Arteta, Ten Hag and Guardiola press conferences and more: football news – as it happened

Premier League match previews are all here:

That’s the lot from us today.

Here are all today’s pieces, starting with Liverpool’s reaction to their defeat by Atalanta:

Thanks for reading – bye for now.

12 Apr 202412.39 EDT

Emma John

When Arsenal went top of the Premier League against Luton last week, it wasn’t their fans who were celebrating. Comfortable in their two-goal lead, the home crowd were slipping out before the end and the stadium was empty soon after the whistle. But not entirely. Clustered in the south-east corner, nearly 3,000 Luton fans stayed to serenade their beloved manager. Oh for someone who looks at you the way a Lutonian looks at Rob Edwards.

Matz Sels, the Nottingham Forest goalie, has told the Premier League’s official website that it’s amazing to win the Castrol Save of the Month Award.

“I’m quite proud,” Sels said. “To be nominated was really good, but to win the trophy is amazing …in that moment it was an important save against Liverpool … sadly, we lost the game like three or four minutes later.”

I can’t see any quotes on Forest’s website before tomorrow’s visit of Wolves. But I can reveal that tickets remain for the “luxury rolling buffet”.

“Limited spaces remain for our brand-new Museum hospitality package, which includes a luxury rolling buffet, 30-minute Q&A session with a Forest Legend as well as access to our brand-new, state-of-the-art Museum.”

12 Apr 202412.29 EDT

Paul MacInnes

Premier League clubs spent more than £400m on agents in the year to February 2024, with Chelsea handing over a record £75m to players’ representatives.

Figures released by the Football Association show that Premier League clubs paid £409m to intermediaries from 1 February 2023 to 1 February 2024, which includes the past two transfer windows.

The Bournemouth manager, Andoni Iraola, gave a fitness (and illness) update before the Premier League visit of Manchester United tomorrow evening.

“We have some with colds and there are some players that are 50-50,” Iraola said.

“But I will tell you the ones that are out. Tyler Adams, Chris Mepham, Marcus Tavernier, Ryan Fredericks and Antoine Semenyo, they are out. It is a shame.”

Of Marcus Tavernier he added: “Tav is probably the worst we have right now, because it is a hamstring injury. It is just one month until the end of the season. I hope he plays, but it is going to be more difficult to play a lot of games.

“I hope he can play the last games, but now the time is difficult.” (PA)

My Premier League manager box-ticking exercise continues apace with Marco Silva and a line from the clever people at the Press Association:

Fulham ran riot against West Ham in December but boss Marco Silva insists that result will be meaningless in the return at London Stadium. The Hammers were routed 5-0 at Craven Cottage days after Fulham had thrashed Nottingham Forest by the same score.

Now Silva is attempting to steer his team out of a rut having won just one of their previous five Premier League matches.

“The result against West Ham is not going to have any impact on Sunday,” Silva said. “We all follow the Premier League - we are living this competition - and it’s really tough for any club to win a game - imagine winning 5-0. It was a moment that happened. OK, credit for ourselves, for our players, the way we did it. If it’s difficult to win a football match, imagine winning 5-0 back-to-back.

“It’s clearly much more difficult, and unusual as well, but we are not going to think about that result. We won against Forest as well with a clear result. And one week ago we went to Forest and our performance was not good enough, we didn’t reach the level that we should, and we lost the game.”

View image in fullscreen

The Sheffield United manager, Chris Wilder, believes Brentford’s Ivan Toney is an example of why patience pays when it comes to developing young players.

“Newcastle didn’t get him going. This is what you deal in with young players,” said Wilder, speaking on Thursday. “Look at our two young players, (Daniel) Jebbison and (Will) Osula, and the characteristics they’ve got.

“No 9s, modern-day centre-forwards. Strong, powerful and athletic. Obviously Ivan had all those tools and I’m not saying our boys will go on to have the career Ivan’s had. But it’s been a while coming and he’ll possibly be the first to admit that, loans here, there and everywhere.

“Obviously he found a good home at Peterborough and developed off the back of that. He then got his move (to Brentford) and the numbers you are talking about and getting in the England squad. So with young players you need time and patience because they’re going to make mistakes and I’m sure Ivan did as a young player.

