Joey Barton has revealed that he only wants to play for Marseille, as The Daily Mail state that the midfielder has offered to tear up his contract at Loftus Road.
The controversial battler is serving a 12-match ban after being dismissed for violent conduct in the R’s final game of last season against his former club Manchester City, and as such Mark Hughes is thought to want to sell him.
After training with Fleetwood Town, Barton has expressed his desire to move to the Ligue 1 side, who have been accredited with an interest in a loan move for the midfielder.
Barton has told his Twitter followers that he wants a switch to the Stade Velodrome side to be wrapped-up before the close of the transfer window.
“Marseille won again as well. Allez les Marseillais. Maybe I’ll see you all this week?” he stated on the social networking site.
“I am hopeful that things will be sorted out soon. Other clubs are in but I only want to play in Marseille. This is the place for me.
“Hopefully QPR and Marseille can finalise the deal in the next few days. My heart is already in the Velodrome,” he expressed.
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Kevin Friend has been appointed to officiate Manchester United and Arsenal’s Premier League clash this weekend, which could well end up being the last time Arsene Wenger faces the Red Devils and one of his most bitter rivals in Jose Mourinho.
And Friend has proved himself a referee of curious contradictions this season, at least compared to the rest of the 20 referees to work in the Premier League throughout 2017/18. Ranking in the bottom two for fouls per game, fouls per tackle and yellow cards per game, at first glance Friend is the kind of referee who allows physical challenges, wants the game to flow and shies away from making controversial decisions.
But that only represents a false sense of security for Arsenal and United, because Friend has awarded a staggering eight penalties during his 18 top flight outings this season. In fact, if the two referees to officiate one game apiece are taken out of the equation, he averages the most penalties per match of any Premier League official. Indeed, it seems that while Friend is usually prepared to let plenty go, different rules apply inside the penalty box.
Arsenal and United must be aware of that this weekend, but Friend has another statistical quirk that should breed confidence into the Old Trafford camp. It’s no secret that United often get the rub of the green from referees when playing on their own patch – well, that effect could be doubled or tripled this weekend, because no Premier League referee this season has a higher home win bias than Friend’s 61%.
Worrying news for the north Londoners, who also have a mixed record when Friend is in charge. While he oversaw their 2-0 win over Brighton back in October without awarding the Gunners a single yellow card, he was also in charge for the 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth. For United, meanwhile, this will be their first Premier League clash this season with Friend donning the whistle.
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Tottenham will not break into the top four this season, but should be competing once again in the continent’s second best tournament next term.
It doesn’t sound like a great campaign until you factor in the obstacles Spurs have had to face. New manager Mauricio Pochettino has had to familiarise himself with the squad and work out a viable formation.
This has not been easy considering that a number of key roles lack players who have the necessary ability to do the job right. It has been expected for a long time now that Pochettino will be dumping as many underachieving players as he can this summer in order to free up money for important signings.
Fortunately there have been a few very capable players this season that the club must hold onto and here are five of them…
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Harry Kane
No list of Tottenham’s most important players would be complete without a mention for Spurs wonder kid Harry Kane.
The 21-year-old has lit up the league this season by scoring 20 goals, becoming Spurs’ main striker and game changer. Kane has a bright future ahead of him, just as long as this spectacular year doesn’t turn out to be fluke.
If he really is that good then offers from the richest clubs in Europe will come flooding in and may already be on their way but Tottenham must do everything they can to convince him to stay put.
Hugo Lloris
A goalkeeper of Lloris’ quality was always going to be the club’s first choice between the sticks, so when he signed back in 2012 it was no surprise that long term keeper Brad Friedel was forced out.
Now in his third season, having been one of the Premier League’s best, there are rumours circulating that the Frenchman could be poached by a number of different clubs in the summer.
Lloris has made numerous important and impressive saves to keep Spurs in European contention and they’ll certainly need him once again next season if they want to break into the top four.
Christian Eriksen
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Christian Eriksen has had his ups and downs this season but when he has been on form then he is a vital cog in Spurs’ midfield.
The 23-year-old joined Spurs in 2013, and this season he has found the net 10 times – making him the squad’s joint second most prolific player.
The Dane still isn’t the finished article but given more time he can mature into a great attacking midfielder, and Spurs will want him in their ranks when that occurs.
Nacer Chadli
Like Eriksen, Nacer Chadli has scored 10 league goals for Spurs but he has gone one better and provided five assists, which is three more than the Dane.
Chadli only scored one league goal last season, so his improvement this campaign has been significant and is perhaps in part down to the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino.
The winger has made over 30 appearances in what has been a period of transition for the club, who are hoping that next year’s squad will return much stronger.
