Owen Hargreaves has revealed his happiness at signing for Manchester City, and is looking to reignite his career at Eastlands after a torrid time at rivals United.
Roberto Mancini’s outfit captured the former England international on a free transfer on deadline day, and he is looking forward rather than back at an injury plagued time at Old Trafford.
“It’s difficult for people from the outside looking in. You would think ‘ there’s something gone wrong there, the guy’s made out of glass’. But anybody who knows me and knows the way I play, I take it very seriously and very professional,” he told City TV.
“So obviously I don’t think everybody had all the facts and a lot of things (injuries) happened that basically I wish wouldn’t of and it’s just a huge learning curve for myself and I would have never have anticipated I would ever find myself in that position.
“So I’m just happy that that chapter is behind me and I’m looking forward to just playing football and having fun, having a good time, joining in with the lads and competing again,” he continued.
Hargreaves has spent a long summer training to show his fitness to potential suitors, and feels the hard work has paid off.
“I basically spent all summer just training, proving to myself that I can work hard, that I can train and sustain the load that is demanded of a professional football player. I hadn’t made my mind up this summer, I just wanted to train hard and then see how it felt and I didn’t use an agent.
“It just kind of happened – I think in life you can’t chase things, you’ve just got to let things happen and that’s what it was and, you know, I’m looking forward to the future,” he concluded.
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Despite the signing, The Daily Mail indicate that Hargreaves will not be included in City’s European squad of 25, which is set to be named on Friday.
Santos made it three wins from as many games in Brazil’s Campeonato Paulista with a 4-2 away victory at Gremio Prudente on Sunday.
Former Manchester City and Galatasaray midfielder Elano scored a first-half brace for Santos before Keirrison and Maikon Leite netted early in the second half to give their side a 4-0 lead.
Gremio’s Romulo pulled a goal back from the penalty spot in the 71st minute, while Bruno Riberio added further respectability to the scoreline with his 82nd-minute goal.
Americana also maintained its winning record courtesy of a 2-1 triumph over Botafogo SP at Estadio Decio Vitta.
After a scoreless first half, Charles found an opener for the home side before Rafael Chorao doubled Americana’s lead in the 72nd minute.
Botafogo’s Rodrigo Pontes reduced the visitors’ deficit in the 84th minute, but the minnows could not find an equaliser in the dying stages.
Ituano’s Jefferson helped his side open their Paulista account with a 1-0 victory over winless Sao Caetano, scoring the decisive goal in the eighth minute.
Paulista got off to a dream start at home to Sao Bernardo by scoring in the first minute via Barboza, but were held to a 1-1 draw when Nena equalised in the 43rd minute for the visitors.
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Palmeiras’ Patrick was the hero for his side in their trip to Oeste’s Estadio dos Amaros, scoring the only goal of the game in the 86th minute.
Corinthians and Noroeste played out a 1-1 draw at Estadio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho.
As the new Premier League season dawns upon us, so does with it the stream of newly designed kits.
For some supporters, the release of a new kit is a time of salvation, as a new, shiny American sports brand wheels out a classy design. For others, the notion of spending £40 plus on recycled polyester is simply far too much to bear.
But it is when a team like Fulham release a number as truly hideous and God-awful as their latest away kit, that fans from all clubs come together and rejoice at their misfortune. Knowing that however bad things get next season, they know they’ll never have to go to the terraces looking like an 80’s roadside mechanic.
Although every team has a dark closet full of football kit horrors. Those who have adorned the likes of Pony, Airness and Ribero over the years will have sore wounds opened up by events at Craven Cottage. So whilst we’re here, we may as well appreciate ten of the worst efforts in Premier League history.
Click on Wigan’s illumination to unveil the top 10
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Have I missed a horror show out or are you dismayed your favourite shirt has made the final cut? Get on Twitter and tell me, follow @samuel_antrobus
Sporting Lisbon have dismissed reports they are on the verge of signing Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner, while DJ Campbell appears on the move.The Liga Sagres club were reportedly on the verge of signing the Denmark international after he was allegedly pictured in Portugal.
But director of football Carlos Freitas denied the rumours while unveiling teenager Atila Turan on Friday.
“I have no justification for such news. Bendtner is a player who is as close to Sporting as (Gonzalo) Higuain or (Didier) Drogba are,” Freitas said.
“Those are players who are at the same distance from Sporting. The reports of a move for Bendtner are a fictitious production.”
