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• Skipper Ryan Edwards one of six players leaving relegated Dundee United

  Captain Ryan Edwards will lead the exodus from Dundee United in the wake of their relegation from the cinch Premiership after the Tannadice club confirmed the names of six players departing this summer.

  Demotion to the Championship was confirmed on Sunday, ensuring a rebuild will be required as manager Jim Goodwin – who was handed a two-year contract on Saturday – bids to shape his team for a tilt at instant promotion.

  Skipper Edwards, who joined three years ago, will leave under freedom of contract, along with Liam Smith, who had four seasons at Tannadice, Ian Harkes and Peter Pawlett, both of whom arrived at the club in January 2019.

  On-loan pair Jamie McGrath and Loick Ayina will return to their respective parent clubs, Wigan and Huddersfield.

  “Dundee United wish to thank all six players departing for their efforts in Tangerine and wishes them all the best for the future,” the club said in a statement on Tuesday.

• 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.