Arsene Wenger has cause to regret Arsenal's indifferent start to the season after his side belatedly hauled themselves into the Premier League title race.
Last weekend’s emphatic 4-1 defeat of Liverpool moved Arsenal up to second and victory at second-bottom Burnley on Saturday will close the gap on leaders Chelsea to four points, the day before Jose Mourinho’s side travel across London to face Queens Park Rangers.
The distance between the top two, together with Chelsea having a game in hand, means it would take an extraordinary turnaround for Arsenal to overhaul their capital rivals.
But there is no doubt Wenger’s side have built impressive momentum since the New Year’s Day loss at Southampton, winning 15 of 17 games in all competitions.
That has allowed them to overhaul Manchester United and Manchester City and all but guarantee their place in next season’s Champions League but veteran Arsenal manager Wenger admitted their season was shaped by a disjointed opening half of the campaign.
“We had a difficult start this season compared to last year. This season we had many players out for four or five months after the World Cup and since we have found our cohesion with everybody back, we feel we have moved forward,” he said.
“I just think we are at a stage of the season where we took off in January, because we had nearly everybody available. That made us more efficient,” the Frenchman added.
“We have maybe a better team balance between attacking and defending as well than we had until January.
“We are in good form and it’s interesting that we have a good team dynamic. Hopefully we can maintain that until the end of the season, then we will see where we stand.”
FA Cup holders Arsenal are set for an exciting end to the season as they are also in the last four of the knockout competition.
“We look behind us and people are chasing us, in front of us there’s quite a big distance with Chelsea but we work very hard to reduce that,” said Wenger.
“What we want is to go as high as we can until the end of the season, give our best and we are also in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.”
Meanwhile Burnley manager Sean Dyche said Wenger was a source of inspiration for younger managers
Dyche, 43, is in his first season in charge of a Premier League club whereas Wenger is overseeing his 19th campaign at Arsenal.
Some Arsenal supporters have called for Wenger to be replaced after a return of just one trophy in 10 years but Dyche said the fans should be grateful for what they have.
“They’re a fine side, who keep progressing despite what people say,” Dyche said. “Arsene seems to get questioned, I don’t know why, I think the job he’s done is terrific.
“Of course, I’m aware fans would like to have won more trophies in recent years but, as a young manager aspiring to progress in the game, I look at people like him thinking ‘you haven’t done badly if you have a career like his’.”
Burnley are 19th in the Premier League but are just two points behind fourth-bottom Hull City and will take heart from the fact they held Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal’s arch North London rivals, to a goalless draw on Sunday.
“We have to understand the opposition and counter that with how we work,” Dyche said. “Certainly against Tottenham we made it difficult against them.
“We edged the game against Manchester City and it’s not often you do that against one of the ‘superpowers’.
“I’m happy with how the team is operating this season.”
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
RESULTS
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $49,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner RB Frynchh Dude, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.05pm Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner El Patriota, Vagner Leal, Antonio Cintra
7.40pm Zabeel Turf – Listed (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,000m
Winner Ya Hayati, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm Cape Verdi – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Althiqa, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm UAE 1000 Guineas – Listed (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Soft Whisper, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Bedouin’s Story, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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Brief scores:
Everton 2
Walcott 21', Sigurdsson 51'
Tottenham 6
Son 27', 61', Alli 35', Kane 42', 74', Eriksen 48'
Man of the Match: Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
Apple product price list
iPad Pro
11" - $799 (64GB)
12.9" - $999 (64GB)
MacBook Air
$1,199
Mac Mini
$799
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Vikram%20Vedha
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War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
Jawan
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How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
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Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Trippier bio
Date of birth September 19, 1990
Place of birth Bury, United Kingdom
Age 26
Height 1.74 metres
Nationality England
Position Right-back
Foot Right
Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
World Cup warm-up fixtures
Friday, May 24:
- Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
- Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)
Saturday, May 25
- England v Australia (Southampton)
- India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)
Sunday, May 26
- South Africa v West Indies (Bristol)
- Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)
Monday, May 27
- Australia v Sri Lanka (Southampton)
- England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)
Tuesday, May 28
- West Indies v New Zealand (Bristol)
- Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)
Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp
Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000
Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months
Spec%20sheet
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