Guardiola poised to resume trophy collecting

Pep Guardiola’s trophy gathering was put on hold last season but the Spaniard gets the chance to resume populating his mantelpiece when his Manchester City side face Arsenal in the League Cup final on Sunday.

The Spaniard won 11 major trophies with Barcelona and seven more with Bayern Munich so his failure to mark his debut season with Manchester City with anything tangible was a surprise.

This season, however, Guardiola’s blueprint for success has fully infiltrated his City squad to such an extent that only a few days ago an unprecedented quadruple seemed possible.

Third-tier Wigan Athletic ended that hope with a stunning 1-0 victory in the FA Cup fifth round on Monday -- becoming only the third team to beat City in any competition this season.

That setback served as a wake-up call for runaway Premier League leaders City who will start as firm favourites to beat Arsenal at Wembley and win the League Cup for the third time in five seasons having triumphed twice under Manuel Pellegrini.

Their progress to Wembley has not been straightforward and they needed penalty shootouts to dispose of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City.

They will be wary too of an Arsenal side who, despite their lack of a credible title challenge in recent years, have made a habit of rising to the occasion in big one-off finals.

They have won their last three Wembley finals, all in the FA Cup, against Hull City (2014), Aston Villa (2015) and Chelsea last year when they were also underdogs.

The League Cup is the only domestic trophy to elude Arsene Wenger in his near 22-year reign in north London and the Gunners have to go back to 1993 for the last time they won it.

INTENSE SPECULATION

Wenger has often treated the League Cup as an excuse to experiment, concentrating on the so-called bigger prizes, but Sunday’s showdown with City offers the Frenchman the chance to shove the words of his critics back down their throats.

His side are languishing in the sixth place in the Premier League, eight points off the Champions League places, and they were knocked out of the FA Cup by second-tier Nottingham Forest.

The Europa League could also offer salvation this season but a League Cup trophy, especially against City, would help create calmer waters over the final months of the season when Wenger’s future is again likely to be a matter of intense speculation.

Former midfielder Ray Parlour, who played in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the 1993 final, said Sunday’s showpiece is a huge game for both clubs.

“At the end of your career people ask you what did you win, not how much money you earned,” Parlour told Sky Sports.

“Every single player wants another medal in the cabinet.”

Both sides are expected to start with their back-up goalkeepers on Sunday with Wenger keeping faith with Colombian David Ospina who has played throughout the competition.

Guardiola is also likely to use Claudio Bravo, his Cup goalie this year, rather than Ederson.

He will also be without Fabian Delph who is suspended after his red card against Wigan.

Arsenal, who were in action against Ostersunds on Thursday in the Europa League, are without Alexandre Lacazette who has undergone knee surgery but midfielder Aaron Ramsey should have recovered from a groin injury in time to face City.

source: news agency

Watford late show sinks 10-man Chelsea

London: Ten-man Chelsea suffered another setback in their stumbling season as they lost 4-1 at Watford on Monday after conceding three late goals to go down to their second straight Premier League defeat.

Daryl Janmaat, Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra all scored late on in response to Eden Hazard dragging Chelsea back into the game with a curler in the 82nd minute after Tiemoue Bakayoko was sent off for a second booking on the half-hour.

Chelsea cruised to the title in coach Antonio Conte’s first campaign in England last season but they are 19 points behind runaway leaders Manchester City and are focused on finishing in the top four Champions League qualification spots.

Chelsea sit in fourth spot, a point behind third-placed Liverpool and one ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth.

“I tried to warn everyone about the difficulty of our path in the league and Champions League,” said Chelsea coach Antonio Conte. “We performed very bad but maybe I made the mistakes with the starting XI today. My choice was very poor I think.”

Mid-table Watford had taken the lead in the 43rd with a Troy Deeney penalty after Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois brought down on-loan Barcelona winger Gerard Deulofeu.

By that stage, Chelsea were down to 10 men after their France midfielder Bakayoko was booked twice for challenges in the space of a few minutes before the half-hour mark.

Watford reacted quickly to Hazard’s equaliser as defender Janmaat exchanged passes with Pereyra before shooting low past Courtois. Deulofeu sealed the win in the 88th with his first goal for the club before Pereyra got the fourth in added time.

Monday’s loss has added to the pressure on Conte, who faces more questions about his future after a poor start to 2018 which has seen Chelsea knocked out of the League Cup by Arsenal before they lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth last week in the league.

