..::Football III::..

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'Schalke's Draxler perfect for Arsenal' - Pires

Robert Pires has backed Arsenal's pursuit of Julian Draxler, arguing that the Schalke starlet would fit in "perfectly" at the Emirates.

The Gunners have sent a team of officials to Germany in the hope of negotiating a deal for the 20-year-old attacking midfielder before the close of the January transfer window on Friday.

Former Arsenal ace Pires is hoping that Arsene Wenger gets his man as he feels that Draxler would be a fine addition to the Premier League leaders' line-up.

"Julian is a good player," the Frenchman told SPOX.com. "He's young and has a lot of potential for development.

"When I watch him play, I always think that he fits perfectly with Arsenal's style of football.

"I can see him playing well on the left-hand side or in attack. He could really strengthen the team."

Meanwhile, Pires admitted that he was touched by Wenger's recent statement that he sees similarities between the World Cup winner and current Arsenal star Mesut Ozil.

"It's a huge honour that I'm mentioned in the same breath as Mesut," the now-retired 40-year-old enthused.

"He plays for the German national team, he played for Real Madrid. As a playmaker, he's one of the best in the world."

Pires spent six years at Arsenal during his playing days, during which time he won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups.

 

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Mata: Manchester United can still win the title this year

Juan Mata believes Manchester United can still win the title this season despite sitting seventh in the Premier League table.

Mata completed a £37.1 million move from Chelsea to Old Trafford on Saturday and was unveiled by the reigning league champions on Monday.

Arsenal are currently 14 points ahead of United, but the Spain international thinks his new club has the character to take top spot.

"To be honest, what I like most about Manchester United is the character," he told reporters. "I think for other clubs to be in this position down in the league it would be very, very difficult for that club to come back and take first position. I think this club can do it.

"This club is used to fighting until the end, to get the results they want, to show character, this is the real image I have of Man United, to fight for wins, to fight for titles, to come back always from difficult moments."

The former Valencia man also commented on his former club Chelsea, describing his final six months at Stamford Bridge as difficult.He continued: "The last six months I didn't play as much as I wanted to but I respect Jose Mourinho, he is a top manager, I respect my team-mates.

"I tried my best in every game, every training, but when Man Utd came in it was a great option for me to carry on my career."

 

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Barclays Premier League 2014.01.28 Fixtures

Barclays Premier League 2014.01.28 Fixtures

Manchester United Vs Cardiff City

Norwich City Vs Newcastle United

Southampton Vs Arsenal

Swansea Vs Fulham

Crystal Palace Vs Hull

Liverpool Vs Everton

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Copa Del Rey 2014.01.28 Fixture

Copa Del Rey 2014.01.28 Fixture

Real Madrid Vs Espanyol​

 

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Newcastle and PSG agree deal in principle for Yohan Cabaye

The Magpies rejected a £14m bid from PSG on Sunday, but the French club's most recent offer is believed to be significantly higher.Speculation has been rife that France international Cabaye would be leaving St James' Park during this transfer window with Manchester United also believed to be interested in the player.

Cabaye's desire to play Champions League football - he had a taste at his former club Lille - is believed to have led Newcastle to decide that they should cash in on the Frenchman now.Earlier on Monday, Newcastle boss Alan Pardew admitted he was worried that he would lose the 28-year-old, who has scored seven goals in 20 appearances for United this season.

Asked if he was confident Cabaye would remain a Newcastle player after Friday's 11pm deadline, Pardew evoked the situation in 2011 when the club sold striker Andy Carroll to Liverpool for £35m late in the window.

"You are talking to someone who lost Andy Carroll with eight hours to go, so am I confident? No, I'm not confident and I don't think any team not in a Champions League position or fighting for a Champions League position could be," said Pardew.

"I don't want him (Cabaye) to go. We have not indicated for one moment here from the owner down to any of my staff that we want him to go, not one iota."Pardew added: "We know we have got a club interested in Cabaye, a very wealthy club and a powerful club, and we are conscious of that."We are doing our best to protect Newcastle."

"Listen, we are a club that unfortunately at the minute, is not in a Champions League position, so therefore players can turn around to us and say they want Champions League, as Luis Suarez did with Liverpool."He stayed, Suarez, and they have got themselves in a position for the Champions league, but they wouldn't be there without him.

