WENGER TARGETS PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE

Arsenal long-time manager Arsene Wenger is targeting the Premier League title next season after he finally agreed to remain at the club for two more years.


The Frenchman and the club are not certain this would be the last deal for him even though completing it would mean he has coached for 23 years.

The 67-year old boss said he is “looking forward to the future with optimism and excitement.” After a tough period under pressure at the club, Wenger came out of it but not unscathed. He is expected to boost his team strength with at least £100 million this summer.

Wenger spent a similar figure last term but it failed to yield significant results. He confirmed that there would be “some additions” as the team mounts a “sustained league challenge” next season.

Wenger led the team to fifth spot in the league for the first time in 20 years. They were 18 points behind winners Chelsea but they shocked the Blues 2-1 to lift the FA Cup on Saturday. Wenger met the owner of the club Stan Kroenke on Monday after the FA Cup victory on Saturday. There, Kroenke reiterated his support for Wenger’s stay. Read more

Lindegaard on United improvement

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard said that Jose Mourinho has successfully turned Manchester United around and that they now look like a team capable of winning trophies.


He said that the Red Devils had experienced mixed fortunes ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired from management and he feels that with Jose Mourinho the team is now again capable of challenging for trophies.

Anders Lindegaard who is currently playing in the Championship for Preston North End said that he still follows Manchester United. He said that fans had been frustrated in recent years with the team unable to mount a challenge for the title, but he feels that things will change under Jose Mourinho.

The former United goalkeeper said that there is already signs that the team is improving with the League Cup triumph and that he feels that Manchester United has a great chance of winning the Europa League as well. Read more

Robert Huth wants Leicester City to forget about last season

The 2015-16 season of the Premier League was a historic one as Leicester City was able to secure their first league title ever.


They had never achieved this feat in the history of the club but with Claudio Ranieri at the helm as the head coach and a superb season of Jamie Vardy as he scored 24 goals were some of the key reasons which helped Leicester City in becoming the champions of England during that season.

Unfortunately for Leicester City, they have experienced a huge dip in form as the team of Claudio Ranieri went from being the champions of England to dropping into the bottom section of the Premier League as they are struggling just to survive in the top tier English League.

After 25 Premier League matches, Leicester City is positioned at the 17th spot with 21 points secured and are threatened to be relegated in this season. Claudio Ranieri and his men are going from being in the top of the Premier League to the bottom and Robert Huth has recently voiced his thoughts about what his teammates should start to do as it might help Leicester City in their quest of avoiding the relegation zone. Read more

Sadio Mane Unsurprised with Criticism of Loris Karius

Liverpool winger Sadio Mane says that the criticism of goalkeeper Loris Karius is not surprising, but he says that it is extremely important that the 23-year-old learns from the criticism.


He also expects a positive reaction from the player, as it is extremely vital in terms of answering the critics. Karius has come under fire in recent weeks for a number of goals conceded by Liverpool. Despite being close to the top of the table, Liverpool have the second worst defensive record in the top half of the league. Karius was brought in to replace Simon Mignolet, who is no longer a first choice player, from Mainz 05.

For much of the campaign so far, Karius has been able to get by without much difficulty is. However, his mistakes have been noticed by pundits more and more in recent weeks. Former Manchester United players Gary Neville and Phil Neville have especially been critical on Karius to the extent that the player has received support from the manager. Read more

Philipp Lahm doesn’t appreciate Decision of European Football Associations’ Union

Philipp Lahm doesn’t appreciate and is not in agreement of the decision of the European Football Associations’ Union to increase the representation of the bigger competitions in the main draw of the European Cup.


Premiership, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A are the four biggest competitions in the continent at the moment and while, they already have quite a big representation in the main draw, UEFA reckons it needs to be increased.
Earlier, the teams finishing first, second and third in the Premiership, Bundesliga and La Liga respectively and those finishing first and second in the Serie A would make it to the main draw.

However, now there would be four representatives in the main draw from each of those competitions which means the title holders of the top divisions of some of the other countries would have to miss out and it seems unfair to Lahm.
Lahm’s side had just completed a 5-0 annihilation of a top division team from Russia, but, he still voiced support for smaller teams.
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UNITED TO LET MATTEO DARMIAN OFF

Manchester United are reported to open to allow Matteo Darmian leave during the January transfer window with interests in the player piling up.


Despite the additions this summer, Juventus are reported to be keen on adding Darmian to their squad. Inter Milan is still following up on the player with the hopes of landing the Premier League player. French media say Coach Jose Mourinho has set his sight for Monaco player Fabinho during the next transfer window in January.

