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Some Arsenal fans have taken to Twitter in fury after Nicolas Pepe was denied a penalty against Bournemouth.

With the score at 1-0 after David Luiz netted his first Premier League goal for the Gunners, £72m man Pepe was brought down by Diego Rico after a nice step-over.

The Cherries man actually got the ball, kicking it against the Ivory Coast international, but the ball also spun into a position where Pepe may have reached it before the Spaniard blocked him off – it was definitely a tough decision for Martin Atkinson.

One fan said that he was still fuming after the decision, before saying that English referees are amongst the most “incompetent” in the world.

Another supporter pointed to the decision that saw Sadio Mane awarded a soft, late penalty against Leicester to reinforce his point that Pepe should’ve also been awarded a spot kick.

Let’s take a look at some more of the Twitter reaction from some livid Arsenal fans…

He’s huffing, he’s puffing, but he can’t break the door down.You just wonder how many hints he’s going to have to give before Marcelo Bielsa starts paying attention.It’s no secret that there are a lot of Leeds fans who have been crying out for Eddie Nketiah to start ahead of Patrick Bamford, but it just seems that no matter how hard he tries, there just hasn’t been that breakthrough.Which is perhaps why he’s being forced to try some new methods to show the Leeds boss exactly what he can do.

He posted a video to his Twitter feed yesterday of himself scoring during training with the England U21 side, capped off by a very impressive no-look finish for one of his efforts.

Leeds fans when they saw the video couldn’t contain themselves, and used it as yet another opportunity to demand that he be given more chances under Bielsa.

So far he’s netted four times for the Whites, two of which were late strikes in the league.

Here’s some of the reaction.

Whether it’s pressure from the fans, or it’s pressure from himself in scoring as many goals as he can to get him to notice, you just wonder how much longer we’re going to have to wait before he starts becoming a first-team regular.

Christian Benteke has signed a contract extension with Crystal Palace and, perhaps understandably, he’s “really happy†to get it sorted.It’s difficult to understand quite what the former Liverpool man has done to justify being kept on and not shipped off to somewhere like China, where two clubs were reportedly interested in him during the summer, for a pretty penny.Watch Crystal Palace Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Benteke boasts the incredibly poor, verging on abysmal, record of four goals in his previous 58 appearances – let that stew in your mind for a while.

While some forwards justify their wages in other ways, as expert creators or target man bruisers, which is largely Benteke’s current role in Roy Hodgson’s squad, to simply not deliver on the scoring front in the way that the Belgian has surely warranted a nice warm p45 fresh from the printer, not an extension. But maybe we’re being old fashioned.

Benteke spewed some generic tosh after the club’s official Twitter announced the deal on social media, as you can see below…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Sun, West Brom are the latest club to be linked with a move for their former loan ace Dwight Gayle.

It is a transfer that potentially suggests that Slaven Bilic is starting to regret one of his major summer decisions.

What’s the word?

The reports claim that the Baggies chief in command is keen on adding Newcastle United’s frontman to his league-leading squad.

Gayle enjoyed a fruitful loan spell at the Hawthorns last season under ex-boss Darren Moore as he bagged 24 goals in 41 appearances before returning in the summer.

Last weekend he finally played his first match back at his parent club after coming on as a substitute against Chelsea for four minutes.

Albion currently have Charlie Austin, Kenneth Zohore and Hal Robson-Kanu in the striking department with two of them being signed this summer.

Bilic’s blunder?

However, these links may tell a more damning story up in the west Midlands as, despite all of the goal-laden matches West Brom have been involved in, their strikers haven’t yet lived up to expectations.

The Baggies have netted 24 goals in 13 Championship matches this term, but just four of those have come from the three aforementioned strikers, which is quite a worrying return.

Austin was signed on deadline day for £4m from Southampton and has scored just the one goal in nine appearances.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Now that the club are reportedly chasing Gayle again, it could suggest that Bilic is starting to regret his decision to force through a deal for the 30-year-old at the last hour.

Had the club spent a bit more money in the summer, they could quite easily have tempted Magpies boss Steve Bruce into making a decision in regards to selling the 29-year-old forward.

