Luton chief executive Gary Sweet lauded the “heroic” medical staff who saved Tom Lockyer’s life following his cardiac arrest.

Lockyer’s heart stopped during Luton’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium last week.

The Hatters skipper is recovering after being discharged from hospital where he was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

And Luton CEO Sweet applauded those who resuscitated Lockyer within two minutes of him collapsing.

“It took two minutes from the point of going down to be resuscitated,” Sweet said.

“It’s impressive, the actions of those protocols which ultimately saved him.

“They are all heroes, the Luton medical team, the Bournemouth medical team, the doctors and the paramedics were all exemplary. We cannot thank them enough.

“Absolutely (there is more to life than football). Immediately when it happened we did not care about the game, it was not on our minds. It was all about his recovery.”

Lockyer has started a period of recovery and is expected not to feature for Luton in the coming weeks and months and Sweet admitted the issue has been challenging to deal with and has been a learning experience for the club.

He added: “We’ve never done this before. It’s all learning for us. It’s thrown so many challenges our way and it’s been one very big challenge this week. This has all been about team spirit and gathering around Tom.

“The fact he was being taken home by people we know and was in safe hands gave us a sense of relief.”

The match between Luton and Bournemouth was abandoned following Lockyer’s collapse but Hatters full-back Alfie Doughty will still have a yellow card on his record after being cautioned on the day.

Rob Edwards questioned that decision ahead of Luton’s meeting with Newcastle.

He said: “For some reason, Doughty’s booking still counts.

“It’s like the game didn’t happen, but Alfie’s booking still counts. It’s a strange one. It will be nice if I can get an answer on it or if it can get changed.”

Mauricio Pochettino said club bosses must be “clever” enough to ignore abuse directed at footballers and managers via social media after Reece James revealed that he had been targeted online after undergoing surgery.

The Chelsea captain wrote on his Instagram account on Thursday that he had received “significantly more hate and negativity” since sustaining the hamstring injury that forced him off during the team’s 2-0 defeat to Everton.

It is the second significant injury the 24-year-old has suffered this season, having also missed a large part of the last campaign, with Pochettino indicating a lay-off of “several weeks” possibly stretching to months.

Former Chelsea manager Graham Potter last season gave an alarming account of the abuse directed at him whilst he was in charge, which included emailed threats made against his family.

And Pochettino said that he too had been targeted, albeit to a lesser extent, after matches this season.

The Argentinian, who takes his team to Molineux to face Wolves on Christmas Eve, said: “We are really exposed. Today it’s so easy to try to damage people.

“It’s so easy to write things. It’s very fashionable to speak badly.

“What makes me sad is not the social media, the people that have access to write this negativity. What makes me sad is that the people that are involved in this business pay attention.

“No one is going to damage me. Maybe (club colleagues) can damage me with words. When I have appreciation and respect for someone and they say something, of course it makes me think.

“But if I go on social media and someone abuses me? I don’t care. It’s not going to change my mood or my way to see things. When we lose games I receive abuse on social media, I receive SMS (messages), WhatsApps, emails that I never open. Not too many. A few.

“It makes me sad for the people that are involved.

“If I am a coach, am I going to make a decision (based on) what the people think about this? If there is an owner that follows social media and says ‘that changed my view’, I say ‘come on’.

“People that manage this business need to be clever, and to be clever means to trust in the people that you have. I need to trust in my owner, I need to trust in my sporting director.”

Chelsea are seeking a third consecutive win in all competitions for only the second time since March when they take on Gary O’Neil’s side, having defeated Sheffield United in their last Premier League outing and edged past Newcastle on penalties to set up a Carabao Cup semi-final against Middlesbrough.

After Tuesday’s cup win, substitutes and unused players joined the celebrations – a sign, thinks Pochettino, that his young side are maturing.

“It’s about giving them the possibility to take decisions and be treated like men,” he said. “They are mature enough.

“You provide the capacity for them to decide if they want to be or not. Whoever doesn’t want to be here is open to (leave). It is about creating a natural environment where everyone is going to be strong.

“If you want to belong to the group, you have the opportunity.”

Mikel Arteta is hoping his Arsenal side can avoid the Anfield “washing machine” to secure a long-awaited victory at Liverpool and top the Premier League table on Christmas Day.

