Premier League news LIVE: Latest press conference updates as Jurgen Klopp responds to Liverpool defeat

Liverpool are in action in the Premier League’s early kick-off following defeat to Everton at Goodison Park in midweek

Pep Guardiola urges Manchester City to remain focused for title run-in

Manchester City closed the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to just one point after strolling to a 4-0 win over Brighton last night, and now Liverpool prepare to head to West Ham United as Jurgen Klopp’s side bid to keep their fading title challenge alive.

The Reds are in action in the Premier League’s early kick-off on Saturday, after Klopp conceded that Liverpool require City and Arsenal to have a “crisis” in order to win the title in his last season in charge following defeat to Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday.

It’s been a busy week off the pitch for Liverpool, too, with Arne Slot confirming that he is interested in the Anfield hotseat after the Reds opened talks with Feyenoord for the Dutchman.

There’s also a North London derby to build up to, as Arsenal travel to Tottenham Hotspur looking to keep their title challenge on track. Anything other than a victory would give the champions the chance to go top, with a game in hand, as Pep Guardiola’s side head to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

We’ll have the Premier League news and updates from today’s pre-match press conferences ahead of the weekend’s fixtures

Premier League news LIVE: Latest updates

• Premier League latest build-up after Man City close gap on Arsenal
• Pep Guardiola’s side thrashed Brighton 4-0 last night
• Jurgen Klopp speaks at 11:30am ahead of Liverpool’s trip to West Ham
• Mikel Arteta previews Arsenal’s North London derby against Tottenham at 1:30pm

[26 April 2024 10:58 · Mike Jones]

Son Heung-min admits ‘inexperienced’ Tottenham are underdogs in north London derby

Son Heung-min has acknowledged Arsenal are one of the best teams in the world but is confident Tottenham will bounce back from their Newcastle humbling in Sunday’s north London derby.

Spurs enter the fixture after an untimely two-week break on the back of a painful 4-0 loss at St James’ Park.

Arsenal were also reeling a fortnight ago but have responded to their Champions League exit with impressive back-to-back wins to return to the Premier League summit.

[26 April 2024 10:52 · Mike Jones]

The link between Arsenal and Tottenham that reveals key to pivotal north London derby

If there wasn’t so much tension around this game, and between these clubs, Mikel Arteta and Ange Postecoglou might be able to settle in and discuss a few shared ideas.

Both have worked in the City Football Group structure, which reflects how much the Abu Dhabi-owned champions shape the wider game. You can even look at how a former Manchester City player is joint top scorer with a current Manchester City player. There probably hasn’t been this extent of pure football influence since Barcelona fostered an entire generation of coaches from the early 2000s on.

That is no coincidence, since the City project directly sought to appropriate the entire Camp Nou ideology. This was one of the points of pursuing Pep Guardiola for so long.

[26 April 2024 10:46 · Mike Jones]

Can Foden play in the centre for England?

Adding another two goals to his season tally last night from a central midfield position did Phil Foden no harm in staking a claim to make the playmaker role his own when it comes to Euro 2024.

England boss Gareth Southgate has preferred to play Foden out wide during his international career so far but the Manchester City star feels a more active central role is a better fit.

“I have always said that I see myself centrally,” said Foden.”This year I have moved inside and it has helped me massively. I enjoy it in the middle. It’s where I want to be. At the moment, I am just enjoying my football and playing with freedom.”

[26 April 2024 10:40 · Mike Jones]

‘Men against boys’: Rio Ferdinand blasts Chelsea’s performance after embarassing loss to Arsenal

Rio Ferdinand labelled Chelsea’s performance against Arsenal as ‘men playing against boys’ as Mauricio Pochettino’s side slumped to a 5-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium.

Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for the hosts after just four minutes before a brace each for Ben White and former Chelsea star Kai Havertz gave the Gunners a comfortable win.

Speaking on TNT Sports after the match, Ferdinand claimed that the Blues were way off the level they have been hitting in recent weeks.

