Sports
Arsenal’s Arteta hopes for fresh start after international break
Mikel Arteta believes the international break came at the right time for his Arsenal side as they try to overturn a dreadful start to the Premier League season.
A 5-0 hammering at champions Manchester City heading into the break left Arsenal bottom of the table with three defeats from their first three games and no goals scored.
Arteta’s side host fellow strugglers Norwich City today with the pressure growing on the Spaniard.
However, he believes the two-week pause has given him time to get players back from injury and bed in new signings.
“We needed some break to try and get players back. Hopefully by today, we will have a different team,” he told a news conference on Thursday.
“We have a completely different squad. It’s unheard of. Now we have to make it work, we have to glide it together, build relationships, chemistry and understanding. We have to do that really quickly.”
New signing Ben White is available for torday as are Gabriel Magalhaes, Eddie Nketiah and Thomas Partey, although Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka is suspended following his sending off against Manchester City.
“I’m really looking forward to having everyone available and to try start the season the way we want,” Arteta said.
“We don’t want to use any excuses. We know how difficult the start was with injuries and Covid issues we had. We have to reset now. We need to get everybody back on track and start to win football games which is what we have to do”.
Should Arsenal lose to Norwich it would be the first time they have lost their first four games of a league campaign since 1923, while never in their history have they failed to score a goal in their opening four league games.
Arsenal fans are growing increasingly impatient but Arteta, who replaced fellow Spaniard Unai Emery in December 2019, said that there was a long-term project in place at Arsenal.
“We have tried to explain the project and the decisions that have been made over the last few months. The amount of changes in the past two years is almost 30 players,” he said.
“It’s a project that we believed in and we all take responsibility. Now we have to make it work.”
Whether he is allowed to continue leading the project will depend very much on Arsenal quickly climbing the table.
“The pressure is always there to be as high as possible in that league table. It’s down to us to provide everything we have,” added Arteta.
New Japanese defensive signing Takehiro Tomiyasu’s hopes of making his debut hinge on a work-permit.
“The club is working hard to try and achieve that in the next couple of hours,” Arteta said of the player signed for around 18 million pounds ($24.91 million) from Bologna. – Reuters
Attention will be at the Golden City Park in Berekum tomorrow as Hearts of Oak lock horns with Berekum Chelsea FC in a Ghana Premier League Matchday 6 game that promises an electrifying atmosphere.
Lying sixth on the league table with two wins and three draws, the Phobians visit a ground that has been favourable to them in recent times. In their last three visits to the Golden City Park, Hearts have amassed seven out of nine points, putting them in strong contention to win.
Head Coach Mas-Ud Didi Dramani says, “The team is making progress in its tactical identity despite the lack of goals, and this is something we are working on ahead of this game.”
Hearts will come face-to-face with former coach Samuel Boadu, whose side lies a distant 13th on the league table with a win and a draw from four games. Coach Boadu is yet to celebrate a victory over the Phobians since joining the Berekum lads and would hope this fixture marks a turnaround.
Ninth-placed Vision FC would trek to the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park in Bechem to play Bechem United, while new boys Hohoe United host Aduana FC at the Hohoe Sports Stadium.
Returnees Swedru All Blacks will welcome Basake Holy Stars to the Swedru Sports Stadium, with defending league champions Bibiani Gold Stars staying put at their backyard, the Dun’s Park, to welcome second-placed Heart of Lions FC on Monday.
Today at the TnA Stadium in Tarkwa, Medeama SC will clash with Samartex FC in a Western derby. Other games scheduled for today would see Eleven Wonders FC host Karela United at the Swedru Sports Stadium, while Dreams FC face Nations FC at the Tuba Astro Turf.
By Raymond Ackumey
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Ghana coach Otto Addo may not command the kind of fear and respect like Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Luis Enrique and others in the modern game, but in his small corner, he is gradually climbing the ladder to greatness in Ghana, Africa and the world at large.
The aforementioned coaches attained greatness with club sides and, therefore, open an argument over whether one is not comparing apples to oranges. But no matter how one looks at it, they are all coaches harbouring similar ambitions to attain greatness in their fields.
Otto Addo is one of the young and upcoming coaches holding a lot of promise and was getting experience with his association with Borussia Dortmund in Germany until his path was directed by a Ghana call.
Although he was born in Germany, Otto Addo’s association with Ghana football dates back to 1999, spanning a period of about seven years; commencing with a 5–0 rout of Eritrea on February 28. He gained international prominence when he joined the squad for the 2000 African Cup of Nations. He featured as a midfielder in the team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
But like it’s often said, a prophet is not recognised in his own home and his efforts partially went unnoticed. He’ll go into the annals as one of the Black Stars coaches to have been fairly or otherwise criticised not just by ‘football people’ but fans who doubted him.
His sack has been discussed at various platforms by people whose knowledge and tactical acumen about the game remains questionable. Ghana’s Minister for Sports and Recreation, Mr Kofi Adams, at one point openly stated his doubts over Otto Addo’s ability to actually deliver.
No coach would feel secured in such turbulent times, but coach Otto Addo kept his calm and composure. On the corridors of his employers, however, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) president, Kurt Okraku, openly rallied support for him, though a few ‘doubting Thomases’ still questioned his credentials.
That painted a picture of a people that forget easily and are quick to crucify. In a brief moment of adversity, Ghanaians forgot how Otto Addo was brought in to pluck qualification for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup from the jaws of the Super Eagles of Nigeria with a solitary goal over two legs.
The upshot of that feat was not one any Nigerian would want to remember. The scenes after the match were awfully chaotic, as fans vented their anger on facilities at the stadium. Back in Ghana, it was partying all night and day.
Otto Addo was labeled the football magician. He achieved something no Ghanaian coach had ever accomplished; a feat which Ghana with her all-time best teams could not attain. That was the climax to which Otto Addo took Ghana football, generating calls to start believing in the Ghanaian coach.
Following that to the World Cup proper was another story altogether. It was, or may have been, our poorest show at any of the four World Cup appearances. And just as it was stipulated in his contract, he bowed out after the Qatar World Cup to mind his Borussia Dortmund business with peace.
But as fate would have it, nature found a way to renew his romance with Ghana football after an unconvincing start to the America, Canada and Mexico dream World Cup under special advisor turned coach, Chris Hughton.
Ghana started the qualifiers on a winning note but not a convincing performance. It was saved by an Inaki Williams goal scored on the sixth minute of additional time against Madagascar at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium. The Black Stars then slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the Stade de Moroni to Comoros to heighten calls for a new technical direction.
Then stepped in Otto Addo when Ghana occupied the fourth position in Group I with three points but with the countries in the group evenly matched.
By Andrew Nortey