“My position? It is the same. I stay here, try to work and put all myself in the work,” Conte told Sky Sports. “The pressure? What is the pressure? I work - if this is enough it is, OK. Otherwise the club has to take another decision.”

It was a different story for new Watford manager Javi Gracia who modestly described the victory in his first home match in charge as a “good beginning” for his side, who sit in 11th place but are still only six points clear of the relegation zone.

“I think it is important not only for three points but for the motivation to believe in our possibilities,” Gracia told reporters. “I think it is very important today.”


source: news agency

United take advantage as Man City held at Burnley

LONDON : Manchester United’s new signing Alexis Sanchez scored on his home debut in a 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town as they took advantage of a slip by cross-town rivals and Premier League leaders Manchester City on Saturday.

After City had been held 1-1 at Burnley, their daunting lead over United was reduced to 13 points when Jose Mourinho’s side eventually overcame a defensive Huddersfield side.

It took 55 minutes before Romelu Lukaku broke the deadlock after which Sanchez won a penalty, had it saved by Jonas Lossl, but tucked away the rebound in the 68th.

City paid the price for missed chances as they drew at Turf Moor with Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s 82nd minute equaliser earning Burnley a point.

City had dominated possession but, after taking the lead with a fine strike from Brazilian Danilo in the 22nd minute, the visitors failed to press home their advantage.

Raheem Sterling produced one of the misses of the season from two metres out and Burnley made the most of that let-off.

“We are frustrated in terms of the result but the performance was outstanding against a Burnley side who are the most British of teams in terms of long balls and the way they play,” said City manager Pep Guardiola.

City have 69 points from 26 games, ahead of United on 56 with third-placed Liverpool (50) at home to Tottenham Hotspur (48), who are fifth, on Sunday, while Chelsea (50), in fourth, visit mid-table Watford on Monday.

RELEGATION BATTLE

Huddersfield’s defeat at Old Trafford dropped them into the bottom three for the first time since being promoted as Southampton and Swansea City both moved above them.

Bottom club West Bromwich Albion lost 3-2 at home to Southampton on an emotional day at the Hawthorns, where there was a minute’s applause for the home side’s former striker Cyrille Regis, who recently died aged 59.

Albion led early on through Egyptian defender Ahmed Hegazi but were rocked by three goals in a quarter of an hour either side of halftime.

Southampton held on after Salomon Rondon’s goal to secure a first win in 13 league games, leaving Albion four points adrift at the bottom with 20 points.

Improving Swansea earned a valuable point with Federico Fernandez’s equaliser at Leicester City, for whom Jamie Vardy scored his 13th goal of the season in all competitions.

Bournemouth consolidated their place in the top 10 by coming from behind to beat Stoke City 2-1 and, on a good day for the south-coast sides Brighton & Hove Albion beat West Ham United 3-1 to draw level with them on 27 points.


source: news agency

Man City win to go 15 points clear as Man United suffer

London: Manchester City tightened their stranglehold at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday by trouncing bottom club West Bromwich Albion 3-0 as nearest rivals Manchester United suffered a chastening 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.

Pep Guardiola’s runaway leaders, whose new record signing Aymeric Laporte enjoyed an impressive debut, surged 15 points clear of their neighbours, who were outplayed by Spurs at Wembley after Christian Eriksen scored in just under 11 seconds.

The last night of the transfer window provided a fascinating backdrop to the midweek fixture list with Chelsea’s final-day signing Olivier Giroud doubtless shocked at Stamford Bridge to see the champions suffer a remarkable 3-0 loss to Bournemouth.

Manchester City’s 12th straight league home win, thanks to goals from Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero, took them to 68 points - level with Tottenham Hotspur in 1960-61 as the best record by any club after 25 matches of an English top-flight season.

Manchester United are on 53 points with Chelsea dropping to fourth on 50, the same as third-placed Liverpool. Spurs moved to within two points of the pair on 48.

Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City took their tally of goals in all competitions this season to 100 when the outstanding De Bruyne, who had provided a superb first-half assist for Fernandinho to shoot home, scored their second.

Frenchman Laporte, signed from Athletic Bilbao for a City club record of 57 million pounds ($80.9 million) on Tuesday, slotted into their defence comfortably.

His debut left Guardiola enthusing: “Yesterday he made the first training session but today we saw how good he is. He made an amazing, amazing performance.”

