Stories By Graham Ruthven

• Sport

  Chelsea would be stupid to let Conor Gallagher leave

  It said everything about the failure of Chelsea’s season that they only sealed safety from relegation with victory over Bournemouth on Saturday, four games from the end of the 2022/23 campaign. Nobody at Stamford Bridge will be sorry to the back of this season, but a pivotal summer lies ahead for the Blues.

• Sport

  Gundogan the under-appreciated star of the Guardiola era at Man City

  Ultimately, Ilkay Gundogan made himself something of a villain as he missed a penalty kick to make the final stages of Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Leeds United more nervy than they needed to be, but the German had already afforded himself some leeway by finding the back of the net twice earlier in the match.

• Sport

  Kompany should stay at Burnley to avoid the mistakes made by Gerrard, Lampard and Solskjaer

  Burnley will be back in the Premier League next season, but this will be a different Burnley team to the one that suffered relegation from the English top flight nearly 12 months ago. Under Vincent Kompany, the Clarets have bounced back by swaggering to the Championship title in a style unfamiliar to those used to Sean Dyche’s direct and physical approach.

• Sport

  Haaland is doing to the Premier League what Messi and Ronaldo did to La Liga

  Not for 91 years had a player scored 50 goals in a single season for an English top flight team until Erling Haaland reached the milestone for Manchester City. The sport has changed a lot since Pongo Waring found the back of the net 50 times for Aston Villa in the 1930/31 season, but goals remain football’s most valuable currency and Haaland is richer than anyone else right now.

• Sport

  Gary O’Neill should be a candidate for Manager of the Year

  As recently as mid-February, Bournemouth found themselves firmly inside the bottom three at the foot of the Premier League table. Only Southampton sat beneath the Cherries as they went seven matches without a win following the World Cup break.

• Sport

  Carlos Alcaraz has the magic to save Southampton from relegation

  Within just 14 minutes, Carlos Alcaraz had contributed a goal and an assist to put Southampton 2-0 up away to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Ultimately, the Premier League table-toppers fought back to salvage a 3-3 draw and a point, but Alcaraz had showcased his ability against one of the best teams in the division.

• Sport

  Title clash gives Arteta the chance to prove he’s up to Guardiola’s level

  Pep Guardiola knows how to win a Premier League title. Indeed, the Catalan has guided Manchester City to four championships in the last five seasons as the Etihad Stadium outfit have set a new precedent at the top of the English game.

• Sport

  It’s clear that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future should be in midfield

  The two sides of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s game are clear to anyone who has watched him in recent times. Widely praised for his natural creativity as a right back, the 24-year-old is also vulnerable in a defensive sense to such an extent Jurgen Klopp has experimented by shifting Alexander-Arnold around the pitch.

• Sport

  Manchester City won’t have a better opportunity to win the Champions League

  Manchester City pursued Pep Guardiola over a number of seasons due to their strong belief he would guide them to Champions League glory. At that time, the Catalan had a strong track record at the elite level of European football as a two-time continental champion.

• Sport

  Unstoppable Villa could mount a late top four challenge

  Only Manchester City (18) have taken more points from their last six Premier League matches than Aston Villa (16). Indeed, Unai Emery’s side are on their best run of form of the season, winning five and drawing just one of those aforementioned six matches.

• Sport

  Arsenal learning the hard way what it takes to stop Manchester City

  It’s entirely possible Arsenal will look back at their collapse against West Ham at the London Stadium as the moment this season’s Premier League title race swung away from them for good. Mikel Arteta’s team still sit four points clear at the top of the table, but Manchester City now undeniably have momentum on their side.

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