Direct Football

Wenger: ‘Ozil cares much more than people think’

2017-04-08T08:52:00.004+05:45

Mesut Ozil scored his 10th goal of the season on Wednesday night, and provided his 11th assist.

Arsène Wenger spoke after the West Ham game about Ozil “being hit hard by us going out of the Champions League”, and the manager clarified that comment in his pre-Crystal Palace press conference.

“He is very ambitious and he wants to win the Champions League,” Wenger said. “He’s come out many times saying that. If you look at the two games and take the first 45 minutes of the two games, we were qualified but then went out in such an emphatic way.

“It was difficult to take for everybody and maybe even more for him because it’s a big part of his ambition.

"He cares. What I wanted to say in that is that people often reproach him by saying that he doesn’t care because of his style of play, but he cares much more than people think he does."

Source: arsenal.com

Wenger on Alexis future and Crystal Palace

2017-04-08T08:50:00.001+05:45

There was lots up for discussion at Arsène Wenger’s pre-Crystal Palace press conference on Friday morning.

The manager was asked about Alexis, Yohan Cabaye and his future. Read on to see how he answered:

on Yohan Cabaye not playing on Monday…

Yohan Cabaye is a good player because we were interested in him at some stage when he was at Newcastle, but we do not speculate on any weakness. Cabaye is a very good passer of the ball but Crystal Palace are like Arsenal because they have a big squad with many good players. In the Premier League, having one player out or in is not a big problem anymore for these clubs.

on whether Palace’s win over Chelsea changed his thinking for the game…

Look, what was for sure is that it was a big surprise, because they played away from home and overall certainly it was a shock for Chelsea as well. But we know I would just say the win of Crystal Palace at Chelsea is in the continuity of what we have seen in the Premier League since the start of the season. Surprising results because the difference between the teams has become shorter and smaller, so anything can happen in any game. But it doesn’t change basically my thinking about the game. We know we have to play at our best to win the game.

on why Alexis hasn’t signed a new contract…

I believe that he basically wants to stay at the club, and it’s down to finding an agreement with his agent.

on whether it’s Alexis’ demands holding it up…

The players have to first see whether they are happy at the club. Most of the time it’s down to finding an agreement and the finances are involved in it, yes.

on whether he has been offered a two-year deal…

I spoke enough about that.

on if there is any offer on the table…

I have nothing to add on that.

on if he has been made an offer…

I cannot tell you anything more than what I said many times, you know. I can understand that the subject is maybe of interest, but for me what is of interest is what’s happening on the football pitch.

on whether the announcement will come from him or the club…

From the club.

on whether a contract is there to be signed…

I have nothing to add to that.

on whether he is making plans for pre-season games…

Of course.

on that suggesting he’ll stay…

No, it’s just that I do my job. That’s to plan for the future of the club.

on whether the club will announce it before the end of the season…

I cannot tell you now because I don’t know. I’m focused on our next game.

Source: arsenal.com

ARSENAL V WEST HAM: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

2017-04-05T20:09:00.000+05:45

Exclusive Wenger quotes, classic goals, team news and a poll. This is your pre-match briefing ahead of the West Ham United game.

THE QUOTE

‘You always have a little psychological edge when you come back’ - Arsène Wenger

INDOMITABLE SPIRIT

It would be premature to suggest that the feelgood factor is back, but there were green shoots of recovery on Sunday.

One-nil down in the first five minutes, then 2-1 down moments after clawing back the deficit… that might have seen off a less committed side but we found the resources to keep Manchester City in check and within reach in the scrap for Champions League places.

A point is rarely enough but our indomitable spirit at the weekend can serve as a foundation for this busiest of months.

“You always have a little psychological edge when you come back, rather than when you’re caught back,” agreed Arsène Wenger.

“It’s more difficult. We refused to lose the City game and overall I think it’s encouragement for the final part of the season. It will have a positive impact on our confidence.”

“We have game after game now and it’s important for us to get on a run and keep faith in what we do.

"Of course we need to fight together in every single game. It’s all in our hands now and it’s how we respond, how we maintain that kind of focus we had against City that will define the end of our season.”

MUSTI AND GABBY

No one epitomised that spirit and focus more than Shkodran Mustafi - and Gabriel wasn’t far behind.

Brought together at half-time by Laurent Koscielny’s Achilles problem, our centre backs just about kept Sergio Aguero quiet and contributed to a vital second-half clean sheet.

Mustafi, of course, got forward to power in the second equaliser - a division-high 14th headed goal in the Premier League this season.

“I would say the record is down to the fact that we keep going, to the fact that we maintain the pressure on the opponent and that the team is very determined, united, no matter under what circumstances,” explained Wenger.

“That’s why maybe as well two or three accidents we had in recent games were a bit shocking. Overall if you look at the season, we are the best team in the league at coming back and scoring late goals. I put that down to exceptional spirit in the squad.

‘THEO’S MORE DETERMINED’

The other scorer on Sunday was Theo Walcott.

He nonchalantly rolled in his 18th goal in 31 appearances this season to inch ever closer to his best ever club tally - 21 in 43 games in 2012/13.

Once again Theo sniffed out an opportunity after drifting into a central position and his manager feels he has made significant progress.

“I think this season he has found more determination, a more aggressive attitude,” said Wenger. “He always had great quality in his runs, the quality of his receptions have always been very strong.

“I would say for many years he had not always an adjusted finishing quality, but he’s improved a lot on his finishing and that’s why he scores more goals.”

HANDY CARROLL

There’s a reunion with City at Wembley in 18 days time, but right now a London derby with West Ham is the more pressing matter.

Our last encounter was one of the season’s most enjoyable, a swashbuckling 5-1 win at the London Stadium that featured an Alexis hat-trick so good it overshadowed a brilliant strike from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Alexis’ third goal, lifted over goalkeeper Darren Randolph after an outrageous dummy, summed up a team in fine fettle. How we’d love to scale those heights again in the next two months.

“I would say that our confidence was high, our flow was good,” said Wenger. “West Ham struggled with confidence at the time and we took advantage of it.

“But West Ham have done better away from home than at home. They’ve struggled a bit at home, after moving into their new stadium. They lost Dimitri Payet during the season as well. The Premier League is difficult but when you look at their team, they have quality players.

“Andy Carroll is a great striker. He’s played for the national team, he’s very strong in the air, has a very strong body and is very determined. The best way to keep him quiet is to keep the ball in their half, and that’s what we’ll try to do.”

Source; arsenal.com

Zidane: “The next game is always the most important”

2017-04-05T09:13:00.000+05:45

“Nobody thinks that we’ll easily beat Leganés because that doesn't happen in football”, he added.

Zidane spoke about the match against Leganés in the press room at Real Madrid City. The Whites’ coach gave his thoughts the day ahead of the visit to Municipal de Butarque (Wednesday, 9:30pm CEST): "It’s an important match, like every game. We always think that the next game is the most important".

"I don’t know if it's a potential banana skin, in the sense that they think we're going to win easy. Those games don’t exist in football. It’ll be a complicated match, at a difficult stadium and against an opponent who is doing very well lately".

Varane

The scan tell us that it’s not much, that’s the important thing. It’s not an injury like the last one or the one he had before that. It's not much, but I can’t say how long he’ll be out. It’s around where he has the scar".

