Arsenal watch on as Liverpool save England and Bukayo Saka receives ‘discreet message’

Editor F365
Bukayo Saka in action for Arsenal v Liverpool

Fresh from saving English football, Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp are saving the England national team, while Bukayo Saka is openly courted. Ish.

 

By the Buk
Obviously it’s hard to keep up but Arsenal are actually top of the Premier League and not Liverpool (we covered this on Monday), but of course that does not halt speculation that the Gunners’ best players could up and join the far superior Reds, presumably because This Means More and all that.

And what better way to fuel that speculation than by, well, watching a video of Bukayo Saka and former Liverpool winger Sadio Mane embracing at the Ballon d’Or ceremony and deciding that they could well be talking about a possible transfer?

It seems pretty bloody obvious when you put it like that. What else could they possibly be talking about while meeting up for the first time in months?

Here come the Mirror and one of their Sports Brand writers:

‘Sadio Mane delivers private message to Bukayo Saka at Ballon d’Or amid Liverpool links’

‘Delivers private message’ is one hell of a way to describe one man talking to another while enjoying a warm reunion.

And as for ‘amid Liverpool links’…behave. The latest Saka transfer stories link him with nothing other than signing a new Arsenal deal.

‘Sadio Mane and Bukayo Saka shared a moment on the Ballon d’Or red carpet as the Bayern Munich star whispered a message to the Arsenal man.’

FFS. When did speaking to somebody become a ‘message’? Especially when they are RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM.

‘Mane’s conversation with Saka was not audible but the 30-year-old no doubt only has good things to say about playing at Anfield under Jurgen Klopp. The Arsenal man is in dialogue with the club as he seeks to negotiate an extension, but several suitors are keeping tabs on the situation.’

The conversation was ‘not audible’ and yet we can only assume that Mane took the opportunity to urge Saka to join a club that he himself has just left. Anything else seems ludicrous.

And when one leads, others follow because churnalism. Here comes The Sun:

‘MANE ON A MISSION Watch Sadio Mane whisper message to Arsenal star Bukayo Saka at Ballon d’Or ceremony amid Liverpool transfer links’

Yes, that’s right. You can now actually watch Mane ‘whisper message’. Except you can’t really, because all you can see is them embrace and Saka smile. But Mane is definitely ‘ON A MISSION’ and not just greeting somebody he has not seen in a while.

One of their captions even describes the conversation as ‘a discreet message’, which sounds hella filthy. Change one letter and it’s a telephone box calling card.

‘Before the ceremony got underway he bumped into Arsenal gem Saka, embracing his fellow forward.

‘It is not clear what was said between the pair but Saka beamed as he listened to what Mane had to say.

‘Some have speculated that Mane was trying to persuade the England international to move to Anfield.’

Yes, you have speculated. Because you have no damned shame.

 

I…want candid
Alternative headline to that same story, as seen on Mirror football homepage:

‘Mane delivers private message to Saka in candid embrace amid Arsenal contract standoff’

‘Candid embrace’? Can you have a ‘truthful and straightforward’ embrace? What’s the alternative? A lying hug? Which brings us neatly back to the discreet message…

 

Following the nerd
You will be shocked to learn that as The Sun’s ‘supercomputer predicts final Premier League table after Arsenal take four-point lead and Liverpool beat Man City’, they forecast that the team that has won four of the last five Premier League titles will win the next. The boffins have truly excelled themselves.

 

GI Joe
Fresh from saving English football, Jurgen Klopp has now saved England’s World Cup campaign by playing Joe Gomez twice in a week.

What a hero.

‘Jurgen Klopp solves Gareth Southgate’s crisis after putting faith in forgotten star’

He ‘put faith’ in him after injuries to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate but let’s not that get in the way of this story about Klopp solving England’s crisis.

‘While Trippier and Alexander-Arnold are known for being out-and-out full-backs, James and Walker are more versatile. They can play on the right of a back three, which is fortunate because Southgate loves to play that system. It’s the one that helped England reach the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the final of Euro 2020.

‘If they are unavailable, Southgate needs a defender who can play at right-back and centre-back. Fortunately for the England manager, Liverpool man Joe Gomez has produced two timely performances to remind Southgate that he can be trusted in big games.’

It’s a shame that the team at the actual top of the Premier League table does not have an English defender who can play at right-back and centre-back, isn’t it? A real shame. But thankfully, along comes Gomez.

He has played well this week against Rangers and Liverpool so might well get an England recall but let’s not pretend that this was some brainwave from Klopp. Or let’s just pretend that because that’s the narrative…

‘Gomez has reiterated his ability and versatility, and Jurgen Klopp has given Southgate a priceless defensive option by continuing to stand by the injury-stricken star throughout the years.’

Well, he didn’t stand by him when he took him off at half-time of a disastrous performance against Napoli in September and then did not start him again until injuries gave him no choice.

And he didn’t really stand by him last season when he started only four Premier League games despite being fit for most of the season.

It might turn out to be a happy accident that Gomez plays well for Liverpool and thus gets an England call but painting this as some sort of Klopp masterstroke is ridiculous.

‘There’s no guarantee Southgate will select Gomez for the World Cup, with the likes of James Justin, Ben White and Kyle Walker-Peters also pushing for a spot amid the injuries. Yet his recent displays will have reassured Southgate that he doesn’t necessarily need his regulars to be fit to be successful in Qatar.’

He’s played once at right-back against a poor Rangers side so this seems entirely fair.

‘If Gomez can produce outstanding performances in the Champions League and against City – arguably the best team on the planet right now – then he can do a job for England at the World Cup.’

Yes, if he can produce an outstanding performance against that Rangers side he will absolutely breeze it against Brazil.

 


Super snub

‘Lionel Messi snubs England as he names two favourites to win Qatar World Cup’ – Mirror website.

Pesky fact: He has literally named the two favourites to win the Qatar World Cup.