The Gunners boss will be aiming for a clean sheet after likening the challenge of playing away to Liverpool as being stuck on a spin cycle.

Arsenal have not won at Anfield since Arteta was part of the side that secured a 2-0 victory in September 2012.

The Spaniard knows first-hand the challenge of getting a result at Liverpool, having also gone there with neighbours Everton before his stint at Arsenal.

Victory, though, would be enough to keep the north London side top of the tree over the Christmas period but Arteta – who once piped ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ around the training ground in a forlorn attempt to prepare his side for the atmosphere of Anfield – knows it will not be easy.

“It is different, different like Old Trafford,” he said.

“Old Trafford has a beautiful atmosphere as well and something that historically is an unbelievable place to go. There are a few in this country. The Emirates is one of them as well.

“I think I explained that sometimes when you don’t feel at your best and you feel that they are on top of you and you cannot get out of that washing machine.

“You try to overcome those situations but that’s a learning — it happened once and it didn’t happen again.”

Asked how to counter such a problem, Arteta said he wants his own team to put the hosts in a spin by “putting on our washing machine that is very powerful”.

Not someone who is afraid to air his dirty linen in public, two years ago Arteta was involved in a touchline spat with Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp that seemed to galvanise the home supporters as Liverpool once again ran out victors.

Speaking ahead of Saturday evening’s clash, Klopp has called on Liverpool’s fans to bring the noise and said it should not take him clashing with an opposing manager to find a spark.

But Arteta said “there won’t be any” trouble on the touchline after he picked up his fourth booking of the season in last weekend’s win over Brighton.

Instead, Arteta has now challenged his Arsenal side to end another hoodoo and win at Anfield for the first time in 11 years.

Having toasted four years as Arsenal manager earlier in the week, Arteta has already overseen wins at Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham, while this season they beat Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.

Next up is to leave Anfield with three points and Arteta added: “We have done it at Old Trafford, we have done it at Stamford Bridge and many other places where we haven’t done it for years.

“This is the next challenge. Go there and win. If you want to be at the top you have to go to those places and be dominant. That’s what we’re going to try to do.”

Aston Villa blew the chance to go top of the Premier League and needed Nicolo Zaniolo’s late goal to rescue a 1-1 draw against struggling Sheffield United.

The substitute levelled in stoppage time just as Cameron Archer’s 87th-minute strike looked to have given the Blades a stunning smash and grab win.

Villa needed victory to go top but now sit second, behind Arsenal on goal difference.

The Blades, meanwhile, still climbed off the bottom of the table after coming so close to a brilliant, resilient, victory.

Leon Bailey had a goal disallowed and the hosts had three penalty claims rejected by VAR as they failed to make their dominance count.

It was supposed to be Villa’s ascension to the top of the Premier League, somewhere they had not been, outside the opening weeks of the season, since December 1998.

The contrast could not have been more different from three-and-a-half years ago when Villa drew 0-0 with the Blades and sat second bottom following the first game of the Premier League’s ‘Project Restart’ after the Covid outbreak.

Back then, in an empty stadium, Villa were fortunate to avoid defeat after Orjan Nyland fumbled Oliver Norwood’s free-kick over the line, only for referee Michael Oliver’s watch to fail to signal a goal.

It was a pivotal point in Villa’s fight for survival which, ultimately, gave them the platform to build.

Now, the fact they missed their chance to go above Arsenal, will not diminish their progress, although boss Unai Emery was noticeably angry at full-time after being frustrated by the gutsy visitors.

Blades boss Chris Wilder packed a five-man defence to contain the hosts and United lived dangerously early when Ollie Watkins was shoved by Vini Souza as he lurked for Lucas Digne’s cross.

VAR rejected Villa’s penalty appeals and then disappointed the hosts again when George Baldock blocked Watkins’ header from the resulting corner.

Inevitably, Villa were the aggressors with Wes Foderingham’s smart stop denying Moussa Diaby and Ezri Konsa heading over but there was no early procession.

With 15 straight home wins, the expectation was on Villa to roll the bottom side over but patience was still needed and Watkins hooked over from a Clement Lenglet knockdown.

It was one-way traffic, just without the goal, and the compact Blades would have been very content at the break.

Yet Wilder would have been fuming after 58 minutes when his side looked to have gifted Villa the opener until VAR intervened.