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Pochettino will have decided which of his players deserve to stay this summer and Chadli has proven he is definitely one of them.
Danny Rose
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Since joining Tottenham back in 2007 Danny Rose has been loaned out four times.
But in the last two seasons under both Tim Sherwood and Mauricio Pochettino, Rose has found himself featuring heavily at White Hart Lane.
Though at only 24-years-old, the left-back has drawn attention from big spenders Manchester City, who would like to add him to their ageing squad, but Spurs will reportedly ignore all offers.
Rose signed a new 5-year-deal last year that should keep him at White Hart Lane until 2019, which by then may finally see Spurs regularly competing in the Champions League as planned.
Manchester United’s Premier League title win proved that there was a lot of discussion and hysteria over nothing. Those who knew how talented David de Gea was from his days at Atletico Madrid always saw a title-winning goalkeeper in the making. In England, they were quick to shoot him down when the opportunity arose. But the turn of this calendar year proved once again that Alex Ferguson got it right with his investment in one of Europe’s most talented goalkeepers.
It doesn’t change too much, however. De Gea is sure to be one of two or three goalkeepers battling for the Spanish No 1 shirt when the time is right, but the day isn’t won yet. The youngster is still susceptible to mistakes at his age, and the wise move would be for United to bring in a veteran this summer to act as a reliever across four fronts.
And much of the same can be said about Arsenal. It many ways, both clubs are in the same boat in wanting to develop young goalkeeping talents for the long term.
Wojciech Szczesny was taken out of the firing line in March following a string of poor performances and the belief that his concentration was shaken. Lukas Fabianski came in and offered the Arsenal No 1 a taste of what it’s like to be rightly benched when standards are not met. After so many years of Arsene Wenger just making do with what he has in goal, the manager has finally found a solution to help bring the best out of Szczesny.
One of the highlights of Szczesny’s recent performances in goal was the save at Loftus Road against Loic Remy, diving to his left to tip the curling shot round the post. It was a save the keeper might not have made earlier in the season, and one that has gone a long way to keeping Arsenal well in the face for a top four spot.
It also said a lot about Szczesny that a save like that came up after so long without much in the way of shots on goal from QPR. It’s incredibly easy for players, especially younger, inexperienced players to lose focus and allow saveable shots to bundle past them. On that occasion, the Polish international looked like a player suited for a top Premier League club.
David de Gea’s emergence from the criticism has been far more emphatic, though. Here was a player who often conveys a shy, introverted personality coming to the fore when United desperately needed some stability in goal. Forget the issues about coming from crosses and taking charge of the penalty area, de Gea needed to be the focused and reliable last line of defence in a noticeably unspectacular United team. It’s a team who had to deal with the veteran centre-back pairing being broken up due to injuries or age while still fighting for dominance in English football. The transfer fee involved and the expectation to properly succeed Edwin van der Sar shows just how far de Gea has come.
You’d like to see more of the same of what has been some of the highlights of both de Gea and Szczesny’s season. Both are supremely talented individuals and have all the makings of becoming top tier European goalkeepers alongside prominent names such as Manuel Neuer. But where inconsistencies or fragile minds may dent rapid progress, the presence of a veteran goalkeeper who has been there and done it can be invaluable. It’s not just about both United and Arsenal (although Arsenal are in a far more needing situation) securing the short term, but also ensuring that the goalkeeping position is safe and well-guarded for many years to come.
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For Arsenal especially, there is a tendency to become lazy and content with what they have. Wenger has always been about offering younger players opportunities if he believed them to be just about good enough. But for too long we’ve seen how detrimental that mentality can be. This hasn’t been a full awakening for Szczesny, and much more work will need to go into proving he is the best player for the club.
We’re only days away from one of the biggest Celtic games of the season as they prepare to do with battle with eternal rivals Rangers at Hampden in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
Victory will be a major step on the road to a potential second successive treble of domestic trophies, making Brendan Rodgers and his team legends in the history of the football club.
One of the key decision that Rodgers has to make on Sunday is who he should play as striker, with Leigh Griffiths scoring against Hamilton recently to remind everyone he is back, fit and ready to go.
In contrast, Moussa Dembele looked well below his best in that game, leading some to suggest that it should be Griffiths who starts against the Light Blues.
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However, with a record of six goals in eight derby appearances, is Dembele still the stick on choice to lead the line at Hampden?
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Many Celtic fans think so, believing the Frenchman is still the man to get the job done.
They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on it all…
Arsenal’s superb victory over Liverpool on Saturday lifted them up to second place in the Premier League table, and having opened up a nine-point gap over their last opponents in the race for the top four, they look like certainties to qualify for the Champions League once again.
