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It’s the most frustrating week of the year – just when we got used to getting club football back, international football returns and takes it all from us again.

After England’s heroic World Cup exploits in Russia, it’s fair to say most of the country has fallen back in love with the Three Lions but now we have to get behind them in a tournament no one knows anything about.

Gareth Southgate takes his warriers in to battle against Spain in the new Nations League at Wembley on Saturday and James, Chris and Christy discuss what this newly formed competition is, what to expect from England and whether Spain are still the feared footballing nation they once were.

Don’t worry, we’ll be back with proper football chat next week.

Make sure you follow us on Twitter @FixtureInFocus and please do subscribe on your podcast platform of choice to ensure you don’t miss any future episodes!

Enjoy!

When Kurt Zouma joined Everton on transfer deadline day, it was unclear how much game time the defender would have.

Injury curtailed his progress at Chelsea, hence why he spent last season on loan at Stoke City and is now on a temporary deal at Goodison Park.

Zouma earned his first Everton start prior to the international break where he partnered Mason Holgate at the heart of the defence in a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town.

On Sunday, Marco Silva’s side will take on West Ham United, but they are dealing with an injury crisis.

Seamus Coleman was recently added to the list, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin suffered a knock while playing for the England Under-21s on Tuesday night.

In defence, the Toffees are also slightly limited as there are doubts about the availability of Michael Keane, Yerry Mina and Phil Jagielka.

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Zouma is likely to start against the Hammers anyway, but in a recent poll we conducted, it seems that the majority of Everton fans were always keen on the centre-back keeping his place.

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Arsenal had a tough start to the season as they were beaten by Chelsea and Manchester City to kick off the Unai Emery era.

The Gunners recovered from their two opening losses to beat West Ham and Cardiff City to go into the international break.

Over the summer, Arsenal brought in five new players to rejuvenate the squad. Arsenal strengthened at the back, in goal and midfield but crucially didn’t sign a winger. As it stands, the Gunners only have Alex Iwobi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as viable wing options.

Martial has been linked with Arsenal in the past and according to the Sun, Martial is stalling on a new contract which may have opened up the possibility of a move to Tottenham but also Arsenal.

The Breakdown

According to the report, Martial has put contract talks on hold until he knows what’s happening with Mourinho’s future at the club.

If Mourinho remains as manager and decides to sell the French winger, it seems unlikely that he’d sell to a top-four rival. However, if there is any chance that the Gunners can snatch the 22-year-old, it could be a superb piece of business.

Although he’s never consistently shown his full talent in England, there’s no doubt that if in the right team and environment that Martial could become one of the best players in Europe.

Arsenal need a winger and if they could tempt Man U into the deal, they could have a potential star on their hands.

What do you think Man U fans?

Liverpool face an extremely difficult month of fixtures during September.

The Reds have stormed to the top of the Premier League after winning all four of their opening fixtures so far this season. Jurgen Klopp’s then faced Tottenham at the weekend in what was seen as their toughest game of the new campaign so far, though came through it fairly easily.

Things do not get easier after the trip to Wembley with the Reds welcoming Paris St Germain to Anfield just three days later in their Champions League opener. Klopp then faces Southampton before back-to-back fixtures against Chelsea in Carabao Cup and the league. Liverpool kick off October against Napoli and Manchester City which will be a true test of their title credentials this season.

Despite their tough run, Klopp should be keeping tabs on Juventus wonderkid – Moise Kean. Valued at £10.8 by Transfermarkt, the Italian forward is widely regarded as one of Italy’s brightest prospects after making his professional debut at the age of 16. Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival at the Old Lady, reports suggest that Kean will seek an exit in the January transfer window.

The 18-year-old spent last season on loan at Verona where he managed just four goals. However, playing in a Liverpool squad surrounded with world-class talent would definitely improve his output. Working alongside the likes of Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino would also do wonders for his development.

Kean possesses blistering pace and excellent ability on the ball which could make him a huge threat in the Premier League. With Dominic Solanke and Divock Origi struggling for goals, Kean would give Klopp a huge threat off the bench. His potential is massive, and Klopp could be the perfect tutor to bring the best out of him.

Snapping up Kean in January could prove to be another masterstroke from the German.

Liverpool fans, thoughts?

Arsenal continued their impressive run of form as the Gunners beat Everton to make it five wins out five.

Despite putting in a fairly terrible performance for most of the game, thanks to goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, Arsenal beat an Everton side that posed a real threat to the Gunners. Unfortunately for Arsenal, however, £18 million summer signing Sokratis Papastathopoulos was forced off with an injury in the 38th minute and was replaced by Rob Holding.

The Greek defender has been superb for Arsenal this season and without him, it puts even more pressure on a defence that has struggled to keep clean sheets this season. Following the game, Emery confirmed that he is still waiting to find out the severity of the injury ahead of Arsenal’s run of four games in 11 days.

The Breakdown

Since making the move to north London, Sokratis has played every minute of Arsenal’s games this season and has become a key player for the Gunners already. Indeed, with Shkodran Mustafi continually looking like he’s going to make a terrible mistake at any minute, Sokratis has done well to not only defend well himself but also to cover for the error-prone Germany international.

With Sokratis now out with injury – albeit it’s not sure for how long – it leaves Emery with only Rob Holding and 20-year-old defender Konstantinos Mavropanos to partner Mustafi. After having managed to build a run of form, losing Sokratis is a big blow for Arsenal, especially as it now leaves Mustafi as the senior defender in the middle of defence.

