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Manchester United's dismal start to the Premier League season has left Erik ten Hag searching for answers. Fortunately for the Dutchman, an international break presents an opportunity for him to devise a plan to navigate his side out of a messy situation.

Ten Hag has proved that he can improve results, having endured a similarly awful start in 2022-23 before embarking on a run that ultimately saw the Red Devils finish third and win the Carabao Cup. But backed with a £200million summer spend, there is far more pressure this time around.

The United boss may even be able to make use of the transfer market, especially if he believes there is a free agent who can improve his team.

Arsenal have been handed an injury scare that could leave Mikel Arteta sweating ahead of their north London derby clash against Tottenham next week.

The Gunners will face Tottenham in the first of two local derbies this season on September 15, knowing that victory is a must if they are to keep up with Manchester City's storming start to the season.

But confirmation from club captain Martin Odegaard - when speaking to the Norwegian media on Thursday - that he suffered an injury during their 1-1 draw with Brighton will be a cause for concern.

He picked up a knock following a challenge from Yankuba Minteh during the first half of the game last weekend and received treatment on the pitch before carrying on until he was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli.

Despite that, the 25-year-old still joined up with the Norway squad for their opening UEFA Nations League double-header against Kazakhstan last night, before the team return to Oslo to welcome Austria on Monday.

Norway manager Stale Solbakken described the problem as a 'bang', suggesting he may not be risked to avoid a potential war of words with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.

"I think it's another bang," Solbakken said on Thursday in a news conference. "I was about to say, I think it is something other than the bang, so to speak."

The prospect of Odegaard exacerbating the issue will be a major worry for Arteta, who is already without some key players in the games ahead.

He will be forced to replace the suspended Declan Rice for the game against their north London rivals after the England star was controversially sent off against Brighton. The England international will serve a one-match ban and is therefore unavailable for the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Arsenal then have the mouthwatering clash against likely title rivals Manchester City to come on September 22, so it is critical now - perhaps more than ever - that Odegaard stays fit.

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Arteta would perhaps not have been so troubled by potentially losing Odegaard last season, mainly because he had £34m midfielder Fabio Vieira available to step in at a moment's notice. But Vieira was allowed to return to FC Porto on loan this summer, leaving the Spanish boss exposed in that particular area.

It would be a big ask of 17-year-old youngster Ethan Nwaneri to be dropped in at the deep end in a game where the stakes are so high. Nwaneri is undoubtedly talented but needs time to adjust to the physical nature of senior football after starring at academy level.

If he does get injured again, a possible solution could be to slot Leandro Trossard or Kai Havertz into Odegaard's role as chief creator.

But even then, the Gunners would be weakening themselves in other attacking areas - something they can ill afford against a team as dangerous as Spurs.

Few footballers in the history of the game have incited as much hatred from fans as Sol Campbell does from Tottenham supporters. Perhaps only Luis Figo's highly controversial move from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2000 can match the seismic impact of Campbell's transfer from Spurs to north London rivals Arsenal.

As hard as it is to imagine now, Campbell was once a beloved figure at Tottenham, rising through the youth ranks to become one of the world's greatest centre backs while captaining the team. Yet for those who once idolised him, the former England international is now simply referred to as 'He Who Must Not Be Named' - or more bluntly, 'Judas'. That's due to the shocking events that unfolded on July 1, 2001, when Campbell was revealed as an Arsenal player.

No one outside of Gunners manager Arsene Wenger, chairman David Dein, Campbell and his agent had any inkling of what was about to happen. His move from the Lilywhites to the red and white was so unexpected that only two journalists were present when it was announced, believing they had been called to the club's London Colney training ground for the announcement of former Ipswich Town goalkeeper Richard Wright. Instead, the towering figure of Campbell walked into the room.

The rest is history. Campbell had two stints with the club, the first from 2001 to 2006 being especially triumphant as he secured two Premier League and FA Cup doubles, including a historic 'Invincible' season in 2003/04.

Campbell therefore unsurprisingly has no regrets about the move even though his mere mention causes shudders in N17. Part of the reason is just how good he was and the fact he chose Arsenal, but the cloak and dagger manner of the announcement and the months leading up to the transfer truly amplified the pain.

With his contract running down, Spurs offered Campbell a new deal which would have made him the club's highest-ever paid player. Campbell had repeatedly given public assurances that he would stay at Tottenham.

