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Arsene Wenger has hinted that he will not be bringing anybody to Arsenal in January as long as Laurent Koscielny recovers from his injury woes.

The Gunners have been linked with a host of players in recent months, and Aaron Ramsey’s latest fitness blow has served to accelerate talk that the Frenchman will be forced to bring in a few new names next month.

A series of injury issues have depleted Wenger’s squad already this season, which has contributed with their 13-point gulf from the top of the Premier league table, with big names such as Jack Wilshere, Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott, as well as Koscielny – who will miss the Newcastle game on Saturday – all having been absent for large spells.

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Even though the north London boss has previously hinted that a new centre-back is a priority, he’s now revealed that he is not desperate to do business if his star defender can shake off his problems:

“If everybody is fit and available, we don’t need to go on the transfer market. But we have to consider that there could be a question mark with Koscielny’s fitness and we have to go out on the transfer market.” He is quoted by the London Evening Standard.

“He has a calf strain, that might be linked with the fact he has maybe overprotected his Achilles, I don’t know. [The inflammation] has not gone completely but on one side it has gone, on the other side not completely. If he did not have a calf strain he could play with his Achilles.

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“There will be very little activity, because all the big clubs want to keep their players, and it will be as usual quiet in the first three weeks and a bit frenetic in the last three or four days.”

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Manchester City lost major ground in the title race after losing at Sunderland watching local rivals Manchester United sneak past Newcastle in a seven goal thriller at Old Trafford. QPR returned to the bottom of the Premier League after losing at home to West Brom and Chelsea continued their fine run under Rafa Benitez

Manchester United 4-3 Newcastle United

Javier Hernandez’s 90th minute goal settled a seven goal thriller United came from behind three times to beat Newcastle. James Perch gave the Magpies a shock third minute lead when capitalising on a spill from David De Gea to tap home but Jonny Evans scored in similar circumstances at the other end to equalise in the 25th minute. Evans then put through his own net in controversial circumstances as the away side took their lead into half time.

But just before the hour Patrice Evra drove home from the edge of the box to peg Newcastle back again. Parity didn’t last long as Alan Pardew’s men took the lead for a third time courtesy of Papiss Cisse’s thumping effort from Gabriel Obertan’s cutback. But United aren’t top of the table for no reason and after Robin Van Persie fired home to make it 3-3 with 19 minutes to go, Hernandez popped up sweep home from six-yards to earn a vital three points.

Everton 2-1 Wigan Athletic

Everton survived a late scare to beat Wigan at Goodison Park and intensify their push for a Champions League spot. The Toffees stretched their unbeaten run to seven matches and took the lead just after half time when Leon Osman’s long range strike flicked off Gary Caldwell and looped over Ali Al-Habsi. The win was all but wrapped up when Phil Neville, playing his 500th Premier League game, crossed for Phil Jagielka to head home with 13 minutes to go, before Arouna Kone bundled the ball into the net to set up a tense finale.

Fulham 1-1 Southampton

Rickie Lambert’s late penalty salvaged an important point for Southampton and deny Fulham a crucial win. After losing 4-0 to Liverpool on Sunday the Cottagers were straight out of the traps and broke the deadlock with only minutes on the clock. Sascha Riether’s cross wasn’t dealt with by Kelvin Davis and Dimitar Berbatov accepted the invitation to notch his sixth of the season before being booked for revealing a t-shirt saying ‘keep calm and pass to me’ as he celebrated. But the Saints are made of sterner stuff nowadays and when Chris Baird handled in the penalty area five minutes from time, Lambert stepped up to bury his spot kick and keep his side out of the bottom three.

Norwich 0-1 Chelsea

Juan Mata scored the only goal maintained Chelsea’s fine run under Rafael Benitez and consigned Norwich to a second consecutive defeat. After smashing eight past Aston Villa on Sunday the Blues could only managed to find the net once at Carrow Road but it was a veritable peach from Mata. Oscar created it, wriggling away from two Norwich players, finding the Spaniard 20-yards from goal and his rasping 20-yard drive beat Bunn to chalk up a third league win in a row for Benitez.

QPR 1-2 West Brom

Harry Redknapp’s salvage job at QPR got even harder on Boxing Day as they returned to the foot of the table after losing to West Brom at Loftus Road. Despite kick off being delayed by 15 minutes due to the Baggies coach hitting Boxing Day traffic Chris Brunt gave them a deserved lead on the half hour with a delicious 30-yard drive, before Rangers keeper Robert Green palmed the ball into his own net from Brunt’s corner four minutes into the second half. Djibril Cisse offered some hope of  comeback when he cooly lifted the ball over Ben Foster with 22 minutes left but the visitors held on to remain sixth and within earshot of a Champions League spot.

