Looking for Soccer News?

David Seaman admits that Arsenal “can’t really get any worse”, but he does feel that Mikel Arteta needs to be backed in the transfer market as he continues to work with a squad inherited from Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery.

A highly-rated Spanish tactician has started to put his own stamp on things at Emirates Stadium, with the likes of Willian, Gabriel Magalhaes and Thomas Partey snapped up over the summer.

He has, however, seen too many senior stars underperform this season, leading to the Gunners making their worst start to a Premier League campaign.

Victory proved elusive again in their most recent outing, as Gabriel saw red in a 1-1 draw at home to Southampton, but Seaman hopes positives can be taken from that contest that allow the north London giants to shake themselves out of a serious rut.

The legendary former Gunners goalkeeper told talkSPORT: “We all know how good Arsenal can be, especially the way they play with one-touch, two-touch – that is what they are known for, those hidden passes in between defenders.

“At the moment it isn’t happening. It’s a massive lack of confidence. Hopefully the [Southampton] result is going to push them on a little bit because, if I’m honest, it can’t really get any worse.”

With Arsenal toiling, pressure has been building steadily on Arteta.

Seaman can appreciate why some uncomfortable questions are being asked, but he wants the Gunners board to make more funds available for new recruits in upcoming transfer windows.

He added on the situation Arteta faces: “I see him on the sidelines, I see him speaking and I know people at the training ground and they say his coaching techniques are fantastic.

“The thing is, a lot of the team was under Arsene Wenger and it was under Unai Emery, so he hasn’t got his own team yet. But the club need to back him on that because we can all see that we still need players.

“We got Gabriel, okay he was stupid kicking the ball away and he looked uncomfortable all game [against Southampton], but then they have got Partey as well. You need to add to that. We need to get [Nicolas] Pepe back playing with confidence.”

Arsenal will go in search of a spark once again on Saturday when they take in a trip to Everton.

Andy Robertson is not expecting Liverpool to repeat their stroll towards the Premier League title 12 months on from steamrolling all before them in 2019-20.

The Reds had to be patient in their pursuit of a first top-flight crown in 30 years, with a coronavirus outbreak sending the sporting world into a state of lockdown at one stage.

Jurgen Klopp’s side did return to get over that line, collecting 99 points and finishing 18 clear of the chasing pack.

Replicating those efforts was always going to be tough, but the 2020-21 battle for domestic supremacy looks set to be more keenly contested than many could have predicted.

Liverpool, who returned to the summit with a 2-1 win over Tottenham on Wednesday are back in the hunt, but they have not been as dominant this time around, with injuries working against them.

Manchester City have also been well short of their best this term, while Arsenal have sunk into the bottom-half, allowing the likes of Chelsea, Spurs, Manchester United and Leicester into the mix.

Robertson believes an intriguing race is set to go down to the wire, with the Reds left-back telling his club’s official website after helping to edge out Jose Mourinho and Tottenham: “When you play against a big team, obviously top of the league – they were first going into this game – scoring a last-minute winner is big. All the lads felt it.

“But it’s only big if you use it in the right way and you try to kick on from it. We’re top of the league for tonight but there’s still a long, long way to go.

“But it’s a big win against a really, really good team. We created good chances, we dominated the ball first half; the second half was a bit more even.

“We’ve beaten a good team tonight and it’s always nice when you do that. But they’ll be there, they’ll come back again and we need to be at our best every game to stay top now because there’s a lot of teams trying to catch us, it’s a lot closer race this year and it will go the whole way.

“We just need to keep doing what we’re doing, focus on us and keep picking up three points as much as we can.”

Liverpool left it late before seeing off Spurs, with Roberto Firmino nodding home a dramatic winner in the 90th minute.

The Brazilian has struggled for moments of inspiration this season, with his goal return drying up, but Robertson was delighted to see a proven performer silence his critics in style at Anfield.

The Scot added: “I’m so happy for Bobby scoring the goal, you see how much it meant to him.

“We’ve not scored many late goals this season, it has been a trademark of ours last season and the season before, but it’s so good to score last-minute winners, especially against a really good team like Tottenham.”

Premier League clubs have agreed "in principle" to introduce additional permanent concussion substitutions but the number of regulation in-game changes allowed has not been increased.

Football's lawmakers, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), on Wednesday announced planned trials for concussion substitutions were approved after "less than a year of detailed consultation with relevant stakeholders, medical concussion experts, team doctors, player representatives, coaches, competition organisers, refereeing and Laws of the Game experts".

Under the proposed protocols, players with an actual or suspected concussion will be "permanently removed from the match to protect their welfare", with the team allowed to bring on a replacement.

A Premier League statement read: "With player welfare the Premier League's priority, clubs agreed in principle to introduce additional permanent concussion substitutions following approval of the trial by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) yesterday.

"The trial is a result of the IFAB's consultation with stakeholders and recommendations from their concussion expert group to allow additional substitutions for players with actual or suspected concussion.