The match of the night at Wembley, though, played in front of a record crowd for a Premier League game of 81,978, proved a disappointing one for Jose Mourinho as his own major signing Alexis Sanchez failed to shine after United had conceded a “ridiculous” early goal.

Eriksen cashed in with a neat finish after Spurs had launched a long ball straight from kickoff that was flicked on by Harry Kane and Dele 

THIRD FASTEST

Timed at just under 11 seconds, it equalled the third fastest goal scored in the Premier League era after the 10-second efforts netted by former Spurs favourite Ledley King and Newcastle United’s Alan Shearer.

When Phil Jones, who was bullied by Kane for the first goal, hammered the ball clumsily into his own net when trying to clear from Kieran Trippier’s cross midway through the first half, Mourinho conceded that the own goal “mentally killed us”.

“After 10 seconds, we made a ridiculous mistake,” Mourinho told reporters. “My players have watched the Tottenham kickoff many, many times. It was a really, really bad goal.”

Antonio Conte suffered one of his worst Premier League defeats at Chelsea after three second-half goals in the space of 16 minutes from Callum Wilson, Junior Stanislas and Nathan Ake earned Eddie Howe his best top-flight win with the Cherries.

“We have to accept it’s a bad result and understand that we have to fight this season,” Conte told the BBC.

West Brom’s defeat left them rooted at the foot of the table while Southampton also remain in the bottom three despite largely dominating while coming from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at home to fellow strugglers Brighton & Hove Albion.

Brighton are just a point above the relegation zone alongside Newcastle, who have now not won a home league match in eight attempts after goalkeeper Karl Darlow’s 85th-minute own goal earned Burnley a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park.

Stoke City’s goalless draw with Watford also left them alongside Newcastle and Brighton, just four points ahead of West Brom.

source: news agency

Premier League clubs splash cash, but Coutinho deal trumps all

The January transfer window slammed shut on Wednesday after a frantic month of activity during which Barcelona completed the biggest deal by signing Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool and Premier League clubs spent heavily across the board.

ENGLAND

The Premier League clubs’ purchasing power was evident again in January but unusually the big money went on defenders.

Early in the window, Liverpool made Virgil van Dijk the world’s most expensive defender by splashing out a world record 75 million pounds ($106 million) to sign the Dutchman from Southampton.

Liverpool badly needed more quality in their back line but the improvement in the squad was undermined by the departure of Brazil attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for a transfer fee reported at about 142 million pounds.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has also not been afraid to spend big on defenders - his signing of French centre-half Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao for a club record fee of 57 million pounds means they have spent more than 200 million pounds on defenders and a keeper since the end of last season.

City lost out on some attacking talent, though, with Chile forward Alexis Sanchez, long linked with a move to The Etihad, opting instead to join rivals Manchester United with Armenia midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving the opposite way.

City also failed to agree a deal with Leicester City for midfielder Riyad Mahrez.

While Arsenal fans were disappointed to see Sanchez go, the London club splashed out a club-record transfer fee to sign Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for a reported 65 million pounds from Borussia Dortmund.

They also got a pleasant surprise when Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil signed a new contract until 2021, though their France striker Olivier Giroud was shipped out to rivals Chelsea.

Tottenham Hotspur were also active on deadline day, signing Brazilian winger Lucas Moura from Paris St Germain for 25 million pounds.

SPAIN

Barcelona will feel the most pleased of all the Liga sides with their January transfer business after capturing coveted playmaker Philippe Coutinho for a club record 142 million pounds and signing Colombia defender Yerry Mina.

The signings of Coutinho, 25, from Liverpool and Mina, 23, from Palmeiras will rejuvenate Ernesto Valverde’s ageing squad and buttress his already brilliant side, which has an 11-point lead in the table and look destined to win a 25th league title.

Cup-tied Coutinho cannot help Barca in the Champions League but the Brazilian already looks to be on the same page as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez and has been praised by team mates for his early performances, with Gerard Pique saying he has “Barca DNA”.

Colombian defender Mina, 23, was signed as a direct replacement for the departing Javier Mascherano, who is 10 years his senior, while Barca have temporarily cut loose inconsistent winger Gerard Deulofeu, loaning him to Premier League Watford.

Champions Real Madrid have strangely not boosted their squad to help their crumbling campaign, with coach Zinedine Zidane saying he did not want new signings despite his side sitting in fourth place an embarrassing 19 points adrift of Barca.