Fabinho is believed would be the replacement for Darmian, meaning the former Torino man could exit the Premier League sooner than expected. Darmian joined for £15.3 million, and has played 18 months so far, but could make a return to the Serie A. Other sides rumoured to be interested in the player include Fiorentina, Rome, and Napoli.

Manchester United summer target Jose Fonte was linked with a move to the club, but couldn’t complete it before the transfer deadline. “Was I disappointed the Man United move didn’t happen? Let’s leave that for another time. Now I’m focused on Southampton. I’ve lots of targets: to play in the Champions League, to play in a World Cup, to win a trophy in England,” Fonte said recently. The player was in action for Portugal at the Euro 2016, and was poised to link with his countryman Mourinho as coach.
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Liverpool wins opening game

Liverpool made the perfect start to their Premier League campaign by beating Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium by 4-3.


This will boost their confidence ahead of a Premier League season that sees them start as one of the outsiders to win the trophy. This will be the first season in charge for Jurgen Klopp, and he will be hoping that the can get Liverpool at least back in the Champions League places.

Things did not start well for Liverpool though as they conceded a goal to Arsenal. In fairness, Arsenal was the better team in the first half where they control the game better. They restricted Liverpool to only one shot on target, and they kept possession well. The Gunners obtained a penalty in the first half when Moreno committed a foul on England international Theo Walcott. However, the latter will be denied by Simon Mignolet.

However, Arsenal will keep pushing and will be rewarded with a goal. This time, Theo Walcott did not miss the target after some good work by Alex Iwobi. However, Liverpool will manage to come back into the game on a free-kick. Coutinho will score a brilliant goal that did not give Petr Cech any chance. The goal will allow Liverpool to get to half-time with the score level.
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MESUT OZIL AND JULIAN DRAZLER READY FOR POLAND AFTER 2-0 DEFEAT OF UKRAINE

Mezut Ozil and team mate Julian Draxler are already looking ahead after their 2-0 defeat of Ukraine.


The victory wasn’t quite convincing as Ukraine put up a strong fight but the German experience gave them the edge. Both players already set their sights on the game against Poland.

On popular social media app, Instagram, the Arsenal play maker posted a selfie alongside his national team-mate with the caption “on our way to the training… Next challenge against Poland is already waiting for us on Thursday!”

The German team are already eager to seal qualification for the next stage. Ozil believes his team mate Bastian Schweinsteiger,31, found some form in their tournament opener, despite his poor run at Manchester United in the last campaign and the recurrent injuries. In the game against Ukraine in Lille, Schweinsteiger scored the second with the assist from Ozil who sent the cross. He scored the second for the Germans after Shkodran Mustafi scored the first.
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Melbourne Victory beats Western Sydney Wanderers 2-0

Melbourne Victory beats Western Sydney Wanderers 2-0 thanks to a double by Oliver Bozanic. This boosted their chance to finish inside the top six.

Bozanic, who has been criticized time, and again this season, justifies his presence in the team not only with two wonderful goals but also with a great performance. His energetic display in the midfield allows him not only to score goals but also close down Sydney’s playmaker.

With Valeri available soon for Melbourne Victory, it would be interesting to see how both Bozanic and Valeri play together in the future.

Melbourne Victory was motivated from the start of the game and was determined to win this match. This was evident not only in attack but also in how the team defended together once they lose the ball. Victory’s form has been poor during recent weeks but in this game they were different. They were ready for a fight.

The first goal came when Oliver Bozanic fired a shot outside the box amidst the defenders. The outstretch keepers could not keep the ball out, and it was Melbourne that was leading.

Sydney Wanderers tried to equalize after having conceded the goals, but Lawrence Thomas denied them each time. Read more

Injuries and a busy schedule for Manchester City

League Cup, Champions League and the Premier League are all of the top competitions that Manchester City have to play within the next few weeks and months. It will certainly be a schedule with non-stop action for Manuel Pellegrini and his players but this is not good news for the English club as they are a number of key players which are out injured.

Fernando, YayaToure, Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany and Samir Nasri are all of the players in the squad of Manuel Pellegrini which have been suffering with injuries in these past few weeks.

These injuries have forced Pellegrini on having to change around his squad for certain matches and the Chilean manager will have to continue doing those makeshift teams for a few more weeks unless his main players start to recover.

Even with all of the injuries that the players of Manchester City have been experiencing, the club has still managed to reach the semi-finals of the League Cup, secured a place in the last 16 of the Champions League and are still in the top spots of the Premier League. Read more