In an exclusive interview with Sports Casting UK, Shaun Wright Phillips addresses Paul Pogba Premier League links and says World Cup winner would be a great signing for a title contender.
The former Premier League winger also reveals how close he came to Arsenal transfer in 2005.
Premier League observations and headlines
Liverpool dropped more points, at the weekend, and only Chelsea took advantage. Can you see Liverpool dropping more points and having a blip to really open the race up over the course of the season?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “I think Liverpool will drop a few more points. I don’t think it’s at that point where they need to have a blip to really open up the title race, because the Premier League in terms of levels has completely changed.
The middle and some of the bottom half teams, in terms of talent and the way they play, in terms of mentality, its closer to your so-called elite teams like Man City, Liverpool, Arsenals – even Aston Villa.
The gaps are closing in respect of all of that and I think the managers that are in control of these teams now, they don’t only box clever, they have a way to sneak a win, they make it difficult, go to Anfield or the Etihad or the Emirates and get a draw.
If you look at the Everton result at the Emirates at the weekend just gone, I don’t think anybody would have seen that coming, just as if you look at the Man City result against United.
For me, it’s made the Premier League a whole lot better. For supporters of those individual clubs, in many ways, it could become a frustrating, so it’s pretty cool that there are several teams that can nick points of the big boys in the league.
I’m enjoying it this season. I’m not enjoying the fact that I’m a City fan and it’s not going the way I want, but I understand why City are where they are.”
Did Manchester United deliver a reality check to City’s title defence yesterday and from looking at their recent appearances, one win in 11 games, do you think they can drag themselves back into the title race?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “I think if you go off what City’s done after Christmas over the last three or four years, you would tend to think for everybody else there’s still a very long way to go in this title race.
If you want to look at how the results are going, they’re still in a position that none of them, including the manager and the coaching staff, have ever been in. This has never happened. So, I think it’s a great challenge for them as a team.
For Pep, managing all his staff, it’s frustrating. It’s much more frustrating for them than it is for your fans and everybody else. I don’t think it’s as black and white as everybody is saying in terms of, ‘No Rodri, ‘because there’s a lot of goals that we’ve conceded that take Rodri out of the picture, like the Nunes situation against Manchester United.
The goals that would have happened behind him, yes, if Rodri had played the majority of the results would be completely different, but it’s a strange one because you can’t put a drop off like this on one man’s shoulders.
When Liverpool won the league under Klopp, what did they do the next season? When Man Utd won the treble, what did they do? For whatever reason, City’s been in a position where for the last four years, they’ve just won everything. They went onto bigger and better things, and now, I think they’re going through the jet lag that normally comes to clubs a year or two after success. City are being hit four years later. Honestly, it’s really weird. It’s interesting to me.”
Where does Pep Guardiola and his team go from here? How do they get things back on track?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “Well, I thought they were getting back on track against Manchester United, especially after seeing that cross from Kevin De Bruyne for Josko’s goal. It was the weirdest cross I think I’ve seen, and it turns out to be the perfect ball. What happens after that, the Nunes foul, it kind of dismantles them.
I look at a lot of games, and I would most say out of all the games that I’ve seen them play, whether they’ve drawn or lost in this run, yesterday was, in terms of not creating chances, probably the worst game for City.
In terms of watching them play, I don’t necessarily think City played that badly. I just think there’s a combination of sloppy passes in the wrong areas or bad mistakes from individuals.
Now, can a manager change individual errors? Maybe you pull somebody out, but with City’s injuries there’s not really the right person to replace them with.
I’ve watched a lot of football, I’ve seen people score crazy own goals and stuff like that, but it’s very rare that you see a defender who doesn’t normally make mistakes, make three or four mistakes over the span of four games, and all of those result in a goal.
At the minute, that’s just what’s happening. Whereas if you look at City two or three seasons before, if somebody made a mistake there was always somebody there to clean it up.
I think City’s problems are a combination of things more than needing to refresh with new players.
Haaland, in terms of scoring goals, that can be a lot of pressure for one man to carry. We need to get back to everybody scoring. Not just Haaland. Josko Gvardiol is trying to chip in. Stones has done his little bit, but in terms of the others, particularly the attackers, nobody’s stepped up.”
Do City need to be worried about Champions League qualification?
