Arsene Wenger believes Manchester City’s 400 million-pound sponsorship deal is a threat to UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations.English Premier League club City’s commercial arrangement with Etihad Airways, which will see the City of Manchester Stadium rebranded, comes before the first season in which UEFA’s new regulations are implemented.
The Financial Fair Play regulations will require all clubs to break even by 2013/14, or risk exclusion from the Champions or Europa leagues.
Arsenal manager Wenger, a vocal critic of large cash injections into clubs by wealthy owners, is concerned deals such the one between City and Etihad will undermine the UEFA initiative.
“It raises the real question about the credibility of the Financial Fair Play,” Wenger said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur as part of Arsenal’s tour of Malaysia.
“That is what it is all about. (City) give us the message they can get around it.”
“It means the Financial Fair Play will not come in. It is as simple as that. I can understand how they do it but it raises the real question – the difficulty and the credibility of Financial Fair Play is at stake.”
“Plus, normally the sponsorship has to be at the market price if the Financial Fair Play has to have a chance. It cannot be tripled or quadrupled because that means it is better we don’t do it and leave everybody free.”
“That can be defended, but if they bring the rules in they have to be respected.”
When asked if he would discuss his concerns with countryman and UEFA President Michel Platini, Wenger replied: “I don’t need to because it looks to me that he (Platini) is very strongly determined on that.”
“He’s not stupid, he knows as well that some clubs will try to get around that and at the moment I believe they are studying, behind closed doors, how they can really strongly check it.”
“That’s where the Financial Fair Play is at stake.”
First things first. Lee Bowyer can’t and should not be excused for his horrible challenge on Bacary Sagna during Birmingham’s recent defeat to Arsenal. It was sickening to watch Lee Bowyer carry on in the game, and continue to leave his boot in on Sagna at every available opportunity. Not for one minute is Alex McLeish defending his player’s behaviour, but has he landed on a point that shames the FA? Are the bigger clubs getting away with the same kind of challenges that the smaller clubs are being punished for?
It would be unfair to Birmingham if we highlighted all of the decisions Birmingham have had over the past two seasons and said that it is a case of swings and roundabouts. Lee Bowyer should have been sent off against Manchester United, something Sir Alex Ferguson stated after the game. Bowyer knew he was under the media spotlight, so why did he commit such a reckless crime? Against Arsenal, either Bowyer was looking for Sagna or the full back found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time. Hopefully Mcleish is not trying to gloss over three serious incidents, one against Manchester United and two against Arsenal, and try to deflect attention away from his player. Bowyer was handed the right punishment, he must accept that.
Alex McLeish wasn’t happy with Samir Nasri’s stud high challenge on Stephen Carr, and feels the bigger clubs are getting away with decisions.
“I don’t like to see trial by television,” said McLeish. “But, if we’re getting tried by it, then everybody has to be tried by television.
“We are just looking for fairness. We’re not defending anybody if they have made a bad decision (challenge) on the field. We’re not going to defend anybody.
“But that wasn’t slowed down by television. Slow that down, I’m sure you will think it looks a bad tackle.”
Personally, I feel McLeish has a point, but not with the Nasri challenge. Football is a contact sport, we hear it all the time, but if we slow down incidents we could condemn any challenge. As Andy Gray said a couple of weeks ago, every challenge can be perceived as dangerous. Lee Bowyer’s challenge was a red card in super fast motion or super slow motion. However, Alex McLeish does raise a point. There have been challenges this season that the top teams have got away with. Look at Jack Wilshere’s horror lunge on Nikola Zigic and Gary Neville’s slice on Matthew Etherington. Both players got away without punishment in these incidents, but had it been a player with a ‘reputation’ would managers have been more inclined to push the FA into action? We can cast our minds back to September and Arsene Wenger’s interview about tackles in the English game. Wilshere’s must have fallen into his ‘horror challenge category.’