Nothing new there, then.
Over the last decade this has been the norm for the Gunners and while fans have enjoyed the consistency of top four finishes, there has been little else to celebrate as their side have rarely threatened a realistic challenge for Premier League or Champions League glory, lifting just a solitary trophy thanks to their FA Cup victory last year.
But recent weeks suggest things could be about to get a lot more serious at the Emirates and judging by their emphatic display against Liverpool, it looks like Arsenal are finally emerging as genuine title contenders.
There have been plenty of calls for Arsenal to get rid of Arsene Wenger over the last few seasons, and after an awful display at home to Monaco in the Champions League, the pressure piled back onto the Frenchman as fans vented their frustration.
But aside from that disappointing European night, Arsenal have been on a tremendous run of form that has created a real positive atmosphere around the club. Since defeat at White Hart Lane back in February, they have won six consecutive games in the league, as well as reaching another FA Cup semi-final thanks to an impressive victory at Old Trafford. Nine wins from their last 10 Premier League games mean they are the form side in the division, culminating in a manager of the month award for Wenger. And there is now even talk that they could possibly catch Chelsea at the top of the table.
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While this looks extremely unlikely, that fact it is even being mentioned goes to show just much Arsenal have improved recently and they can take plenty of positives going into next season where they can then really challenge for the title.
While Arsenal’s ability to beat the lesser sides in the division has never really been questioned, it was their inability to pick up points against the bigger clubs that often proved to be their downfall. But having left both Manchester sides with victories since the turn of the year, and then hammering Liverpool at the weekend, they seem to have turned a corner.
With the emergence of Francis Coquelin epitomising their new found resolve, they look a far more solid outfit defensively that has improved the balance of the side. Coquelin’s inclusion in the side has allowed their attacking quality to thrive in recent months, and there’s no doubt they have one of the best array of options available going forward in the division.
Alexis Sanchez has been superb since his arrival, and with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott all guaranteeing goals, Wenger is hardly short of options going forward. The ability of all these players to rotate and play anywhere across the midfield or attack gives the manager real options when selecting his team and allows his side to continue playing the attractive style of passing football that they have become famous for.
Add to this their in form striker Olivier Giroud and they really have all the ingredients to challenge for the league next season. The Frenchman joined Wenger in picking up the player of the month award for March thanks to his five goals last month. Since his nightmare against Monaco, Giroud has shown his class and importance to the team with seven goals in as many games, and he also netted for his country during the international break.
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If Arsenal can continue their impressive run of form until the end of the season, they could ultimately end up with a second-placed finish as well as another FA Cup trophy, which would have to go down as a successful campaign. With one or two new recruits in the summer, Wenger will be quietly confident that his team could then go one better next season and end their wait for another Premier League crown.
Providing they can stay clear of injuries, which have proved a real burden over recent seasons, Arsenal may well be about to step it up another level.
What a perfect week it has been, a trip to Wembley to look forward to and a pretty easy derby away win? That’s what we do.
Let’s be honest I didn’t think we’d have much chance at Blackburn in the replay, yes we played well and deserved to win, but I thought “That’s it, we’re out”. Didn’t exactly happen like that…
Danny Shittu, you are slowly becoming a legend. His goal just before half time secured a semi final against Wigan and a third trip to Wembley in four years, a goal and an absolute rock at the back, nothing was getting past him.
‘Wall was the superior team over two games but I really expected more from Blackburn. They were poor, really poor. The tactics from Michael Appleton were inept, hitting the long ball, Danny Shittu vs. Jordan Rhodes in the air, only one winner. This turned out to be Appleton’s second to last game, as he was sacked yesterday.
Now the Lions fans are looking forward to their Wembley day out, we all said at the start of the season we would take a decent league position and a cup run. Looks like we’ll get it.
And when it looked like it couldn’t get any better for ‘Wall it did, with a 2-0 derby day win away at Charlton. Well that’s what usually happens when Charlton play ‘Wall… A ‘Wall win.
Most fans were expecting maybe a somewhat poor performance as the players may have one eye on Wembley, and not wanting to get injured or suspended.
This wasn’t the best game on a very bad pitch, like something you’d find up Hackney Marshes, whoever scored the first goal, was most likely to win it.
And that turned out to be Millwall with Jermaine Easter with his first touch in a Millwall shirt. I couldn’t see the reason behind signing Easter from Crystal Palace on loan, but goals like that will change my mind.
And then came a absolute belter from Shane Lowry from 30 yards out. A screamer of a free kick from you’re left back, very unusual, well unless your Gareth Bale. Well let me say, Gareth would be very proud to have scored this.