I would say no, I don’t think City need to worry about qualifying for the Champions League. Knowing and seeing how City play, especially towards the back end of the season, I think we will be fine.
At the same time, you can’t be disrespectful to the teams in that top 10. The way they’re all playing right now, Fulham, Bournemouth, Brighton, Villa and Nottingham Forest,
you can’t just say, ‘City should be top four, it’s fine.’ City know that as well, they know they have to fight for it.
This year for me, is in many ways an anomaly. There’s no one that expected this City dip to come. To some of the fans I say, ‘Do you know what? In many ways it serves you right, because you’ve been spoiled.’ You can’t just win every game. City built a rod for their own back because whether they’re playing well or not, this is a bad season for Manchester City.
Who would you consider to be the most exciting English player in the Premier League?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “Cole Palmer is the most exciting English player in the Premier League. I often get asked, do you think City miss him? I say you’re always going to miss a player like that, but would he play for City the way he plays for Chelsea? I don’t think he would, because no one gives City that much space and time. Everybody’s got eleven men behind the ball, so it’s normally a bit harder to navigate.
For me, watching Cole Palmer is a breath of fresh air. It’s almost just like watching somebody play in the street with his friends. With our generation, that’s how a lot of talented footballers became who they were, just by playing football freely, basically. So, it’s beautiful to see.”
If you had to name one player that you’ve expected more from this season, who would it be and why?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “I could say Mitoma at Brighton. He’s been quiet this season. You could say Rashford, Doku and Savinho.
For Savinho, obviously there’s a lot of pressure, it’s his first year in the Premier League, so I also do understand that. It’s mainly the attackers more than anything, to be honest with you who are the players that I’ve expected more from.
I would say we are seeing quite open football in terms of goals but not everybody’s scoring like you would expect. Ollie Watkins, for the chances that he gets or creates, he’s had the chances to be up there with Haaland and Salah. If you look at the chances that Duran gets when he comes on, they go In the back of the net.”
Who would you consider to be the best three wingers / wide attackers in the Premier League?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “Mitoma is one that I really enjoy watching. He’s had a few quiet games recently, but in terms of the way he deals with the ball, one-twos, comes inside if he wants, takes on his man. I really enjoy watching him at Brighton.
Savinho was another one at the start of the season. There’s a lot of wingers in many ways. I feel like one doesn’t necessarily say they’re having a dip, but they’re not doing what everybody’s seen, over the last two years I would say.
Semenyo at Bournemouth, I enjoy watching him too. I like people that when they get the ball, you anticipate that something may happen. They either find a pass, or they go on a little run, and get a shot that excites people. I’m just a football fan.”
You broke through at the top level at young age. I wondered who are the young players that you’re really excited about in the future?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “Elliot Anderson at Nottingham Forest is the one player that I’m really excited to watch over the coming years.
I watched him, Gibbs-White was suspended, he played in the game, and he was unbelievable.
I couldn’t believe Newcastle let him go. Of course, they most probably had to, but I mean, he is one player that you should try to keep your hands on and fight for. I think he’s going to be such a special player.
When I watched the game at the weekend against Villa, Anderson looks like he just enjoys going past people or trying to force the issue. I think in today’s football, we’re missing players like him.
A lot of teams have sequences and patterns of play, but he grabs the bull by the horns in many ways and says, ‘I don’t want to pass through, I’m going to get past you.’ He is quite nice to watch. It’s refreshing to see a player take the initiative like that.”
It’s the race that nobody wants to win, but who do you think is the next Premier League manager to win the sack race?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “For clubs, it’s easy to sack a manager and get a new one. The Wolves case, I kind of get it, but I don’t think that Gary O’Neil was to blame.
Wolves were quite good to watch when Cunha gets on the ball and the other players start playing around him. I think they’ve been unfortunate in terms of results, but in football that happens, and they are a team that can get out of that situation. A new manager can bring something fresh to the table and they have the quality to climb out of trouble.
In terms of Southampton, you sack the manager with what game plan in mind? Because the chances are with the position they’re in, the Saints are nailed on to get relegated. So, you’re signing a manager with the view to go to the Championship? If you are, why didn’t you wait till the summer? Because inevitably you know you’re going down.
Why don’t you take more time in that process to find the right manager? Of course, when the fans start saying they want him out, they want to change the atmosphere, they want to pick up a win, your position becomes untenable. I get that.
