Arsenal supporters are excited to see goalkeeper Bernd Leno play for the club after they confirmed his transfer from Bayer Leverkusen earlier this week.
The German international made over 300 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit before making the switch to the English Premier League and arrives with a solid reputation.
The goalkeeping position is one Arsenal badly needed depth for with Petr Cech’s form noticeably dwindling season by season. The capture of Leno will ensure there is strong competition for the number one spot under new boss Unai Emery next term.
Leno ticks plenty of boxes for the Gunners, with not just strong German top-flight experience, but plenty in the UEFA Champions League too, which is the level that they want to return to as soon as possible.
Will the 26-year-old be a success?
Arsenal fans certainly think so, taking to Twitter to share their excitement about the signing and what it means about Unai Emery’s early days in charge of the club…
Leeds United have made a swift appointment since parting ways with Thomas Christiansen on Sunday.
The club announced on Twitter that Paul Heckingbottom has become the new head coach on a deal until 2019.
The management change has not been completed without controversy, though, as the South Yorkshire-born coach had only signed a new extension with Barnsley five days ago.
Heckingbottom has been at Oakwell since 2015 as part of the coaching setup, but became manager in 2016 on a rolling contract.
The 40-year-old seemed committed to Barnsley, but in a matter of days, the former Darlington player performed a turnaround and is now in charge of Leeds.
During the 2015-16 season, Heckingbottom guided the Tykes to Football League Trophy glory and via the playoffs earned promotion to the Championship.
The new coach has a job on his hands at Elland Road as the club currently reside 10th in the Championship and are winless in their last six outings.
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After the announcement of Heckingbottom’s appointment was made, Leeds fans reacted to it on Twitter.
Are Liverpool truly playing without fear this season? Well that’s certainly the opinion according to The Redmen TV’s Paul Machin. The passionate Liverpool fans is anxiously awaiting the crescendo of the Premier League season, knowing his club are but four games from securing their first league title in 24 years.
A push that was aided by Tuesday’s 2-2 between Manchester City and Sunderland, attention now quickly turns to the Reds’ game against Norwich City at the weekend. Likened to a Champions League final by Steven Gerrard, talk has also focused on the club’s cavalier approach in front of goal, which Machin feels could be down to the influence of psychiatrist Steve Peters, who has spent the season working with the club.
“There’s talk of having Steve Peters involved behind the scenes and they’ve got the mental coaching behind it, I think the fans probably need it more than the players at the minute,” Machin told Ball Street’s 4-5-1 show. “There’s definitely nerves off the pitch and I think they’re playing without fear because they know they’ve got goals in them.”
The Reds currently top the Premier League’s goals scored column having netted an amazing 93 times this season — 27 more than second placed Chelsea. Yet although the title seems to be edging towards Anfield, Machin admitted he is refusing to believe it just yet, conceding the club have seen ‘so many false dawns’.
“Over the last 24 years, since we last won a league title, there has been so many false dawns. We’ve had so many times we thought: ‘this is it’. It’s our season every season, that’s what it’s like to be a Liverpool fan, we start every season with the thought we’re going to win it this year and it hasn’t come. We almost don’t want to get carried away too soon.”
Arsène Wenger thinks that if Arsenal win in Europe tonight, they will be “90 per cent” sure of qualification.
The Gunners’ boss was talking ahead of the Champions League game about the need to wrap the matter of qualifying up quickly and his worries about the gap in the Premier League between his team and league leaders Chelsea.
Regarding Champions League qualification, he said: “The target is for us to do that as quickly as possible. First to do it. If we win, we are 90 per cent there.”
He, however, feels that the margin in which the Gunners can make a mistake in the Premier League is “very limited”, due to mixed results so far, admitting that the gap of 10 points between Arsenal and Chelsea is a lot.
Wenger also spoke of how the team needs to be more efficient defensively.
The Arsenal boss is also preparing for the club’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday. The club’s seven years without a trophy and other issues like the sale of players including Robin van Persie are likely to come up as hot topics. Though he says he will be defending the club, he says that he understands the fans’ frustrations.
“Who doesn’t share the frustration, of course? I understand every frustration. I am not a racist against frustration. But I think overall the club is in a very strong position.
“They have a good team, they have fantastic players, they have a strong financial situation. People feel as well that the players have a good attitude. It’s down to us now to make the maximum of this during the season.
“There is no reason really to be doom and gloom. Who doesn’t share the frustration? But the most difficult thing at the top level is to be consistent and one day you will see that. We have lost many players. I think to combine (it all); we have a good team, a strong financial situation and to be consistent is not easy.”
