Arsenal will look to capitalise on Manchester United’s midweek slip-up at Chelsea when they welcome Sunderland to the Emirates on Saturday.Arsene Wenger’s men trail leaders United by four points in the Premier League standings, though they have a game in hand on their title rivals after the Red Devils were overrun 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. The Gunners themselves suffered a setback over the weekend when their quest to end a trophy drought stretching back to 2005 was denied by a determined Birmingham in the Carling Cup final. But suggestions that the shock defeat would rock Arsenal’s season were quickly answered on Wednesday when Wenger’s side romped to a 5-0 FA Cup triumph over Leyton Orient, setting up a quarter-final show-down with United in the process. Although Cesc Fabregas is recovering better than expected from a hamstring injury, Wenger says his midfield maestro is unlikely to feature against the Black Cats.”I don’t think he will be involved on Saturday against Sunderland,” Wenger said, ahead of a tough period for his side.”We have an important game against Sunderland on Saturday, Barcelona on Tuesday and Manchester United in the quarter-final of the FA Cup after that.”Wenger confirmed than striker Robin van Persie would miss ‘three to four weeks’ with a tear in the ligament at the back of his knee, while Arsenal will also be without Theo Walcott with an ankle problem and Lukasz Fabianski and Thomas Vermaelen will remain in the sidelines.Sunderland also have their own injury concerns, with Danny Welbeck, Lee Cattermole, Michael Turner, Fraiser Campbell and David Meyler all sidelined.Steve Bruce’s side enter the match in poor form, with just one win from their last seven in all competitions and four consecutive Premier League losses, but Bruce is still confident his side can pull off a surprise on Saturday.”Over the course of a season there is going to be a time when your team doesn’t perform well,” Bruce said.”We couldn’t have picked a more difficult period to try and get a response with games against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. But we know we’re capable of getting a result somewhere and we must get our heads down to get ready for the challenges ahead.”Sunderland won the reverse fixture at the Stadium of Light 1-0 thanks to an injury-time strike from Darren Bent and given their good record against some of the Premier League’s heavyweights in recent years, will give themselves a chance but beware a fired-up Arsenal side ready to make amends for their cup loss.
Everton chairman Bill Kenwright has confirmed that he and manager David Moyes have held talks with Mikel Arteta to try and persuade the Spanish playmaker to stay with the Toffees.
The 28-year-old former Rangers and Real Sociedad schemer has been at Goodison Park since January 2005, making well over 150 appearances for Everton in all competitions.
However, rumours of a summer move, possibly back to Spain, continue to do the rounds, with Kenwright confirming that Arteta’s future is in some doubt.
He told the Liverpool Daily Post:“It is true that David and myself have spoken to Mikel on a couple of occasions this summer and tried to persuade him his future lies with us.
“We earnestly believe that is still the case.”
Arsenal and Manchester City are among the clubs who have been mentioned as possible bidders for the talented midfielder.
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Many would have assumed that when Arsene Wenger decided to leave Arsenal, he would retire.
The Frenchman recently announced that he will call an end to his 22-year stay when the season comes to a close.
However, it seems that the 68-year-old is not ready to walk away from the game just yet.
While speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Wenger revealed that he has received plenty of job offers, but has not chosen his next career path.
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According to The Guardian, Paris Saint-Germain are keeping a close eye on the departing Arsenal boss.
The report claims that they are considering offering the three-time Premier League title winner the role as general manager.
This means that Wenger would play an integral part in the club, but he will not take the place of head coach.
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It is unclear whether this offer would attract the Arsenal hero, but it would give him an opportunity to return to his homeland while also being involved with a club that is not a direct rival of the Gunners.
Arsenal fans have been posting their thoughts on social media.
Comment from discussion Arsène Wenger weighs up PSG offer to become general manager.Comment from discussion Arsène Wenger weighs up PSG offer to become general manager.Comment from discussion Arsène Wenger weighs up PSG offer to become general manager.Comment from discussion Arsène Wenger weighs up PSG offer to become general manager.Comment from discussion Arsène Wenger weighs up PSG offer to become general manager.Comment from discussion Arsène Wenger weighs up PSG offer to become general manager.Comment from discussion Arsène Wenger weighs up PSG offer to become general manager.
The January transfer window could be an important one for Newcastle United as they aim to reignite their season.
As it stands, the North-East outfit are staring at relegation as they sit one point from safety after losing eight of their last nine Premier League games.
Manager Rafael Benitez made it clear that he was not entirely happy with the business that was made in the summer, but it remains to be seen how much cash he will receive next month.
According to the Daily Mail, one deal has already been secured and that is the loan capture of Chelsea winger Kenedy.
