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Marko Arnautovic looked like a man waving goodbye when he left the London Stadium pitch on Saturday, but the performance of Samir Nasri should have fans excited for the future even if “Arnie” never puts on the shirt again.

The Chalkboard

West Ham grabbed their sixth win in their last nine Premier League games on Saturday, and it was due in no small part to the influence of January signing Nasri.

The crafty 31 year-old signed for the Hammers this month, and made his first start in Saturday’s 1-0 win.

While fans are no doubt fearing the worst over the possible exit of Arnautovic, the creativity and flair of Felipe Anderson, Nasri and forgotten man Manuel Lanzini will mean that Manuel Pellegrini’s side can score goals no matter who plays up front.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals what Lasagne-Gate was really like for Tottenham’s food-poisoned stars – Check out the video below…

Another Pellegrini master stroke

Nasri is best known for his unpredictability. The 41-cap French international has excellent vision, ball control and dribbling ability, but most importantly of all he is not afraid to try dangerous, incisive passes.

The former Arsenal and Manchester City ace created three chances in Saturday’s win over the Gunners, second only to Anderson. He also assisted the game’s only goal, and even rewarded Pellegrini’s faith with some excellent pressing and defensive work.

The free capture of Nasri already looks like a stroke of genius from the boss.

Creativity is king

With Anderson and Nasri seemingly finding to form at the same time, the Hammers’ attack will be absolutely lethal when Lanzini returns to the fold.

The 25 year-old has missed the entire season with a knee injury, but he averaged 2.4 successful dribbles and 1.5 key passes per game last season.

There’s no question that Arnautovic is a fantastic player, but with Anderson, Nasri and Lanzini all working their magic behind any number nine, the Hammers should not have too much trouble replacing the Austrian’s goals.

So, West Ham fans, how impressed were you by Nasri on Saturday? Will he, Lanzini and Anderson be lethal together? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below…

Chelsea allowed Arsenal to claw themselves to within touching distance this weekend as they were taken down 2-0 at the Emirates.

The Blues were simply not at the races in the London derby and the Gunners deservedly ran out the winners to breathe life into their own hopes landing a spot in the Champions League places come the end of the season.

A post match rant from manager Mauro Sarri did little to enlighten the mood either among the Chelsea fans and players, and it’s looking more and more likely that something will have to change for them to rescue their season from here on in.

One thing we here in the Tavern think needs to change is the positional play and all round game of midfielder Ngolo Kante, who despite being one of the finest ball winning midfielders in world football, is being deployed in a more advanced role by Sarri.

This was all well and good while things were going well at the beginning of the campaign, but since then, things have taken a turn for the worse, and it’s time Kante was put back into his more traditional and natrual role.

While Jorginho does ok in the middle of the park, he lacks the energy and drive of Kante, and it’s here that Chelsea and Sarri are missing a trick.

Sarri needs to get Kante back doing what he does best, winning the ball, driving his team on, and setting the tone for others around him. Sarri could even partner Kante with Jorginho, and opt to play someone like Eden Hazard just in front in a floating number 10 role behind a central striker.

The options are blatantly there for Sarri, and while we would never tell him what to do, we can’t be the only ones thinking something needs to change.

Chelsea fans, do you agree? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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Brendan Rodgers has jumped the gun in relation to the signing of Maryan Shved.

What’s the word?

The Karpaty Lviv winger watched Wednesday’s 2-0 win over St Johnstone after undergoing his medical.

Since presenting Maurice Johnston as a signing in 1989, two months before he turned up on the other side of the city, Celtic have been cautious over the timing of signings.

The Hoops completed three deals in the first fortnight of the transfer window but with just a few hours remaining there has been no further additions to the first team squad.

Perhaps caught a little off guard, Rodgers said as quoted by The Evening Times: “Marian Shved was at the game and I spoke to him beforehand.

“He is delighted to be here and his medical is all complete. Marian will go back to Ukraine and finish off his season there with his club.

“He will then come back to Scotland around April and get involved with the training, before being ready to go in the summer.”

These days any signing requires a social media introduction, with a brief video clip usually the way to make an announcement.

Shved has already spent a season and a half in Spain with Sevilla’s youth side but all of his effective playing days have been in the Ukraine.

Stockpiling wingers

On the surface it seems that Celtic are stockpiling wingers. Scott Sinclair and James Forrest are clearly the men in possession with Mikey Johnston and Jonny Hayes both waiting patiently for the chance to deputise.

Shved has an impressive reputation and decent first team experience for a 21-year-old but adapting to the Scottish game, coming to terms with the demands on Celtic players and breaking into a highly successful first team is a tall order. Just ask Lewis Morgan.

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Steve Bruce will make his Hillsborough bow on Saturday afternoon when his Sheffield Wednesday side welcome Reading to South Yorkshire.