Reading 0-0 Swansea City

A point was enough to lift Reading off the bottom as they nipped a run of seven straight defeats in the bud by drawing with Swansea at the Madjeski Stadium. The Royals had an effort ruled out in the 74th minute when Adam Le Fondre was adjudged to have handled the ball while Chico Flores’ goal line clearance secured a point. Swansea’s best chance of the game came when he took advantage of a poor chest back to his goalkeeper by Chris Gunter but the 13 goal Spaniard could only lift his effort over from six-yards. He limped off late in the game to give manager Michael Laudrup a major injury concern.

Sunderland 1-0 Manchester City

Adam Johnson scored the only goal at the Stadium of Light against former club Manchester City to hand Sunderland a third win in four games to move them clear of the relegation zone. Just under a year after Ji Dong Won’s last minute winner earned the Black Cats a surprise victory against the eventual Premier League champions, Johnson was the match winner on this occasion. The England winger’s left footed strike somehow found its way past Joe Hart in the City goal as the visitors protested that it shouldn’t have stood after Craig Gardner fouled Pablo Zabaleta int he build-up. But, despite their best efforts, the Robert Mancini’s men couldn’t force an equaliser and now have a seven point mountain to climb if they’re to peg back United at the top of the tree.

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Aston Villa 0-4 Tottenham Hotspur

Gareth Bale struck a second half hat-trick as Tottenham showed no mercy on Aston Villa to regain fourth place in the table. After conceding eight without reply at Chelsea on Sunday manager Paul Lambert expected a mean response from his players but they were powerless to resist Bale and Spurs as they ran riot at Villa Park. It as actually Jermain Defoe who opened the scoring just before the hour, beating Brad Guzan with the outside of his boot after being picked out by Kyle Naughton. It then turned into the Bale show as he put the finishing touches to a rapid counter attack in the 61st minute to round Guzan and flick the ball home. The Wales winger doubled his personal tally 12 minutes later with a sharp finish before completed the scoring six minutes from time, hammering home a cross from Gylfi Sigurdsson to record his first top-flight treble.

Stoke City 3-1 Liverpool

Stokes unbeaten run now stands at nine games after they came from behind to beat Liverpool at the Britannia Stadium and move to within five points of the top four. A frantic opening first quarter hour saw Steven Gerrard open the scoring from the penalty spot in the third minute after Ryan Shawcross fouled Luis Suarez. John Walters restored parity within two minutes, beating Pepe Reina with a powerful strike after a slip from Martin Skrtel opened the chance up to the Potters striker. The Reds couldn’t cope with their trademark aerial power and Kenwyne Jones took full advantage to power home a header from Glenn Whelan’s 12th minute corner. And just after the break Walters applied the seal with a spectacular volley that left Reina clutching at air.

Newcastle fans are completely split over their latest transfer move, as the club is set to sign Ki Sung-yueng for free this summer, providing he receives the appropriate visa.

The Chronicle reported Newcastle holding talks with South Korea’s captain on Friday, and the Swansea man was announced by the club within a matter of hours.

He will become the Magpies’ second summer signing after goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, signing an initial two-year deal.

The 29 year-old, who has an incredible 104 caps for his country, will be out of contract this summer, after spending five seasons in South Wales.

Newcastle fans are of course desperate for some summer spending, and the free signing of an ex-Sunderland player isn’t exactly doing a lot to quench the transfer thirst of some fans.

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Ki probably will not dislodge Mo Diame or Jonjo Shelvey from the starting eleven, and the Swansea midfielder scored just twice last season.

However, plenty of other fans are seeing the value in the move, adding depth to the midfield and hopefully saving money to invest in other areas.

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Rafael Benitez is desperate for a new number nine and some firepower on the wings this summer, and owner Mike Ashley is extremely unlikely to splash out on multiple big deals, so the bargain move for Ki could be a really shrewd signing.

Fans are completely split over the move, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Newcastle looked like they couldn’t want Aleksandar Mitrovic any less during the January transfer window, as they first tried to offload the failing striker back to his former club Anderlecht and then settled for sending him out on loan to Championship club Fulham.

Times are a changing though, as Mitrovic, who scored only once for Newcastle in the league this season, has hit the ground running at Craven Cottage.

The imposing centre-forward grabbed his first goal for the west London club in a 2-0 win over Wolves on Saturday evening, and with Newcastle searching for a consistent scoring threat other than Dwight Gayle, Magpies boss Rafael Benitez might be wanting to recall the Serbian forward sooner than expected.

Mitrovic’s loan deal at Fulham doesn’t expire until the summer, and Benitez will be hoping that newly-fit January signing Islam Slimani will be able to contribute his fair share of goals in the meantime.

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So, Newcastle fans, should the Magpies be itching to get Mitrovic back as soon as his current contract at Fulham ends?