The centre backs

"The role is the same. We don’t know how long Varane will be out. Pepe’s fine, he’s important and a leader and captain of this team. It won’t change anything. We’ll use Pepe, Nacho, who is doing very well, and Ramos".

Bale

"He looks good to me, like everyone. He’s happy and well. We’re going in to the final stages of the season and we’ll see how we finish. The good thing is that we’re all ok, apart from Varane's injury".

Piqué Statements

"I'm not interested. I’ll not talk about it anymore. I’m only interested in tomorrow's game, that we’re all at our best and give our all. I’m not interested in the rest".

Isco’s future

"He is a Real Madrid player and he is doing phenomenally well. He’s very happy. Asking me about Isco, you know what I think about him. He's important, and I hope he stays".

Theo Hernández

"He’s a good player, there’s no doubt about it. I’m focused on what I have to do with my players. I can’t say anything about the rest".

Ronaldo and Carvajal

"I’ll not say whether or not they’ll be in the squad. We’re on top of it and we hope that both stay on four yellow cards until the end of the season. It’s the challenge we’ve got. You’ll see tomorrow who’s in the squad. The good news is we're all ready, apart from Varane".

"Cristiano is fine. He’ll go in to this final stretch like never before. Well, not like never before. Maybe I'm wrong. He’s had years in which he finished very well. I hope he ends the season very well from a fitness point of view. We’ve a lot of games left and we have to be on top of everything, but he's okay".

Physical state

"We can’t control this when they go away with the international teams, but we try to go in to the end of the season in good shape. I think we're fine. In a game there can be difficult times, it's normal".

Do you want James to continue next season?

"Yes".

Atmosphere for el Clásico

"We know what we want and what we’re doing. We’ve been doing things right from the start of the season. We’re focused on playing football, doing things well and winning games. We don’t worry about the rest".

Keylor and Casilla

"Both are very important, but Keylor is the number one goalkeeper at Real Madrid. No doubt about it. When I don’t play Keylor it’s not because I don’t trust him, not at all. I do it to give Kiko the chance to play because he plays very well too".

Modric

"You're telling me Modric's doing something wrong. In the last game he gave the ball away two or three times but how can you tell me that he’s doing something wrong. Players can’t always play well. I'm not worried, I'm happy about what he does on the field. Everyone can do better, but it's impossible to always be at your best".

The season

"There have been ups and downs, but together we’ve achieved what we’d planned. So far we’ve done everything very well. Tomorrow is another game with three points at stake. The plan is always going to be questioned every day".

The match against Ancelotti

"We have a special and important relationship. I was his assistant and I respect him a lot. We’re two coaches that are going up against each other full of respect. When that day comes, it’ll be a game that we both want to win. Nothing else will count. It’ll be a Champions League game that we’ll prepare for when it arrives".

Source: realmadrid.com

WENGER ON TITLE RACE, TEAM NEWS, ALEXIS, HIS FUTURE

2017-04-05T06:56:00.001+05:45

We return to Premier League action for the second time in just four days when Arsenal host West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

Scroll down to see what Arsène Wenger said to the media at London Colney ahead of the clash.

on when he is hoping to make an announcement on his future…

I have answered that question many times. I can understand that you ask again. Don’t worry, you will get that soon.

on whether he wishes he could resolve this matter sooner…

I wish just to dedicate my energy to football and the next game, and leave my own personal case out of the debate. What is important… I think if I’ve shown one thing in my 20 years, it’s that I care about Arsenal, I care about the next game, and I will continue to do that as long as I’m here.

on how the uncertainty around his future has affected his job…

Nothing. I am professional and when you are professional, you perform in ideal conditions and non-ideal conditions as well. That’s what it is to be professional.

on whether there’s a sense of a reinvention of Arsène Wenger…

It’s difficult to debate about things which are not so important. What is important is a good football team on the football pitch who play good football. All the rest is literature and we can debate, speak and organise forums. What is important is good footballers who play with the right spirit, the right attitude and the right pride to defend the colours of the club.

on how important it is to resolve the future of Alexis…

He has one and a half years of contract, I don’t see what suddenly all that debate is about. We are professional football people, I don’t understand. Our job is to perform as long as we are somewhere, when I sign a contract I commit until the last day of my contract. And that is what it is to be professional. So I do not understand this kind of anxiety one and a half years before the end of contracts. It’s absolutely denying what a professional guy is about.

on the support of the fans and his message to them…

What I believe, again, is everybody has an opinion today. What is important is that guys who can influence the results stick together and take care of what matters really for them, which is to win football games.

on if title race is back on…

It depends on City tomorrow night at Chelsea. Chelsea are still in a very comfortable position, but it’s still possible that the title race is back on, yes.

on team news…

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey have a test today, and we will see if they can be involved. I think there’s a good chance they will be back in the squad. Apart from that, we lost Laurent Koscielny. For how long? I don’t know.

on Koscielny’s injury…

It’s an Achilles problem. If he’s ruptured a few fibres of his tendon, it could be a few weeks. If it’s just an inflammation, he could maybe be available for selection next week against Crystal Palace. At the moment, I think he has a scan today and we’ll know much more tomorrow.

on if Mertesacker is available…

He is available to play, yes.

on Mertesacker…

He’s been out for a long, long time. But he’s been available now for a while, for a long time. He’s worked very hard. Physically, he’s ready but he lacks competition.

on Cech…

He’s unavailable for tomorrow.

Source: arsenal.com

10 things we learned from the Premier League weekend as Liverpool beat Everton and Chelsea lost at home

2017-04-03T11:18:00.000+05:45

Manchester City twice took the lead against Arsenal at the Emirates but failed to kill them off, eventually settling for a point.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Middlesbrough and Swansea treated their fans to a 0-0 draw at the Liberty Stadium - not quite what the travelling support had hoped for on a 666-mile round-trip.

Saturday's action saw league leaders Chelsea lose at home to Crystal Palace, Liverpool triumph in the Merseyside derby and Manchester United draw their eighth home game of the season.

But what did we learn from the weekend's action? Here are the key points from each game...

1. Arsenal stand up to be counted

Theo Walcott celebrates Arsenal's second equaliser (Photo: Reuters)

Whatever the Arsenal fans might think about the quality of their players, they stood up to be counted during a torrid spell during the first half and during a nightmare period for the club per se.

At times Sane, Sterling, De Bruyne and Aguero all appeared to be waiting for the hare to start running as they frightening the life out of the Gunners with their pace.

The early goal that City were after materialised after just five minutes and at that point Arsenal looked to be staring down the barrel. But the Arsenal players made a fight of it when they could have given up the ghost.

2. Boro fans on Route 666

Middlesbrough fans away at Swansea (Photo: REUTERS)

It's a 666-mile round trip from Teesside to Swansea – nice work if you can get it – and whoever scheduled this fixture for live TV coverage on a Sunday lunchtime should be pinned against a wall and slapped with a wet fish.

Such is the disrepair and skeletal service on our railways that, according to the Trainline website, to reach the Liberty by train in time for kick-off, Boro fans would have had to leave Middlesbrough at 5.24pm on Saturday.

Look, there's nothing wrong with a weekend on the Gower peninsula. But until fans – the lifeblood of the game because they buy tickets and subscribe to Sky Sports – are factored into the equation, football will continue its inexorable slide towards the corporate sector and, sooner or later, the bubble will burst.

Chapeau, kudos and respect to Boro's travelling contingent. Whatever you think of their team this season, the fans have been terrific.