There’ll be a few managers looking over their shoulder. If West Ham keep going the way they’re going, because I think Lopetegui got a little bit lucky when they won the other weekend, otherwise he would have been in the same position as O’Neill and Russell Martin. He would have been gone.”
Mid-week matches
The Carabao Cup returns this week, with the quarterfinals. Every club left in it will want to win it, but which club do you think really needs to win it?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “I think Arsenal needs to be one of the teams that takes the Carabao Cup seriously. Not only just for the fans, but for the players. Because at the minute, they’ve had two seasons where they’ve been unbelievable. If Pep wasn’t the manager for Man City, they most probably would have won the league two seasons in a row. Now they’ve had a little drop-off, Liverpool are running away with the Premier League, and Chelsea are now back in the picture.
I think for them to win that might kick them on to where they need to go. This group of Arsenal players need to experience winning a trophy together.
If I was going to say out of the teams left, who are desperate to win it, then I would say Spurs. They need to win something now. There’s enough talk about sacking Ange Postecoglou. Just go and win something and get that monkey off the club’s back.”
England national team
Thomas Tuchel steps into the England job from January. What do you make of the appointment?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “It’s a hard appointment in many ways. Where were the FA supposed to go next? There was a lot of talk in terms of him not being English, but I always said if Klopp or Pep got that job, would you be saying he’s not English? I just think at the end of the day, we need a manager. If that’s what the FA want to run with, I think his CV speaks for itself in terms of what he’s won, what he’s done.
I always say, it’ll be hard not to do well with the pool of players England have right now.
His only kicker is how well Southgate’s done in his tenure there, that he’s got us two finals. So now Tuchel is in a position where, effectively, we don’t just want him to get us to finals, we want him to get us across the line and win one.
He’s got a lot of work to do, but I think he can do it. I think with the players we’ve got, the form that quite a lot of them are in, I think we’re in a very strong position.
I think we need a feisty manager. We need somebody that hits back. Because in many ways, him hitting back, that’s him protecting these players. It will be weird because I don’t think the FA are used to working with managers like that. It’ll be interesting to see how they make it work.
I think it’ll be good for England, especially the boys. I think it’ll be good because he’s going to be demanding.”
Manchester City
With City, and we know Pep likes working with a smaller squad, but if they could turn back the clock to the summer knowing what they know now, do you think they would have done more than sign Savinho and Gundogan?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “If Pep had a crystal ball and knew he was going to have eight injuries and players that by still aren’t up to match fitness at Christmas, then 100% I think every manager would say, ‘Yeah, I would have bought more players.’
I think this is the first year where City haven’t actually bought a player in the summer. So that was a strange, but when you look at the squad they have there, do you need to fix it when Gundogan’s coming back and Savinho’s there? Do you need to actually really buy somebody?
Nobody could predict the injury coming with Rodri, you’ve also brought in Kovacic.
I’m sitting here thinking, ‘yeah, we need more players,’ but the fact that these players haven’t had a proper summer off for the best part of four years is the kicker and that’s a much bigger problem.
That’s not only killed City, it’s killed a few other teams as well, but just at different points. This is the first time it feels like we’re not coping as well with it as we normally would have done.”
Florian Wirtz is someone that has been linked with a move to the club. Do you think he would be a good option to replace Kevin De Bruyne?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “Florian Wirtz would definitely excite me. If it happens, only Pep knows where he’s going to put him. You’ve got Phil Foden. Jack Grealish, we’ve always known he can play inside. You’ve got Kevin De Bruyne. Bernardo comes inside. So, the only thing I would say: is he for the rebuild? Or is he for what’s happening, what you want to achieve, or change now?
I think if he’s on the list, I don’t think it’s a January target. I think that would be more of a summer target and then you start integrating him properly. Right now, City need somebody who can deliver an instant impact.
City are struggling with defensive midfielders and defenders. They’re the ones picking up the injuries. Of course, it would be nice to get an attacker as well, but they have good attackers. They just need an edge. If Savinho gets a goal, I think we’re going to see a completely different player. Doku needs to kick on a bit more and we’re waiting for Foden. Then we’re all taking differently.
I can’t see the club going for an attacker, not in January, not right now. If it is, it will be somebody just to give Haaland a break so he can get rested every now and again.”