Bendtner is thought to be seeking a move away from the Emirates Stadium as he continues to fall down the pecking order at the English Premier League club.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are reportedly poised to break their transfer record with a move for Valencia midfielder Juan Mata.
The 23-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from the Spanish club and Arsene Wenger’s team are viewed as a potential destination for the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner, with an offer in the region of 20 million euros.
The Mirror claimed that the Gunners have come to an agreement with Valencia over the potential sale of Mata, while The Sun reported that the player himself has told friends that he is set to join the north London club.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Queens Park Rangers have had a bid for Blackpool striker DJ Campbell accepted, with the player to undergo a medical in London.
The forward only joined the Tangerines permanently last term after enjoying a successful loan spell and continued his good form during the club’s first Premier League season, scoring 13 goals in 31 matches in the top flight.
The 29-year-old is set to move to the newly promoted club for an undisclosed fee, and only needs to agree to personal terms with QPR for the deal to go through.
“Blackpool Football Club can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Queen Park Rangers for the transfer of striker DJ Campbell,” Blackpool said on their official website.
“The 29-year-old has now been given permission to discuss personal terms with Neil Warnock’s side and undergo a medical.”
QPR have already secured the signings of Kieron Dyer, Jay Bothroyd and Danny Gabbidon so far this summer, but all three deals were on free transfers.
In other news in England, Bolton Wanderers have completed the signing of Burnley duo Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears on three-year deals.
Right-back Mears and winger Eagles rejoin manager Owen Coyle, who signed them for Burnley during his time in charge there.
In the Serie A, Genoa have completed the signing of French goalkeeper Sebastien Frey from Fiorentina for an undisclosed fee, with the shot-stopper signing a five-year deal.
In Germany, Bundesliga outfit Schalke have confirmed the capture of former Stuttgart striker Ciprian Marica.
Returning to Spain, the agent of Villarreal attacker Giuseppe Rossi has announced the player will remain with the La Liga outfit – much to the disappointment of potential suitor Juventus.
Rossi had looked on the way out as Villarreal looked to ease their financial problems, but the sale of Santi Cazorla to Malaga has eased the burden and should allow Rossi to remain at El Madrigal.
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has backed his former club to win this season’s English Premier League title.The club’s record goal scorer also ruled out a return to the Emirates Stadium on loan and told Arsenal’s current captain, Cesc Fabregas, to forget about the critics.
Henry was speaking at the Football Writers’ Association dinner where he received a Tribute Award, and believes Arsenal can lift this year’s Premier League title – something they have not done since 2003/04.
“I do think they can do it with the style of football that they play,” Henry said.
“I don’t think it’s the only time they’ve had the chance to grab the title. It will be a great thing for the club if they can bring back some silverware, especially for the fans.”
The French international has been training with Arsenal lately but dismissed reports he was about to join them on loan from his current club New York Red Bulls, who he plays for in USA’s Major League Soccer.
“I enjoyed my time here but I’m over there now and I’m happy to be over there,” he said.
“I started to train with them, I had two months off and I’m a bit off the pace right now, and you know how Arsenal play sometimes.”
“I trained with the squad before the game that they played the other day against Ipswich and it’s quick, pretty quick, so no that’s not the plan (to join Arsenal on loan).”
Henry also offered advice and support to Fabregas, who had critics when Arsenal went through a bad patch earlier in the season.
“People are always going to have a go at Cesc, rightly so or not. He’s an amazing player, he won the World Cup, he won the European Championship, he’s the talisman of the club, he’s the club captain,” he said.
“The only thing I will tell him is to not listen, I’ve been through that and there’s nothing you can do about it and that’s the way the game is.”
“If Arsenal go on and win the title they will say he had an amazing season, and nobody will remember what happened at the beginning of the season.”
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Two of Henry’s clubs will face off in the Round of 16 in the Champions League when Arsenal take on current La Liga champions Barcelona and the striker rates the London side’s chances.
“I think (they are) probably the two best teams in terms of football, in the way the game should be played. I think for the neutral it’s going to be an amazing game,” he said.
“For me I don’t know, I’m an Arsenal fan and I have a lot of friends also at Barcelona so it’s going to be a tricky one, but as I said its going to be a very difficult game, but if a team can beat Barcelona then it’s Arsenal.”
