Arsene Wenger will be very hurt by the strained relationship with Arsenal fans that has soured his final years in charge, according to former assistant Pat Rice.
After more than two decades at the helm, Wenger last week by announced he was to step down at the end of the season.
The Frenchman later revealed his irritation over the lack of unity projected by the club s supporters, believing they damaged the respected image he had built across the world.
Wenger s position has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years and Rice, his number two between 1996 and 2012, believes the debate has had an effect.
I think he would feel very hurt about the reaction he was getting but at the end of the day we all know we are in a business where it can happen t…
Verdict: Under 2.5 goals
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West Bromwich Albion host Arsenal at the Hawthorns on Saturday lunchtime with the Gunners desperate for three points to keep alive their top four hopes.
West Bromwich Albion
West Brom head into the game against Arsenal on the back of two defeats but despite this, manager Tony Pulis will be optimistic of at least a draw. The Baggies are enjoying their best ever Premier League campaign and have only lost three of their last 10 matches, two of those being away from home. At the Hawthorns Pulis always ensures his team are hard to beat and have only been defeated four times in 14 games. West Brom will be concentrating on set-pieces as their main means of attack and have proven to be formidable …
Newcastle United have announced the signing of Ki Sung-yueng on a two-year contract.
The South Korea international was a free agent after leaving Swansea City following their relegation from the Premier League.
Ki is Newcastle s second signing of the close-season, following goalkeeper Martin Dubravka to the club.
I m pleased to welcome Ki to the club, said manager Rafael Benitez. He is a player with lots of Premier League and international experience and it was an easy decision to bring him here.
Our new signing in our new home shirt
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC)
South Korea captain Ki previously played for Newcastle s north-east rivals Sunderland now in League One during a loan spell in the 2013-14 season.
Everyone kno…
Aleksandar Kolarov has set his sights on a return to Lazion once his Manchester City adventure comes to an end.
The Serbia international has one year remaining on his deal at the Premier League club and he started 27 league games under Pep Guardiola last season.
Kolarov played for Lazio between 2007 and 2010 before making the move to City for a reported fee of £16million and the left-back would love to play at Stadio Olimpico again before the end of his career.
I would love to return to Lazio, Kolarov told Il Messaggero. I am no longer young but I can still have my say!
Seriously when I finish my adventure at City it would be nice to embrace the white and blue again.
Maybe even as a manager. I have not decided what I ll do when I finish playin…
Thibaut Courtois agent says he has held meetings with Real Madrid amid continued reports the goalkeeper is stalling on a new Chelsea contract.
The Belgium international has established himself as first choice at Stamford Bridge and won a second Premier League medal in the space of three seasons last term.
However, Courtois – who was on loan at Atletico Madrid between 2011 and 2014 – has been regularly linked with a return to the Spanish capital to play for Los Blancos.
Recent reports have suggested that talks between Courtois and the Blues have stalled due to the player s wage demands and his representative, Christophe Henrotay, says he has held discussions with Madrid s hierarchy over his client s situation.
Of course Thibaut is of interest to the b…
Ahead of Wolfsburg s UEFA Europa League clash with Napoli, Dieter Hecking has suggested the Serie A side have no weaknesses .
The clubs meet in the first leg of their quarter-final on Thursday in differing form, with Rafael Benitez s Napoli having won just once in their last six outings.
Wolfsburg, by contrast, are second in the Bundesliga having lost only once in their previous 23 outings in all competitions.
Hecking s men secured their place in next season s UEFA Champions League last weekend, and are also in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal.
But when asked about parts of Benitez s team Wolfsburg who beat Napoli s Serie A rivals Inter in the last round will look to exploit, Hecking replied: I have no idea, I saw no weaknesses.
We must try to …
Paris Saint-Germain squandered a chance to ignite their stuttering Champions League campaign as Napoli came from behind to earn a 1-1 home draw on Tuesday.
Lorenzo Insigne punished a Thiago Silva error from the penalty spot after 61 minutes to hand the Italian side leadership of Group C following Liverpool s earlier 2-0 loss to Red Star Belgrade, Napoli s next opponents.
Gianluigi Buffon, making his Champions League debut for PSG, had made several saves to preserve a lead earned by Juan Bernat, but his foul in attempting to atone for Silva s loose touch allowed his former Parma boss Carlo Ancelotti to have the last laugh.
Edinson Cavani s late introduction against his ex-employers failed to provide the inspiration PSG needed to convert a point into something…
Speaking to French outlet Canal +, Chelsea s Eden Hazard has revealed he wouldn t want to play for Paris Saint-Germain. The Belgian international added that if were to play in France again, a return to Lille would be the only possibility. However, he also said he won t be moving back to France at this point of his career.
Since his move from Lille in 2012, Hazard has scored 97 goals in 315 appearances for the London Blues so far, and he has won two Premier League titles after bagging the Europa League trophy in his first season there.
His future has been an object of speculation for a long time, with the player himself often adding fuel to fire in interviews. Apart from the French champions, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich have all been credited with interest i…
According to reports from Sky Sports sources, Tottenham Hotspur have accepted a bid from Beijing Sinobo Guoan for Belgian midfielder Mousa Dembele. The 31 year old has been linked with a move away from Spurs for quite some time now, and it appears as if he’s going to follow the money by transitioning over to Chinese football.
While Dembele had previously been known as a fan favourite amongst Spurs fans, it seems as if they’ve soured on him in recent years. Now, though, it seems like he’s going to get a major payday – prior to the possibility of coming back over to European football in a year or two.
Dembele first joined Tottenham back in 2012 when he made the switch over from fellow London club Fulham, and prior to that he spent four years with Dutch club AZ Alk…
Paris St Germain climbed to the top of Ligue 1 after goals from Lee Kang-in, Warren Zaire-Emery and Vitinha secured a 3-0 win over Montpellier.
PSG dominated proceedings at the Parc des Princes as they registered a fifth straight victory in all competitions.
It was also a vastly improved display from Luis Enrique’s side following their scratchy 3-2 win over Brest last weekend.
They will be top until Sunday at least, when Nice get the chance to move back to the summit when they host Rennes.
9 – Lee Kang-In opens up the score! Beautiful goal I 1 -0
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English)
PSG burst into life in the ninth minute when Achraf Hakimi overlapped down the right and squared the ball into the area.
Kylian Mbappe let t…