“But if somebody believes in them, which we do in our young players, then hopefully they come through. We’re all looking for it to be now of course, the next six and 12 months, but he’s a great example to our players and everyone at the club that this might take a bit of time with the young ones.” (PA Media)

Thomas Frank has warned Brentford they cannot afford to underestimate Sheffield United when they host them in the Premier League on Saturday.

“The last four games, they have been very much in form, great performances, very good results as well - 2-2 against Chelsea, Liverpool only just beat them at Anfield, 3-3 against Fulham, and 2-2 against Bournemouth. They have more fight and they are more difficult to beat.

“They are doing everything I would expect from a Chris Wilder team. I think he has done a very good job in general, and we are seeing what he is building at the club now, so I expect a difficult game.” (PA Media)

View image in fullscreen

In other news, a TV football pundit providing insight and context thanks to their deep knowledge is causing quite a stir on X today. Which is great, of course, and also highlights how the increasing reliance on ex-pros as pundits has come at a cost:

Rob Edwards said avoiding defeat against Manchester City will be “one of the results of the century” with Luton facing an injury crisis that may leave them without a recognised centre-half. The Hatters are fighting for Premier League survival and go to the Etihad Stadium level with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.

Edwards could be forced to field a makeshift side after he revealed none of the club’s seven centre-halves trained this week. Reece Burke and Teden Mengi, who both played in Luton’s comeback win against Bournemouth, have since been consigned to the treatment room, while Issa Kabore, on loan from City, is ineligible.

“We’ve got seven centre-backs at this club and not one has trained this week,” said Edwards. “Maybe we get one back, maybe we get both, but maybe we don’t get either. We are already depleted. Teden twice pushed through to help us win the game last week against Bournemouth and he was in a lot of pain.

“Issa will be a big miss, too. He’s had a great attitude and filled in a number of positions. The players have responded well and trained well. But we’ll have to ride our luck, and if we get a result, given all the problems we’ve got, it’ll be one of the results of the century.” (PA Media)

When you grow bored of watching your chosen golfers crash at Augusta, Tanya Aldred has the county cricket news right here:

A bit more here from Oliver Glasner of Crystal Palace. He’s poured praised on Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp, who is moving on at the end of the season, before the Eagles’ trip to Anfield.

“I think Jürgen was inspirational for many German-speaking coaches because at the time when he was performing with Borussia Dortmund so well, he had maybe a new style of playing: very aggressive, very intense,” Glasner said.

“This was at the end of my career as a player, so his approach to the game had a lot of influence on my sights to the game. It still has because of how they play with this intensity, especially this season. I think they struggled a little bit last season because they didn’t have this power, this energy, this intensity in the games.

“When I see it in many games, when they lose the ball, what happens? It’s like somebody whistles and 10 players are hunting the ball and so it makes it so difficult for you.”

View image in fullscreen

More from Moyes. He said it’s going to be tough to be ready for Sunday’s Premier League match against Fulham after being in action in Europe last night.

“It’s difficult mentally to get back and get the players ready,” Moyes said. “Physically you need time to recover, debrief and get things out of the way. I’m not sure you can ever get used to it. But we’ve been doing it for three years and we’re getting a bit more used to how we need to feel on the day of the game.

“We have a day or two to recover and be ready for the next game, so we’ll do our best to be ready for Fulham on Sunday.

“Disappointment is something that comes around in football, but you have the opportunity to put it right in the next game,” added Moyes following the 2-0 defeat by Leverkusen on Thursday night. “We had a brilliant win away at Wolves last weekend and now we’re back at home, where we’ve done well for the majority of the season, so I hope we can get another good result at home.

“Every time you win, it builds a little bit of momentum. I thought we did a lot of good things at Leverkusen partly because of what we did at Wolves. We’ll always go into a game with hope and things can alter in football very quickly, so hopefully it can change against Leverkusen next week.”

12 Apr 202411.40 EDT

Ben Fisher

When Portsmouth celebrated promotion to the Premier League in 2003 and lifting the FA Cup in 2008 which, it later emerged, came at a crippling cost, Southsea Common played host to the party. Fans also gathered there to toast winning League Two in 2017, though at that point they did not anticipate spending quite so long in League One. At the seventh attempt, a return to the second tier after 12 years away is in full view, John Mousinho having quietly revived a club that had been stuck in a malaise. Victory at Bolton on Saturday would not only guarantee promotion but crown Pompey champions. As the kit man “Big” Kev McCormack, part of the furniture after 25 years of service, says, the feelgood factor is back.