"The Premier League will look to implement protocols which will allow a maximum of two concussion substitutes to be used per team, with the opposition side able to use the equivalent number.

"The additional concussion substitutions may be made regardless of the number of substitutions a team have made already.

"The League will now apply for permission from the IFAB, via the FA, to take part in the trial which could be implemented as early as January 2021."

Concerns around head injuries have risen in recent weeks after some high-profile incidents in Europe's elite leagues.

In the Premier League, there was controversy when Arsenal defender David Luiz was allowed to continue only to be substituted at half-time after a clash of heads with Raul Jimenez that left the Wolves striker with a fractured skull.

IFAB also approved an extension to the law that allows competitions the option of granting up to five substitutions per team in a single game until December 31, 2021 for clubs, and until July 31, 2022 on the international stage.

While the Premier League has seemingly opted against taking up this opportunity despite pressure from some managers, it did confirm teams will be allowed to name up to nine substitutes on the bench in each game - an increase from seven.

Dominik Szoboszlai has completed his €25 million (£22.5m/$30.5m) move to RB Leipzig, with Arsenal missing out on the highly-rated Hungarian winger.

The Gunners have been in the market for another creative midfielder, with too many options at Mikel Arteta’s disposal failing to live up to expectations.

Szoboszlai was said to be registering on the recruitment radar at Emirates Stadium, but he will not be heading to north London.

That is because Leipzig have made the most of their ties with Red Bull Salzburg to put a January agreement in place.

All of the relevant paperwork has been completed for Szoboszlai to take on a new challenge, with the 20-year-old already in Germany to meet up with the Leipzig squad.

His signing can be considered quite a coup for the Bundesliga outfit, with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid also said to have been closely monitoring his development.

Eye-catching outings on domestic and continental stages brought Szoboszlai to the attention of leading sides across Europe, with two goals recorded through six Champions League outings.

Interest in securing his services started to rise once it became apparent that he would be available during the winter transfer window.

Leipzig have now won that race and will be adding him to an attacking talent pool that already includes Emil Forsberg, Dani Olmo, Christopher Nkunku and Justin Kluivert.

Szoboszlai will also have more Champions League football to look forward to in 2021, with Julian Nagelsmann’s side having dumped Manchester United out of that competition to book a last-16 tie with Liverpool.

Arsenal will be among the interested observers when the youngster heads to England for a possible outing at Anfield.

They would have preferred such trips to have been made on their books, with technical director Edu admitting that the Premier League heavyweights remain on the lookout for another playmaker.

He has said: “It's quite clear what we need.

“We need a player with creativity in the middle. We don't have that in the squad right now.”

Arsenal have taken to freezing Mesut Ozil out of their plans this season despite their struggles for creativity, with the World Cup winner waiting to see whether he will be brought back in from the cold in January.

Szoboszlai will have been freed to open an exciting new chapter in his career by then, with Bundesliga title hopefuls preparing to let him off the leash.

Fred has set Manchester United the challenge of hitting top spot in the Premier League and staying there, with the Brazilian of the opinion that a title challenge can be mounted by the Red Devils.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side sit ninth heading into a meeting with rock-bottom Sheffield United on Thursday, but could finish the day as high as fifth.

Victory at Bramall Lane would move the Red Devils to within five points of leaders Liverpool while still boasting a game in hand.

Plenty have been quick to talk down United’s claims to the ultimate prize, with consistency still proving to be elusive, but Fred sees no reason why Solskjaer’s men cannot reach the summit.

He told the club’s official website, with a useful habit picked up of staging stirring fightbacks away from home: “The key to coming back and winning is our concentration in every game, going on to the pitch to do our best and be decisive and to believe.

“Our team have done this in some games this season, we’ve had some great performances, so we must aim for this consistency, to continue having great games and to go very far with a run of great performances.

“We’re very close to the top of the table and we’ve got some big games coming up in December.

“If we can win all of them, we’ll be very close to the leaders at the top of the league or we could even take first place. So we’ll look to win every game and I’m certain our team will do everything to reach the top of the table and stay there.”

United have come through plenty of challenges to reach this point, with Fred admitting that a coronavirus-disrupted 2020 has been difficult for all concerned.

He added, with fans yet to return to Old Trafford: “It has been a difficult year for everybody, really different.

“Professionally speaking, I looked to grow and do my best here at Manchester United. There were some difficult games after the restart where I didn’t play that well, but I aimed to do my best during a difficult year.

“Personally, I think it was a year that gave us a lot to think about. Think about what we’re capable of, to be better for our families and those around us.

“It was a year full of difficulties but when we stop to think about our families alongside us, we see that we have this affection from everybody to be close by, to be at home and closer to our families, so it’s been a really important year.”

With less than two years until the World Cup is hosted in the Middle East and Arab world for the first time, excitement is really starting to build here in Qatar. Friday marks another important step forward in the country’s preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2022 as on Friday night, the first-ever game will be played at the new Al Rayyan venue, Qatar’s fourth tournament-ready stadium for 2022.

