Jamie Vardy stole the spotlight once again this past weekend in the Premier League as he extended his record goal scoring run. At the same time, he helped Leicester remain at the top of the table with a 1-1 draw against Manchester United. While Leicester’s Cinderella run continued, Arsenal suffered a major double blow that could have a major impact on its Premier League title hopes moving forward. Here is a look at the most interesting news and notes from around the soccer world this week.
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Injuries Rock Arsenal
The Gunners missed out on the opportunity to move into a tie with Leicester and Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table when they were held to a 1-1 draw with Norwich but the even bigger blow was the injuries they suffered. There are some real concerns as to how they will impact the club’s title hopes moving forward. Alexis Sanchez registered an assist for Arsenal but things quickly took a turn for the worse when he hobbled off the field with a hamstring injury. That wasn’t the only injury concern that Arsene Wenger was forced to deal with either as defender Laurent Koscielny went down. Arsenal is already in deep with a tough road against a stacked top four in the Premier League table and they will need both Sanchez and Koscielny to get back to full strength very quickly. They are only two points off the pace-setters in the EPL table and they’ve had a relatively easy time scoring goals (24 in 14 games). That could change if the injuries are long-lasting.
Bayern’s Thiago Set To Miss Time
Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara has already withdrawn from the Spain national side’s date with Belgium after aggravating an injury to his right knee this week. He could be out for some time. Thiago limped off the field in Spain’s 2-0 win over England and a scan on the knee showed swelling to his medial collateral ligament. The 24-year-old has missed time for Bayern Munich and didn’t play in last year’s World Cup finals in Brazil after needing surgery to repair ligament damage in his knee. According to reports, Bayern has already started looking for help as they try to find an option that could replace Thiago in their lineup for the immediate future. The good news is they can weather that type of blow for now as they are in first place with 40 points (13 wins, one draw) through 14 games this season.
Nuno Steps Down As Valencia’s Manager
There was some major news out of Spain this week as well with Portuguese coach Nuno Espirito Santo stepping down as the manager at Valencia. That comes on the heels of a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Sevilla in La Liga action. Nuno told reporters after the game that he had spoken with ownership before the game about his decision and made it final following the defeat. Valencia has underachieved this season under Nuno’s guidance with 19 points through 13 games and they currently sit ninth in the La Liga table. There is still time for Valencia to turn things around as they are just two points out of fifth and five points out of fourth. However, both sides felt that it was time for change and the result was Nuno making the decision to step down as manager.
Gerrard Back Training With Liverpool
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has already ruled out any potential return to his former club but he will train with them over the next couple of weeks as part of his offseason regimen. Gerrard agreed to train with Liverpool during the MLS offseason before making his return to the United State. When you consider the state the Reds are in right now (sixth place in the table), you have to believe some fans would love to see Gerrard back on the pitch for them, even if it will never happen.
