Author: Kayode Akinwumi

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has dismissed suggestions that his relationship with Man City’s Pep Guardiola will be soured by their ongoing rivalry. The two coaches settled for a draw when their teams went head-to-head last Sunday. Manchester City players were not altogether pleased with the way Arsenal sat deep in the game after Leandro Trossard was sent off.Several players from both sides also had heated exchanges after the game. Arsenal have trailed behind City in second place for two consecutive seasons, heightening the rivalry between the teams. Arteta was Guardiola’s assistant at City before his appointment by Arsenal in 2019.Responding…

European football governing body UEFA has handed a €10,000 fine to Spanish club FC Barcelona. In addition, it banned the club’s supporters from attending their next Champions League away game. These measures were meted out in response to the club’s fans’ racist behaviour during their last Champions League game against AS Monaco.The incident involved the display of Nazi gestures at the away end during Barca’s 2-1 defeat to Monaco at the Stade Louis II. Consequently, the Blaugrana will not be cheered by their fans when they face Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade on November 6. Furthermore, Barcelona will also be prevented…

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has refused to offer a definite answer to the question of an important trio’s future at the club. The question came up on the future of Virgil van Dijk, Mohammed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold at Slot’s pre-match press conference today.The three players, who have been important pillars to the recent success of the club, are on the last lap of their current contracts with the club which run out next summer. In response to the question about their continued stay at the club beyond summer, the gaffer avoided a direct answer. He said,”I’m very happy that…

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Spanish midfielder Rodri will be out for the rest of the season. Guardiola gave the update today following a surgery on the 28-year-old’s anterior cruciate ligament.Rodri sustained an injury to his knee during City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal. He subsequently made a trip to his home country Spain for further tests. Guardiola provided insight into his situation at his pre-match press conference on Friday. He said, “Surgery this morning, ACL. Next season he will be here. This season is over. Unfortunately, we got the worst news but these things happen. We will…

Former Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has indicated he is open to taking up his old role at the club again. The Norwegian, who has not managed another team since he was shown the door by United in November 2021, declared his availability in a Q&A session at the Oslo Business Forum. He said, “If the family [United] asked, I would say yes every day of the week. It feels wrong to talk about jobs that other people have now, but I would say yes, of course.”The 51-year-old was hired to replace Jose Mourinho after the latter was sacked…

A Spanish court sitting at Mallorca has sentenced a Mallorca fan to a 12 months suspended prison term. The sentence is for hurling racist insults against Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Villareal’s Samuel Chukwueze (now at Milan). The lawsuit, jointly filed by La Liga, Real Madrid and Villarreal against the fan, sought action against him for racially insulting Vinicius in a league encounter in Son Moix on February 5, 2023 and another instance involving Chukwueze two weeks later.In addition to the suspended 12 months sentence, the fan was handed a three-year ban from football stadiums within Spain. Real Madrid put…

Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe has been ruled out of action for three weeks with a thigh injury, according to sources within the club. Consequently, the French superstar will not be available for Madrid’s upcoming derby against Atletico on Sunday.Mbappe had to come off in the 80th minute of Madrid’s tense 3-2 victory over Deportivo Alaves. The striker had complained of discomfort in his left thigh during the second half of the game in which he scored to put the Los Blancos two-nil up.Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti dismissed the injury as a “knock” in his post-game interview, adding that Mbappe…

Barcelona have agreed to a deal with Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny as their new goalkeeper. The emergency deal was necessitated by the Marc-André ter Stegen’s injury which may have likely ended the German’s season. Sports journalist Fabrizio Romano broke the news of the deal earlier today, confirming an end to Barca’s search for a suitable temporary replacement for ter Stegen. Szczesny was Juventus goalkeeper until recently when he announced his retirement. However, Szczesny agreed to come out of his retirement to cover Barca’s deficit in the goalkeeping department. While he has not completed his medical, he is expected to sign…

Updates coming from Manchester City indicate that Spanish midfielder Rodri sustained a ligament injury during Sunday’s rivalry game against Arsenal. According to a report, it is not yet clear how serious the injury is and the midfielder may have the option to avoid surgery. It was earlier reported that the ACL tear suffered by the 28-year-old may rule him out for the rest of the season.However, his recovery window may be between five to eight months depending on what his doctors decide. The club seems to be receiving varying medical opinions at the moment, as pointed out by the manager…

Real Madrid may have cause to worry ahead of their upcoming derby against Atletico Madrid after star signing Kylian Mbappe left their home win over Deportivo Alaves with thigh discomfort. Mbappe was Madrid’s biggest signing of the summer and he has been living up to the billing, with seven goals in his first nine appearances.Mbappe netted Madrid’s second goal against Alaves as the Los Blancos went three-nil up. However, Alaves reduced the deficit with two successive goals in the 85th and 86th minute. An Alaves equalizer wasn’t Madrid’s only scare for the night. Mbappe had to be subbed off in…