Eidevall wishes Miedema well but Arsenal keen to move on

Alexis Sanchez wanted to leave Manchester United following his first training session after an agreement with Manchester City failed to come to fruition.

City were expected to sign Sanchez in January 2018 but he ended up joining their rivals United from Arsenal in a swap deal that sent Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the opposite direction.

The Chile international, who was reportedly being paid £390,000 per week, failed to find the form he displayed at Arsenal, where he had become one of the Premier League s leading attackers.

He scored just five goals in 45 appearances in all competitions before spending the 2019-20 season on loan at Inter, who signed him permanently last month.

Injuries also limited Sanchez s impact at United, but he confirmed City had been his …

Stefan Tarkovic praised his Slovakia side for their efforts in neutralising Robert Lewandowski during a shock 2-1 Euro 2020 win over Poland.

Slovakia claimed only their second European Championship victory as an independent nation thanks to Milan Skriniar s 69th-minute winner in St Petersburg on Monday.

An own goal from Wojciech Szczesny, which followed great work from Robert Mak, gave Slovakia a first-half lead that was cancelled out 32 seconds into the second half by Karol Linetty.

But Grzegorz Krychowiak s red card turned the game back in Slovakia s favour and Skriniar s third goal in his last four games for Slovakia secured the three points.

Key to Slovakia s success was Lewandowski s lack of influence. He had the fewest touches of any Poland outfield…

Olivier Giroud came off the bench to salvage an under-strength Chelsea a laboured 2-2 draw at Vidi in the Europa League on Thursday.

With the Blues already confirmed as Group L winners, Maurizio Sarri made 10 changes to the side that beat Manchester City last weekend and was almost made to endure an embarrassing defeat.

The visitors made life difficult for themselves as an Ethan Ampadu own goal quickly erased Willian s 30th-minute opener, before Loic Nego fired the unheralded Hungarians into the lead 11 minutes after the restart.

But the loss of Alvaro Morata to a first-half knee problem proved an unlikely blessing in disguise for Chelsea as Giroud stroked in their second free-kick late in the match to ensure the Premier League side enter the knockout rounds un…

Mexico continued their flawless run under Gerardo Martino after overcoming Canada 3-1 at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Canada impressed in Denver but Mexico s class was telling as an Andres Guardado brace and Roberto Alvarado strike led Martino s men to back-to-back Group A wins.

Alvarado smashed home the opener in the 40th minute before Guardado – a first-half replacement for injured team-mate Erick Gutierrez – made it 2-0 with a stunning long-range effort nine minutes into the second half on Wednesday.

Lucas Cavallini gave Canada some hope with 15 minutes remaining, however, Guardado s second two minutes later sealed a sixth successive victory for Mexico.

Our  with a banger! | |

— Mexican National Team (@miseleccionmxEN)

Canada – …

Gary Neville has cautioned Manchester United not to sign Real Madrid s Cristiano Ronaldo, instead urging his former club to move for team-mate Gareth Bale.

United manager Louis van Gaal is reportedly interested in bringing one of the Real attackers to Old Trafford next off-season.

Ronaldo left the Premier League for Spain in 2009 for a then-world record £80million fee before Bale smashed that figure four years later.

Retired defender Neville is hesitant for United to make a move for Ronaldo and doubts whether the Portuguese forward s return would be a success.

I am not sure it is such a good thing for Cristiano to come back, Neville told The Mirror.

I’d prefer us to get Gareth Bale and that’s no disrespect to Cristiano who I think is poss…

Missing out on the chance to claim Madrid bragging rights on Sunday night, Los Blancos eventually had to settle for a 0-0 stalemate against Rayo Vallecano.

While Carlo Ancelotti’s side might have been tipped as a landslide contender when they returned to the Bernabeu this weekend, Real Madrid put in a largely toothless performance on home soil.

Dethroned at the top of the La Liga table by a record-breaking Girona, Madrid were clearly frustrated after drawing their first domestic blank of the season.

Although Ancelotti’s camp might have missed out on the chance to get one over on their local rivals, Vallecano deserve an abundance of praise for a gritty display across the capital.

Still dreaming of the chance to mount a genuine European charge this tim…

Juventus are contemplating a double swoop into the playing personnel of Real Madrid, as reported by Tuttosport. The Turin-based newspaper claims that both James Rodriguez and Isco Alarcon might soon find their way to the Allianz Stadium in the north of Italy.

Having dominated Serie A for a while now, the Old Lady are aiming to boost their team as the competition in Italy grows, as well as constantly keeping an eye on the long-elusive Champions League trophy.

James is still at Bayern Munich on loan from Real in a deal which expires this summer. He didn t start on the best of terms with Niko Kovač who was appointed Bayern manager at the start of the season, and his future with the Bavarians seems to be furthering away. Meanwhile, Isco has been enduring a torrid time at…

One of LaLiga s fiercest city derbies takes place on Saturday, as Sevilla and Real Betis meet at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan in a game which could have a significant impact on an enthralling top-four race.

El Gran Derbi, as it is known in Andalusia s capital, rarely disappoints, as both clubs are renowned for their vociferous supporters and the electric atmospheres they create.

Even before their encounters begin, the streets surrounding the stadium overflow with people in a party atmosphere – incessant chants pound your eardrums, flare smoke obscures your vision and excitable fans make it nearly impossible to move.

On the pitch, proceedings are often fiery and engrossing, with only one derby in the last 10 years finishing goalless.

But few of their meeti…

Spain head coach Julen Lopetegui has not ruled out the prospect of taking Alvaro Morata to the World Cup.

The Chelsea striker has acknowledged he fears for his place in the squad after a difficult first season in England, in which he has struggled to recapture some good initial form due to a back problem.

The former Real Madrid forward has not played for his country since November and is not guaranteed to start in Saturday s FA Cup final, Chelsea s last match of the season.

Lopetegui, though is still weighing up his options in attack and has not discounted Morata from his plans.

I won t assess players individually, Lopetegui told Sport. He is one of the players we like, who has our confidence and we have to make decisions.

We ve always said the…

Rafinha has joined Celta Vigo on a season-long loan after signing a new deal at Barcelona.

The 26-year-old attacking midfielder is now contracted to his parent club until the end of the 2020-21 campaign but will spend another spell away from Camp Nou.

In January 2018, Rafinha joined Inter for the second half of that season before re-joining Ernesto Valverde s squad for 2018-19.

A painful theme of his career recurred when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury against Atletico Madrid last November – the third serious knee setback to befall Rafinha since 2015.

The Brazil international has featured in all three of Barca s LaLiga games so far this season, with Valverde short of wide attacking options as the likes of Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembe…