Premier League news: Arteta plays down Rice’s tunnel spat with coach, Dyche seeks striker

1. Rice and Stuivenberg ‘all good’, says Arteta

Mikel Arteta insisted the relationship between Declan Rice and one of his top coaches is “all good” following a heated exchange in the tunnel at Stamford Bridge. Television footage emerged after Arsenal’s 3-2 Carabao Cup victory at Chelsea on Wednesday of Rice and the assistant manager, Albert Stuivenberg, embroiled in a tense conversation.

Rice’s teammate Gabriel intervened in the apparent disagreement which took place as the Arsenal players and coaching staff headed out for the second half of the semi-final tie. Rice was substituted late in the second half and shared a long embrace with Stuivenberg before taking his place in the Arsenal dugout.

Asked to clear up the situation between Rice and Stuivenberg, who has been at Arsenal since 2019, Arteta said: “All sorted, all good. The good thing is that by the time I found out, the problem was resolved so that’s very good.”

Arteta’s side will now turn their attention back to the Premier League – and an away trip to Nottingham Forest – before heading to Italy to face Inter in the Champions League. Arsenal are six points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and have won all six matches in Europe so far.

Pressed on whether Arsenal could be creating something special, Arteta continued: “We are building very good momentum and belief comes from performances and the level of consistency that we have shown throughout 32 games already this season, and what we did at Stamford Bridge. It should help us to be very convinced that we have the ability to do that, but the reality is that you have to show it in every game and there’s still so much to happen, but we are glad that we are still alive in the four competitions.” PA Media

2. Burnley can’t switch off, laments Parker

Scott Parker admitted occasional lapses in concentration have been a “killer” for his struggling Burnley side this season and they have to cut them out as they fight for survival. Nine defeats in a 12-match winless run have left the Clarets eight points from safety and although the manager believes the draw at home to Manchester United, followed by FA Cup progress against Millwall, boosted confidence, he knows they cannot afford another extended period without victories.

Saturday’s task will not be easy as they head to Anfield to face the defending champions, Liverpool, whom they lost to in September after conceding a penalty in the fifth minute of stopping time. Parker has called for the focus to be sharpened.

“It was a painful defeat at Turf Moor earlier in the season – there were a few results in that early part of the season that hurt,” he said. “There will always be learning for us as a group and these players. We need to learn quickly. You need to understand what you are up against and you can’t switch off as this league is a deadly league. This year, at times, we have switched off at certain moments and it’s been a killer for us.” PA Media

3. Dyche seeks striker after Kalimuendo exit

Sean Dyche is seeking a striker in the transfer window since Nottingham Forest only have Igor Jesus available, with Chris Wood out following knee surgery and Arnaud Kalimuendo joining Eintracht Frankfurt on loan.

Dyche said before Saturday’s visit of the league leaders, Arsenal: “The obvious one is the striker area because we are a bit short there. The club felt it was a really good deal for Kalimuendo to go out. We are looking at various options to bring in. That’s the obvious one that jumps off the page. You’ve got to be ready for the shifting sands of the market.

“We’ve got to be proactive where we can be and reactive if things change. I think the club are well aware of that. I’ve had a good meeting from the owner all the way through the structure about what we think we’ve got and what we think we need. It’s aligning the right people and getting the deals done, which is often the hardest part – the actual process of getting the deal done and getting the player here.” PA Media

4. Silva wary of Calvert-Lewin threat

Marco Silva never had any doubts Dominic Calvert-Lewin could cut it in the Premier League. The 28-year-old is enjoying an impressive campaign for Leeds, having scored eight goals in his last nine appearances to help Daniel Farke’s side push themselves clear of the relegation zone. Calvert-Lewin played under Silva at Everton and will come up against his old manager when Leeds host Fulham at Elland Road on Saturday.

“It is not the first time he has performed at this level. When you talk about performing, he is a striker who can score in many different ways,” Silva said. “When you look through his career, when he is playing, the numbers are there. Game by game, he is getting better and showing he is a proven Premier League striker.”

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has tallied an impressive eight goals in his last nine appearances for Leeds

Fulham head to Leeds looking to extend their own impressive six-match unbeaten run in all competitions, but Silva knows just what a tough task that will be against Farke’s rejuvenated team. “It is never easy to play there,” the Fulham manager said. “To play at Elland Road, we all know what it means – the home support is unbelievable and they make it hard for the opposition. They have been very strong at home, [but also] achieving results away from home as well. They have the quality, the organisation, the manager and the individual players.” PA Media

5. Nuno ‘cannot afford mistakes’ in window

Nuno Espírito Santo has told the West Ham outcasts James Ward-Prowse and Callum Wilson to “go and pursue their careers” after being frozen out at the London Stadium. Wilson has not featured in Nuno’s last two squads and the former Newcastle striker is understood to be in the process of cancelling his contract amid links with Celtic and Everton.

“We are working on both ins and outs,” said Nuno. “I feel that we need to rebalance our squad, so that means bringing more options to some positions, and finding solutions for the players who are not having so many minutes to go and pursue their careers. We are working very hard as a club to find the right players, in a very tricky transfer window. So, we have to make good decisions, and we cannot afford to make mistakes.”

Nuno has already brought in the strikers Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe at a combined cost of around £45m. Further evidence that the Portuguese coach is not in any imminent danger of the sack, even if West Ham are plunged deeper into relegation trouble with a defeat at Tottenham on Saturday, came when the club allowed him to appoint the veteran Spaniard Paco Jémez to his coaching staff.

“It’s one more person to help us. The coaching staff now has more numbers, which means more ideas and more energy,” said Nuno. “Paco is an experienced coach, and he’ll bring something new to the set-up.” PA Media

6. Iraola needs to plug leaky defence

Andoni Iraola admitted Bournemouth’s leaky defence away from home is giving him a headache. Bournemouth visit Brighton on Monday, having conceded 29 goals in 10 matches on their travels this season – the worst record in the Premier League. In their last three top-flight matches away from the Vitality Stadium, the Cherries have drawn 4-4 at Manchester United and 2-2 at Chelsea either side of being thrashed 4-1 at Brentford.

Iraola said: “It definitely concerns me. We are a team that scores a lot of goals and concedes a lot of goals. If you want to be a very good team you cannot concede the number of goals we are conceding. This is the main reason we have not been able to get the results we want lately because we have been scoring a lot of goals and not getting the results.

“It’s very difficult to do the things we do – to go to Chelsea and score two goals or Old Trafford and score four goals and not win. If you score two, three or four goals away, you should get more wins and we are not getting them because we are conceding goals. If we don’t improve this, it’s going to be difficult to get more wins.” PA Media