Gotze returns after five-year absence in Germany World Cup squad

Arsenal reached the EFL Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2010-11 thanks to a narrow 1-0 win over West Ham at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

Danny Welbeck scrambled home the only goal late in the first half to decide a contest that was otherwise devoid of opportunities.

With at least one eye clearly on Friday s visit from Liverpool, Arsene Wenger utilised the full depth of his squad and handed the captain s armband to Theo Walcott.

The stand-in skipper fluffed a chance to break the match open when he headed a rare sight of goal wide, although his embarrassment was soon spared as Welbeck forced a loose ball past the recalled Joe Hart in the 42nd minute.

A fit-again Javier Hernandez joined Hart in the Hammers starting XI, but neither he nor any of h…

Thiago Alcantara got the winner as Bayern Munich continued to ease the pressure on coach Niko Kovac with a 2-1 Bundesliga win at Mainz on Saturday.

Leon Goretzka s volley put the visitors ahead after a sustained period of attacking pressure but Bayern s defensive frailties were exposed by a fast Mainz break and a Jean-Paul Boetius goal just after half-time.

A draw would have been a disappointing result for Kovac s men, who went into the game trailing league leaders Borussia Dortmund by four points, but Thiago s first league goal of the season helped them to a third successive win in all competitions.

Defeat leaves Mainz winless in six and head coach Sandro Schwarz must stop the rot if they are to avoid a relegation battle.

Team goal

— FC Baye…

Since Mikel Arteta came back to the club to take charge of the team, Arsenal have won one FA Cup trophy and two Community Shields. They were also a very serious Premier League title contender last season, but only to lose eventually to his former employers, Manchester City.

Arteta therefore believes his team should win more silverware. As for this season, they ve been knocked out of the Carabao Cup, but there s still the FA Cup to play, they ve finished top of their Champions League group, and they re sitting at the top of the Premier League table at the moment. On Saturday, they ll be facing one of the biggest challenges in their path Liverpool at Anfield.

We still haven t won enough important things

Mikel Arteta on his 4 years in charge at Arsenal

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Losses for Arsenal and Tottenham last weekend are set to add extra spice to the always feisty north London derby at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

The Gunners were comfortably outdone by a Mohamed Salah-inspired Liverpool in a 3-1 defeat that ended their perfect start to the Premier League season.

Times are even tougher for Tottenham, who slipped up at home to Newcastle United and seem distracted by the transfer speculation surrounding star playmaker Christian Eriksen.

Clarity of purpose can be discovered in matches of this magnitude but a survey of the Opta data sheds light on just how difficult it will be for Spurs to succeed.

AWAY GAME NO ESCAPE FOR SPURS

Lucas Moura urged Tottenham to stop dropping stupid points at home right before th…

Verdict: Roma win 

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AS Roma and FC Porto will both be confident of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals as they gear up for the first leg of their round-of-16 tie this week.

Starting with the hosts, with Roma coming off the back of a 3-0 win away at Chievo last the weekend, Eusebio Di Francesco will be desperate for his side to string together some momentum. Still looking to recover from their 7-1 hammering at the hands of Fiorentina and crashing out of the Coppa Italia, they have now managed to pick up just one win in their last four matches across all competitions. Despite now sitting outside of the top-four in Serie A, ‎I Giallorossi do hold an eye-catching record at the Stadio Olimpico. Winning seven of thei…

Barcelona s stars have stopped being surprised by Lionel Messi s continued brilliance, according to midfielder Sergio Busquets.

The Argentinian superstar has once again been in imperious form this season, scoring 43 goals in 40 games across all competitions.

Busquets has played alongside the 31-year-old for more than a decade and says there is nothing Barca s players have not seen the unique Messi do.

We have the good fortune to train with him every day, he told the Daily Mail.

I ve spent the last 11 years with him, so you get that greater concentration of him doing these things.

We re not quite as surprised by it all. There isn t a goal he s scored on the pitch that we haven t seen in training and he s also repeating goals he has scored in pr…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer expects Manchester United supporters to see plenty more of Shola Shoretire in the future after the 17-year-old s history-making appearance against Real Sociedad on Thursday. 

Shoretire, who made his senior debut in United s Premier League win over Newcastle United at the weekend, was introduced for the final 14 minutes of the 0-0 draw with La Real to become the Red Devil s youngest ever player in European competition at the age of 17 years and 23 days. 

He was unable to make much of an impact as United booked their Europa League last-16 spot with a 4-0 aggregate victory over their LaLiga opponents, but Solskjaer believes the club have a hugely promising player on their hands. 

Shola will be a good player for us,  the United boss said …

Arsenal interim head coach Freddie Ljungberg claimed his players produced the right style of play in their 2-2 draw with Norwich City on Sunday.

Ljungberg was promoted from a coaching role to take temporary charge of the Gunners for the trip to Carrow Road after Unai Emery was sacked on Friday.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted a brace as Arsenal twice fought back to earn a point following goals from Teemu Pukki and Todd Cantwell.

The Gunners were more adventurous with some of their attacking play, which pleased former Sweden international Ljungberg, who played for Arsenal between 1998 and 2007.

We started the game really well, that’s how I want to play football, Ljungberg told Sky Sports.

We dominated away from home at the start on the game. …

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As part of the 16th round of fixtures of the Super Lig, rescheduled due to the well-publicized problems in Turkish football, Fenerbahce will aim to continue their impressive form as they welcome Konyaspor on Wednesday evening.

This encounter marks the 47th meeting between these two sides, with the hosts holding a commanding lead in the head-to-head standings, boasting 35 victories compared to Konyaspor s nine, while six matches have ended in draws.

Fenerbahce

The initial phase of the 2023/24 season witnessed a swift establishment of a two-way title race between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray in the Turkish top flight. Both clubs surged ahead of the chasing pack, creating a notable 14-point gap over Trabzonspor, currently occupying …

Gianluigi Donnarumma revealed he was unaware Italy had beaten England when making the decisive save on Bukayo Saka s penalty in the Euro 2020 final.

The 22-year-old also kept out Jadon Sancho s attempt from the spot, while Marcus Rashford hit the post, as Italy prevailed 3-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time at Wembley.

Donnarumma s reaction to saving Saka s attempt was muted, with the goalkeeper calmly walking away before being mobbed by his team-mates.

But he has explained his response to helping Italy clinch their first European Championship crown since 1968 was due to him losing track of the score, rather than being in complete control of his emotions.

I didn t realise we had won, he told Sky Sport Italia. I looked at the referee an…