Premier League
Arsene Wenger considers possible Arsenal return
Former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger has remarked that his return to the struggling English Premiership side should not be ruled out.
The Frenchman left Arsenal in 2018 after being in charge for 22 years. Although currently employed by FIFA as Chief of Global Football Development, Wenger has admitted missing being a manager.
Mirror in the UK reported that the Frenchman missed getting a job in Switzerland two months ago, Wenger, now 71, has hinted that he would be open to being a boss once again and has not officially retired.
Wenger’s comments have continuously ensured that clubs are aware he is at least somewhat open to a return, with football fans unable to rule him out of taking over their club as a result.
Back in 2019, he said: “My future is unknown – even for me.
“I enjoy daily life now and I have been travelling a lot recently all over the world,” the Frenchman stated. “I am enjoying a little bit less pressure, and more freedom as well. But I miss the competition.”
A year later, he claimed the conditions for a return would have to be “optimal” in order for him to get back on the training ground.
“Every day I want to train, I’ve been doing this all my life,” Wenger told Europe 1. “I’m 70 years old, I gave a lot. Should I play Russian roulette a bit, even when it comes to my health? I can’t do things by halves, so I ask myself this question.”
“It will be in conditions that I consider optimal,” he revealed. “Otherwise, I will not do it.”
Despite his role having great importance, notably leading the campaign for a biannual World Cup, Wenger admitted his current role is not as stimulating as coaching.
“I smelled the grass every morning, and today I am more in muffled, administrative environments, and in offices. So, obviously, I feel a bit of an intruder in there.
“[But] I want to create the most efficient analysis centre in the world at Fifa. I know it is very ambitious, but you will see that at the World Cup in 2022 we will produce match analyses that will be extremely efficient.”
He continued: “I’m in the process of hiring a lot of people at this level right now, and I think there is still a lot of progress to be made in the way we see football.”
Current gaffer Mikel Arteta is enduring a difficult time at the Emirates and their struggles have prompted Wenger to discuss a potential return to north London on BILD Live.
“I’m 71. I’ve given this club the best years of my life,” he said, seemingly with the aim on keeping speculation to a minimum.
“Today the club is in good shape. They had two tough games, the team has potential and I hope they can come back.
Wenger added: “At the moment I’m just a fan.”
Supporters were generally dissatisfied with Arsenal’s plummeting direction under their legendary boss in his final years, but things have hardly improved.
138208672551
The Gunners are enduring a season without European football for the first time in 26 years and have lost their opening three top-flight-matches, failing to score in each of them.
Certainly a romantic suggestion, it would be hard to argue that the conditions are “optimal” for a return at the Emirates, although his love for the club could act as a compromise amid their troubles.
Arteta is adamant he can turn things around after being backed with over £150million worth of signings in the summer transfer window and, unlike Wenger did in 2018, will seemingly not voluntarily be stepping aside any time soon.
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- OBITUARY3 days ago
BREAKING: Nigerian Goalkeeping Legend Peter Rufai is dead
- Nigerian Football2 days ago
Football Agent John Shittu Demands Retraction and ₦250 Million Damages from Samson Siasia Over Bribery Allegation
- WAFCON1 week ago
Super Falcons Land in Morocco, Eye Historic ‘La Decima’ Women’s AFCON Title
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Kwara United Clinch Historic First Title as President Federation Cup Final Goes to Penalties for the 18th time
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Rivers Angels Crowned 2025 Female Federation Cup Champions After Penalty Shootout Thriller
- OBITUARY2 days ago
Peter Rufai looked lean when I last saw him, says mourning NFF President, Gusau
- OBITUARY2 days ago
Family issues statement on Peter Rufai
- IMMEMORIAL2 days ago
Peter Rufai’s Death Adds to Long List of July Tragedies in Nigerian Football