Heads will roll, Wenger warns players
Arsene Wenger has warned his Arsenal flops that new recruits are on the way as the furious Gunners boss prepares for League Cup semi-final against Chelsea.
Wenger’s side suffered one of the most chastening defeats of his increasingly tarnished reign on Sunday as second tier Nottingham Forest won 4-2 in the FA Cup third round.
The Frenchman prioritised the League Cup showdown with Chelsea by keeping his main men fresh for the first leg clash at Stamford Bridge means he can ill-afford a defeat against Antonio Conte’s men. But regardless of Arsenal’s League Cup fortunes, Wenger has clearly had enough of another underachieving season which sees his team in danger of failing to qualify for the Champions League for a second successive year.
Wenger insists the Gunners, who last week signed Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos, will do further business during the transfer window in an effort to turn things around.
“Yes, because we are in the second week of January and, after that, it passes quickly. We signed a Greek boy who looks quite good in training but apart from that, we have not done anything. Will we be out there to do something? Yes we will,” Wenger said.
IWOBI FACING FINE FOR PARTYING
Alex Iwobi is facing a fine from Arsenal following newspaper reports he was out partying less than 48 hours before the holders crashed out of the FA Cup with a shock 4-2 defeat at Nottingham Forest.
Arsene Wenger confirmed he would discuss the matter with Iwobi and take action if the allegations were accurate. “if it’s true he will be fined,” said Wenger.
AUBAMEYANG CHASE HAS CHINESE WORRIED
Speculation that Guangzhou Evergrande and Beijing Guoan are to go head-tohead for the signature of striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has prompted the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to warn both clubs they risk incurring hefty levies if they break Chinese Super League transfer regulations.
Chinese media reported that the clubs are in talks with Borussia Dortmund for the signature of the Gabon international who has long been linked with a move away from Germany having regularly topped the Bundesliga scoring charts.
A fee in the region of 70 million euros ($83.4 million) has been touted as the figure needed to bring the forward to China.
LONDON:
ZIDANE NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR
Real Madrid may have ended the year badly, but Zinedine Zidane has been named French coach of 2017 for leading the club to a Liga and Champions League double. “I want to show that I can also be a good coach in tough circumstances,” Zidane said in an article published on Tuesday in France Football magazine, which gives the award. Real are fourth in La Liga, 16 points behind leaders Barcelona, and they ended 2017 with a crushing 3-0 defeat at home in the Clasico.
LONDON: MILAN: PARIS: