Brazil defender Dani Alves is relishing reaching 100 caps with his country.
The 33-year-old is set to complete his century after a 10-year international career in Tuesday s World Cup qualifier away to Peru.
Former Brazil midfielder Edu – now part of the national team s technical staff – presented Alves with a commemorative shirt ahead of the occasion and the right-back is honoured to reach the milestone, comparing himself to the legendary artist Pablo Picasso.
As a person, I m like Picasso. Those who understand me, like me. Those that don t, won t pay millions for me, Alves told Globo Esporte.
It is a great joy and a satisfaction to reach this milestone. Sometimes I don t know how many good things I ve experienced and am experiencing with the natio…
Barcelona showed they knew how to suffer in order to beat Real Valladolid, much to the satisfaction of boss Ronald Koeman.
Ousmane Dembele s 90th-minute strike gave the Blaugrana a 1-0 victory over their relegation-threatened opponents at Camp Nou, cutting the gap to leaders Atletico Madrid to a solitary point.
Real Madrid are up next in El Clasico this weekend, with a thrilling three-way title battle looking set to go to the wire.
If any team looks capable of pulling clear it is Barca, who have won 13 and drawn one in LaLiga in 2021, although they were far from their fluent best for long periods on Monday – something Koeman acknowledged.
You have to know how to suffer in all the games, we knew how to do it. So yes, we deserved to win, he told reporter…
Eddie Nketiah is relishing the prospect of starting the new season as Arsenal’s main striker and insists manager Mikel Arteta knows he can deliver the goods.
England’s record goalscorer at under-21 level is likely to lead the line for the Gunners when the campaign gets under way after fellow forward Gabriel Jesus was ruled out.
Jesus recently underwent a minor operation on a knee issue he has had since picking up an injury while with Brazil at the 2022 World Cup.
The initial surgery sidelined him for three months but Nketiah stepped up in his absence and hit six goals in six games when domestic football returned.
His goals helped keep Arsenal at the top of the Premier League until Jesus’ return and he is ready to repeat the feat.
“I don’…
Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny has signed a new deal with the Premier League club.
The Egypt international signed for the Gunners in January 2016 from FC Basel, making his debut in an FA Cup win over Burnley.
He has since played 147 games for the Gunners, scoring five goals as well as recording 10 assists. Arsenal have not confirmed the length of Elneny s contract.
Speaking to Arsenal Media, Elneny said: I love this club and I feel like part of this family.
I want to continue at this amazing club and amazing family and I m very happy and very excited for the future.
Almost 7 years with Arsenal but they don’t seem to be enough I’m still learning, I’m still growing, and I want to do so much more for the team and the club I love… I�…
Hector Bellerin insisted Arsenal s squad had no doubt over the quality of Nicolas Pepe after the club s record signing scored a brace to secure a dramatic Europa League win over Vitoria SC.
Pepe had scored only once for the Gunners prior to Thursday s Europa League Group F clash at the Emirates Stadium, but the former Lille star took his tally to three with two free-kicks.
Having replaced the ineffective Alexandre Lacazette, Pepe curled home an 80th-minute equaliser before snatching a 3-2 win in stoppage time.
Despite having had to wait for his team-mate to come to the fore in an Arsenal shirt, Bellerin never had any concerns over Pepe s ability to come up with moments of match-winning brilliance.
We know what he s capable of, we ve been training with hi…
With the end of one transfer saga comes the start of another.
Robert Lewandowski has secured a long-awaited move to Barcelona, fulfilling a dream in the process and leaving Bayern Munich in the market for a new striker to lead their line.
But just how do you go about finding a like-for-like replacement for the most prolific marksman anywhere in the world?
One suggestion is that Bayern will make do with what they have, with Sadio Mane – a wide forward rather than a striker – having already been recruited from Liverpool this window.
While that may work, there are other potential options out there for Bayern to consider ahead of their latest title defence as they aim to win the Bundesliga for an 11th time in a row.
Here, Stats Perform takes a c…
Roberto Mancini struck a confident note as he set his Italy team the target of a semi-final berth on the eve of the European Championship.
The Azzurri will contest the very first game of the tournament when they face Turkey at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Friday.
As a result of their failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, it is in fact five years since the Italians featured at a major tournament.
But, having avoided defeat in their last 27 outings, Italy are among the favourites to go all the way at the tournament.
And the former Manchester City boss was in no mood to play down their chances, preferring instead to set his sights on a trip to Wembley in the last four.
I think after everything we have gone through, now is the time to try and …
“I had to adapt to a new system but I am satisfied with the way things are going and am happy to be here”.
Those are the words of Matthijs de Ligt who has made it crystal clear that he does not regret choosing to join Juventus as opposed to joining Barcelona during the summer transfer window. The pursuit of the youngster’s signature seemed to last for an eternity, as he was one of many top Ajax stars that had been heavily linked with a move away from Amsterdam in the wake of the club’s sensational run to the latter stages of last season’s UEFA Champions League competition.
It has been a great run so far this season for de Ligt who seems to be settling into his role quite nicely, to the point where many are pointing towards Juve as serious contenders in…
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With all eyes from across the Premier League falling on the Emirates in midweek, Arsenal will welcome Manchester City to north London.
Arsenal
Starting with the hosts, while Arsenal might still find themselves in the midst of a remarkable Premier League campaign, it appears that the Gunners are enduring somewhat of a recent wobble. Although Mikel Arteta s youngsters might still find themselves holding a shock three-point buffer at the top of the Premier League table, the Gunners do have the feel of a side seeking a crucial boost on Wednesday night. Left stunned away at relegation scrappers Everton on February 4th as they slumped to a 1-0 loss at Goodison Park, fans around north London saw their side drop more points over the weekend. …
Liverpool are interested in signing James Maddison from Premier League rivals Leicester City in the summer of 2023, according to . The report has claimed that the former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners want to secure the services of Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund next summer, but they have identified his England international teammate Maddison as his alternative.
Maddison has been on the books of Leicester since 2018 and has been superb for the Premier League champions over the years. The 25-year-old has scored five goals and provided two assists in seven Premier League appearances for the Foxes so far this season. During the 2021-22 campaign, the English playmaker made 28 starts and seven substitute appearances in the league for Leicester, scoring 12 g…