The new venue will on Friday play host to the Amir Cup Final, where the club I coach, Al Sadd, will compete against Al Arabi. The Amir Cup is the most prestigious competition in Qatar and a tournament that every player here wants to win. The game is even more significant as December 18 is also Qatar’s National Day and marks the two-year countdown until the FIFA World Cup final in 2022. The stadium will be at 50 per cent capacity for the game, which will be great for the players and should create a good atmosphere and a real sense of occasion after a challenging period for everyone. 

I initially moved to Qatar to join Al Sadd and prolong my playing career. It was a huge decision for me and my family to move from Barcelona, my home city,and a club I love so much, to start again in a whole new part of the world.

At the time, my passion for playing the game was as strong as ever, but deep down, I knew I would no longer be able to contribute as much as I would have liked on the pitch at a club like Barca, where every game is a must-win. When I learned about the World Cup project in Qatar by speaking to friends such as Raúl, who had already played here, I was truly impressed by what the country wanted to achieve both on and off the pitch by hosting the tournament.

It was a great opportunity for me to continue playing football while also playing a role in a bigger, national project– with the aim of achieving great things off the pitch through the programmes put in place to deliver positive social change beyond 2022.

When you walk around Doha and meet the locals, their passion for football is clear. I didn’t really know what to expect when I first moved here as it was a completely new experience for me, leaving Barca after 25 years, to go to a new part of the world with a different culture and traditions. But I must admit that I like practically everything about living in Qatar. The weather is amazing, with sunshine almost every day, and it is a very relaxing place to work as the people are really respectful and friendly. It’s also a very safe country with very little crime, so is a great place to raise a young family.

Since moving here, I have got to spend lots of quality time with my wife and two young children. As training takes place in the evening most days, I have time to take my daughter to pre-school every day and then spend the rest of the morning playing with my son. At the weekend, there are lots of nice things to do. I often go out to eat at one of Doha’s many nice restaurants, such as Lo Spaghetto , which is great for Italian food, or to Bibo , a Spanish restaurant, for a taste of home. The beach hotels here are amazing and a great place to relax at the weekends, although recently with the football season in full flow I haven’t had as much time to enjoy this aspect of life in Qatar!

Since moving to Qatar, I have also had the opportunity to work on some incredible charitable initiatives. One of the projects – Generation Amazing – has become very close to my heart. It uses the power of football to empower and educate young people and teach important life skills. The programme recently celebrated its tenth anniversary and it has been a pleasure to watch it grow to the point where it has now positively impacted more than 500,000 people across ten countries. Some of the projects have included building football pitches in refugee camps and implementing sustainable programmes that ensure the facilities are used effectively. I have attended pitch launch ceremonies in Jordan and India – and the impact they have on communities is huge.

While I had initially only planned on staying in Qatar to finish my playing career, when I was presented with the opportunity to take over as the manager of Al Sadd I was delighted. My family and I had really grown to love Qatar and the way of life over here, so it was a brilliant chance for me to take the first step in my managerial career and oversee a squad with a number of promising players likely to feature for the Qatar national team in 2022. Having played for Al Sadd, I knew it would be a fantastic place for me to transition to life on the touchline and help develop some of these players.

It took some time to adapt to my new life as coach, but I'm enjoying it very much. My philosophy is the same as when I was a player. I like football to be played in a positive way. As a player I liked having the ball, keeping possession, going on the attack and creating as many chances as possible. I believe in a possession-based game, played at a high tempo, and I like my players to understand the importance of playing as a team. Everyone has to defend together and attack together. Above all, players must enjoy playing football and the best way to enjoy football is to have the ball, create lots of chances and score lots of goals. This is how I lived it as a player, and it is how I want my players to experience the game under my management.

From my time here, it is clear that football is developing very well in Qatar. The World Cup project meant that they had to really focus on developing not only top-class facilities and stadiums to host the tournament, but a national team capable of competing on the biggest stage with the world’s best teams. Aspire Academy, which launched back in 2004 to help develop footballers and other athletes in the country, has been a huge success. The new generation of players coming through in Qatar are improving a lot. I can see this improvement with my own players at Al Sadd and it is a privilege to work with them every day and help them grow in confidence.

With the current rate of development and having recently won the AFC Asian Cup, I think Qatar can compete very well at their first World Cup in 2022. Football culture is growing at a tremendous speed here and I think the World Cup will help take the game to the next level – not only in Qatar but in the whole Arab region. While eventually, the time will come for me to take the next step in my managerial career, for now, I’m focused on enjoying my time here and making the most of the opportunity to play a small role in Qatar’s exciting journey to 2022.

Ex-Orlando Pirates duo Siyabonga Nomvethe and Moeneeb Josephs have been linked with their former club, AmaZulu FC.

This comes after Usuthu announced the appointment of Benedict 'Benni' McCarthy as the club's new head coach last week.

