Ten players in desperate need of a shake after Wenger’s Grealish accusation

Tim Ellis
Bruno Fernandes and Tyrone Mings

Arsene Wenger feels Jack Grealish needs to show more grit at Manchester City but he is not the only Premier League player in need of a shake.

Arsene Wenger accused Jack Grealish of a lack of fight as Manchester City exited the Champions League on Wednesday. While that may be a tad harsh, there are some talented players out there who might just need a push, a shove and an earful to get them going.

 

Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Martin Tyler and Gary Neville were pontificating live on air like head prefects on Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s locked-in talent syndrome during the game between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford. There’s always been a sense that the Blues midfielder has more to give but is somehow holding himself back. Thomas Tuchel insists that he needs to discover this “monster in him” because currently “he cannot let loose”. Under Maurizio Sarri in 2018/19, Loftus-Cheek had 10 goals and five assists. In his mid-20s, the time is right to kick on from graduation into a big boys’ world.

 

Tyrone Mings
Just before Dean Smith was shown the door at Villa Park, he dropped his skipper for the game against West Ham, citing that: “Tyrone has not been playing at the top of his game.” Steven Gerrard has almost damned the defender with faint praise at times as he searches for a man with true grit to lead from the front. Earlier last month, Gerrard said: “I think it is always important to get in among the group and see what they are like, every minute of every day, see who is the glue in the team, see who leads in the right way, see who leads through adversity.” Mings himself admitted he always feels on trial with England. His domestic situation isn’t entirely cosy either.

 

Fraser Forster
A decade ago, the Spanish media labelled Forster ‘The Great Wall’ after a fantastic performance at Celtic Park that kept Lionel Messi and company at bay in a famous Champions League victory. Since those heady days, Forster has had plenty of ups, downs and disappearances at Southampton. Forster is huge but it often feels like he’s a cuddly giant rather than a colossus. Apart from when he psyched out James Milner. Since reclaiming the number one spot after two fallow years at St Mary’s, Foster has been recalled to the England squad and looks certain to be offered a new contract. His form is decent. Recent performances still show a reluctance to dominate when size is everything.

 

Naby Keita
Naby Keita has arrived. Sort of. The performances against Manchester City at Wembley, Benfica in Portugal and Newcastle at St James’ Park now represent a better sample of what he’s capable of in four frustrating years at Anfield. Klopp said: “When Naby was fit and Naby could get some rhythm, he was always really good. Unfortunately, he could not get as much rhythm as he wished, we wished, in the past.” It’s crunch time and May 28 could just be the night for number eight to help deliver number seven.

 

Timo Werner
Back in the day, Liverpool fans were crestfallen that Timo Werner had chosen Chelsea. Did Jurgen know something we didn’t? After the German finally netted a brace in a 6-0 rout of Southampton, Tuchel came to the mic to mute the celebrations. “At some point, there are no words, you have to help yourself,” he said. The player himself has openly wondered why the fans keep the faith. He could have had a signature goal in the Champions League final last year and was almost a hero in the game against Madrid. Almost doesn’t cut it. Ruthless is the only way. Lovely bloke. Needs the devil in him.

 

Cesar Azpilicueta
Those that protest the loudest and all that. After the Spaniard gave away a soft penalty in Chelsea’s 4-2 defeat at home to Arsenal, he angrily went over to a fan who was pointing the finger. “He wanted more fight,” revealed the 32-year-old. It was the latest blowout of goal gluts which saw the backline concede four against Brentford and three against Madrid. At Goodison, the captain dwelt on the ball like a man without a plan, seconds after the screen had already shot to a furious Tuchel. Will it be fight or a flight to Barcelona?

 

Marcus Rashford
Patrice Evra implored Ralf Rangnick to shake a stick at several United players including Rashford. “He’s starting to frustrate,” said the Frenchman. “We’re talking about Rangnick and he’s coming here to shake the players. The first one to be honest is Rashford. With the pace he’s got, the ability he’s got, I don’t understand why he doesn’t have that killer instinct and just go for the player one vs one.” There are bigger issues at play as Scott McTominay hinted at quite openly, but the Frenchman had a point. Rashford needs a new manager to believe in. Maybe Erik is that man.

 

Dele Alli
If you have seen him on motorways looking over you on a fashion poster or donning cricket gear ahead of Ashes campaigns, there might have been the merest hint that his head was definitely for turning. Stan Collymore thinks Dele should retire if football isn’t important enough for him anymore: ‘If he wants to drift, go backpacking around the world and spend the good few quid he’s earned. Maybe he needs to have an Ash Barty moment.’ Yeah. Great. You got it, Stan. Hard-working tennis champ and the “f***ing lazy guy” comparison working well there.

 

Bruno Fernandes
He’s been busy. Talking. Promising. Apologising. When it comes to match day, he’s been busy. Complaining. Moaning. Bruno Fernandes is no longer the impact player of yore unless there’s a table for sly tackles, crumpling to the floor and doing his own version of Question Time on referees. He fronts up post-match but then says “we have nothing to play for”. This is not the route to success. Did Cristiano Ronaldo have nothing to play for against Brentford? Didn’t look like it.

 

Nathan Redmond
Raheem Sterling’s late winner against Southampton in 2017 was key in establishing Manchester City’s title credentials under Pep Guardiola. Equally memorable was the manager’s octopus-style antics post-match, brazenly marching over to Nathan Redmond for what was a rather aggressive compliment. The City boss said that he was telling Redmond “how good a player he is. I said to Nathan: ‘You have to attack because you have the quality to do that.'”

The winger replied that he was just following orders. It’s debatable whether he is doing that this season which is a constant source of frustration for Ralph Hasenhuttl: “As I always say, it is only a matter of time because he has the chances, and he has the quality to score. That does not mean you can play however you want and for as long as you want without scoring.” Quite.

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