The Spurs faithful may have gotten to terms with a transfer to Barcelona or Inter Milan, but a move to Highbury was unthinkable. To rub further salt into their wounds, the Bosman ruling meant Spurs would not get a single penny for the talent they had nurtured since 1989.

Campbell defended his controversial decision by stating simply: "I'm ambitious, I dream about playing football at the top level and this is why I'm here."

Even at Colney, Campbell's presence sparked a peculiar response - his new team-mates serenading him with boos during training to brace him for the forthcoming abuse at Tottenham. Reflecting on the jeering, Wenger told German magazine 11 Freunde: "They did that, and they also made jokes about it. The situation was really stressful for Sol and he told me afterwards how severe it became.

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"He couldn't go to certain places for dinner or walk freely in London because of the anger of the Tottenham fans. In hindsight, I'm not sure if I would sign him again bearing in mind the difficulties he faced. I thought he was capable of facing the adversity. For me, it was easy because everybody was conscious that I had signed a great player. But for him, it was more complicated."

Explaining how the secretive move came about, Wenger also said: "Back then it was a little bit easier to be covert. One of the reasons why is because it wasn't done until late on. We walked together at one o'clock in the morning to talk about [signing]... because he was paranoid it would be discovered.

“This is a transfer we made with David Dein, at his house, and sometimes we had meetings at 11pm so we could make sure no-one could see us. It is an unbelievable story. We had an agreement that never came out. Sol definitely knew before the last week [of his contract] that he was signing for us. At least, before that he promised to sign for us."

The day Campbell had dreaded for months finally came on November 17, 2001, when he revisited his old stomping ground White Hart Lane for a Premier League north London derby clash. In anticipation of his return, leaflets were handed out outside the ground asking for a minute of contempt to be shown towards the man they formerly worshipped.

As he emerged from the tunnel, deafening boos echoed around him. Banners labelled him 'Judas' and missiles were thrown his way. Campbell, at the time 26, later described to The Guardian the "an inferno of hatred that day" he experienced that day.

He said: "There were bricks thrown at the coach, a burning effigy of me and everybody accepted it, even the good people that were around. 'Oh, Sol's big. He can take it.'

"I had to go deep inside myself and I changed. I had to learn in 90 minutes how to deal with those things and how to play a football game. I had to fight a mental battle and I said to myself: 'I'm just going to win.' As a football player in a fantastic team, that's all I could do. But I can't do that now. I can't back myself up on the pitch."

Ray Parlour, another Arsenal legend, was also in the team when they made the short journey across north London that day. He described the scenes outside the stadium as "the scariest I've ever been involved in".

Parlour recalled: "The fiercest game I've ever been in was Sol Campbell's first game back a White Hart Lane. Woah! When you come out of Tottenham you've got to do a hard left at a T-junction, and the police were on our coach telling us not to stop, just keep going as quick as you can, and it was dangerous.

"We went round this corner so quickly all the plates came out the cupboards. Smash! We thought the window had gone in!”

The abuse continued for the remainder of Campbell's career, until the east Londoner hung up his boots in 2011. If there was any question over how Tottenham fans feel today, Campbell in 2023 voiced his sadness at still hearing abusive chants directed at him.

He said: "It's almost as though people have forgotten how to be human. Wishing and hoping that someone is going to die? And you're going to be having a party? What world are we living in?”

The wounds have not yet healed in Tottenham. But across in Holloway, adoring chants for Campbell regularly echo around the Emirates Stadium, solidifying his status as a legend who took a daring risk which was vindicated - at least for his career.

Djed Spence was offered hope of forging a successful career at Tottenham by Ange Postecoglou during pre-season, but those hopes took a hit this week, when he was left out of their Europa League squad.

A lack of club-trained talent meant Postecoglou could only name a 23-player squad while complying with UEFA regulations - two short of the 25-player list permitted by the European governing body.

That meant at least two first-team names were always going to be left out. Sergio Reguilon's omission was no great surprise given that he could still leave north London while overseas transfer windows are open.

Many thought back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster would be the other player to make way. Eyebrows were therefore raised when Spence's name was left off the list.

The right-back has only played eight games for Tottenham since signing from Middlesbrough in 2022, and three underwhelming loan stints away from the club did little to catch Postecoglou's attention.