3. Title race back on?

What to make of this from Chelsea? Ten points clear at the top prior to kick-off, it looked all over bar the shouting in terms of the title race. It probably still is.

But Palace proved here that Antonio Conte’s men remain mere mortals. Second-placed Spurs will be delighted.

The Blues were unable to contain the combination of Zaha and Benteke during the first half and, without Victor Moses at right wing-back, lacked balance. Pedro filled in with Fabregas ahead of him on the right of a three.

To be fair, the former Arsenal midfielder scored so he could argue the importance of his contribution. Defensively, however, Chelsea were nowhere near as solid as usual.

The goals scored by Palace made it the first time since January 4 that Conte’s men have conceded twice. The Italian will not be happy.

4. Forster concern

Fraser Forster tries to clear his lines (Photo: REUTERS)

Fraser Forster wasn't at fault for conceding against Bournemouth but that was more by luck than judgement.

For a man mountain, Forster doesn't command his box or spread confidence. At times he looks a bag of nerves when the ball is put into his box.

That must be starting to cause a little concern for Southampton and England, given he is Joe Hart's backup.

More than once Southampton's defenders must have expected better from their goalkeeper.

He came and flapped at an early corner before missing a later loose ball which almost led to a goal for Andrew Surman.

Soon after he came for a free-kick, spilled the ball and to compound the mess clattered into Jack Stephens, leaving the young defender needing treatment.

On another occasion he did nothing, failing to communicate with his teammates, and Southampton needlessly conceded a corner.

5. Alli human after all

Fraser Forster tries to clear his lines (Photo: REUTERS)

Alli has been sensation for Tottenham and the England star had banged in 11 goals in his last 12 Premier League games.

The 20-year-old has 18 in total and is a major reason why Spurs are enjoying their best-ever Premier League campaign at this stage of a season.

But he proved he is fallible when he missed a sitter to rival Adam Lallana's howler for Liverpool against Manchester City.

The ball fell perfectly for him after Tom Heaton parried Christian Eriksen's shot, but he blazed over the top under no real pressure.

6. Lukaku fluffs his lines

If the Premier League's 21-goal top scorer wants to be mentioned as being among the world's elite strikers, then it is games like this where he needs to make an impression.

Unfortunately, the Belgian was pretty much non-existent at Anfield, struggling to hold up play effectively, offering little going the other way and being left frustrated in his battle with Dejan Lovren.

This term, he has taken his game up a notch and his Everton record is mightily impressive, with 83 goals in 158 games now.

However, detractors will point to the face that 16 of his goals this term have come against the Premier League’s bottom 10 sides, with 10 of his goals coming in the last 10 minutes of games too - often when Everton were already ahead.

7. Shake and bake

If Craig Shakespeare wants to be the Leicester City boss on a permanent basis come the summer, then there's little more that he can be doing right now.

Having seen the Foxes past Sevilla in the Champions League, the caretaker boss has now put together four successive league wins, and is closing in on safety - his remit when agreeing to replace Claudio Ranieri.

He joins an esteemed bunch to win their first four Premier League matches in a row: Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, Guus Hiddink and Jose Mourinho.

8. United's home record has cost them top-four hopes

It's looking like Europa League glory or bust for United in terms of getting straight back into the Champions League, after this eighth home draw of the season cast them even further adrift of the top four.

Mourinho's men have now dropped 19 points at home this season, and with a run-in that includes trips to Manchester City Arsenal and Tottenham, clinching a Champions League spot via a top-four finish is looking like a fanciful notion.

9. Marco Silva's remarkable home run preserved

Undefeated in 38 home league games dating back three years, Silva's men came back well to preserve his record and extend it to 39.

Hull were unbeaten in last seven at home in all competitions.

They were looking for six consecutive Premier League games unbeaten, a club best.

That record was prolonged and if they can muster the same qualities they found in the second half they might, just might, have a chance.

10. Time is quickly running out for Sunderland

Sunderland are running out of time (Photo: Christopher Lee / Getty)

Still seven points from safety, the Black Cats are away to Leicester and home to Manchester United in their next two games.

It would be no surprise to see them get no points from both games to leave David Moyes' side still on 21 points with seven games left.

And looking at the remaining fixtures, only the home matches against West Ham and Swansea look like possible wins.

Source: mirror.co.uk

Arsenal increasingly worried BOTH Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez will quit the club this summer

2017-03-10T09:25:00.002+05:45

The duo could both be set to walk away from the Emirates (Photo: Arsenal FC via Getty)

There is an increasing chance that BOTH Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez will leave Arsenal this summer.

Mirror Sport understands the club are increasingly worried that the club’s two bona-fide star names are both ready to exit, following the club’s Champions League humiliation against Bayern Munich.

The star duo have both been offered huge deals by Arsenal, however neither has committed to renewing at the Emirates Stadium.

The proposal offered to German international Ozil, 28, is potentially worth a massive £280,000-a-week.

Ozil didn’t start in the defeat to Bayern on Tuesday night, and has been linked with a return to Germany and a switch to the Allianz Arena. His international teammate, Jerome Boateng, recently hailed him as “world class” and stated that “I love to play with him”.

That is a sign that Bayern are stepping up a charm offensive as they look to take advantage of his contract situation.

Sanchez was dropped to the bench at Liverpool last week following a bust-up in training and there are suggestions that Wenger is close to breaking point with the high maintenance Chilean star.

The club’s top goalscorer is understood to be attracting interest from Chelsea and Juventus, but it is French champions Paris Saint-Germain who are in pole position, with a mega-money deal on offer to the Chile star.

Both players are entering the final 12 months of their contract, as is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the England international. He has grown frustrated at still not having nailed down a definitive role.

Chairman Sir Chips Keswick took an unprecedented step of issuing a statement backing his manager, and confirmed the Mirror’s story that there will be a “mutual” decision on his future."

Source: mirror.co.uk

Wenger on the Ox, Theo and Lincoln and latest team news ahead of Lincoln clash

2017-03-09T20:33:00.002+05:45

There has been a lot of talk about Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s future at the club in recent days, and Arsène Wenger addressed it at his press conference on Thursday.

The Arsenal manager also discussed squad harmony and Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup quarter-final against Lincoln, and this is what he had to say.

on Theo Walcott’s comments about seeing arguments in training…

No. A lot has been said about that which is exaggerated. We have a good, united, determined group. When you go through disappointing results, you always have some disagreements but overall the best way to respond is always in the game. We have to show how united and determined we are. Overall, on that front I don’t worry. In our job, you have to be competitive and competitiveness doesn’t always mean love. It is about performing. In the past, it’s not the team who loves each other the most who is the best on the football field.

on the latest team news…

I believe that we have two uncertainties: Welbeck, who had to come off after the warm-up against Bayern due to sickness, and Iwobi, who on the day of the game couldn’t turn up as well due to the same problem. Everyone else should be available.

on Mesut Ozil…

I haven’t decided yet, he still felt not too well after the game. I will see in training how he feels and I haven’t decided on the team that will start the game on Saturday.

on rotating his squad…

I have always decided to play the team that has a good chance to qualify, and I will continue to do that of course.

on whether there is a sickness bug…

It is possible, yes. We have a little problem on that front. I don’t know if it is a bug or not. they called me on the morning of the game and said Iwobi cannot play and Welbeck at 5pm in the afternoon felt sick. We still tried to play him but it could be a bug, I don’t know.

on how to stop it spreading…

That is for the doctors to do their job, I have enough to do!

on talk about the Ox leaving in the summer…

I haven’t seen that. I’m surprised by that because I believe that he has been developed well, he is developing well at the moment and he has been given his chance. When you are somewhere, you have to want to be there first. After that, the only thing I can say is that personally I rate him highly. I showed that in the way I keep faith in him when he spent long times out injured. He’s developing very well at the moment.

on if the Ox will be here next season…

I personally wish that he stays at the club, because I think he’s a very promising player who has developed very well and who looks to me to have the values that we rate at this club.

on if the FA Cup offers reason for optimism…

The FA Cup is the next game, and of course, when you’ve had a disappointment like we had in the last game, it’s important [to respond].

on everyone expecting his side to win on Saturday…

We are favourites, but when you are at a big club, you are favourites 90 per cent of the time and you have to deal with that. It’s the next game and in the next game, people expect us to win, so there’s a pressure there of course.