Baldock was sloppy as he tried to play the ball out as United cleared a corner and was robbed by Watkins, who swapped passed with Jacob Ramsey.

The England striker then crossed for Bailey to sweep in but play was eventually pulled back as Ramsey had fouled Foderingham at the corner.

Another VAR reprieve for the visitors came 15 minutes later when Baldock survived a handball review as Villa Park became increasingly anxious.

It emboldened the Blades and Norwood tested Emiliano Martinez from distance, their first shot, after 78 minutes before Konsa almost sliced Max Lowe’s cross into his own net.

Archer’s shot was blocked and Norwood drove over before United stunned Villa Park with three minutes left.

Vini Souza’s free-kick found Gustavo Hamer running behind and a brilliant piece of skill from the midfielder saw him leave John McGinn floundering.

The substitute then had the presence of mind to cut the ball back for Archer to convert from six yards.

Foderingham saved Alex Moreno’s header but Villa found a leveller deep in stoppage time when Zaniolo headed in Douglas Luiz’s cross.

Mauricio Pochettino warned Premier League football is “not a charity” amid pressure to name summer signings Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia in his starting line-up following injury.

Belgium international Lavia, who joined from Southampton in August in a £58million deal, is yet to make his debut for the club while ex-RB Leipzig forward Nkunku was made to wait until the final 20 minutes of Tuesday’s Carabao Cup win over Newcastle for his bow following knee surgery.

He had previously been an unused substitute during last week’s 2-0 win against Sheffield United.

Pochettino confirmed Lavia could be included in the squad for the first time when Chelsea visit Wolves on Christmas Eve but said Nkunku – who scored in the penalty shoot-out victory against Eddie Howe’s side and drew a wave of excitement from around Stamford Bridge when he was introduced – is still some way from being fit to play from the start.

Neither player has featured in a league game this season and despite a lengthy injury list that could see as many as eight first-team players unavailable for the trip to Molineux, the manager said there are more factors for him to consider than simply fitness.

“All players after a big period out, they are desperate to be involved,” he said. “They can be involved, but at which level? It’s easy to say ‘I want to play’ but we are competing, and it’s serious the competition.

“After six months, like Nkunku and like Lavia, they need to understand that to be involved they need to train really, really hard every day. They need to make an impact every time they go on the pitch. It’s not like we are playing pre-season games.

“The player needs to understand that it’s not a charity thing, we’re not playing for a joke. We need to win. Sometimes it’s difficult for people to understand the environment of the players.

“People are disappointed because Nkunku didn’t play against Sheffield United. I am disappointed to have a player that I wish would be an important player for us but cannot help the team.

“If he didn’t play, it’s not because we didn’t believe in him or Lavia, it’s because there are players that have been fit and training for six months who are more ready to make an impact than these guys.

“It’s about the moment, today. Who is ready to compete and provide the things we expect?

“It annoys me sometimes. People around the player complain. Come on. The club is disappointed that it’s invested in (players) to perform and to score goals. To get the right balance in this business is important.”

Pochettino confirmed Reece James will be out for “several weeks”, likely stretching to months, after undergoing surgery on a hamstring injury this week, while Enzo Fernandez will be assessed ahead of Wolves after being withdrawn through illness on Tuesday.

The manager gave his backing to Chelsea’s statement on Thursday that the club does not intend to sign up to a revived incarnation of the proposed European Super League, after UEFA’s threat to sanction clubs who took part was ruled unlawful.

“My thoughts are the same as the club statement,” he said. “I support the decision of the club. Fully committed with the club and Chelsea.

“I was listening yesterday and today to the radio in Spain for the explanation. It’s difficult to see how it’s going to happen.”

Luton manager Rob Edwards said he will have a special bond with Bournemouth after their staff and supporters’ reaction to Tom Lockyer’s cardiac arrest.

Hatters skipper Lockyer collapsed at the Vitality Stadium last week and has since been discharged from hospital following a successful procedure to fit an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

Edwards lauded the medical staff from both clubs and the ambulance service who were on hand to give Lockyer treatment.

Speaking ahead of Luton’s home Premier League clash with Newcastle on Saturday, Edwards said: “The supporters showed respect.

