Tottenham v Manchester United buildup, Premier League and WSL news – matchday live

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Arteta: Xhaka could be a great coach

Mikel Arteta has tipped Grant Xhaka to become a “very good” manager and admitted pride that several of his former players have been inspired to begin their coaching careers while at Arsenal.

Xhaka will face his former club for the first time since he left for Bayer Leverkusen in 2023 when Sunderland host the Premier League leaders today. The 33-year-old has played a key role in Sunderland’s excellent start since their promotion via the playoffs. Arteta described his former captain as one of the signings of the summer, and his Sunderland counterpart, Régis Le Bris, has said the Switzerland midfielder is “like a second coach on the pitch”.

Xhaka started his coaching badges at Arsenal at the same time as Mohamed Elneny and Cédric Soares and took charge of a youth team that included Ethan Nwaneri. Arteta was impressed and believes Xhaka has the credentials to become a manager.

“I’m sure one day he’s going to be a great coach,” he said. “It would be up to him to decide. That’s not for me, but I think [he would be] a very good one – and many others that have started their licences while we are here. Because they feel inspired, they love it and they see an opportunity as well to improve their lives after they retire.”

Asked whether he would like Xhaka to join his coaching staff one day, Arteta said: “Let him play first. He’s playing every minute of every game, so I think you still have a long career ahead of him. Everybody has a pathway, everybody needs an opportunity. I got one, and the players and the people around you obviously need to have that. Everybody wants to develop and try things in life, and when they feel that’s the right thing to do, you have to let them fly and wish them the best.”

First, let’s do the news. There are a couple of lines coming out of yesterday’s Premier League press conferences, including Mikel Arteta on Granit Xhaka and David Moyes on Thierno Barry.

Tottenham v Man Utd Q&A

Get your questions in for the Guardian’s European sports correspondent, Nick Ames, our man at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the 12.30pm (GMT) kick-off. He’ll be on hand from the press box just after 11am to discuss how Tottenham and Manchester United are getting on and what may lie in store when they meet in the Premier League today.

Thomas Frank will be expecting a better showing from Spurs in front of their home supporters after their dismal performance against Chelsea last weekend. A 4-0 win over Copenhagen on Tuesday and that goal from Micky van de Ven has calmed any discontent for now.

As for Ruben Amorim, his United side are four unbeaten and making the most of free midweeks (a consequence of losing the Europa League final to Spurs in May) to prepare for every league fixture. They’re beginning to look like a competitive team towards the top of the table once more.

You can the dedicated [email protected] email or comment below the line to ask Nick a question.

Preamble

Hello and welcome to matchday live on a weekend that is sure to set the tone for the winter ahead as Europe’s top leagues prepare to break for men’s international fixtures for the final time this year.

We’ll be building up to today’s football, including some heavyweight early kick-offs in the Premier League and WSL, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all in action in both leagues before the day is out.

We’d also like to hear from you. Whether it’s your opinions on the season so far, thoughts on Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad or your plans to watch the action today, comment below or send an email to [email protected].

Our European sports correspondent, Nick Ames, will at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a bit later on for a Q&A ahead of Spurs v Manchester United – more on that in a moment.