For and Against Sacking Unai Emery, Manuel Pellegrini and Marco Silva

 Unai Emery, Manuel Pellegrini and Marco Silva are under pressure at Arsenal, West Ham and Everton respectively. Photograph: EPA/REX Shutterstock/Getty
Unai Emery, Manuel Pellegrini and Marco Silva are under pressure at Arsenal, West Ham and Everton respectively. Photograph: EPA/REX Shutterstock/Getty
TT
20

For and Against Sacking Unai Emery, Manuel Pellegrini and Marco Silva

 Unai Emery, Manuel Pellegrini and Marco Silva are under pressure at Arsenal, West Ham and Everton respectively. Photograph: EPA/REX Shutterstock/Getty
Unai Emery, Manuel Pellegrini and Marco Silva are under pressure at Arsenal, West Ham and Everton respectively. Photograph: EPA/REX Shutterstock/Getty

The case for sacking

Emery has never felt like the right man for Arsenal. He is conscious that no real bond has ever been forged with the fans, although he has not necessarily had much help in that regard, and whether he has the charisma to take on a top job in modern-day football is debatable. But those things can be worked through if the results and style of play are good, and Arsenal appear in a muddle. Emery has switched between back threes and fours, veered from high pressing to a more reactive approach, preached the need for more control while only cajoling a handful of 90-minute performances and become ensnared in messy situations around key figures like Granit Xhaka and Mesut Özil. A mid-table finish would be hugely damaging and, if no change is made now, that looks increasingly possible.

The case for keeping

The cost of changing things now makes any mid-season switch a big gamble. By some estimates it would take £15m to sever ties with Emery and his staff, and then there is the expense of bringing someone in with the skill and gravitas to turn things around. A hasty decision would not cut it; giving someone like Freddie Ljungberg the keys for six months would only be a populist call and, while a longer-term appointment might bring a spike in results, this is the time to take stock and decide who can propel Arsenal forward for years. It would be prudent to wait until the end of the season and, in the meantime, hope Emery can thrive in his natural habitat among a beatable Europa League field. As Emery has pointed out, factors like Laurent Koscielny’s protracted departure and the issues befalling Özil and Xhaka have upset the “emotional balance” of his squad and not aided his task. More upheaval would not necessarily bring calmer waters. Nick Ames

Manuel Pellegrini
The situation

West Ham, who have not won since beating Manchester United on 22 September, have picked up only two points from the last 21 available in the Premier League (won 0, drawn 2, lost 5).

The case for sacking

It did not have to be this bad without Lukasz Fabianski. The goalkeeper has been badly missed since suffering a hip injury in September and, unfortunately, the decision to deploy Roberto as his replacement is threatening to define Pellegrini’s reign. The Spaniard was picked by Mario Husillos, West Ham’s director of football, and he is woefully out of his depth. Yet it is not just about Roberto. Husillos was hired on Pellegrini’s insistence and the pair have made costly mistakes in the transfer market (giving the injury-prone Jack Wilshere a three-year deal is unforgivable). Tactically, Pellegrini is inflexible and unable to accept West Ham are in a relegation battle. He has also created a flimsy, indulgent side and an increasingly alarmed hierarchy fear they could be forced to act soon.

The case for keeping

Pellegrini has a wealth of experience and West Ham have not lost all faith in his managerial acumen. There was excitement when the former Manchester City manager arrived at the London Stadium as David Moyes’s replacement in May 2018. His attacking style also seemed in keeping with West Ham’s traditions. There were also promising signs after a poor start last season, with wins over Arsenal, Manchester United and Spurs getting supporters onside. The hope at board level is that results will improve when Fabianski is fit again. It will also cost a lot to sack a manager who has 18 months left on a deal worth £7m a year. Jacob Steinberg

Marco Silva
The situation

Beaten 2-0 at home by rock-bottom Norwich on Saturday. Everton are four points off the teams in the relegation zone and face a daunting run over the next few weeks against Leicester, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United.

