Arsene Wenger was keen to cool expectations over Jack Wilshere after the midfielder made his first start for the club in over a year on Wednesday.
Wilshere spent last season on loan at Bournemouth and has only recently returned from a broken leg.
He put in an encouraging display as Arsenal beat League One Doncaster 1-0 in the Carabao Cup, completing 90 minutes for the Gunners for the first time since September 2014.
But Arsenal boss Wenger was keen to “put this game into perspective”.
Jose Mourinho was pleased to see Manchester United’s attacking players enjoying their football as they kicked off their League Cup defence with a 4-0 victory over Burton.
Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial starred as United eased past the Sky Bet Championship club in the Carabao Cup third-round tie, and Mourinho hailed a professional performance.
When asked how impressed he was with 19-year-old England international Rashford, Mourinho told Sky Sports:
“Yes, but Martial was good, (Juan) Mata was good, (Jesse) Lingard was good.
“I think everybody in attacking areas gave a good dynamic to the team and especially happiness. We look happy playing football in this moment and that’s what I want.
Tottenham will host West Ham in an-all London derby in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
The tie between Mauricio Pochettino and Slaven Bilic’s bitter rivals is the pick of the ties for the last 16, which sees Chelsea face Everton at Stamford Bridge.
They are two of just three all-Premier League ties, completed by Manchester United’s trip to Swansea.
Elsewhere Arsenal host Championship outfit Norwich and Wolves will take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace go away to Bristol City while Championship-toppers Leeds face Leicester at the King Power Stadium.
Jurgen Klopp was dealt another blow on Tuesday night as Liverpool were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Leicester City.
Shinji Okazaki’s goal and a wonder-strike from Islam Slimani gave Leicester a 2-0 third-round win.
A frustrated Klopp, whose side have failed to win or keep a clean sheet in their last four games, told Sky Sports: ‘I am sick of goals like this. Leicester somehow survive in the game because we’re not clinical enough. They scored too easily.’
The game turned at half-time when Philippe Coutinho was withdrawn for Ben Woodburn and Liverpool lost their attacking spark.
Robert Lewandowski has instructed his agent to push through a move from Bayern Munich to Real Madrid, according to AS.
The Polish striker made waves earlier this summer when he questioned why the German champions didn’t match the spending of Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.
Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge then added fuel to the flame by mentioning in an interview with German newspaper Bild that Real Madrid was ‘the club of Lewandowski’s dreams’.
And now, according to the Spanish outlet, these issues have come to a head with the forward believing this is the perfect time to make the move to the Bernabeu and insisting his agent sounds out the La Liga giants.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte was hard at work on the training ground on Friday to ensure his men were fully prepared for an Arsenal side he believes can ‘fight for the title’.
Chelsea welcome the Gunners to Stamford Bridge on Sunday with Conte’s side in perilous form following their 6-0 win over Champions League newcomers Qarabag on Tuesday.
An early blip against Sean Dyche’s Burnley which threatened to derail the Blues seems all but a distant memory, with Conte’s side following the result with four wins on the bounce.
Arsene Wenger has challenged his players to prove they don’t have an inferiority complex against the Premier League big guns.
Since the start of the 2012-13 season, they have won just 11 of their 51 league games against the five other teams in last season’s top six — hardly a boost for Sunday’s trip to Chelsea.
‘It is important that we get a result against a top four rival, said Wenger.
He continued: ‘Nobody would deny that. If you calculate the positions in the top four then, of course, it will be decided by your results against your direct opponents. This is an acid test, of course.’
The 2017/18 UEFA Champions League group stage draw has been made, with highlights including Bayern Munich v PSG, Chelsea v Atlético Madrid, Juventus v Barcelona and Real Madrid v Dortmund.
GROUP A (BENFICA, MANCHESTER UNITED, BASEL, CSKA MOSCOW)
Jose Mourinho can be happy with how Manchester United’s return after a one-year absence shapes, and his own quest to be the first person to coach three different clubs to European glory. Benfica is a consistent performer in the second tier of Europe’s elite; Basel has been weakened by persistent sales of top players since eliminating United in the 2011 groups; and CSKA Moscow finished last in a group that included United in 2015. After such a powerful start to the English Premier League, the three-time European champion should start group favorite.
Jose Mourinho accused his Manchester United stars of disrespecting Basle on Tuesday, claiming they were more interested in fancy flicks and ‘PlayStation football’ than killing the tie off.
United were cruising to victory thanks to goals from Marouane Fellaini and Romelu Lukaku but Mourinho was left angry at a lack of professionalism before Marcus Rashford’s third.
‘After 2-0 I think everything changed and we stopped to play, stopped to think, stopped to play seriously,’ Mourinho fumed.
‘We stopped to make the right decisions on the pitch and we could put ourselves in trouble.
Jose Mourinho has outlined the scale of the overhaul he believed was necessary when he arrived at Manchester United in May 2016.
The United boss has overseen a dramatic transformation in the playing staff since then, with this summer’s arrivals of Victor Lindelof, Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku meaning he is getting ever closer to managing a truly ‘Mourinho’ side.
However, the Special One believes it will take a full THREE summers for him to truly ‘rebuild’ the team, following the struggles of the immediate post-Sir Alex Ferguson years.