The latest reports are indicating that McCarthy has decided to bring in his former Bafana Bafana teammates Josephs and Nomvethe to form part of his technical team at Usuthu. 

"According to SunSport sources, Nomvethe is not the only former club's player to join Usuthu as part of McCarthy's technical team," Daily Sun reported on Friday. 

"Moeneeb Josephs, who played with the former FC Porto striker at Orlando Pirates when they claimed the second treble in 2011-12 season, is coming in to be part of the team."

Nomvethe left AmaZulu in 2019 following a three-year spell with the club and he decided to continue playing professional football.

The man nicknamed Bhele was snapped up by National First Division (NFD) club Uthongathi FC in January 2020. 

The 43-year-old striker is currently a free agent after parting ways with Uthongathi at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.

While Josephs spent two seasons with AmaZulu and he served as a player-coach at the Durban-based side after Slovakian coach Jozef Vukusic was placed on special leave by the club in March 2020. 

Josephs was the third-choice goalkeeper behind Siyabonga Mbatha and Neil Boshoff, while also working as an assistant coach under Ayanda Dlamini. 

Dlamini and Josephs guided Usuthu to safety as the KwaZulu-Natal giants avoided relegation to the NFD with the team finishing 13th on the PSL standings.

Josephs then left AmaZulu and he is currently a free agent as the 40-year-old shot-stopper is yet to announce his retirement from professional football. 

It remains to be seen whether Nomvethe and Josephs will return to Usuthu with the team struggling in the PSL this season.

AmaZulu were beaten 2-0 by Lamontville Golden Arrows on Wednesday night and they are placed 12th on the league standings with six points from seven matches.

Caretaker coach Allan Freese was in charge of Usuthu against Arrows and the team is scheduled to face Black Leopards on Sunday. 

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has ruled out any chance of a move for Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe.

Mbappe’s contract at PSG is due to expire in the summer of 2022, with Real Madrid and Liverpool the clubs most closely linked with ambitious bids for his signature.

The 21-year-old recently scored his 100th goal for PSG but, despite last season’s run to the Champions League final, many feel he needs to move to a more high-profile league to realise his full potential.

Bayern Munich have spent big in recent seasons, refreshing their squad with an influx of talented young players such as Leroy Sane, Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard.

However, Rummenigge says that Mbappe is beyond the financial reach of the club known to some as ‘FC Hollywood’.

“I love Mbappe and his way of playing, but we will never be able to bring him to Bayern,” Rummenigge told Le Figaro. “Anyway, he is where he is. Nasser (Al-Khelaifi, PSG president) is a good friend of mine. I will not bother him on this subject.”

Speculation linking Mbappe with a move to Real Madrid in particular has been ever-present since his move to PSG, but lately it has begun to seem more likely that he could sign a new deal in Paris.

Sporting director Leonardo claimed the Ligue 1 champions had made progress in talks with both Mbappe and strike partner Neymar, though Mbappe has said the final decision will come down to himself and his family.

“We make every decision together, as a family. I think it's the strongest possible thing," Mbappe told Copa90. "This has pushed me higher and allowed me to be where I am today.”

PSG midfielder Marco Verratti revealed he has been pestering Mbappe to put pen to paper, adding that he feels there isn’t a better club for the Parisian-born forward.

After a delayed start to the season following a positive coronavirus diagnosis, Mbappe has been leading from the front at PSG this season.

He scored his 11th league goal in his 11th appearance of the season on Wednesday as PSG beat Lorient 2-0 to keep up the pressure on surprise league leaders Lille.

Chelsea star Reece James has taken to social media to call out vandals who stole charity gifts from his car, warning those responsible "what goes around comes around".

Over the past 18 months, James has been working with London-based charity 'The Felix Project', an organisation dedicated to delivering meals to underprivileged groups and schools across the city.

The England international has donated a total of £10,000 of his own money to the charity, which has been busier than ever since the coronavirus outbreak in March.

He has also helped deliver meals during his free time, with the Normand Croft Community School in Hammersmith one of his latest stops on a day of giving for the Project.

James returned to his vehicle after dropping off presents and food to find that thieves had smashed his car window and taken a PlayStation 5 and jacket from the back seat which he had also been planning to donate.

The 21-year-old revealed the full extent of the damage done to his car by posting a picture on  Instagram with the following message: "Another rewarding experience with the Felix Project today serving meals to the younger generation.

"Hopefully we spread some joy ahead of a challenging Christmas period.

"Unfortunately, I was met with huge disappointment when returning to my car.

"During the event, someone felt the need to break in and steal gifts that I was due to go and donate later in the day."

James added: "What goes around, comes around."

The talented young full-back will now have to shake off the shock off the incident and refocus on his duties at Chelsea ahead of a huge Premier League clash against West Ham on Monday.

The Blues have slipped to sixth in the Premier League standings after back-to-back defeats against Everton and Wolves, but still only find themselves six points behind current leaders Liverpool, who won the title last season.