The case for sacking

Silva was an initial success at his two previous clubs in England before the improvement proved unsustainable. Everton were warned when appointing Silva that he came with no guarantee but at the time they simply wanted someone with a bit more style and sophistication than Sam Allardyce. On the whole they have been disappointed. Everton have not developed a settled way of playing and have been wildly inconsistent. The season is only 13 matches old and the seven defeats to date have included capitulations to all three promoted clubs. Silva has been backed with money but 15th is a long way from what the club was expecting and the fixture list until the end of the year is horrendous.

The case for keeping

Some Everton fans are of the opinion the club should go straight out and lasso Mauricio Pochettino, forgetting the best time to do that was six or seven years ago when Southampton did it. A manager who has just been to a Champions League final and is hungry for more is unlikely to be in a hurry to align himself with a club that perennially misses out on the elite positions, especially another one in the process of relocating to a new ground. The present Everton manager is a reasonable approximation of what a younger Pochettino had to offer. He may not be moving the club forward very quickly but at some point Everton have to stop chopping and changing, especially when it is not clear they can attract anyone better. Paul Wilson

The Guardian Sport



Alcaraz Resists Rublev to Reach Wimbledon Quarter-finals

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning a game against Russia's Andrey Rublev during their men's singles fourth round tennis match on the seventh day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning a game against Russia's Andrey Rublev during their men's singles fourth round tennis match on the seventh day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
TT
20

Alcaraz Resists Rublev to Reach Wimbledon Quarter-finals

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning a game against Russia's Andrey Rublev during their men's singles fourth round tennis match on the seventh day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning a game against Russia's Andrey Rublev during their men's singles fourth round tennis match on the seventh day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

Carlos Alcaraz came through a ferocious fourth-round firefight against a red-hot Andrey Rublev to win 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4 6-4 on Centre Court and keep his bid for a third successive Wimbledon title on track on Sunday.

The Spanish second seed stuttered in his opening three rounds but found his best form to eventually subdue an inspired opponent who once again came up short against the very best, Reuters reported.

Rublev rocked Alcaraz by roaring into a 4-1 lead only to be pegged back but the Russian produced some astonishing tennis to snatch the tiebreak and move ahead.

Alcaraz never looked ruffled though and levelled the match after Rublev double-faulted on a break point. Rublev continued throwing everything in his arsenal at the champion in the third set but paid for not taking some early break points as Alcaraz found another gear.

Alcaraz looked impregnable in the fourth set and a single break of serve was enough to seal a 22nd successive match win and set up a last-eight clash with Britain's Cameron Norrie.

"Andrey is one of the most powerful players we have on Tour and is so aggressive with the ball. It's really difficult to face him, he forces you to the limit on each point," Alcaraz, bidding to become only the fourth man to win back-to-back French Open and Wimbledon titles multiple times, said on court.

"Really happy with the way I moved and played intelligent and smart tactically. A really good match all round."

With so many seeds having fallen early, this was the first match between top-20 players in the men's singles this year and it did not disappoint as the quality scaled rare heights.

Rublev, 27, has barely been outside of the top 10 since 2022 but has never got close to winning a Grand Slam, losing all 10 quarter-finals that he has contested.

The 14th seed must have sighed when he saw Alcaraz in his way in the fourth round, but he came out in positive fashion, off-loading rockets at the five-time Grand Slam champion.

With the roof closed after earlier thunderstorms the noise of the ball striking strings sounded like rifle shots.

Rublev hit harder, then harder still and at 5-5 in the opening set launched an outrageous backhand winner off a full-blooded Alcaraz forehand and then followed with a powerful forehand of his own to the baseline to move a set ahead.

He barely did anything wrong after that but Alcaraz, finally clicking into gear after three scratchy wins, showed why taking the title off him will be such a tough task.

The turning point came at 3-3 in the third set when Rublev, attempting to save a break point, sent Alcaraz sliding from side to side with a barrage of power only for the Spaniard to whip a forehand cross court winner, before cupping his ear to the crowd who rose as one to salute the moment of genius.

Rublev stuck manfully to his task but he was powerless to prevent an 11th loss from 11 matches against top-five opponents at a Grand Slam.