If the club do indeed pursue a striker in January, it will only reinforce the belief that he may have lost some faith in Austin at this early stage of the campaign.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Former Arsenal player Charlie Nicholas believes Liverpool should avoid playing Mohamed Salah in their Champions League tie against Genk on Wednesday.

What’s the word?

The Reds will make the short hop to the Luminus Arena to face the reigning Belgian champions, who qualified for Europe’s top tier competition after an eight-year absence.

After their 100% record in the Premier League came to an end after a 1-1 draw against Manchester United, Liverpool will be keen to get back to winning ways on the road in Europe.

The two-time Golden Boot winner Salah missed the game on Sunday due to an ankle injury he picked up during the 2-1 win against Leicester City. However, manager Jurgen Klopp revealed that is already close to a full return.

Watch a Liverpool fan discover the internet and get a nasty surprise in the video below…

Nicholas wrote in his Sky Sports’ column that the Egyptian should be rested with their next Premier League game in mind against Spurs.

“These are always potentially difficult. Klopp does not have much chance to change things too much. If Mohamed Salah is close to being fit, I would leave him out and get him fit for the Tottenham game, which is another massive match.”

No risks

Salah has proved to be an essential player in Klopp’s side over the past two seasons. His absence against the Red Devils was glaring and the Reds simply cannot afford to lose him for a long period.

This stems to what the 27-year-old has achieved since his arrival at Anfield. During his first season, the Egyptian winger managed to score a phenomenal 42 goals in all competitions and provided 14 assists. Salah’s contributions set endless records, which included beating Premier League goal tallies set by Robbie Fowler and Fernando Torres. He went on to win the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award.

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The impact that the 27-year-old has in the Liverpool team is relentless. However, Nicholas’ comments make a lot of sense with a big game on Sunday against Spurs on the horizon.

The Reds lost all of their away games in the group stage last season and haven’t won away from home at this stage in Europe since beating Maribor 7-0 in 2017. Games against Red Star Belgrade and Napoli were taken lightly due to Klopp’s focus on the league campaign, which they were unlucky to finish second after amassing 97 points.

Liverpool should be prioritising the Premier League after winning the Champions League during the last campaign. With the league title drought continuing to hang over the club’s head, Salah must be saved for the weekend.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Tony Cascarino feels that Jordan Pickford could leave Goodison Park to try and rediscover his form between the sticks.

What did he say?

The £100,000-a-week star has been at Everton for the past two years and has since established himself as England’s number one. In his 98 appearances for the club, Pickford has kept 30 clean sheets and helped the Blues finish eighth last season.

In that time last season, the Englishman conceded just 46 goals in the league – the fifth-lowest. Pickford would also be vital for England in their fourth-placed World Cup finish last summer, playing a telling role in the country’s first-ever penalty shootout win at the tournament.

Cascarino told The Times: “Yet another entry in the catalogue of Jordan Pickford errors shows why the Everton keeper’s days as England’s number 1 are numbered… beaten easily by a set piece, (which) went almost straight at him. His poor form has slipped under the radar.

“Fraser Forster and Joe Hart lost form and moved on in past seasons and I think Pickford, the way he is going, will follow suit and leave Goodison Park. He is a rash goalkeeper at the best of times and makes far too many mistakes to continue to be Gareth Southgate’s first choice for the national team with a major tournament coming up next year.”

Pope and Heaton ready to pounce

This season has been entirely different from the form the £100,000-per-week star showed last year.

So far, Everton have conceded 16 goals in 10 league games and his error against Brighton & Hove Albion was just one of many this season.

Not only is Pickford’s form at Everton a concern for the club, but it will certainly be a major worry for Gareth Southgate with the Euro’s on the horizon.

And it’s not like he doesn’t have any attractive alternatives to chose from either.

Nick Pope and Tom Heaton have made 2.9 saves per game in the league so far, whilst Pickford has averaged 2.4. The Everton man has also conceded more goals than Pope, with the Burnley keeper letting in 15 to his 16.

Southgate will have a decision to make next summer, but Pickford’s form of late suggests it won’t necessarily be one involving his 2018 number one.

