Sports

Granit Xhaka came close to quitting Arsenal in late 2019 after receiving pure hate from sections of the club s fanbase.

The Switzerland international said he felt very disrespected after being booed by his own fans in an incident in October that year and recognises he will never be best friends with many supporters despite reasserting himself as a key member of the Arsenal team.

Xhaka lost the club captaincy after throwing his armband to the ground having been booed by supporters in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, but he fought his way back into the team following Mikel Arteta s appointment as manager.

The midfielder has made 19 Premier League appearances this season, all of them starts, as Arsenal chase Champions League qualification, but said he still reme…

Mikel Arteta believes his new contract will clear up any doubts over Arsenal s future direction and be a major factor in the club s recruitment and retention drive.

The manager has committed to a two-year contract extension at Emirates Stadium, with his previous deal having run to the end of next season.

It means he is now set to stay at Arsenal until 2025, ensuring stability at the club.

Arteta revealed a number of Arsenal stars had been asking him about his future before he committed to an extended stay, with the announcement coming from the club on Friday.

Asked when the players learned the news, Arteta said: They found out this morning. Some of them had been asking me in the last few months because they had questions about their individual futures.…

Robert Lewandowski finished as the Champions League group stage s top scorer, interrupting the duopoly enjoyed by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lewandowski s double in Bayern Munich s thrilling 3-3 draw at Ajax, which secured top spot in Group E for the Bundesliga champions, took his tally for the competition to eight, two more than Barcelona star Messi.

It marks only the second time since 2010-11 that neither Ronaldo nor Messi has topped the scoring charts at the end of the group stage, Luiz Adriano having found the net nine times in 2014-15.

Lewandowski is joint-second in the list of Bundesliga top scorers this season, one behind Borussia Dortmund talisman Paco Alcacer and Eintracht Frankfurt s Luka Jovic.

 2018/19 group stage top scorers

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According to a recent report from Sport, Barcelona have rejected an offer of around £13 million for Ivan Rakitic. The offer is said to have come in from an as of yet unknown Premier League side, with Manchester United having already made it clear in the recent past that they are interested in trying to sign the midfielder. 

Barca are more than willing to make some sort of deal come to fruition, especially during the January transfer window, but they instead want around £30 million in order to agree to the sale. 

Whether or not Rakitic is actually worth that sort of money at this stage of his career is a different matter altogether, but either way, United aren’t going to slow down in their attempt to sign him. 

With that being said there’s every chanc…

According to a recent report from O Jogo, Premier League side Chelsea have entered themselves into the race to sign Josip Vukovic. The Croatian midfielder seems to be edging closer and closer towards an exit from Maritimo, who he has been with since 2018. The 26 year old has never really been someone who is on the radar of the big European clubs, but following a strong run of form throughout the course of the season, he’s begun turning some heads. The report suggests that a potential deal between the two parties depends on Chelsea’s current transfer ban, which they are hoping to delay or perhaps even overturn in the next few months.

Chelsea are joining fellow Premier League clubs Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the race for Vukovic’s signature, as they all p…

Jerome Boateng was forced off with an injury midway through the first half or the Champions League final.

Bayern Munich s centre-back went off at half-time with a muscular problem during the semi-final win over Lyon, but started against Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday s showpiece after passing a late fitness test.

However, the 31-year-old managed just 25 minutes before succumbing to an apparent recurrence of the injury he sustained in Bayern s previous outing.

Niklas Sule, who himself has endured an injury-hit campaign, came on as Boateng s replacement, as he did against Lyon.

Get well soon, !

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN)

The change is the earliest a substitution has had to be made in a Champions League final since 2014, when A…

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed midfielder Scott McTominay played with one eye in the first half of the team s Champions League victory against Paris Saint-Germain after losing a contact lens.

McTominay started alongside Fred and Bruno Fernandes in midfield and impressed as United upstaged last season s finalists PSG 2-1 in their Group H opener on Tuesday.

As Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Donny van de Beek watched from the bench in the first half, McTominay performed well for United, who took a 1-0 lead into the break thanks to Fernandes 23rd-minute penalty in Paris.

Anthony Martial s own goal in the 55th minute gifted PSG an equaliser, but Marcus Rashford netted United s match winner with three minutes remaining at Parc des Princes, where…

Los Angeles FC won a wild ride of an MLS Cup final as substitute goalkeeper John McCarthy emerged as the hero, saving two penalties in the shoot-out after an astonishing 3-3 draw.

In front of their own fans on Saturday, LAFC took the lead through Kellyn Acosta s deflected free-kick but were pegged back just before the hour when Daniel Gazdag scored his 24th goal of the season.

Jesus David Murillo headed LAFC back into the lead in the 83rd minute, but Jack Elliott stung the hosts with another leveller two minutes later.

English centre-back Elliott looked to have won it when he put Philadelphia back in front deep into extra time, after LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau was sent off, but substitute Gareth Bale headed the hosts level in the eighth minute of stoppage tim…

Chelsea possess a similar spirit to Leicester City during their title-winning Premier League campaign in 2015-16, according to Ben Chilwell.

Frank Lampard s side have not suffered defeat in their past 17 games – excepting an EFL Cup exit at the hands of Tottenham on penalties – and sat two points off top in the Premier League going into the weekend.

Jurgen Klopp, the manager of reigning champions Liverpool, previously tipped Chelsea as the favourites to lift the trophy, but Lampard has been keen to steer clear of such talk.

Chilwell, 23, was a fringe member of the Leicester squad that completed a shock championship triumph four years ago and feels a similar atmosphere among the players at Stamford Bridge.

We re not looking that far ahead. What I m fi…

Flamengo head coach Dorival Junior brushed off speculation linking him with replacing Tite as Brazil s boss following his side s Copa Libertadores triumph over Athletico Paranaense.

The Rubro-Negro clinched their third Copa Libertadores crown with Saturday s 1-0 victory over Athletico after Gabriel Barbosa s strike in the 45th minute.

The title comes less than a fortnight after Junior, who took over at Flamengo in June, guided the club to the Copa do Brasil crown

Junior has been linked with the Brazil head coaching role with Tite to vacate the position following the upcoming World Cup, with his latest piece of silverware boosting his case.

It is very difficult to talk about hypotheses in my position, Junior told reporters after Saturday s triumph.

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