James has been a standout player for Frank Lampard's side this term, contributing one goal and two assists in 12 top-flight appearances, and will likely retain his place in the starting line-up for next week's London derby.

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Steve Komphela feels that in-form attacker Themba Zwane still has room for improvement.

This is despite Zwane's current form for Masandawana with the attacker sitting the at top of the PSL's goalscoring charts having impressively netted seven goals from seven matches. 

Komphela has issued a challenge to the 31-year-old, who is the reigning PSL Player of the Season, Players' Player of the Season and Midfielder of the season. 

“The guy is immensely talented and I think he still operates within his comfort zone," Komphela told the media. 

"He needs to go to a higher level of discomfort so that he can stretch his potential‚ he will be a monster."

Nicknamed Mshishi, Zwane was recently named PSL Player of the Month for October/November 2020 as a reward for his excellent displays for reigning league champions, Sundowns. 

The Bafana Bafana international was in electrifying form on Tuesday night as he provided an assist, before sealing Sundowns' 2-0 win over TS Galaxy with a late goal.

“Zwane is a player who plays effortlessly and he is capable of doing as he wishes with the ball. When he comes across people who trust him and who have confidence in him‚ this will only get better," Komphela continued. 

"Look at the goal he scored against TS Galaxy‚ the manner in which he picked up a spot and lifted the ball and hit the back of the net‚ tells you that this guy is playing without stress.

“He is composed‚ he is comfortable and he is happy."

Zwane has formed a great partnership with fellow attackers Peter Shalulile and Kermit Erasmus at Masandawana with the trio having netted 13 league goals between them this term.

"We only hope and wish that he stays like that and gets even better‚ but if you were to ask me‚ I still see in Mshishi room for improvement in terms of what he can do," Komphela added. 

"Everything comes from training but above all, we were assisted by the fact that as soon as we sent through Kermit Erasmus‚ Shalulile and Zwane immediately clicked and at the back of that click it boosts confidence.”

Sundowns are set to take on Lamontville Golden Arrows in a league match at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium on Saturday. 

Napoli will demand at least €15 million (£14m/$18m) if they are to sell Arkadiusz Milik in January amid interest from Juventus and Atletico Madrid, Goal can confirm.

Milik has scored 48 goals in 122 appearances across all competitions for Napoli since joining the club from Ajax in 2016.

Of those efforts, 14 were recorded in 2019-20 as he helped the Partenopei win their first major trophy in six seasons in the form of the Coppa Italia, but he was heavily linked with a transfer during the summer window.

Juventus and Roma reportedly came close to securing his services, while Tottenham also made an approach for Poland international, but he was ultimately unable to manufacture a move away from Naples.

Milik admitted that he wanted to leave Napoli in October, telling SportoweFakty: "Napoli wanted to extend my contract for five years and gave me two choices: to sign or leave. 

"I decided that I would like to try something else. I think this is the right time to try a new challenge. 

"There has never been hostility on my part towards Napoli. I wanted to solve everything professionally."

He also expressed his disappointment after finding out about his omission from Gennaro Gattuso's Serie A and Europa League squads for the new season via media reports instead of club officials.

“I heard it from the press," Milik said. "I expected this decision but the lack of communication from the club is not professional. I believe I haven’t been treated well."

Goal has learned that Juve are still keeping a close eye on the 26-year-old's situation, with Napoli hoping to receive up to €18m (£16m/$22m) for the forward when the transfer market reopens, but they would also be willing to accept a slightly lower bid in order to get him off their books.

La Liga giants Atletico have also identified Milik as a target, with the ex-Ajax star's agent set to arrive in Italy to negotiate the terms of his client's departure in the coming days.

Napoli risk losing the frontman for nothing if they play hardball with any potential suitors, with his current contract at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium due to expire in June 2021.

Milik has no desire to commit to fresh terms with the Partenopei, and will push for an exit once again in the new year after being exiled from Gattuso's squad.

Jamshedpur FC head coach Owen Coyle feels that his side are on the right track, even as they are struggling to convert draws into wins, ahead of their Indian Super League (ISL) tie against NorthEast United on Friday.

After their opening day defeat at the hands of Chennaiyin FC, Coyle's former club, the Men of Steel are on an unbeaten run of five games that includes a 2-1 win over ATK Mohun Bagan. However, four of them have been draws which sees them placed seventh on the table. 

Most recently, Coyle's side held Mumbai City to a 1-1 draw despite playing with 10 men for more than hour following Aitor Monroy's 28th minute sending off. 

"I thought it was an outstanding performance (vs Mumbai). With the 11 v 11, we felt that we could win the game and that being said, when we were down to 10 men, we showed that we have a great spirit. We still have a number of players who are not available to us. So it's an enormous sort of satisfaction to see how hard the group that we have are working and we are moving in the right direction.

