Mikel Arteta thanked Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola after Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 in the FA Cup final to give the head coach what he described as the best moment of his career.
Arteta left his position as City assistant in December after three years alongside Guardiola to take over from Unai Emery at Emirates Stadium.
The 38-year-old has enjoyed a successful first campaign at Arsenal, culminating in Saturday s win at Wembley to take their record tally of triumphs in the famous competition to 14.
And Arteta, who becomes the first Arsenal boss to win a major trophy in his first season in charge since George Graham in 1986-87, was quick to laud Guardiola.
He has been a key figure in my development as a coach, he said at his post-match news conference.…
It seems odd that it should be Switzerland, the neutral beauty spot of Europe, who have courted the only major political controversy so far of a World Cup in Russia.
The talk ahead of Wednesday s clash with Costa Rica, the one to decide Switzerland s fate at these finals, was dominated by the fines given to Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka for their inflammatory celebrations against Serbia. The eagle emblem of Albania s flag has never been more widely scrutinised. Indeed, it was a topic that threatened to disrupt harmony between fans and players and distract them from their goal of getting to the knockout phase.
Valon Behrami insisted a World Cup was not the time to discuss that particular political issue and, to be honest, he was right. He was also right when he said Sw…
Neymar may not have secured his return to Barcelona, but the Paris Saint-Germain star s future continues to make headlines.
The Brazil forward was keen on making a Barca comeback, two years after his world-record transfer to the French capital.
But as Antoine Griezmann struggles to settle in at Camp Nou, the Frenchman could see himself shipped out to make way for Neymar.
TOP STORY – NEYMAR GRIEZMANN IN SWAP DEAL
Barcelona are considering the possibility of sending Griezmann to Paris Saint-Germain for Neymar, claims Le10Sport.
Neymar was unable to secure a return to Barca during the transfer window following his €222million exit in 2017.
Neymar-Griezmann swap deal as potential Barcelona ploy coming out of France
—…
Liverpool have opened talks with Joe Gomez about a new contract, according to the northern football correspondent for The Times, .
Since his arrival from Charlton Athletic in 2015, Gomez has been deployed in every defensive role. Even though he was brought in as a centre-back, he started as a left-back alternative for the under-performing Alberto Moreno under manager Brendan Rodgers. He suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear just as Jurgen Klopp took charge, as well as several minor setbacks after his recovery. During the 2017/18 season, he mostly played on the right defensive flank.
With Dejan Lovren out injured at the start of this season and Ragnar Klavan having moved to Cagliari, Klopp practically had no choice but to return Gomez to his natural position. Paire…
Jurgen Klopp has lauded Sadio Mane for developing into one of the game s leading attackers.
Mane moved to Anfield in 2016, having shone for two years at Southampton after also impressing for a couple of seasons at Salzburg.
The Senegal international scored 31 goals in 63 league games for the Austrian club and 21 in 67 for Saints.
Mane looks to have kicked on to another level since joining Liverpool, though, netting 66 times in the Premier League across 130 matches.
He has been a key member of a team that reached back-to-back Champions League finals with Liverpool winning the tournament the second time around while Mane claimed a Premier League winners medal last term too.
I saw his potential [at Southampton] and I hoped that he could reach…
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is reported to have agreed a move to Guangzhou Evergrande, but Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke expects speculation over the forward s future to continue.
Reports emerged in China on Saturday that the Super League club had beaten rivals Beijing Guoan to the Gabon international s signature, with the fee said to be €72million and the transfer to be finalised at the end of the Bundesliga season.
This latest twist in what has been a long-running transfer saga is sure to anger Guoan if true, as the capital side had been considered favourites to secure Aubameyang s services.
Watzke refused to confirm the news, however, telling Kicker: The speculation surrounding Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will circle for as lon…
Harry Kane was the star of the show with a hat-trick and two assists as Bayern Munich maintained their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga after hammering Bochum 7-0.
The hosts ran riot with the England captain scoring just minutes after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s opener and goals from Matthijs de Ligt and Leroy Sane gave them a 4-0 lead at half-time.
Their dominance continued after the break as Kane scored from the spot and assisted Mathys Tel before earning his first hat-trick for Bayern with minutes to go.
A new one for the collection!
What a team performance
— Harry Kane (@HKane)
Kane’s excellent start with Bayern means he has now scored seven goals in five league matches as the defending Bundesliga champions sit top of the table.…
Jan Oblak believes Atletico Madrid have turned a corner after battling to a 3-1 victory at Real Betis on Sunday.
Atleti followed up victories over Osasuna and Celta Vigo in LaLiga with three more points at Estadio Benito Villamarin to move above their opponents into fourth place.
Two goals for in-form Joao Felix, either side of Cristian Tello s equaliser deep in first-half stoppage time, was followed up by a late strike by Thomas Lemar.
After winning three league games in a row for the first time this term, Oblak feels confident his side can hold off the chasing pack and secure a Champions League berth.
This is a different Atletico, we have to continue like this, Oblak told Movistar. Only in this way can we reach the Champions League.
There s …
Eyebrows were raised when media reports began circulating on Tuesday claiming Manchester United were taking no fewer than 14 teenagers to Kazakhstan for their penultimate Europa League group game against Astana.
United have already secured a place in the next phase of the competition, so Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was always likely to include a few extra youngsters in the travelling party.
Nevertheless, an 18-man selection that includes only four senior players is not what most would have expected, though it does provide a little extra intrigue ahead of a game that is by no means vital.
Solskjaer confirmed in his pre-match news conference on Wednesday that Ethan Laird, Dylan Levitt and Di Shon Bernard will all start the match.
Below, we have the lowdown on the …
A prominent supporters group has voiced strong opposition to reported plans to play Premier League fixtures abroad.
The idea of a 39th game was originally suggested in 2008, whereby an extra fixture would be added to the Premier League schedule and staged overseas, but the concept was shelved after fierce criticism.
However, reports in the British media have suggested that the notion of playing one of the regular 38 games outside of Britain is being considered by clubs.
The Football Supporters Federation (FSF) will oppose the new proposals, which are said to be at an early stage, and will consult with other groups on the issue.
As reported [by The Times, BBC, and others], the Premier League is exploring the possibility of holding competitive matches over…