Arsene Wenger has signed a new two-year contract at Arsenal, ending months of speculation over his future.
The Arsenal manager has already been in charge for almost 21 years and is now set to continue in the role until at least 2019.
Wenger s reign at the club has produced significant highs and lows, including the Invincibles season in 2003-04 and their failure to finish in the top four for the first time since the Frenchman took charge in the campaign just finished.
With the help of Opta, we look at some of the best facts from Wenger s reign to date:
1,175 – Wenger has taken charge of 1,175 matches as Arsenal manager since arriving in 1996.
790 – Of those, 790 have been in the Premier League, just 20 short of Alex Ferguson s record (810)�…
The Premier League elite are playing for prizes, along with Champions League and Europa League places, and at the foot of the table there may still be dreams of a great escape.
Reality brings its rewards and regrets, and managers across England, from Pep Guardiola to Big Sam Allardyce are hoping to end the season on a high note.
For fantasy football managers, the same applies. This is the run-in and the time when marginal gains could count for so much in your own rivalries and leagues come the season s end. One masterstroke signing could make a world of difference and earn those bragging rights.
With that in mind, here is a look at some potentially shrewd picks for the weekend ahead, powered by Opta data.
EDOUARD MENDY
Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy ha…
Verdict: Both teams to score – yes
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
Barcelona and Real Madrid prepare to square off in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Wednesday night which marks first of three El Clasico encounters we are in for in less than a month’s time.
Barcelona
Having won five Copa del Rey trophies on the trot, Barcelona head into the Wednesday’s duel against Real Madrid looking to get one step closer to continuing their dominance in the competition.
Ernesto Valverde’s men did not exactly go through a straightforward path towards this year’s semifinal. Having gone past Cultural Leonesa, Levante and Sevilla, Barcelona were seen losing their away games in last two rounds and were forced to turn things around on the home gr…
Liverpool and Chelsea have both enjoyed flying starts to the Premier League season, but something will have to give when they meet at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The Reds have won all six of their opening top-flight games the first time they have done so in the Premier League era and are sitting pretty in top spot going into the weekend.
But Chelsea have been similarly impressive, dropping points for the first time in a frustrating 0-0 draw at London rivals West Ham in their last match.
Manchester City split the two sides in the embryonic table but there are at least signs that 2018-19 will have an exciting title race involving at least a couple of teams, rather than the record-smashing procession Pep Guardiola oversaw last term.
Eden Hazard s stunning …
Lautaro Martinez remains indispensable to Inter, while the Nerazzurri are also continuing discussions with Romelu Lukaku to see if there is a chance to strike a deal.
That is the message from Inter chief Giuseppe Marotta, who spoke to Radio Anch Io on Monday to provide an update on their transfer business.
Lukaku will reportedly return to Inter on loan less than a year after leaving Italy to re-sign for Chelsea in a club-record £97.5million transfer, having only scored eight goals in 26 Premier League appearances.
The striker fired Inter to Scudetto glory in 2020-21 and across his two-year spell, no Nerazzurri player scored more goals (64), provided more assists (17) or created as many chances (133) in all competitions.
Paulo Dybala also seems set to …
Lyon sporting director Juninho said Pep Guardiola likes Houssem Aouar amid links to Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
Aouar has reportedly emerged as a target for Guardiola s Premier League giants City and Ligue 1 champions PSG following his exploits for Lyon.
The 22-year-old French midfielder – also linked to the likes of Barcelona, Chelsea and Arsenal – played a key role in Lyon s memorable run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019-20.
Asked about Aouar s future and interest from PSG and City, Juninho told RMC Sport: I think that has been happening directly with agents. We were not directly contacted. Maybe Vincent Ponsot [director general] was contacted by Manchester City, I am not sure.
It is like that with these two teams, two enorm…
Lionel Messi has cast doubt on Argentina s chances of winning this year s Copa America in Brazil.
Messi has twice reached the final of the competition, in 2015 and the Centenario edition in 2016, but on both occasions they were beaten by Chile on penalties.
Argentina have contested four of the past five finals but have lost all of them, with their last continental triumph coming back in 1993 in Ecuador.
And Messi is not convinced they will be challenging in 2019, as he believes the squad is undergoing a transition.
We go with the same excitement as always, but the reality is that Argentina is going through a process of change, he told TyC Sports.
It s the first official competition for most of them, but it doesn t mean Argentina are not going lo…
Pep Guardiola warned Manchester City must be careful against Watford as the Spaniard hailed the career of Hornets manager Claudio Ranieri.
City are a point behind leaders Chelsea after 14 games following the 2-1 defeat of Aston Villa on Wednesday, while Thomas Tuchel s side edged past the champions next opponents.
Ranieri s side crushed Manchester United 4-1 at home in late November, though, and Guardiola insisted his side must be cautious against the strugglers despite winning their last six games across all competitions.
I know what [Watford] want to do, and what they do, they do really well, Guardiola told reporters at Friday s pre-match news conference.
Against United they played well, against Chelsea they did a really good game. They are close…
Raheem Sterling scored twice as Manchester City won 3-1 at Crystal Palace to move back above Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table.
With the Reds at home to Chelsea later on Sunday, City put pressure on their title rivals despite Fernandinho, who missed December s loss to the Eagles, being absent with an injury that may rule him out of next week s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Tottenham.
City led in the 15th minute when Sterling found the top corner and he seemingly made sure of all three points after the interval by converting Leroy Sane s driven cross, although Sergio Aguero going off with an apparent injury will have concerned Pep Guardiola.
And the City boss was further frustrated as his side lost their clean sheet to Luka Mili…
Ronaldo the one to watch in Champions League final / Image via ronaldo7.net
As the highly exciting football campaign draws to a close it is fair to deduce that Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will be a highlight to the club season before we all turn our attention to Euro 2016 which is just around corner.
The upcoming affair in Milano will see the replay of the 2014 final match in once again an all-Madrid showpiece event that serves as a confirmation of the Spanish dominance in the continental football.
Zinedine Zidane and Diego Simeone will be vying for what will be their first ever Champions League trophy as managers, but another man will be under the spotlight in Saturday’s clash.
Los Blancos key man Cristiano Ronaldo h…