Source: arsenal.com

Arsenal make huge contract offer to their star player while another star player is likely to leave Emirates

2017-03-09T08:03:00.004+05:45

(Photo: Arsenal/Getty)

Mesut Ozil has been made a huge £280,000-a-week offer to stay at Arsenal .

Germany midfielder Ozil has yet to decide on his future with 15 months left on his current contract, and there are growing fears he will leave this summer.

The 28-year-old is already the Gunners' biggest earner on £140,000-a-week basic — which rises close to £200,000-a-week with bonuses — and this willingness to smash through the £250k barrier is new territory.

But Ozil is holding out, knowing he can get even bigger money elsewhere.

There is also uncertainty over volatile forward Alexis Sanchez , whose deal runs out next summer, too.

A big summer exodus could be on the cards also including England international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain , who has become frustrated despite showing impressive form since moving into central midfield.

Would a move from Arsenal make Oxlade-Chamberlain an England regular? (Photo: Arsenal/Getty)

Arsenal have yet to offer a new deal despite the 23-year-old’s contract being another that expires in 2018, and even if they do now start negotiations there is little change he will sign.

Oxlade-Chamberlain believes he may need a fresh start to reinvigorate his international career, and Manchester United and Manchester City are watching developments closely.

Sixteen points behind leaders Chelsea, the Gunners are out of the title-race and left scrapping again for a top-four finish. They were also eliminated from the Champions League's last-16 for a SEVENTH season running by Bayern Munich on Tuesday, by a humiliating aggregate score of 10-2.

A raft of their players are all set to be out of contract next year, with Jack Wilshere, out on a season's loan at Bournemouth, and Kieran Gibbs also yet to be offered anything.

Sanchez has already been presented with a proposal worth in excess of £200,000-a-week to remain at Arsenal but has not committed himself.

French champions Paris Saint-Germain lead the chase to sign him in the summer.

There is an increasing belief Sanchez will go, although he may wait to see what happens with the managerial situation — Arsene Wenger's own contract expires this summer and it remains unclear if he'll sign the two-year deal on the table — before deciding on his next move.

Sanchez has become increasingly frustrated at Arsenal — he wants to win trophies — and was dropped to the bench for the weekend's loss at Liverpool.

Source: mirror.co.uk

Full transcript: Arsene Wenger's post-match interview after Arsenal's Champions League nightmare and balme one person for it

2017-03-08T09:45:00.001+05:45

Arsenal's Champions League campaign came crashing to an end, battered by Bayern Munich.

The German champions led 5-1 from the first leg, and handed under-fire Arsene Wenger another battering, as Arsenal's shortcomings were ruthlessly exposed by the German champions once more.

It all had looked so different at half-time, Theo Walcott's blistering finish into the roof of the net handing the Gunners a 1-0 lead at the break.

But after referee Anastasios Sidiropoulos had sent off Laurent Koscielny early in the second half for a foul on Robert Lewandowski, the north Londonders capitulated, leaving Wenger staring into the abyss.

Speaking to BT Sport, here's what the Frenchman had to say after the 5-1 mauling, resulting in a 10-2 aggregate defeat.

Asked about his thoughts on the game

It had all started so well with Walcott's thunderous drive (Photo: Getty)

"I think there are different aspects in this game to explain why we are out.

"I think we produced the game we wanted and we were really unlucky tonight with some decisions of the referee that are very difficult to understand.

"Because we are 1-0 up, it is 100 per cent a penalty on Walcott. [Theirs] it is offside. Lewandowski is offside.

"There is no penalty on top of that you get the red card.

"Of course, that killed us, the game and after that it was very difficult for us to finish the game. Overall it's difficult to understand what happened.

"I still must say my team has produced a huge effort tonight and played very well."

Was Laurent Koscielny's red card a turning point?

Koscielny sees red (Photo: Getty)

"Yeah, of course. You are down to 10 men, you have to score four goals - it becomes in the heads of the players impossible you know. And I think what is terrible is he's offside, Lewandowski and there's no penalty.

"He [originally] gives a yellow card, on top of that he gives after a red card, it's just not serious.

"When you see the importance of the games and you see an attitude like that I am absolutely revolted and sorry for people who come and pay a lot of money to watch these games."

Does it hurt to be out at the last-16 stage again?

Wenger on the touchline (Photo: Rex Features)

"Of course but I felt we were in it you know and you never know how Bayern would have reacted had we scored a second goal.

"And at the end it finishes like that it's difficult to take.

"Of course it looks very bad and doesn't reflect the quality of our performance tonight."

Chelsea remain determined to sign Arsenal star following his refusal to sign a new deal

2017-03-07T20:24:00.000+05:45

Chelsea remain ready to move for Alexis Sanchez this summer despite Arsenal’s determination not to allow him to join a Premier League rival.

The Blues remain big fans of the 28-year-old Chilean who will have just a year left on his contract in June and has so far refused to sign a new deal.

Sanchez is demanding a package worth £300,000-a-week from the Gunners who have yet to come close to meeting his advisers’ demands.

Mirror Sport first revealed Chelsea’s interest in Sanchez in December. At the time Conte refused to discuss the superstar former Barcelona forward when asked.

Since then Sanchez has increased his Premier League goals total to 17, making himself a contender for the competition’s Golden Boot. He has been involved in 26 top-flight goals in total and has been indispensable to the team since his arrival at the club.

His relationship with his team-mates and staff behind the scenes at Arsenal, however, has deteriorated.

He was dropped for Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Liverpool and it is widely believed that he will leave the club in the summer.

Alexis Sanchez is keen to finalise his future (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Manchester City are also admirers but are understood to have Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang as their preferred target. Juventus, Atletico Madrid and PSG are also keen and Arsenal could lose Sanchez to one of those clubs for nothing if he goes on to run his deal down and sign a pre-contract next January.

It places the pressure on the Gunners to cash in this summer if their star man continues to refuse to commit his future to the club.

Chelsea are hunting at least one new striker and could yet make their London rivals and offer that they would find hard to refuse at the end of the season.

Arsenal have strengthened their Premier League rivals before with Arsene Wenger selling Robin van Persie to Manchester United in 2012. Van Persie at the time rejected a move to Juventus to hold out for United where he went on to win the title.

Chelsea are set to move flop Michy Batshuayi on this summer, a year after his £33million arrival from Marseille. A successful move for Sanchez would strengthen the champions elect considerably ahead of their return to the Champions League.

