Author: Conal

Arsenal head into 2023 with a formidable seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League after a 4-2 win at Brighton, while Manchester City’s title defence suffered a major setback as Everton snatched a 1-1 draw against the champions on Saturday. Mikel Arteta’s side powered to a fifth successive league victory thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli on New Year’s Eve at the Amex Stadium. The Gunners stormed into the lead after just two minutes when Martinelli’s deflected effort reached England forward Saka, who took a deft touch before slotting past Brighton…

Frenkie de Jong has reportedly told Erik ten Hag he wants to move to Manchester United after completing a remarkable U-turn. According to Fichajes, De Jong has had conversations over the phone with the United boss where he declared his desire to move to the Red Devils. The 25-year-old was heavily linked with a move to United in the summer but opted to stay at Barcelona. +3View gallery Frenkie de Jong has reportedly told Erik ten Hag he wants to move to Manchester United. Barcelona made no secret of their financial struggles in the summer and their decision to try and shift De Jong. Yet, the midfielder…

Marcus Rashford has revealed he was dropped by Erik ten Hag for being late to a team meeting following Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Wolves on Saturday. The 25-year-old was surprisingly named as a substitute for United’s trip to Wolves before Ten Hag revealed before kick off that the forward was on the bench due to an ‘internal disciplinary’ issue. Rashford was brought on at half time and managed to score the winner with 14 minutes remaining to secure a vital win for United, which puts them fourth in the Premier League table. Speaking after the game, Rashford stressed that he is keen…

Chelsea are in the market for a new right-back following the latest injury to Reece James but the club face a big issue in finding the right defender in January. Earlier in the week, Chelsea confirmed that Reece James will be sidelined for up to a month after suffering a reoccurrence of his knee injury against Bournemouth. A dejected James limped off early into the second-half of the 2-0 win over the Cherries as Blues supporters saw something they’ve almost become used to at this point. It was the 23-year-old’s first game back from a knee injury that saw him ruled out of…

Arsenal news: Catch all the latest Arsenal news, rumours and gossip including updates on the Gunners’ Premier League title chase, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Martin Odegaard. Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka celebrate Arsenal’s fourth goal in the 4-2 win over Brighton (Image: (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)) Here is your Arsenal morning digest on Sunday, January 1, 2023. Seven points clear at the top of the Premier League Arsenal moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League last night with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion. All three of Mikel Arteta’s frontline were on the scoresheet with Eddie…

Jadon Sancho has returned to Manchester United after a layoff for ‘mental and physical’ reasons, but will train alone before rejoining the squad. WHAT HAPPENED? The England international was left out of the United squad for the mid-season camp in Spain, with manager Erik ten Hag revealing he was struggling ‘physically and mentally’. Instead he spent time in the Netherlands during the break, but was still not in contention for a place in United’s matchday squad when they faced Burnley in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on December 21 and Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on December 27. THE…

Arsenal’s final game of 2022 sees them face Brighton and Hove Albion away from home with Mikel Arteta hoping his side can keep their Premier League title push on track. No fresh injury concerns have been reported for Arsenal ahead of their Premier League clash against Brighton and Hove Albion. This is certainly a massive boost for Mikel Arteta who is already without the services of star striker Gabriel Jesus after his World Cup experience came to an end earlier than expected after sustaining medial ligament damage in Brazil’s final group game against Cameroon. The £45m summer signing from Manchester City has…

Ahead of Matchday 17 of Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain’s attacking trio continue to dominate the top spots in the league’s individual standings. Having just played their final game of 2022, Paris Saint-Germain once again pulled out all the stops to give the Parc des Princes one last dose of emotion at home to Strasbourg, as they snatched a late win to savour and thereby kept up their unbeaten streak. Whilst Paris still sit top of the league, their players are also occupying the top spots in the individual standings. Following Matchday 16, Christophe Galtier’s inevitable attacking trio remain at the…

Lionel Messi is the undisputed GOAT of football in the eyes of many fans after long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr was confirmed. Footy fans think Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia has settled the GOAT debate for Lionel Messi (Image: Getty Images) Lionel Messi has been told he is the “clear GOAT” after Cristiano Ronaldo officially joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr. Ronaldo, 37, has signed a two-and-a-half year deal to move to the Middle East, where he will earn roughly £175million-a-year – the largest salary in football history. But some fans think the move has tarnished his legacy compared to…

Arsenal will begin 2023 top of the Premier League table, regardless of what happens against Brighton and Hove Albion later on today. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta will be hoping to carry on the momentum gained from the 3-1 Boxing Day victory over West Ham United into the new year as the club looks ahead to what could be the most important five months in their recent history. Do you think Arsenal can win the league this season? With the January transfer window just around the corner, the Spaniard is keen to add a couple of fresh faces ahead of a busy few months. The north London side have been linked with…

Ahead of Chelsea’s clash against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, our reporters Adam Newson and Bobby Vincent pick their starting XIs. Graham Potter didn’t downplay the difficulty Chelsea will face against Forest. “They’ll be ready and the atmosphere will be hostile,” he said. “It’s their first year back in the Premier League for a long, long time and every game – especially Chelsea coming to town – is a big game for them. So they’ll be motivated, have quality, and be fighting for the points. So we have to be ready.” For that reason – even with Manchester City to come on…

Manchester United travel to the Molineux Stadium for tonight’s Premier League clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Red Devils are on a four-match winning run in all competitions and they will be aiming to end the year on a high with another victory. United can temporarily go to fourth in the league standings as Tottenham Hotspur won’t be in action until New Year’s Day against Aston Villa. Formation: 4-2-3-1 Predicted Line-up: David de Gea has played every minute of the club’s Premier League campaign and he is an assured starter in goal ahead of Martin Dubravka. The Spaniard will be eyeing back-to-back…

