The FA are keen to appoint Arsene Wenger as England’s new manager when his contract expires at the end of the season, but Gunners hero Robert Pires believes the position would not be the right one for his old coach.

The Frenchman recently celebrated 20 years in charge of the north London club and is widely hailed as one of the elite managers in world football after a glittering spell at Highbury and the Emirates Stadium.

The London Evening Standard claim that, with his contract due to expire at the end of this season and his future as of yet undecided, the FA are keeping tabs on him as they gear up to replace Sam Allardyce long-term after his shock exit last week.

However, Pires is not sure international management would be the right direction for the 66-year-old, who, he says, still loves the everyday nature of club football:

“I speak with Arsene Wenger every morning and we haven’t spoken about this,” Pires (as quoted by the LES) said at the Leaders In Sport Business Summit.

“Of course a lot of people want to see him manage England and they certainly need a manager like him. Everybody knows he’s a great person and a great manager.

“It would be a great opportunity for England, I don’t know if it would be for Arsene Wenger. It’s not the same job, club or country.

“This guy loves the pitch every morning. It’s a passion. It’s an obsession. It’s not really the same when you manage a country.

“If he takes this job he would need to adapt to the new challenge, it’s not really the same.”

Pires, who was a member of the 2003/04 ‘Invincibles’ Arsenal team went on to reveal that he hopes his former gaffer will stay on as the Gunners’ boss past this season:

“I hope he will continue with Arsenal. Arsenal need Arsene Wenger.”

Group A could be pretty much done and dusted by the time the clock strikes midnight. With Arsenal travelling to Ludogorets and Paris Saint-Germain heading to Basel, qualification could be achieved by the two away sides, leaving Ludogorets and FC Basel to compete for the Europa League spot. The expectation is that the Gunners, along with PSG, will be left to fight it out for the top spot in the group after a comfortable victory in Bulgaria.Victory for the Gunners would take them to 10 points in the group and secure yet another season of Champions League knockout football. An unbeaten domestic run since defeat to Liverpool on the opening day of the season makes Arsenal one of Europe’s form sides. Attacking football has been flowing, while the defence has looked its most secure in years. Everything is bobbing along swimmingly for Arsene Wenger and his team, but there are faint, weakly-flashing warning lights that should cause some concern.The home draw with Middlesbrough, which could have easily ended in an embarrassing defeat, has been swept under the carpet somewhat. Aitor Karanka’s team managed to stifle Arsenal when in possession and spring a catalogue of devastating counter-attacks that could easily have resulted in the Gunners conceding several times. Adama Traore’s pace had Arsenal defensively uncertain and the Middlesbrough defence was resolute to avoid being pulled apart by the fluid movement of Arsenal’s front four.Then, away to Sunderland last weekend, Arsenal were not quite the ruthless unit we had seen earlier in the month. A final 4-1 victory was well-deserved, but a brief scare something the Gunners should never have allowed when Petr Cech conceded a penalty and Jermain Defoe converted. Chances were created throughout a dominant first half, but such opportunities were not turned into goals, leaving the door ajar for the most unlikely of Sunderland comebacks.The scare was brief thanks to Olivier Giroud’s goal with his first touch, but those flashes of vulnerability is an area of concern. Creating chances was no problem for Arsenal, taking them was the real issue until they were kicked into life by Sunderland’s equaliser.

Arsenal’s woes in November have historically condemned their season to disappointment. Difficulty to kill games off, like last weekend, along with puzzling team selections from Wenger have made this a challenging time of year. Ludogorets proved their ability to trouble Arsenal in the first leg, despite ending up on the end of a thrashing. Lapses in defensive concentration or allowing the game to meander could easily see Arsenal caught off guard.

The temptation, with qualification looking so likely, will be for Wenger to rest players who have started regularly. But Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and the central-defensive pairing of Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent KoscielnyÂmust all begin the match in Razgrad. There is a time and a place for rotation, but a potentially season-changing away Champions League fixture certainly isn’t it.