"[We are going to deal with it] in the same way Dinliana (Laldinliana Renthlei) was not available (against Mumbai City due to suspension), David Grande is not available, [besides] Joyner (Lourenco), Narender (Gahlot), Nick Fitzgerald (on account of injuries). The list is endless but it's the boys that we have that we have to focus on and whoever is asked to come in will do a job with tremendous pride," he said.

The 54-year-old took a moment to appreciate NorthEast United's unbeaten start to the season but felt his side are up for the challenge. 

"The foreign and the Indian players in the NorthEast squad have shown that they are hard-working and it's always going to be a tough game as they all (games) are in the ISL. So they have enormous respect which they will get [from Jamshedpur too] but it's a game that we are looking forward to. We know that, if we are at our very best, it's a game that we can win. 

With players like Idrissa Sylla, Khassa Camara and Luis Machado to deal with, Coyle stated, "In terms of strategy, we are very respectful of the opposition and the qualities that they have, but our focus will be on Jamshedpur for bringing in our game - being aware of the threats, trying to nullify them but equally looking for our players to impose our game. We are five games unbeaten but we want three points (against NorthEast)."

Gennaro Gattuso complained that Italian referees were too “touchy” and should adopt the tolerance of Scottish officials after Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne was sent off for swearing in the 1-0 defeat to Inter.

The Napoli boss was fuming that Davide Massa dismissed Insigne for his objections to the awarding of a penalty that Romelu Lukaku converted in Wednesday's Serie A clash.

David Ospina brought down Matteo Darmian, and Insigne was quick to express his dismay at the decision, with Massa equally wasting no time in brandishing the red card.

“Only in Italy do I see referees showing the red for these things,” Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia.

“You're not sent off in the same situation in England. I'm not making it up: I played in Scotland in the past and I still follow their football today. The captain of a team there can't be sent off for a 'f*ck off' to the referee for a dubious penalty.

“This means that the referee is touchy, and if you are then you can't do this job. You can’t leave a team down to 10 men for that. He wasn’t even saying it to his face in an aggressive fashion.”

The former Rangers midfielder added: “Anyone who has played football knows there is a lot at stake in a match like Inter-Napoli, and a word can slip out. Only in Italy it [red cards in these situations] happens and it is not right, because games are changed in this way.

“The players have to calm down, but you must also understand that a 'f*ck off' after a penalty can happen. In my opinion, a referee must have the intelligence and the tact to understand that.

“If there's a red card for every word too many, then everyone should always be sent off. I'm just saying that, in such an important game, a European referee with experience cannot be touchy.”

Napoli had the better opportunities of the evening – even after being reduced to 10 men – and 'Rino' was left feeling short-changed as his side carved out chance after chance without finding the back of the net.

“It was a tactical game, in my view the team put in a great performance and we tried to do something a little new tonight,” Gattuso said.

“If we judge the overall match, then obviously Napoli deserved the points more, but you have to score goals. It felt like we’d be there all night trying to put the ball in the net with our hands and it still wouldn’t cross the line.

“Inter came forward to get us, while we managed to play our game anyway. Unfortunately, the ball didn’t go in the net.”

Bukayo Saka has, at 19 years of age, become the only player that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta can rely on, says Kevin Campbell, with too many “big players” letting the Gunners down.

The 2020-21 campaign has quickly become a forgettable one at Emirates Stadium, with a north London heavyweight making its worst start to a Premier League season.

Arteta’s side have become firmly wedged in a serious rut, with their last outing seeing more points dropped – and another red card collected – in a 1-1 draw at home to Southampton.

Changes were made in that contest, with Willian and Alexandre Lacazette dropped to the bench amid struggles for form.

Their replacements fared little better, though, with club-record signing Nicolas Pepe putting in another uninspiring performance.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was able to get back on the scoresheet, but there has been little cause for encouragement from the Gunners of late.

Campbell admits as much, with academy graduate Saka – who became a first-team regular in 2019-20 – considered to be the only chink of light in the dark for Arsenal.

The former Gunners striker told Amazon Prime after witnessing a frustrating stalemate against the Saints: “Arsenal's attitude was better in the second half, they had more energy, which was asked for.

“Where was Pepe? We don't see him, these players who are the gifted, big players we're not seeing them. 

“A lot of people are questioning Arteta but I don't, I'm questioning the players. 

“Saka is positive, he picks the ball up and drives. When you commit defenders, opportunities open for the main men.

“So many senior players are struggling for form that Arteta has to juggle his squad. He's got no-one he can rely on really apart from a young lad.”

Arsenal need to start finding a spark from somewhere as they are currently perched just five points above the Premier League relegation zone.

Positive progress has been made through to the last 32 of the Europa League, but domestic struggles are becoming alarming.

Things are not about to get any easier for Arteta either, with the former Everton midfielder set to take his Gunners side to Goodison Park on Saturday for a meeting with Carlo Ancelotti’s men.

Besieged Gor Mahia general-secretary Sam Ochola attended the Football Kenya Federation Premier League tie against Tusker fully secured as he feared attacks from restless fans.