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Arsenal go into tonight’s Champions League game against Schalke as leaders of Group B, with six points in the competition so far.
manager Martin O’Neill is hoping that his side can react possitivley in the Premier League this weekend after crashing out of the Capital One Cup in mid-week.
The Black Cats were beaten 1-0 by local rivals Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light to add more frustration to the start to their league campaign, which sees them 14th after drawing six of their opening eight fixtures.
And O’Neill believes his side are capable of better performances and puts current form down to a failure to create enough goal scoring chances.
He told Sky Sports: “I think that this season we haven’t created enough clear cut chances in many games. I think that’s the biggest thing.
“If you take a ratio of chances there is a bigger likely hood that if you, let’s say, create eight chances in a game there is a decent chance you are going to take one or two of those.
“If that is the case then we need to create more chances and I believe we have the ability to do so.”
O’Neill went on to confirm that he has every faith in his players and he believes he has the right resources to improve the side’s league position.
“I am far from having lost faith in any one. Quite the opposite. I believe we have the capabilities to do this.”
Sunderland host Aston Villa, who are without a league win in five and just two points off the bottom three, on Saturday afternoon.
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Former France International defender Bacary Sagna says he is very excited about the upcoming season and the next step in his career.
The ex-Arsenal and Man City full back, who starred in Italy’s Serie A in recent months whilst playing for minnows Benevento, is upbeat about joining a new club and beginning a new adventure elsewhere.
Sagna told FootballFanCast.com: “I signed a short term contract with Benevento and did this in the knowledge that I was joining a club who were very much cut adrift at the bottom of the table at the time.
“It was the challenge that intrigued me more than anything else but despite a big effort from the players, it was ultimately not enough to save the club from relegation.
“The highlight of my time there was the victory at the San Siro against AC Milan, that was a special night for the club and I will always remember the Benevento fans, who are so passionate. They always made me feel very special and because of those wonderful fans, many of whom had been messaging me asking me to stay, perhaps my heart ruled my head a little as I left the door open to possibly staying with them.
“Unfortunately, local reports that I have agreed to sign a new deal with the club are inaccurate and somewhat wide of the mark as my time there has now drawn to its natural conclusion.
“I have always been an optimist and I can’t wait to begin working with a new group of people, to make a new group of friends, to listen to fresh ideas.”
“The last few months of playing in Serie A have brought some great compliments from players, coaches and media pundits about my football and it is always nice to attract those kind of comments from respected people within the game.
“I have always lived a clean and healthy life. I have continued to maintain my own fitness regime outside of my club duties and I am feeling as good as I have ever done. I feel strong and positive that I have another two or three years of playing top level football still in me.
“I am in the fortunate position that I am a free player so there are several options open to me. Exactly where my next challenge is going to be is unknown at this moment but in football you must always have the burning desire to win, to keep improving, to be one hundred percent professional.
“If you have that, all things are possible for a club. I still hold my own ambitions and my next move will be to a club that thinks likewise. You must never lose the ambition to keep improving, no matter what position you hold in life.
“I have always been an optimist and I can’t wait to begin working with a new group of people, to make a new group of friends, to listen to fresh ideas.
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“Football brings many wonderful things into your life. I have just returned from Prague after playing in Tomas Rosicky’s farewell match at the weekend, it was a fantastic occasion and it was so great to catch up with Tomas and so many former team mates again.
“It was a real joy to be part of that.”
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]
West Ham United are on a five-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, but their positive stretch could hit a snag this weekend, according to Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas.
David Moyes’s team are due to face Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium on Saturday in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
In most cases, top-flight teams tend to rotate their squads in the early rounds of the competition.
In West Ham’s case, they may not have a choice as the East London outfit have a number of injuries to contend with.
Andy Carroll, Manuel Lanzini and Marko Arnautovic are currently on the treatment table with injuries.
Former Arsenal striker Nicholas believes that West Ham will face a difficult task when they take on the League One outfit.
In fact, the Scotsman believes that the Latics will earn a replay at the London Stadium.
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The 56-year-old predicted a 2-2 draw with Sky Sports:
“The one upset I can see occurring from the Super 6 line-up is Wigan’s game against West Ham. David Moyes has his injury problems with Marko Arnautovic, Manuel Lanzini and Andy Carroll all sidelined, so he’s very limited to what he’s got to pick from.
“I don’t think Paul Cook will be too worried about disrupting the flow for their Sky Bet League One title push when they’re at home, so I think they will have a real go and can earn a replay at the least.”
Cardiff City manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made an approach to sign Hannover striker Mame Biram Diouf, according to the Guardian.
