The second round of the EPL proved to be bad for two of the teams that were favourites at the title. Manchester United failed to get even one point with Brighton, while Arsenal failed in two major tests – at home with Man City and with Chelsea, away.
If for Arsenal there are mitigating circumstances, Man United is in a more difficult situation. Asked by SkySports what he thinks about the atmosphere at United, the former Devils player, Lee Sharpe, summed up: “I expect Mourinho to be sacked by Christmas”.
Lee Sharpe added: “The atmosphere is not a good one. Ever since he came, Mourinho is moaning about the players. In Ferguson’s time, all these things were kept away from the press and solved in the coach’s office or in the locker room. Now it’s different and I do not think that’s good for the team”. For the full interview, click here.
Although it has a very valuable squad, United does not seem to find the rhythm. Even worse, Mourinho is facing next a really tough match against Tottenham. Lately, there have been rumours that Pogba is in open conflict with Mourinho, which was denied by the Portuguese. But Danny Mills says neither Alex Ferguson would tolerate Pogba problems. The Frenchman was sold to Juventus in 2012 by Ferguson and then bought back to Manchester by Mourinho. It seems that the problem is not one of the coach vs the player, but rather of the club vs the player.
Anyway, Manchester United will have to regroup and make an honourable figure against Tottenham. Man United vs Tottenham is live on Skysports and also online.
Arsenal plays against West Ham in a match that should bring the first three points to the Gunners. It remains to be seen if they will be able to cross the saddle of the first two stages when they were defeated by two top teams.
Zero points after matches with Chelsea and Man City mean that Arsenal still has to wait until they can really enter in the title fight. Unai Emery “managed” to lose the first two matches of the season, a situation not seen at Arsenal since 1986.
Even so, nobody is still challenging the position of the Spanish coach, but Emery will have a huge task on his shoulders. Arsenal vs. West Ham will play on August 25th, at 15:00 GMT on Emirates. The Gunners are very much in need of the three points, a victory being essential to keeping a good moral.