Everton manager David Moyes believes Mikel Arteta has established himself as Arsenal s leader since his mover from the Merseyside club.
The Spaniard joined the Gunners on transfer deadline day in 2011 for 10 million pounds and has since settled in seamlessly at the Emirates.
Moyes said he never doubted what a sound professional Arteta was, but said it was with a tinge of sadness that he would see him return to Goodison Park on Wednesday in an Arsenal jersey.
I m not surprised. He is a very gifted footballer, he is a great lad to work with, Moyes said.
I think (Arsenal) manager (Arsene Wenger) was probably surprised what he offers: he is a great professional, a really good footballer and I ll be delighted to see him back just disappointed it is in an Ar…
Palmeiras president Arnaldo Tirone says a move for Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes broke down because of his wage demands.
Gomes has failed to feature in a single game for Spurs this season, having last played for the club in a Europa League outing in November 2011.
Brazilian outfit Palmeiras offered the goalkeeper a way out but Tirone said negotiations were impossible due to his salary.
Gomes was offered to us but the negotiations didn t work out, he told Lancenet, a Brazilian football website. His salary is very high.
The president likened the situation to his attempts to sign another Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar, who joined QPR.
Gomes spoke about his disillusionment under Harry Redknapp last season, but he has slipped down the peckin…
magnumopus it is not a foregone conclusion. It is true that he was a reds fan as a kid, but this type of loyalty is rarely decisive these days. He has, without prompting, expressed several times how much he has appreciated how settled he has been at the Lane, and, on ocasion, that he wants to end his career there. Little surprises me in football these days, but the fact is that he has specifically not asked for a transfer request so as not to alienate Spurs, merely to be kept informed. Spurs, on the other hand, have slapped a £20 million valuation on him, which Liverpool are patently struggling to match, and Spurs will be massively reluctant to see him leave, unexpectedly, when it was expected that Berbatov would leave, adn possibly Bent too. That will be a massive hole to fill. So,…
The Newcastle Jets have swooped on former Gold Coast United youngster Joshua Brillante.
The Australia under-20 international signed a two-year deal with the Hunter-based club following two seasons with the now defunct A-League outfit.
Brillante, 19, has 14 A-League appearances under his belt and joins Scott Neville, Craig Goodwin, Adam Taggart, James Brown and Mark Birighitti among the Jets recruits for the 2012-13 season.
Newcastle head coach Gary van Egmond said he believes an exciting future lies ahead for the versatile talent.
Josh is a member of the under-20 national team and has proven himself at A-League level with the Gold Coast last season, van Egmond said.
He can play as a right-back or central midfielder and has a great attitude.
Fulham have confirmed the signing of Wolfsburg and Switzerland right-back Kevin Mbabu ahead of their return to the Premier League.
Reports suggest Fulham will pay £4.6million (€5.5m) plus add-ons for the 27-year-old, who made 24 Bundesliga appearances last season.
Marco Silva s newly promoted side have been active in the transfer market ahead of their season opener against Liverpool on August 6, acquiring Sporting CP s Joao Palhinha, Manchester United s Andreas Pereira and Shakhtar Donetsk winger Manor Solomon.
No German top-flight team bettered Wolfsburg s tally of 11 clean sheets last term (Bayern Munich also kept 11), although only six teams in the division conceded more than the 54 goals shipped by Die Wolfe.
After signing a three-year deal with t…
Stefano Pioli convinced Zlatan Ibrahimovic to reverse his decision to leave Milan earlier this year by holding heart-to-heart talks with the veteran striker.
The 39-year-old revealed in an interview with Sky Italia that he informed Pioli of his desire to leave San Siro in the close season to be closer to his family.
However, after initially accepting Ibrahimovic s choice, Pioli later managed to convince the ex-Sweden international to stay on at Milan and sign a 12-month extension.
I told him I would call it a day, as I thought of the sacrifices and my family being in Sweden, Ibrahimovic recalled.
Pioli told me: I respect that . However, the next day, he called me again. [He said] I let you go too easy, but if you don t stay, it ll be a different team . …
Toni Kroos has stoked the fire ahead of the Champions League final, claiming Real Madrid have more quality than rivals Atletico.
The two Spanish capital clubs will contest the competition decider at San Siro on May 28 in a rematch of the 2014 final after Madrid accounted for Manchester City 1-0 in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
Madrid winners of La Decima at the expense of their city rivals two years ago are without a win against Atletico this season, and they trail Diego Simeone s men and Barcelona by a point in La Liga.
But while acknowledging Atletico s route to the final via victories over domestic champions Barca and Bayern Munich, Madrid midfielder Kroos insisted his team-mates are the superior outfit heading into the showpiece in Milan.
We know th…
Real Madrid will upstage Atletico just like they did in the 2014 Champions League final, insists club great Francisco Gento.
Madrid and Atletico will go head-to-head in the Champions League final at San Siro on May 28, a repeat of the decider two years ago.
On that day, Madrid claimed La Decima courtesy of a 4-1 win after extra time in Lisbon, and six-time European Cup winner Gento is adamant his former club will repeat the feat in Milan.
We are going to win the same as we did in Portugal. We have a great team, great players and we cannot fail, the 82-year-old said via Marca.
You have to fight for the 90 minutes, this is how to win trophies.
We have never played for a draw and for this reason we have won so many trophies.
…
Cristiano Ronaldo was supposed to be Real Madrid s secret weapon this season but the reigning Spanish champions must shrug off the disappointment of failing to capture the Portuguese sensation.
And now Real will be focusing on securing a third straight league title for the first time in 21 years.
Ronaldo openly admitted his desire to join Real but Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson had other ideas blocking the transfer to leave Real counterpart Bernd Schuster frustrated.
We have to respect his decision. He was free to do what he wanted and it is a shame that he will not be joining us because he is a player that would have improved what is already a great team, said Schuster.
But we have a superb side to start the league with and to play for al…
Kenny McLean savoured a special moment in his career after his last-gasp winner earned Scotland a crucial three Euro 2024 qualifying points from a 2-1 victory in Norway.
McLean struck a composed 89th-minute finish with his right foot 10 minutes after coming off the bench and two minutes after Lyndon Dykes had cancelled out Erling Haaland’s 61st-minute opener from the penalty spot.
Left midfielder McLean said: “It was pretty special, a really good moment for everyone involved and obviously for the fans that travelled – it was amazing, I can hear them outside now.
“Obviously I have only had the San Marino goal previously so I am delighted to score such a meaningful goal.
“I don’t know if I was too happy with Dykesy – setting me up on my right …