It is definitely something that the FA must look at. Punishing players by television evidence will be good for the game. No longer can players make off the ball elbows, horror challenges or inflammatory gestures and get away with it. Granted, it is not a method of protection, as the player will not be sent off during the game, but it will hold players to account. Cricket has a similar system in place, and the game is played in a hard but fair manner. Football should continue to embrace these disciplinary measures but it must be on a fair playing field. Alex McLeish will lose Bowyer for three games, but Wenger could have lost Sagna for a great deal longer. The FA, in this case, have got it right.
The top managers get the most media coverage, that is something that we have to accept. So if a poor challenge is made on one of their players, they have a larger platform in which to call for action on such an incident. We just have to trust the FA that they do make the right calls on these incidents. The system may not be 100 per cent fair, but our game will be better with, rather than without it.
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After Jose Mourinho’s latest public display of displeasure against him, Luke Shaw is reportedly set to leave Manchester United in the summer and there will be no shortage of suitors.
Spanish giants Barcelona are the biggest club who have been linked with the England international but, closer to home, two of the clubs who look set to battle it out for his signature are Everton and Southampton.
That’s why Football FanCast asked; which club would be a better destination for Shaw, who is currently valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt?
Everton have struggled at left-back this season, in the absence of Leighton Baines. The former Wigan man is back from injury now but surely the Toffees have one eye on a long-term successor for the Liverpudlian. Shaw could be that man.
Southampton have Ryan Bertrand, who has continued to impress this year and is currently ahead of Shaw in the England pecking order as well, so his path to the first-team at St Mary’s could well be blocked.
In any case, 61 per cent of those we asked said that Goodison Park would be the better destination for Shaw at this stage. Check out the full results of the poll below…
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Although Wilfried Bony is signing for a team with a host of talent up front, Manchester City’s new signing will provide the goals to push Chelsea all the way in the title race this season.
His £28 million fee may seem like a lot of money but there is no doubt that Bony will find the back of net, especially when star forward Sergio Aguero is out injured. Although the Argentinian has returned to first team action, Bony is an excellent second option for City if Aguero picks up further injuries between now until the end of the campaign.
One of the top scorers in 2014, Bony (20 goals) joins Aguero (17), Yaya Toure (18) and Edin Dzeko (14), meaning City now have four of the top five goalscorers in 2014. This clearly shows that Manchester City will have a wealth of attacking options, with Bony providing something slightly different to the array of talent at the Etihad. Bony is incredibly dangerous in the air and is one of the best finishers in the league. He is also very strong, meaning he can often play the role of the target man, bringing midfielders into the game, similar to the Sigurdsson partnership that was very dangerous at Swansea City.
It’s fair to suggest that Wilfried Bony was hot property in January and his presence in the City squad will only strengthen their team. The Champions League will be a great opportunity for Bony to showcase his talent on Europe’s biggest stage. However, Manchester City’s Champions League squad is full so it will be interesting to see whether a player makes way for Bony or whether the Ivorian will be saved for the Premier League. If he is played solely in the Premier League, there is no doubt that he will thrive off the service that he will be given at Manchester City.
Chelsea also boast a wealth of talent up front but if Diego Costa picks up an injury, there is not a striker of Bony’s class waiting in reserve. It almost seems wrong to determine the winners of the Premier League through the quality of reserve striker but the importance of squad depth cannot be underestimated. Chelsea have an excellent squad of players but if weaknesses are possible to find, it could be in the striking position. Manchester City now have some of the best strikers in the league at their disposal, all battling for a starting berth. Competition for places will always bring the best out of top players which is only good news for the Citizens.
The potential for a new striking partnership is also something that Manchester City should be excited about. In fairness, City have struggled to find a regular attacking duo as a result of Aguero’s brilliant form in a lone role up front. But the prospect of Aguero and Bony forming a partnership is sure to get City fans excited. This will mean that a player in City’s excellent midfield has to be sacrificed but it does mean that Pellegrini has given himself a plan B, another advantage resulting from Bony’s signing.
