Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is relishing the dilemma of having to disappoint players as he attempts to negotiate a path through a season which could see his squad stretched to its limits.
The 45-year-old left summer signings Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento, as well as last season’s top scorer Callum Wilson, sitting on the bench for Saturday’s Premier League opener, but saw Wilson and Barnes come on and score in a 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa.
Howe admitted in the run-up to the game that he had “five or six” difficult decisions to make in the light of a fresh £125million spending spree, Anthony Gordon’s pre-season form and the emergence of homegrown midfielder Elliot Anderson, but that is a problem he welcomes with a Champions League campaign looming.
He said: “They’re dilemmas that are needed because we’re going to need the strongest squad possible, and the players who missed out today will play loads of games this season.
“That’s just a fact because we’re in so many different competitions, we’re going to be stretched and we’ll also be needing their quality as well.
“It’s going to be nice to be able to make those decisions. We need the strongest bench we can get this year with the amount of games we’re going to have, the amount of competitions we’re in.
“It was certainly a difficult day yesterday to name the team. They weren’t easy decisions for me to make – decisions I had to make, of course, being in my position – and then you just hope the team performs and you get the benefit of that squad.”
One of those decisions saw Howe hand a debut to £52m former AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali, and it paid off handsomely as the 23-year-old not only opened the scoring within six minutes, but produced a commanding display on his first appearance in England’s top flight.
Villa’s record signing Moussa Diaby cancelled out the Italian’s early strike in short order, but his response was to play a pivotal role as Newcastle overwhelmed the visitors, Alexander Isak helping himself to a double either side of the unfortunate Tyrone Mings’ departure on a stretcher before substitutes Wilson and Barnes added their names to the scoresheet late on.
Howe was understandably delighted, but equally confident there is more to come.
He said: “We didn’t defend perfectly, so there’s stuff for us to improve – but it was a weird situation. I thought they (Villa) played well, but we could have scored more goals.”
Opposite number Unai Emery headed back to the midlands hoping the news on Mings is not as bad as that which saw midfielder Emiliano Buendia ruled out for an extended period with a knee injury last week, but taking comfort from Diaby’s impressive debut on Tyneside.
Emery said: “We haven’t had all bad news and one of the good things was to watch Moussa playing feeling good and adapting to the position we’re trying to get with him. He was good, he scored and he played well.
“We had some good moments in the 90 minutes, but there a lot of things we had to do to control the match that we didn’t do within our system.”
Leicester's Fatawu ruled out for rest of season with ACL injury
Leicester City manager Steve Cooper confirmed Abdul Fatawu will miss the rest of the season.
The 20-year-old sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) while playing for Ghana against Angola during the international break.
Fatawu has featured in all 11 of Leicester's Premier League matches so far this season and has registered two assists.
No Leicester player has attempted (61) or completed (29) more dribbles than him, while his 30 crosses is also a team-high in the top-flight this season.
"It's not good, it's a serious injury," said Cooper ahead of their match against Chelsea on Saturday.
"It's a real blow, first and foremost for him, being a young player and having an injury as serious as what an ACL is.
"Albeit, it can be quite common in sport, and in particular football, but it's still a serious injury.
"For it to happen at a young age is a blow for him and a blow for us as well.
"He's obviously a big talent and a young player, as exciting as he can be at his age, with lots to learn.
"It's only a pause, and we will make sure, as difficult as it is at the moment for him, that he comes back being a stronger player and person, which, with the mentality and character that he has, I think will be the case."
Arsenal qualifying for Champions League quarter-finals feels 'surreal', says Slegers
Renee Slegers says it feels "surreal" that Arsenal have secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with two games to spare.
The Gunners will finish at least second in Group C after Lina Hurtig's late strike secured a 1-0 win over Juventus on Thursday.
What looked to be a frustrating encounter was turned around by Slegers' substitutions, and after missing a glorious chance, Hurtig was eventually the difference at the Emirates.
Arsenal created 3.69 expected goals (xG) from their nine shots, getting three on target, compared to just 0.5 for Juventus, who tested Daphne van Domselaar the same amount of times.
Slegers was impressed by her side's resilience as they pushed to come away with all three points.
"It's surreal to be honest," Slegers said post-match. "I never felt we would get into this situation. We have done really well.
"I was part of Jonas [Eidevall's] staff and there was so much that was built during his time. I don't want to separate that. There is so much we are still building on. It's surreal in so many ways but we are very happy.
"I'm just happy for the team to win. Obviously, we have amazing depth in the squad, and we know anyone can do it for us - whether it's starting players or finishing players.
"It's the visualisation of how much everyone contributes in the team. I think that's what it means for us."
Slegers took over as interim manager following Jonas Eidevall's departure last month and has gone unbeaten in her first seven games, winning six and drawing one.
They have won each of their last five in all competitions, and have not conceded a goal in their previous four matches.
"It was just a very impressive block of the team," Slegers said. "We conceded only one goal during this whole block, so defensively very solid.
"The players have been stepping up big time, they've been owning this; we tried to relay it back to them all the time, so giving them the ownership.
"I'm just very happy with how the block has been, different challenges along the way, so all games have asked something different from us. We've responded to that really well, sticking to our identity but also playing the game that's ahead of us."
Arsenal qualifying for Champions League quarter-finals feel surreal, says Slegers
Renee Slegers says it feels "surreal" that Arsenal have secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with two games to spare.
The Gunners will finish at least second in Group C after Lina Hurtig's late strike secured a 1-0 win over Juventus on Thursday.
What looked to be a frustrating encounter was turned around by Slegers' substitutions, and after missing a glorious chance, Hurtig was eventually the difference at the Emirates.
Arsenal created 3.69 expected goals (xG) from their nine shots, getting three on target, compared to just 0.5 for Juventus, who tested Daphne van Domselaar the same amount of times.
Slegers was impressed by her side's resilience as they pushed to come away with all three points.
"It's surreal to be honest," Slegers said post-match. "I never felt we would get into this situation. We have done really well.
"I was part of Jonas [Eidevall's] staff and there was so much that was built during his time. I don't want to separate that. There is so much we are still building on. It's surreal in so many ways but we are very happy.
"I'm just happy for the team to win. Obviously, we have amazing depth in the squad, and we know anyone can do it for us - whether it's starting players or finishing players.
"It's the visualisation of how much everyone contributes in the team. I think that's what it means for us."
Slegers took over as interim manager following Jonas Eidevall's departure last month and has gone unbeaten in her first seven games, winning six and drawing one.
They have won each of their last five in all competitions, and have not conceded a goal in their previous four matches.
"It was just a very impressive block of the team," Slegers said. "We conceded only one goal during this whole block, so defensively very solid.
"The players have been stepping up big time, they've been owning this; we tried to relay it back to them all the time, so giving them the ownership.
"I'm just very happy with how the block has been, different challenges along the way, so all games have asked something different from us. We've responded to that really well, sticking to our identity but also playing the game that's ahead of us."
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