Former Chelsea player and assistant manager Ray Wilkins has told Talk Sport that it is very unlikely that Blues legend Didier Drogba would ever play for Arsenal.
The Ivorian striker is reportedly unsettled at Chinese outfit Shanghai Shenhua despite scoring an impressive four goals in his first six games for the club. The 34-year-old is reportedly of interest to Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger as he looks to bolster his attacking options after the Gunners have only scored two goals in their opening three Premier League games.
However, Wilkins believes that Drogba loves Chelsea too much to play for another Premier League side, “How he can he go to Arsenal after spending eight years at Chelsea? Didier, in his heart of hearts, would think that’s a step too far.”
Drogba spent eight happy years with the Stamford Bridge club scoring 100 goals in 226 appearances in all competitions. The forward will always be adored by Chelsea fans for his last-gasp equaliser and winning penalty against Bayern Munich which saw Chelsea win their first ever Champions League title.
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has stated that his side’s 1-0 win over Norwich on Sunday was important for team morale.
The Magpies took the lead on 20 minutes through attacker Demba Ba, which was enough to seal the three points for the hosts.
“It was such an important game for us to win because, even though we had got some decent results this season, we needed that second win just to get us going,” the visiting manager told Sky Sports.
“We find ourselves with eight points and I think that is a good reflection because we have had some tough games.
“Norwich made it tough for us today and the back four and the goalie were the standout players, outside of Hatem Ben Arfa who was again brilliant,” Pardew commented.
Papiss Cisse, who is yet to score this season, missed a penalty on the brink of half-time, and Pardew feels that the spurned opportunity had the potential to derail his side’s attempts to win the game.
“I thought the penalty miss hurt us mentally a little bit,” the coach continued.
“I think it was pretty obvious that they wanted Cisse to score, which says everything about our spirit here.
“It’s not really what I wanted. I want to see it in the back of the net and I want the best player to take it.
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“Papiss missed one in pre-season so I wasn’t too pleased with that, but I can understand it and I didn’t make a big deal about it at half-time because I thought that could hurt us even more,” he concluded.
Newcastle travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday night next.
Joe Cole is set to be considered for Liverpool first-team action once more after returning to action, The Daily Mail report.
The attacking midfielder pulled his hamstring in the Premier League opening day defeat to West Brom, and has been on the sidelines for the last six weeks.
However, Cole has returned to fitness and played 59 minutes of the Merseysiders’ reserve win over Fulham on Monday night, with the attacker scoring the first goal in a 3-0 victory.
With Brendan Rodgers stating that the Premier League is the priority for the Reds this season and fielding a scratch side in their first Europa League fixture against Young Boys, Cole could well feature against Italian side Udinese at Anfield on Thursday.
Cole was frozen out of Liverpool contention by former boss Kenny Dalglish and played for French club Lille on loan last season, but the Northern Irish coach seems willing to give the star a chance to resurrect his career with the Reds.
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are tracking Ghanaian starlet Richmond Boakye, according to TalkSport.
The 19-year-old highly-rated striker came through the youth system with Genoa before being loaned out to Serie B side Sassuolo where he hit 12 goals in 34 league games.
His pace, power and dribbling ability attracted admirers across Europe but Juventus were quick to snap him during the summer before he was loaned straight back to Sassuolo for the new season.
The striker, who had previously starred at the 2011 African Youth Championship, made his full international debut for Ghana in an August friendly coming off the bench to score the equaliser during the Black Stars 1-1 draw against China.
Boakye has recently declared that his dream is to one day play in the Premier League with United his preferred destination and Ferguson has responded by sending his team of scouts to keep tabs on the Serie B striker.
However a move for Boakye could prove tricky for Ferguson with Juventus and Genoa both co-owning him and Juventus having signed 50% of the player’s contract on a 5-year-deal during the summer, indicating that the Serie A champions have big plans for the talented youngster.
United are also thought to be keeping a close eye on Boakye’s Sassuolo teammate and Italy U19 international forward Domenico Berardi with a view to a possible transfer in the future.
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Ferguson signed Robin van Persie from Arsenal this summer in a £24m deal, while also adding Ángelo Henríquez to his attacking options which include Javier Hernández, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck.
Liverpool have confirmed that striker Fabio Borini has broken his foot and will be on the sidelines for three months, according to Sky Sports.
The sprightly attacker was on international duty with Italy under-21’s in preparation for a match with Sweden, but went over on his ankle in training and was forced to return to the Merseyside club early.
The initial prognosis was not positive but the Anfield medical staff were determined to test Borini to ascertain the extent of the knock.
However, it is bad news for Brendan Rodgers’ men as it has been deemed that Borini has broken a bone in his foot and will now be forced to undergo surgery to remedy the problem.
