Kudus, who had an impressive debut season in England’s top-flight league, selected three of his West Ham teammates along with his Ghanaian compatriot Thomas Partey.
Despite Partey’s limited appearances last season due to injury, his influence on the Arsenal squad was crucial, contributing to their second-place finish.
“Yeah, my countryman TP, I think I will go for him as a defensive midfielder. He’s calm on the ball, controls the game, and I just like him,” he said while forming his squad.
Emerson Palmieri, Lucas Paqueta, and Jarrod Bowen—West Ham’s Player of the Season—were selected for the Ultimate Team, with two other Hammers players making the list.
Manchester City’s goalkeeper Ederson was chosen over Alisson, joining Kyle Walker, Virgil Van Dijk, and William Saliba to complete the defense.
Thomas Partey anchors the midfield alongside Paqueta and Kevin De Bruyne.
Man City are hopeful that Kevin De Bruyne will be ready for their important Premier League match against Arsenal on Sunday, according to sources familiar with the situation.
De Bruyne sat out the FA Cup quarterfinal victory over Newcastle United due to a groin injury, which also sidelined him for Belgium’s recent friendlies against Republic of Ireland and England.
However, there’s increasing optimism that the midfielder could be back in contention for the Arsenal game, as he successfully completed a training session with the Under-23s on Tuesday.
Jack Grealish, who was absent from the England squad due to ongoing recovery from a muscle injury, has also been training at the City Football Academy this week.
Medical staff will continue to monitor De Bruyne’s condition, but he is expected to participate in first-team training when it resumes on Thursday. Most of City’s international players are set to return to the club by Friday to prepare for the match against Arsenal.
De Bruyne’s potential return is a welcome development for manager Pep Guardiola, who is concerned about the fitness of Kyle Walker and John Stones.
Walker suffered a hamstring injury during England’s recent defeat to Brazil, while Stones was substituted early in the match against Belgium due to an adductor problem. Although Walker’s injury is not believed to be severe, he faces a race against time to prove his fitness before facing Arsenal.
Meanwhile, sources have informed ESPN that City are displeased with the scheduling of their FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea.
Initially, City anticipated the game to be played on Sunday, April 21, four days after their Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Real Madrid.
However, they have since been informed that the fixture will be held at Wembley on the Saturday, leaving Guardiola and his squad with only three days to recover from the clash with Real Madrid.
Neither Manchester United nor Coventry, the teams in the other semifinal, are involved in European competitions and had initially expected to play on Saturday.
Additionally, City are scheduled to face Brighton at the Amex on April 25 before traveling to Nottingham Forest three days later on April 28.
The club is currently evaluating whether the Belgium international requires surgery for the issue, as stated by manager Pep Guardiola.
During City’s 3-0 victory over Burnley on Friday, De Bruyne was forced to exit the match during the first half after reaggravating the same problem that had prematurely ended his participation in the Champions League final in June.
Looking ahead to his team’s upcoming Super Cup clash against Sevilla in Athens on Wednesday, Guardiola confirmed during a press conference, “It’s a serious injury.”
“We have to decide if he needs surgery or no surgery, but he will be out for a few months. [The decision on surgery will be taken] in the next few days. It will be three of four months [out].”
De Bruyne missed City’s preseason fixtures but made his return in the second half of the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal.
He was picked from the start against Burnley, and ahead of the game, Guardiola said that the 32-year-old “felt good.”
“We could say don’t play, but this injury could happen later,” Guardiola added. “Before I took the decision, I spoke to the doctor, the physiotherapist, and him. He said he felt good.”
Guardiola also suggested City could now step up the search for new recruits in light of De Bruyne’s enforced absence.
Sources have told ESPN that they remain interested in West Ham United’s Lucas Paquetá, although there is a difference in valuation to resolve.
Manchester City’s remarkable display against Real Madrid on May 17 was slightly overshadowed by a momentary clash between Kevin De Bruyne and Pep Guardiola.