Although Chelsea have more than enough quality to win the league, they should be weary of the Champions and their strengthened strike force. Bony has arrived at the perfect time to provide a timely boost to City’s attack, who had actually coped rather well in the absence of a recognised striker. Bony will be hungry to play games and prove himself and he should not be overlooked as a squad signing.
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If Bony gets a run in the Manchester City team, it could be difficult for other players, including Aguero, to get into the side. Either way, it is a welcoming problem for Manuel Pellegrini, who has added further quality to a squad that was already capable of challenging Chelsea all the way for the Premier League title.
Newcastle midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa has confessed that he would be open to a move to Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
The Frenchman has enjoyed a successful period in the Premier League following his 2010 arrival at St James’ Park.
His impressive form has seen him linked with big money moves on a number of occasions, but he has elected to stay in the North East.
However, he has admitted that his loyalty would be tested should PSG attempt to sign him, but that he would only consider moving on at the end of the season as the Magpies battle against relegation:
“After I have saved my club, you never know. Signing for PSG would be a childhood dream.” He is quoted by talkSPORT.
“If there is a proposal, I will study it with interest. If there is a proposal. The ‘if’ is important. PSG is a club that lives in my heart. To play would be a nice gift.”
The 25-year-old started his senior career with Lyon, making over 50 first-team appearances.
But, after a bust-up with a team-mate he left the club in 2008 to join Marseille, after rejecting rumoured interest from Manchester United.
He again impressed in southern France before agreeing a loan switch to Newcastle during 2010.
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Despite a serious injury, the Tyne club turned the deal into a permanent one a year later.
Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague has claimed that Real Madrid are not interested in signing Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah at the end of the season.
Salah joined Liverpool from Roma last summer, and the Egypt international has scored 36 times and provided 12 assists in 41 appearances in all competitions for the Reds.
According to the Daily Star, Real Madrid want to press ahead with a £150m move for Salah this summer as the Spanish giants look to overhaul their squad.
However, Balague has claimed that the Madrid outfit have not mentioned Salah, who has drawn comparisons with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, in conversations, and are actually more interested in Chelsea attacker Eden Hazard.
Balague told Sky Sports:
“Salah is a difficult one because Real Madrid have no mention of him as a candidate to be a Galactico.
“You can think there is a market in Egypt and he is a star of the Premier League – he has a lot of things to go for him – but if they get Hazard they won’t need Salah.”
Salah, who has also been linked with Barcelona, has managed 28 Premier League goals for Liverpool during what has been a remarkable 2017-18 campaign.
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The 25-year-old had previously struggled to make his mark in England during a short spell with Chelsea, but has been in outstanding form for the Merseyside giants this term.
The more hear, read and subsequently think about Arsenal’s summer transfer window, the more it genuinely perplexes me – and I like to think I’m a relatively unperplexable guy.
Fuelled by the ‘accelerated financial firepower’ of a new sponsorship deal with Puma and directly following the club’s FA Cup triumph in May, breaking their nine-year silverware baron, it was meant to be the transfer window that awakened the Gunners from their dormant state in the Premier League title race, witnessing the largest collective transfer spend in Arsenal history.
Despite splashing out a club-record £82million however, it feels as if Arsenal have almost moved backwards from last season, where they spent 128 days at the top of the Premier League table. A current league standing of fifth, 13 points behind table toppers Chelsea, pretty much says it all; the only accomplishments the fans can realistically hope for this season are the retention of the FA Cup and of course, another annual notch to the bedpost of Arsenal’s 18-year involvement in the Champions League under Arsene Wenger.
Money was certainly spent, but clearly in the wrong areas. I doubt many Arsenal fans would actively suggest the £35million signing of Alexis Sanchez was a mistake, yet it strengthened an area of the squad already well-endowed, whilst other departments were allowed to further wither.