The publication claims that the Magpies enquired about the 21-year-old in the summer, but were knocked back as Chelsea manager Antonio Conte felt that the youngster was needed at Stamford Bridge.
Now, though, it is believed that the West London outfit are prepared to offload Kenedy, who has made just three appearances in the EFL Cup this season.
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Newcastle fans have had their say on the speculation.
Last season: It is a brand new beginning for Hull as they are returning to the Premier League after a three-year absence and may change their name to the Hull City Tigers, as announced by club owner Assem Allam.
In last season’s Championship, the Tigers managed to finish second and automatically qualify to the big leagues alongside Cardiff City, who finished eight points ahead of Hull. The Yorkshire club avoided the play offs by just two points ahead of Watford, who finished third.
Manchester United veteran Steve Bruce managed to lead his team to 24 wins in 46 matches, just one less than the Bluebirds, but lost 15 matches. Hull managed to get 11 wins in away games and only lose 9 however the home advantage didn’t work very well as, even though they won 13 matches, they also lost six.
The goal-scoring ratio also shows that the Tigers saw quite a lot of competition as they scored 61 goals and conceded 52, where 30 of them were on away games.
Transfer Ins:
Yannick Sagbo (Evian)
Steve Harper (Newcastle)
Allan McGregor (Besiktas)
Curtis Davies (Birmingham City)
Ahmed Elmohamady (Sunderland)
George Boyd (Peterborough United)
Maynor Figueroa (Wigan)
Transfer Outs:
Corry Evans (Blackburn Rovers)
Danny Emerton (Northampton Town)
Jamie Devitt (Chesterfield)
Francis McCaffrey (Dundalk)
Sonny Bradley (Portsmouth)
Mark Cullen (Luton Town)
Jay Simpson
Danny East (Portsmouth)
Andy Dawson (Scunthorpe United)
Seyi Olofinjana
Paul McKenna
Player to watch: Robert Koren managed to score the most goals for Hull as the Slovenian midfielder hit the target nine times. His teammate, George Boyd managed to score the exact same amount but only three of those were for the Tigers as he joined the team last February on loan from Peterborough United.
The former Slovenia international could prove to be useful for Bruce however it would also be interesting to keep an eye on the new acquisitions, such as former Championnat player Yannick Sagbo, who made 90 appearances and scored 22 goals with Evian and is also an Ivory Coast international.
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Former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is also expected to help the team with his Premier League experience and perhaps become the leader of the defense. The Honduran is well-known and remembered by all English fans for his incredible goal against Stoke, four years ago. The 30-year-old’s free kick from the centre of the field won Goal of the Season 2009-2010.
Young player to watch: Tottenham’s Jake Livermore will be playing on loan for the Tigers this season and even though Andre Villas-Boas didn’t include him in his plans this season he still has some faith in the 23-year-old as he might be hoping that the youngster will improve and get much more experience in the field. Since 2011 the young midfielder has been moving around on loan but still counts 36 appearances with Spurs and also caught the attention of the England national team where he played for the Three Lions in a match against Italy a year ago.
Prediction: Just like the other two former Championship teams that qualified, Cardiff and Crystal Palace, Hull are expected to improve and up their game for this season to stay and fight for another season.
The team has made quite a few changes that are expected to bring the club into the Premier League level that is inquired for this season. The Tigers seem perfectly able to score goals but they also seem like they are no strangers to conceding a high number of goals from the opposing club. That is something that the teams will have to work hard on with the defense and midfield as they will be facing a lot harder teams than those in the Championship, such as their very first opponents Chelsea.
Based on the other teams’ progress one could assume that Hull feature quite a mystery for this year’s Premier League. We all know that it is impossible that Bruce’s team will finish on the Top 5 positions but it could be possible that they avoid relegation. For now though, the numbers are not very convincing. Nevertheless, the rest will be left to be discussed on the field.
After three near-flawless displays from Blackpool, we finally came unstuck away to Leicester at the weekend.
I don’t know whether Holloway still feels guilty for his time at Leicester (which ended in relegation) but since then, every time he has come up against them he feels the need to prove himself as a tactical mastermind. Unfortunately, it has always ended up with a lacklustre performance and Leicester walking away with a gift-wrapped 3 points. Alternatively, we could just say that it is that strange phenomenon of a bogey team. Not necessarily for Blackpool, but for Holloway. Whatever he tries, he just can’t seem to get one over on his former employers.
Blackpool went into this game on the back of a 6-0 mauling of Ipswich. Yet, rather than stick with a winning side, Holloway decided to make 2 changes. Veteran striker Kevin Phillips was replaced with raw pace in Nouha Dicko, a change that seemed fairly logical being away from home. The change that baffled everyone though, was the removal of Angel Martinez in favour of Barry Ferguson.