What do you think Arsenal fans? 

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Chelsea’s unbeaten start to the new Premier League season continued on Saturday as the Blues held Liverpool to an exciting 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Both sides engaged in complex and technically demanding build-up play, but showed pragmatic caution in defence as well – clearly wary of the level of quality their opponents boasted in attack.

The deadlock was broken midway through the first half though, as Eden Hazard latched onto a Mateo Kovacic pass before drilling a shot past Alisson in the Liverpool goal.

But the Reds pushed hard to open their account, which resulted in some exceptional last-ditch defending from Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz – who Transfermarkt value at £22.5million – with both making goal-line clearances.

Eventually though, Liverpool got what they craved as Daniel Sturridge curled a late equaliser into the top corner, leaving Kepa flailing at thin air.

So, Chelsea fans, who was your Man of the Match from Saturday’s draw? Let us know by taking part below and giving each player involved a performance rating out of ten…

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Everton spent £27 million on Cenk Tosun in January but the Turkey international has failed to live up to expectations so far for the Toffees and the club would be wise to seek a new first choice striker as soon as possible.

One player Marco Silva may wish to target is Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi. The 25-year-old is currently on loan with Valencia in La Liga and is probably unlikely to have a long term future at Stamford Bridge given how he struggled for game time with the Blues when he arrived at the club. 

Everton ought to offer the Belgium international a second chance to prove his worth in the Premier League.

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Batshuayi has shown in previous spells with Borussia Dortmund and Marseille that he can be utterly clinical in front of goal. The striker’s goals would be very welcome at Goodison Park and given his relative youth, Batshuayi could be a player who Everton fans come to love for years to come.

Many of the Toffees faithful certainly like the idea of Batshuayi turning out for their team. When we asked if they thought the club should pursue the Chelsea man’s signature, 85% said yes. See the full results below.

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Arsenal have started to find their feet under Unai Emery but their run of nine wins in a row across all competitions has had to be put on the back burner for the international break.

It gives fans the opportunity to see how their players perform in the international break and supporters were given a special treat on Thursday evening as Reiss Nelson made his debut for England’s U21 side.

Currently impressing on loan in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim, Nelson started his U21 campaign in spectacular form by scoring and providing an assist in a 7-0 drubbing of Andorra.

The young talent took to social media after the match to celebrate the victory and was quickly met with a wealth of support from Arsenal fans who believe he will go on to become a star for the Gunners in the coming years.

We have gathered some of the best reactions from social media below.

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Swansea City boss Graham Potter should make a move for Chelsea starlet Callum Hudson-Odoi to bolster his attacking options in January and propel his side up the table.

What’s the situation?

Swansea currently sit in 11th place in the Championship with 17 points after 12 games that have come from four wins and five draws following their relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season.

Potter took over from Carlos Carvalhal in the summer and immediately began shipping out the old guard and replacing them with a young squad that is full of talent.

However, despite their reasonable start to the campaign the Swans have lacked a cutting edge and have only netted 12 times in the league, and Hudson-Odoi could be the perfect player to eradicate the issue.

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Creativity and flair

Before this season began many were backing the 17-year-old to break into Chelsea’s starting line-up after his hugely impressive performances in pre-season. It hasn’t quite gone to plan for the youngster though and his only first-team appearance came in the Community Shield loss to Manchester City.

With five appearances under his belt at such a young age it’s clear that Chelsea think Hudson-Odoi could go on to great things but his current path into the XI is blocked by a huge amount of expensive talent, and he must leave on loan in January in order to improve.

The England U19 international is mainly regarded as a tricky winger but he can also play centrally and would provide the Swans with a huge amount of creativity and flair, but also perhaps more of a cutting edge than some of Potter’s current options.

So, Swansea fans, would you back a move for Hudson-Odoi in January or would the lack of experience worry you? Have your say by voting in the poll below.

According to Spanish website Okdiario, European giants Barcelona are lining up Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino as a replacement for Luis Suárez at the Camp Nou. 

The Uruguayan is now 31, and the club will start looking for a successor, and Firmino seems to be their number one target.

These rumours intensified recently when current Barca star and former Red Philippe Coutinho said that the Catalan club should target his compatriot.

The Reds have seen a number of their big players leave over the past few years, with Coutinho and Suárez both heading to the Spanish giants, however, if these current rumours come to fruition, it may be the final nail in the coffin for Liverpool.

Jürgen Klopp will have players to replace Firmino, with the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Dominic Solanke springing to mind, but it will be very hard to replace the skill set that the Brazilian has.

The former Hoffenheim forward’s strength and power is fundamental in allowing star wingers Mo Salah and Sadio Mané to flourish at the club. The Egyptian would be the first to admit that his heroic 2017/18 season would not have happened without his striker. Firmino has the ability to win the ball and retain it, meaning his wingers can be unleashed.

While he may not get the goals to match other strikers in the Premier League such as Harry Kane and Sergio Agüero, he has attributes that make him a totally different player to them, but just as important to The Reds.

If Firmino does go, it may also set a precedent to other members of the team that Liverpool sell all their best players. This could trigger a chain reaction, with other huge stars also moving on as well. Klopp will be desperate to keep hold of his centre-forward, and may be scared of the consequences if he doesn’t.