"It's a Catch 22 situation: you need to keep your best players to get in there and likewise, they want to play in there, so you have got to give them some hope."That's the position we really need to get ourselves into this year, or definitely next year or the year beyond.

"We have got big players, we attract good players, but we are not in a Champions League position or are able to say at the minute, 'We could be Champions League, stay with us and get the football here'."We are just a little bit off it. Maybe if we had got a couple more results in January, I could turn around to players and say, 'Well look, say until the summer and we could be Champions League ourselves'.

"But it's probably difficult to say that with the other teams who have just kept winning, unfortunately."He has been a great player for this football club, and I think he has got better in this role that I have given him this year. He's playing number 10 for us and he's really taken to it.

"It's boosted his confidence and boosted his value as well, I think."Cabaye joined Newcastle from Lille in July 2011 and has made 93 appearances for the club, scoring 18 goals.He has 26 caps for France and represented them at the European Championship in Ukraine and Poland in 2012.

 

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Congratulations Manchester United!

Full Time

Manchester United 2 Vs 0 Cardiff City

Manchester United Goal(s)

Van Persie 6'
A.Young 59'

Congratulations Manchester United!
RVP is backYoung ge goal 1kath pattaMata th elata play kala

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Manchester United 2-0 Cardiff City: Van Persie & Young strike on Mata debut

The returning Robin van Persie overshadowed Juan Mata on his debut as Manchester United claimed a comfortable 2-0 victory over Cardif City.


Spain international Mata was given his first outing in a United shirt since completing his club-record £37.1 million deal from Premier League rivals Chelsea on Saturday, but it was Van Persie - making his first appearance since December 10 due to injury – who stole the show by notching the opener.

Mata played his part in a lively United performance, and he was afforded a standing ovation by the Old Trafford crowd as he was withdrawn in the closing stages, with Ashley Young's superb strike rounding off a pleasing night for boss David Moyes.Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who enjoyed an 11-year spell as a player at United, could not spoil the party against his former club - the Norwegian enduring an unhappy homecoming as he continues to search for his first Premier League victory in charge.

The home side controlled the tempo in the first half and deservedly moved ahead when Van Persie scored his fifth goal in his last six Premier League games with a close-range header.United continued to impress and Young added a second with a fierce strike just short of the hour mark, as the Red Devils surpassed 1,000 points at Old Trafford in the Premier League.

Moyes utilised Mata behind Van Persie, while Wayne Rooney was on the substitutes' bench after a five-match lay-off with a groin injury.As well as welcoming back Solskjaer, there was another familiar face for United fans in the Cardiff line-up, with former United striker Fraizer Campbell in their starting XI.

The home side were rewarded for a bright start with the opener after six minutes.
Antonio Valencia headed Young's teasing delivery against the crossbar and, although David Marshall saved Van Persie's initial follow-up, the Dutchman nodded home the rebound.

Mata was at the heart of all United's attacking play but, despite their solid start, it took until the 34th minute for the champions to fashion another chance of note when Patrice Evra's clever backheel found the lively Van Persie, who flashed an effort across goal from an acute angle.Cardiff could have punished the hosts when Craig Noone crossed from the right, only for his delivery to narrowly evade Campbell.

The visitors enjoyed a spell of pressure after the break and Declan John's cutback only just escaped the attentions of Campbell once again.United were rarely in danger, however, and Young made it 2-0 on 59 minutes when he received the ball on the left before cutting inside and skipping past two challenges to rifle into the far corner from 25 yards.

Rooney replaced Van Persie shortly afterwards - and he was soon among the action with a deflected effort sailing narrowly wide.Valencia then saw Marshall tip his effort onto the post as United piled on the pressure.

Mata had an effort deflected over before he was withdrawn with time running out, receiving the adulation of his new fans.Rooney then curled wide from 20 yards in injury time but United had done enough.

 

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Southampton 2-2 Arsenal: Lallana leveller denies 10-man Gunners

Ten-man Arsenal missed the chance to go four points clear at the top of the Premier League after an entertaining 2-2 draw at Southampton.