A new era is underway at Wednesday and the supporters will be hoping that Bruce can steer the ship in the right direction.

The Championship veteran has inherited a packed out squad, so one of his most pressing tasks will be to cherry-pick the players he believes are capable of taking Wednesday to the top-flight before offloading the deadwood in the summer.

Naturally, the supporters have already formed their own opinions about who should stay and who should go, and one man in particular has been identified as a potentially huge player in the future, namely Michael Hector.

The 6’4″ colossus, per Transfermarkt, has been a revelation since signing on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea.

The experienced enforcer has been a rock at the heart of defence, and his performances have forced the fans to call for a permanent deal.

His contract at Chelsea is due to expire in June 2020, so Maurizio Sarri may well be open to the possibility of selling him in the summer rather than losing him for nothing when his current deal expires.

Either way it’s fair to say the Wednesday fans are totally convinced by what they’ve seen from the 27-year-old  during his productive spell with the club so far.

Here’s what the Wednesday faithful have had to say about Michael Hector’s future:

Leeds fans would have been boosted by West Brom’s draw with Wigan on Wednesday as it meant that maintained their place at the top of the Championship, now level on points with the Baggies.

Slaven Bilic’s side looked unstoppable against Swansea in the previous match so it will come as a welcome relief that the Whites are still ahead of them, as it says a lot about their own promotion chances.

One Twitter account suggested that only Leeds could now prevent Leeds from going up, which is perhaps what occurred in the last campaign as Marcelo Bielsa’s side faltered at the last hurdle.

A true test for any Leeds fan: Can you match these iconic images with the right results?

This time around, however, they appear in a better place. The improvement in defence, conceding just ten goals in 21 league games, is a significant factor in that and if the Argentine can bring the best out of his players for the duration this time, there should be success at the end of it.

Despite that, there will always be fan doubt as they attempt to reach the promised land after 15 years away, and it is only natural for questions to arise about the team’s ability to last the long haul.

That shouldn’t be fans’ only concern though, as the chasing pack is also full of quality, with teams like Fulham capable of producing winning runs, as they did to gain promotion in 2018.

Sheffield United too began to come into their own towards the latter stages of the last campaign to sneak into second spot, and that means Leeds will have to continue looking over their shoulders – even if they do now have an 11-point gap over third place.

The gap that exists is the sole focus for some supporters, and every time a playoff placed team drops points they will likely be delighted, as it means their chances of an automatic promotion place becomes that much more likely.

Fans have also be reacting to a brilliant stat which means the Yorkshire side have a great chance of promotion, as long as they maintain the consistency shown so far.

Alex Iwobi played the full 90 minutes as Everton picked up a 1-1 draw at Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Mason Greenwood came off the bench to score for United, but an own goal from Victor Lindelof in the first half proved enough for the Toffees to secure a share of the spoils.

According to WhoScored, Iwobi only had a 68% pass success rate at Old Trafford, whilst he managed just one shot during a lacklustre performance.

Did he play for Everton? Simple question but a lot tougher than you think…

And the Everton supporters did not exactly hold back on social media with many criticising the former Arsenal attacker for his performance on the afternoon.

Watch Everton Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Meanwhile, one of the club’s fans referenced Iwobi’s price-tag when discussing the Nigerian, who joined over the summer in a £34m deal.

The attacker only scored 15 times in 149 appearances during his time with the Gunners and has managed just one Premier League goal since joining Everton.

Iwobi was also accused of being “lazy” and “uninterested” by some of the away team’s fans during Sunday’s clash in Manchester.

One fan even claimed that the club should already be thinking about selling Iwobi despite the fact that he has only just arrived.

Meanwhile, a number of the Everton supporters have had their say on a potential long-term replacement for Marco Silva.

Carlo Ancelotti will look to pick up a second successive win at the beginning of his Everton reign when his side travel to face Newcastle United on Saturday.

The fixture will come just 48 hours after the Toffees beat Burnley 1-0 at Goodison Park on Boxing Day, and the Italian manager already said post-match via BBC Sport that it is “impossible” for his team to be fully prepared for two games in the space of two days.

Watch Everton Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Perhaps then changes could be on the cards for the Merseyside outfit at St James’ Park, in order to keep the players fresh during the busy festive period.

Here we try to predict Ancelotti’s starting XI against the Magpies…

Undoubted number one Jordan Pickford takes his place between the sticks, and there is one change in the backline.

It seemed as though the 60-year-old coach had picked four at the back against the Clarets, although Lucas Digne and Djibril Sidibe were almost playing as wing-backs with Seamus Coleman tucking in as a third centre-back throughout.

We expect Ancelotti to go with a proper 4-4-2 against Steve Bruce’s side though, with Leighton Baines coming in for Digne, and Sidibe playing at right-back with Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate in the centre.

