland fans sharing messages suggesting the pressure of guiding the Black Cats out of League One may be too much for him.

Others have railed in support of the striker, though, with one suggesting boss Phil Parkinson needs to supply Grigg with the right service, as he can then be a 20-plus-goal centre-forward.

Find out what happened when a world-record-holding freestyler attempting skills with the worst pair of boots available on eBay in the video below…

Grigg hit 19 goals in the 2012/13 League One term for Walsall, before later penning 20 in the 14/15 campaign for MK Dons, 25 in the 15/16 season for Wigan Athletic and 19 for the Latics in 2017/18.

Promotion into the Championship for last season again saw Grigg struggle before moving to the Stadium of Light in January, where he only managed to strike four goals in 18 league games before the close of the season.

The 13-cap former Northern Ireland international recently opened his account for the term against Tranmere Rovers, which brought an end to a 21-game goal drought in the third-tier including last season’s Play-Offs.

Here are some of the messages shared from Black Cats supporters who continue to back Grigg…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

We said it would be a test, and it looks as if they failed it.

Although that doesn’t mean everything should be doom and gloom around the City Ground. How does the saying go? “You learn more from failure than you do from success.” Well, that needs to be the attitude going forward.

As covered on FFC last week in the build-up to the game, we stated that Sunday’s game against Wigan would be a perfect test for how Nottingham Forest, and more importantly Sabri Lamouchi would be able to cope with the number of injuries that have been going through the squad.

Forest have had things relatively straight forward so far during their impressive start to the season, but this really acted as a way of working out whether or not the work they had done so far this campaign was down to the efforts of Lamouchi, the players, a combination of the two, or just good luck in how things have panned.

As not just the result, but the performance showed, there is still some work to do when it comes to how Forest can attack the rest of the season.

Whilst they may have a lot of strength in depth in terms of quantity, with 31 players on their books (via Transfermarkt), as well as those coming through the academy, they might not necessarily have the strength in depth in terms of quality to get them through the season.

Now it is up to Lamouchi to turn that quantity into the sort of quality that he can rely on throughout the season.

Injuries like these are bound to pop up again throughout the rest of the season, so the reserves have to be at a level where they are capable of being a help rather than a hindrance whenever they step up to the plate.

They certainly proved that wasn’t the case on this occasion with defeat at the weekend and similarly poor performances with a weaker team could be season-defining.

When he was first appointed, Lamouchi joked about how this league was ‘the worst in the world’ and having been given the first real shock to the system, now he just has to show that he has learned from it.

Charlton Athletic have started the 2019/20 Championship campaign in impressive form to rise to 10th in the table following their promotion-winning season from League One, and some of the club’s fanbase have been reacting to an international call-up for one of their star performers.

Conor Gallagher, 19, has been promoted to the England U21 squad ahead of games against Slovenia and Austria over the October international break.

The Addicks have acquired some decent Premier League talent on loan in recent years, including the likes of Josh Cullen, Ben Purrington and Krystian Bielik, and it appears Gallagher is simply the latest in a number of loanee success stories at the Valley.

The striker has scored four goals and registered one assist in 11 Championship appearances for Charlton this season.

Some fans have been responding to the news that their latest academy prospect is set to feature for Aidy Boothroyd’s side over the next fortnight.

Check out some of the best reactions to Gallagher’s call-up to the England U21 side below.

Tottenham have opened contract talks with Jan Vertonghen with a look to renew his current deal, which expires at the end of the season.The Belgian finds himself in a similar predicament to last year when the club triggered a one-year extension clause in his contract, and it is an option they could take up once again.Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

However, for some fans that isn’t enough.

Many believe the centre-back is worth at least another two years due to all that he has given for the club and the quality he possesses, with the player also admitting to feeling “fairly young” despite now being 32 years of age.

Spurs will likely be keen to get the deal done since Toby Aldeweireld and Christian Eriksen find themselves in the same situation, and could perhaps follow Moussa Sissoko in getting his contract renewed.

For one fan, such talks should have begun months ago, with much of the reaction suggesting that supporters are happy to hear that the experienced Belgian could stay for longer.

زعمت تقارير صحيفة، أنّ نادي تشيلسي الإنجليزي، واثق من إمكانية ضم النرويجي، إيرلينج هالاند، في نافذة الانتقالات الصيفية المقبلة.

هالاند يتواجد على رادار أكثر من نادٍ أوروبي، على رأسها ريال مدريد، مانشستر سيتي، باريس سان جيرمان، برشلونة، يوفنتوس، مانشستر يونايتد، إلى جانب بايرن ميونخ الألماني.

وارتبط النجم النرويجي، بإمكانية الرحيل عن صفوف أسود الفستيفال هذا الموسم، حيث ألمح الرئيس التنفيذي لـ بوروسيا دورتموند بذلك.. (طالع ماذا قال؟).

اقرأ أيضًا.. ليمان: هالاند يخيف حراس المرمى أكثر من مبابي!

وبحسب شبكة “ESPN” العالمية، فإن كبار الشخصيات داخل مسؤولي البلوز، يشعرون بثقة كبيرة في قدرتهم على ضم النجم النرويجي في الصيف.

وأوضح التقرير أنّ مسؤولي تشيلسي، لديهم نية بتقديم عرض مالي كبير لـ نظرائهم في دورتموند، بالإضافة إلى إغراء صاحب الـ20 عامًا براتب كبير، من أجل نقله إلى “ستامفورد بريدج”.

هالاند يُقدم أداء أكثر من رائع مع بوروسيا دورتموند، وتمكن هذا الموسم، من إحراز 27 هدفًا في 27 مباراة، وقدم 8 تمريرات حاسمة.

أضاف النجم الأرجنتيني ليونيل ميسي، الهدف الثاني لفريقه برشلونة في شباك إلتشي خلال المباراة التي تجمع الفريقين بمنافسات الدوري الإسباني.

وجاء هدف ميسي في الدقيقة 69 من عمر المباراة، بعدما انطلق دي يونج من الجهة اليسرى، وتجاوز لاعبي الخصم ثم مرر الكرة لميسي القادم من الخلف، ليدخل الأرجنتيني منطقة الجزاء ويراوغ ويسدد في الشباك.

وكان ميسي أحرز الهدف الأول للبلوجرانا في الدقيقة 48، ويلاقي برشلونة نظيره إلتشي، في مباراة مؤجلة من الجولة الأولى من الليجا ويمكنك متابعة أحداث المباراة لحظة بلحظة من خلال الرابط. هدف ميسي الثاني في مباراة برشلونة وإلتشي