“I will have a special bond with that football club (Bournemouth) going forward now. The way they were singing Tom’s name as well, that will last with me for a long time. It was emotional.

“I’m so proud of our medical staff, Bournemouth’s medics and the paramedics there as well. They saved him and made every decision bang on. They did an incredible job, they’re heroes.

“I want to say thank you to everyone at Bournemouth football club. The players, the staff and those who were there. A special mention to Philip Billing who reacted especially quickly and David Brooks who comforted Tom at the hospital.”

Lockyer also collapsed during the Championship play-off final against Coventry in May.

Edwards said that the “inspirational” defender is taking “baby steps” in his recovery and did not offer an answer regarding the player’s future in the sport.

He added: “We’ve been in regular contact. He’s recovering, it’s baby steps now. Anyone will miss him. He’s a leader, he’s an inspirational figure for all of us.

“It’s been difficult and I won’t be able to articulate all the feelings I had at the time. The initial feeling is that I sensed something was different to May.

“It’s too early to tell (on Lockyer’s playing career). Going forward it’s about Tom recovering. He’s had an operation and then we’ll see going forward what that means.”

Saturday’s opponents Newcastle conceded late on at Chelsea in the Carabao Cup before they crashed out on penalties.

And Edwards sympathises with Eddie Howe and offered a reminder on Newcastle’s quality ahead of their clash at Kenilworth Road.

Edwards said: “Of course I can sympathise with them. It’s horrible to concede late on and they will be disappointed.

“They bring energy, quality, a real clear way of playing and I have huge respect for Howe. What he’s done at Newcastle is really impressive and I like the way he handles himself.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists there is no point in using their top-of-table clash with Arsenal as a gauge for the title race.

The Premier League leaders arrive at Anfield just one point ahead and even though victory would see Klopp’s side take top spot for Christmas, he does not believe it makes a huge amount of difference with more than half the season to go.

Liverpool have been here before only last month when they went to then leaders Manchester City and came away with a draw, since when Pep Guardiola’s side have slipped to fourth after winning just one of their four matches.

“I love it the most when you are first and 55 points ahead because then it’s pure joy. (But) the position we are in is not that bad,” he said.

“Matchday 18? It means after that we play 20 more games so if we win it we are not through, they win it they are not through even when that is the headlines they will have to deal with.

“Actually, I didn’t really think about it, I am just interested in this game tomorrow and not what it means for the rest of the season.

“The position we are in is OK, we don’t feel it is exceptional and ‘wow, how did we end up here?’. I really think we deserve where we are, but it is just the basis.

“There might be be a moment March or April maybe when you think ‘OK, six-pointer, you win today and you have them out of the way or whatever’, but that is obviously far off and nobody thinks about these kind of things.

“It is just a super-important football game.”

Liverpool are currently exceeding expectations this season after finishing fifth in May and Arsenal, it can be argued, are ahead of them in terms of progress as this is their second successive campaign of being in a title race.

Klopp believes that experience, and their summer recruitment, makes them worthy rivals as they both attempt to break City’s dominance.

“I thought they looked like that (title challengers) last year to be honest and then some results kicked in,” he added.

“The team we faced (last season) was a super-strong team and then you bring in (Declan) Rice and (Kai) Havertz and it doesn’t make you worse. (David) Raya in goal doesn’t make you worse.

“Mikel could build exactly the team he wants; they are difficult to play, they are a good mix between physicality – big, strong, fast players – good technique, very good organisation, really well coached, well drilled and you see every year they make another step.

“They really have my respect, but we want the points anyway.”

Ryan Gravenberch is set to return after a muscle problem, but fellow midfielder Alexis Mac Allister (knee) and forward Diogo Jota (hamstring) are still out.

Left-back Andy Robertson, sidelined since a dislocated shoulder on Scotland duty in October required surgery, is expected to return next month.

“The problem is the shoulder is not there, the rest of the body is fine but we need to be patient a little bit longer,” said Klopp.

“He can do all the physical work already, which annoys him quite a lot because it is not allowed for ball training.

“When he is allowed to go shoulder-wise I think it is a short time until he will be back and we all hope it will be January, but I don’t know.”

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou will keep channelling his focus on problem-solving rather than allowing himself to get frustrated at the club’s growing list of absentees.

Spurs won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest last week, but finished the match with 10 men after Yves Bissouma was shown his second red card of the season.

