adminLONDON — “La Marseillaise” will drift out across English Premier League stadiums this weekend as English football continues its show of solidarity with France over last week’s devastating terror attacks in Paris.
Fans of France and England united for a moving rendition of the French national anthem prior to Tuesday’s Wembley friendly and the rousing battle hymn is to be played again before each of this weekend’s 10 games.
With the English top flight’s French contingent — 72 players and two managers — still reeling from the shock of the attacks, which left 129 people dead and over 350 injured, it is a move that has been widely welcomed.
“I think it’s a nice gesture of solidarity,” said Arsenal’s French manager Arsene Wenger, whose side, co-leaders with Manchester City, visit West Bromwich Albion today.
“It’s not an obvious one for the fans, just like it would not be an obvious one for fans in France to sing ‘God Save the Queen’, because they don’t know the words. Symbolically it’s a very nice gesture.” Wenger will make sure Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud are mentally prepared to play against West Brom today before making a decision.
The French duo played in France’s 2-0 defeat by England on Tuesday, just four days after the Paris terror attacks.
“For me they made the right decision (to play against England) and I believe the event on Tuesday night has shown that it was the right decision,” said Wenger.
“I will talk with them. It’s a big game for us. I have not talked to yet but I will to see if they are completely recovered and focused. You have to trust the player in these kind of situations. Today in the Premier League you don’t get away with it with 80 per cent focus. I will be looking for resilience and desire to play. I will look how deeply they are affected.”
The French boss says Arsenal are “not in a hurry” to tie down Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to new deals.
Reports have emerged in recent days that the duo have been on the verge of signing new contracts, but Wenger insists no negotiations have begun yet.
“We have not started to talk about that with Mesut Ozil,” Wenger said. “(Sanchez) is the same situation — at the end of the year they have two-and-a-half years’ contract.
“We have some time. We are not in a hurry. We want of course for them to stay in the club, and we’ll start negotiations at some stage, but at the moment we have not started.”
Everton manager Roberto Martinez, whose team host Frenchman Remi Garde’s Aston Villa, said: “I think we all experienced the feelings surrounding the game between England and France on Tuesday.
“It was a fantastic vehicle for showing solidarity and what the game of football can do, and I think this weekend would be exactly the same.”
With the Paris attacks having started outside the Stade de France during France’s friendly with Germany, where three suicide bombers blew themselves up, security concerns are at the top of the agenda.
The Premier League gave safety briefings to all 20 clubs on Thursday and supporters have been advised to arrive at grounds earlier than usual due to the extra security checks that are scheduled to be carried out.
But there has been no change to the United Kingdom’s terror threat level of “severe” and Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore reassured fans that the football authorities remained on “high alert”.
On the pitch, the weekend’s stand-out fixture is Liverpool’s meeting with joint-leaders City at the Etihad Stadium today.
Liverpool went six games unbeaten following Jurgen Klopp’s appointment as manager, but fell to a 2-1 home defeat against Crystal Palace prior to the international break that left them in 10th place.
City remained top of the table after a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa, but their lead over Arsenal has been whittled down to goal difference.
Both sides could welcome back their key strikers, with City talisman Sergio Aguero and Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge both in contention after absences of seven weeks with hamstring and knee injuries respectively.
Fixtures (all 5pm unless otherwise stated)
Today: Chelsea v Norwich City, Everton v Aston Villa, Manchester City v Liverpool (7:30pm), Newcastle United v Leicester City, Southampton v Stoke City, Swansea City v Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal, Watford v Manchester United (2:45pm)
Tomorrow (6pm): Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United
Monday (10pm): Crystal Palace v Sunderland — AFP.
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