The heart of defence is the obvious example; a simple mathematical sum (2-3=-1) was all the information Wenger needed to anticipate Arsenal squandering points through their lack of defensive depth this season, with Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen and Carl Jenkinson leaving the club and only Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers coming in. Yet somehow, he allowed the Gunners to enter the season one body short, resulting in eleven of Arsenal’s 19 Premier League fixtures thus far featuring either Nacho Monreal or Mathieu Debuchy, two full-backs better famed for their contributions going forward who measure in at 5 foot 11 or under, at centre-half.
But what I find most confusing is the situation in defensive midfield, especially following claims from Alex Song this week that he wanted to return to Arsenal but the club (or more specifically, Wenger) turned him down. The Cameroon international, who made 227 appearances for the Gunners before leaving for Barcelona two summers ago, told reporters; “I would have loved to have gone back, but they didn’t want to do it. That’s life. I don’t blame them. “
Now, re-signing a former player is hardly a traditional hallmark of progress, but it’s not as if Song has somehow declined from spending two years with arguably the most talented club side in the history of football. In terms of height, power and defensive awareness he represents precisely what Arsenal currently lack – a midfield monolith that can physically duel with the likes of Yaya Toure and Nemanja Matic – and the eternal absence of such a figure undoubtedly correlates to the Gunners’ poor record against top teams.
Instead, Mathieu Flamini continues to poorly impersonate the Mathieu Flamini of his original Arsenal tenure, aimlessly flip-flopping around, committing fouls and misplacing passes, whilst Song has been allowed to significantly strengthen one of the Gunners’ leading competitors for fourth spot in West Ham. The 27 year-old’s influence at Upton Park cannot be overstated; unsurprisingly, the Hammers look like a completely different side with a Champions League-standard footballer at the heart of their midfield.
I’m not suggesting Alex Song is the answer to all of Arsenal’s problems – if that were the case, the Gunners wouldn’t have sold him in the first place. But clearly in search of a new home after struggling to break into the first team at the Nou Camp and so desperate to return to the capital that he joined a London-based side that finished just seven points clear of relegation last season, a loan deal until Wenger’s desired choice of holding midfielder, namely, William Carvalho, became available, would have been a very astute move.
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It’s a similar situation with Cesc Fabregas; yes, Arsenal are already overloaded in that department and understandably, Wenger would prefer not to look for solutions to present problems in Arsenal’s past. But the consequence of not re-signing the former Gunners captain is a Chelsea team, already blessed with enormous quality throughout, headed by the most productive playmaker in the Premier League. And let’s be honest here – are the north Londoners really in a position to turn down world-class midfielders at £30million a time?
I’ve rarely understood Wenger’s attitude in the transfer market and at this point, it’s unlikely I ever will. But in regards to the summer window alone, considering how much Arsenal spent and the many opportunities since reported as available to them, Alex Song and Cesc Fabregas particularly, I find myself disappointingly underwhelmed. If Arsenal plan to continue spending as lavishly as possible, with the Puma funds continuing for the next few years, perhaps its time control over transfer policy began moving away from Arsene Wenger.
Arsenal travel to the DW stadium in high spirits following a second visit of the season to the Madjeski on Monday night, and they have scored at least five goals on both occasions against Reading. Wigan know exactly how it feels to have a morale boosting win against the Royals and this is where their last 3 points came from four Premier League games ago.
The latest league win for Arsenal takes some pressure away from their Capital One Cup exit to Bradford City in the Quarter Finals. If they fail to win here though that misery will be all come back and be aimed at the door of Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners travel to the North West having only won two of their last seven league outings, but their win at the Madjeski has added a renewed vigour to the side. Santi Cazorla managed to bag a hatrick with Lukas Podolski also wreaking havoc and he will be looking to be getting in amongst the goals this time round as well.
Arsenal should have Olivier Giroud back to full fitness with French International making a Cameo appearance midweek. It is expected that the Gunners will prefer Theo Walcott up front again though after his latest striking performance. They are still missing Andre Santos (stomach) and Diaby (thigh).