“I don’t think we’ll have Jarrod [Bowen] at the weekend,” says West Ham’s David Moyes, whose side host Fulham on Sunday. “Alphonse [Areola] I’m not sure about yet … Kalvin Phillips I’m not sure about … They’re the ones I need to wait on … I’ve not spoken to the medical team [about Konstantinos Mavropanos, taken off late last night].”

On the concession of two late goals against Leverkusen: “Huge disappointment. The players had done a great job. They had worked really really hard, tirelessly, to keep a good team down.

“But look, we knew Leverkusen are very strong … They’ve got 16, 17 players they play, they interchange them, they’re all very much part of their squad … He [Xabi Alonso] used them later on and they made that little bit of difference. But I was pleased with what we’d done, just disappointed with the latter stages.”

View image in fullscreen

Leverkusen might have a Bundesliga title party before the second leg: “I don’t really know what Leverkusen are going to do. I do know it’s a good side and we’ll have to play well. We played the first part. There’s a second half to go now, and we have to try and do better.”

Moyes is asked: is he in favour of semi-automated offside technology? “Every time something new comes out we’re asked, are we in favour? Half the time we might say yes, we might say no … the truth is we probably don’t know. We need to see how it works, we need to see if it gets the results that are desired … I think it’s going to speed things up a bit and if so that would help … it’s difficult to ask us just now until we see it.”

David Moyes up next.

Let’s glance across the Channel to continental Europe, where Barça boss Xavi has been having a chat with pesky journalists in Spain …

Xavi is convinced Barcelona’s season would have been a “disaster” had he not announced his decision to leave at the end of it. The 44-year-old revealed after a 5-3 home defeat by Villarreal in January he would walk away after two and a half years in charge.

He said at the time his decision would free up his players, and they will head into Saturday’s La Liga clash with lowly Cadiz on a 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions - the last of them an impressive 3-2 Champions League quarter-final, first-leg victory at Paris Saint-Germain.

Xavi said: “With the decision made, I was sure we would be like this. If not, it would have been a disaster, and I told the president so. I looked and looked around the club. If I hadn’t decided, we wouldn’t be competing now.”

View image in fullscreen

Asked if he might reconsider his decision to leave, Xavi said: “I’ve told you that at every press conference. Nothing has changed.”

Barça head into the game revelling in their midweek fightback in Paris, which saw them recover from a 2-1 deficit to win 3-2 at the Parc des Princes and secure a lead to take back to Catalonia.

They have won their last five in all competitions, although their hopes of closing an eight-point gap to leaders Real Madrid - their opponents at the Bernabeu Stadium next Sunday - appear to be receding by the week.

Xavi said: “Next week there is a Clásico that, if we win tomorrow, could leave us five points behind. If we lose tomorrow, the league is over.” (PA Media)

12 Apr 202411.15 EDT

Andy Hunter

Barring one of the most remarkable comebacks to have decorated Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool reign, his final European game at Anfield will have featured a flat performance and atmosphere, resignation to defeat and a divide between fans and club; everything, that is, that goes against the culture he has created over the past nine years. Rediscovering the spark and belief required to win a Premier League title, however, is the Liverpool manager’s more pressing concern.

“It’s not full Eric Cantona and sardines following a trawler,” says the bloke on Sky, of Emma Hayes’s recent cryptic poetry outburst.

Seagulls following a trawler, surely.

“Of course, it’s going to be very difficult,” Aston Villa’s Unai Emery says of Sunday’s showdown with the current Premier League leaders Arsenal. “We have to be very demanding of ourselves to defend, to attack … but we are motivated, we are excited.

“They are dominating, imposing [themselves] on a lot of games … and they are fighting in Champions League as well against top teams like Bayern Munich. The level they achieved is very high, in the Premier League and in the Champions League.”