Ochola and the club’s chairman Ambrose Rachier have been at loggerheads on the StarTimes deal and that is one of the reasons the former had to attend the second season game without taking chances with his security.

“Personal security is very key,” a source close to the secretary-general told Goal.

“He had to come in a manner that assured no one is going to attack him given the frosty relationship that has developed between him and the chairman.

“Gor Mahia fans love their team and the majority see the successes achieved, all have come because of Rachier’s leadership and anyone who is seen as an opponent automatically becomes a target of hooliganism and related attacks.

“Ochola was not only afraid of goons and violent fans alone, you know even the club’s stewards can rain blows on you. They really do not care so long as they see that you are the problem.

“There is no way he could have attended the game without taking steps to assure he was well-guarded. It was not a sign of supremacy in the battle with the chair but it was simply a matter of personal security.”

Ochola, through a letter to FKF, maintained Gor Mahia endorsed the StarTimes deal but Rachier has maintained that the position of the club has not changed.

When he moved to dismiss the Ochola letter to FKF, Rachier suspended the official and claimed he took the decision against the unilateral stand of the Kenyan heavyweights.

“The letter was written without our authority and the secretary-general [Sam Ochola] knows our stance,” Rachier stated in an earlier interview.

“We have external forces pushing me to resign from my post.

“At this moment, that is not important, the important issue is ensuring our rights are not interfered with. I am dealing with it and later on, I will focus on other issues.”

Gor Mahia have already played two games both of which enjoyed airtime.

Zoo FC, Mathare United and Ulinzi Stars have also not endorsed the deal. Zoo and Mathare, after being expelled, have been reinstated to the top-tier by the Sports Disputes Tribunal.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hopes Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s first Premier League goal after 648 minutes of action will change everything for the Gunners.

In Wednesday’s 1-1 draw against Southampton, the 31-year-old levelled the scores for the Emirates Stadium giants after Theo Walcott had given Ralph Hasenhuettl's men an 18th-minute lead after profiting from Che Adams' assist.

Nevertheless, Arsenal’s ambition of a comeback win suffered a massive blow after referee Paul Tierney gave Gabriel his marching orders for a second caution.

Having gone on a run of six games without a win in the English elite division, the Spaniard believes the goal scored by the former Borussia Dortmund star could prove essential in the team’s attitude.

“Hopefully it's going to change everything dramatically and he's going to score in every game because this is what we need at the moment,” Arteta told the media as captured by Arsenal's website.
 
“We need the points and in order to do that, we need to score many more goals and be more efficient when we have the chances. I think it's going to make him really good.
 
“I don't have to see it, I'm sure that it's going to take a lot of pressure off him and it's going to release him as well.”

Despite the disconcerting draw, Arteta applauded his team for their resilience, although he felt his men bottled several chances to guarantee victory.

“Considering the fact that we played 35 minutes with 10 men, we have to take the point because we showed some resilience and character to hang in there for so long against a really dangerous team,” he continued.

“But at the same time we're disappointed because we came back after conceding the goal, we showed how much we wanted it, created some situations and at half time we corrected a few things.

“We came back really strong in the game, scored a goal and then when we had the best moments, we shot ourselves in the foot. It obviously made it really hard.”

With this result, Arsenal occupy 15th position on the log having accrued 14 points from 13 outings.

Arteta and his team would be hoping to return to winning ways when they travel to Goodison Park for Saturday’s crunch league outing with Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton.

Scott McTominay has defended Manchester United needing “a kick up the bum” occasionally, with the Scotland international eager to point out that falling behind in games is not always a sign of playing badly.

The Red Devils have made a habit of conceding first in Premier League fixtures this season, particularly away from home.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have, however, found a way of getting the job done on their travels, with maximum points taken from five games so far.

United have trailed in all of those, setting a new top-flight comeback record along the way, and are showing that they have the stomach for a fight in what is shaping up to be an intriguing 2020-21 campaign.

McTominay believes there are plenty of positives for the Red Devils to take from their efforts so far, with there every reason to believe that challenges for major honours can be staged this term.

He told the club’s official website heading into a meeting with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Thursday: “The [away] record’s brilliant. As I say, we’ve spoke about it as a group. We can’t keep falling behind in games and as you see in Leipzig [a 3-2 Champions League defeat], you can just give yourself too much to do. That was something we have to forget about quickly.

“That’s the good thing about football, it moves on so quickly, but you can still tell that everyone is wanting to get back to that stage where we need to prove we should be really competing this year. We know that and we’ve had multiple chats as a group.

“We have been playing well and people might think because you go a goal down, you’re not playing well.

“We’ve started some games poorly, but some we’ve started really well and still gone a goal down. Don’t take it as if you go 1-0 down, you’re playing badly. I feel like people jump to that conclusion straightaway.

“As I say, [at] Everton we controlled the whole game, from minute one to minute 90, but people see you’ve gone a goal down so they think you’re playing badly. As long as we know as a group what we’re doing well and when we need a kick up the bum, we’re on the right track.”