Wigan are still suffering a significant shortage in the defensive area with their main centre back pairing out Caldwell, Ramis (both hamstring. Antonio Alcaraz still hasn’t recovered from a groin injury. James McCarthy recent picked up an ankle knock and looks highly unlikely to shake that off for this fixture. These injuries just add to the long term absentees Ben Watson, Albert Crusat and Ryo Miyaichi out of contention.
The away side won both fixtures last season – Arsenal 4-0 at the DW Stadium and Wigan 2-1 at the Emirates. Arsenal would definitely very much favour that trend to continue this weekend.
Prediction: Wigan 1-2 Arsenal
Check the odds ahead of the game at the DW Stadium and with William Hill here
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Toby Alderweireld has regularly been mentioned in the media this season, despite the fact that he has spent a large chunk of the campaign on the sidelines with injury.
The Tottenham Hotspur defender’s future has been a talking point given that he is yet to follow in the footsteps of some of his teammates and sign a new contract.
Supporters have made it clear that they want the Belgian to pen fresh terms, but at the moment, nothing has progressed.
Alderweireld recently spent around three months on the treatment table with a hamstring injury that he suffered during a Champions League game against Real Madrid.
The centre-back made a brief recovery in February as he played in two FA Cup matches, but since then, he has been working on his fitness.
On Twitter, Alderweireld posted a photo of himself in training, which prompted a huge response from fans, many of whom are keen to see the defender back on the field.
Others, as expected, reacted by urging the former Atletico Madrid player to sign fresh terms.
Tottenham will be in action this weekend when they take on Swansea City in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
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Arsene Wenger has compared his star forward Alexis Sanchez to former Liverpool hero Luis Saurez, highlighting how much harder South Americans have to work from a younger age to be noticed in football and earn themselves their dream career.
Wenger noted the difference between the success of the South American players compared to those from other countries, stating that it seems that in Europe the approach is more relaxed when training the youngsters. This perhaps explains why there are far more successful South American players practising their trade around Europe than there are other nationalities.
‘Look across Europe and where are the strikers from? Many of them, at least 80 per cent, are from South America,’ Wenger said. ‘Maybe it’s because in Europe, street football has gone. In street football when you’re 10-years-old, you want to play with 15-year-olds. Then you have to prove you’re good, you have to fight and win impossible balls.’
‘When it’s all a bit more formalised, it’s less about developing your individual skill and fighting attitude. We’ve lost that a bit. Not every South American has that, but if you go back 30 or 40 years in England, life was tougher.’
‘Society has changed. We’re much more protective than we were 20 or 30 years ago. We have all become a bit softer.’
The really talented players that are cut from the same sort of cloth as other big names such as Lionel Messi, for example, come from a street football background where they have to fight hard and compete with other kids who are usually older than them. The beautiful game is massive over there, even more so than it is over in England, hitting almost fever pitch in some parts of Latin America.
Wenger was asked in a recent interview if he thought Sanchez and Suarez are alike and he said: ‘Exactly. When Suarez gives the ball to an opponent, he wins it back straight away.
‘Sanchez is the same; there is no time between the offence and defence. The transition is very quick. And they are very quick as well.’
Arsenal are at a point this season where they could do with some of the magic that Suarez gave Liverpool during his time at Anfield – he was the catalyst behind every great performance of last season when they came perilously close to winning the title.
Suarez showed the world of football why his previous roots had helped him become such a good player, his skill was mesmerizing, his ability unmatched. He can pick out any pass he wants, read the game, take on opponents and score all sorts of goals. All those things are honed and perfected from his street football days as a youth, quite similarly to Arsenal’s South American star Alexis Sanchez who looks like he could be every bit as good as Suarez.
Suarez has already bagged eight goals in his first fifteen appearances since joining the Gunners, and his manager has been impressed with how easily the striker has adapted to life in the Premier League.
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Wenger will be hoping that the background of his super star comes from will help him become Arsenal’s Luis Saurez, and go a long way towards helping his side win the title and some more cups to add to last season’s silverware.