Erik ten Hag will hold talks with Cristiano Ronaldo before deciding whether he will return to first-team training on Monday.
And the Manchester United manager has warned the iconic striker that he faces a fans backlash after his refusal to come on as a substitute in the team’s win over Spurs on Wednesday.
“We will first talk,” said Ten Hag. “We set certain standards. That is for any player.”
When asked whether he expected Ronaldo’s suspension to extend into next week, Ten Hag replied: “I don’t think so, no.
“That is not my purpose. What I said is I don’t want to miss him. I want him to be in the squad and be involved for every game because he has an impact.
“It is a difficult decision. But there has to be consequences for bad behaviour and when it is the second time.
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“He has to live as anyone else along certain standards and the standards we set this season.”
Tottenham lacking knowhow
By John Derek
Antonio Conte wants Tottenham to delve into the dark arts if they are to close the gap on the “monsters” in the Premier League.
Spurs went down 2-0 to Manchester United on Wednesday to spark debate around the expectation of the north London outfit.
One area where they can instantly improve in the matches with the big six – and against others like Eddie Howe’s Magpies – is their gamesmanship, according to their manager.
“Experience is very important in these situations,” Conte said. “When you are suffering, I was a player and you take the ball and you put it outside the stadium. So that you can breathe or if you have [an] injury you stay (down).
“I see many, many teams in England, they understand the moment when they are suffering. One player stops, wastes time. In this period you breathe. Your mind becomes clear again. This is experience.
“The team that is used to winning, they have everything and experience is also important. You can’t buy experience. You can only improve by playing, playing, playing, facing situations and finding solutions.
“If you are suffering a lot you have to understand that maybe it is not the right moment to continue playing from the back. Go up, with a long ball, fight for the second ball. These are the types of situations where we can improve and we are working on these aspects.”
Saka’s ‘robustness’ key to good form
Mikel Arteta has previously called on Bukayo Saka to be more ruthless, more of a “killer” on the pitch – now the 21-year-old is reaching those levels and the Arsenal knows why.
Asked what has led to improvements in the areas highlighted by Arteta in the past, Arteta pointed at his temple: “Here. Robustness is in your mind.
“The gym is very important but what happens in your brain I think is more important.
“How much you want it, how tough you want to be with yourself, how pushy you want to be with yourself and what you do to get to that level.”
Saka has been almost an ever-present for Arsenal this season, missing just 184 minutes of football across all competitions, but hobbled off with a calf issue towards the end of Thursday’s Europa League win over PSV.
Just a kick, Arteta revealed afterwards as he explained conversations with Southgate and other national managers are picking up pace with the World Cup looming.
“We have spoken to many of them,” he added.
“It is great for both managers to have an update on where the players are not only physically but mentally, issues that they have had, things that we insist from them and what helps a player, what brings them down.
“I think it is really important communication and we are trying to build those relationships.”
Both Arteta and Saka both recently spoke of their confidence that a new contract would soon be signed at Arsenal, part of a process to tie down their main men to fresh terms – an operation that continued when defender Gabriel Magalhaes signed a new, long-term deal on Friday afternoon.
Klopp hails ‘incredibly important’ Gomez
Jurgen Klopp has underlined the importance of Joe Gomez to Liverpool and is just praying the versatile defender enjoys an injury-free run in order to fulfill his potential.
His time at Liverpool has been blighted by long-term injuries – he suffered an ACL tear in 2015-16, needed ankle surgery in 2017-18, sustained a fractured leg in 2018-19 and then ruptured a tendon in his knee while on England duty in 2020-21.
But Klopp has never lost faith in the 25-year-old.
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“Joe is for us an incredibly important player,” he said. “He can show in two different positions that he can play at an exceptionally high level.
“He has been here longer than I have and is still a young man, that shows you how long he’s been here. Liverpool is definitely his club, he loves it and committed to it with a new contract.
“He is a top-class player and I hope, like I do for all the players, that he can stay injury-free and fulfill his full potential. If not, then you always start new and that is always not helpful.
“He’s had a few too many injuries in his career but maybe he can go forever from here – that would be perfect.”
With England defenders dropping like flies at the moment, Gomez’s versatility and improving form could yet give Gareth Southgate some food for thought as he ponders his World Cup squad.
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