Bissouma will be suspended for four matches and Destiny Udogie is banned for Saturday’s visit of Everton after he received his fifth caution of the campaign at the City Ground.

https://x.com/SpursOfficial/status/1738183568956748243

It adds to Postecoglou’s problems with Micky van de Ven, James Maddison and Rodrigo Bentancur already ruled out until January while attackers Ivan Perisic and Manor Solomon have been long-term absentees since September.

Postecoglou said: “I think it is important from my perspective that you don’t deal in the extreme because it is an emotional game. There are enough people who get emotional about these things so it doesn’t need me to add to that.

“My job in all of this is to ultimately find solutions rather than focus too much on the fall-out of any issues we’ve had because I guarantee you once we get all the players back, there will be something else.

“Like I said, it is important for the players and staff that they know through that process my role is to charter a way forward rather than focus on the fall-out from any challenges we may have.”

Bissouma faced criticism for his challenge on Forest midfielder Ryan Yates but Postecoglou has not felt the need to address discipline with him.

“People can say what they want but he has just mistimed a tackle. It is not like he has gone in dirty on anyone,” the Spurs boss added.

“I have always felt the best remedy is that if a guy feels he is missing out, then that kind of helps in that process of not letting it affect their game but also understanding the impact it can have.

“Always I kind of understand that they are all human beings and they will make mistakes, like all of us they are given the opportunity to learn from those mistakes.”

Postecoglou must now decide how best to replace Bissouma and while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has deputised for him at times this season, Oliver Skipp will get minutes in the defensive midfield role over the next week with games to come against Brighton and Bournemouth.

“Obviously we’ve had Pierre there and Biss, even Bentancur when he came back, so there is a fair bit of flexibility on who we use there,” Postecoglou explained.

“But Skippy can play at six and probably will play there.

“We have three games over the next week so he probably will get an opportunity at some point in that position.”

Tottenham have only lost one of their last 20 league meetings with Everton, but Sean Dyche’s team have been galvanised by a 10-point deduction for a breach of financial regulations in November.

The 16th-placed Toffees are one of the Premier League’s in-form clubs with seven wins from their last 10 fixtures.

Postecoglou concluded: “Sean’s done an outstanding job but when you get hit with something like that, it’s often a measure of the playing group and the manager how they respond to adversity and you’ve got to say the response has been first class.”

Erik ten Hag is expecting an upturn in Manchester United’s fortunes in the new year as Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Mason Mount close in on a mid-January return.

This has been a bumpy second season in the Old Trafford dugout for the Dutchman, whose side have been eliminated from Europe and seen their Carabao Cup defence ended early.

United’s Premier League title chances are all but over before Christmas and Ten Hag’s side need to build on last weekend’s dogged 0-0 draw at high-flying rivals Liverpool when they head to West Ham.

The absentee-hit Red Devils are dealing with several doubts ahead of the Saturday lunchtime clash, but Ten Hag expects their injury problems to ease over the coming weeks.

“Now we have some doubts,” said the United manager, who welcomes back skipper Bruno Fernandes from suspension but sees Diogo Dalot serve a one-match ban.

“We have some illnesses during the week, so we have to see who is always available for tomorrow. Hopefully they are recovered but we have to see.

“(Casemiro and Martinez) are not available before Christmas, so that will be mid-January we expect them back.

“Mason Mount similar into January. Harry Maguire I expect him early on and Victor Lindelof is not available. He has done a surgery so he will be out for a couple of weeks.

“What happened? He had a problem and so (personal) is that, but he has to do the surgery.”

The impending return of such players will be a shot in the arm for a United side deprived of so many options in recent weeks and months.

As well as the aforementioned, Amad Diallo and Tyrell Malacia have been unable to feature yet this season. Christian Eriksen recently returned to training after five weeks out with a knee issue and Anthony Martial missed the trip to Anfield through illness.

The forward’s absence underlined United’s lack of striking options heading into a transfer window that will surely see Jadon Sancho leave given he has been banished from the first team since September.

United have publicly indicated that it will be a quiet January and Ten Hag believes they have the quality in house to kick on in 2024.

“The current squad I’m happy (with),” he said. “As we get our players back, I’m sure we have a good squad.