The Frenchman’s stance may have blocked a move for Spain goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who according to local media had passed a medical with Real and was on the verge of a move but eventually signed a new contract with Athletic Bilbao.

Bilbao made their most expensive sale ever with French defender Aymeric Laporte moving to Manchester City for 65 million euros and then swiped Inigo Martinez from local rivals Real Sociedad for 32 million.

Barca’s closest title challengers Atletico Madrid made no high profile signings in January but got a huge lift with Spain forwards Diego Costa and Vitolo able to play after the ban on the club registering new players expired.

Costa has added extra aggression to their underperforming attack although he has also reminded Atletico of his infamous problems with fitness and discipline, getting sent off on his full debut and sustaining a muscle problem later in January.

Perhaps the most eye-catching moves, however, saw Saudi Arabia’s Fahad Al-Muwallad, Yahia Al-Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari join Levante, Leganes and Villarreal respectively as part of an agreement between La Liga and the Arab state’s authorities.

ITALY

Serie A clubs largely stayed out of the transfer window in another indication of their relatively limited spending power.

The main moves were outwards with AS Roma selling full back Emerson Palmieri to Chelsea for around 22 million euros and Genoa letting 16-year-old prodigy Pietro Pellegri leave for AS Monaco for slightly more, according to Italian media.

Roma forward Edin Dzeko was also the subject of speculation over a move to Chelsea, with every game reported as being possibly his last, but that move fell through.

Neither of the leading pair, Napoli and Juventus, made any signings although the former had been chasing Sassuolo winger Matteo Politano.

AC Milan, having splurged 230 million euros in the summer, spent nothing at all in January after UEFA rejected the club’s request to waive its breakeven “Financial Fair Play” rules under a so-called voluntary agreement.

UEFA cited “uncertainties in relation to the financing of the loans to be paid back in October 2018 and the financial guarantees provided by the main shareholder.”

Neighbours Inter Milan, also being monitored by UEFA over the breakeven rule, had warned beforehand that there would be no spending spree on their part.

Their only signings were Brazilian midfielder Rafinha and Argentine defender Lisandro Lopez on loan from Barcelona and Benfica respectively. They also chased Paris St Germain midfielder Javier Pastore without success.

Underachieving Portuguese Euro 2016 winner Joao Mario was loaned out to West Ham United and forward Gabriel Barbosa to Santos, the club he arrived from 18 months ago, although the Brazilian had already been on loan at Benfica.

“We can do better by making sure that our players play to their potential,” said Inter coach Luciano Spalletti. “That gets over difficult moments.”

GERMANY

The sale of Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal for 56 million pounds ($79 million) dwarfed any signings made by Bundesliga clubs, again showing the remarkable spending power of their English counterparts.

The biggest buys by Bundesliga sides were Dortmund’s 21.5-million-euros capture of Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji from FC Basel, and Germany forward Sandro Wagner’s move to Bayern Munich from Hoffenheim for 13 million euros.

Wagner, 30, began his career at Bayern and returned after a 10-year absence, having played at half a dozen clubs, all in the Bundesliga.

In a similar move, another veteran striker, Mario Gomez, returned to his first club VfB Stuttgart nine years after departing.

Dortmund, who are sixth in the table and 19 points behind leaders Bayern, were the most active team, also signing Michy Batshuayi on loan from Chelsea while defenders Marc Bartra and Neven Subotic both left.

Most other clubs forked out one or two million euros at most while RB Leipzig, Hoffenheim, Hertha Berlin, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen, FC Augsburg and Hamburg SV spent nothing at all.

Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong, a player with a bruising reputation, signed for Mainz 05 at the age of 33 and the same club also signed Nigerian Anthony Ujah from Liaoning FC.

source: news agency

De Bruyne the engine driving Man City's trophy charge

LONDON: There have been moments this season when Pep Guardiola, the orchestrator of Manchester City’s landmark season, has been left open-mouthed by the excellence of his on-field conductor Kevin De Bruyne.

“I have no words...” spluttered the City manager after watching De Bruyne engineer the 4-1 destruction of Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur in December.

Guardiola explained then that it was the Belgian’s work ethic, chasing around tirelessly like “a player in the Conference (minor) league” as much as his sheer brilliance on the ball that was so striking.

