Trent Alexander Arnold and Virgil Van Dijk

#PremierLeagueStories – #TrentAlexanderArnold talks about feeling powerless when playing against Wolves winger #AdamaTraore #WWFC #LFC

Trent Alexander-Arnold has admitted he felt 'powerless' up against Wolverhampton Wanderers' Adama Traore last season. Traore, 24, enjoyed a wonderful 2019/20 campaign and finished it as one of the Premier League's top assist makers, with only a handful of players - including Alexander-Arnold - contributing more than the Spaniard's nine. His superb form has sparked plenty of transfer interest with virtually every top team in Europe reportedly keeping tabs on Traore, who has been offered a new contract by Wolves. Liverpool, whose manager Jurgen Klopp dubbed Traore 'unplayable', are said to be among his admirers. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Wolves were narrowly beaten in both of their games against Liverpool last season, with the Reds winning 1-0 at Anfield and 2-1 at Molineux. Traore starred in both matches, especially at Molineux in January where he set up Raul Jimenez to score with a trademark dash down the wing followed by a pinpoint delivery. And Alexander-Arnold has echoed the thoughts of his manager when it comes to Wolves' electric winger. The England right-back was piecing together his perfect footballer for Goal and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Traore is the player he's chosen to fill the speed category. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles “It’s almost not human the way he can change direction and go," Alexander-Arnold said. "I’ve never felt so powerless against someone. “People are faster than you, that’s inevitable, but you can get yourself in good positions, give yourself a head start and get yourself in the race. But with him, and with his power as well, there’s nothing you can really do. “I remember last season when he came on at Anfield. He’s just turned and knocked it, and he was gone. I’ve never felt like that before! It has to be him, has to be.” Alexander-Arnold was speaking exclusively to Goal after being named in the 2020 Goal 50 list and the full article can be viewed HERE.
Raul Jimenez Wolves

#PremierLeagueStories – #RaulJimenez confirms Manchester United to sign him last summer #WWFC

Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Raul Jimenez has confirmed he was the subject of 'approaches' from other clubs during the summer transfer window. But the Mexico striker reaffirmed his commitment to Wolves having recently signed a new four-year contract at Molineux. Jimenez has been a revelation since joining Nuno Espirito Santo's side from Benfica two years ago and topped the magical 20-goal mark in all competitions last season. That form inevitably led to speculation over the 29-year-old's future in the summer, when he was linked with the likes of Manchester United and Juventus. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel In an interview with Mexican outlet TUDN [via Sport Witness] during the international break, Jimenez admitted potential suitors had been in contact but an agreement was never close to being reached. “During vacations or a transfer window a new team will come out every day, what I knew was about the news, rumours,” said Jimenez. “One day I’d wake up and Juventus loved me, another it’d be Manchester United, and what I know is that there were approaches, but an agreement was never reached, nothing close, but I’m very good at Wolves.” Wolves daily newsletter. Free. To your inbox There's a quick and easy way to stay on top of all the Wolverhampton Wanderers news with our daily newsletter. Delivered straight into your email inbox each day, the bulletins will feature the latest Wolves news, views, gossip and opinion. All you have to do is punch your email in at the top of the article - it looks just like this...   And what's more, it's absolutely free! You can also get all the latest updates by following us on Facebook and Twitter. We also have a free app which you can download. It is always up-to-date with the latest news from across the region. Google Play Store and App Store Jimenez already has four Premier League goals this term having netted 13 and 17 in his first two campaigns with Wolves and put pen to paper on a new deal at the start of October. Asked whether he has any regrets over staying at Wolves, he said: “Well, not really, I’m very happy at Wolverhampton, it’s never forced because I’m in a place where I’m fine, they know I’m not satisfied, I’m always looking for more. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles “It didn’t happen this time, if it happens at some point will have to want the best for me, Wolves and the team who came, but I’m very happy at Wolves being very important.” Jimenez added: “The truth is I’m giving my best by giving myself to the top in every training, game, I’m doing my best, obviously Wolves are not a team that is talked about a lot, but I’m in the best league in the world and if I’m doing it at a team that doesn’t have much popularity, I can do it at any team.”
Michael Essien Chelsea

#PremierLeagueStories – Chelsea legend is Arsenal star #ThomasPartey’s most favourite player ever #AFC

Thomas Partey says that Crystal Palace striker Jordan Ayew is one of the players he looks up to for the impact he has made since moving to the Premier League. Partey joined Arsenal this summer in a deal worth £45million from Atletico Madrid, and has already made a big impact in North London. Ayew moved to the Premier League in 2015, playing for Aston Villa for two years. He then made the switch to Swansea before heading on loan to Palace for the 2018/19 season. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Ayew made his move to Selhurst Park permanent ahead of the 2019/20 season for £2.5million - a bargain price as he top-scored for the club last season. The 29-year-old has also made 63 appearances for Ghana - where he has been an international teammate with Arsenal midfielder Partey. Partey said that his idol growing up was former Chelsea star Michael Essien, and added that Ayew and his brother Andre have also been influential on both him and Ghana. "[Essien] is a fantastic midfielder," Partey told Arsenal's website. "He fights for every ball, he's a great legend. For me, he's one of the best midfielders that we've ever had in Africa. "I think we've all seen what he has done at Chelsea, what he has done for the Black Stars and for me, he's my idol. "I grew up watching Michael Essien, Muntari, the Ayew brothers - they are the people I look up to and they made a lot of impact on Ghanaians. I think this is my moment and I have to make sure I take it."
MIcah Richards Aston Villa