“I think a lot of the way it went in the first (part of the) season, the reasons behind (it are) because many players were not available.

“I’m sure when all the players are available on board – it looks like, as I said, Casemiro will be back, Martinez will be back, Mason Mount will be back – we will be much stronger after the winter.”

The mid-term looks positive for United but now comes a chaotic Christmas period kicked off by the trip to David Moyes’ West Ham.

“We have three big games to play in this week – really looking forward (to them),” Ten Hag said, with a home match against Aston Villa and trip to Nottingham Forest following the game in east London.

“It’s always a massive period for any club in the Premier League but definitely now for us.”

Luton boss Rob Edwards vowed his side are ready “to do it for Locks” as they prepare to play their first match since captain Tom Lockyer’s on-pitch cardiac arrest at Bournemouth on Saturday.

The 29-year-old Welshman has since been discharged from hospital following a successful procedure to fit an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, and has begun a period of rehabilitation at his home in the wake of the incident, which Luton said was unrelated to a previous collapse in May’s Championship play-off final.

Edwards, who was in tears as he applauded fans following what he confessed was the “scariest moment [he has] ever had in football”, revealed that while he and his men wanted to honour Lockyer, he has also felt cautious in how they approach the aftermath of the deeply upsetting experience.

In a video posted to Luton’s official social media, Edwards said: “[Looking at] how we move forward from this as well, without going into too much detail, it’s not about ‘using it’.

“I’ve been really careful not for anything to seem like we’re using it. It’s about ‘what would Locks want?’. I think that’s the most important thing now, and what does this group of people want? We’re a really tight-knit group, a family, and we’ve got to look after each other now.

“It’s about really coming together even more than we already are. And I do, and we do, want to do it for Locks, but that’s coming from the right place as well. It can’t be selfish, and I’ve been really keen to stress that.”

Lockyer underwent surgery to correct an atrial fibrillation after collapsing during last season’s play-off final at Wembley.

He subsequently returned to action for the start of the new season and had made 15 appearances in all competitions before Saturday’s match, where he collapsed in the 59th minute of the contest.

The Premier League announced on Wednesday that the match will be replayed in full at a later date, while the Hatters are now preparing to host Newcastle on Saturday.

Edwards said he is taking a different approach with each individual, but the team stuck with a plan already in place to take a few days off, while players have been supported internally by club staff and have access to a 24-hour helpline, and the club have also liaised with sport mental health organisation Sporting Chance.

The Luton boss immediately rushed to Lockyer’s aide alongside paramedics and other medical staff who treated the defender on the pitch before he was carried off on a stretcher.

He said: “It was a really scary moment. The scariest moment I think I’ve ever had in football. It was different to Wembley. I knew it then and we certainly know it now after all the tests that have gone on this week. 

“We get on with it. The main focus then is Tom and his family, and then we’ll all be affected in slightly different ways, and we’ll deal with it in different ways as well, but I feel good. I have loads of support. Everyone has been asking me how I am as well, which I find difficult as well because I’m not the one going through it.

“I’m fine. I was emotional on Saturday. It scared me, but everyone rallied. The medical guys were incredible, in such a scary, pressurised situation with the world watching them as well.

“They made every decision bang-on. I’m so proud of them. They saved him. They’re real heroes.”

Liverpool supporters’ group Spirit of Shankly “have no argument” with Jurgen Klopp’s criticism of Anfield’s atmosphere but expressed concerns of the effect tickets prices have had on football fan culture.

Reds boss Klopp was not impressed with the home crowd during the Carabao Cup quarter-final demolition of West Ham in midweek and told fans to give their tickets away if they are not prepared to get behind the side against Premier League title rivals Arsenal on Saturday.

The Spirit of Shankly group, which was founded in 2008, admitted the atmosphere is a concern among supporters and is in talks with the club over how the situation can be addressed.

“We have no argument with Jurgen Klopp highlighting issues around the Anfield atmosphere, or lack of it, at times,” a statement from the group read.

“It’s something our fans discuss regularly, it is central to the club’s and Anfield’s identity, and something the most passionate among us are keen to protect.

“It is no accident that opposing teams, coaches and fans speak about the ‘Anfield effect’. We all know how intimidating the crowd can make it for visiting sides, how the atmosphere can be second to none – ask Barcelona, or (Borussia) Dortmund or (Manchester) City, or Arsenal last season.