Source: mirror.co.uk

Arsene Wenger urges Alexis Sanchez to show 'lucid rage' after meltdown saw him dropped against Liverpool

2017-03-07T13:22:00.000+05:45

Wenger has urged Sanchez to show 'lucid rage' (Photo: Action Images via Reuters)

Arsene Wenger has urged Alexis Sanchez to show a “lucid rage” after his Arsenal meltdown.

Wenger made it clear he wants a response from all of his players to save Arsenal from further Champions League humiliation against Bayern Munich.

Sanchez was dropped at Liverpool on Saturday after a series of training ground rows but Wenger cleared the way for him to be recalled with Arsenal already trailing 5-1 from the first leg.

But Wenger warned the players - including fiery Chile striker Sanchez - must be focused as well as determined at the Emirates.

The Gunners boss said: “What you expect is that you go out there with lucid rage.

“Total commitment, but not a silly one because in our game you always need to make intelligent decisions, to make the optimal decision and for that you need a good combination of commitment but as well I think to keep your vision.”

Wenger was insistent there was no problem with Sanchez but admitted that sometimes he shows “excessive commitment".

“It’s always interpreted that he’s not happy but it could be interpreted as well that he wants everyone to be with him. I think when it doesn’t go well these things are interpreted negatively,” said Wenger.

Paris Saint Germain are leading the chase to sign Sanchez this summer amid the Arsenal forward’s contract stand-off. But Mirror Sport understands that Arsenal are adamant they will not sell to an English rival under any circumstances.

Wenger has urged Sanchez to show 'lucid rage' (Photo: Action Images via Reuters)

Wenger said: “Alexis has 15 months of his contract so the decision of will he be here or not will depend completely on Arsenal Football Club and not on anybody else.”

Arsenal club captain Per Mertesacker admitted the atmosphere within the squad was “tense” but insisted the players and fans - with hundreds expected to stay away with the tie already effectively over - must stick together.

Mertesacker added: “It is a little bit tense but that is normal when you have a stretch like this.

"But the team is easier to change something and you can feel in every training session that we are eager to change something about the situation.

“We have done something wrong in recent games. We need to analyse very well and come back with a stronger performance, and learn from the mistakes that we have made recently.

"The spirit is a bit tense, as I said, but that is normal in these circumstances.”

Source: mirror.co.uk

Arsenal team news ahead of Bayern Clash: The latest on Mesut Ozil

2017-03-06T20:34:00.000+05:45

-ArsenalPics-

Arsène Wenger faced the media on Monday ahead of his side’s Champions League last 16 second leg against Bayern Munich.

The Arsenal manager provided the latest team news update, including the fitness of Mesut Ozil, and this is what he said:

on the team news…

I think it will be a similar squad to the one that was at Liverpool on Saturday.

on Ozil’s fitness…

He is not in the squad, he only had one session yesterday and he was sick - he was out the whole of last week and I don’t think he is ready physically to be in the squad. He should be okay for the weekend.

Source: arsenal.com

Wenger on Alexis' future at Arsenal

2017-03-06T20:27:00.001+05:45

-Arsenalpics-

The hot topic of the day at Arsène Wenger's pre-match press conference on Monday was Alexis' future at the club.

After media reports that the Chile international could leave the club this summer, Arsène Wenger broached the rumours and had this to say:

on what’s happened with Alexis…

I am not aware. Nothing happened. Nothing at all.

on whether Alexis’ attitude has been what he would expect…

I explained after the game at Liverpool that I decided to go for a more direct option in the game. That’s what happened. That was the unique reason for my decision. All the rest, his attitude - he’s a committed player and sometimes has excessive behaviours but you have that many times in the history of every squad.

on whether the story about Alexis is incorrect…

Yes, completely false. But I understand that you have to fill the newspapers and we respect that. When you don’t win games it’s not always down to real stories and we have to accept that.

on what his relationship is like with Alexis…

Honest and normal. Like with every single player.

on whether Alexis will be here next season…

Alexis has 15 months of his contract so the decision of will he be here or not will depend completely on Arsenal Football Club and not on anybody else.

on whether Alexis can channel his frustration better…

It’s about the team performance, not individuals. It’s a team sport and the most important thing is that we focus on our collective. Our game is built on collective expression. That is the most important thing, that we focus on what’s important and not the individual. Alexis played in all the games and when we didn’t perform away from home, we lost as well. We lost at City, United and Chelsea, and that’s what I think is the most important thing, to focus and produce as a team.

on Alexis being a vital cog in the team…

I don’t deny that, but they are all proven winners. Players who play at that level are all proven winners. What is important is that we perform as a team. Football is not only about one player, it is much bigger than that.

on using that spirit to drive the team…

There is not a lot to add, everyone wants to win and everyone’s focus in the team is important.

on whether Alexis will start…

I haven’t decided yet, you will have to come to the game [to find out]. I make that decision tomorrow morning.

on whether he is happy here…

What does it mean? The definition of a happy person is very difficult, I have never found an ideal situation. A happy player on the football front is a player who comes out of a game and has won it and has performed well. I hope he will be very happy tomorrow night.

on whether Alexis wants to stay…

Let’s not project ourselves too far. Short-term happiness is easier to get that long-term happiness, so let’s just focus on short term.

Source: arsenal.com

Andy Dunn: Arsenal's Liverpool loss felt different to their other big games flops - we are now watching Wenger's endgame

2017-03-05T19:19:00.000+05:45

-MIRROR FOOTBALL-

Don't let a semblance of second-half spirit mislead, don’t let a semblance of second-half effort fool, don’t let a semblance of second-half stirring tell you otherwise.

Surely, we are watching the endgame. After two dignified decades, surely we are waving a long goodbye to Arsene Wenger .

This might have been the Premier League’s most familiar storyline, Arsenal swatted aside by a Big Six rival.

Somehow, though, particularly for one dire half from Arsenal, this felt different.

For periods of this thoroughly predictable contest, it felt as though his players had pretty much thrown it in.

It felt as though HE had thrown it in.

With Alexis Sanchez - yes, Alexis Sanchez - sat behind him in the dug-out for 45 minutes of truly insipid Arsenal performance and effort, Wenger stared blankly into Merseyside space, stirring just occasionally to draw a hand down the length of his face.

It was like he was being forced to watch his most hated soap opera.

Never mind placards, when the travelling support sarcastically salute a shot after half an hour, Wenger must know the game is up.

It was like he was being forced to watch his most hated soap opera.

Never mind placards, when the travelling support sarcastically salute a shot after half an hour, Wenger must know the game is up.

Who knows what fresh indignity lies in Champions League store on Tuesday?

There’s the word. Those dignified decades don’t deserve indignity.

A tiny vestige of pride might have been salvaged in the second half but the damage had been done.

It would be too simplistic to put the contrasting periods of this occasion down to the unfathomable, barely believable decision not to start with a fit Sanchez.

That they looked a different team after the break was probably down to a cocktail of ingredients.

Sanchez being on, Francis Coquelin being off, Liverpool sitting back.

Dropping Sanchez was a folly but what followed cannot be laid solely at that door.

Maybe Wenger has lost some of his players, Claudio-fashion.

Maybe they were just not good enough in the first place.

Maybe it’s a combination of both but there was no excuse for a first half when they failed to apply themselves to the simple tasks.

If you wanted Wenger’s latter-day Arsenal in a handy-sized edition, the preamble to and execution of Liverpool’s opening goal would do the trick.