View image in fullscreen

If, like me, you are trying to keep abreast of the pathetic attempts of the golfers you backed to make the cut, Scott Murray’s Masters live blog is always well worth a read:

Oliver Glasner, the Crystal Palace manager, says that Premier League survival is in their hands before Sunday’s trip to Anfield:

“It’s up to us to get the points we need … I don’t know how many it will be … but it’s up to us,” Glasner said. “If we don’t get one point to the end of the season, and 30 points means relegation, then it’s our fault.

“We can’t blame anybody else … what does it need that we get the points that we win games? Sometimes we are close … It’s up to us, it’s our job to get these points, to increase our performance for the whole period of the game. And then, we won’t get relegated.”

You can’t say fairer than that. Palace are 14th, with 30 points as Glasner mentioned, and just five points ahead of 18th-placed Luton.

In the WSL, the plot thickens on Emma Hayes v Jonas Eidevall.

Chelsea’s Hayes has spoken to the media after her Arsenal counterpart, Jonas Eidevall, said her comments were “irresponsible” following the Gunners’ 1-0 win in the Continental League Cup final the weekend before last.

“My son said to me after the game, when you push someone at school, you’re asked to go and take time out. I said to him, you know what darling – ‘You can’t meet aggression with aggression’. All you can do is tell the teacher … all you can do is explain to the teacher and explain why you think something is unfair,” Hayes said. “Even if the players go to the teacher, even if the parents go to the teacher, you cannot meet aggression with aggression.”

Asked a second question about the controversy, Hayes simply quotes some poetry by Robert Frost:

“So when at times the mob is swayed,
To carry praise or blame too far,
We may choose something like a star,
To stay our minds on and be staid.”

To the next question – can she explain what that means – Hayes says: “I’ve had a fantastic break … I’ve already explained an important analogy that I shared with my son … my focus is on moving forwards. And I’ve had time to look at my “star”.

When it is mentioned that Eidevall called Hayes’s comments irresponsible, the Chelsea manager simply replies: “I don’t have an opinion on it.”

“I’ve said everything I need to say on it. We need to move past that and focus on the next game.”

Chelsea face Aston Villa in the WSL next Wednesday.

Thanks a lot Dominic. Hello everyone. Here’s a line from the busy people at the Press Association, and some injury news from Scotland:

Celtic could be without Daizen Maeda during the title run-in after the Japan international suffered a hamstring injury. The wide player will miss Saturday’s Premiership contest with St Mirren while the damage is assessed.

Brendan Rodgers said: “He picked up an injury high up in his hamstring, his tendon, so we will have to see what that looks like in the coming weeks. But he is certainly not available for the weekend.

“We will see where it goes in the next week or so and then we will understand better what inclusion he will have between now and the end of the season. Liam Scales has picked up a slight strain in his abductor so the likelihood is that he won’t be involved.”

With Luis Palma fully fit after a calf problem and Nicolas Kuhn settling in, Rodgers played down the potential loss of Maeda.

“He has done fantastic for us and was very, very good last weekend,” he said. “But if it is to be, and he is out, there will be an opportunity there for someone else to come into the game. What he brings, the intensity and pressing, of course that’s big for us. But it’s an opportunity for other players to step up.”

View image in fullscreen

Right, that’s my power hour done and I’ll hand back to Luke McLaughlin for the rest of the day. Enjoy.

‘Provides an update’ is a real stretch here, guys.

Want more from from Gary O’Neil’s VAR diatribe? Of course you do.

I have spent an awful a lot of time talking to [PGMOL chief] Howard Webb about offside and I have tried to explain my concerns.

I have spent a lot of my Sundays speaking to Howard, giving him my views on it and how it can be improved. Hopefully this is part of the improvement.

I guess if he sees something in our game and he sees my name pop up on his phone it might be, ‘oh, do I have to take this one’.

I’m sure he has pressed the red button a few times, but he is always open and honest and that is all I ask.

Speed dial is the wrong way to put it, I’m happy to speak to Howard as he is happy to speak to me.

OLLIE WATKINS is trending on X right now (capitals included), presumably because he’s been so damn good this season, both in terms of scoring and creating goals.

There’s barely a club in the Premier League that hasn’t been through its own injury crisis this season.

Brighton now have nine players unavailable for their trip to Burnley, with Tariq Lamptey joining their injury list.

