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By DAILY MAIL SPORT REPORTERS Published: 21: 24 AEDT, 13 March 2026 | Updated: 02: 48 AEDT, 14 March 2026 10 View comments After a tough week for English sides competing in Europe, attention has quickly turned to domestic action with an exciting weekend of Premier League football on the horizon. Managers across the top-flight will be addressing the media throughout the day, so stay up-to-date here with Daily Mail Sport for the latest talking points. Mikel Arteta praised Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler for getting in touch with him to clear the air after the German's outburst over Arsenal’s playing style. After being beaten 1-0 by the north London club earlier this month, an emotional Hurzeler criticised Arsenal for their style of play and said they ‘try to make their own rules’. Yet, today Hurzeler claimed he had since spoken to Arteta and ‘admires Arsenal a lot’. When asked to shed light on the chat, Arteta said: ‘No, that is a personal conversation. ‘He's made comments, certain comments he made before, and I think it says a lot of positive things about him as a person. ‘I think he is a fantastic coach and the work he is doing at Brighton is really good. ’ Mikel Arteta and Fabian Hurzeler have held clear-the-air talks after their explosive row Arsenal are still assessing whether Martin Odegaard or Leandro Trossard will be fit to face Everton in the Premier League on Saturday. The Gunners return to top-flight action following Wednesday's Champions League 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen. When asked if the attacking pair could play, the Spaniard replied: ‘Let's see. We will have to speak to the doctors to see whether they are involved or not. ’ ISAAN KHAN Mason Mount could be back in the Manchester United squad for Sunday’s clash with Aston Villa at Old Trafford after a six-match absence. Mount hasn’t started in the Premier League since Boxing Day, and was last on the bench for Michael Carrick’s second game in charge at Arsenal before being sidelined with the latest injury of a stop-start United career. But Carrick revealed that the 27-year-old is ready to return to action, and could feature against Villa. ‘Mason's back with the group, which is fantastic, ’ said the United boss. ‘He's an important player for us, Mason, and to have him back and involved, I think is a good step for us, definitely. ‘He's not 100 per cent in terms of back, because he's only trained a very small amount of time. But he's back, and that's good for us. We'll see whether he's involved or not on Sunday, but it's a big step for him, so we're happy with that. ’ United and Villa go into the weekend in third and fourth place respectively as they battle for Champions League qualification. It follows Carrick’s first defeat in eight games since taking charge at Newcastle last week, and he is looking forward to the challenge of facing Unai Emery’s side. Mason Mount could be back in the Man United squad for Sunday’s clash with Aston Villa ‘I think we're always in the test, you know, ’ he added. ‘It's always about what's next, how you're going to react, whether you've won, whether you haven't won, whether you've drawn, what's going to be the reaction, what's the group, what's the emotions in it, how do we make the best of it, what's the motivation for the next game and driving that forward? ‘So, I understand with it being the first defeat, if you like, it feels a little bit different, but it's going to come at some point. You look through the league, it's a tough league. Most teams, if not every team, has suffered that in recent times, so it's putting things in perspective really and kind of putting it in shape where we know where we can improve, what we can do better, what we're taking a lot of confidence from, as a group, what we can and what we're sure we can achieve and how we can play. ‘It's been a really good week in many ways, excited, it's an important game, there's no getting away from it. It's a fantastic game. We've put ourselves in a position now where there's an awful lot to play for. So, yeah, I'm really embracing the situation at the moment and looking forward to the next game. ’ Meanwhile, Carrick has backed Harry Maguire for an England recall ahead of the upcoming games against Uruguay and Japan as the 33-year-old defender tries to force his way into Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup plans. Maguire has yet to play under Tuchel after making the last of his 64 caps under Lee Carsley against Ireland in September 2024, but he has been a key player during Carrick’s eight games in charge. ‘Harry's been playing well, I think, yeah. It's pretty obvious to say that, ’ said the United boss. ‘Considering you look back not too long ago, he was out injured for a considerable period of time as well, and he came straight back in when we arrived, really. Michael Carrick has also backed Harry Maguire to be called up to the England squad ‘So there's been a little bit of managing him as well through the weeks, in the games, how we've had that, and getting him right up to speed, if you like, physically. I think he's just showed his experience in situations, the composure, know what it feels like, and now understands what it takes, and he's done ever so well. ‘Whatever's going to happen with England is going to happen with England, but he's definitely put himself back in the frame – if he was ever out of it. Hopefully, from my point of view, he gets picked and he goes. ’ Jadon Sancho will be unavailable for United’s game against Villa on Sunday under the terms of his loan move between the two clubs as he prepares