Monday 4 March 2013 13:29, UK
Kammy looks at hat-trick heroes Kagawa and Suarez, a big win for QPR and further woe for Wenger.
Shinji Kagawa scored a hat-trick during Man United's 4-0 win over Norwich and his finishing, especially for the second and third goals, was extremely cool and reminiscent of a young Paul Scholes. He has been on the periphery since he joined from Borussia Dortmund in the summer but that is mainly because of injury and Sir Alex Ferguson has always said what a fantastic player the Japanese is. He looks like he will provide plenty of ammunition for United, both in terms of goals and assists, and could play an integral role for the rest of the season for a club that have a huge goal threat and are only getting stronger. United will have to be strong to come through Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night because Jose Mourinho's men have hit form at the right time and beaten Barcelona twice in a week - but let's hope they do it to keep up the possibility of having an English team in May's final at Wembley.
Wenger is a legend and a top-drawer football manager and has done so much for Arsenal but you don't want to see him struggling, so if the Gunners do not qualify for the Champions League some tough decisions may have to be made. Wenger is probably getting frustrated with the length of time it has been since his team won a trophy and while you would hope that if Arsenal do miss out on a top-four place, he could go away for a few months, recharge his batteries and then go again, he may feel he like is past his sell-by date. If he does leave, I want it to be on his terms - but who do Arsenal replace him with? Pep Guardiola has gone to Bayern Munich and you cannot see Mourinho going there and even though there are good managers in European leagues, there are no obvious candidates. Perhaps Arsenal's biggest problem is not the manager - they played quite well against Tottenham - but the fact that they are not spending the money the fans have generated?
The Spaniard wanted to get a few things off his chest and while he has right to do that, he should have been a bit more careful when criticising Blues fans. He would have been better thanking the Chelsea faithful, who had travelled a long way from London to Middlesbrough on a week night for their support but then calmly said that their booing was not helping him or the players and asked if they could get behind the side when they were playing a game. That would have taken the onus off him and the fans would have probably thought: 'Yeah, he's right, we are all after the same thing'. However, Benitez was probably bit too critical and what he did is unlikely to result in Chelsea supporters being a bit kinder to him. The trouble he will always have, though, is that his Liverpool connection is not easily forgotten by Blues fans and they will always boo him over the chairman, because they fear Roman Abramovich will walk away and take his money with him if they get on his back.
When Thierry Henry came to Arsenal people said he couldn't finish his breakfast, but Wenger thought he was just unlucky and the goals eventually came. The same thing has happened with Suarez, who is now adding goals to his outstanding approach play, as he proved by netting a hat-trick against Wigan as the Reds won 4-0. We did a little poll on Goals on Sunday asking people who they thought would win Player of the Year - Robin van Persie and Gareth Bale got a mention, of course, while I nominated Michu and some Chelsea fans put Juan Mata's name forward - but Suarez has to be up there because he has taken over from Steven Gerrard as Liverpool's talisman. We saw a little spat between Wigan's Emmerson Boyce and James McArthur during Saturday's game and while it wasn't nice viewing, it shows they have the desire to help get their club out of the relegation zone and are not prepared to settle for losing.
The story that some QPR players enjoyed a few too many drinks during a recent tour could have really backfired on them and they could have quite easily slipped to defeat against Southampton, but Harry Redknapp kept his squad together and Rangers recorded a much-needed win over their fellow relegation contenders. Fair play to Harry, too, for backing his players and insisting that these allegations were completely untrue and you get the feeling that it is going to create an 'us against the world mentality' and make QPR more determined to prove their doubters wrong and stay in the Premier League. They have certainly given themselves a chance and considering the Londoners are just four points from safety and have some winnable games coming up, the great escape is on.
Who could replace Arsene Wenger in the Arsenal dugout? Who is your Player of the Year so far? Can QPR stay up? Let us know your thoughts using the feedback form below...
