Arsenal are reportedly on the verge of losing one of their best players, but it seems that they will be getting a new man in return.
Sky Sports News claims that a deal has been agreed in principle for Alexis Sanchez to sign for Manchester United.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan could be part of the exchange, with the report adding that the Armenian is close to agreeing a switch to the Emirates.
The attacking player moved to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund in 2016 and has had spells of positive form, but it has been a rather rocky term at United.
This season, Mkhitaryan has spent the majority of it as a bit-part player, starting just 11 Premier League games.
The 28-year-old has showed flashes of brilliance, but not enough for Jose Mourinho to give him a regular role in the team.
Former Arsenal player Charlie Nicholas believes that the Gunners should try to convince United to include Anthony Martial in the deal rather than Mkhitaryan.
Like the winger, Martial has had spells in and out of the team, but this season he has performed well, scoring 10 goals and six assists in 31 appearances in all competitions.
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Nicholas told Sky Sports:
“I appreciate [Mkhitaryan] is efficient and a decent team player. Would I take the deal? Yes, I would. But to be totally honest I’d much rather pay an additional £50m to get Martial. I think if Arsenal would say to Martial: ‘You can be the next Thierry Henry.’ Arsenal made £30m on selling Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, £20m on Theo Walcott, so go all-in; forget Malcom or other players who may or may not be good prospects, go all-in and give him what he wants financially.”
Erik Lamela was the forgotten man at Tottenham Hotspur for over a year due to injuries, but he remained a favourite among the fans.
The Argentine went under the knife numerous times to try and solve his hip problems.
Eventually, the 25-year-old worked his way back to fitness and made his first appearance since last season in a 2-1 defeat to Leicester City in November.
In total, Lamela has made 12 appearances in all competitions, two of which were Premier League starts.
Even though the winger is not a regular member of Mauricio Pochettino’s lineup at the moment, fans are keen for him to stay put.
That was the overwhelming response when reports emerged that Lamela was being targeted by Southampton.
According to The Independent, Southampton switched their attention to the Argentine in a bid to boost their attacking options.
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Football.London reports, though, that Tottenham have no intention of allowing Lamela to leave, despite recently signing Lucas Moura from Paris Saint-Germain.
West Ham United took to their official Twitter account on Wednesday to ask if their fans had any questions for new boy Jordan Hugill as part of an online Q&A called #AskJordan, but it’s fair to say that some of the responses saw the plan go horribly wrong.
The Irons signed the 25-year-old from Preston North End in a £10m deal on deadline day, but it appears as though he may not have been their first-choice striker target during the January transfer window.
Nevertheless, David Moyes chose to bring the centre-forward to the London Stadium, and he has appeared twice as a substitute already in the Premier League clashes against Brighton and Hove Albion and the 2-0 win against Watford last weekend.
West Ham supporters were quick to list their questions via social media, but many chose not to take it seriously by coming up with some weird and wonderful suggestions.
Here is just a selection of the different questions…
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Aston Villa’s faithful have rallied around their keeper Sam Johnstone after his comical error made defeat certain in their 2-0 loss to Fulham.
The Cottagers finally put an end to Villa’s seven match unbeaten run in the Championship this Saturday, with Johnstone’s skewed clearance essentially gifting Fulham their second goal in a 2-0 win.
Ryan Sessegnon’s neat finish after 52 minutes had put the Whites in front, but Johnstone’s mistake put the game to bed after his misplaced free kick from the edge of the box landed straight at the feet of Floyd Ayite and the Fulham forward sent the ball into an empty net from just inside the halfway line.
Gaffer Steve Bruce refused to criticise the on-loan keeper, however, who is currently on loan from Manchester United and has played a vital role in his side’s success this season.
He said: “I’m not criticising the lad, he’s been terrific all season.
“He’s tried to hit a diagonal, he’s snatched at it a bit and you have to say the boy’s controlled it and executed it fantastically well.”
Villa fans were equally as defensive of their young keeper as their manager, and seemed especially protective after the BBC’s Match of the Day Facebook page took the opportunity to jibe the young stopper.
Here’s a selection of what they had to say on Twitter…
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Juventus’ general manager Beppe Marotta has claimed that a number of clubs will be interested in signing Liverpool midfielder Emre Can, reports Sky Sport Italia.
What’s the word?
The Germany international will come to the end of his contract at Anfield in the summer.
With just a matter of months before Can becomes a free agent, there does not seem to be any movement with regards to a new deal.
The possibility of signing fresh terms has not been completely ruled out, but Marotta seems to think that the 24-year-old will have his pick of clubs come the summer.
