Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta stood in unison with Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola in condemning the fixture schedule.
Guardiola said it was “unacceptable” that his side had to play an FA Cup semi-final less than 72 hours after being in action in the Champions League on Wednesday night as they beat Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday tea-time.
The Gunners’ plight was arguably worse as they were also in Europe on Wednesday night but had to travel back from Germany on Thursday following their Champions League exit to Bayern Munich.
A quick look at where s latest win leaves the Premier League top three contest
— Premier League (@premierleague)
They made light of that quick turnaround as they beat Wolves 2-0 on Saturday to go back to the t…
Gustavo Alfaro says Enner Valencia will be fit to face Netherlands after the Ecuador captain inspired a 2-0 win over Qatar in the first game of the World Cup.
Valencia became Ecuador s record World Cup goalscorer with five courtesy of a first-half double in a one-sided Group A opener against the hosts on Sunday.
The striker had an early goal contentiously disallowed by the VAR at Al Bayt Stadium before opening the scoring from the penalty spot after he was brought down by Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb.
Ecuador s leading all-time goalscorer found the back of the net again with a powerful header as La Tri dominated the game in Al Khor.
There was concern when Valencia sustained a knee injury late in the first half and although he was able to continue, the s…
Twente striker Luuk de Jong admits he is flattered by the reported interest from Portuguese giants Benfica.
The Dutch international is hoping to leave the Tukkers for greener pastures in the summer transfer window, and it appears the Eredivisie side will not stand in his way.
The 21-year-old was recently linked to Benfica among other clubs and he now confirms he is interested in joining the Eagles.
“Benfica are a good club, have good players, play good football and that could be a good step in my career,” De Jong told Portuguese station Antena 1.
“I can learn a lot there. We’ll see what happens.”
The Eagles see De Jong as a perfect replacement for Oscar Cardozo, who looks set to leave the club this summer.
The player, who starte…
Paris Saint-Germain can wrap up the Ligue 1 title this weekend, and with the Champions League and Coupe de France still to play for, they are in the best possible form, according to manager Luis Enrique.
PSG host relegation battling Le Havre on Saturday, and a win will secure the league title with three games still to play, leaving them to concentrate on a Champions League semi-final with Borussia Dortmund and the cup final against Lyon.
I think we are heading into the final phase of the season in great form, said Luis Enrique.
I wouldn t have imagined this scenario going as positively as this, but what happens in the future is what happens. I would say we are in fantastic form in every way. We have almost every player available. Our supporters are very happy.<…
Paris Saint-Germain have their sights set on the first treble in the club s history when they take on Auxerre in the Coupe de France final.
Laurent Blanc s side lifted the Coupe de la Ligue trophy back in April with a 4-0 thrashing of Bastia, before a third straight Ligue 1 title followed earlier this month.
They will start as strong favourites for Saturday s showpiece at the Stade de France against an Auxerre side who finished ninth in Ligue 2 this season.
The two teams come into the game in starkly contrasting form, PSG having won their last nine Ligue 1 matches, while Auxerre are without a victory in their past seven.
PSG completed a league and Coupe de la Ligue double last season, but goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez is relishing the opportunity for the…
Dinamo Moscow have appointed Dan Petrescu as their new coach, the Russian Premier League side confirmed on Saturday.
The former Chelsea star has inked a three-year deal with his new club.
The Russian outfit were in the market for a new coach following the departure of Sergei Silkin earlier this month and they have now found their man in the form of Petrescu.
The 44-year-old resigned from his post at Kuban Krasnodar on Tuesday and has not wasted any time to find himself a new challenge.
Petrescu started his coaching career with Rapid Bucharest and was also in charge of Wisla Krakow and Unirea Urziceni before taking the reins at Kuban in December 2009.
Dinamo sit bottom of the Russian Premier League table with four losses from as many games.
Zenit star Axel Witsel has cast doubt on his chances of joining Juventus in the next transfer window.
Belgium international Witsel had looked poised to join the Serie A champions in August but the move ultimately fell through after Zenit head coach Mircea Lucescu refused to sanction a sale.
Witsel stated last month that he fully expected to move to Turin in 2017, but he has suggested that the five-time Russian champions could veto his departure in January.
For now, I m here and I m playing for Zenit. I don t know if I ll leave the club in January, the 27-year-old told TASS.
It s not my decision, but Zenit s.
In the summer I could have gone to Juventus but coach Lucescu didn t authorise the transfer. It wasn t a good feeling but I went back to…
Zenit have announced that midfielder Axel Witsel has joined Chinese side Tianjin Quanjian.
The Belgium international said this week that he had received a lucrative proposal from the Chinese Super League that was too good for him and his family to turn down.
The Russian giants have since confirmed that Witsel will join newly promoted Tianjin, coached by former Italy star Fabio Cannavaro.
FC Zenit and Tianjin Quanjian have agreed a deal for the Belgian midfielder s move away from St. Petersburg, Zenit said via their official website.
Axel Witsel joined the blue-white-sky blues in September 2012 and spent five seasons in St. Petersburg. During this time Axel played 180 matches, scored 22 goals and made 13 assists.
While at Zenit, Axel won the Rus…
Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has been in good form this season
Crystal Palace and Ivory Coast winger Wilfried Zaha has been one of the biggest enigmas of English football in recent years. He made a bright start to his career at Palace and earned a big move to Manchester United in 2013.
The winger made just two Premier League appearances for the Red Devils, before re-joining Palace on loan and also spending a season on loan at Cardiff.
In 2015 the winger returned to Palace on a permanent basis after being considered a flop at United.
Zaha has been more successful back with the Eagles. This season he has been particularly impressive with a new-found consistency.
Finally fulfilling his potential
The 24-year-old has always had talent a…
Tottenham moved back to within four points of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League as they earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over a Crystal Palace side that had seen off a number of their top-six rivals.
Sam Allardyce s Palace have beaten Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool since the start of April, but came up just short against in-form Spurs as Christian Eriksen s 78th-minute goal secured an eighth straight league victory.
With league leaders Chelsea winning against Southampton on Tuesday, Tottenham could afford no hangover from their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Antonio Conte s men, although, for long periods, a winner looked unlikely at Selhurst Park.
Despite a second-half injury to Mamadou Sakho, Palace s defensive blockade stood firm until Eriksen s blast tore up…