Martinez, who has been fantastic at the end of last season, and start of this, was the big loss. His interplay with Tiago Gomes had been something to behold in the last 2 home games. Taking him out didn’t just weaken that one position, but also meant Gomes had more work to do. It is no fault of Ferguson, who didn’t have a particularly bad game, but he just doesn’t move the ball as well as Martinez. Ferguson is fantastic when you are winning. He is sensible, covers the defence and keeps the ball ticking over. But he isn’t great when you need to force the issue and really attack.
Leicester came out flying in this game and kept Blackpool virtually in their own third in the opening stages. Blackpool lacked any cohesion and for some reason kept pumping it long and surrendering possession. It was a very shaky start by Blackpool who took nearly 25 minutes to settle down. But, for all Leicester had of the game, they never really looked like scoring. Vardy was sent through only to be denied by Gilkes, but that was about the extent of the Foxes’ real chances.
Although it was a poor first half display by ‘Pool, they created the best chance of the half when Taylor-Fletcher slid a ball though to the in-form Ince, who hit it straight at the ‘Keeper. Ferguson also had his annual jaunt into the opposition’s half, and hit the post with a cracking effort from the edge of the box.
The second half took on a different pattern with the game becoming stretched and Blackpool finally keeping the ball on the floor. Just as the game was hotting up a series of penalty claims changed the game. Firstly, Vardy threw himself into Crainey and took a tumble, but his appeals were rightly waved away.
Then as Dyer was about to get on the end of a cross, Eardley slid in (or slipped) and seemed to get the ball and man simultaneously. Certainly debatable, but again waved away. But now the fans were baying for blood, and almost gave themselves a penalty when Vardy again went down. Not much debate with this one, by all accounts, it never was, never has been and never will be a penalty. Ever. But Mike Jones gave in to the crowd and pointed to the spot. Marshall stepped up and although Gilkes was close he couldn’t keep it out.
After the goal Holloway then made some bizarre substitutions. With Blackpool crying out for some slick passing, Gomes was taken off for Matty Phillips. So now we had 4 strikers on and nobody to give them the ball. Then, Kevin Phillips and Delfouneso came on for Ferguson and Dicko. 5 strikers on, and only 1 midfielder. Considering our summer signings were almost exclusively midfielders, it seems odd that we ended with more on the bench than on the pitch. However, after a great goal-line block by Baptiste, again Blackpool created the best scoring chances, falling to Ince and Matty Phillips. Both fluffed the chance of an equaliser and, with Blackpool starting to go long again, the game ended with the Foxes seeing out any remaining Blackpool threat.
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Despite a relatively poor showing, it was only a shocking penalty decision and some poor finishing that cost us. We created the better chances without ever having the better of the game. Maybe just a bad day at the office, and we can still be pleased that a sub-par performance resulted in a 1-0 loss, where previously it may have been more.
So how do we look heading into the international break?
Well, we still top the league having played superbly in 3 out of 4 games. We’ve scored 10 goals and have added more firepower in the transfer window, recruiting Nathan Delfouneso and Nathan Ecclestone. Hopefully both will settle into our system fairly quickly and prove themselves. Perhaps most importantly though, we have only conceded 2 in 4 games. Once from a corner, and once from a horrendous penalty decision. A leaky defence has been an issue of ours for a few years now, and if we can keep it this tight for long spells this season, we will surely see a promotion challenge. Not all that much to moan about then…
As reported by The Daily Mail, there is little chance of Patrick Roberts staying at Celtic beyond his current loan deal, with Leicester City hoping to sign him as part of a deal that could see Riyad Mahrez move to Manchester City.
What’s the story?
Patrick Roberts has been at the Hoops on loan for the best part of the last two-and-a-half seasons, only returning to parent club Man City for a short period last summer.
Now it appears his time in Glasgow is at an end, with the player looking set to join another Premier League side this summer.
The Daily Mail report that Leicester City will insist he is part of a deal for £60m-rated Riyad Mahrez, who Pep Guardiola is keen to bring to the Etihad to bolster his title-winning squad.
Roberts himself has also opened up on his future plans, making it clear his ambitions involve making it as a Premier League player.
As quoted by The Daily Mail, the winger said:
I’ve enjoyed my football (with Celtic) and everyone knows that. But you also have to look at the bigger picture and I have certain ambitions in my head and places that I want to be. To get there I need to come out of my comfort zone.
The ambition is to play for a top club in the Premier League. I’m at one now with Manchester City and they’re doing well but you’ve got to look at yourself, and what’s best for you, and try to pick the best option possible.
Will Celtic miss him?
Roberts has certainly made an impact at the Hoops over the last couple of years, but in the grand scheme of things, Celtic aren’t likely to miss him too much when he returns to England this summer.