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Chelsea 5-0 Everton. Chelsea FIVE…. Everton NIL. As far as statements of intent in the title race this early in the season go, Antonio Conte’s side sent out a serious one against a Toffees side many were tipping to cause an upset before kick-off with a resounding win.From the moment Eden Hazard’s opener went in after 18 minutes the London club didn’t look back, with Marcos Alonso, Diego Costa the Belgian again and Pedro completing the victory with 25 minutes to spare. Indeed, Conte was able to withdraw some of his key men before the final whistle and play exhibition football as the Merseysiders desperately willed the final whistle to come and put them out of their mystery.It’s often hard to learn much from such huge margins of victory, but we at FFC Towers took a lot from this one, and here are FIVE things we learnt…

Everton have no chance of a top four finish

Traditionally we start these pieces with the winning side in focus, but the way Everton were played off the park this evening was, arguably, the biggest story, The Toffees had been talked up as outsiders in the race for the top four earlier this season, but on the evidence of this showing, there’s no chance of that!

Pedro is flourishing…

Much of the talk surrounding this Chelsea revival has centred around Diego Costa’s goals and Eden Hazard’s rejuvenated form. Indeed, even Victor Moses and David Luiz have been spoken about extensively, but Pedro gets somewhat overlooked. The Spaniard’s Blues career has not been the success he would have hoped for, but in Conte’s 3-4-3 set-up he appears to be thriving, with the license to drift inside coaxing performances akin to those he produced at Barcelona out of him.

Chelsea: title contenders

Even though Chelsea won all of their games in October and kept four clean sheets in the process in league action, they haven’t really been talked about extensively in the title debate. Much of the focus has been on Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool – who all entered the weekend level at the summit on 23 points – but with this win, and the Citizens’ dropping of points at home to Middlesbrough, Conte’s Blues moved to the top.

They may fall from their perch after Arsenal and Liverpool play, but after their big losses to the aforementioned two sides in September, being top of the tree now means they really have to be taken seriously.

Idrissa Gueye is vital for Everton

Everton were pulled apart all evening long by Chelsea, whose attacking players really thrived in the space Koeman’s side afforded them. Costa received the ball with alarming regularity while Hazard and Pedro were both allowed to drift around, really highlighting Gueye’s contributions to this Toffees team. The holding midfielder was suspended for the Chelsea clash and although his replacement, Tom Cleverley, is by no means a poor player, his lack of mobility and defensive responsibility was felt.

Hazard’s quality should never have been doubted

Hazard’s 2015/16 was a disaster. The Belgian was, like most Chelsea players, off the boil, leading many to suggest that was no longer among the Premier League’s elite heading into this term. However, he’s silenced all of the critics already, with his second goal against Everton his seventh of the season… one more than he notched across the entirety of the last campaign.

Another win and top of the table, Arsenal gave Chelsea something to think about with a 3-1 win over Stoke City at the Emirates yesterday.

Coming from behind, the Gunners had to work hard for the three points and despite a slow start eventually showed their quality and ability to punish Premier League sides.

Arsene Wenger must be a happy right now after also topping the UEFA Champions League group midweek.

Is it dangerous to suggest Arsenal could win the title? They haven’t been in form as relentless as this for years and they don’t look like slowing down anytime soon.

Gunners fans won’t want us to jinx it but Chelsea aside, there hasn’t been a better team in the league this season.

It’s going to be an exciting festive season in the Premier League.

Here are FIVE lessons that can be taken from Arsenal’s win over Stoke…

Ozil continues his transformation

Ozil has made only two Premier League assists this season. You make think that’s a bad thing considering he achieved 19 last season but that’s not the whole picture.

Ozil has been transformed into more of a goal-scorer than a goal-maker. His looping header over Grant was his 9th of the season, besting his total last season despite having played 25 games less.

He could end up one of Arsenal’s top scorers for the season and it’s a credit to both him and Wenger for finding a new role in the team.

Arsenal have missed Bellerin

Hector Bellerin returned from injury and showed why Arsenal fans have been dying for him to return to the side.

He was only on the pitch for a matter of minutes before he made an overlapping run down the right hand side and was picked out by Alexis Sanchez, then finding Theo Walcott with a slick cross that was fired in to equalise.

It highlighted the quality he brings to the side, genuine width from deep. Useful when playing defences that sit in against you.

Xhaka is an enigma

You would be hard pushed to say Granit Xhaka had a poor game in the Arsenal midfield, however he did have his issues. It was his rash challenge on Joe Allen that conceded the penalty which was stuck away with aplomb by Charlie Adam.

