The Darwin-verse may be a maddening world for Slot but he needs to keep N??ez onside

Telling N??ez off in public feels unnecessary at this late stage, like shoehorning a needless car chase into a film?s third act
Stop getting Darwin N??ez wrong! At the very least, can we please stop comparing him unfavourably with Andy Carroll. This should be taken as a general cease-and-desist plea from those of us with an interest in preserving the Carroll legacy. But it also feels like an important note of distinction in a week when Arne Slot has unexpectedly made N??ez into a person of interest in the Premier League title race by dwelling on his now-famous miss against Aston Villa.
There may be sound internal reasons for this. Slot is very shrewd. The season has so far been an exercise in control and smart judgment. But from the outside, telling N??ez off in public feels unnecessary at this late stage, like shoehorning jeopardy into the third act of a generic Hollywood movie, the needless car chase four-fifths of the way through Paddington 5: Paddington Harder.
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