Arsenal closing in on Gabriel Magalhaes

Spartak Moscow have sacked coach Massimo Carrera with Raul Riancho named his temporary replacement.

Carrera ended Spartak s 16-year wait for a Russian Premier League title by leading them to glory in 2016-17.

But the Italian was unable to follow up that success and Spartak finished third last season, then failed to reach the Champions League group stages after losing against PAOK in the third qualifying round.

With Spartak languishing in seventh in the Russian Premier League after one win in their last six games, Carrera was fired on Monday.

Results of the last season were considered unsatisfactory: none of the tasks set were completed, a club statement said. And the results and the performance of the team this season showed that there are no signs of im…

Arsenal were interested in signing Dele Alli before he moved to Tottenham, according to manager Arsene Wenger.

The England international has excelled since moving to White Hart Lane from MK Dons in February 2015 and has twice won the PFA Young Player of the Year award for his performances in the Premier League.

Former Liverpool CEO Ian Ayre claimed this week the Reds had been interested in Alli only to be put off by what he described as excessive demands from the player.

And Wenger, who has made a habit of naming top players that Arsenal have scouted in their younger days, says Alli was on their radar.

Yes, I think we looked at him, Wenger told a news conference ahead of Sunday s derby clash. We watched him a few times because we watched a lot at Milton …

Bruno Fernandes has followed in the footsteps of Manchester United greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy after being voted Player of the Year for a second straight season.

The Portugal international became only the fifth player in United history to win the club s annual award in consecutive campaigns.

Fernandes claimed the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year after receiving an overwhelming 63 per cent of the votes cast by supporters.

Luke Shaw came in second place on 21 per cent with Edinson Cavani third on six per cent.

Fernandes edged out Anthony Martial to last year s award despite only signing for United in January 2020, having made a huge immediate impact.

The 26-year-old is only the fifth player in club history to win the accolade i…

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz s position became increasingly untenable on Monday when it was reported he was set to be banned for six months by the Portuguese Anti-doping Authority (ADoP) for insulting anti-doping officials.

The 57-year-old Mozambique-born former Manchester United assistant manager has already been suspended for a month by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) for insulting officials who had turned up to test his players at a pre-World Cup training camp in May.

But the ADoP indicated last week that they intended to judge the case, and according to reports are now set to impose a lengthy suspension.

Queiroz said in a statement that he had not been notified of this decision and regretted the fact that the media had been informed before him.

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Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof believes increased competition for places is helping to improve the Red Devils fortunes.

Lindelof missed United s poor start to the season with injury but has since fought his way back into the defence, starting the past two matches alongside Lisandro Martinez, who recently signed from Ajax.

Martinez was brought in to bolster a backline that includes the likes of Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane, both of whom have featured this season alongside the Argentina international, who is the only centre-back to have started every league game so far this campaign.

United have improved of late, winning seven of their past nine fixtures in all competitions, and Lindelof believes a battle for places partly explains their upturn in f…

Portland Timbers have completed the signing of defender Liam Ridgewell after he was released by Premier League side West Brom.

The 29-year-old has played the entirety of his career in England with Midlands trio Aston Villa, Birmingham City and West Brom.

Ridgewell, a former England under-21 international, will move to Providence Park on a free transfer pending the necessary paperwork to make the switch to the MLS club..

A versatile defender who can operate either at left-back or centre-half, he will occupy an international slot with Timbers and become the third Designated Player on their roster.

Moving into the summer transfer window it was no secret we were looking to strengthen our squad with a top-level defender, head coach Caleb Porter told the club…

Arsenal s Jack Wilshere has been out of action for nearly a year.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed playmaker Jack Wilshere is back in full training after his long-term injury, and could be in the matchday squad for this weekend clash against Watford.

The English international has been out of action since May 2015, making a 15-minute appearance from the bench in the FA Cup final win over Aston Villa, but is back at the perfect time for the Gunners.

Wilshere could put pressure on Ozil for the CAM role

Wilshere is likely to get some game time with Arsenal short on options in the midfield due to the club suffering from an injury crisis, while the form of chief playmaker Mesut Ozil has been below-par too. The 24-year-old has had a constant battle with i…

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Chile are among the favourites to lift the 2017 Confederations Cup trophy, but their road to glory is not going to be an easy one. La Roja are coming off a 2016 Copa America title, but their first exam in this tournament will be extremely difficult, as they will take on a Cameroon side that will do their best to complicate the reigning CONMEBOL champions.

Chile

Chile have been one of the most successful National Teams in recent years. Juan Antonio Pizzi led them to the title in the 2016 Copa America, and they were coming off a 2015 Copa America title on home soil. Even though they don t have the same history countries such as Brazil and Argentina have, there is no doubt Chile have been on the right track of …

Manchester United have been charged by the Football Association (FA) for their protests after a Cristiano Ronaldo goal was ruled out against Newcastle United.

Ronaldo twice had the ball in the net in quick succession shortly after half-time in Sunday s goalless draw at Old Trafford.

The five-time Ballon d Or winner s initial strike was struck off for a clear offside, before he then stole in to score again as Newcastle prepared to take the resulting free-kick.

Ronaldo claimed the ball was already in play as Fabian Schar had played a short pass to Nick Pope, who was to take the free-kick.

Referee Craig Pawson disagreed, with his arm still in the air as Ronaldo tackled Pope, prompting a furious reaction from the United forward and his team-mates.

Nin…

Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is a goal machine and will only improve as he grows in confidence, according to team-mate Kostas Tsimikas.

Nunez scored his second goal in his last two Premier League starts to guide Liverpool to a 1-0 win over West Ham on Wednesday, a result which moved Jurgen Klopp s men to within four points of the top four.

The Uruguay striker was criticised by some for starting slowly following his big-money move from Benfica, but he has now hit five goals for Liverpool in all competitions this season.

That tally has only been bettered by two of his team-mates: Mohamed Salah (nine) and Roberto Firmino (eight).

Asked about Nunez s qualities, Tsimikas said: He s always there. He can score with the left, with the right, with the head – h…