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has said that he has not yet decided whether Alexandre Lacazette will face CKSA Moscow in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Lacazette made his return from a knee injury in Sunday’s Premier League clash against Stoke City, and netted a late penalty for the Gunners in their 3-0 success.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is ineligible to represent Arsenal in the Europa League this season, which could open the door for Lacazette to start against CSKA Moscow.
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Wenger, however, has admitted that he is still unsure whether he will select the France international, who is said to be on £120,000 a week at Arsenal, from the start against the Russian giants.
Wenger told reporters, as identified by Arsenal’s official website:
“I don’t know. I will have to wait a little bit before making that decision.”
Arsenal are currently 13 points off the top four in the Premier League table, and therefore almost certainly need to win the Europa League this season to secure Champions League football for the 2018-19 campaign.
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The Gunners, whose supporters have recently given Danny Welbeck a rocket or two on social media, have won their last four matches in all competitions following four straight defeats between February 22 and March 4.
Despite finding themselves drawn against Ligue 1 underdogs AS Monaco in the last sixteen of the Champions League this season – perhaps the kindest tie possible out of the remaining teams left in the tournament – the Gunners somehow go into the second leg desperately clinging onto their European survival.
The Emirates Stadium faithful were certainly not expecting their side to win the entire competition hands down this season, as with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich still going about their business in full force, such a grand ambition would seem unlikely at best.
However, no one within the confines of north London ever expected Arsenal to finish the first match with a 3-1 deficit to the plucky French outfit either. Arsene Wenger’s determined team, which nevertheless includes some of the most high profile names in world football at the moment, simply failed to do themselves justice on the night and now seem to be on the verge of being unceremoniously chucked out of European club football’s most illustrious competition.
With Champions League judgement day fast approaching for the Gunners in their ever persistent attempts to restore their glory of old, should the Emirates faithful start preparing their excuses now for the seemingly inevitable heartache next week, or do Arsenal still in-fact remain possible contenders to prove everybody wrong and actually make it through to the next round?
On the surface it looks unlikely. For one reason or another, Arsenal always seem to shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to the Champions League with their latest debacle against Monaco acting as no exception. The French team certainly put in a spirited display but as Wenger’s forward line simply looked knackered the longer the game played out with his defence looking equally stretched and out of place at the back, the Gunners didn’t exactly put up the best of fights.
Wenger’s side now have to win by three clear goals to make it through to the next round, yet despite the backlash of the result labelling such a task as a seemingly impossible one, Arsenal nevertheless still have what it takes to perform an unquestionable miracle next week.
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For as good as the Gunners made them out to be in the first leg, Monaco remain a side that really should be getting turned over in a match like this. If they were in the Premier League, they would hardly be the most threatening proposition for Arsene Wenger to deal with and it’s this type of fearless mentality that his side need to take in to their next match.
They need to fight for the credibility that they have temporarily lost in this battle. Players were speaking to the press about winning the entire competition for their manager before their first match with Monaco had even kicked-off, which whilst proving admirable and commendable on the whole, turned them into a seemingly overconfident bunch in the run up to the ill-fated clash.
If the likes of Alexis Sanchez, and perhaps if he is deemed fit enough to play, Theo Walcott turn up on their very best game though, then the task of scoring three goals is made all the more do-able. With Danny Welbeck also in high spirits after his recent heroics in the FA Cup and the all-important Mesut Ozil affectively pulling the strings for his team-mates, Arsenal simply have to see this tie as a winnable one.
Yes – Wenger’s back four aren’t in the best of shapes at the moment, and yes, Monaco seemingly go into the next leg with one of the best defensive records recorded throughout the group stage, but this nonetheless remains a task that the Gunners can carry out. It’s just going to take some tenacity in front of goal that’s all.
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As Arsenal often fail to perform to their very best level week in, week out however, such psychological problems could invariably affect the team’s chances of progressing to the next round in the Champions League. It all depends on which of Wenger’s sides turn up on the night – the stylishly ruthless outfit that can seemingly put teams to the sword at will, or the nervous off-the-boil team that all too many times have let their manager down in recent years?
If the Gunners can effectively silence their critics for now however, and concentrate on just how winnable this draw appears to be on paper, Arsene Wenger has every honest reason to expect to be on the winning side of this dramatic match-up come the end of next week.
Brazilian legend Pele has warned Neymar to reject a move to the Premier League in favour of Spain.
The 21-year-old has been linked with both Manchester City and Chelsea in recent months, with the duo rumoured to be willing to spend big to secure his signature this summer.
