Kevin De Bruyne has suffered a long-term injury while long-serving midfielder Ilkay Gundogan left to join Barcelona in June.
Arsene Wenger is confident Arsenal can mount another Premier League title charge following Ilkay Gundogan’s Manchester City exit. The German
sought pastures new from the Etihad Stadium over the summer, leaving to join La Liga giants Barcelona on a free transfer. His last game in a City
shirt proved to be the Champions League final as Pep Guardiola’s side clinched a historic treble.
Fans were understandably disappointed but gave their blessing to a player who had committed seven years of stellar service. Often overlooked due to
fancier, more stylish midfielders like David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden or Kevin De Bruyne, Gundogan was the unsung hero of Guardiola’s
dynasty.
While the 32-year-old will be a miss, perhaps the bigger blow for City is De Bruyne. The Belgian superstar has undoubtedly been the crowning jewel
of the club’s recent dominance and most football fans agree that justice was served when he finally lifted the Champions League trophy in May.
But a serious hamstring injury on the opening day of the campaign will sideline De Bruyne for several months. To compete with Man City for the title,
a slice of luck is needed – and legendary Arsenal manager Wenger believes the Gunners may have received exactly that.
“I believe as well that City, having lost De Bruyne for a long period and Gundogan, who was a very important player, even if they are a top team I
don’t disagree with that, maybe they (Arsenal) can take advantage of it,” Wenger told the Seaman Says podcast. “But we have to deal with the
Champions League and that costs points as well.”
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‘Linebreaker’: Jude Bellingham says 24-year-old Arsenal player’s passing is underrated
The new EA FC video game is releasing later this month, and we’re at the point where we’re starting to get sneak peaks at certain players’ stats in the
game.
Speaking on the England YouTube channel, Marcus Rashford, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and James Maddison have all been playing a game
where they’ve tried to guess their teammates’ stats on the new EA FC title, and it’s fair to say there were a few points of argument.
One point of contention was Declan Rice’s passing stats.
The Arsenal midfielder has been given a mere 75 rating for his passing, and while that isn’t a good score, Jude Bellingham has jumped to his defence,
claiming that Rice’s passing is actually very good, but remains underrated on the game due to the fact he isn’t the most flash passer in the world.
Rice’s passing underrated
Bellingham praised Rice for his linebreaking passing ability.
“I feel like there are a certain type of pass that give you higher stats on this. The linebreakers they don’t really give you those, and you’re a linebreaker
aren’t you?” Bellingham said.
Doesn’t translate
Sadly, as anyone who has played these types of games in the past will know, players like Rice are perennially underrated in the virtual world.
Indeed, while Rice is clearly a very talented player, the fact that he doesn’t have many single standout attributes works against him.
Rice is, quite clearly, a very good passer of the ball, but unless you’re assisting goals at the rate of Kevin De Bruyne or Trent Alexander-Arnold, you’re
not going to get a top rating in that particular attribute.
Luckily, Rice’s peers recognise just how good he is, and Bellingham was more than happy to set the record straight here.
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