However, Spence was given hope in pre-season when the manager stated that whether or not he has a future is down to the 24-year-old. "A lot of these things are in the players' hands themselves," Postecoglou said in early August.

"They kind of decide their own future in many respects and I think Djed is in that boat. I think there's an opportunity for him here, for sure. Thinking about building a squad, he would definitely be somebody who could (contribute) with the attributes he has."

Spence responded to Postecoglou's challenge by putting in a number of superb pre-season performances and impressing his coaches. Two weeks later, Postecoglou added: "The fact that he can play out on the left again gives us some good options going into the season where, with European football, we’re going to have more challenges."

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Those positive signs will have made his omission from the Europa League squad that much more brutal. The competition may have offered Spence his greatest opportunity of making an impression this term, with Pedro Porro the nailed-on starter in the Premier League.

Spurs are expected to breeze past the likes of Qarabag and Ferencvaros in the European league phase even with a weakened line-up. But Spence will have to find other routes into the starting XI, with Archie Gray set to provide cover for Porro in Europe.

Tottenham new boy Lucas Bergvall has revealed that he was booed by his own team-mates during a 'really bad' experience over the summer. The north Londoners agreed a deal to sign the Swede in February but he only arrived at the start of this season.

Bergvall is rated as one of Europe's brightest young talents and was linked with several top clubs before agreeing to join Tottenham. He made a name for himself at Swedish outfit Djurgarden and averaged one goal contribution in every three league games last season.

The teenager remained in Sweden for several months after signing with Tottenham before officially joining their squad at the start of July. Following his arrival, he was forced to take part in the traditional singing initiation but it did not go as well as he would have hoped.

Whenever a player joins a new club, they are usually made to stand on a table and belt out a song in front of their new team-mates. Reflecting on his initiation, Bergvall revealed that his lack of singing ability prompted booing and jeering from the rest of Tottenham's squad.

Speaking to Aftonbladet, he said: "I sang Abba's 'Dancing Queen'. It was really, really bad. I was booed afterwards."

Bergvall will be hoping to perform better in his initiation for the Sweden national team after being called up to the senior squad. He made his debut in January and came off the bench against Azerbaijan on Friday but is yet to sing in front of his fellow countrymen.

However, his main priority will be to keep impressing on the pitch as he continues to settle in at Tottenham. Discussing his first few months, Bergvall admitted that it has been tough to adapt to Premier League football at the same time as leaving home and living in a new country.

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"I just wanted to start playing football again after the holiday break," he said. "The only thing I knew was that it would be tough. It was a motivation when I came to a new league with new people, new teammates, new coaches, new facilities, diet, training, physical activity, everything.

"It feels like I have taken very big steps these two months. [Now] that I get into it more and more, and have been able to adapt more to the game that is played in the Premier League, the quality of the players and the teams you face.

"It’s incredible quality, everywhere. It is not possible to make that many mistakes or any mistakes at all. You must always be ready. This is the case regardless of where you play, but now it can be punished a little easier."

Ange Postecoglou has made the tough decision to omit Djed Spence from his Europa League group-stage squad.

Tottenham faced a deadline on Wednesday to submit their squad to UEFA, adhering to strict regulations regarding squad numbers. While Postecoglou's Premier League team selection is straightforward, with all players easily registered, the Europa League rules present more of a challenge.

A key difference from domestic league regulations is the categorisation of under-21 players. In UEFA competitions, this group is referred to as the B list, which only includes players who have been at the club for two years, excluding new signings like Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, who must be registered with the main squad.

Additionally, the definition of homegrown talent differs in European contests, splitting into two distinct groups. According to the rules, "as a minimum, eight of those 25 places are reserved exclusively for 'locally trained players' and no club may have more than four 'association-trained players' listed among those eight places.

If a club has fewer than eight locally trained players in their squad, then the maximum number of players on List A is reduced accordingly".

There are two categories of locally-trained players in football. The first is 'club-trained players', who have been with the club for three full seasons or 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21.

The second category is 'association-trained players', who have spent the same amount of time with another club within the same association.

Tottenham, however, only have two out of the required four club-trained players - Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman. This has forced them to reduce their squad to 23 players.

They also have seven association-trained players, but only four can be categorised as such, meaning the remaining three had to be included in the main group. Unfortunately, there was only one spot left in that group.