Borini will be disappointed with the news given that he has had a slow start to his time in England, and has failed to net for the Reds in the Premier League as yet.
The injury blow will leave Liverpool very short of options in attack, with Luis Suarez now the only recognised and available forward in the club’s squad.
Suarez has been harbouring the brunt of the goalscoring responsibility as it is, but will now be by himself in attack for the side.
Rodgers decided to loan Andy Carroll to West Ham in the summer and failed to bring in a replacement, much to the anger of the club’s fans, and it now appears that his decision has backfired.
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It remains to be seen whether Liverpool will look to buy a new attacker in the January transfer window, or if Carroll will be recalled.
Athletes representing nations not from their countries birth remains a major talking point in sport, but is it really that much of a big deal? When Germany benefit so greatly from players not born in their nation, I think England are too stubborn and old fashioned in their views on international football. Most sports see the greatest nations with best resources often try and poach the best talent; England’s reluctance to use Mikel Arteta looked extremely careless when the Three Lions were humiliated by a German squad full of foreign born talent at the 2010 World Cup.
Players to an extent in international football can play for countries that they only the slightest allegiance towards but I for one don’t get upset about that. England won the Ashes with a cosmopolitan line-up, England in rugby union have used all-back castoffs regularly. Yet in both sports people have moved on from the issue and perhaps a distorted sense of patriotism still affects football. The anger that surrounded Sven Goran Eriksson’s appointment as the first foreign England manager was nothing short of short-sighted delusion. In any incident you want the best manager for what you’d hope is the most important job, in English football, regardless of nationality. My one gripe with Fabio Capello as manager is the strange scenario where the England national team manager, was able to hide behind his dodgy grasp of the national language to avoid difficult questions.
The main thing I like about the situation currently is it allows better players an opportunity to play international football. Republic of Ireland have constantly benefited from players who are not quite good enough to play for England but are eligible for Ireland. Now whether fair or not this offers better players the chance to compete on what used to and may still be the biggest stage in world football. A player as good as Mikel Arteta deserves the chance to play at an international tournament and it is frustrating that England didn’t offer him that opportunity. It’s also interesting to consider whether he was overlooked on a political or moral level for England, or because at the time he qualified for our national team he was already in his late twenties and not seen as long-term solution in England’s midfield.
While the current laws are in place, I believe England need to take a more pragmatic approach in national team selection. There are still some uneasy aspects of the current selection system. In recent years Adam Barton and James McClean have declared an interest in playing for Northern Ireland before switching allegiances to the more talented Republic set-up when advised they may be good enough to play for the better team. I don’t like this ability to change your mind on national team it’s not particularly fair or morally sound. Another example is Matt Phillips the English born winger, has chosen Scotland at 21, rather than have the indecision of trying to make the breakthrough for England. Blackpool’s wide-man had represented England at youth level prior to choosing a nation that would offer him a chance to win more caps, more quickly.
While the current loopholes that allow footballers to represent countries they only have partial allegiances to. In my opinion it would too simplistic to suggest FIFA changed rule to make it so players can only play for their country of birth. Andrew Strauss and Laura Robson are two examples of people who represent England and Britain and have grown up English and British, despite being born in another country. If those two were to represent South Africa and Australia respectively due to rulings that you must represent your country of birth, it could be argued you’d be denying them the chance to play for their true nation.
Personally I think patriotism in Britain blinds fans when it comes to international football, and the problem of people playing for nations not of their birth isn’t a great one. Although I do fear the foreign born Qatar team will push the boundaries of this rule 2022. Other sports have learnt to deal with an idea of picking the best for your country despite their natural allegiances its time the FA and England did the same. If FIFA can find a simplistic solution to this convoluted problem then, great, if not it’s time for England to take a more realistic, if un-patriotic approach towards our national team.
Join me on Twitter: @jimmylowson
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A scan has confirmed that Kevin Mirallas will not be out with injury for as long as it was feared he would be.
The forward signed for Everton over the summer for £5.5 million. In the 2011/12 season, Kevin Mirallas was the leading scorer in the Greek Super League.
He had to come off the pitch during Everton’s match with Sunderland this Saturday with an injury to his hamstring. Boss David Moyes said to the Liverpool Echo a couple of days ago: “It looks as if (Kevin) has maybe got a slight hamstring injury. I don’t think it’s too bad but until it’s been scanned we wouldn’t be able to say what it was.”
However, the scan has now revealed that the injury is not too serious. Though it is not likely Mirallas will be fit enough to play Reading at the weekend, he could be available for the Norwich match the weekend after. He has also withdrawn from Belgium’s international friendly tonight against Romania.