De Bruyne, he felt, was shining his light on the path that the rest of City’s young armada of talent needed to take. His positivity, selflessness and industry demonstrated the way forward. The Guardiola way and now the City way.

Which was why the manager sounded so enthused when commenting on the five-year contract extension that De Bruyne signed on Monday. Asked how delighted he felt by this news, the Spaniard just smiled: “You cannot imagine...”

Twenty-four hours after he had put pen to paper, the League Cup semi-final second leg at Bristol City illustrated De Bruyne’s worth perfectly.

Though the home side’s late equaliser could only be a consolation with the tie already lost, the 26-year-old made it seem a personal affront, driving back downfield in the 96th minute to score and make it 3-2.

It capped yet another of those complete performances that makes De Bruyne an unassailable favourite to win the footballer of the year honours in England this season.

Yet it also left awed observers wondering if a man who has run his heart out in all of City’s 24 league matches this season could maintain such energy levels over the rest of a sapping campaign as City still targetted four trophies.

“I‘m trying to, hopefully,” he told reporters after the Bristol City match when asked if he could feature on all four fronts, adding wryly: “Otherwise I will fall down...”

For the moment, though, with City preparing for another potentially tricky visit to a Championship (second-tier) side, this time Cardiff City in the fourth round of the FA Cup, on Sunday, he reckoned he and his team were “managing really well”.

Guardiola, who has overseen City’s commanding 12-point lead in the League as well as piloting them to a League Cup final date against Arsenal on Feb. 25, keeps saying the ‘quadruple’, capped by a Champions League triumph, is “an illusion”.

In truth, a coach who once won six trophies in a year with Barcelona must know anything is possible yet he will need De Bruyne, the man he hails for “making us a better club”, to be operating at the stellar level he has made look almost routine.

De Bruyne, who still shows no signs of offering anything but his familiar study in perpetual motion, rules out nothing himself.

“Obviously we want to try and win all four, because we want to win every game,” he shrugged. “But it’s a hard task...”



source: news agency

Mourinho feels Sanchez move not money driven

Manchester: Manchester United head coach Jose Mourinho stressed on Alexis Sanchez's decision to sign for the club over arch-rivals Manchester City and said he did not join the club because of the money poured at him.

"I know that if other clubs did not get him it's not a problem of money, for sure.


"That's not a problem of money. You go and analyse the numbers and Manchester City spent more money than us, Chelsea spent more money than us, I think even Everton spent more money than us. I don't think that's not the problem.

"I don't know.

Alexis could go everywhere. He had lots of choices. He decided to come here and you have to ask him why," Mourinho was quoted as saying by ESPNFC on Thursday.

City were jostling with United for the Chilean's signature this month. Sanchez eventually moved to Old Trafford from Arsenal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan signing for the Gunners in return.

"I think Alexis reminds me a little bit of the history -- I don't know, it's not a history, almost a metaphor -- when you see the tree with amazing oranges at the top of the tree and cannot get there," Mourinho added.

"You say: 'Oh, I got the lower ones because I don't like the ones at the top.' You like the ones at the top.

"They are so nice, so orange, so round, so full of juice but you cannot get there so you say: 'I don't want to go there' or 'I didn't like it, I prefer the other ones.' It reminds me of that story," the Portuguese continued.

It was widely reported that City finally pulled out of the race as they could not match United's bid.

The Chilean star forward has signed a four-and-a-half year deal at Old Trafford.

Source: News Agency

Granit puts rock-solid Arsenal into League Cup final

London: Arsenal fought back from a goal down against old foes Chelsea to reach the League Cup final as Granit Xhaka poked home to complete a 2-1 second-leg win on Wednesday that set up a Wembley showdown with Manchester City.

Nothing separated the sides after the semi-final’s first leg at Stamford Bridge ended goalless two weeks ago, but the stalemate was swiftly broken as Chelsea took the lead through Eden Hazard after seven minutes at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has faced perennial questions about his side’s steel in the face of adversity, but these were swept away as they levelled five minutes later through a fortuitous Antonio Rudiger own goal before they turned the match on its head.

Midfielder Xhaka turned predator 15 minutes after halftime to finish from close range and Arsenal stayed rock-solid at the back for the rest of the game to set up an enticing final against Premier League leaders City on Feb. 25.

Arsenal had been under the cosh for much of the first half but they came out after the break a changed side, taking the game to their visitors.

“In the first half we gave Chelsea too much respect and distance. We were a bit scared to go for it,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who has never won the League Cup.