This is a team becoming stocked with sideways shufflers, enjoying long bouts of possession without the merest hint of threat.

After knocking it between themselves for an age, they didn’t run out of ideas because they didn’t have one in the first place.

Liverpool take over with a goal-kick, launch it and let abysmal defending do the rest. Simple.

Laurent Koscielny’s mistimed leap, Shkodran Mustafi’s misplacement, Hector Bellerin’s open-legged miss, Roberto Firmino formality.

The move for Sadio Mane’s strike was altogether slicker but a string of defensive ineptitudes.

It was entirely predictable Arsenal.

Jurgen Klopp drew a response from his players but the truth is they had to be no more than half-decent to compensate for the thumping at the King Power.

The decision not to start with Sanchez was simply baffling.

He did not look particularly interested when he came on for the second half but even a semi-interested Sanchez is more effective than most of the current Arsenal outfield players, proof soon coming in his assist for Danny Welbeck’s tidy finish.

He might have inspired an equaliser on what then became a level playing field but it would only have masked the deep-seated incapability of Wenger’s teams to compete strongly against the elite.

And Georginio Wijnaldum’s breakaway scoreline-shiner was a pertinent reminder of how Arsenal have become fodder for their immediate foes.

Klopp is making a habit getting results in these type of games and such was his delirium, he did not even notice Wenger hanging around for a handshake.

Wenger lost patience, turned heel and headed for another beaten dressing-room.

Surely, we are watching the endgame.

Source: mirror.co.uk

Welbeck- 'It's good to score but I'm not happy'

2017-03-05T19:12:00.002+05:45

Danny Welbeck provided a moment of true quality at Anfield on Saturday - but it wasn’t enough to bring back a point.

The England forward’s brilliant finish from Alexis’ pass revived our hopes of getting something from the game, and here’s what Danny said after the match:

on the game…

For our position in the league we want to be getting three points, so it’s frustrating that we weren’t able to do that today.

on the second half being better than the first…

We played much better football in the second half. It’s difficult to talk about this performance straight after the game.

on what did change at half-time…

The difference was that we got a goal and then we didn’t concede right until the end of the second half. That’s the major difference. With the result showing that we’ve conceded three goals at full-time and lost 3-1, it’s not a good look.

on whether he can take away positives personally…

On a personal level it’s good to get a start and a goal, but at the end of the day I’m not happy because we lost three points. That’s the most important thing.

on whether it’s good that we have a short turnaround before next game…

Yes. In a couple of days we’ve got our Champions League game so we’ve got to look forward to that now. As hard as it is, we’ve got to put this behind us and concentrate on the game ahead.

Source: arsenal.com

WENGER ON THE WIN, GIROUD AND TITLE RACE

2016-12-27T15:27:00.002+05:45

There was relief and joy all around Emirates Stadium - except for the away end - when Olivier Giroud nodded home Mesut Ozil’s cross on Boxing Day.

After the game Arsène Wenger sat down for his press conference. Read on for some of the key quotes:

on persistence finally paying off…

Yes, we created plenty of chances. We needed today to be patient, keep our composure in our game and not make a defensive mistake - that’s what we did. They had a chance through Yacob in the second half, but overall I felt that defensively we were quite sound and we had, I thought, with 10 minutes to go I thought we could play a draw or even, if we were not intelligent, lose the game. Overall I believe West Brom were well-organised, we passed the ball quite well and quickly but we didn’t find the incisiveness that is needed because they basically played six across in their final third. We have little pockets where you usually get in but we found it difficult today. But we kept going and in the end when we couldn’t make the difference on the ground, we made it in the air with maybe the only player in our team who can do that.

on where our confidence is at right now…

The confidence is swinging, depending highly on the results. We have played 20 games, 14 games in the Premier League and six in the Champions League without losing a game. And we lost two on the trot so the confidence, of course, is hit. But after that, as well, it’s testing because it’s a good test. There is no season without disappointment. It is interesting to see how the team responds to disappointment.

on the importance of winning after back-to-back losses…

Of course it was vital. But you’re under pressure before the game. It’s exactly the tie you don’t want, West Brom. You’re under pressure, you know they defend deep, they are well-organised, they are resilient - we are super-favourites. And you can just have a big problem if you don’t win the game because mentally of course, if you don’t win for three games, it’s always difficult. Although I think we lost two games under very special circumstances.

on whether he knows why Lucas and Gabriel had a heated discussion on the way off…

No. I don’t know what it is about, I didn’t see it as well. But they have the South American temper, you know, and that can sometimes happen. I don’t think that anything bad happened. They are two good friends, very close to each other so that is already forgotten now.

on whether he senses more resilience about the team this season…

I feel yes because it’s normal that I tell you yes, but we have to show that for the whole season to maintain that kind of resilience. At the moment there is quite a big distance between us and Chelsea and we need a special resilience to come back, but I hope that the other teams will have as well their moments of weakness and we can only take advantage of it if we continue like that.

Source: arsenal.com

Match Report: Arsenal 1-0 West Brom

2016-12-27T15:09:00.002+05:45

SUMMARY

Olivier Giroud turned frustration to pure joy as we left it late to win on Boxing Day.

The France striker held off Gareth McAuley to head home Mesut Ozil’s cross after an ultra-defensive Albion had kept us at bay for so long.

We had around 80 per cent of the ball but Albion defended in numbers and did it expertly, filling gaps and closing down space while offering very little at the other end.

Alexis fired against the post in the second half and Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster denied the Chilean as well as Alex Iwobi and Giroud.

In this game of attack v defence it was the defence that looked like going home the happier - but Giroud changed all that.

SETTING THE SCENE

Arsenal fans last filed out of the Emirates with their team top of the table after a win over Stoke. They returned 16 days later with that same team nine points adrift of leaders Chelsea.

That made for a rather subdued, not-so-festive atmosphere in north London. Never mind Santa, it was time for the Gunners to deliver the goods.

Arsène Wenger made two changes from the side that lost at Manchester City.

One was enforced - Theo Walcott’s slight calf problem opening the door for Giroud. The other wasn’t - Kieran Gibbs getting the nod ahead of Nacho Monreal at left back.

Aaron Ramsey marked his birthday by returning to the squad after injury, and Jeff Reine-Adelaide was also among the substitutes with the injured Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain dropping out.

Tony Pulis’ West Brom arrived in half-decent form after four wins in seven games. They were expected to be direct, defend in numbers and threaten from set-pieces.

FIRST HALF

The visitors made their intentions clear from the off. With a bank of four, a bank of five and just Salomon Rondon up front, the onus was on us to break them down.

Giroud’s return saw Alexis move to the left and Iwobi start on the right, and they would be key to our tempo and mobility. Iwobi started promisingly, drifting past a defender and feeding Alexis, and he carried on in the same vein.

Ozil had a half-chance as we looked for an early goal that would open the game up, but his shot was blocked. Then Giroud curled over from distance.

Width would be vital in stretching West Brom’s massed defence. Hector Bellerin and Kieran Gibbs offered it and both crept in behind the Albion back line for crosses that were cut out.

Alexis saw a snap-shot fly wide and his understanding with Ozil almost opened up West Brom thanks to a raking pass from the Chilean and an outrageous Cruyff turn from the German.

Albion offered very little in response, other than two corners from Chris Brunt that Petr Cech punched away.

But as a defensive force they were hard to fault. For all our probing, gaps were closed in an instant and chances were kept to a minimum.