#PremierLeagueStories – #MicahRichards disagrees with the penalty given to Leicester Against Wolves #WWFC #LCFC

Former Manchester City and England defender Micah Richards has criticised referee Anthony Taylor's decision to award Leicester City a controversial penalty during the early stages of Sunday's Premier League match against Wolves. Jamie Vardy stepped up to score the only goal of the game past Rui Patricio to hand victory to the Foxes. The spot-kick was awarded after Max Kilman handled Dennis Praet's cross, but it was debatable whether or not the Wolves ' defender had enough time to move his hand out of the way of the ball. Richards told Sky Sports he thought the penalty was 'soft' and that he believes the referee made a poor decision by awarding it. "It was soft. I don’t know where he is expected to put his hands there, his hands are in a natural position for where the ball is going to go," he said. "I felt really sorry for the defender there because I don’t know what he is expected to do. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles "For me, that was the wrong call but Vardy tucks it away nicely.” Patricio kept out a second penalty from the Leicester forward before half-time to give Wolves hope, but the visitors failed to find the back of the net during the remainder of the match. Nuno Espirito Santo 's side did look more threatening after the interval, with Kasper Schmeichel called into action to spectacularly deny Ruben Neves an equaliser as the clock ticked down. Despite their efforts, fellow pundit Roy Keane said that Wolves failed to do enough to earn a positive result, and deserved to lose. "You’d certainly expect a reaction from Wolves in the second half," he said. Wolves daily newsletter. Free. To your inbox There's a quick and easy way to stay on top of all the Wolverhampton Wanderers news with our daily newsletter. Delivered straight into your email inbox each day, the bulletins will feature the latest Wolves news, views, gossip and opinion. All you have to do is punch your email in at the top of the article - it looks just like this...   And what's more, it's absolutely free! You can also get all the latest updates by following us on Facebook and Twitter. We also have a free app which you can download. It is always up-to-date with the latest news from across the region. Google Play Store and App Store "Having said that, I think it was an excellent save and I think he is an excellent goalkeeper but I would expect him to save this. It was well struck but I would expect a good goalkeeper, honestly, to make that save. "They (Wolves) huffed and puffed a bit but they didn’t show enough quality, certainly didn’t show enough ambition in the first half and deserve everything they get."
Mesut Ozil Arsenal

#PremierLeagueStories – Arsenal legend urges #MikelArteta to resolve #MesutOzil issue #AFC

Thierry Henry has hailed the job that Mikel Arteta is doing at Arsenal so far, but warned the Gunners boss to resolve the issue surrounding Mesut Ozil. The German midfielder has been omitted from Arsenal's Premier League and Europa League squads, and has not played for the club since March. Arteta has played down the situation, claiming the midfielder was left out for footballing reasons, but Gunners legend Henry believes the Arsenal first team manager must sort out the situation for the club to move forward. "First and foremost, you can see an identity, a togetherness," Henry told CBS Sports podcast Que Golazo. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel "When you’re going to be the boss after the big man, so obviously Unai Emery was but now it’s Arteta, it’s not easy to go after Arsene Wenger, it’s not easy at all. "But what I see with Mikel is that the passion is back, the happiness is back, obviously he gave them a good solidity. Now he needs to deal with what he needs to deal with: the Ozil case and other cases. That doesn’t happen overnight. "When you inherit a team from someone, you need to make sure you can clear some stuff, because it just doesn’t happen overnight. And then people are like 'Oh, oh, oh, he didn’t give all those contracts to some of those players'. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles "So he needs to make sure he needs to bring the players that he needs to adapt to his system. And that takes time. ‘And on top of everything, in this league it takes even more time because the competition is crazy. "I don’t know when was the last time where, after six games, every team already lost a game. Every team already lost a game – I don’t remember that. It means what it means, it’s not easy for even the teams that are well prepared, well organised. "Like I always say, the game is long. To build a team it doesn’t happen just like that overnight. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for Gunners updates By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. "I always use Klopp as an example. I remember when he first arrived, he couldn’t hold a lead. They would be 3-0 up, 3-3. They score, they concede four. "Took him two-and-a-half to three years to have a completed team. Now everybody respects what he does - and rightly so by the way because he’s a hell of a manager - but then from them understanding what he wanted he went and bought pieces that were missing: Van Dijk, Alisson, Fabinho, and some others now. "But at the beginning it took him two-and-a-half years or so for them to understand his philosophy, because it doesn’t happen overnight."