Arsenal sack Emery: Allegri? Pochettino? Ancelotti? The contenders to take over

Arsenal sacked head coach Unai Emery on Friday following a disappointing start to his second season in charge of the club.

Emery lasted just 18 months in the job, paying the price for a winless run that spans seven games following Thursday s 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in front of a sparse crowd at the Emirates Stadium.

Former Gunners midfielder Freddie Ljungberg has been promoted to take charge in an interim capacity, but what about the contenders to replace Emery on a permanent basis?

Here we examine seven potential candidates for what remains one of the most coveted jobs in football, despite Arsenal s recent struggles.

7 Arsenal have not won any of their last seven matches in all competitions (D5 L2) they never went on as poor a run across 1235 gam…

Wales and Poland fans told not to take pyrotechnic devices to play-off final

Wales and Poland fans have been warned not to bring pyrotechnic devices to Tuesday’s Euro 2024 play-off final at Cardiff City Stadium.

Seven Poland fans were arrested following a Nations League game between the two countries in Cardiff 18 months ago, including four for possession of pyrotechnics.

The Europa Conference League match between Aston Villa and Legia Warsaw in November was also marred by crowd trouble, with 46 Polish fans charged after violent clashes with police.

The Football Association of Wales was fined more than £14,500 by FIFA after home fans let off flares during 2022 World Cup play-off victories over Austria and Ukraine in Cardiff.

Superintendent Steve Rees told the PA news agency said: “South Wales Police has vast experience in the…

Mbappe out to end drought, Barca go for four in a row – Champions League in Opta numbers

All eyes are on a finely poised Group H as the Champions League returns this week following the international break.

Paris Saint-Germain, finalists last season, are in trouble after defeats to Manchester United and RB Leipzig, who they face again on Tuesday.

United s fine early European form took a hit when they lost to Istanbul Basaksehir, however, meaning all four teams are separated by just three points.

Elsewhere, Barcelona will hope their impressive Champions League results continue to provide an effective distraction after their latest LaLiga setback.

Juventus, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund are all also in action as we break down Tuesday s key matchday four fixtures with Opta data.
 

Paris Saint-Germain v RB Leipzig: Milestone in sight for…

McTominay makes Premier League history with rapid double

Scott McTominay became the first player in Premier League history to score twice in the first three minutes of a match as he put Manchester United 2-0 up against Leeds United.

In the first league meeting between the rivals in over 16 years, McTominay opened the scoring after just 66 seconds with a thumping strike into the bottom-right corner.

It was United s quickest opener in the Premier League since Robin van Persie scored after 31 seconds against West Ham in November 2012.

McTominay had his second just under two minutes later, driving into the area to latch onto Anthony Martial s pass and slotting a cool finish beyond Illan Meslier.

The Scotland international s double had United two ahead by the 170th second – it is the quickest a team has scored t…

Inzaghi questions Inter´s attitude as Fonseca hails Milan´s courage

Simone Inzaghi questioned the attitude of his Inter players after Milan snatched a 2-1 derby victory on Sunday.

Matteo Gabbia popped up with an 89th-minute header to snap Milan s six-game losing streak against their city rivals.

Christian Pulisic opened the scoring at San Siro, before Federico Dimarco equalised for Inter.

Inzaghi felt Inter were the better team, despite Milan having more shots (16 to 13) and accumulating a higher xG (1.7 to 0.7).

However, the Inter coach was left far from impressed with the attitude his players displayed.

Of course Milan are a very good team. They did better than us this evening and deserved the victory, Inzaghi told DAZN.

We had the wrong approach and weren t enough of a team, which is rare for us. We d…

Martial wants to leave Man Utd in January, says agent

Anthony Martial s agent has revealed that the forward wants to leave Manchester United in the January transfer window.

The 26-year-old has played just 358 minutes of football for the Red Devils in all competitions this season – the 20th most in the squad – starting only four times. 

The Frenchman has registered only one goal and no assists this term and does not appear to be an important part of United s plans.

Martial s representative, Philippe Lamboley, explained that the former Monaco man was unhappy with his lack of playing time and wanted to leave as a result.

Anthony wishes to leave the club in January, Lamboley said to Sky Sports.

He just needs to play. He doesn t want to stay in January and I will speak to the club soon.

Former Tottenham and Belgium midfielder Dembele announces plans to retire

Former Tottenham and Belgium midfielder Mousa Dembele has announced he will retire from football when his Guangzhou City contract expires later this year.

The 34-year-old spent six and a half years with Tottenham and has also previously played for Fulham, AZ, Willem II and Belgian side Germinal Beerschot.

Dembele joined Guangzhou in January 2019 and has made 47 appearances for the club in the Chinese Super League.

But the former Belgium international, who was capped 82 times and played at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, intends to call time on his career when the 2022 CSL season – set to begin in April – concludes.

Thank you for all the nice messages, Dembele posted on his personal Instagram page on Tuesday.

Just to be clear, I haven t stopp…

Simeone expects Atletico Madrid to ´give their lives´ on decisive final day in LaLiga

Diego Simeone expects Atletico Madrid and Real Valladolid to give their lives in a decisive final match in the LaLiga season.

Atleti head into Saturday s contest with a two-point lead over city rivals Real Madrid at the top of the table.

They know that a victory will guarantee their first top-flight title since 2013-14, when a 1-1 draw at Barcelona on the final day denied the Catalans the trophy.

However, the stakes are also high for Valladolid, who must win to stand a chance of avoiding relegation to the second tier.

History is on Atleti s side: Valladolid have not won any of their past 11 league meetings and failed to score in seven of the previous eight, while Sergio Gonzalez has gone eight LaLiga games without defeating Simeone, more than he has again…

Wolves first club to be sanctioned for homophobic ‘Chelsea rent boy’ chant by FA

Wolves have become the first club to be sanctioned by the Football Association solely over the homophobic chant of ‘Chelsea rent boy’ by their fans.

The Premier League side have been hit with a six-figure fine and imposed with an action plan by the FA after supporters chanted the slur during a fixture against Chelsea in April.

While the FA has always condemned the use of the term, a statement from the governing body in January confirmed to clubs they could now be charged with disciplinary action if their fans engage in discriminatory behaviour – including the use of the term ‘rent boy’.

Wolves have accepted breaches to FA rule E21 following incidents where written reasons for the charges stated: “a chant by a large number of supporters for a prolonged…

Ronaldo and ´many others´ will leave Juve without Champions League, warns Vieri

Cristiano Ronaldo and many others will leave if Juventus fail to qualify for the Champions League, according to Christian Vieri.

It has been a forgettable season for Juve, who had their run of nine consecutive Serie A titles snapped by newly crowned champions Inter, amid doubts over Ronaldo and first-year head coach Andrea Pirlo.

Pirlo s position is under intense scrutiny as Juve languish fifth in the table, with Champions League qualification now out of their hands ahead of Saturday s showdown against Inter.

Ronaldo also continues to be linked with a move away from Juve amid reported interest from Paris Saint-Germain and former club Manchester United.

Italian great Vieri – who played for both Juve and Inter – warned of a mass exodus if the Bianconeri…