Leeds United fans on Twitter have been reacting to Liam Cooper’s comments on Patrick Bamford.

The Leeds captain was full of praise for the striker despite the fact that he hasn’t scored in any of his last nine games for the club.

The Scotland international stated that Bamford’s pressing high up the pitch are key to everything Leeds United do, and while that’s a fair thing to say, fans are finding it hard to get on board with that sentiment.

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The striker’s lack of goals is clearly a point of concern for the fanbase, and why wouldn’t it be? Leeds missed out on promotion by the narrowest of margins last term, and the fact that their striker is misfiring this term could cost them again.

Cooper believes that Bamford’s fortunes will change in the near future, but it remains to be seen whether or not the former Boro striker can rekindle the type of form that saw him net four in five at the start of 2019/20.

Here’s what the Elland Road faithful have been saying on Twitter…

A number of Leeds United fans have mixed views on Mateusz Klich’s selection in the Poland squad for their upcoming Euro 2020 qualification matches.

Klich has featured in all but one of his country’s last 10 matches in all competitions, and therefore his inclusion in the squad for the two matches against Israel and Slovenia later this month is not a surprise.

However, some Leeds supporters appear shocked that the 6-foot midfielder has been selected due to his recent struggles at club level.

Find out what happened when a world-record-holding freestyler attempting skills with the worst pair of boots available on eBay in the video below…

That opinion, though, is not shared by everyone.

The 29-year-old has only managed one goal and one assist in 15 Championship appearances for Marcelo Bielsa’s side this season.

As a midfielder, Klich’s main task is not to score goals, but he has featured higher up the field in seven of Leeds’ last eight Championship matches and has not managed to register a goal or an assist.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the supporters is available to view below:

Aston Villa will aim to get their 2019/20 campaign back on track when they visit Molineux on Sunday for a West Midlands derby clash with Wolves.

Villa, who sit 16th in the league table, have suffered consecutive losses at the hands of Manchester City and Liverpool having won successive top-flight games against Norwich City and Brighton. 

Dean Smith’s side will come up against a Wolves side who have experienced something of a resurgence under Nuno Espirito Santo after an inconsistent start to the season, with the Wanderers currently on an 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions. 

This West Midlands derby is likely to produce an interesting affair between two teams who faced off only two weeks ago in the Carabao Cup, though Wolves’ weakened squad for the last-16 tie is likely to have produced an inaccurate reflection of how tight Sunday’s contest is likely to be. 

Here is a potential starting XI that Dean Smith could line up with for the encounter with Nuno’s side. 

Smith can be expected to name an unchanged defence to the team who narrowly lost out to Liverpool at Villa Park, with Tom Heaton marshalling a back-four consisting of Matt Targett, Tyrone Mings, Bjorn Engels and Frederic Guilbert. 

In midfield, the Villa manager will have a number of big decisions to make, largely determined by how much damage he believes Wolves’ attack could cause. 

Marvellous Nakamba’s form makes him a definite selection for Villa, although Conor Hourihane could earn a starting berth at the expense of Douglas Luiz if Smith opts to deploy a more attacking combination of midfielders.

That would see the Irishman sitting behind the duo of John McGinn and Jack Grealish.

Despite scoring last weekend, Trézéguet could drop to the bench to make way for the returning Grealish, who will be keen to put in an impressive performance having not been selected by Gareth Southgate for England’s upcoming international fixtures.

Wesley is likely to start for Smith’s side, as the Brazilian bids to build on his four Premier League goals so far this season.

Newcastle picked up their form in October and Matty Longstaff’s contribution has earned him his first call-up to the England U20s squad.

He struck the winning goal on his debut against Manchester United and has impressed with his performances, so is deserving of inclusion.

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Some fans are delighted to see the youngster recognised in such a way, and have issued congratulatory messages of their own, with one particularly impressed by his achievement.

Longstaff is only 20 years of age but he has now averaged the highest number of passes per game in the Newcastle squad, with 40.

The midfielder has spoken of his desire to play as much as he can, stating that is his full focus rather than swapping shirts at the end of matches and picking up memorabilia – an attitude which should serve him well at club and international level.

Here are some of the messages from supporters following the announcement.