[26 April 2024 10:33 · Mike Jones]

Chelsea’s collapse at Arsenal was humiliating, inevitable, and their lowest point yet

“This is Chelsea Football Club, not Cole Palmer Football Club,” Mauricio Pochettino declared on the eve of his side’s visit to Arsenal. A little more than 24 hours later, the sight of Chelsea without their top scorer and player of the year was enough to empty the away end long before full-time of this humiliating, dispiriting, London derby thrashing at the Emirates. “I don’t want your shirt, I just want you to fight for ours,” a young boy pleaded in the away end. Chelsea failed, spectacularly, in their heaviest ever defeat to Arsenal.

As Pochettino said, the prospect of facing the Premier League leaders without Palmer was a good challenge for the rest of the Chelsea squad, a chance to show that they were more than a one-man team, to prove there was leadership in the ranks beyond the 21-year-old forward. Evidently, it was a challenge Chelsea were utterly incapable of rising to. Without Palmer, Chelsea returned to their lowly status as mid-table fodder. Yet perhaps even that is kind.

[26 April 2024 10:27 · Mike Jones]

What next for Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino? Arsenal humiliation exposes a crisis from top to bottom

As a former Arsenal player, Mikel Arteta could sympathise with Mauricio Pochettino as they shared the touchline at the Emirates.

Arteta was in the Arsenal side that lost 6-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 2014, as Jose Mourinho took considerable pleasure in ruining Arsene Wenger’s 1,000th game in charge by handing out Chelsea’s biggest ever win over their London rivals.

How times change. Now as a manager, Arteta admitted he had “all the sympathy in the world” for Pochettino after he inflicted Arsenal’s biggest ever win over Chelsea. “I’ve been on the other side as well,” Arteta said. “He’s doing a great job.”

It didn’t look like it on the pitch on Wednesday night, but Arteta recognised Pochettino’s plight and understood the questions that were about to come his way as Chelsea collapsed against the Premier League leaders. After Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City ruled out any chance of winning silverware in his first campaign in charge, a humiliating night was a blow for Pochettino’s hopes of qualifying for Europe next season.

[26 April 2024 10:20 · Mike Jones]

Who is Arne Slot?

Prior to his coaching journey, Slot enjoyed an 18-year playing career as a midfielder in the Netherlands, playing for seven years at FC Zwolle and five years at NAC Breda.

He was part of a promotion-winning side at the former from the second tier to the top-flight, while he finished fourth in the Eredivisie at Breda and played in the UEFA Cup against Newcastle United in 2003, losing 6-0 on aggregate.

Slot, known for his passing and vision, later had spells at Sparta Rotterdam and PEC Zwolle before retiring in 2013 at the age of 35.

But in the last 10 years, he has developed steadily as a coach. The Dutchman moved straight away onto the coaching staff at first division club PEC Zwolle, working as a youth coach for one year before moving on to be assistant at then-Eredivisie side Cambuur.

[26 April 2024 10:13 · Mike Jones]

Who is Arne Slot? The Feyenoord manager in talks to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool

Liverpool are in talks with Feyenoord over appointing Arne Slot as the club’s next manager in the summer.

The Reds have been eyeing a replacement for Jurgen Klopp ever since the German made it known to executives in November that he would leave the club at the end of the current season.

Liverpool, currently in a three-way race for the Premier League title, were hit in their search when early favourite Xabi Alonso decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen. Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim has also been linked with the job.

[26 April 2024 10:06 · Mike Jones]

Slot wants to join Liverpool

Speaking ahead of Feyenoord’s match at Go Ahead Eagles on Thursday night, manager Arne Slot told ESPN: “The only thing I can say about it is that the clubs are in negotiations – and then you sit in the waiting room and wait for what will come out.

“It seems clear to me that I would like to go to Liverpool. Now I am waiting to see whether the clubs reach an agreement. I have every confidence in that.”

[26 April 2024 10:00 · Mike Jones]

Arne Slot announces he wants to take the Liverpool job

Arne Slot wants to take the Liverpool job and hopes an agreement can be reached with Feyenoord to allow him to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.

The 45-year-old Dutch coach has emerged as a leading candidate to take over from Klopp, who will leave the Reds at the end of the season.

Feyenoord, though, do not want to lose their manager and are expected to demand significant compensation for the man who guided them to a first Eredivisie title in six years last season.