Bukayo Saka, Mohamed Sarah, Virgil van Dik, Andre Onana (Getty Images Photos, Athletics, Getty Images)
In his exclusive column on catch-offside, former England striker Stan Colliemore discusses some of the biggest story points of football, including Arsenal and Aston Villa’s Champions League exploits, Liverpool, new contracts for Mohamed Sarah and Virgil van Dick, and criticism of Andre Onana, which ties Liverpool.
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Arsenal can win the Champions League after the loss of Real Madrid
Arsenal was excellent against Real Madrid last night. The damage was done in the first leg with a very aggressive display, but I think that was the difference between the two teams. Arsenal has not been threatened and for them, it is a big step towards their growth. It is not only the Champions League but also the Premier League. That progression is sometimes missing under Mikel Arteta.
It was a better two-legged dismantling of the individual team Real Madrid. It is still unclear whether it can do that against PSG, but they should be confident because I don’t think Aston Villa shows as naive as it did at the key moments of the tie. And they should have more quality with people like Bukayo Saka.
In my opinion, nothing will stop Arsenal from winning the Champions League. Because there are very few between the four remaining teams in the competition. PSG and Barcelona are two teams and have not had much experience at this stage in competition with these teams. Inter Milan is a team that probably didn’t expect anything before.
For Arsenal, I think they need to be even better against PSG than they were against Real Madrid, but can they do that? I think I can.
Unai Emery’s criticism of Rashford’s alternative is misguided
Since arriving at Villa, the majority of Unai Emery’s geniuses have been to make the right decision at the right time, but I think criticism of his replacement in PSG’s second round is a bit unfair. Rashford Wang killed some of the Villa’s momentum, but if Ollie Watkins had come and scored, he wouldn’t have fought his eyelids.
Villa’s downfall to PSG has become a crucial moment across two legs. The decision to cause an Accelerator Disaster in the first game was a naive game, and it contributed to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s goal of making it 2-1. Adding to this, the late goals PSG scored last week and the early opening game at Villa Park on Tuesday were also a costly mistake for them. If these didn’t happen, they might have won the tie, as the comeback was epic.
Villas will learn from now and do better things in Europe in the future. Next season, it will be held again in the Champions League, or if you don’t finish in the top 5th place in the Premier League, it will be the Europa League/UEFA Conference League. They visited big league matches, like Newcastle and Man City, with the teams around them, and like the FA Cup semi-finals against Crystal Palace. We hope that players will finish strong enough to deserve the season, but this may be acceptable if there is wobble at the back of this PSG match.
In the big picture, the villa owners can compete for them for a Champions League location. They are very wealthy and can take the club to the next level. If Emery and Monchi are wise to adopt considering the threat of FFP, they can continue to make progress. And they need to be smart as they will be a lot of clubs in the coming season, considering Man United and Tottenham should bounce back.
Keeping Sarah and Vandik is the best outcome for Liverpool
It’s great that Liverpool retains the services of Mohamed Sarah and Virgil van Dik. For me, it doesn’t matter how much money was offered, given my age. Both can maintain levels for the next 2-3 years, even if they regress slightly from a physical fitness perspective.
In the case of Van Dijk, he can maintain his natural ability to read the match even if he slows down. And with Sarah, I don’t see him losing much of that critical pace a couple of years later. The only thing that both have to be wary of is that they are overestimated. There may be a conversation about it after the 2026 World Cup.
I was doing cartwheels when I was saying that Liverpool would keep Sarah and Vandik but would lose Trent Alexander Arnold. The latter is a great player, but he is less important to Arne Slot’s side than the other two. Conor Bradley is more than a step up, and in terms of going through the output, there are already Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister. However, Liverpool is not the one passing for a long time anyway.
Man United could be criticized as a collective – not just a maiden
It was a difficult time for Andre Onana, but it’s not just him, as Nemanja Matic said last week, who will put that into context. From when I first started watching football in 1977 to the beginning of my days as Alex Ferguson, Man United was extremely average. The main purpose of the team at the time was to stop them from winning the title at Liverpool, not to win their own.
For me, this guy United team is the worst in two generations. They bought Rasmus Hozilund based on being a young and Scandivanian like Ehring Haaland, so they wanted him to play to that level despite having barely played in Atalanta and Denmark. It’s a panic purchase and they’re paying for it now. Mason Mount – Where was he? He was injured most of the time, but when he played he looked terrible from the pace. Can he be claimed as one of Man United’s worst signatures ever? Yes, absolutely.
While we can look at the entire first team team and question whether these players are part of the worst signature in Man United history, it appears that Onana is the only one that draws criticism. That may be because he plays as the goalkeeper, the most important position on the pitch. But he is absolutely right to ask why he is the only one being criticized.
No one has said that Onana should not be criticized. Because he is poor. However, he should be equally criticized compared to other men’s United teammates. And at least he’s committed to playing every week. Where is his criticism?
Missing UCL is not a forest failure
Even if many others were looking at their equipment and thought they would pick up victory here and there, they didn’t expect run-in to be easy for Nottingham Forest this season. There is a small group of online supporters that every club has, and they simply don’t understand football. And by doing so, they don’t realize how difficult it is to get used to — and it’s not just them. I seem to be one of the only critics who cherish this.
The Premier League run-in that I consider to be the last seven or eight matches is one of the most difficult sets of football. It’s basically like a Grand National within another Grand National. It’s much tougher than other leagues like Serie A and LA La Liga. Even teams that have not yet demoted or competed in anything are teams that have not yet competed. If you’re like Liam Dellup from Ipswich, you’re pride, a new contract, or even a summer move.
I have experienced this situation many times when I was a player and the message when the break-in started was that you were playing for something. Whether you’re at the top or bottom of the table is the same, and it’s inherent to British football. And when you are involved in the Top 4/5 title race or battle, your mind begins to play tricks to you, thinking about possible outcomes.
As for forests, one of the achievements of the season is to be fourth in the Premier League at this stage. None of the most optimistic forest advocates would have predicted that they were where they are, and regardless of the remaining weeks before, they should be celebrated for that.
Even if they were not qualified for the Champions League, it’s not a failure or a “bottle job.” If forest fans are thinking about it, you need to give your head a wobble. Soccer doesn’t work that way. The club cannot stand their glory and believe that just because they are there now, they should end up where they are. Ultimately, wherever the team ends at the end of the season is where they ultimately deserve.