Arteta's Award Snub Sparks Questions – But Has Arsenal Really Gone Backwards?

Frank Lampard claimed the LMA Manager of the Year gong on Tuesday, but the real talking point – at least according to The Sun – wasn't the Championship title winner's achievement. Rather, it was Mikel Arteta's failure to land the prize.

The tabloid framed the result as a "brutal SNUB" for the Arsenal manager, despite Arteta having just steered his side to the Premier League title. Overlooked in the drama was the small matter of Lampard guiding his club to promotion for the first time in 25 years, doing so by 11 points with the Championship's best attack and meanest defence. Other nominees included Pep Guardiola, Unai Emery, Andoni Iraola, Keith Andrews, Michael Skubala and Andy Woodman – though curiously, none of them received the "brutal SNUB" treatment in the headlines.

The framing raises an eyebrow, particularly given that Charlie Wyett – the Sun columnist responsible for the piece – has previously described Arteta as "deluded" and Arsenal as "mentality muppets" who have "gone backwards". One wonders whether his view has evolved.

John Cross of the Mirror, meanwhile, took a rather different tack. He hailed Arteta's grace in bringing his entire squad onto the stage to accept the Premier League award and his tribute to David Moyes. Cross dubbed it "class" – a reminder that, in his estimation, nothing truly qualifies as classy until his approval has been granted.

Liverpool's absence from England's World Cup squad has been seized upon by Jeremy Cross of the Daily Mirror as evidence of the Merseysiders' alarming decline. He branded it "shameful" and "embarrassing", noting it's the first time since 1986 that Liverpool have had no representatives in an England World Cup squad. What Cross conveniently omitted: in 1986, Liverpool were English champions and FA Cup winners. The real story is rather more prosaic – Rio Ngumoha is 17, Curtis Jones and Joe Gomez are what they are, and Liverpool have sold both Jarell Quansah and Jordan Henderson. Bournemouth, incidentally, also have no players in Tuchel's squad. Is that equally "damning"?

An AI scouting platform called PLAIER has suggested Thomas Tuchel got his selection wrong, recommending Curtis Jones, James Tarkowski and Lewis Dunk as central to World Cup success instead. The MailOnline duly ran with it, comparing the AI's preferences to Sofascore's team of the season – both stories employing the magic word guaranteed to unlock the sneering tone: "boffins".

Manchester United's fixture schedule this season featured gaps of 16, 13, 11 and 24 days between matches. Samuel Luckhurst in The Sun described them as having "endured" these lengthy rest periods – a curious choice of verb for what most would consider a significant advantage. Two of United's worst performances under Ruben Carrick, at West Ham and Newcastle, came just three days after their previous outing. The extended breaks, it seems, proved rather beneficial after all.

Finally, Declan Rice has once again demonstrated his emotional connection to West Ham following their relegation. The Daily Mirror's headline – "Declan Rice shows his true colours with West Ham message after Premier League relegation" – captured the former academy graduate and captain expressing sadness at his old club's fate. A decade at the Hammers clearly left its mark.