City have been linked with a move for Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes. Is he a player that you would like to see your club look to bring in?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “I think he’s an unbelievable player. He’s always up there in terms of duels, keeps great possession of the ball, works his socks off and he keeps that ball moving. I think in terms of the way Arsenal and City play, he’s one of those guys that you want because he’s good at possession and keeping the ball within those midfield areas.
He doesn’t necessarily rush. So, for me, anyone who gets him, they’ll be delighted with what he can bring to the team.”
I saw City were linked with a move for former United player Paul Pogba. Would that be a good signing in your opinion?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “You can’t really take away the talent that the Paul Pogba’s got. I think it’s wrong for people just to assume, ‘OK, he’s had his bad time, he’s just gone as a player.’ He’s still quite young. I’ve seen him, he still looks trim and in shape. I think if you can get him fit, the ability that he has – if you can get him working and defending – the ability he has going forward in terms those raking passes that he can play, the goals that he can score or the skills that he can do, if you can get him where he needs to be quickly, I think it’d be a plus for a lot of clubs in the Premier League, especially with the amount of games the top four have to play. It’d be massive.
Paul Pogba could be an important player for any of the top clubs in the Premier League.”
Manchester United
One big call was dropping Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho from the squad and telling them by WhatsApp – does that push both players closer towards the United exit door?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “At least they got a text. Back in my day, sometimes you would just walk in the changing room and your name wouldn’t be on the board. So at least they were aware of the fact that they weren’t playing.
He’s made these decisions for whatever reason, and I would say looking at the game, I wouldn’t necessarily say it was the right decision watching United play.
I think it was pretty similar to the way they played against Arsenal. They made it really difficult for Arsenal to play through the middle and create as many chances as they wanted. The only difference was Arsenal got two set pieces.
City managed to score a goal but other than the mistake for the penalty, obviously the goal, the chance from Fernandes where he chips wide, United didn’t really do too much in that game.
I’m not saying City played well but it was a weird game. He’s got them playing the way the system needs to be played, but without creating enough chances. I feel like normally within the Premier League, if you’re going to give up playing high-risk football, you’re at least going to give away one or two chances. Then you have to create two to four chances a game minimum, because the chances are you’re going to miss some. So, you need to have more output in terms of going forward.
If you’re going to play that way against City and Arsenal, you need the people like Rashford, Garnacho and Amad, because they’re the ones that can go over the top and stretch the game, they’re the ones that can play that counter-attacking football. United didn’t really have much going forward against City in the game. I was quite shocked.
I couldn’t understand how City lost. In the space of five minutes at the Etihad, you’re just losing 2-1. It was just… It was a weird game to watch.
I can’t explain what happened. All I know is that it messed my whole day up.”
If you had to name three players that Ruben Amorim should be looking to build his team around, who would it be and why?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “Obviously, Bruno. I would say Amad as well because I quite like him, his work rate. The way he wants to play, those two suit those midfield areas. I’m not sure if he knows the rest of his midfield.
I’d also say Mazraoui. He seems to play a lot, and he seems to play the way Amorim wants to play.
Other than that, I still think he’s still trying to find out who he likes and who he doesn’t like.
I think, not because of talent, but Rashord and Garnacho have got a problem because they’re not used to playing that 10 position, both of them are used to being very wide.
He doesn’t play wide wingers; he plays with wingbacks, and I don’t think either of those two could be a wingback.
I think they’re going to find it hard to get into Amorim’s team in terms of attacking positions because I don’t think he knows his front two or three yet.
Amorim has tried Zirkzee and Rasmus, and both are completely different sort of strikers. He messes around with the two number 10s, but I don’t think it is going to work for all of United’s attacking players unless he teaches them how to play that role. I can see Amorim bringing in a few of his own players in the summer or even in January if he can get them.”
Liverpool
Do you think there is any danger that off the field distractions, like Mo Salah’s, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s contract’s expiring could have a negative effect on Liverpool’s title bid?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “No, the contract situations of Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold hasn’t, from what we’ve seen, had any impact on Liverpool’s performances this season.