“We were not playing in the right position but we amended that in the second half and took control of the game.”

The sides were meeting for the fifth time this season and it was clear that familiarity had bred a certain degree of contempt as the tackles flew in during a fiercely contested opening.Arsenal had lost only one of their previous seven games against Chelsea, but were quickly under pressure as Hazard put the visitors ahead, calmly stroking the ball past David Ospina after Chelsea carved open the hosts’ backline.

The Emirates was subdued as Chelsea controlled the ball but a fortuitous leveller after 12 minutes brought the home crowd back to life and sparked Arsenal’s revival.

A deep corner was met by Nacho Monreal whose header cannoned off the head of Marcos Alonso before ricocheting of Rudiger to leave Chelsea keeper Willy Caballero stranded.

Chelsea were hit with an injury blow when Willian was forced off with what looked like a hamstring problem after 29 minutes and his departure handed a debut off the bench to Ross Barkley.

That seemed to shift momentum in Arsenal’s favour as the hosts finished the first half on the front foot, with Mesut Ozil seeing an effort deflected just wide, before they grabbed the lead shortly after the break.

Lacazette’s pull back was deflected off Rudiger into the path of Xhaka, who stuck out a leg and poked the ball past Caballero from close range. From that moment on Chelsea barely created a chance as Arsenal stayed resolute at the back and sharp on the counter, with the best opening falling to Alex Iwobi whose effort from 15 metres was saved by the legs of Caballero.

It was Chelsea’s first defeat since Dec. 9, yet they have now failed to win six out of their last seven games, if you discount their penalty shootout win over Norwich in the FA Cup.

Source: News Agency

Sanchez future uncertain as United, City circle

London: Arsene Wenger admitted today that Alexis Sanchez's future is up in the air as Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola stayed tight-lipped over potential moves for the forward during the January transfer window.

Guardiola's bid to buy Sanchez collapsed at the end of the summer transfer window and City were favourites to land him this time around but the club are apparently unwilling to meet Arsenal's reported 35 million ($48 million, 39 million euros) asking price.

Mourinho's United are understood to have thrown their hat into the ring, bidding around 25 million to trump City's 20 million offer as they seek to bolster their forward options and deny their bitter rivals.

When asked if United were interested in signing the 29- year-old Chilean international, who is out of contract at the end of the season, Wenger said "nothing is really concrete at the moment".

Questioned as to whether there was any truth in the rumour, the Arsenal manager was coy.

"You conclude that," he said. "You could say that at the moment... it's not that I don't want to inform you, I don't want to give you wrong information and at the moment I must say nothing is decided one way or the other."

Wenger admitted a bidding war could help Arsenal but said that was not the current situation.

In later press conferences on Friday, neither Guardiola nor Mourinho gave much away over a potential move for the Arsenal man.

Guardiola said his focus was on maintaining City's fine form when they travel to Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.

"I understand completely why you ask this question (about Sanchez), it's your job," said Guardiola. "But you know my answer.

I am focused on Liverpool."

Mourinho, who described Sanchez as a "phenomenal player", said: "I don't know if it's ethical or correct to be speaking about players of other clubs."

"Sanchez is an Arsenal player," he added. "Probably this weekend he is going to defend Arsenal colours so I don't think it's correct to say things about Alexis Sanchez."

Arsenal boss Wenger said Sanchez would only be allowed to leave if they could get a new signing over the line -- the club have been linked with young Bordeaux forward Malcom.

"Of course I want a quick resolution," he told reporters at Arsenal's north London training base.
"Is he (Sanchez) replaceable in the way that we find exactly the same player? Certainly not, but there's always a way to find a different balance.

"Alexis is an exceptional football player, he's a world- class player and if that happens (and he leaves) we have to find a different balance in the team."

Theo Walcott is another Arsenal player poised to leave this month, with Everton manager Sam Allardyce revealing on Friday that they are hopeful of sealing a permanent deal.

Source: News Agency

Guardiola and Kane win December Premier League awards

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was named December's Premier League manager of the month for a record fourth consecutive time, while Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane equalled Steven Gerrard's tally with his sixth player of the month award.

Kane scored eight goals in six matches last month, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Burnley and Southampton, to finish 2017 with a record tally of 39 Premier League goals.

The 24-year-old is now level with former Liverpool and England midfielder Gerrard with six player of the month awards, the most for any player in the competition's history.