Juventus have been heavily linked with the German all season, and they have not been shy about their interest.
According to Sky Sport Italia, Marotta said:
“He’s one of the most appetising players both for his value and also because, as you all know, he’s a free transfer in June. It’s normal that there are clubs lining up to sign him.
“We are following and we have followed our path and we know there are rival clubs who certainly belong to the best in the world, but the fact is it will be the player who decides his destiny.
“So if he decides to come to Turin and play for Juventus, we will be happy. If he decides to join another club, then obviously we will seize another opportunity.”
What should Liverpool do?
If Can has already decided to leave the Merseyside outfit, then one could question why the Reds continue to play him.
This season, the midfielder has started 28 games in all competitions and has performed well in recent outings.
In his last four appearances, Can has scored twice and created a single assist for the Reds.
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Manager Jurgen Klopp clearly feels that the midfielder has plenty to offer, but if the ex-Bayer Leverkusen player has one eye on the exit door, it will make it difficult for the team to cope if he leaves Anfield.
Manuel Lanzini has become one of West Ham United’s top talents in the last 18 months or so. The Argentine is confident with the ball at his feet and is ranked as one of the highest in the league for the number of dribbles he makes per match.
His ability in front of goal does not go amiss either, as he tends to perform for the Hammers against the Big Six.
The attacking midfielder, who is valued at £16.2million valued by Transfermarkt, has appeared against the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur on 24 occasions in the Premier League and managed to find the back of the net seven times.
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Seemingly ready for the next step in his career, we recently asked Spurs fans whether their club should launch a transfer swoop for Lanzini. But the response to our poll was a stern no, with 68% of the Tottenham supporters who took part seemingly against the idea.
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Tottenham fans, who would you like to see your club go after in the summer transfer window? Let us know by commenting below…
Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez provided an update on the fitness of on-loan striker Islam Slimani via the club’s official Twitter account on Thursday, and Magpies fans were quick to react.
The Tyneside outfit signed the 29-year-old from Leicester City on deadline day in a temporary deal until the end of the season, but the Algeria international is still recovering from the thigh injury he had when he completed the move, with the St James’ Park faithful frustrated that he was called up by his country on Wednesday.
It means that he is yet to make his debut for the Toon, but that could come when they host Huddersfield Town two weeks tomorrow if he sticks to the fitness plan that he has been given by the club, who are currently on a training camp in Spain.
Newcastle supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on seeing the centre-forward in training, and while one said he “will need a few games to get match fit presumably”, another simply said “bring on Huddersfield!”
Leeds United have had a difficult few weeks as their hopes of securing a spot in the playoffs have drifted significantly.
As it stands, Paul Heckingbottom’s side are 14th in the Championship table, 12 points adrift of the top six.
The team have not tasted victory in the second tier since February 24 when they earned a 1-0 win over Brentford at Elland Road.
In their last four outings, the Whites have suffered three defeats and recorded one draw, and in that time they have conceded 10 goals and produced just three at the other end.
Life may not be looking so rosy at the moment on the field, but there is hope for the future in the form of Bobby Kamwa.
Last week, Leeds fans tweeted their reaction when the Cameroon-born midfielder signed his first professional contract at Elland Road.
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The 18-year-old has been tipped to eventually make his way into the first team having impressed for the Aspire Academy’s Under-18 Tri-Series in Qatar, in which he was named Player of the Tournament.
While speaking to LUTV, Leeds academy manager Adam Underwood praised the qualities of Kamwa.
“Yeah it’s great and brilliant for Bobby on a personal level. Bobby’s been with us since Under-14 level. He’s a talented young lad and an exciting player, someone with an attacking mindset. He wants to create and score goals and his efforts have been rewarded with a professional contract. That’s what we do with players who are making good progress. We want to secure them and ensure they’re with us for the foreseeable future.”
It’s been a strange first season for Javier Hernandez at West Ham.
The Mexican poacher was billed as the star striker the club has desperately needed since their return to the Premier League when he arrived from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, but he’s managed only seven goals for the Hammers and just 16 starts out of a possible 30 in the top flight.
Nonetheless, the former Manchester United star’s finishing ability is undoubted and that could be of huge significance this weekend when the Irons welcome Southampton to the London Stadium in a must-win relegation scrap.
A Hernandez goal could well be the difference between survival and relegation, and the 99-cap international bagged a brace against them in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
However, the real concern is how little the 29-year-old contributes to all-round play. He’s not much of an outlet on the counter-attack, and is unlikely to put in much of a shift defensively.
