It has been such an unusual Premier League season, even Crystal Palace seem to be aiming for European football, writes Daniel Storey.

Average Arsenal have little left to play for this season after they limped out of the Europa League in a dramatic injury time defeat.

Manchester City’s history in European football is a curious case of the premature, the never-has-been and, as of today, the maybe-never-will-be, writes Simon Curtis.

In a period where Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea all won multiple titles, Jurgen Klopp’s side are pursuing their first.

There can be few doubts that Mikel Arteta is a good fit for Arsenal, despite his appointment representing something of a calculated gamble. The North Londoners have famously gambled before on the management front and come up trumps. There is, therefore, no need to get more than medium-sized jitters about the arrival of a man whose profile fits the bill on many levels.

Just when a beautiful story, which famously began with a newspaper asking ‘Arsene Who?’ looked to be instead ending with a headline of‘Arsenal Who?’, the Gunners have taken one tiny step torediscovering their identity.

ARSENAL likes to boast it is 'always ahead of the game.' Maybe they were, once, but now the club is in a mess of their own making having sacked head coach Unai Emery less than halfway through his second season in charge.

Arsenal have sacked boss Unai Emery following a run of seven games without a win.

In the clamour for football ‘content’ we are now flies on every wall, forever ‘behind the scenes’.

Four hundred friends packed into St Agatha's Church, Kingston in London today for the funeral service of Trizia Fiorellino, who wrote on all matters Chelsea for this newspaper.

Offering an idea for sale to the week’s sport In the North London derby tomorrow afternoon, Unai Emery and Mauricio Pochettino will enjoy a welcome break from the tedious business of narrative control.

The song lyrics famously remind us that Spurs always win when the year ends in one but, as Mauricio Pochettino’s side face their north London derby rivals at the Emirates this weekend, Arsenal’s lucky nine could carry just as much weight.

Upbeat Emery sees some signs of hope amid the destruction at Anfield

Arsenal director Josh Kroenke believes the club’s activity in the summer transfer market shows they still have an “aura”.

The pressure is on Unai Emery to deliver at Arsenal this season. Failure to finish in the top four or win a trophy could signal an abrupt end for Arsene Wenger’s successor at London’s biggest club. Wenger’s early success and general brilliance ultimately afforded him 22 years running football affairs so replacing him was always going to be a challenge despite fortunes waning towards the end of his reign.

Edu has returned to Arsenal to become the club’s first technical director.

Cork have not reached the last eight of the championship since 2014, falling at the fourth-round hurdle each summer since. But irrespective of who Cork are pitted against on this occasion, McCarthy is adamant that his team are well capable of progressing to the Super 8s.

Cork manager Ronan McCarthy refused to be drawn on the performance of referee Anthony Nolan, remarking that he’d be “better off” holding his counsel where the man in the middle is concerned.

There are newish fans who may not fully get the testing faith that is Tottenham Hotspur. But already they recognise the importance of fearing the worst on a daily basis. We must continue to answer the call though, says Enda McEvoy. Audere Est Facere.

Arsenal supporters were warned to be careful what they wished for when they hounded Arsene Wenger out of the club a year ago.

Torreira plays his 50th match for Arsenal tonight.

Declan Bogue Armagh may have made their first Ulster semi-final since 2014, but they could be

As we approach the business end, minds already drift to business time at the Premier League’s fallen powers.

The twins are seven now and have already developed a keen nose for ‘controvassy’.

Arsenal’s schizophrenic, rollercoaster of a season continued at Goodison Park yesterday where Unai Emery’s side maintained the worst away form in the top nine of the Premier League, squandering the chance to move third in the table in the process.

Pep Guardiola realises he cannot stop his Manchester City players dreaming about winning the quadruple, but the City boss will urge them to think game by game in their pursuit of an unprecedented clean sweep.

Like it or loathe it, this is the moment when the away goals rule comes into play in the Champions League. It could play an important role in determining which sides go through to the quarter-finals, both this week and next.

The debate surrounding a succession of contentious decisions will prolong the fallout from the latest North London derby yet while Arsenal left Wembley Stadium convinced they would have been worthy recipients of all three points, it was Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur side who gained most from the stalemate.

Daniel Storey looks at the five biggest takeaways from the weekend’s action.

It’s easy to believe the FA Cup has lost a bit of its shine after Arsene Wenger lifted the famous trophy three times in four years but still lost his job because it was the ‘only’ thing he won; but that doesn’t mean there aren’t clubs going into this year’s third round desperate to reach Wembley.

Daniel Storey on the big takeaways from the weekend's action...

Between defeat at Chelsea in their first away game under Emery and mid-December, Arsenal took 14 of a possible 18 points on the road, but face trips to Brighton and Liverpool having been haunted by the ghost of seasons past against Southampton at St Mary’s.

The most-improved player award isn’t always the most coveted of titles, ranking somewhere above ‘clubman of the year’ but well below the more meaningful individual honours; but for two players at Sunday’s North London derby it is a story worth telling.

Robert Pires has confirmed that he applied to Unai Emery for a position with his backroom team at Arsenal only to find that there is no vacancy at present.

Unai Emery has set a mean stall out. On Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Singapore, the team coach drove by the hotel from the airport and straight to the training ground. A signal of intent to his new players, perhaps, and certainly an instant contribution to the ‘narrative’.

We have been here before in this country, says Larry Ryan.

Bernd Leno will make his Arsenal debut against Vorskla Poltava tonight with head coach Unai Emery challenging him to oust Petr Cech as his first-choice goalkeeper.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference — since Malcolm Gladwell’s seminal book was published in 2000, we have watched for and puzzled over those pivotal moments. Mysterious thresholds when products or messages or behaviours ‘go viral’. When ideas catch on.

Not many managers can claim to have sent a referee into early retirement but Mourinho was accused of precisely that in one of his first European adventures with Chelsea.

Arsenal head coach Unai Emery has warned Mesut Ozil he must help his team-mates to defend as he calls for commitment from all of his players.

They’re coming home, they’re coming home, the footballers are coming home… Well, to their home from home at any rate, the heroes and villains, the few triumphant and the many also-rans, all back from a sensational month in Russia and returning to what nobody ever calls the ‘bread and butter’ of the Premier League (#notthegreatestleagueintheworldbutwedontcallitthateither).

Salah a one-season wonder or the real deal?

Following the traditional ‘slamming shut’ of the transfer window, albeit at the markedly un-traditional time — before a ball has been kicked in anger — attention can now turn to how teams will line up and not to what gaps still need to be filled.

It may seem a little hasty to wring hands and shake heads about the domination of English football’s big six. It is a little over two years since Leicester City secured arguably the most unexpected title victory in football history, and certainly in the history of the English game.