Solskjaer worked with the former Manchester United forward during his time as Molde manager, and now hopes to do the same in the Premier League.
The Bluebirds have already been active during the January transfer window, with Norway international Magnus Wolff Eikrem joining the club from Heerenveen, while a deal for Mats Moller Daelhi is expected to be completed with Molde before Saturday’s crucial clash with West Ham.
Solskjaer now hopes he can bring in Diouf to add more firepower to his Cardiff frontline for the second half of the season.
A Hannover spokesman confirmed Cardiff had approached the Bundesliga club about the possible signing of Diouf.
The Welsh club are reportedly willing to pay around £2.5million for the 26-year-old, who has managed an impressive total of 30 goals in 61 appearances for Hannover.
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His spell with Manchester United was not so successful however, as Diouf managed to make just five Premier League appearances over the course of three years at Old Trafford, managing just a single goal.
“They will pose a threat this evening to Arsenal’s proud record of never having lost a Champions League encounter to foreign opposition at the Emirates.”
These words from the Arsenal programme were all too poignant come the end of Wednesday night. That proud record of the Gunners had disappeared by then, as Schalke continued what has been a glorious last week.
So they’d won away at their arch rivals and Champions of Germany, Borussia Dortmund – impressive. Their victory at the Emirates wasn’t too bad either. Because for the second time in five days, Schalke came away from home and outclassed top opposition. It’s easy to write off Arsenal’s performance as insipid but in all honesty, the side from Gelsenkirchen made them look that way. Schalke kept their discipline so well that it wasn’t until a minute before the end of the game that goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall had to make a save.
The home side had threatened in the first half. Atsuto Uchida looked vulnerable at times as the Gunners poured down the left hand side but anything that went into the box was dealt with by Joel Matip or Benedikt Höwedes. Any hopes Arsenal had of breaking down their visitors were effectively ended when Huub Stevens brought on Jermaine Jones for Marco Höger at half time.
Jones was unlucky to not be picked for the Revierderby at the weekend, having been in good form this season. His presence on the pitch at the Emirates seemed to fix any leaks there were in the first half as Arsenal could not create a clear-cut chance in the second.
Schalke weren’t having such problems as they probed down either flank, and it was down the right hand side where they were having most joy. André Santos cut a lonely figure as time and again, Jefferson Farfan, or Uchida, found space down the right to deliver into the box. It should have produced a goal at the end of the first half but last season’s top scorer in the Bundesliga, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar put wide from just a few yards – an altogether puzzling experience.
If Arsenal expected to get away with giving another great chance to a man with the nickname “The Hunter,” then they were mistaken. Huntelaar lashed in a one-on-one in the second half to give Schalke a deserved lead in London.
Suddenly the home side had an urgency about them which hadn’t been present for the previous 75 minutes. Schalke weren’t worried though as they killed off the hosts five minutes from time. As on Saturday in Dortmund, their second came from a simple counter attack. This time Ibrahim Afellay finished off Jefferson Farfan’s cross, setting off a silent fire alarm across the Emirates as the home faithful disappeared swiftly into the night. In one noisy corner of the stadium, celebrations were under way. It had been another great night for Schalke.
In truth, it had been a great night for the Bundesliga as well, especially with Borussia Dortmund’s victory over Real Madrid. It’s commonplace to hear the division being praised for its fans, for its atmosphere, for the stadiums and in general, for the sensible policies in place in German football. Yet performances in Europe, excluding Bayern Munich, have belied the quality of football in the country. Wednesday night proved to Europe just how capable the likes of Schalke are.
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Domestically, the Gelsenkirchen outfit are seven points behind Bayern in the Bundesliga title race but having ended Arsenal’s proud record at the Emirates, Schalke showed they have nothing to fear.
According to Paris Saint-Germain news Twitter account Paris United, Tottenham Hotspur have opened talks with Lyon over a potential deal for midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, and Spurs fans have been quick to react to the rumour about the highly-rated France U21 international.
Previous reports this summer have suggested that Mauricio Pochettino could sell Moussa Sissoko, Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama in the coming weeks, and if he does he will be looking to bring at least one new midfielder to the club.
6ft powerhouse Ndombele could be an option after a successful season-long loan spell with the Ligue 1 outfit, where he made 50 appearances in all competitions – scoring one goal and providing a further eight assists.
Tottenham supporters, the majority of whom would love their club to sign a goalkeeper from their Premier League rivals this summer, took to social media to give their thoughts on the link, and they are excited by the potential of him arriving in north London.
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While one described him as being “miles better than Fabinho”, another said he “has more talent than Pogba imo”.
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