That could have been a disaster for the Gunners. Thankfully for them Xhaka went on to show his ability and was instrumental in the build-up to Arsenal’s equaliser.

He kept Wenger’s midfield motoring all day and ended up being important to the win.

Maybe more composure in your own box next time though, Granit?

The Gunners have grit

It’s not easy to pick up a win in the Premier League. It’s much harder when you ship a preventable goal.

Wenger’s side have a spirit and grit about them that we haven’t seen for a number of seasons and look well placed to continue their incredible unbeaten run. They haven’t lost in the league since the opening day against Liverpool.

Even when they get knocked down, they’ll come again and show you what they’re all about.

In poor seasons you could never argue Arsenal didn’t have ability, but it’s this new determination that is so impressive about the side this season.

Arsenal can be champions

There’s no stopping this Arsenal team at the moment. They went to the top of the table, albeit for only a day most likely.

Still it shows they are keeping pace with the best England has to offer well into December.

The Gunners have a massive week ahead, away to Everton before travelling to Guardiola’s City next Sunday. Perhaps that will tell us more about Arsenal’s title ambitions.

There was something about Saturday’s performance though, a steely quality that you don’t see in teams that won’t be in about it at the end of the season.

Alan Pardew was sacked as manager of Crystal Palace on Thursday following a dismal run of form.

The Eagles have won just one of their last 11 Premier League games and are one just point above the relegation zone as we enter the busy festive period.

But it isn’t just the recent sequence of results that has cost Pardew his job – the south London outfit have taken just 26 points from the 36 top flight games they have faced in 2016.

That came after the former Newcastle boss made a brilliant start with Palace, leading them from the relegation places to a 10th-placed finish in the 2014/15 season – their best placing in the Premier League era.

Former England boss Sam Allardyce has emerged as the favourite succeed Pardew in the Palace dugout and its hard to dispute the logic; the 62-year-old is an expert in staving off relegation from the top flight.

But not every Palace fan is sold on the idea, to say the least, and neither are we at Football FanCast. Whilst Allardyce is very good at what he does, he certainly isn’t going to revolutionise the south London club.

With that in mind, we’ve taken a look at four alternatives to Big Sam.

Chris Coleman

Following his success as manager of the Wales national team, Coleman, who previously spent four years as a Palace player, is one of the leading contenders to take over from Pardew.

The 46-year-old unexpectedly led Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 during the summer and after that achievement, he may want to test his ability in the Premier League again while his stock is still high, having managed Fulham in the top flight from 2003-2007.

Gary Rowett

The 42-year-old is considered to be one of the best young British managers in the game and many are still shocked he was sacked by Birmingham City earlier this month, with the club lying in seventh in the Championship standings.

Considering the Blues’ budget compared to a number of other sides in England’s second tier, Rowett did a brilliant job and deserves a crack in the Premier League. But whether Steve Parish will take a chance on a boss who hasn’t managed in the top flight remains to be seen.

Chris Hughton

The Brighton manager appears to go under the radar season after season, but he is once again doing a magnificent job on the south coast this term.

The Seagulls are currently second in the Championship – eight points ahead of third-placed Reading – and they look on course for a minimum top six finish.

However, as Brighton are one of Palace’s biggest rivals, it remains to be seen whether the Eagles would make such a controversial appointment while they are struggling at the wrong end of the Premier League table.

Roy Hodgson

Yes, you read right. While Hodgson might not be the most popular manager following England’s dismal Euro 2016 campaign, he would be a relatively safe appointment for Steve Parish and Crystal Palace.

The 69-year-old was born in Croydon and spent his youth career with the Eagles. Following his success managing similarly-sized clubs Fulham and West Brom in the Premier League, he could be given a chance to make an impact at Selhurst Park.

Having the final say on the Premier League this weekend is Chelsea vs Hull City – a fixture which sees the table toppers play hosts to a side who entered matchday 22 in the relegation zone.

Indeed, it’s been a difficult season for the Tigers, who are already onto their third manager of the campaign after Steve Bruce’s resignation in the summer and Mike Phelan’s dismissal at the start of January.

Replacement Marco Silva has gone some way to turning his side’s results around, picking up two wins from his three fixtures in charge. But the relatively unknown Portuguese faces his biggest challenge yet this weekend – a trip to the Premier League champions in waiting.