This weekend highlights how crazy the Championship is. Any of 12 teams could steal be relegated into League One, and it seems one or two big teams will be heading through the trap door, but the big day out against Wigan will be a nice distraction.
Hopefully this cup run will have a positive effect on the team, KJ has already said anyone not pulling their weight in the team will be dropped, so it seems a few places at Wembley will be up for grabs, hopefully this will see the team rise up the table.
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Que Sara Sara, whatever will be will be, were going to Wembley, Que Sara Sara.
Ever Banega was instrumental as Sevilla knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League in the round of 16 but was not able to have the same impact in the next round.
Bayern Munich proved capable of squeezing the life out of the Spanish side, winning out 2-1 on aggregate after a 0-0 home draw in the tie’s second leg on Wednesday.
The Argentine, valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt, is a classy deep playmaker who can shuttle the ball very effectively from side to side and has shown again this season that he can hold his own in the most refined company in the Champions League.
With Liverpool still looking for a holding midfielder and doubts swirling about the future of Emre Can, maybe it is time for Jurgen Klopp to look in a slightly different direction and go for a calmer influence at the base of midfield to compliment his high-tempo other midfield options.
With 4 key passes and 5 dribbles from the game against Bayern, as he looked to help his side get back into the tie, he has shown that he is capable of having an impact against top class midfielders.
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He was not constantly on the ball or always accurate, but that risk and willingness to make something happen is something that is bound to appeal to Klopp.
It would be a diversion from his usual transfer strategy, but Banega could just add another dimension to the Liverpool midfield.
Following almost a year out of football due to a serious knee injury sustained back in January 2014, Theo Walcott has struggled over the last few months to get a run of games. Now with only 15 months left on his Arsenal contract, the winger and his club have been unable to come to an agreement.
Walcott currently earns around £90k-a-week, but is said to want a big rise to well over £100k, though Arsenal are understandably unwilling to meet this. That’s no surprise really, considering that the young man has spent a lot of time suffering with injuries and can’t even secure a place in the starting XI.
The problem is that since the arrival of both Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck there is enough talent and cover in his position. A number of other players are also able to fill the wide position on the right, notably Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil all of whom have featured in this role.
Walcott is a talented player and has been important for the Gunners in the past but times have changed and the 26-year-old should be more focussed on winning back his place rather than negotiating for more cash.
Question is: would he really be willing to leave Arsenal over money?
According to the Daily Mirror Liverpool are ready to make an offer for him. The Merseyside club might have an important departure of their own this summer, with Raheem Sterling’s contract discussions also breaking down, and Walcott is seen as a worthwhile replacement. Manager Brendan Rodgers is said to be a huge admirer of Walcott and an enquiry was even made by Liverpool to bring the England international to Anfield before he signed his current Arsenal deal.
Sterling is expected to stay at Anfield, though, and the two players will get the chance to link up shortly while on international duty. Both Sterling and Walcott have been included in Roy Hodgson’s England squad to face Lithuania, a 2016 European qualifier, and an international friendly against Italy.
While it is true that Sanchez is hogging Walcott’s positio – the Chilean’s 13 league goals are only helping to further secure his place – it is also true that Walcott is loved by Arsenal supporters and they would be sad to see him go, especially to a top four rival like Liverpool. But Walcott needs to know that next season he’ll get to start a decent amount of games and actually have a good run, otherwise what’s the point in staying.
If Wenger can reassure Walcott that he has an important part to play in Arsenal’s future then he should focus on finishing this campaign strongly and look to fight for his position next season. Either commit to Arsenal and just take whatever offer the club puts on the table or leave for a team that will give him a fresh start and the pay packet he thinks he deserves.
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But at no cost should Wenger let him go on a free this time next year.
It seems like the criteria for being a Manchester United goalkeeper is not just how good you are in between the sticks, but also how good you are at pulling gorgeous women! We have previously featured David de Gea and his WAG Edurne García Almagro and now Anders Lindegaard’s other half Missé Beqiri takes centre stage.
Missé Beqiri is a Swedish model who doesn’t seem to be a big fan of clothing. The 24-year-old is actually Albanian-born but has resided in Malmo, so it’s easy for her to get the train to Lindegaard’s homeland, Denmark. Misse not only models, she even has her own blog and is quite a wordsmith.
Rumours of the pair hooking up emerged on Facebook, as Misse replied to Anders’ brag that he had the best girlfriend in the world by saying: “as good as it gets”. The pair also follow each other on Twitter, where Bequiri’s bio states: “it’s simple”. As is viewing the Missé Beqiri WAG Gallery.
Click on Misse Bequiri below to see her WAG Gallery