Arsene Wenger's side were comfortably second best in the first half and were lucky to be only 1-0 down to Jose Fonte's header - the defender in action for the first time since reportedly being involved in the training-ground incident that led to the suspension of striker Daniel Pablo Osvaldo.

Leaders Arsenal hit back in style after the break, Olivier Giroud levelling matters in the 48th minute with a backheel before Santi Cazorla put Wenger's men ahead four minutes later with an angled drive.
That lead did not last long, however, as Adam Lallana converted Jay Rodriguez's pass for the third goal in six frantic second-half minutes.

Mathieu Flamini was shown a straight red card 10 minutes from time for a two-footed lunge on Morgan Schneiderlin, but Southampton failed to make their numerical advantage count in the final moments as Mauricio Pochettino's team remain in ninth place, unbeaten in five matches in all competitions.

The hosts made two changes from their previous Premier League outing – a 2-2 draw at Sunderland - as Maya Yoshida replaced the injured Dejan Lovren (ankle) and 18-year-old striker Sam Gallagher made his full debut in place of Rickie Lambert (hamstring) after scoring in the FA Cup win over Yeovil Town on Saturday.

For Arsenal, there was just one alteration from their last league game against Fulham, Mikel Arteta returning from a calf injury to replace Jack Wilshere.

Southampton were dominant in the early stages, Gallagher testing Wojciech Szczesny with a stinging drive in the eighth minute.

And Mauricio Pochettino's men were rewarded for their bright start by taking a deserved lead in the 21st minute, Fonte meeting Luke Shaw's deep cross at the far post and squeezing his header in between Szczesny and the upright.

Gallagher then missed a golden chance to double the advantage in the 37th minute after Nacho Monreal's clearance cannoned off Steven Davis into his path, only for the striker to poke wide of the target from six yards with the goal gaping.

For all Southampton's pressure, Arsenal almost found an equaliser a minute before the break when Artur Boruc reacted well to keep out Laurent Koscielny's close-range effort.

Whatever words of wisdom Wenger shared with his players at half-time worked a treat as Arsenal scored two goals in the opening seven minutes after the restart.

First, Giroud deftly converted Bacary Sagna's driven cross into the net before Mesut Ozil set up Cazorla, who fired into the bottom-left hand corner from the edge of the box for his fourth goal in the last three matches.

Southampton were level within two minutes, though, Lallana sweeping the ball home from Rodriguez's cutback after the latter's run down the left.

Ozil came close to giving Arsenal the lead once more in the 64th minute, Fonte deflecting the German's shot up and over the stranded Boruc onto the top of the crossbar before Monreal blasted high and wide eight minutes later.

In the final 10 minutes, Flamini saw red before Szczesny denied both Shaw and Fonte as Southampton pressed for a winner to no avail.

 

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Real Madrid 1-0 Espanyol (agg. 2-0): Jese fires Blancos into Copa del Rey semi-finals

Real Madrid strolled into the Copa del Rey semi-finals with a comfortable 1-0 win over Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.

Jese Rodriguez scored the only goal of the game with a swift and solitary counterattack, lashing in at the near post after just seven minutes.

The visitors slowly edged their way back into the game but their attacking was blunt and they had goalkeeper Kiko Casilla to thank for keeping Cristiano Ronaldo out on a number of occasions.

The result - which extended Real Madrid's club record of competitive victories without conceding to eight games - secured a 2-0 win on aggregate and means that Carlo Ancelotti's men will face the winner of Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid in the last four.

The Italian coach made seven changes to the side which beat Granada 2-0 at the weekend, while Espanyol counterpart Javier Aguirre chose to make just the one alteration to his XI.

The hosts began with their foot firmly on the throttle and made the visitors pay for sloppy concentration. Xabi Alonso's diagonal, lofted through-ball caught Joan Capdevila unawares and Jese controlled with his chest before slamming in at the near post past a poorly-positioned Casilla.

The Blancos continued to surge forwards and Ronaldo was a constant menace in and around the 18-yard box. Isco failed to connect to the Ballon d'Or winner's fizzed ball across the box from the left as Espanyol struggled to cope with relentless pace.