So far this season, Kevin Mirallas has appeared ten times for Everton in the Premier League, with 32 shots at goal.
David Moyes made it clear a couple of days ago that Mirallas would have been greatly missed by the team if his injury had been more long-term.
David Moyes said: “You’ve got to say, every-time he’s been on the pitch for us he’s looked a real threat, either creating chances or looking as if he’s going to score.”
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Juventus are prepared to offer wantaway Arsenal winger Theo Walcott £90,000-per-week to join them in January, according to reports from talkSPORT.
The Italians are keen to take advantage the Premier League star’s uncertainty at the club with a bid in the New Year, and believe that they can tempt him to swap London for Turin in an £8m deal.
The Gunners are reportedly unwilling to meet Walcott’s salary demands, which could allow him to leave once his contract expires at the end of the season.
Juve manager Antonio Conte is thought to have made the wide man one of his top targets, as he looks to bolster the Old Lady’s attacking options ahead of the season run-in.
It’s believed that the ex-Southampton man will be able to leave for a reduced fee this winter, as Arsenal look to avoid the possibility of a free-transfer at the end of the campaign.
Manager Arsene Wenger has insisted that his speedy winger is not for sale, but will be aware that a swift resolution to the saga may benefit his team in the long run.
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Arsenal’s strict wage budget has contributed to a number of big names leaving North London in recent times, with captain Robin van Perise completing a move to Manchester United over the summer.
The likes of Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song and Samir Nasri have also moved on from the club frustrating supporters.
James Collins believes West Ham are dealing well with their injury crisis, as he revealed the players’ determination to maintain their impressive start to the season.
The Hammers have enjoyed a successful return to the Premier League so far, as they occupy a comfortable mid-table position on 23 points.
Despite a famous victory over Chelsea, the East London club’s form has dipped somewhat in recent weeks with several key players out injured.
Manager Sam Allardyce could only field six substitutes for Sunday’s game at West Brom, but his side showed plenty of resilience to earn a goalless draw at The Hawthorns, where the Baggies had already recorded six wins this season.
Welsh international centre-back Collins is pleased with the team spirit at West Ham.
“We have got a few injuries, but we can’t use that as an excuse,” Collins told The Daily Mail.
“We’ve got off to a terrific start and we want to keep that going, regardless of injuries.
“People say having six subs shows how short we are but you have to deal with it. If you haven’t got the players there is nothing we can do.
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“There were a lot of young lads on the bench, but we see them every day in training and they’re certainly good enough to be there.”
Collins, who rejoined the Hammers from Aston Villa in the summer, added: “We got a great point and, as long as we show the team spirit and the fight we had at West Brom, we’ll be fine.”
If omens are to be believed then Reading are already doomed as they reach the halfway point in the season. Its always prophesised that the team occupying the bottom place in the Premier League are destined for relegation. For the Royals it appears to be a certainty. Brian McDermotts men have tasted victory only once this term and have lost their last seven games in a row to leave their survival hopes looking slim. Its not for the want of trying though and, while they haven’t had the rub of the green on occasions, they must improve at the back if they’re to avoid defeat against Swansea.The Swans have dismissed any fears of second seasom syndrome and look a more complete side under Michael Laudrup than they did Brendan Rodgers. With Michu scoring at will the south Wales club know they can beat any team in the league when they’re on song. And they’ll fancy their chances of beating Reading to further enhance their European push. That being said they’ll have to be wary of their Boxing Day hosts who are out to halt their torrid winless run.
Team News
Jason Roberts, Sean Morrison and Alex McCarthy are still out giving Brian McDermott no new injury concerns.
Swansea could welcome back Pablo Hernandez after he missed the last five games with a thigh injury but Angel Rangel (calf) will be missing again.
What the managers said…
“In the last three games we haven’t really performed the way I know we can. But against Arsenal we were three and four down and we fought back. You could see the spirit in the group and you certainly saw the spirit in the group on Saturday. You respond by trying to win the next two games. We have got Swansea at home and West Ham at home. We need our fans massively to be with us. They took so much credit from last year, dragging us over the line. We need them to be with us again.” Brian McDermott believes the collective spirit shared by players and supporters will guide Reading to safety (Independent)
“We are trying to improve at set-pieces. Obviously players like Leon, Nathan and Wayne have the height they have and they are the type of players we need for our football. It is a price we pay sometimes. But at set-pieces we have problems sometimes and we have to admit that. We want to improve.” Michael Laudrup admits Swansea need to improve their defending at set pieces (Daily Mail)
Pre-match Statistic
Reading haven’t lost in their last eight Boxing Day fixtures and fans should expect goals with an average of five goals per game in the 10 Premier League fixtures hosted at the Premier League this season.
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Prediction: Reading 2-2 Swansea City
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