I would say for Liverpool, it’s quite scary how the club has allowed three of its biggest players be in the same position at the same time. What have they been doing for the last two years? You know renewal time is coming up, especially Salah, who you got a £200 million bid for, and you both said you want to stay. It doesn’t then make sense to then let him get to this point where, from a business perspective, he can just walk. Liverpool may have missed out on £200 million by not agreeing a new contract with him.
How is that even possible? I don’t understand how they’ve allowed that to happen. Just to sign one of those three players to a new contract is hard. Liverpool have to try and do three. And they all have massive clubs that they can go to, or that would like to have them there. Each of them could literally pick their next club.
We need to keep those players in the Premier League, not let them go. I hope they all stay.”
Out of those three players, which ones are more likely to stay?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “I think it’s hard. I almost think if they win the Premier League this year, some of them might move on. I think if they don’t, it will be likelier that they stay. I think Trent’s got it the hardest at the moment, because there’s Connor Bradley behind him. He might not be able to do what Trent does in terms of creativity with the passes he sees, the passes he plays, and the goals he gets, but defensively he gives Liverpool what the team needs.
Whereas I think if Virgil goes, there aren’t many centre-backs like him in the world, let alone at Liverpool.
And then is there another Salah around? No, there isn’t. So, it’s going to be interesting.
But I hope they will stay because it’s good for the Premier League, it’s good for English football.”
Mo Salah has proven that he’s more than capable of operating at the top table of the Premier League. Could you see a domestic rival make an audacious move to bring him in on a free transfer?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “If I was a manager, I definitely would. But it doesn’t happen very often in the Premier League with this sort of player, at that level”
Are you surprised by Arne Slot’s success?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “No. I’m not surprised by Arne Slot’s success. In terms of the way Klopp ran the club, I think he left it in a fantastic position. Last season, not only were the senior players playing, but I also noticed the emergence of a lot of young talents.
So, Klopp wanted to put these players on a page. Whoever’s coming in next has already seen this. So now he knows what he’s working with, and I think what Slot’s done fantastically is hasn’t come in and got rid of the Klopp way.
He’s moved Klopp’s way of playing it forward in his eyes, in terms of risk taking with the ball a lot, they’re not as risky as they were under Klopp. They seem to be a little bit more patient, in many ways conservative, but when they do go, they go.
They still have that element, and when you’ve got people like Salah with the way he’s playing, he can be quiet for 89 minutes, then get a chance and put it in the top corner. Or he’ll get a penalty, or he’ll get an assist. So, I think the way they’re playing right now, and I want to single-out Gravenberch too, it has been unbelievable.
I wouldn’t necessarily say I’ve seen them blow teams away. I’ve seen Arsenal blow teams away this season, where they should have been out of sight and maybe it hasn’t happened. Whereas Liverpool just, I wouldn’t say amble through it, but they cruise.
Even if they go one or two nil down, they’re like, it’s fine, we’ve got this. They change gears whenever they need to, it seems.”
Chelsea
Chelsea just keep on winning. What are the things that you have been really impressed by about them this season?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “The mentality of the players, because there have been games where they’ve been behind, there have been games where they’ve made mistakes and they’ve been punished. Apart from the City game, they still came through to show people their capabilities, especially Cole Palmer.
Since last season, Nicholas Jackson is probably one of the most improved players in the Premier League. In terms of his numbers, the way he’s playing, his decision-making in that final third. He’s got Enzo and Caicedo working. I think when Lavia plays, Chelsea are a completely different proposition.
Gusto has been unbelievable. I think it’s something that everybody would say. It feels like they’re missing maybe two players to have that perfect squad because there’s one thing that we’ve never said about Chelsea, we’ve never said that they don’t have players that are good enough to compete.
It was always, ‘What is going on at Chelsea? Why aren’t these players performing?’ Now you’ve got a manager that is making them perform. He’s shown them a system, a way of playing, and from that players are thriving. Especially players like Caicedo, who came from playing in a system at Brighton, to Chelsea, who didn’t really have a system.
He had moments and phases within games, whereas now he knows exactly what he’s going to do and when he needs to do it. If he needs to add little parts into it, he can, because he already knows about the other parts, and I think a lot of players are thriving from it.
I love watching Cucurella play. I have always liked him since Brighton. It’s great to see him performing well. Ben Chilwell is just chilling.