This resulted in both Sergio Reguilon and Spence missing out on selection. Spence joined Spurs in 2022 from Middlesbrough and has since worked his way back into Postecoglou's plans this summer.

If Tottenham progress past the group stages, they will be allowed to submit a new squad list with a few permitted changes. They are set to face Qarabag, Ferencvaros, AZ Alkmaar, Galatasaray, Roma, Rangers, Hoffenheim and Elfsborg in the coming months.

The career of a Premier League footballer can be rewarding but equally challenging, often due to the short lifespan of a professional player. In modern times, it is easier for retiring footballers to find a path into another career when their playing days are over - be it coaching, punditry or even as a sporting director.

But there are some footballers who lead a quieter life out of the limelight and want a normal job to keep their head above water once the big bucks stop rolling in.

Neil Sullivan is firmly in that category.

With over 650 games for six clubs spanning 25 years in English football, Sullivan is a name synonymous with the purist era of English football, where foreign ownership was almost unheard of and teams such as Chelsea and Manchester City hadn't even won their first Premier League title.

At the height of his career in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Sullivan was a regular presence in goal for Wimbledon before joining Tottenham, where he played in their League Cup final defeat in 2001-02. The former Scotland international went on to join Chelsea as a reserve goalkeeper, then Leeds United, Doncaster Rovers and AFC Wimbledon.

After retiring in 2013, Sullivan decided to swap his goalkeeping gloves for a clipboard in the passenger's seat, as he began his new life as a driving instructor for Learn Driving UK in North Yorkshire.

He briefly entered into coaching at Leeds United and also worked with Hull City's Under-18s up until last year. While he admits it's an entirely different world to the one he used to belong to, there is some enjoyment to take from his new career path behind the wheel.

“The only thing I had done successfully outside playing was teach my kids to drive, so it seemed the perfect thing to do," Sullivan told The Sun. “It’s a world away from what I have done in the past but it’s incredibly satisfying helping people pass and getting them out on the road," Sullivan added.

“I’ve been in Harrogate for the past 20 years having moved up from London. I am really excited to share my knowledge and help people gain their independence and freedom that learning to drive can bring in a calm, safe and enjoyable environment.

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“I will not just teach you how to pass your driving test. I will teach you to be able to drive in all weather conditions, on all roads, day or night economically, considerately and above all else safely.”

The 54-year-old, like many goalkeepers, is famous for the goals he conceded rather the ones he prevented. He was standing between the sticks for Wimbledon when a young David Beckham beat him with an audacious effort from the halfway line for Manchester United in 1996.

“That’s the life of a keeper," Sullivan added. "For all the games, match-winning saves, clean sheets and penalty stops I made, the two matches that always come up are Becks and Di Canio."

While being a goalkeeper is often a thankless task, Sullivan is still fondly remembered for his exploits in goal at his former club. Now, he is thriving in a similar gatekeeping role: keeping his students safe on the road.

Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker backed Manchester City midfielder Rodri to clinch the Ballon d'Or. The 28-year-old enjoyed an exceptional year for club and country, winning the Premier League and then the European Championship with Spain.

Yet, because he is a defensive midfielder instead of a serial goalscorer, many believe he may struggle to pick up the individual gong. However, Rodri's impact has been impossible to ignore, especially considering he has not lost a football match across 90 minutes since March 2023, when Scotland beat Spain 2-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying.

The former Atletico Madrid star will be competing against Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe, while Lionel Messi could also be a contender for the award for a ninth time after winning the Copa America with Argentina. Despite the stiff competition, Lineker and Shearer thinks Rodri is in a field of his own.

While also speaking to Micah Richards on the Rest is Football podcast, both Shearer and Lineker named Rodri as their pick for the Ballon d'Or. The Newcastle United legend said: "It can only be him."

Lineker added: "I think Rodri deserves it. They did not win the Champions League at City, but they did win the league and then the Euros with Spain, when he was very much their leader."

He also thinks Rodri's Spanish team-mate Lamine Yamal will also scoop up an award of his own. The former Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur striker said: "I think young player of the year, I have a feeling, will be Lamine Yamal. He could win that for the next five years."

Pep Guardiola also recently threw his support behind the midfield maestro for the high-profile award in Paris on Monday, October 28, reports the Mirror. Speaking ahead of City's recent triumph over West Ham United, Guardiola said: "We would be delighted - he deserves it.