Kane claimed the prize ahead of seven other nominees - Chelsea's Marcos Alonso, West Ham United's Marko Arnautovic, Liverpool duo Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, Jesse Lingard of Manchester United, Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez and Manchester City's Nicolas Otamendi.

Guardiola's team remains unbeaten and 15 points clear at the top of the league standings.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte had been the only previous coach to win the award three times in a row during Chelsea's title winning campaign last season.

To win the December prize, Guardiola topped a six-man shortlist that also included Conte, Everton's Sam Allardyce, Roy Hodgson of Crystal Palace, Liverpool's Juergen Klopp and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Source: News Agency

Mancini says it would be an honour to coach Italy

MILAN: Former Manchester City and Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini said that he would like to coach Italy’s national team, describing the possibility as an honour.

The job has been vacant since Gian Piero Ventura was sacked in November following Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup and Carlo Ancelotti, another potential candidate, has already said he is not interested at the moment.

Mancini, a gifted forward in his playing days, won a surprisingly modest 36 caps for Italy and never played at a World Cup, although was an unused member of the 1990 squad.

“I have a dream, which is to win as a coach something I never won as a player: the World Cup,” the 53-year-old told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I have worked at big clubs and won. It’s beautiful to coach the national team. It would be an honour, a source of pride -- and winning the European championship or World Cup even more so.”

Mancini, coach of Russian side Zenit St Petersburg, said that the long periods without seeing his players -- something many national team coaches complain about -- would not be a problem.

“I’ve worked on the pitch as a player and coach every day for 40 years,” he said. “I‘m still young - I can go back to club football after the national team.”

Source: News Agency

Liverpool, without Philippe Coutinho, out to halt Manchester City march

The form table suggests Liverpool have realistic hopes of disrupting Manchester City’s waltz towards the Premier League title when they meet on Sunday, although they must quickly learn how to cope without Philippe Coutinho.

The Brazilian playmaker completed a 142 million-pound ($192 million) move to Barcelona on Monday, meaning Juergen Klopp’s “fab four” up front is now just a three.

Unbeaten City are 15 points clear at the top of the table, having scored more goals than anybody with 64, but fourth-placed Liverpool come second on that count with 50.

Klopp’s side are unbeaten in 17 games in all competitions since they were thrashed 4-1 by Tottenham on Oct. 22.

Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah is set to return from injury and he and Sadio Mane are likely to play either side of striker Roberto Firmino.

Although Coutinho will no longer be able to provide the trio with ammunition, they still have the speed and guile to trouble Pep Guardiola’s side at the back.

Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer believes the Reds can get at City’s defence.

“We know Manchester City’s quality, we know that they’re running away with (the league) at the minute, but I think, on their day, Liverpool can match anybody,” McAteer told the Liverpool website.

”They’re so good going forward. You’ve got to be (wary) of the attacking prowess that they’ve got but there are areas of weakness.

“If you can get in between the lines and at the two centre-halves, which I feel we can, then there are chances and goals there.”

City, however, will look to repeat their dominant 5-0 victory over Liverpool at the Etihad in September, although they will be without injured striker Gabriel Jesus, who scored a brace that day.

This time they will have Virgil van Dijk in their way with the Liverpool defender set to make his Premier League debut after his move from Southampton.

Van Dijk enjoyed a dramatic debut for his new team in the FA Cup, scoring late on against Everton to earn Liverpool a derby victory.

City’s Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne said his team would just focus on their own performance.

”We go there to win the game,“ he said. ”They will have a very strong team and they want to be there for the Champions League (places).

“We just try to do the things that we do well and then we will see what happens.”

Second-placed Manchester United host Stoke City on Monday, the visitors currently without a coach after sacking Mark Hughes following their FA Cup defeat by League Two Coventry City.

Coach Eddie Niedzwiecki is in temporary charge of the team for the trip to Old Trafford, with Jose Mourinho’s side anxious to keep ahead of the chasing pack behind Manchester City.

The Portuguese has been embroiled in a war of words with Chelsea coach Antonio Conte, whose side host Leicester City on Saturday when a victory would see them provisionally move above United into second.

Tottenham host Everton on Saturday and Arsenal travel to Bournemouth on Sunday. Crystal Palace face Burnley, Huddersfield meet West Ham United and Newcastle United entertain Swansea City in other weekend matches.


Source: News Agencies