“We do have concerns though about the lack of opportunities for young supporters to go to the game, catch the bug and preserve this decades-long culture of the Kop, and deep-rooted worries that our culture is being watered down by greater corporate offerings and out-of-reach ticket prices – echoed by supporters across the Premier League.

“We are in constant dialogue with the club to explore ways we can improve the situation, get more youngsters to experience Anfield and create the best atmosphere possible. Every game.”

Eddie Howe will not put a target on Newcastle’s back as they attempt to continue their progress.

In the space of seven days this month, the club has gone out of the Champions League and the Carabao Cup to leave themselves fighting on just two fronts as the turn of the year approaches.

That has led to suggestions from outside the city that the Magpies are in serious danger of under-achieving this season and, in some quarters, that head coach Howe’s job could be under threat.

Howe said: “My discussions with everyone connected with the football club here and the running of the football club, there’s never been that pressure of this season or next season in terms of positions in the league and expectations to win competitions. That’s all come from us internally.

“Of course, there’s an ambition, but there’s a difference, I think, between an ambition and a target that’s on your back.

“Everyone here wants to see growth. They want to see growth in the team, they want to see improvement and of course then longer term, those thoughts, I’m sure, will change to tangible targets and to set things that we have to do.

“But at this moment in time, we started from such a low base that we’re just trying to build and we’ve built really quickly.

“For my mind, we want to increase that speed, everything has to come tomorrow, but there needs to be a realisation of where we’re at also.”

Howe has been in post on Tyneside since November 2021 having been handed the reins by the club’s Saudi-backed owners just weeks after they completed their takeover.

He first steered Newcastle to top-flight safety and then last season into the top four, in the process cementing his standing with the new regime and endearing himself to supporters who crave success.

In doing so, he freely acknowledged that they had accomplished one of their targets significantly earlier than planned and, while the last thing he wants to do is limit expectation, is aware of the need for perspective.

Howe added ahead of Saturday’s trip to Luton: “I believe that we can achieve great things. I believe in the squad, I believe in the characters within the squad, so I’ve got a delicate balance.

“But then externally, I don’t want to put pressure on the players.

“I want them to play in a really good environment, I want them to be able to express themselves and then internally at the club, we then need a realisation that we’re still building, we’re still very early in the journey.”

Howe will make late decisions on Sven Botman, Fabian Schar, Emil Krafth, Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak ahead of a game which will be played against the backdrop of an outpouring of emotion for Hatters skipper Tom Lockyer, who is recovering after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch at Bournemouth last weekend.

Howe said: “Tom himself is the most important thing, his family. It really puts football into perspective.

“His health is paramount. Of course it’s the second time it’s happened and we want to send him our best wishes from everyone connected with Newcastle.”

Mikel Arteta has challenged his Arsenal side to end another hoodoo and win at Anfield for the first time in 11 years.

The Gunners head to face Liverpool on Saturday knowing victory would leave them top of the Premier League table on Christmas Day.

But the visitors would have to end a run of results stretching back to September 2012 if they are to achieve that – winning 2-0 when Arteta was in the Arsenal midfield.

The Spaniard toasted four years as Arsenal manager earlier in the week and during that time he has overseen wins at Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham, while this season they beat Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.

Next up, for Arteta, is to leave Anfield with three points: “We have done it at Old Trafford, we have done it at Stamford Bridge and many other places where we haven’t done it for years,” he said.

“This is the next challenge. Go there and win. If you want to be at the top you have to go to those places and be dominant. That’s what we’re going to try to do.”

Arsenal led 2-0 at Anfield last year before they were pinned back and had to settle for a draw.

Ahead of that trip, Arteta had called Anfield a “jungle”, while in the Amazon ‘All or Nothing’ documentary he was shown piping in ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ while his players trained – although that led to a 4-0 thrashing to Jurgen Klopp’s side.

“It’s going to be a great atmosphere,” added Arteta.

“The two teams are in a really good moment, really good position, really strong position. They are going to be well placed to win it and to go for it. It’s going to be an intense match.

“You have to play better than them. You will silence the crowd if you are dominant and better than them.