In direct contrast to the Humberside outfit, Chelsea have been a length ahead the rest in the Premier League this season, with Antonio Conte’s switch to a 3-4-3 formation proving the difference in the title race.

But in the ever-unpredictable world of Premier League football, that certainly doesn’t guarantee a Chelsea win in Sunday’s 4.30pm kickoff. So, who are the bookies backing? How will injuries affect team selections? What do the managers have to say for themselves and where will the game be lost and won?

We answer those questions, and many more, in our all-in-one preview…

Favourites, form and prior encounters

Chelsea win 2/11 – Hull win 14/1

Draw 6/1

Unsurprisingly, Chelsea are the bookies’ favourites for this one by quite some distance. Not only are the pole position west Londoners a staggering 17 places and 36 points above Hull in the Premier League table, but they also boast home advantage for Sunday’s clash. The Blues have taken 27 points from a possible 30 at Stamford Bridge this term – their only non-win coming in the form of a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool all the way back in September.

The last six encounters don’t give Tigers fans much cause for optimism either; Chelsea have won five of them, the only exception being a 1-1 draw between the two sides on Humberside back in 2010. In fact, from their 45 meetings, the Tigers have only claimed four wins – two of which predate World War One. If there’s one ray of hope for Hull, however, its that they travel to Stamford Bridge on the back of two wins from their last three games – a 2-0 over Swansea in the FA Cup and a 3-1 demolition of Bournemouth last weekend.

Courtesy of SkyBet and Whoscored.

Injuries and Suspensions

Don’t be fooled by the above – Chelsea boast a clean bill of health for the weekend. Of course, Diego Costa was ruled out of the 3-0 win over Leicester City with a ‘back strain’, but few have bought the story amid consistent reports of a bust-up with Antonio Conte and a potential move to the Chinese Super League. But the Premier League top scorer held ‘amicable’ talks with Conte earlier this week and has since returned to training, so we’re expecting him to lead the line against Hull. The west Londoners are also suspension free, so Conte has the full squad at his disposal.

Hull, on the other hand, are thwarted by a raft of injury problems that has further depleted an already under-staffed squad – suggesting another tough afternoon for the Humberside outfit, who will also be without AFCON duo Dieumerci M’Bokani and Ahmed Elmohamady as well as Jake Livermore – who has rather incredibly been sold to West Brom. Marco Silva will be most desperate for Robert Snodgrass to overcome a muscle complaint in time for kickoff; the Scotland international has been their talisman this season, providing seven and scoring three of their 20 league goals.

Courtesy of PhysioRoom.

Likely Starting XIs

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With Diego Costa returning to the fold, it’s the usual suspects for Chelsea – Thibaut Courtois in goal, a three-man defence which has kept eleven clean sheets already this season and an overtly industrious, box-to-box midfield four. The only real area of contention is the right slot in the forward line, which feels like a toss-up between Willian and Pedro. With Hull likely to sit incredibly deep, however, we’re going with the latter – the former Barcelona winger offers real quality in tight spaces, whereas Willian’s ability to eat up ground on the break won’t be quite so effective.

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Considering Hull picked up just their fourth win of the season last time out, face a host of injury problems and continue to fill their bench with members of the U23 squad, we’re expecting Marco Silva to name an unchanged line-up for the visit to Stamford Bridge. The only point of debate is whether new signings Evandro and Oumar Niasse can force their way into the starting XI after featuring from the bench in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth last weekend.

The Key Battle – Snodgrass vs Chelsea

To say Hull are a one-man team would be unfair, but it seems any result other than a hefty defeat at Stamford Bridge will require a moment of inspiration from Robert Snodgrass. As previously mentioned, the Scottish attacker has played a part in exactly half of his side’s 20 Premier League goals this term and his performances in recent months have verged upon talismanic, keeping the Tigers’ survival hopes alive. He’s Hull’s likeliest source of a goal, so if Chelsea can contain the midfielder, logic suggests they’ll stroll to a pretty comfortable win.

Word from the managers

Antonio Conte on Diego Costa…

“I think the player wants to stay at Chelsea, he is happy to stay here and play for us. I don’t see any problem with our team. I heard a lot of speculation about Diego, but now the most important thing is he trained with us this week, he does not have any pain in his back and can play.

“He is an important player for us and we all know this. When he stays in good form he has always played with me.”