Two saves in particular were key to keeping the hosts just 1-0 ahead midway through the first half, with Casilla's casual catch from a dangerous chip out the air from Ronaldo in sharp contrast to his extravagant reflex leap to deny Angel di Maria a deflected goal.

Sergio Garcia and on-loan attacker Pizzi caused minor problems for the sturdy Blancos backline as the visitors rallied in the last 10 minutes of the opening period, but they never truly threatened Iker Casillas between the Bernabeu sticks.

The second half was a more tepid affair, as the Periquitos failed to find the spark that could have rejuvenated their quarter-final hopes.

Ronaldo continued to be tormented in front of goal, openly laughing with disbelief when his close-range strike skimmed off Casilla's side and flew inches over the crossbar.

The most notable moment of the second half came when Victor Sanchez was given his third red card of the season. Though the actual sending off was harsh - a clearly accidental handball in a 50-50 with Alonso - he had been putting strong tackles all match and it was not a surprise to see him walk.

Ronaldo lashed into the side-netting, probably out of frustration, as the game dragged on, with Real Madrid ultimately happy to settle for a 1-0 win on the night over their Barcelona-based opponents.

 

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Liverpool 4-0 Everton: Sturridge and Suarez star for rampant Reds

Daniel Sturridge scored a quickfire double as Liverpool claimed Merseyside bragging rights with a 4-0 thrashing of Everton at Anfield.

In a thoroughly one-sided local derby, home captain Steven Gerrard set the ball rolling when he headed his sixth goal of the season before in-form Sturridge struck twice in as many first-half minutes to take his tally to six goals in his last five games and 16 for the season.

Everton also lost Romelu Lukaku to injury in the first half, and they endured more misery after the break when Luis Suarez got in on the act with his 23rd goal of the campaign.

However, it was Sturridge who stole the show - with the England forward spurning a golden opportunity for his hat-trick in the second half as he blazed a penalty into the Kop.

Everton had no answer to their city rivals and never looked like securing their first win at Anfield since 1999 as Liverpool moved four points ahead of them to enhance their chances of securing at top-four finish in the Premier League.

The return of Everton trio Ross Barkley, Steven Pienaar and Antolin Alcaraz softened the blow of losing Bryan Oviedo (double leg fracture) for the visitors, while Phil Jagielka was also passed fit after picking up a knock at Stevenage on Saturday.

Jon Flanagan was preferred to Martin Kelly in the Liverpool starting line-up, with Simon Mignolet and Raheem Sterling also returning.

Barkley looked like he had never been away when he rounded off a swift break with a venomous left-footed strike from outside the penalty area that flashed just over the crossbar early on.

Liverpool soon got the upper hand, though, as Tim Howard denied Suarez and Jordan Henderson before Sterling raced onto Sturridge's incisive throughball but failed to beat the United States goalkeeper 17 minutes in.

It came as no surprise when Gerrard rose highest to head in Suarez's corner four minutes later to give Liverpool a deserved lead, and to make matters worse for the visitors, Lukaku suffered an injury which ended his participation in the game.

Everton were then stunned by two goals in as many minutes from Sturridge, as first the England striker raced onto Philippe Coutinho's fine pass and finished clinically with his left foot in the 34th minute.

Roberto Martinez's side were caught out again almost instantly by Kolo Toure's ball over the top and Sturridge made them pay by beating Howard with a sublime lob.

Leon Osman replaced Pienaar at the break and took just three minutes to make an impact as he forced Mignolet into a reflex save.

Liverpool looked dangerous every time they came forward and Suarez put them out of sight after 50 minutes when he raced clear and calmly placed the ball beyond Howard.

Sturridge had a golden opportunity to complete his hat-trick three minutes later, but he put a penalty into the Kop after Howard had upended Sterling in the area.

Everton showed some spirit and Barkley forced a save out of Mignolet late on, before Sturridge wasted another great chance when he tried to be too clever after Coutinho had played him through on goal.

 

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Real Madrid hotshot Jese happy to impress with Bale sidelined

Jese Rodriguez hopes he is catching Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti's eye after turning in another impressive performance in Gareth Bale's absence on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old scored the only goal of the game as the Blancos defeated Espanyol in their Copa del Rey quarter-final, second-leg meeting at the Santiago Bernabeu, thereby sealing a 2-0 aggregate win that sets up a last-four meeting with either Athletic Bilbao or Atletico Madrid.