As well as the English pair, clubs in Germany and Italy have also been linked with the Santos star, who has become one of the most sought after young players in world football.
City are reportedly leading the race for the Brazilian international, but Pele believes that a move to Barcelona would be the best option:
“The game is tougher in England, Italy and Germany, because the referees usually let play go on, Barcelona would be ideal for him.” He is quoted by The Mirror
“Santos need him and for that reason I don’t think he should leave but if he must go it should be to Barcelona.”
Despite the reputation he has gained in his homeland, Neymar has failed to produce the sort of form expected of him on the world stage.
He was criticised for his performance against England in a recent friendly, a game in which he made little impact.
Pele, who has previously compared Neymar to Lionel Messi, admitted that the youngster is still developing and may need time to reach his full potential:
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“He is an excellent player but he doesn’t have any experience outside Brazil.
“In every game he plays outside Brazil, he doesn’t do well. Everybody thinks Neymar can solve the national team’s problems, but he isn’t ready for that burden.”
The momentum swung on more than one occasion when Championship table-toppers Wolves visited in-form play-off chasers Middlesbrough on Good Friday.
After a closely fought opening half hour, two goals in five minutes from Helder Costa and Ivan Cavaleiro looked to have taken the game away from Tony Pulis’ side and Wolves went in 2-0 up at the break.
It should have been relatively plain sailing from there but the visiting players lost their heads after George Friend went unpunished when they felt the Englishman had brought down Costa when he was through on goal.
After that, Ruben Neves and Matt Doherty deservedly picked up second yellow cards, which left Nuno Santo’s side to play the final 19 minutes, plus stoppage time, with just nine men.
Despite their numerical advantage, Boro just couldn’t find the space to create the chances to get them back into the game and Patrick Bamford’s goal came too late to be anything more than a consolation.
Wolves fans absolutely loved their side’s battling 2-1 win and we’ve taken a closer look at the best of the reaction to a dramatic night as Santo’s men took another huge step towards the Premier League…
Despite the Mirror heavily linking Fabian Delph with a move away from Aston Villa in the January transfer window, the England international somewhat surprisingly stayed at the club and put pen to paper on a new and improved four-and-a-half year contract to keep him at Villa Park.
Although Delph showed the sort of loyalty that we don’t see to often with professional footballers these days, did the 25-year-old make the wrong call by staying at Villa? Not many players would shun the chance of joining a Liverpool or a Tottenham Hotspur at present, but that’s exactly what he did in January.
Instead, the box-to-box midfielder decided to stay in the Midlands and fight for Premier League survival. Since Delph signed his new contract at Villa Park, the Villans have lost all three subsequent league games, scoring just once in the process. They have dropped into the relegation zone, sacked Paul Lambert and appointed ex-Tottenham Hotspur interim manager Tim Sherwood – it’s all happening at Aston Villa. It’s fair to say that since the former Leeds man pledged his future at Villa Park, things haven’t exactly gone to plan.
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But in the wake of the managerial change at Villa, there certainly seems to be a renewed sense of optimism and hope surrounding the club. It was plain for all to see that Lambert just wasn’t the right man to take the Villans forward, and, in fact, they were going backwards at a worrying rate of knots.
Tim Sherwood will know it won’t be an easy task to keep Aston Villa in the Premier League, but he certainly talks a great game, and you know he’s sure to give 100% to the cause. The new Villa boss needs all of his senior players to now stand up and be counted – none more so than his stand-in skipper Delph – who has almost single-handedly dragged Villa out of the mire at times this season.
After picking up just one Premier League win in 11 games, they have dropped to 18th in the league table. The last time they tasted victory in the top flight was way back in early December when they saw off bottom-placed Leicester City 2-1 at Villa Park. Since then, they have only managed to score two goals, and have lost seven of those encounters.
Villa’s alarming slump makes you wonder whether Delph, who can undoubtedly play at one of the Premier League’s top clubs, may live to regret his loyal decision to stay at Villa Park. I suppose he’s loved at the club, and he would probably have been a small fish in a big pond elsewhere, which could have possibly swayed his decision to stay.
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It’s imperative for a club the size of Aston Villa that they not only survive the drop, but they kick on and start progressing going forward. And if one thing’s for sure, it’s that if Villa do stay up, you can guarantee that Fabian Delph would have had an awful lot to do with it – as Villa’s standout performer this season has become priceless to the club.