Partey has an ´aura´ about him that makes Arsenal better, says Arteta

Thomas Partey has an aura about him that helps make Arsenal better, according to manager Mikel Arteta.

Partey provided his first Premier League assist as Arsenal recorded a comfortable 3-0 win over Newcastle United on Monday.

Injuries have limited the midfielder to just eight appearances in all competitions since his arrival for a reported £45million (€50m) from Atletico Madrid in October.

Arteta was delighted with the Ghana international, who had two interceptions and two key passes before being substituted in the 67th minute against Newcastle.

We ve been missing Tommy. He has this freshness, this aura that makes him a special player for us, he told a news conference.

Hopefully he can keep fit because we can see the difference he makes on th…

Stefano Pioli laments costly errors in Milan´s big loss at Stamford Bridge

Milan manager Stefano Pioli rued his side s poor play in Wednesday s 3-0 loss against Chelsea, saying the kind of mistakes made by his team cannot be committed in the Champions League .

The scoring was opened by Chelsea s big-money signing in the middle of defence, with Wesley Fofana scrapping home a loose ball in the box following a corner in the 24th minute.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Reece James then put the game to bed in the second half with goals in the 56th and 61st minutes respectively, and they were able to restrict the visiting Italians to one shot on target for the entire game.

Pioli lamented his side s mistakes, saying teams in the Champions League will always punish you.

Errors? It is true that they cannot be committed in the Champions Le…

´The margin is nothing´ – Guardiola warns Man City of Liverpool title threat

Pep Guardiola has braced Manchester City for an assault by Liverpool on their Premier League supremacy.

City s lead stands at nine points after 24 matches, although second-placed Liverpool have a game in hand, and the manner of the Reds 2-0 win over Leicester City on Thursday spoke of their continuing belief.

A dip over the Christmas and New Year period cost Liverpool substantial ground in the title race, but they are looking sharp again for Jurgen Klopp, setting up the prospect of a tantalising final few months of the season.

City and Liverpool are due to meet on April 9 at the Etihad Stadium, and that could yet be a pivotal moment in the title race.

If we want to fight to win the Premier League, we will have to win an incredible amount of points agai…

Messi needs World Cup win to ´confirm´ status as best in the world, says Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino believes Lionel Messi needs to win the World Cup with Argentina to confirm his status as the best player in the world.

Messi has won 11 league titles and four Champions League trophies over an illustrious club career.

However, international success has largely eluded Messi, having lost to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final and finishing as Copa America runner-up three times.

Though Messi finally did win the Copa America in 2021, Pochettino feels the 35-year-old needs to win international football s premier prize to certify him as the greatest player in the world.

Like [Diego] Maradona or Pele, you need to confirm with the trophy, Pochettino told The Athletic. When you lift the trophy, it s like, okay, he is the best in the world.

Newcastle United linked with Lille forward Jonathan David

Newcastle United are interested in signing Jonathan David from Lille in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that the Premier League club have already held talks David’s agents, with the Canada international forward increasingly likely to leave Lille this summer.

TEAMtalk has claimed that the Newcastle bosses consider David a top target and have held talks over his potential interest to move to St. James’ Park. The Magpies, though, will face competition from Premier League rivals Chelsea for the services of the Lille star. West Ham United have also been linked.

David has been on the books of Lille since 2020 when he joined after leaving Gent. The Canada international scored 19 goals and provided four assists in 30 starts and four substit…

Nuno Espirito Santo wanted James Maddison sent off for Ryan Yates incident

“I was surprised that VAR didn’t tell Simon to review it better because honestly with all my respects, Maddison loses his composure and it is a punch in the stomach of Yates.

“It should have been reviewed and a different decision. It is not a shirt with players that looks like nothing happens, no. No, it’s without the ball.

“So, there are two moments we mention (Chris Wood’s miss) in the first half that can change the game.

“I didn’t ask (Hooper), but I saw it. There is no problem in telling I didn’t see it the same way. We didn’t agree, me and VAR.”

Forest could have been ahead by this point but Wood, after he scored for a fourth consecutive match, hit the post from a matter of yards after Guglielmo Vicario had denied Yates in the 3…

Barnes warns Ten Hag transfers won´t solve United´s main issue

England legend John Barnes has warned Manchester United that their issues stem deeper than the squad at their disposal, as the club enters the Erik Ten Hag era.

United axed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer midway through last season and drafted in Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis until the end of the 2021-22 season – which ended with disappointment as the club failed to secure a top-four finish and Champions League football.

Ten Hag was lured to Old Trafford from Ajax to take the club into a new direction, becoming the fifth permanent managerial appointment at United since Sir Alex Ferguson s retirement in 2013.

The arrival of the Dutchman comes amid further changes in the United hierarchy, with Ed Woodward departing and Richard Arnold coming in as chief executive office…

Ibrahimovic needed three knee operations to save his career as 41-year-old Milan star reports for Sw

Zlatan Ibrahimovic revealed it took three knee operations to rescue his career at the end of last season, as the Milan striker returned to centre stage on Tuesday with Sweden.

The 41-year-old spoke at a national team press conference ahead of Friday s Euro 2024 qualifier against Belgium, having been called up by coach Janne Andersson.

Two years have passed since Andersson recalled Ibrahimovic after a long spell in the international wilderness, and he has endured cruel fortune in that subsequent time, with a knee injury ruling him out of the delayed Euro 2020 finals.

That blow in 2021 was followed by Ibrahimovic requiring anterior cruciate knee ligament surgery at the end of last season, which was necessary to extend his playing days.

Milan announced in la…

Guardiola urges Man City to finish off Bayern by winning in Munich

Pep Guardiola recognised Manchester City s 3-0 win against Bayern Munich was a really, really good result but stressed the job was not yet done.

A first-leg demolition of the German champions means City would have to capitulate woefully in Bavaria next Wednesday to miss out on a semi-final place.

This City team are on a nine-game winning streak and have hit at least three goals in seven of those victories, easing into a spectacular stride as the end of the season approaches.

Goals from Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland – whose 45th of the season put the seal on the win – left Thomas Tuchel s Bayern in a desperate position ahead of the rematch.

Guardiola, a former Bayern head coach, made a point of complimenting the Bundesliga giants, who had th…

Denmark 2-0 France: Dynamite Danes miss out on Nations League Finals despite blowing away Les Bleus

Denmark threw down a gauntlet for the Qatar 2022 World Cup with a 2-0 win over France, only to narrowly miss out on the Nations League Finals.

First-half goals for Kasper Dolberg and Andreas Skov Olsen put the Danes firmly in the frame to reach next year s final four, only for rivals Croatia to net twice in the second half to beat Austria and finish top of Group A1.

Nevertheless, an assured victory over World Cup holders France in Copenhagen offered a sharp reminder of Denmark s dark horse credentials for Qatar, after also reaching the Euro 2020 semi-finals.

Austria s defeat ensured Les Bleus dodged relegation to the second tier, but for Didier Deschamps, alarm bells may be ringing after a lacklustre campaign.

0 France are one of six teams to have …