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Rio fires shot at Gunners
Arsenal need a “reality check” despite maintaining their lead at the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win at Chelsea.
That is the opinion of ex-Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand, who labelled the Blues “patched up” with several first-teamers out injured.
Ferdinand, 44, did praise the Gunners and the work of Mikel Arteta, admitting he was still impressed by the manner of their victory.
Ferdinand said: “What I would say is I agree the control without the ball against Chelsea was next level. Unreal.
“It shows you the coaching and hard work that has gone in under the manager.
“That was a patched up Chelsea team, they are missing Reece James, Ben Chillwell, Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana, N’Golo Kante — there are five players that more or less start in that team.
“I was so impressed with how Arsenal played but let’s have a little reality check. Arsenal are a serious team now but it wasn’t even their [Chelsea’s] first team.”
Ferdinand also believes that any injury to striker Gabriel Jesus or centre-back colossus William Saliba will derail their campaign.
He added: “[Arsenal’s] most important player is Gabriel Jesus or William Saliba. If those players come out the team, the drop-off from that level is massive.
“You could play Granit Xhaka in Thomas Partey’s position and get through a couple of games, but you won’t get the same output from someone who comes in for Jesus or Saliba.”
Gift for the Gab
England have called up Everton defender Gabby George after Lauren Hemp and Jordan Nobbs were forced to drop out through injury.
The Lionesses face Japan in Spain on Friday night before taking on Norway four days later at the same venue but have had preparations disrupted through injury.
Skipper Leah Williamson remains unavailable, Fran Kirby has a viral infection and now Euro 2022 star Hemp has picked up a thigh issue in Sunday’s 3-0 WSL win over Reading.
And there is more injury heartache for midfielder Nobbs, 29, who missed out on a spot in the Euros last summer with a serious knee injury.
Both the Arsenal star and Hemp joined up with the England squad earlier this week but have not travelled to Spain after consultation with their clubs.
Lamps giving youth time to shine
Frank Lampard is expecting to make changes for Everton’s trip to Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup third round tonight.
The Toffees face the Cherries at the Vitality Stadium both today and on Saturday in their final Premier League game before the break for the World Cup.
A mixture of injury issues and the fact Lampard’s side have only won three of their 14 top-flight games this term mean some of Everton’s best youngsters will get a chance.
Midfielder Stanley Mills — son of ex-England defender Danny — centre-back Reece Welch and forward Tom Cannon could all be named on the bench.
Lampard said: “My intention is to get some young lads on the bench for the game, to have a feel of being part of it and to see if we can get them on the pitch.
“I’d like to think we’d have two, three, four on the bench, but I can’t guarantee that until we have a squad count up.
“Stanley has been doing really well, scoring regularly, playing well, and developing really well, so it’s nice to give players like that the opportunity when they come around.
“[Tom] Cannon is another one doing well. Reece Welch is there, too, so we will see how it works.”