His third season at the club was blighted by a injury which kept him out of action for the best part of three months and despite one or two impressive performances, the right wing has been dominated by James Forrest this season.
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With 18 goals and 26 assists in 78 total appearances for the club, he will be remembered fondly by supporters and if things don’t quite work out for him in the English top-flight, he’s likely to be welcome back at Celtic Park in the future.
That’s right people. The wait is over. This long summer of transfer rumour milling, feigning interest in any other activities that take place on a Saturday and relinquishing power of the remote control is over.And what a curtain raiser it is. Arsenal face Chelsea in the Community Shield in what is sure to be an interesting insight into what this season holds for both sides.Can ‘The Special One’ return Falcao to former glories? What does Petr Cech look like in red? Will Wenger ever get one over on Mourinho? And HOW EXCITED ARE YOU THAT FOOTBALL IS BACK!?You can follow it all on our LIVE Blog HERE, but, in our joy at the return of the Beautiful Game, we also decided to compile a few reasons why this season is going to be the best ever. Enjoy.Friday night footballÂPicture the scene. You’ve had a hard week at work. It’s 5.30pm on a Friday. The weekend is here. You can’t wait for Saturday, but you’ll have a few drinks tonight.You’re in the pub, you look past your mate’s shoulder onto the big screen. And there. In all its glory. Is Premier. League. Football.There’s only one thing for it…https://vine.co/v/Mh9qdu7glTm/embed/simpleHarry Redknapp on BT SportHarry ‘I aint no f***ing wheeler dealer’ Redknapp has added another jobÂto the list of things he can deny being by taking on a role at BT Sport.Expect more fascinating insight from the man who brought you “no wonder he’s in the reserves” and “my wife could’ve scored that”.
It’s going to be genuinely competitive
You heard it here first folks, the top of the table is looking stronger than ever with all the big teams strengthening over the summer and in with a chance of fighting for silverware.
Chelsea are rightly the favourites, but Arsenal won’t be far behind (especially with the addition of a world class striker), LvG is notorious for returning to winning ways in his second season and you can’t rule out Man City either. Hell, maybe even Liverpool will have a go…
https://vine.co/v/MrmETa3AHAD/embed/simple
Loads of mental stuff will happen thatÂno one can predict now because that’s not how time works
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Yep. That’s pretty much it. And we’re going to enjoy every glorious, ridiculous, sexy minute of it…
Wigan will be without winger Callum McManaman after he suffered ankle ligament damage in the 4-1 loss at Arsenal. Jean Beausejour (hamstring) is expected to hand manager Roberto Martinez a boost by returning from a hamstring problem.
Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert could hand Darrent Bent a rare start with leading scorer Christian Benteke suspended, while Matthew Lowton (thigh) could return and Karim El Ahmadi (also thigh) are back. Ciaran Clark (foot) remains sidelined.
Roberto Martinez… “At the moment, it’s not my priority. My priority is to prepare well for the game and make sure we have a really good time with the fans. On Monday we will celebrate with the FA Cup around the town. Then we will need a few days before sitting down with the chairman next week to decide what’s best for Wigan Athletic to move forward.”
Paul Lambert… “I am delighted for the lads and supporters. I am thrilled for them. They have seen what we have been doing here. They are a young team but they are getting better and better. You wouldn’t get 42,000 in the stadium if they weren’t behind it. The big test is whether the supporters stay with it, but they have been absolutely brilliant.”
Match Statistic: Wigan have failed to win in their last six Premier League games against Aston Villa since a 3-2 victory in April 2006.
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Prediction: Wigan Athletic 0-0 Aston Villa
Make your bets ahead Wigan’s farewell to the Premier League after eight seasons when they face Aston Villa at DW Stadium by clicking on the banner below
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed he could spend again before the summer transfer windows closes. There may also be further departures from the Emirates Stadium, the Frenchman said, prior to next Friday’s deadline.
With the losses of Robin Van Persie to Manchester United and Alex Song to Barcelona, Wenger has added Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud to his attacking options. And Wenger is not ruling out another dive into the market if the right player emerges. He told the official Arsenal website:
“I don’t want make a promise that I cannot keep. It does not only depend on me. But there still could be some action on the transfer market – ins and outs. We are working [in the market]. We’ll see what we can do. The transfer market is open for two months and yet for one month and three weeks it is nearly closed. It wakes up completely in the last week and then every minute becomes important.”
The Gunners drew 0-0 to Sunderland at the Emirates on the opening day of the season, and Wenger has admitted he is happy with the state of his squad at the moment: “They are all international-stature players. I focus highly on that. If we get these players back in good shape then we have a very, very strong squad.” Arsenal head to the Britannia Stadium to face Stoke City on Sunday, where England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is expected to make a return to first team action.
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