With a Liga trip to Athletic Bilbao to come on Sunday, though, Jese freely admits that is trying to make the most of his chances to shine while Bale is out of action.

"I try to take the game-time that is given to me by the boss and that's it," the forward told reporters, after Carlo Ancelotti confirmed the Spain international could start in place of Bale this weekend at San Mames.

"Bale is a great player. He's a great professional and we all have confidence in him. As I say, it is for the head coach to choose if Bale plays. I have to take my opportunities."

Jese, who has scored four goals so far this season for the capital-based club, says he has set himself a double-figure goal target before the end of the current campaign.

"I am trying to put in 10 goals this season," he added. "I know I have to work, but I'm not expecting anything more or less.

"I've carefully worked in training but I know how things can go in football. At the moment, it's going well for me, though."

 

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Tottenham can exploit Manchester City's weaknesses, says Sherwood

Tottenham coach Tim Sherwood is confident of denting Manchester City's incredible goalscoring form when they meet on Wednesday by taking the game to the Premier League's most prolific side.

When the two sides met at the Etihad Stadium in November, Manuel Pellegrini's men ran out 6-0 winners, a result that signalled the beginning of the end for former Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas.

However, Sherwood has got a plan to stop City adding to their 63 league goals so far this season, telling his troops that attack is the best form of defence.

He told reporters: "We can't worry about them, we have to be responsible to make sure we're concentrated and defend very well at all times.

"But I think we also need to see if there's anything we can do to affect them. And there is. There will be weaknesses in their play and hopefully we can try and exploit some of them.

"If you don't stem the flow, they can be home and dry very quickly. We can't afford a capitulation like we saw at the Etihad.

"Their biggest strength, Man City, is when they attack. So let's hope that we can try and make them defend as much as possible."

Sherwood was also keen to stress Lewis Holtby and Etienne Capoue would be staying at White Hart Lane, and were both pushing for starting roles, despite respective January links to Schalke and Napoli.

"I'm happy with the squad we've got," he added. "I do trust this group of players to take us to where we need to be.

"I like Lewis, he's a good lad [and is] one of the best trainers we have. [It's the] same with Etienne, he's a good lad and a good trainer. He's not given me a moment's problem and I don't expect him to be a problem.

"I'm getting to know Etienne now as well. So he's at the forefront of my mind at the moment."

 

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Martinez fears long lay-off for Everton loanee Lukaku

Everton have suffered another injury blow after Romelu Lukaku suffered suspected ankle ligament damage in Tuesday's Merseyside derby.

The on-loan Chelsea striker reportedly left Anfield with his ankle in a cast after colliding with team-mate Gareth Barry as Steven Gerrard headed the opening goal in a 4-0 victory for Liverpool.

Everton lost left-back Bryan Oviedo to a double fracture of his left leg in the FA Cup win at Stevenage on Saturday and boss Roberto Martinez fears Lukaku also looks set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

"It does not look good for Romelu Lukaku, he picked up a bad injury. It was that type of night when everything went against us," the Spaniard told reporters.

Daniel Sturridge scored two goals in as many first-half minutes after Gerrard had opened the scoring.

Luis Suarez added a fourth goal early in the second half and Sturridge wasted a chance to complete his hat-trick when missed a penalty after Tim Howard had upended Raheem Sterling.

Martinez talked up Everton's chances of securing their first win at Anfield since 1999 in the build-up to the game, but he was left puzzled by his side's display as they were put to the sword by their city rivals.

"For different reasons we could not maintain the normal intensity, we became exposed and were naive. We gave the ball away far too easily," he added.

"We wanted to perform so well for the fans and we have been terrific all season. We need to bounce back straight away and perform in the manner we did before."

 

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Wenger hints at late Arsenal arrival amid Draxler links

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has hinted that he is still hopeful of completing a last-minute deal in the January transfer window.

As exclusively revealed by Goal on January 11, the Gunners have been weighing up a big-money move for Schalke star Julian Draxler.

When asked by reporters whether to expect any arrivals before the transfer deadline, the Frenchman replied: "I hope we have something to tell you."