So, should David Moyes bring the striker – who Transfermarkt value at £16.2million – back into the starting XI after benching him against Burnley last time out? Let us know by voting below…
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Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday, knowing that they could expand the visitors’ losing run to a whopping four games after suffering humbling defeats to Liverpool and Manchester United.
Pep Guardiola though, will be determined to see his side produce a performance worthy of their incredible dominance over the English top flight this season, and the City gaffer has a special affinity with Wembley as both a player and a manager.
It looks set to be a thrilling encounter, made all the more intriguing by the late 7.45pm kickoff on Saturday night. But can history tell us anything about this fixture? Which manager faces the bigger injury problems? Who enters the clash in better form? And how could the referee influence the match?
Our match preview covers everything you need to know…
What History Tells Us
Historically, Tottenham have been the dominant side in this fixture – in terms of wins, goals scored and clean sheets – although much of that owes to the early Premier League era back when City were at best a mid-table side. In fact, City won just three of their first 27 Premier League meetings with Spurs.
The last of those encounters in 2010, however, quickly inspired a drastic shift in the balance of this fixture, with City going on to win eight of the next nine while scoring at least four times on four occasions.
Recently though, results have swung back in Tottenham’s favour. The 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season was actually City’s first win over Spurs in five games. The Lilywhites boast an impressive win-rate when hosting the Citizens as well – a whopping 65%.
Form Guide
Tottenham enter this fixture in practically perfect form. They’ve won all of their last six games in the Premier League – in fact, their last top flight defeat was the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium back in December – and averaged two goals a game, while keeping clean sheets in half of them.
It hasn’t been the toughest run of Tottenham’s season, with an out-of-sorts Chelsea and an even more out-of-sorts Arsenal representing their most considerable opposition, but that shouldn’t take away from how impeccably consistent Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been of late.
City, meanwhile, of course have that notable blotch in their recent run of results – the defeat to Manchester United last weekend. That blotch seems even bigger when considering City were two goals up at half-time, and when adding the two losses to Liverpool in the Champions League either side of it. But let’s not forget how formidable this City side are – they won all five of their Premier League games previously, matching Spurs for clean sheets, and have outscored Saturday’s opponents by three goals.
Referee Influence – Jonathan Moss
If there’s one thing both managers need to know about Jonathan Moss before Saturday’s game, it’s that the 47-year-old has a worrying knack of making huge calls in big games. He tellingly ranks fifth throughout the Premier League’s 20 referees for penalties per match this season, and he’d actually rise to third if the two referees to officiate just one game each were removed from the equation.
High returns for fouls per tackle and yellow cards per game only add to the image of Moss being perhaps a little too proactive at times. But after Martin Aktinson seemed almost too fearful of awarding a late penalty for Ashley Young’s challenge on Sergio Aguero last weekend, City will probably be pleased to have someone in charge who isn’t afraid to make game-changing decisions. It’s just a question of whether Moss actually makes the right ones.
There are some bad omens for Tottenham though; Moss is yet to oversee a Spurs win this season, and just 29% of the games he’s officiated have ended in home wins. Excluding the two referees to have been in charge for one game each, that’s the lowest percentage throughout the Premier League.
Team News
Mauricio Pochettino will be fairly content with the availability of his squad for this weekend, with the three players ruled out all largely on the fringes of his plans this term. Indeed, Danny Rose has been ruled out but would likely have been benched for this game anyway after starting against Stoke last weekend, with Ben Davies proving the Argentine’s preferred option at left-back.
We’re expecting another change on the opposite defensive flank as well in the form of Kieran Trippier replacing Serge Aurier. Against Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling, those two will play a key role on Saturday.
The only other predicted change is Eric Dier returning to the midfield at the expense of Victor Wanyama. These two holding options have become practically interchangeable this season but the rest the England international was afforded last weekend suggests Pochettino could be sparing him for City’s visit on Saturday.
Dier also allows Spurs to switch to a back three, and that versatility could be crucial should the Tottenham boss attempt to keep up with Guardiola’s notorious tactical tinkering.
In contrast, Guardiola has a few key absences to navigate, most particularly Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho who have been ruled out with injury and suspension respectively.
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City just haven’t quite been the same force without the Argentine leading the line during their last three games, while the Brazilian’s influence in midfield has been key to the dominance, both with and without the ball, the Etihad Stadium outfit have consistently exerted in the middle of the park this season.
Nonetheless, after coming up short using two incredibly experimental formations against Liverpool in the Champions League, we’re expecting Guardiola to revert back to 4-3-3 this weekend.
That will likely see Ilkay Gundogan try to replicate Fernandinho’s presence behind David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, and Fabian Delph – who Transfermarkt value at £9million – come into the side at left-back.