“There are certain things that we didn’t manage very well (last season), the way we allowed them to run especially, that we need to correct and be much better at because when they have that momentum and space they are a really dangerous team, but we had some the big, big situations in after those moments when we could have killed the game and we didn’t – when you have the opportunity to do that, you have to do it.

“They have experienced that for many years now. For this group of players now this is the third, fourth time that they have been there (Anfield).

“A few years ago, it was the first time for most of them and maybe you have to clarify and explain certain things. I don’t think that is necessary now.”

Aston Villa signed Colombia international Juan Pablo Angel from River Plate for a then club-record £9.5million transfer fee on this day in 2000.

The striker arrived at Villa Park from Argentinian outfit River Plate, eclipsing the £7m paid for Stan Collymore in 1997.

Angel was signed having scored 17 goals in 17 games for River Plate, but he initially struggled to adapt to life in England and only scored once before the end of the 2000-01 season.

Writing on The Coaches’ Voice website, Angel said: “Things weren’t easy. There is always a normal adaptation process that every player must face, but I went through a difficult personal situation away from the game.

“My wife became ill when we came to England and she spent almost six months in hospital when we had our first child.

“But the league itself had its own difficulties. The language, the weather, the physicality and speed of the competition.

“And, in terms of organisation, the club wasn’t really prepared when it came to bringing in overseas players from our region.”

Angel eventually settled in Birmingham, going on to score 62 goals over six and a half years and the highlight of his time at the club came under David O’Leary in the 2003-04 campaign, when Villa finished sixth in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the League Cup.

Angel added: “That season, I scored 23 goals in all competitions. The truth is that I didn’t really understand the scale of what that meant in a league like the Premier League.

“It was probably one of the best things that happened to me.”

After leaving Villa in 2007, Angel moved to the United States and represented New York Red Bulls, Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA before returning to his first club, Atletico Nacional, where he retired in 2014.

Roy Hodgson revealed he feels “more than satisfied” with what his injury-plagued Crystal Palace side have achieved despite conceding a late equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Brighton.

Substitute Danny Welbeck nodded past home debutant Dean Henderson in the 82nd minute to cancel out Jordan Ayew’s opener and ensure the rivals’ fifth consecutive Premier League meeting at Selhurst Park ended in exactly the same scoreline.

Palace, in 15th and nine points clear of the bottom three, are now winless in seven and now the unfortunate holders of the longest winless streak in the top flight after surpassing Nottingham Forest’s six, and next travel to Stamford Bridge after Christmas.

When asked if he was feeling any extra pressure due to the Eagles’ recent run of results and subsequent slide down the table, Hodgson said: “Well, I suppose that’s football.

“If I suggest that every time a team slides down the table the manager should feel under pressure, then I suppose I should feel under pressure, but I don’t believe that the players can be doing much more than they are doing at the moment, so if that is pressure, I don’t feel it. No, not at all.

“Don’t forget the next game is Chelsea. I mean, the bottom line is we have to accept that we know what we’re capable of. We also know that even if we bring the absolute maximum of what we’re capable of, if you play a Liverpool, Man City and Brighton it’s going to be a tough ask.

“If after those three performances you can sit here as I am doing tonight and be more than satisfied with what the team has achieved, maybe that counts more than just saying ‘well, you need the three points’ because who doesn’t need the three points? That’s the bottom line.”

It was a mistake by Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, giving the ball away to Michael Olise, that ultimately allowed the hosts to work the ball to Ayew for the opener on the stroke of half-time.

Palace were without the Ghana international for Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City after picking up a pair of bookings against Liverpool and sitting on four yellows, and was swapped in the second half for Eberechi Eze, returning from injury but, Hodgson admitted, “not really as ready as we would like.”

Roberto de Zerbi also played Welbeck longer than he expected, breaking with the original plan for him to play closer to 23 minutes rather than a full half.

He said: “I can say we lost two points. Yes, if you watched the game we lost two points but to win the game we can’t make these mistakes. In the first half we played well, but without the right energy to score and we shouldn’t have conceded the goal.

“Because we considered it another bad goal, and we didn’t score, we didn’t have too many chances, just two big chances, but we are playing with many young players and the young players need time to improve, to progress.

“The policy of Brighton is to play with many young players and we have to accept and we have to be happy, to be ready to play, to work with these young players.”

Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma left Selhurst Park on crutches after injuring his ankle.