As Rafael Benítez strode towards the centre circle and acknowledged a richly deserved standing ovation, yet another grisly Arsenal inquest was about to begin. It provided plenty of clues as to why Wenger’s side remain a disappointing sixth, only four places ahead of Newcastle. In mitigation, Arsenal’s Europa League quarter-final draw at CSKA Moscow on Thursday night was followed by a 5am Friday landing at Luton airport. Against Arsenal Shelvey did much to suggest that Southgate is wrong to continue turning a blind eye to his England candidacy. That delivery allowed Pérez to contribute a clever dummy and neat flick, leaving Matt Ritchie to lift an accomplished chip over Cech, with Nacho Monreal culpable.

Source: The Guardian April 15, 2018 14:49 UTC