July 31, 2020
Mikel Arteta’s team for Arsenal’s FA Cup final with Chelsea at Wembley largely picks itself.
Since football returned last month, the Spaniard has begun to find his favoured XI and they should start on Saturday.
Bernd Leno is back in training, but Emiliano Martinez will play in goal. Rob Holding should come into the back-three due to Shkodran Mustafi’s injury, with David Luiz and Kieran Tierney alongside him.
The key debate is around who starts at left wing-back, with Bukayo Saka and Ainsley Maitland-Niles contenders. The latter excelled against Manchester City in the semi-final and therefore will hope to start.
July 31, 2020
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard insists he has huge respect for David Luiz as he prepares to come up against his one-time team-mate and the player he sold last year.
Lampard sold Luiz to Arsenal for £8million shortly after taking over as Chelsea manager and the Brazilian will hope to come back to haunt him in tomorrow’s FA Cup Final.
Luiz divides opinion but Lampard says he knows the influence the centre-back could have at Wembley.
Asked if he sees Luiz as a weak link in the Arsenal team, Lampard said: “I certainly haven’t. I have a real respect for David as a team-mate that I played with in the Champions League we won in 2012. The bond of that group was huge and David was a big personality and a top player within that.
July 31, 2020
Peter Moore will step down from his role as Liverpool’s chief executive this summer, the club have confirmed.
The 65-year-old will be replaced by current managing director and chief commercial officer Billy Hogan following the expiry of his contract at Anfield.
Liverpool native Moore returned from a 30-year stint in the United States that saw him work for companies such as EA, Reebok and Sega in order to take up a role with his boyhood club in 2017.
July 31, 2020
Tottenham are determined to make a success of record signing Tanguy Ndombele, amid interest in the Frenchman from Inter Milan and Barcelona.
Inter are open to offering Ndombele an escape route from Spurs, while Barca remain keen on a part-exchange deal despite having already seen an approach rebuffed.
But, for now, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is determined not to sell the maverick midfielder, who cost £55million from Lyon last July.
July 31, 2020
Charlton manager Lee Bowyer is set for crunch talks with Paul Elliott and Chris Farnell early next week.
Bowyer is due to meet prospective Charlton owner Elliott and lawyer Farnell after expressing major concerns about the situation at The Valley.
An unhappy Bowyer last week cast doubt over his Charlton future after they were relegated from the Championship following months of turmoil behind the scenes.
Relegation leaves Charlton facing an uncertain future amid a boardroom crisis and an ongoing EFL investigation into owners East Street Investments [ESI].
July 31, 2020
Frank Lampard has confirmed N'Golo Kante and Willian will be in the Chelsea squad for the FA Cup Final against Arsenal on Saturday.
Kante hasn't featured for the Blues since July 4 after the 3-0 win over Watford, missing the FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester United and the final three matches of the league campaign.
The 29-year-old has made just 20 league starts after being hampered by injury this season and was sidelined with a hamstring problem in his latest setback.
But the France international has recovered in time to make himself available for the Blues ahead of their evening clash against Arsenal at Wembley.
July 31, 2020
Barcelona hope to tie goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to a new long-term contract amid reported interest from Chelsea and Bayern Munich.
Preliminary talks over a new deal started earlier this year, but were put off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Aside from captain Lionel Messi, Ter Stegen has been Barca’s most important player over the past few seasons and president Josep Maria Bartomeu said last week that the German’s renewal was top priority this summer .
July 31, 2020
Mikel Arteta believes Saturday’s FA Cup final will not be Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s last game for Arsenal and lifting the trophy could help convince him to sign a new contract.
Aubameyang will captain Arsenal at Wembley Stadium against Chelsea, but he is yet to pen fresh terms on a new deal.
The forward’s current contract is due to expire in under a year’s time and he is attracting interest from Barcelona and Inter Milan.
But Arteta, who himself won the FA Cup as captain of Arsenal back in 2014, believes defeating Chelsea and lifting the trophy could help convince Aubameyang to stay.
July 31, 2020
Arsenal have emerged as favourites to sign Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona this summer as the Brazilian looks set to return to the Premier League in 2020-21.
Arsenal are willing to offer Matteo Guendouzi in a player-plus-cash deal to secure a permanent transfer, but Barca are not interested in the French midfielder and are in no hurry to sell. Therefore another loan for the Brazilian is more likely at this stage.
Coutinho is currently on loan at Bayern Munich after an indifferent season-and-a-half at Camp Nou, but the Bundesliga champions will not be taking up their €120 million option to make the move permanent this summer.
July 31, 2020
Idris Elba has said he is proud of his first on-screen role in Crimewatch – unlike many other actors who do not like to admit they appeared in the show.
The Luther actor will receive a Bafta special award at Friday night’s TV event, where winners will accept their gongs virtually.
The 47-year-old said he was “thankful for the job” when he landed the role of a murderer in a Crimewatch reconstruction scene in the 1990s.