Meanwhile, Marcus Tavernier, Antoine Semenyo, Chris Mepham, Tyler Adams and Ryan Fredericks are all out for Bournemouth as they prepare to host Manchester United. Andoni Iraola said: “It is tough when someone like Tav [Tavernier] gets a muscle injury and is out for four or five games. But it is something that is happening to all of the teams and we have to accept it.”

Back to press conference waffle now and Ange Postecoglou believes Newcastle’s struggles represent something of a warning to his Spurs side.

Eddie Howe’s boys haven’t found it plain sailing this season despite qualifying for the Champions League and Big Ange has been vocal recently in reiterating that finishing in the top four (or five) is not the end game in itself.

Certainly there is a cautionary tale there that getting into Champions League also means greater demands. Demands on players, demands on the squad and you have to be geared up for it or else it can affect all parts of your season.

It has been tough on Newcastle this year because the progress last year was fantastic, the reward for that was Champions League and this year for whatever reason it has made it a really challenging season on all fronts for them.

View image in fullscreen

Chelsea (£75.1m) and Manchester City (£60.6m) top the Premier League table when it comes to money that’s been paid to intermediaries – AKA agents – in the past two transfer windows. Manchester United were third with £34,1m, just ahead of Liverpool on £31.5m.

Luton paid the least, a little more than £2m. Burnley and Sheffield United are down among the lowest, too.

A whopping £409m was spent by the 20 top flight clubs, in all. Eeesh.

Manchester United are not a very good football team, but they are a football team that scores very good goals.

Marcus Rashford’s Manchester derby howitzer has been named the Premier League’s goal of the month for March. Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo have previously won the award this season.

Let’s get back to that Gary O’Neil rant that Luke mentioned. Wolves have felt hard-done-by in the VAR stakes this season, with their chairman Jeff Shi releasing a statement condemning the officials last weekend. Wolves were denied a late equaliser against West Ham by a contentious VAR call for offside.

This is what O’Neil had to add to that, as well as his thoughts on facing FA charges for his ‘behaviour around match officials’:

It’s probably best for me not to comment on the charge until the process is complete. Then I’ll be happy to discuss openly from what has gone on from the start to the finish. It’s best for me to not discuss the charge.

I think you can feel [VAR frustration] nationally in the whole of the league, there has been a lot of disappointment and frustration with how decisions have gone.

It’s not all bad. There has been some really good calls, but not only at Wolves. There is a drive from everyone for the standard to improve.

Thanks Luke, happy to be here. And there’s plenty more Premier League manager press conference patter to placate you until your Friyay beers.

I’m off for a sandwich, and Dominic Booth is here to guide you through the next while.

“It’s a huge challenge at the best of times, going here,” says Luton’s manager, Rob Edwards, of his injury-depleted side’s visit to Manchester City. “But the players have been great, the players that are available have been amazing, for them to have given us what they’ve been giving us over the past month or so when it’s really tough, they deserve so much credit. And they’re going to deliver again tomorrow, I know that. What I can’t guarantee is a victory, or any kind of points.”

View image in fullscreen

“Conditions were perfect and are still perfect.”

That sounds perfect, Erik.

View image in fullscreen

The Manchester United head coach, Erik ten Hag, says he will miss the support of departed football director John Murtough and has emphasised the importance of replacing him.

United on Tuesday announced Murtough was stepping down, having spent almost 11 years at the club in a variety of roles. The Red Devils, with Ineos now in control of football operations after Sir Jim Ratcliffe became minority owner in February, are looking to bring in Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth and Southampton director of football Jason Wilcox.

Asked about Murtough leaving before Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth, Ten Hag said: “You mention the new season - it’s very important, the new ownership is working on this and we have to replace this function to go into the new season.

“For the moment, of course I miss his support, but he moved on, there has been choices made. We work very good together, so I say thank you to John and I wish him all the best for the future. Also I work with the new ownership very good and closely together and that will not change. It doesn’t have an impact on the way I can work here.

“Conditions were perfect and are still perfect, so I’m happy with that, but we want to set the right conditions to be successful.” (PA Media)

O’Neil of Wolves has just embarked on a long speech about refereeing standards, VAR and the like. I’ll see if I can type up the “best” bits.