Following a loss of possession, De Bruyne seemed to express his frustration towards his manager, but the incident was swiftly resolved as Guardiola embraced him warmly when he was substituted.
In a subsequent explanation, Guardiola emphasized that the entire team, including De Bruyne, was under immense pressure to maintain control of the game after halftime.
He dismissed the altercation as a natural occurrence within the context of a competitive match, as reported by Goal.
Player-manager confrontations are not new in football. Some, like De Bruyne and Guardiola, have been lucky to patch things up, but others still have the same animosity to date.
Sports Brief takes a look at the most heated player-manager confrontations.
1. Alex Ferguson and David Beckham (Manchester United)
The legendaryManchester United manager built his reputation on a zero-tolerance policy to indiscipline no matter how big of a star you are.
He had a couple of clashes with his players, but perhaps the one with Beckham in 2003 stands out from the bunch. The two reportedly almost came to blows in the dressing room, with the midfielder sustaining a cut above his eyebrow, as reported by MEN.
He was thereafter sold to Real Madrid, but the two have since reconciled, with Beckham even insinuating he was possibly at fault.
2. Kepa Arrizabalaga and Maurizio Sarri (Chelsea)
This was partly down to a communication breakdown when Arrizabalaga famously decided to ignore Sarri’s instructions to come off during the Carabao Cup final in 2019.
Sarri wanted to introduce Willy Caballero in the dying minutes of extra time against Manchester City with an eye on the subsequent penalty shootouts. Arrizabalaga stood his ground and failed to win the game for Chelsea.
The World’s most expensive goalkeeper apologised to his coach afterwards, as reported by Sky Sports.
3. Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy (Ireland)
If you know Keane, you know how combative he was during his playing days. Not that he has changed much with his punditry.
He infamously called out Ireland national team boss Mick McCarthy, blasting out his training sessions ahead of the 2002Â World Cup. The former Manchester United skipper was sent home.
4. Nicolas Anelka and Ray Domenech (France)
Another international incident and another player to be sent home from an international tournament. France’s World Cup campaign in South Africa in 2010 was shambolic at best and Anelka’s role will be remembered for years to come.
The experienced striker publicly called out Head Coach Domenech by calling him unprintable names after their defeat to Mexico. The former Chelsea and Real Madrid striker had been asked to play in a position he was not comfortable in, as captured by the Mirror.
He refused to apologise and was sent home as Les Bleus crashed out in the group stage. Anelka has never apologised to date.
5. Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
A list of clashes won’t be complete without Mourinho being mentioned anywhere, will it? The Special One has never been afraid of speaking his mind but in 2018, he was the one doing the listening.
Pogba was infuriated that Manchester United had sat back against Watford instead of attacking against Watford at Old Trafford.
Mourinho did not take the words of the Frenchman lightly and stripped him of the vice-captaincy of the club. As Sky Sports reported, the Portuguese manager, however, maintained that he had no issue with the midfielder.
What next for De Bruyne and Guardiola?
City faithful will be happy there are no lingering issues between Guardiola and De Bruyne as they enter into the final five fixtures of their season. They play Chelsea this weekend with a win enough to guarantee them a fifth title in six years.
They would then wrap up their Premier League campaign against Brighton and Brentford before facing Manchester United in the FA Cup final on June 3. The team will then attempt to win their first Champions League title when they play Inter Milan on June 10.
3 controversial calls in Champions League
De Bruyne’s blueprint was all over the semifinal as he scored a thunderbolt to equalise proceedings in the first leg on May 9.
There was nothing wrong with the Belgian’s shot, only that a few seconds earlier, Bernardo Silva had retrieved the ball after it had crossed the line for a throw-in, but the officials failed to spot it. VAR failed to review the incident and Ancelotti was so furious that he got himself booked.
As Sports Brief reported, there have been more scandalous decisions in the Champions League in the past; goals and decisions that stood that weren’t supposed to.
