Mikel Arteta was delighted by his players’ unquenchable drive for more goals and wins after Arsenal racked up their fifth Premier League win in a row at relegation-threatened Burnley.
The north Londoners are in the middle of a tough title tussle and kept the pressure on both Liverpool and Manchester City by running amok at Turf Moor.
Martin Odegaard opening the scoring inside four minutes at embattled Burnley, where Bukayo Saka’s brace was complemented by Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz efforts in a 5-0 win.
Saturday’s five-star performance followed on from last weekend’s 6-0 shellacking of West Ham, leaving boss Arteta delighted by his players’ hunger and drive for more.
“Really happy with the performance, with the result and the individual and collective contribution of each player as well,” the Arsenal boss said. “That was very, very good.
“And the fact that the team looked like it wanted more. It wasn’t satisfied.
“They wanted to score more, they didn’t want to concede a goal. I’m really pleased to hit that consistency.”
Asked if the domination has pleased him more than the goals recently, Arteta said: “Yeah. We want to dominate games and play in the opponent’s half as much as possible.
“I think the threat, the purpose, the activity and the connections of the players are flowing and they really want it.
“We have momentum now and we have to maintain it.
“Now we leave the Premier League, we go to Porto which will be a really tough environment, so just prepare to play well again and be ourselves.”
Arsenal head to Portugal for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday buoyed by yet another comprehensive victory on the road.
Arteta praised confident skipper Odegaard after Saturday’s triumph, so too Saka after the homegrown star scored in four straight top-flight games for the first time in his career.
Put to the Arsenal boss that the forward has the maturity of a senior player despite only being 22, he said: “Yes, we don’t really see it (in football).
“Especially forward players and wingers with that level of consistency and numbers.
“At his age it is something really strange to find but it is not a coincidence when you look at him every single day.
“The way he trains, the way he applies himself, the qualities that he has. And he can do more.”
The heavy loss means embattled Burnley still only have managed five points at Turf Moor this season, leaving them staring down the barrel of relegation.
Burnley assistant Craig Bellamy was in the dugout against Arsenal as Vincent Kompany served a touchline ban and the Clarets boss did not like what he saw from the stands.
“Just not good enough,” Kompany said. “Arsenal were better than us in every department today. It’s a tough one to take on the chin.
“You look back at probably the last 10 to 15 games and we were always able to draw on positives from the game.
“Today’s one you have to take on the chin and probably say less and make sure that you get the energy back in the team for the next game because that’s all we’ve got to focus on now.
“You do get days like this sometimes and when you do and where we are in the league, you get punished and the gap shows then.”
Burnley return to action at Crystal Palace next weekend, when midfielder Aaron Ramsey will surely be absent having left on a stretcher with a nasty-looking knee injury.
“It didn’t look good,” Kompany added. “I can only hope for it not to be as bad as it looked and for him to hopefully have a speedy recovery.”
CONCACAF President to visit Jamaica next week
President of the governing body of football in the region, CONCACAF, Victor Montagliani, will be visiting Jamaica starting Wednesday October 16, 2024 for two days.
On his visit to Jamaica he will meet with the President of the Jamaica Football Federation, Michael Ricketts, the Prime Minister of Jamaica The Most Honorable Andrew Holness, and also the Minister of Sport, The Honorable Olivia Grange.
Montagliani will also watch some matches in the Jamaica Premier League.
“We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani to Jamaica. This is a momentous moment for us,” Ricketts said.
“The last time he was here was for the FIFA Football Summit in Montego Bay in 2018. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with CONCACAF,” he added.
JPL outfit Dunbeholden FC partnering with Dinthill Technical High School to provide counselling to players involved in fracas with match official
In an unfortunate event this September, two players from Dinthill Technical High School were banned from taking part in any Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) competition for one year, while a third was suspended for three games following an incident involving match officials at the end of a daCosta Cup match against McGrath High.
Reports stated that players were involved in a confrontation with the referee after the game, and it was alleged one of them physically assaulted the official.
Maalick Whyte and Shamair Hutchinson have both been banned from participating in any ISSA-run competitions for one-year, effective September 26, 2024, while Tyrese Gowe, was hit with the three-match suspension.
The Linstead-based school was also placed on a three-year probation and faces the possibility of suspension should its players breach the disciplinary code of conduct within the period of probation.
This incident also led to the Jamaica Referees Association members taking strike action, resulting in the postponement of matches across both the Manning and Dacosta Cup competitions.
Jamaica Premier League outfit Dunbeholden FC, club of Tyrese Gowe, is one of the groups trying to find ways to prevent this from happening again and have acted through their partnership with Counsellors Corner.
“The Management of the Dunbeholden Football Club thought it prudent to get involved in finding solutions and ways to help student athletes to becoming future stars and role models for their peers," the club said in a statement on Friday.
“Dunbeholden Football Club does not condone such behaviors in any way and, while we sympathize with the Dinthill family, we, through our partnership with Counsellors Corner will be partnering with Dinthill Technical High School to offer counselling to the students involved and also other student athletes as well as the wider school community,” it continued.
The club also announced that they are in the process of partnering with other schools, churches and companies in St. Catherine to try and decrease incidents of this nature from happening again.
Bielsa takes responsibility for misfiring display in shock Peru defeat
Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa shouldered full responsibility for his side's shock 1-0 defeat to Peru in their World Cup qualifying encounter.
Peru, winless in their previous nine matches, stole the points in the 88th minute when Miguel Araujo headed Piero Quispe's cross beyond the grasp of Sergio Rochet.
The Blanquirroja earned their first win over Uruguay since 2017, with the triumph moving them above last-placed Chile following their late defeat to Brazil.
Uruguay had a string of chances to take the lead in the first half, with Liverpool's Darwin Nunez and Manchester United's Manuel Ugarte coming closest.
But the Peruvians started brightly after the interval, with Edison Flores unable to guide his effort on target before Sergio Pena rippled the side-netting on the hour-mark.
With the match appearing to end all square, the Estadio Nacional de Lima was sent into raptures when Araujo was picked out to seal a memorable triumph for the hosts, powering home his first international goal.
Uruguay managed an expected goals (xG) tally of just 0.36 compared to Peru's 0.78, recording eight efforts with only three of those on target.
Despite dominating possession throughout the contest, Bielsa acknowledged that his game plan restricted his players from making a difference in the final third.
“I honestly feel responsible," Bielsa said.
"Due to the players we had in the midfield and in the offence, for such a small proportion of goal chances we created in the second half."
Uruguay's defeat sees them remain in third place in the qualifying standings, four points behind leaders Argentina.
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