Reece James is still injured, but Chelsea are still doing what they are doing. The only question marks about this team are in defence and in goal. If a prime Thiago Silva was still there, if Courtois was still there, then you’re thinking, Chelsea could probably go on and win the Premier League.
I like the way that Enzo Maresca and his players have handled the title talk. They’ve said, ‘Don’t worry about all that, we’re just going to play our games.’ Everyone has been so focused on City, Liverpool and Arsenal’s rivalry at the top, Chelsea are just cruising by, doing their business and winning the games that they are supposed to win. Now, everybody thinks Chelsea have an outside chance, so I want to see how they deal with that, because everybody’s talking about them rather than the other teams at this moment in time.”
Enzo Maresca is refusing to say that his team are in the title race publicly, do you think he’s saying the same thing to his players privately?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “I would say that Maresca is keeping them focused game-by-game. They’re not focused on the league. I think a lot of teams like Arsenal, City or Liverpool when they are going for the title, they don’t even focus on the league until the last two months of the season.
They just play game-by-game, and I think in many ways it makes it easier for those players to deal with. They’re playing sometimes in three or four different competitions. You can’t just think about winning the league when you’ve got to focus on the Champions League, the FA Cup or the Carabao Cup. I think Maresca will keep taking it game by game.
He seems like he’s good at resetting a team, after a win. Saying that it does not matter anymore, we need to win the next game.
He’s created a winning mentality there already. They just want to win. City and Arsenal, that’s what they had – they just knew how to win.”
At the beginning of the season, I think most people would have been happy with a place in the top four for Chelsea, that could have even surpassed some people’s expectations – what’s the objective now?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “Chelsea have shown so many people that you can’t buy the Premier League. It’s taken them a long time to get this team playing together, and it’s taken them Enzo Maresca.
So, you can have all the players, but if you don’t have the manager to make it work, it doesn’t work. He’s making these fantastic players that Chelsea spent all that money on come to life.
He seems more like a coach than a manager. He seems to be making younger players better or if they’re not getting better, they’re playing better. I think that is massive for the game of football within the Premier League. We know now, young kids coming through, they could be English, we know they’re going to become better players and better people in general, just from playing for this manager. That is what the great managers do. Klopp, Arteta, Pep, they make players better.
And the depth that Chelsea have got in the wide areas is absolutely ridiculous. The depth they’ve got all round is absolutely ridiculous.”
The depth that Chelsea have in the wide areas is absolutely outstanding. Who would be your two first choice wingers/wide forwards and why?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “I’d play Neto and Noni. Cole Palmer will be number 10. He’s a maverick. He just needs to be on the pitch somewhere.
I think they’re both direct when they need to be. I think Neto’s a bit more patient. He’ll come out; he’ll play little cute passes. Noni’s a bit more aggressive and direct, he sometimes needs to lift his head up a little bit quicker, but he’ll learn that. And then you’ve got Jackson obviously down the middle, but my two wingers, I’d say, Neto and Madueke.”
How does the depth in the wide areas compare to your time at Chelsea when you were competing with the likes of Joe Cole, Arjen Robben, Florent Malouda, Kalou?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “Don’t forget Damien Duff! I think it’s healthy for players. I don’t think there should be any player in a Premier League team, whether it be the top or bottom, that should just feel like they’re going to play every game. I feel like you have to earn the right to play for a club and walk out in that shirt whether it’s in a Premier League game, a cup game or a tournament. You need to earn that right.
If there’s another player pushing, the likelihood is you’re going to try even harder, because if you don’t play that well, he’s going to take your space, and you don’t know when you’re next going to get a long run of games. Healthy competition raises the standards.”
One player that has struggled since he joined the club is Mykhailo Mudryk. He’s looked good in the Conference League this season but hasn’t looked like making the difference in the Premier League. Do you have faith that he can become a key player for Chelsea or his transfer one that will have to be written off as a bit of a flop?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “Mudryk might be a transfer that hasn’t necessarily worked out. I love seeing young talents try to do well. So, I honestly hope he can develop and turn into a player that Chelsea can rely upon in the Premier League, not just the Conference League. The highlights we saw when he first came on against Liverpool, his debut, the stuff he was doing then, I was like, wow.
I don’t think that just disappears. I feel it goes through confidence. But if you can do it against Liverpool, you can do that against everybody.