Ahead of them, Theo Walcott comes in for Coleman and starts on the right wing to freshen things up, while Tom Davies comes in for Fabian Delph, who we feel won’t be able to manage two matches in 48 hours given his recent injury absence.

Whose Line Is It Anyway: Michael Owen, Garth Crooks or Mark Lawrenson?

Gylfi Sigurdsson and Bernard make up the rest of the midfield, while up top Moise Kean starts alongside the hero against Burnley – Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Richarlison looked to have potentially picked up a knock before he came off against the Clarets, and it would be a risk to play him from the start on Tyneside.

In other Everton news, Toffees fans have praised one player following his display against Burnley, with one supporter describing him as being “Pienaar-esque”…

Eddie Nketiah has been recalled by Arsenal, and after scoring just three league goals in half a season at Elland Road, we can’t imagine that many tears will have been shed after the 20-year-old left the Yorkshire club.

However, the striker’s departure stings a lot more once you realise the signing that Leeds sacrificed in order to land Nketiah this summer.

Watch Leeds United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Cast your minds back to early August, and you’ll remember that Leeds were targeting one more signing.

It was either going to be Ryan Kent on a permanent deal or an out and out striker.

In the end, the Whites opted to sign Nketiah on loan and Kent went to Rangers, but from that point forward their season’s took incredibly different paths.

While Nketiah flopped at Leeds, Kent has been nothing short of a revelation at Rangers, netting five goals in 11 league games for the Glasgow outfit including a vital goal in the Old Firm derby.

He’s also proven that he can provide the goods at a top level, appearing in four Europa League matches this season, averaging a WhoScored rating of 7.03 in European action.

Of course, it was hard to predict that Nketiah’s loan wouldn’t work out as planned and at the time the Whites needed a striker more than they needed a winger given Kemar Roofe had left.

But hindsight is 20/20 and now we can confidently say that Leeds made a mistake in choosing the Arsenal man over the former Liverpool player.

It’s all done and dusted now, and Leeds can’t go back and change their fate, but it doesn’t make it sting any less for a supporter.

In other news, Phil Hay’s recent update on Che Adams may spell bad news for Leeds.

Recent reports appear to suggest that Neil Lennon is targeting a new centre-forward in the January transfer window.

Multiple targets have been touted of late, including Billy Sharp and Andraz Sporar, but another name has come to light.

According to a recent report from French media outlet RMC Sport, Celtic have made an approach for Le Havre’s Tino Kadewere, though they will be face competition from Al-Rayan, who have already made an offer worth €8m (£6.7m), and Flamengo.

The relatively unknown forward has been prolific in the French second tier this season, bagging 17 goals in 19 appearances while also providing four assists.

Celtic have history when it comes to unearthing talented strikers from France and one fan alluded to that in response to the news.

Moussa Dembele was a goal machine in the SPFL prior to his move to Lyon, and this supporter is hoping Kadewere can follow a similar path.

Though not all fans were convinced the club will be able to secure his services this month, they are certainly hoping to see Kadewere walk through the doors at Celtic Park to bolster their title hopes.

However, not every single supporter appears convinced by the 24-year-old’s credentials and hinted the club could be eyeing a potential flop.

Finally, this fan claimed he’d prefer to see the Zimbabwe international signed instead of Sporar.

West Bromwich Albion’s season continues to get better after they advanced into the next stage of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.

The Baggies will soon learn their reward later this evening following their 1-0 victory against Championship rivals Charlton Athletic in the third round proper.

Slaven Bilic made wholesale changes to his starting line up with an entirely new XI from the one that drew with Leeds United being named.

Kenneth Zohore was one player given a rare start and he took his opportunity by burying an effort past the home goalkeeper early in the first half.

The likes of Rayhaan Tulloch and Jamie Soule were named on the bench too while another youngster granted a chance was Rekeem Harper, and his presence has split opinion amongst sections of the travelling support…

Some of the reaction was positive with ‘class’ and ‘bossed the midfield’ being two phrases used by some supporters.

It was only Harper’s third appearance of the season and first notable game since the opening game of the season when he made a six-minute cameo against Nottingham Forest, per Tranfermarkt.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Although, not everyone was pleased with his showing as he was lambasted as being lazy whilst another suggested he looked rusty.

One fan went as far as claiming that the 19-year-old believes he is better than he actually is…

Meanwhile, other members of the Baggies faithful would like to see him more often.

One Albion fan suggested that he was pushing Jake Livermore for a starting place and that he is a far better option than loanee Filip Krovinovic.

A further supporter asked Bilic to get that ‘undoubted talent’ out of him too.

It’s the dawn of a new decade in the Premier League, but how much do you know about the last 10 years?

And in other news, Slaven Bilic dealt an insulting blow to this promising starlet on Sunday afternoon…