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“I think this is just the start”: Arsenal star eyes brighter future
The signing of Thomas Partey was met with a huge amount of excitement last year, but it has not all been plain sailing for him in England. During five years with Atletico Madrid’s first team, Partey only suffered two injuries. However, since joining the Gunners, the Ghanaian has picked up three in the space of four months. There are many reasons for this – the intensity of the Premier League and the chaotic fixture schedule being two examples. Despite the frustrating setbacks, Partey has said that this is just the start for him at Arsenal, and he has so much more to offer. Speaking ahead of Thursday’s big clash with Olympiacos in the last 16 of the Europa League, the 27-year-old seemed calm about his situation. “It was a difficult moment to get used to how the team plays, and I think the i...
Four changes for United, key forwards miss out, Rangers keep the faith
The Europa League takes centre stage this evening with the round of 16 first leg ties featuring some mouthwatering fixtures. We’ll update this story with reports, results and the latest Europa League highlights as the games are played. The action is already underway and most eyes were on the clash at Old Trafford between Manchester United and AC Milan. Amad Diallo gave United the lead, but a late Simon Kjaer header handed Milan a vital away goal ahead of the second leg. Filip Helander was on target as Rangers grabbed a 1-1 draw at Slavia Prague. Davy Klaassen, Dusan Tadic and Brian Brobbey were on the scoresheet as Ajax ran out 3-0 winners at home to Young Boys. Villarreal are well placed to reach the last eight after winning 2-0 at Dynamo Kiev – Pau Torres and Raul Albiol got the goals. T...
Liverpool midfielder comments on “nightmare” Premier League season
Summer signing Thiago Alcantara has opened up about Liverpool’s struggle to retain the Premier League crown this season. Liverpool strolled to the title last term, finishing 18 points clear of Manchester City to secure their first Premier League trophy. The Reds’ title defence looked to be going as planned, as they sat top of the league at Christmas. However, a horror run of form has taken them all the way down to eighth, 25 points off the top. Virgil van Dijk’s injury was a crucial blow to Liverpool’s title hopes Since defeating Crystal Palace 7-0 at Selhurst Park in December, Jurgen Klopp’s men have picked up just 12 points from their last 14 league outings, losing six home games in a row. Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara has spoken out about their struggles, admitting that they did n...
Possible injury boost for Arsenal, selection issues for Tottenham
The Europa League returns with the round of 16 first leg ties scheduled to be played on Thursday. Manchester United are involved in the standout tie of the round as they go head-to-head with AC Milan. Both teams have injuries ahead of the game, although the Red Devils are expected to field a strong starting XI. Arsenal could have a fitness boost for their game at Olympiacos, with playmaker Emile Smith Rowe in line to return to the squad. Smith Rowe missed the visit to Burnley over the weekend but was involved in training yesterday, and he may feature in Greece. Tottenham Hotspur have a few selection concerns ahead of their first-leg meeting with Dinamo Zagreb. Matt Doherty, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Dele Alli have all collected two yellow cards in the competition, and another caution would...
Wolverhampton Wanderers could sign 28-year-old Spanish midfielder for only £4.3m
Wolverhampton Wanderers could sign Schalke 04 captain Omar Mascarell on a cut-price deal when the transfer window reopens, AS reports. The 28-year-old has been contracted to the Bundesliga outfit since 2018, but he appears on his way out with the club destined for relegation. The Gelsenkirchen-based side have languished in the drop zone for the entire campaign, and they are currently 11 points adrift of safety with 10 games left. Mascarell’s current deal with the club expires in June 2022, and it is claimed that they will be forced to sell him this summer as he is unlikely to sign an extension. Wolves are mentioned as one of the admirers of the former Real Madrid graduate, and it is reported that he could be available for around £4.3 million. Sportslens view: Wolves currently have thr...
Predicted Spurs starting XI: Mourinho to make seven changes, 24-year-old starts
Tottenham Hotspur will take on Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday. Spurs are high on confidence and head into this tie on the back of four consecutive wins in all competitions. Jose Mourinho has already insisted in his pre-match press conference that he will make some changes for this game, before adding that it would still be a strong side. Giovani Lo Celso has been ruled out of this game. The Argentine is suffering from a small back problem after recovering from his hamstring injury, while Joe Rodon is not registered for the Europa League. Gareth Bale could be dropped to the bench after the Welshman started in the last three Premier League games. He could be joined by Heung-min Son on the bench. Mourinho confirmed yesterday that Pierre-Emile Hoj...