Iwobi’s movement and vision worried West Brom and Claudio Yacob made one desperate block to stop him. But Foster was only forced into one regulation save by Alexis’ low shot.

SECOND HALF

Foster was well protected in the first half but he was at full stretch at the start of the second.

Our first attack of note saw Gibbs swing in a cross on the left which was headed back to Iwobi. His first-time shot was pushed away by the diving Foster, who got up in time to smother Alexis’ follow-up.

From the resulting corner Alexis seized on a loose ball in the six-yard box, evaded two markers and smacked a shot against the post.

Our Player of the Month was taking the game by the scruff of its neck. His next contribution was a sizzling strike from 22 yards that Foster brilliantly tipped over the bar.

It wasn’t just Alexis though. Everyone in a red-and-white shirt had a fraction more urgency. Giroud was among them: he beat his man but was denied by Foster’s outstretched leg.

West Brom regrouped. Cross after cross was met by defensive header after defensive header. Loose balls were ferried away from danger. Three Albion corners were forced - and Yacob skied a decent opening.

Lucas, Monreal and Ramsey replaced Iwobi, Gibbs and Francis Coquelin as we prepared for one last push.

Giroud was inches away from connecting with a low cross from the left. Bellerin headed wide from Lucas’ right-wing cross.

The game seemed to be up. But Ozil swung in a cross and Giroud held off McAuley to head past Foster.

There could and perhaps should have been a second as Alexis, Giroud and Ramsey all went close in the dying stages. But one was enough.

Source: arsenal.com

PMB: Chelsea v Bournemouth - talking points

2016-12-25T09:08:00.000+05:45

It is the day before Christmas, although for the table-topping Blues it is Bournemouth on Boxing Day that matters the most. Club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician begin the yuletide build-up here…

TALKING POINTS
KEY STAT
Victory at Palace last weekend was achieved with our first headed goal – the 13th goal of the campaign for Diego Costa. The 28-year-old’s 50th finishing touch for the Blues (over 97 matches) set a new club landmark for longest victory spree in the course of a single season.

His Chelsea team, 18 points up on the equivalent fixtures last season, are clearly in fine form. ‘They ask questions and do not make errors,’ Alan Pardew, who at that point was still Palace manager, said after the latest victory.

PREMIER LEAGUE TOP SCORERS
PREMIER LEAGUE MOST CLEAN SHEETS

Season’s greetings! And how splendid to be top at Christmas for the fifth time. The previous were in 2004/05 (18 played/43 points/5 clear), 2005/06 (17/46/9), 2009/10 (18/41/6) and 2014/15 (17/42/3).

On each of those occasions we closed the campaign as champions, and of the past seven Yuletide table-toppers only the Liverpool vintage of 2013 have failed to follow through.

It is as well to match positivity with caution, however. Three successive draws, remember, effectively holed the Blues’ title-going ship below the waterline over Christmas and New Year 2006/07. (For more pleasant festive recollections, see the We Have History section later this weekend)

So will it be happy holidays for our Scrooge of a defence, or a cautionary tale? Our three visitations over the festive period will all take place in London. Bournemouth, who departed the Bridge a year ago this month with three points and a fresh reputation for time-wasting, are the ghost of Christmas past (or December, at least).

A late Christmas present is what we hope to be gifted by Stoke on New Year’s Eve, while the future could look even brighter with a decent result at Tottenham on 4 January.

The Blues are targeting a club record 12th successive league victory.

In truth, after last season’s travails, most Blues fans are still rubbing their eyes at the transformation under the stewardship of Antonio Conte – the first manager in Chelsea’s history to achieve 11 consecutive league wins. During the current sequence his side became the first team to record three 1-0 top-flight wins in seven days since West Bromwich Albion in May 1979.

The table-toppers also registered a 500th Premier League win; only Arsenal (512) and Manchester United (593) have reached the same milestone.

Incidentally, you have probably seen graphics showing winning runs achieved by Man United in 2000 and Arsenal in 2002. One of United’s dozen was achieved at the start of 2000/01, so their best in a single campaign is actually 11. Similarly, Arsenal managed 13 in 2001/02, one in 2002/03. Chelsea need to win the upcoming two home games to match the Gunners’ record over one season.

‘Records are made to be beaten,’ said Conte, ‘but it’s the final goal that’s more important as far as I’m concerned.’

He was actually speaking back in November 2014, a little after establishing a record of 13 successive victories over consecutive seasons as head coach of Serie A giants Juventus, but his attitude has not changed over the intervening two years. He has admitted he would be a liar if he said he did not want to break the record.

Despite such glowing references, the Blues have been swotting up in preparation for the 11-plus. Wins today and on New Year’s Eve would elevate that to 23 points better than last season, and only five clubs have been picked off more times on the road than the Cherries, who are first up.

Diego Costa (Chelsea) 13

Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) 12

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Man Utd) 11

Sergio Aguero (Man City) 10

Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea) 10

Fraser Forster (Southampton) 7

David de Gea (Man Utd) 6

Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) 6

The visitors for our sold-out FA Cup round three tie on Sunday 8 January will be Peterborough United. Grant McCann’s team beat League Two opponents Notts County 2-0 in their round two replay at London Road (currently known as the ABAX stadium) on Tuesday.

Posh’s director of football, Barry Fry, was in the dugout the last time the FA Cup brought the Cambridgeshire side to the Bridge in 2001. Reminded of the 5-0 scoreline that day, Fry quipped, ‘But now we’ve got a proper manager!’ As insurance, he also promised to hire four double-decker buses to park in front of the visitors’ goal.

Like Chelsea, Posh have three league games to navigate before the cup meeting, and coach McCann has challenged his players to earn their place in the side of the ‘huge’ match.

‘The only three people definitely going to Chelsea,’ he warned, ‘are me, [assistant manager] Lee Glover and the coach driver.’ Peterborough currently stand sixth in League One.

Right now, though, the schedule permits the leaders to continue setting a fierce pace. Manchester City kick off at Hull City immediately after our Boxing Day match; Liverpool are not in action until the day after. Here’s hoping we have reason to celebrate later. Merry Christmas.

Source: www.chelseafc.com

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits he could wait until APRIL to sign two-year contract extension

2016-12-24T12:26:00.002+05:45

Arsene Wenger's current Arsenal contract expires at the end of the current season (Photo: Clive Brunskill)

Arsene Wenger has admitted he is ready to keep Arsenal guessing on his future until next April.

Wenger’s current £8m-a-year deal expires next summer and there is a new two-year contract on the table for him to sign.

But Gunners boss Wenger insists he will only decide whether to stay judging on whether Arsenal have been successful in the Premier League and Europe.

Wenger, 67, said: “I always said that I will judge where I stand in spring and make my decisions then. And the club is free as well. It’s not because I am here a long time that I have any rights. We are both on the same boat.

“The club are happy and it will not affect planning. There are plenty of managers who arrived at the end of their contract. It happened to me before. I signed sometimes in March, April for longer contracts. So I don’t think it’s a problem.

“I worked everywhere I was until the last day of my contract with total commitment. That’s why maybe I can go back everywhere I was, because people respect that.”

Wenger let his last contract run down in 2014 and did not sign until after Arsenal won the FA Cup but the club is confident he will commit himself.

But Arsenal fans will be desperate for star duo Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez to sign new deals and them staying may help convince any doubters over Wenger.