to leave Old Trafford as a free agent in June. Carrick was first-team coach when Sancho moved to United for £73million from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2021 before going out on loan to Dortmund, Chelsea and Villa, and he struggled to explain why the winger’s time at United did not live up to expectations. ‘You can never be surprised with anything in football, ’ said Carrick. ‘It's one of those things. Sometimes you come to a club, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't quite work. That's natural, it happens at every club. ‘Jadon's got talent, that's why he came to the club to start with, and he's had some really good moments. For whatever reason, I don't know, he's then finding himself at Aston Villa. ‘He had obviously a good spell at Dortmund as well in the Champions League final, so he's certainly got talent and he's playing a lot this season, so credit to him for that, and he's having an impact and playing a lot of games. What happens next and how we move forward, then we'll just have to wait and see. ’ CHRIS WHEELER David Moyes has come to Arsenal's defence amid criticism over their style of play - as his Everton side gear up to travel to the Premier League leaders on Saturday evening. The Toffees boss was asked how he is preparing his side for the physical test posed by the Gunners, who have scored 21 goals from set-pieces in the league this season. Moyes replied: 'What's up with any of those things you say? You are making it sound as if that's a problem because they are good at set-pieces and they are a strong, physical side. I don't see any problem with any of that. It's part of the game. David Moyes has come to Arsenal's defence amid criticism over their physical style of play 'If there's this thing out there where everybody has to play the beautiful game and everything has to be perfect, well if we all do that then it would be boring. Football would be boring. Part of the reason you people are talking about it is because it might be slightly different from what we have seen for a few years. 'It's giving you something to talk about, but I would hate to be going to football matches all the time and seeing football only played the one way. I want teams to play different styles and in different ways. ' Eddie Howe has hit back at Alan Shearer and Roy Keane after they questioned Anthony Gordon for not feeling well enough to start versus Barcelona on Tuesday. The Newcastle and England star was expected to lead the line for the Champions League last-16 first leg but was named on the bench after reporting illness. Shearer, speaking on Prime Video before the game, said: 'Maybe I'm old school, but if you're fit enough to train in the morning, and I know he doesn't feel well, but this is Barcelona at Newcastle for a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. It would take something extraordinary to keep myself out of this game tonight. ' Roy Keane then weighed in on The Overlap, when he said: 'How can you be ill and come on for half an hour? It's bizarre, isn't it? ' Host Gary Neville defended Gordon, but Keane countered: 'Oh Gary, because you did an interview with him last year and you thought he was a really nice lad! How can you be ill, but come on for half an hour? 'You hear managers every week say, "He's not fit enough to start, but he'll be good enough for the bench". Something might happen after five minutes. I don't get it. If he's that important, start him and take him off after half an hour. ' Eddie Howe has defended Anthony Gordon after criticism by Roy Keane and Alan Shearer Wayne Rooney was on punditry duty with Shearer, and he said: 'Eddie Howe said before the game that he probably has 20 or 30 minutes in him. That's telling you the sports scientists and the doctors are (suggesting he can play). If you're ill, you're ill. 'You shouldn't be there. He walked past us before the game and wouldn't shake our hands. He said he didn't want us to catch anything, but then he's going into the dressing room with his team-mates. ' Howe felt moved to address the criticism when he met the media on Friday ahead of Saturday's trip to Chelsea. 'I do have to clear something up with Anthony Gordon, ' he began. 'He was absolutely willing to play in the game against Barcelona. I know there's a lot of comments. It was my decision not to start him based on the fact that he'd been ill that morning and hadn't attended the training session. So he was prepared to play, but in consultation with the medical team, we didn't think he was fit to play. ' Howe added: 'My perception is that he does face a lot of scrutiny, but I think that comes with being a top player. As soon as you play for England, you go to a different level in terms of scrutiny and expectation. I think Ant has done that well and he's single-minded enough to blank out a lot of the noise. It's one of his strengths. 'I'd categorise him as a winner. He wants to win everything, he's a real competitor. He's got that streak to him that I think all top players need where he's very single-minded, very focused on his development and his game. I can only speak really glowingly of him this year. He's probably in the best moment he's been this season. ' Gordon came on during the final half hour of the 1-1 draw against Barcelona, and afterwards Howe said: 'We trained this morning and Anthony didn't make it. So that's a pretty good sign that he's not in the best physical condition. The doctors and everyone did a great job to get him at the start line for us, albeit for a short period of time. I thought he made a good contribution when he came on. ' CRAIG HOPE
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