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• Arsenal can fight for Premier League title again despite falling short in 2022-23, claims Willian

  Willian understands the frustration Arsenal will have after their failure to push on for the Premier League title, but believes the Gunners can challenge again next season.

  Arsenal came close to ending a 19-year wait for a top-flight title before a late-season collapse saw incumbent holders Manchester City seize another crown.

  The manner of Arsenal's faltering finale represented a dramatic downturn after they had led the Premier League table for 248 days of the season.

  Willian, who spent a single campaign at Emirates Stadium during the 2020-21 season, has backed his former club to be challengers again soon enough.

  "When I was there, I could see that Arsenal had a bright future ahead of them very close because of the way [Mikel] Arteta was working," the Fulham attacker told Stats Perform.

  "The way I saw him working the team, I had no doubt that Arsenal would be back fighting for the top in the next few years.

  "Unfortunately, they were fighting with a team that [is on] another level. It's an outstanding team. It's not easy to fight for the title with Manchester City.

  "They must have a sense of frustration. They were fighting for the title the whole [season], and they let the title slip away practically.

  "But they are back in the Champions League. Of course, there must be a bit of frustration, but they have to be happy with what they did. 

  "Without a doubt, Arsenal [had] an excellent year, and they have everything to fight for the title again next season."

  City's latest title is their fifth Premier League crown in six seasons under Guardiola and looks poised to form part of a generation-defining treble with the FA Cup and Champions League finals to come.

  The latter in particular remains the chief honour left for the club to win, and Willian believes that it is Guardiola's intelligent grasp of his squad that makes them such a threat.

  "I think Guardiola, with his ideas, [is key]," he added. "He converges that with the execution of the players, which are, as they say here, "top class" players.

  "I heard Guardiola once say that he gives the ideas, he tells them what to do, but they also have to have quality on the pitch. Otherwise, it's no use.

  "He is a great manager, I think the best in the world in years, and together with the quality of the players on the field, City is very strong and hard to be beat."

• Willian backs 'best manager' Mourinho for more European success with Roma

  Jose Mourinho ranks as the best manager Willian has worked with and the former Brazil attacker hopes more European honours will be heading the Roma coach's way.

  Willian was part of Mourinho's Chelsea squad as the Blues secured a Premier League and EFL Cup double in 2015.

  The Fulham winger and Italian coach have since gone their separate ways but Willian still holds Mourinho in the highest of regards, hoping his former boss can lift yet another trophy this season.

  Mourinho has guided Roma to the Europa League final, in which they face Sevilla, and Willian made it clear where his allegiances lie for that showpiece on Wednesday.

  "For me, Mourinho is the best manager I've had, I always say that," he told Stats Perform. "In the way he works every day, in the way he talks, in the way he motivates.

  "He is a different manager and, for me, the best I've had. As he says: 'The special one'. 

  "I hope that he wins this trophy because he is a manager that sometimes gives a lot of people the impression that he is arrogant or something like that.

  "But on a daily basis, we see that he is a great manager. He jokes when he has to, and he hits hard when he has to.

  "He's real. When you don't play well, he says it in front of you, but when you play, he says it too. He's a great manager, an amazing manager.

  "He is a winning manager, and he has a chance to win another title in his career."

  Victory over Sevilla would secure Mourinho's sixth European title of his managerial career, having lifted various UEFA trophies with Porto (two), Roma, Inter and Manchester United.

  The most recent of those successes came last season as Roma triumphed in the inaugural Europa Conference League with a final victory over Feyenoord.

• German Jorg Schmadtke named Liverpool sporting director

  German Jorg Schmadtke has been appointed as Liverpool’s new sporting director.

  The 59-year-old, who left a similar role at Bundesliga side Wolfsburg at the beginning of 2023 after more than four years, will take up his post on June 1 once work permit formalities have been completed.

  He will replace Julian Ward, who is due to leave the club this summer after more than a decade.

  Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon told the club’s website: “Firstly, I would like to welcome Jorg to Liverpool Football Club in the knowledge that he will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience into a role in which such qualities can only be beneficial both to him and us.

  “Jorg will work with our football operations department as it continues to provide support for Jurgen Klopp, in keeping with our ongoing endeavour to keep growing and developing the club in all areas.

  “At the same time as we welcome Jorg, we must also bid a fond farewell to Julian Ward, who has served us with unstinting diligence, fortitude and energy in a number of roles, the most recent one being sporting director.

  “We wish Julian and his young family the very best for the future and thank him for everything he has done for Liverpool FC during the past 11 years.”

  Former goalkeeper Schmadtke made more than 300 Bundesliga appearances for Fortuna Dusseldorf, Freiburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach during his playing career before moving into administration.

  He had spells at Cologne, Hannover and Alemannia Aachen before joining Wolfsburg.

  Schmadtke joins a club which, by compatriot Klopp’s admission, endured “a bad season”, finishing fifth in the Premier League and missing out on Champions League football next term as a result.