Ostersunds FK 0, Arsenal 3: Arsene Wenger and Henrikh Mkhitaryan talk up chances of Gunners’ success in Europa League February 15, 2018 Arsenal playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined his manager Arsene Wenger in trumpeting the message that the Gunners are increasingly committed to winning this season’s Europa League after Thursday’s stroll against Ostersunds FK. The north Londoners breezed through their last-32 first-leg showdown on the Swedish minnows’s potentially troublesome 3G pitch courtesy of strikes from Nacho Monreal and [...]
Leicester manager Claude Puel accuses Manchester City of a lack of respect over pursuit of Riyad Mahrez February 15, 2018 Leicester boss Claude Puel has slammed Manchester City for showing a lack of respect by making a bid to sign wantaway forward Riyad Mahrez in the dying embers of the January transfer window. Mahrez returned to the Foxes squad on Saturday against City at the Etihad Stadium following a self-imposed exile after a transfer to [...]
George Groves v Eubank Jr: Kalle Sauerland on how the World Boxing Super Series can break the sport’s boom and bust model February 15, 2018 George Groves fights Chris Eubank Jr in Manchester this weekend in the semi-finals of the World Boxing Super Series. For the tournament’s organisers, the second half of that sentence will soon be enough to ensure the sport’s fans tune in, regardless of the names mentioned in the first. Groves vs Eubank Jr — a hotly-anticipated [...]
Sky share price rises above takeover offer: English Premier League victory could see Rupert Murdoch bowing out just at the right time February 15, 2018 Investors were clearly happy with Sky’s Tuesday night Premier League result, pushing the company’s shares to nearly £11 a pop during yesterday’s trading. The broadcasting giant’s stock eventually ended the day 7p higher than the £10.75 a share tabled by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. With the majority of Premier League TV rights decided, Sky [...]
Chris Tremlett: England should not rush Ben Stokes back into the team February 14, 2018 He doesn’t always have the best brain off the field but on it, more often than not, it’s a different story and having Ben Stokes back in the England squad will be a major boost for all concerned. Ever since his arrest on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm in September, Stokes’s situation has been [...]
Sky and BT Sport pay £4.46bn to share Premier League TV rights for 160 games between 2019/20 and 2021/22 February 13, 2018 After years of extraordinary revenue growth, the Premier League has sold its latest package of live TV games to Sky and BT Sport for a reduced per-match rate. The two media giants will pay a combined £4.46bn to televise 160 matches per season, between 2019/20 and 2021/22. Three years ago, Sky and BT Sport paid [...]
Blow for Arsenal as striker Alexandre Lacazette ruled out for up to six weeks following knee surgery February 13, 2018 Arsenal have suffered a major blow as they prepare for Thursday’s Europa League clash with Ostersunds FK after striker Alexandre Lacazette was ruled out for up to six weeks following knee surgery. Lacazette, who has scored nine goals for the Gunners this term following his £46.5m summer move from Lyon, underwent the procedure yesterday and [...]
Manchester United top Premier League stadium naming rights table ahead of Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal February 13, 2018 Manchester United could earn an additional £26.2m per year by rebranding Old Trafford, according to a study on the growing value of stadium naming rights in the Premier League. United’s stadium naming rights are by far the most valuable in the English top flight and worth £7.1m more than those of Manchester City, says advisory [...]
Chelsea 3, West Bromwich Albion 0: Antonio Conte admits his relief as Eden Hazard inspires gloom-lifting victory February 12, 2018 Chelsea boss Antonio Conte expressed his relief after Eden Hazard turned on the style and inspired the defending Premier League champions to a gloom-lifting victory over bottom-of-the-table West Brom. Hazard netted twice, either side of a Victor Moses strike, as Chelsea recovered from back-to-back thrashings by Bournemouth and Watford and regained fourth place from Tottenham. [...]
Champions League: Are Premier League clubs on the cusp of a European renaissance? February 12, 2018 The Champions League resumes this week with more English clubs in the knockout stages than ever before. All five Premier League sides who qualified to play in Europe’s elite competition — Manchester United joined last season’s domestic top four by winning the Europa League — cruised through to the last 16 with relative ease. Only [...]