The Argentine goalkeeper has already joined Aston Villa and met his manager, who did not have very friendly words with him. The World Cup is already behind us. Obviously, it will be remembered forever by the Argentines and those who achieved that feat, but strictly for sports, the European leagues continue their course. It is that unlike in past World Cups, it is the first time that the maximum appointment concludes in full competition, being that the usual thing was for this to happen in July, the historic month of summer recess. Little by little, the different players from the…

It’s official, it’s no longer a rumor. Cristiano Ronaldo will play for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, in exchange for 200 million euros per season. While the Portuguese will become the highest paid player in history, what PSG would give to Lionel Messi is revealed so that he continues for another season in Ligue 1. The journalist Fabrizio Romano, an expert on the subject of transfers, revealed that everything is agreed between the “Bug” and the Middle East club. It only remains to “verify the entire contract and order the documents”, as explained by the European communicator on his Twitter…

The January transfer window officially opens on Sunday and Graham Potter is looking to add some new faces to his Chelsea squad before the second half of the season. Chelsea are in talks to sign both Enzo Fernandez and Benoit Badiashile (Image: Getty Images) The January transfer window is almost upon us and Chelsea are looking to make at least four signings to help boost Graham Potter’s squad for the second half of the season. The Blues spent almost £300million in total over the 2022 summer transfer window with seven first-team signings arriving at Stamford Bridge. However, numerous injury problems as well as…

Arsenal who sit on top of the Premier League will face one of their toughest matches yet as they get ready to visit Brighton and Hove Albion, so let’s take a look at the latest team news. There were some doubts as to whether the Gunners would be able to find their rhythm after the World Cup. That was laid to rest as they pulled off an impressive win over West Ham United on Monday. This result would have given the manager and the players a lot of belief. As for the team news, Gabriel Jesus is the only long-term…

The club announced the signing with zest on its social media pages. Ronaldo has reportedly signed a 2-and-a-half-year contract with the club which will make him the highest-paid player in the history of football with media claiming that his contract is worth around 200 million euros. Al Nassr and Ronaldo’s camp did not disclose any financial details but it is understood his deal includes a 75 million euros salary per year. “I am fortunate that I have won everything I set out to win in European football and feel now that this is the right moment to share my experience in…

A few hours after returning from vacation, the worst news received by Lionel Messi and Argentina. The Argentine team made history at the World Cup in Qatar and won the long-awaited title, beating France in a penalty shootout. Now, in their goal of dominating in all categories, the albiceleste team received a low blow in the face of what will be the South American Sub 20, to be held in Colombia. The World Cup fever is latent, since those directed by Lionel Scaloni left an unforgettable memory. However, the AFA aims to be the number one power in South America…

Former Chelsea favourite Eden Hazard has been handed a new verdict over his future at Real Madrid, with the Belgian playmaker not having the impact he would have hoped for in La Liga. Former Chelsea winger Eden Hazard has been told he is part of the picture for the foreseeable future at Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti. The Belgium international has struggled to gain consistent playing time with Los Blancos since making his big-money move from Stamford Bridge. In 352 appearances for the Blues, Hazard managed over 200 goal involvements and was a consistent threat from the wide areas. The side haven’t…

Arsenal is looking to improve its offense. Even before Gabriel Jesus’ injury, it was clear that two positions needed to be strengthened this winter. After failing to do so last summer, an attacker and a capable midfielder were needed to be brought in. Jesus’ injury has only highlighted Arteta’s need for “new blood” in his attack. All indications point to Mudryk as Arsenal’s man, and some Gunners would gladly pick him up from Shakhtar Donetsk if it were up to them. However, Arsenal must find a way to meet the Ukrainian club’s high asking price for their attacking sensation. While…

The Parc des Princes was once again back to lavishing praise on its king, Kylian Mbappe. With the other PSG stars out because Neymar had been sent off, and Lionel Messi is back in Argentina on vacation after the World Cup, the French striker once again saved his team. In stoppage time with the scoreboard showing 1-1, Mbappe took responsibility yet again and took the penalty. He wasn’t nervous, because if he wasn’t in the World Cup final, he wasn’t going to be in a Ligue 1 match either despite the fact that it was the last minute of the game. Mbappe scored to make it 2-1 and everyone…

Did Lionel Messi’s legendary World Cup triumph secure his place as the planet’s best male player of 2022? It is, after all, easy to forget that the much-lauded Ballon d’Or changed its rules in 2022 to reward the best player of the season just gone as opposed to the calendar year as had been done for the past 65 years. So although Karim Benzema rather uncontroversially got his hands on the coveted golden football, that didn’t necessarily crown him as the best player of the year per se. Who was the best player of 2022? And with the first ever winter World Cup taking…

Chelsea have a very successful youth academy at Cobham, one that has produced stars such as Mason Mount and Reece James. Before that there was John Terry. But really, since him, there wasn’t many success stories until the likes of Mount etc. And apparently, this is what the new Chelsea owners want to change and they are looking to bring through the next James or Mount, according to a report today from The Evening Standard. Chelsea had a few Cobham gems on the bench this week when they faced Bournemouth, and there were some names there who Chelsea have in mind…

Erik ten Hag will be desperate to overcome the disappointment of missing out on Cody Gakpo to Liverpool by acting quickly to secure a number of signings over the next month. Manchester United have returned from the World Cup break in perfect fashion on the pitch but have endured a nightmare start off it after missing out on Cody Gakpo. However, the Red Devils are determined to not let it affect other proceedings and the latest reports have claimed that they have already opened talks with two other strikers as they aim to fill the hole left by Cristiano Ronaldo. Elsewhere, Erik ten…