The 64-year-old was speaking after the club's 2-2 draw with Southampton, a result that could see them slip to third place in the Premier League should both Manchester City and Chelsea win on Wednesday.

However, Wenger was still satisfied with a point in a hard-fought game which, at one stage, they looked like they could lose.

"They have difficult games as well and we took at least a point," he reasoned. "It's not enough but considering the situation at half-time [Arsenal were 1-0 down], we have to be content with it.

"I don't want to look for any excuses: they played at higher pace. In the first half we didn't play well. In the second half it was a very good football game. We've shown character and resilience."

There was more bad news for the north London club as returning midfielder Aaron Ramsey suffered a fresh thigh injury that could keep him out for another six weeks.

 

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Jese could take Bale's place against Athletic, admits Ancelotti

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti plans on playing Jese Rodriguez in Gareth Bale's position at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday if the €100 million man fails to recover from his injury in time.

The Wales international missed the Blancos' 1-0 win over Espanyol on Tuesday - which saw the capital club progress to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey 2-0 on aggregate - after picking up a knock against Granada on Saturday.

Jese continued his fine form by scoring the one and only goal of the game at the Santiago Bernabeu and Ancelotti says the 20-year-old could keep his place in the side to face Athletic.

"If Bale is fit, he will play at San Mames, and if not, then Jese can play there," the Italian told reporters after the game. "He causes a lot of danger to the opposition.

"It will be a very difficult game. Athletic are playing well at the moment and San Mames is never easy. For us, though, it comes at a good time. We hope to win."

Real Madrid head into the Liga clash on the back of eight consecutive wins without conceding a single goal, after shutting out Espanyol at the Bernabeu.

Ancelotti mused: "We started well and controlled the entire game. Everyone had a good game, including Fabio Coentrao. Asier Illarramendi is starting to play with more confidence in his position, too.

"I'm happy. We're going to continue with this system as it gives everybody confidence.

"I think the record [also] gives us confidence. There is a defensive balance with us as the whole team works hard to get the ball back."

 

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Negredo underlines importance of Pellegrini

Alvaro Negredo has underlined Manuel Pellegrini's importance at Manchester City and thanked him for the impact he has had on his career.

The Spain international knows the former Real Madrid coach well from previous spells at the Santiago Bernabeu, with the Chilean having recommended the forward to Sevilla, where the now 28-year-old flourished.

Negredo has been in fine form during his debut spell in England, scoring 23 goals in all competitions, and the striker believes Pellegrini's approach his aided his progression as a footballer.

"He's one of the reasons I'm here at City. It was never tough for me meeting up again," Negredo told The Times.

"He doesn't hide from talking to you face to face and that's what a dressing room wants from a manager.

"Madrid had exercised the option to buy me back from Almeria [in 2009], but it coincided with all these players arriving.

"Suddenly, I had Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gonzalo Higuain, Raul, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in front of me.

"But I was thankful to Manuel right from the word go because he didn't keep anything from me. He didn't make me go through the entire pre-season in the hope that I might be featuring that season.

"He told me straight and just said, 'Look, you're not going to be in my plans.' He doesn't hide from talking to you face-to-face, and that's what a dressing room wants from a manager. They want to know clear ideas and be spoken to plainly."

Pellegrini recently revealed his aim of winning all four available trophies to City this season - the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Capital One Cup - and Negredo is just as confident that they can pull it off.

"The quadruple is possible simply because we're still involved in all four competitions," he added.

"To be totally honest, it would be tough to imagine both myself and the team would be scoring quite as many goals as we have [110 so far].

"But I think there is more to come. As an individual and a team, we're not going to settle for what we've achieved so far."

 

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Arsenal rocked as Ramsey ruled out for further four to six weeks

Arsenal ace Aaron Ramsey is set to be out for another six weeks after sustaining a tendon injury.

The midfielder returned to full training on Monday following a five-week absence with a thigh problem and had been earmarked to make his return to the Gunners squad for their trip to Southampton, where they drew 2-2 on Tuesday night.

"Ramsey is out for longer than we expected," Wenger told reporters afterwards. "He had a little setback in training, it's the same muscle."