So, I’m hoping he gets back to that. It’s easy for us to sit here and say he’s not good enough or he’s playing with no confidence. It’s harder for him to get back to it, especially with what he’s possibly hearing or seeing; especially with what could be happening in his personal life and Ukraine.
So, if Maresca can get him back to that, I think they’ll have some player on their hands because he looked like he had good feet. He looked like he was making the right choices in terms of passes. They need to get him back to that player.”
Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong recently said that Victor Osimhen is a Chelsea fan and would like to play in the Premier League. Should that be all the encouragement that the blues need to go out and sign him in the summer?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “I think Victor Osimhen would be a top player in the Premier League, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that the striker position is where Chelsea should be prioritising in the next few transfer windows.
They let Thiago Silva go, but they didn’t replace him. I think they need more experience in the defence rather than in the striker position right now. They’re not struggling to score goals. That’s not a problem for them right now.
The problem is they’re conceding goals. If they can cut some of those mistakes then again, we see a different Chelsea.”
Arsenal
During your career, there were always whispers of Arsenal interest, obviously there are family connections, was that ever true?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “Yeah, there was an opportunity to join Arsenal. Arsenal were the first movers in terms of when I first left City. The only reason it didn’t happen is because Arsene Wenger wanted to wait until January, and I think City needed it to happen right away, because it wasn’t something that me or my agent at that time forced.
It was something that the club had to make happen in terms of they would have gone into administration if they didn’t sell me. So, if Arsene Wenger had just said ‘Okay, we will take him now,’ I most probably would have played for Arsene rather than Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.
My dad (Arsenal legend Ian Wright) was always excited, but he just wanted it done. He’s just always brought me up in football with the mindset that you always strike while the iron’s hot because you could go on a pitch the next week and break your ankle.
When we were going to Chelsea, when we were walking down to Stamford Bridge, he was mad excited. And he was like, ‘What’s wrong with you? Somebody stole your wallet or something?’ I replied: ‘I’m just a lot more chilled than you are.’
Arsenal was a sliding doors moment for me.”
The huge debate at Arsenal is, if they had a “proper number nine” they would be further ahead now. Where do you stand on that?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “It sounds like a similar story to when City were playing with no number nine. They won the league. Arsenal were close to winning the league without a number nine for possibly two seasons.
I understand the facts of having a number nine, especially if you can find one like Haaland or Lewandowski, strikers that can score as many goals as they do, even in a supposedly bad run of form.
I think it’s more about getting the rest of your players to chip in with goals.
Saka chips in. If Odegaard gets back to chipping in, if Martinelli or Trossard chips in, then people don’t really think about whether Arsenal are not scoring enough goals. It’s only when they’re not scoring as many goals as people want them to score, that’s when Arsenal need a number nine.
The game that Odegaard came back in, and Jesus started up front, that’s the first time I’ve seen Arsenal play like how they were when Arteta first got there, in terms of the front four rotation. Odegaard was threading little cute passes that link up. Him, Saka, and Jesus were working that right-hand side, and it gave players time to get around and Partey to pick out passes.
So yeah, it would be fantastic to have a number nine that scores bucket loads of goals, but there aren’t that many of them in the game. Everybody’s got to realise that football has changed, and there’s not that many number nines that just consistently score goals anymore.”
Talk to me about Bukayo Saka. How do you think he compares to the best players in the Premier League?
Shaun Wright Phillips: “I would say in terms of wingers, he’s probably in the top five wingers that’s ever played in the Premier League in terms of what they’re putting out there on the pitch, game after game after game.
He’s probably one of the least rested Arsenal players, and people always want to see players do well consistently, that’s what he does season after season. That’s what everybody wants to see. He can play badly, but he can still score you a goal or create you a chance. Whereas some wingers can play badly and won’t affect the game. So, we can say, ‘Saka had a quiet game. Oh yeah, it wasn’t his greatest game, but he still got an assist and scored a goal.’
He finds a way to leave his mark in every game. That is massive for Arsenal, and it’s massive for England.
Watching him is beautiful to see and he seems so humble. He just seems like he enjoys football, and that’s what you want from your wingers, you want people to get excited.
When you talk about wingers, as soon as he gets the ball, the anticipation in the Emirates, people watching him, pundits, wondering, ‘What’s he going to do now?’
Then he cuts. There’s an edge. I love watching him play.”