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"But maybe another one deserves it too. The people will vote. Rodri has done not just one season, many seasons really good and the previous season was really good with the Premier League and the Euros winning with Spain.

"But there are other players who had a good season. I would love one [City] player to win it because for players it means a lot. I would love it.

"I've said many times, just being in contention and being there means the club - individually and collectively - has done a good season. There are a lot of good teams with good players, hopefully it happens but it is not in my hands."

Listen to 'The Rest Is Football' wherever you get your podcasts.

Crystal Palace will reportedly be left powerless to stop Arsenal or Tottenham from signing Eberechi Eze next summer. The Eagles forward was linked with a move elsewhere throughout the summer window but ultimately ended up staying at Selhurst Park.

Arsenal were credited with an interest in Eze but they ended up signing Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea instead. Tottenham, meanwhile, poached Wilson Odobert from Burnley despite being linked with a potential move for Eze to strengthen their forward line.

The 26-year-old signed a contract extension at Palace last November, tying him down until the summer of 2027. The deal included a buyout clause in the region of £60million, with various add-ons taking the total value up to around £68m.

Eze's release clause expired at the end of the window, with no clubs activating it before Friday's deadline. However, a twist in the tale could see Eze leave Palace for the original value of his buyout clause next year.

It will reactivate when the current campaign draws to a close, according to the Daily Mail. It means Palace will be unable to stop Arsenal or Tottenham from signing Eze, as long as they are willing to submit a bid which matches his £68m release clause.

They could still attempt to haggle a lower price, with Palace reportedly open to negotiating the terms of a deal. There is also time for the Eagles to hand Eze a new contract with a higher release clause, should they wish to do so.

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Eze has emerged as one of the Premier League's most exciting forwards since joining Palace from Queens Park Rangers in 2020. It has been reported that QPR will be entitled to 20 per cent of any transfer fee, meaning they will receive over £13m if he is sold for the value of his release clause.

Palace chairman Steve Parish recently expressed his surprise at the lack of summer interest in Eze, admitting that he was resigned to losing him to a bigger club.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "I was really worried from a club point of view of losing Michael [Olise] and Ebbs [Eze] in the same window and we didn't have in Ebbs the interest that I thought we would have.

"I was astounded. Genuinely astounded. I mean, the guy's just an outstanding footballer and an outstanding person."

Tottenham teenager Lucas Bergvall has shed light on what happened behind the scenes after he was torn into by Guglielmo Vicario during his Premier League debut.

The 18-year-old is said to have seriously impressed Ange Postecoglou and Spurs' coaches since completing an £8.5million switch from Swedish side Djurgarden. Tottenham beat Barcelona to Bergvall's signature in a deal which was agreed in January but delayed him joining up with the squad until this summer.

Despite his age, the midfielder has appeared as a substitute in all three of Spurs' Premier League matches so far this season. But things nearly took an ugly turn during his first game at Leicester City.

Coming on as a late sub with the game at 1-1, Bergvall gave the ball away in a dangerous position and almost allowed the Foxes to snatch the three points. Vicario unleashed fury at the youngster after Tottenham survived the scare, but Bergvall claims that the pair resolved their differences soon afterwards.

"Sometimes you do slightly worse things, sometimes you do better things," he told Aftonbladet. "We were 1-0 up with a fairly comfortable lead. We conceded 1-1 and then that happens (when he lost the ball).

"All is calm now. We have talked about it. Vicario said that there are hot feelings and things like that that happen."

Tottenham's summer transfer business has made their midfield even more competitive. First-team regulars Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Sarr have been joined by Archie Gray and Bergvall in the fight for two starting spots.

It was always going to be a big step up from the Swedish Allsvenskan to the Premier League for Bergvall, and though he has taken it in his stride, the difference in quality is obvious to him.

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"The only thing I knew was that it would be tough," he continued. "It was a motivation when I came to a new league with new people, new team-mates, new coaches, new facilities, diet, training, physical activity, everything. It feels like I have taken very big steps in these two months.

"The quality of the players and the teams you face... it's incredible quality, everywhere. It is not possible to make that many mistakes or any mistakes at all. You must always be ready. This is the case regardless of where you play, but now it can be punished a little easier."