Marco Silva on Chelsea…

“Chelsea are having a fantastic season. They have a very good coach in Antonio Conte and it will be a tough test for us to go to Stamford Bridge. It will be difficult, but we will go there and look to compete. We will need to produce a good team performance. We will have to show our organisation and compete for the full 90 minutes.

“Nothing has been done differently in our preparations this week because we are playing Chelsea. We have done the normal things that we have done for the previous games against Swansea, Manchester United and Bournemouth.

“The only difference this week is that we have had more time to prepare ahead of the game. That is important for me and my players. They have had more time to work with my ideas and hopefully we will see the benefits on Sunday.”

As lovely as it was for Arsenal to beat Swansea, they face another tough fixture this weekend. The comeback against Bournemouth is still fresh in the memory, but for the recovery rather than the failure to notch three points. Now it is the turn of Burnley to try to topple Arsene Wenger’s recovered Gunners, who are just one point off of second place ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

Burnley’s difficulty this season has been finding any sort of form away from home. Their form at Turf Moor makes them one of the most formidable sides in the league, yet, once they leave their Lancashire comforts, they look the team many expected them to be. Not just failing to pick up points, the Clarets are hardly even scoring away from home this season. That information, one may think, would suggest that this will be a walkover for Arsenal. And it might be.

With Spurs facing Manchester City and Chelsea about to embark on a challenging run of fixtures – including a clash with Arsenal – this match is an open goal for Arsenal. Heavy favourites, this is not just a chance to make ground or leapfrog their North London rivals, it is a blank canvas to make a real statement as he we head into a decisive month of Premier League football.

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Burnley, however, are a team built to frustrate. Sean Dyche’s approach could be perfect to restrict this free-flowing Arsenal side. With Alexis Sanchez experiencing a relative dip in form, the Gunners look like they can be calmed. The deep defence, the rigid midfield line and the obscene form of Tom Heaton make Burnley a plucky underdog. And that status is, after all, what Dyche loves the most. It is what his Burnley teams have been built upon. They have enough threat to expose Arsenal on the counter-attack potentially, too.

The Clarets should not be underestimated, despite their dreadful away record. While, on the one hand, you feel like Arsenal could easily win this fixture by a clear margin, there is always an niggling feeling that Burnley could produce a shock. A tenth-placed side taking points from the fourth-placed team would not usually be regarded as a surprise, mind, but these are unusual circumstances.

With such a golden opportunity, these are the kind of fixtures that Arsenal would find a way to mess up. If it isn’t the result that delivers a knockout blow to their season, it would be a suspension or an injury. Maybe this time of year Arsenal will push on towards the title, or leave their collapse a little later. Or maybe, just maybe, the Gunners can build something. The demolition of Swansea was a nice starting point, following that with a similar result and performance against Burnley would be the foundations of a genuine title challenge.

What appears to be a routine win for Arsenal can become so much more than that. Burnley have frustrated the Gunners’ top six rivals throughout this campaign, which would amplify the significance of a heavy win for Wenger’s men. Failure to pick up all three points, on the other hand, would be further confirmation that Arsenal have not changed.

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Arsenal are safely through to the 5th Round of the FA Cup after blowing away Southampton at St. Mary’s. The Gunners blitzed the Saints in the first half and the man central to all the action was an incredibly impressive Danny Welbeck.

The match was Welbeck’s first start since suffering a horror injury against Man City last May and if there were any worries about his match sharpness then they were soon put to bed.

His exquisite double gave Arsenal a 2-0 cushion before he set up Theo Walcott to make it three before half-time. There was no way back for Southampton after that and Arsenal saw out the game with ease in the second half, Walcott getting his hat-trick to complete a 5-0 rout.

Welbeck now looks set to challenge for a starting spot in the Premier League given his notable impact. His chip over Lewis was of such a quality that you’d expect to see it only from a striker banging in goals week-in, week-out. A cheeky nutmeg of the Saints goalkeeper for his second was just as audacious.

He was substituted just after the hour, an indication that Wenger is rightly introducing him gradually to the first team set-up.

The Gunners boss now has a welcome headache on his hands about who should make up his front four at home to Watford on Tuesday night.