Source: mirror.co.uk

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp slams money-motivated players after losing out in race to sign Julian Draxler

2016-12-24T12:10:00.002+05:45

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists he will not be held to ransom by cash-chasing players.

Photo: John Powell

But after losing out to moneybags Paris Saint-Germain – who are backed by Qatari riches – in the race to land German star Julian Draxler, the Reds boss is adamant he will only sign players who put success ahead of their bank accounts.

Klopp is bitterly disappointed Wolfsburg winger Draxler has taken a mega offer from Paris Saint-Germain, and says: “We believe that if someone needs to be convinced by money, then at one point - when you really need character - you will not get it.

“Players should know they can earn really serious money here, reasonable money here, but we will not go nuts. We want to convince players about the special character of the club.

“Nobody has to leave Liverpool because of money. Maybe there are a few clubs in world football who can play better and if you can go there, these few clubs, yeah then do it.

“But for all the rest this should be the best place to be. I may have rose-tinted glasses but I would say at the moment that LFC is a really good place to be for a player to develop.

“I can say we don’t want to convince players with money. We want to convince them with the way we go.

“We want to have players who are ready to develop and it’s not a message for the winter transfer window, it’s a message for the next few years.

Source : mirror.co.uk

Oscar to depart

2016-12-23T20:21:00.001+05:45

Chelsea Football Club and Shanghai SIPG have agreed terms for the permanent transfer of Oscar.

The 25-year-old will join the Chinese Super League team at the beginning of the January transfer window. He has been a Chelsea player for four-and-a-half years, helping us lift the Premier League, League Cup and Europa League as well as scooping two Chelsea Goal of the Season awards after stunning strikes against Juventus in 2012, on his full debut, and QPR in 2014.

Skilful and tenacious, Oscar has been highly regarded by fans, players and staff during his time as a Blue, scoring 38 times from 203 Chelsea appearances.

A summer 2012 arrival from Internacional in his native Brazil, Oscar made his debut as a sub away at Wigan before announcing himself with a dipping, bending effort against Antonio Conte’s Juventus at Stamford Bridge.

It was in the Europa League that Oscar picked up his first medal with Chelsea, playing the full 90 minutes of our 2-1 win over Benfica in the final in Amsterdam before becoming a key player under Jose Mourinho, favoured in the number 10 role thanks to his ability to work effectively at both ends of the pitch.

Oscar came off the bench to help us secure our League Cup final victory over Spurs at Wembley in March 2015, with the Premier League title secured at the Bridge in early May. Last season, Oscar netted a brilliant first-half hat-trick in an FA Cup win against MK Dons.

Conte’s arrival in the summer led to a deeper role for Oscar at the beginning of the campaign, but the switch to a 3-4-3 formation in October saw opportunities limited, and he now heads to Shanghai to link up with former Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas.

We thank Oscar for his wonderful service and wish him the very best of luck for the future.

Source : www.chelseafc.com

Wenger responds to Ozil criticism

2016-12-23T18:59:00.002+05:45

Mesut Ozil has come in for some stick this week following our defeat at Manchester City.

Arsène Wenger accepts that Sunday’s game wasn’t Mesut’s finest moment in an Arsenal shirt but, at the same time, only Eden Hazard has won the ball more in the final third this season.

The manager did not divulge what he and Ozil discussed in the wake of the City game but he stood up for the playmaker at his press conference.

“I don’t give him any leeway when the team doesn’t have possession,” said Wenger. “He has to do his job like everybody else and usually he does it well.

“His main strength is of course when we have the ball and he suffers more when we don’t have it. At City, he suffered more than others because we didn’t have enough of the ball. Unfortunately, if you want to have the ball, you have to win it back.

“He is a guy who works much harder than people think and his body language goes a bit against him sometimes. We are a team who win the ball back high up the pitch very well, which means he and Alexis do their part of the job very well.

“We had a deficit in winning the ball back in the middle of the pitch at Manchester City. When you do not win the ball back immediately, you suffer after because you have to win it back a little bit deeper. That’s certainly what people highlighted in our game.

“To be absolutely fair, I did not hear or listen to all of the criticism we got after the game. We have to accept that, we have to live with that. People analyse the game and have their opinions, and I think that’s normal.

“We have to respond. Mesut Ozil is an important player, a big player, and the big players always respond to criticism on the pitch.”

Source: arsenal.com

Juventus refuse to rule out rivalling Chelsea for Real Madrid's wantaway midfielder James Rodriguez

2016-12-23T12:48:00.001+05:45

The Colombian international declared at the weekend that he could leave Spain as he looks for more regular first-team football.Those comments drew criticism from Sergio Ramos, while Los Blancos boss Zinedine Zidane wants to keep the playmaker at the Santiago Bernabeu - at least until the summer, when Madrid will be able to sign players again after their transfer ban ends.

Photo - AFP/Getty

James, 25, has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Chelsea said to be keen on a January move, with Blues boss Antonio Conte will be allowed to reinvest the £60million they receive when Brazilian midfielder Oscar departs for China. James is said to lead his list of targets and was pictured in Bogota allegedly picking up a UK visa from the British Embassy.

However Juve chief Giuseppe Marotta says that the Bianconeri are in a position to take James to Turin - if they want him.

"It depends on what we do in the transfer market," Marotta told La Gazzetta dello Sport when asked about James.

Source : mirror.co.uk

Matic: Taking chances

2016-12-21T15:52:00.001+05:45

Nemanja Matic says the fact we will be without two key players for the visit of Bournemouth on Boxing Day emphasises the importance of possessing a quality squad.

The Blues go into the game against the Cherries six points clear at the top of the table, although N’Golo Kante and Diego Costa, who have both played every Premier League game this season, are suspended.

‘We have to cope with that, you have situations like this during the season, but other teams also have their problems,’ said Matic.

‘Of course, they are both important players for us but the next game we play is at home and we have to do our best to get three points.

‘Everyone is important in football because you never know who is going to play the next game. I’m happy because in training you can see every player is physically ready.’

Michy Batshuayi is yet to start a league game since moving to Stamford Bridge in the summer, but Matic believes the Belgian striker is more than capable of leading the line in Diego Costa’s absence if selected.

‘He is a great player, he works very hard every day and has a lot of quality for sure,’ Matic added.

‘We won’t have Diego against Bournemouth but I hope Michy will be the man to decide the game. If he does that it will be good for us. He is a great striker, for sure, that is why Chelsea bought him. I’m sure if he gets a chance to score in the next game, he’ll take it.’

-Batshuayi celebrates after scoring our equaliser at Watford earlier in the season-

While Batshuayi has featured mainly from the bench this season, Matic says his overall game can only have improved having trained with Diego Costa on a daily basis.

‘Of course he has benefited from working with him,’ said the Serbian. ‘It was the same with me seven years ago. It was very good for me to see how Frank Lampard played, how Michael Ballack played and Michael Essien. So it is good for Michy and a good experience for him to see Diego’s movement.’

Cesar Azpilicueta, who set up the winning goal for Diego Costa at Crystal Palace on Saturday, has every faith those players who replace the suspended duo will show their quality.

‘Both of them are very important for us but we have a good squad and hopefully the players who play the next game will do a good job and we can keep on winning, that’s the aim of the group,’ said the defender.

‘We are in good form and we have to keep working. It’s not finished but we are full of confidence.’

Source: http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2016/12/matic--taking-chances.html