But Ramsey has sustained a fresh tendon injury rather than a setback with the previous complaint, and he is expected to be sidelined for between four and six weeks.

It is a huge blow to Arsenal hopes of winning the Premier League title and progressing beyond the last-16 stage of the Champions League. They face Bayern Munich in the first leg on February 19 to end a demanding 11-day run of fixtures in which they place Manchester United and Liverpool twice.

Ramsey has been out of action since suffering a grade-two thigh strain in Arsenal’s Boxing Day win over West Ham.

He had been Arsenal’s outstanding contributor in the first half of the season, scoring 13 goals in 26 Premier League and Champions League matches.

 

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Get Well Soon For Lukaku & Ramsey!​

 

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Fulham close in on €14m Mitroglou signing

Fulham are on the verge of completing the £11.5 million (€14m) signing of Olympiakos striker Kostas Mitroglou.

The Cottagers are currently struggling at the wrong end of the Premier League table and are prepared to equal the club-record fee they paid for Steve Marlet back in 2001.

The 25-year-old Greece international is set to sign a lucrative contract that will see him earn £2m (€2.4m) over the course of a four-year deal.

Mitroglou currently leads the scoring charts in Greece with 14 goals and is enjoying an impressive Champions League campaign, scoring a hat-trick against Anderlecht as Olympiakos qualified from the group stages to set up a last-16 tie against Manchester United.

Fulham appear to have won the battle to maintain the services of Tottenham target Dimitar Berbatov but possess one of the weakest attacks in the division and are in need of reinforcements, particularly after allowing Bryan Ruiz to leave for PSV earlier this month.

At the back, Rene Meulensteen has been vocal in his desire to sign both West Ham starlet Ravel Morrison and Swansea left-back Neil Taylor.

The Hammers have valued the former Manchester United midfielder at £10m (€12), with Fulham expected to launch another bid before Friday's deadline.

Meulensteen has confirmed a bid has been submitted for Taylor, but as of Friday there have been no further official updates.

 

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Neymar's father: Barcelona paid €10m in 2011

Neymar's father has defended the €10 million downpayment that Barcelona gave his company three years ago to get preferential treatment in bidding for the forward.

The Blaugrana beat Real Madrid to the signature of the Brazil international, now 21, whose summer transfer caused chaos at Camp Nou last week, with Sandro Rosell resigning as club president amid a judicial investigation into the legitimacy of the deal.

On Tuesday, Neymar Sr admitted that Barca gave him €10m in 2011. This was a portion of the €40m they paid him overall to ensure the Catalans would receive a first option in any transfer, but he insisted he had not broken the law with the secret agreement. The loan payment would have been repaid if Neymar had not joined Barcelona, he claimed.

"Barcelona paid me €10m [in 2011]," Neymar Sr told ESPN Brasil, after giving a press conference to reporters in Brazil.

"It's not a crime. They didn't pay the money to Neymar, they paid it to my company [N&N, owned by Neymar's parents].

"What did I do with the €10m? I put it towards insurance so that if anything happened to Neymar, if he got injured, for example, I could afford to pay the €40m."

In his statement to reporters, Neymar Sr claimed he could have received as much as €120m for the Selecao star if he had waited until after this summer's World Cup to send his son to Europe.

"He could have left [Santos] for nothing in 2014 and we [N&N] could have got €120m alone because there were clubs willing to pay that much.

"But I wanted to give Neymar peace to play at the World Cup this year, free from transfer speculation. We're making everything clear about his contract now because of that, too."

Neymar's father also claimed that it is a gamble to keep players in Brazil too long, as they may lose their appeal to big-spending European sides, citing Ganso's fortunes as a case in point.

The former Santos star had been tipped to make a big-money move to Europe in 2011, with sides such as AC Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid and several top Premier League clubs holding an interest in the playmaker until he suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury.

"One example is Ganso," Neymar Sr said. "He's one of the best players in the world. He grew up with my son. But they had different stories.

"Today Ganso is at a big club [Sao Paulo], but he's not in Europe and he missed the chance to be financially fulfilled.

"Can you imagine if the same thing had happened to Neymar? We'd lose €40 million.

"The horse passed Ganso by, as he got injured and missed his chance. Today, he is questioned."