Arsenal, Chelsea interested in signing versatile £40m defender from Serie A giants
Arsenal and Chelsea could compete for the signature of Inter Milan defender Achraf Hakimi when the transfer window reopens this summer, The Telegraph reports. The Morocco international made the switch to the Nerazzurri from Real Madrid last year following a successful two-year loan stint with Borussia Dortmund. Hakimi has generally played at right wing-back for the Nerazzurri and has had a superb debut season with six goals and six assists from 33 outings. Despite this, there is speculation that he could be on the move this summer with Inter owner Suning Holdings Group looking for new investors at the club. They recently shut down their operations at Chinese Super League champions Jiangsu and their tight financial situation could see them offload few players at Inter. Hakimi is on the...
Barcelona’s Three Goals: Messi contract, title race and selling Dembele, Coutinho and co
Barcelona’s exit in the second round of the Champions League was expected after a whopping first-leg defeat at Camp Nou to Paris Saint-Germain. Dreams of another Remontada belied the fact that they would be playing away from home, and that they didn’t have the players this time around to mount such a fantastic comeback (while PSG were arguably a better team this time around). And yet while there was hope, there was also a moratorium on criticising the players. As long as those players could do the impossible, they were either tacitly supported or openly praised. After last night though, the restraints were off and Barcelona fans vented their frustrations at players and the club’s transfer policy. Many fans wanted to see Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele sold, with a ...
Transfer planning underway at Arsenal – club must get it right
With the Premier League season concluding in just over two months, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta recently confirmed that planning for the summer transfer window is already underway. Speaking to the media last week, Arteta admitted that potential business will be more challenging due to the pandemic, but also added that any deals they do might be affected by their finishing position in the league. Ahead of the Europa League tie against Olympiacos on Thursday, Arteta was asked again about the club’s plans this summer. “We don’t know yet because we have so many things to do,” he said (via football.london). “We have people on loan, people finishing contracts. There was a lot going on in the last two transfer windows that had to be done the amount of things we had to do which was probably u...
Jordan Henderson and other Liverpool players react to CL win vs Leipzig
Liverpool progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after beating RB Leipzig 2-0 (4-0 on aggregate) on Wednesday night in Hungary. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane scored for the Reds as they finally returned to winning ways. Jordan Henderson, the Reds skipper, who is currently out injured, wrote on his Instagram story – ‘Well done lads. On to the quarters we go’. Several other Liverpool players also shared their reactions after the game. From front to back lads worked hard for that win! Big clean sheet too. pic.twitter.com/5EIfjjfMer — Andy Robertson (@andrewrobertso5) March 10, 2021 Bring on Quarters. pic.twitter.com/IXMkn4Oo2B — Trent Alexander-Arnold (@TrentAA) March 10, 2021 Job done! 💪🏻🔴Quarter-finals! pic.twitter.com/oB4NC56xAu — Adr...
‘The circus continues’ – Some Newcastle fans are baffled by their relegation clause policy
Newcastle United have been quite poor in the Premier League in recent months, and they are very much in the relegation race. The Magpies are just one point above the drop zone, and it is debatable whether Steve Bruce can guide them to safety this season. According to a report from the Times, relegation to the Championship would prove to be catastrophic for the Magpies financially. Apparently, the club recently altered their contract policy, and first-team players do not have relegation clauses in their contract. This means that Newcastle will have to pay their players full Premier League wages even if they are playing in the second tier next season. Usually, these wages are reduced to fit the income of a Championship club with certain clauses in the contract. With their revenues drying up ...
Juventus’ €100m Cristiano Ronaldo gamble has failed – it’s time to cash in
Juventus have suffered their fair share of Champions League heartbreak. Having last won the tournament in 1996, they have since been defeated in five finals, most recently in 2017. In hopes of lifting the trophy once more, they signed the man dubbed ‘Mr. Champions League’ himself – that man, of course, being Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo is the competition’s all-time top goalscorer and has lifted the trophy five times. Juventus themselves know better than anyone how much the forward relishes this competition: he bagged a brace against them in the 2017 final and scored three against them in the 2017/18 quarter-finals, including a stunning bicycle kick. Ronaldo’s stunning bicycle kick brought the Allianz Stadium to its feet Despite his supreme ability, however, the signing of Ronaldo was a huge...