United’s next journey out on the road could be a notable one for McTominay, with the 24-year-old – who made his debut back in May 2017 - set to take in his 100th appearance for the club if he figures against the Blades.

He added on reaching a century: “Yeah, the time’s gone quick, you know? Obviously you get to that landmark a little bit quicker without injuries. I was out for three months with my knee and eight weeks with my ankle [last season] so that delays the time for getting appearances.

“One of my friends is a Sheffield United fan and he speaks to me regularly about the passion and the love for the football club. Obviously for them, the fans are a big miss and everything that goes on with the fans on a matchday is a big miss, but Sheffield United are a very, very good team and they’ve had some really difficult results.

“It’s a game we have to respect and we can’t take our foot off the gas because they’ve had a difficult start to a different, challenging Premier League season. They’ll be coming at us at 100 miles an hour, and we have to be ready.”

Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer says Chippa United became a tough side to crack when they were reduced to 10 men, which left the Soweto club struggling to break their Eastern Cape visitors in Wednesday’s Premier Soccer League 1-0 win at Orlando Stadium.

For the past five straight matches, the Buccaneers have had to chase their matches by either coming back from behind or leaving it late to get a result.

On Wednesday, they battled to crack a Chippa side despite playing the entire second half with a numerical advantage following a red card to defender Sandile Mthethwa.

Fortune Makaringe’s goal four minutes from time separated the two sides.

“After the red card, they stayed very deep and it makes it difficult for you to score. And you need the right moment,” said Zinnbauer as per Phakaaathi.

“If we had scored earlier then it would have been an easy game for us. It’s always the case when against 10, it’s like they get renewed [energy] and want to fight for the one point. They go at you and work 100 percent harder than before [they were reduced to 10 men] and it becomes difficult for us.

“We had to wait [for our chance to score] and what’s important is that you win the game – we did that. But with the opportunities we had, we had two or three clear ones in the first half. If we used them it would have been easier for us. It’s important to always have belief that you will win. And we did this and we got the three points for it.”

The victory lifted Pirates up to position three on the standings, four points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.

The match was midfielder Ben Motshwari’s 50th league appearance for Pirates since joining the club from Bidvest Wits in 2017.

The 29-year-old has established himself as a regular starter in the team and one of the outstanding players, but he refuses to regard himself as one of the leaders in the squad.

“I wouldn't necessarily say I consider myself one of the leaders. There are still plenty of leaders amongst the guys, you know,” he told the Pirates website.

“Happy Jele, Nyauza, and now recently, we have Thulani Hlatshwayo. But I'm learning a lot from these guys. They have been leaders for so many years. For me, it's about learning from them and striving to be a better leader.”

New Young Africans (Yanga SC) signing Saidio Ntibazonkiza has vowed to help the team achieve the targets they set for the 2020-21 campaign.

The 33-year-old is the latest arrival at the Jangwani giants, who are currently topping the 18-team league table with 37 points and chasing for their first title in four years.

Ntibazonkiza made his first appearance in Yanga colours on Tuesday as they beat first division side Singida United 3-0 in a friendly, with the Burundian forward announcing his arrival with a brace while the other goal came via Deus Kaseke.

Yanga spotted Ntibazonkiza during a friendly between Tanzania and Burundi in which he scored the lone goal as they beat Taifa Stars at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.

He was signed immediately after the game but could not feature for the side until the mini-transfer window which opened on December 16, meaning he is now eligible to turn out for the giants in the Mainland Premier League.

The striker has now said he will strive to help the team reach their targets after making his debut with the two goals.

“I’m happy to play for Yanga, they approached me in their quest to reinforce their squad and I said let me go for the challenge to see how we can build the team altogether,” Ntibazonkiza said as quoted by Daily News.

“I will use my experience and with a combination of other experienced players, we will achieve the goal.

“I feel happy to see people appreciating what you do, It’s my first experience to play with Yanga but I see a bright future here,” said Ntibazonkiza, who has also played for Burundian giants Vital’O and also Kaysar Kyzylorda in the Kazakhstan Premier League.

On which team will stop Yanga from winning the title, Ntibazonkiza said: “Let’s see how it is going since I’m a new player I cannot say that, it’s is too early considering the fact that I have not yet played for the league match.”

Ntibazonkiza started to play football at Vital'O and as an asylum seeker, he came to the Netherlands in 2005. NEC was the nearest professional football club, and because of that, he trained with their youth team.

Eventually, NEC signed him on a permanent deal. At the beginning of the 2006-07 season, he began playing for the youth team but was shortly thereafter promoted to the first-team squad. On November 18, 2006, against Sparta Rotterdam, Ntibazonkiza played his first game in the Eredivisie.

After receiving a Dutch residence permit, Ntibazonkiza signed a contract binding him to NEC until the summer of 2009. He also signed another contract extension until 2012 in January 2009.