It’s a performance that understandably delighted Arsenal fans, who have been waiting a long time to see him start a game. They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his showing…

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Borussia Dortmund are set to hand Liverpool and former boss Jurgen Klopp a huge blow in the transfer market by winning the race for Borussia Monchengladbach’s Mahmoud Dahoud, German outlet Bild reports.

What’s the word?

Syrian-born German ace Mahmoud Dahoud has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League during recent transfer windows but it seems the Borussia Monchengladbach star will remain in the Bundesliga, as Borussia Dortmund edge closer to his services.

The 21-year-old has attracted a wealth of interest over the past 12 months, with TalkSport stating both Bayern Munich and Juventus also hold interest, but Dortmund are set to win the race- and could pay just £8.4m for the young talent.

It hands a huge hammer-blow to Liverpool, who will now need to look elsewhere in the market.

Why Dortmund?

With the World Cup just over a year away, Mahmoud Dahoud will have aspirations of breaking into Germany’s senior squad ahead of the international tournament and a switch to the Premier League may affect his chances, as he’d have to settle into the intensity of English football.

Remaining with Dortmund is therefore a safer choice and Dahoud can expert to be nurtured excellently by Klopp’s former side, who have a strong reputation for developing young talents and already boast the likes of Christian Pulisic, Ousmane Dembele, Emre Mor and Julian Weigl in their young contingent.

Dortmund could also face high-profile departures this summer, with both Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang linked with exits, which will hand Dortmund money to spend and leave them with gaps in their squad to fill.

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Had you given Manchester United fans their current state of affairs as an option at the beginning of the season, it surely would have a hard job trying to find many who would have taken it.

And rightly so, fans have a right to expect big things when your club spends nearly £150 million on new players, as well as bring in one of the most renowned managers in world football in the form of former Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.

While United have an EFL Cup final at Wembley to look forward to this weekend, as well as remaining competitive in both the FA Cup and the Europa League, the Red Devils currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League, two points adrift of the top four.

Fans would surely have been hoping United would challenge for the title this year, though with their new-look squad taking a little longer to gel than expected, a top four finish is about the best they can hope for now.

If Jose Mourinho and company can bag themselves a piece of silverware (or even two), as well as finish in the top four, that is a season that must be deemed a successful one.

Here are the FOUR fixtures Manchester United must win in order to qualify for Europe’s elite competition and make that dream come true …

Vs. Everton , Apr 4

Everton are in a fine run of form since the turn of the year. Had they kept these kind of performances up across the season in the same rich vein, the Toffees would have almost certainly been challenging for the top four.

Ronald Koeman’s side are one place and seven points behind Manchester United and will be keen to keep their good run of form going until May. The sides, who currently sit 6th and 7th in the league, meet in early April in what will be a fixture that could determine who will be the closest challenger to the top four come the end of the season.

A must win for United and Mourinho.

Vs. Burnley, Apr 22

Playing Chelsea a week before this fixture may certainly be a big one, but not one we would say United absolutely MUST win.

At Turf Moor on the 22nd however, United need to take home all three points. Burnley have a fantastic home record, though it is getting to the point at the season in which the bigger clubs – and no disrespect to Burnley who have been fantastic this season – need to capitalise on the so-called weaker sides.

Sean Dyche’s side will be a tough cookie to break down, but United will have to find a way.

Vs. Arsenal, May 6

This really is a crunch game.

Should results go their way in the other fixtures beforehand, the winner of this will occupy the last spot in the final four. While not as glamorous a prize as the league titles these two titans of English football used to contest, it’s another interesting narrative to one of the biggest games this country has to offer.

Arsenal have been lacklustre again over the past few months, though as they so often do towards the very end of the season, will likely rediscover some kind of form in order to ensure they don’t finish outside the top four for the first time in nearly two decades.

United lose this, and the top four dream is over. Almost ….

Vs. Tottenham, May 13

For some, playing both north London giants so quickly after each other might seem like two horrid fixtures towards the end of the season, but for others, it can be seen as two opportunities.

Should United lose to Arsenal the week before, the game at White Hart Lane the following weekend represents a chance at retribution and one final shot at the top four.

Obviously, that is completely dependent on Spurs form up until this game, though the final few weeks could see some chopping and changing with Arsenal, Spurs and United, all of whom are in the fray for the to four, play off against each other.

It’s also the last ever Premier League game at White Hart Lane, just to add more fuel to the fire.