“Now we have to play against Chelsea and in the Netherlands they say ‘that is another Kuche’, or another ‘biscuit’.”

Okay then, Louis. The weird expression came from the mouth of Manchester United’s very own boss after his side’s West Brom draw, referencing the weekend clash with Chelsea.

With the quotes being… well, odd, we thought we’d have a look back at some more strange managerial utterances.

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Jose’s eggs…

“In the supermarket, you have eggs class one, class two, class three. Some are more expensive than others and some give you better omelettes. So when the class one eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a problem.”

Jose talking about… wait, we have no idea what he’s talking about!

Rafa talks priests and sugar…

Rafa talks priests and sugar…

“Every single press conference is worse than the last one. Some people cannot see a priest on a mountain of sugar. He doesn’t understand, maybe he has been in the job for not so long.”

After being accused of wasting money by Anfield successor Roy Hodgson, Benitez responded with this wonderfully odd retort.

Eric Cantona and seagulls…

“When the seagulls follow the trawler, it’s because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much.”

Okay, he’s not a manager, but we couldn’t let this one slip by. It’s of course Cantona speaking to journalists after being hit with a ban for his kung-fu kick.

Holloway makes it in!

“To put it in gentleman’s terms if you’ve been out for a night and you’re looking for a young lady and you pull one, some weeks they’re good looking and some weeks they’re not the best.

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“Our performance today would have been not the best looking bird but at least we got her in the taxi. She weren’t the best looking lady we ended up taking home but she was very pleasant and very nice, so thanks very much, let’s have a coffee.”

The king of the weird managerial speech. Holloway has a decent back catalogue, and this is at the top.

Wenger compares Reyes to Miss World…

“It’s like you wanting to marry Miss World and she doesn’t want you, what can I do about it? I can try to help you, but if she does not want to marry you what can I do?”

Wenger defends his inability to keep Jose Reyes happy…

David Silva is available for selection for the Manchester derby on Sunday after a rapid recovery from a hamstring injury.

City’s midfield maestro underwent special training sessions organised by the club’s medical staff in the past few days, the Mirror reports.

It had been feared that the Spaniard would be out of action for far longer, after reports that his hamstring injury was related to back problems.

The news will be very welcome to Roberto Mancini, for whom Sunday’s contest against city rivals United is of the highest importance.

The Italian manager knows his future at the Etihad will be in jeopardy if City lose to the Red Devils, which would see them concede a six point gap at the top of the table.

Mancini finds himself under pressure after his side’s poor Champions League campaign, as they were eliminated at the group stages of Europe’s premier competition for the second successive season.

Silva did not travel to Germany for Tuesday’s match away at Borussia Dortmund. The 1-0 loss meant City collected a measly three points from six matches, the lowest ever points total by an English club in the group stages of the tournament.

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Despite their European struggles, Mancini’s men remain in the hunt for the Premier League title and would leapfrog United into top spot with a victory in Sunday’s lunchtime fixture.

That would swing the title momentum significantly back in City’s favour, who will now focus on retaining the domestic prize for a second season, while United continue to compete on several fronts.

Tottenham supporters in the Transfer Tavern are very much looking forward to the 2018/19 Premier League season, what with their side seeking to build upon their impressive third place finish last time round.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men deserve huge credit for sealing a third successive top four finish in the English top-flight, thus bringing a third straight Champions League campaign to North London. However, a title challenge still remains a way away given they ended up a staggering 23 points adrift of champions Manchester City last season, although some big additions this summer could see Pochettino’s men bridge that gap this time round.

As such, there are many excited and expectant Spurs supporters in the Tavern at present, several of whom are likely to be intrigued by recent reports suggesting that Ademola Lookman could seek to leave Everton this summer.

And with Tottenham one team reportedly ‘keeping tabs’ on the £10.8 million-rated (as per Transfermarkt) sensation’s situation, the Pochettino factor and chance to work under the Argentine could convince the 20-year-old of a move to North London.

Ultimately, things haven’t quite worked out for the England Under-20 World Cup winner since his move to Goodison Park, this all despite the attacker netting just a few minutes into his debut in their 4-0 rout of Manchester City back in January 2017.

Is this the best World Cup ever? Give us your thoughts here

In fact, Lookman was so low down the pecking order at the club that he instigated a loan move to RB Leipzig back in January, from which he seriously reaped the rewards in netting five goals and laying on four assists in 11 Bundesliga appearances for the German outfit.

Thus, it seems clear that the 20-year-old is ready for first team football at Everton, but if that is not forthcoming, a move to Tottenham could be in his best interests given the track record Pochettino has at developing young talent.

The likes of Dele Alli, Eric Dier, and Harry Kane have all been given plenty of first team opportunities under the Argentine at Tottenham, and all three have benefited to become integral members of the squad at the North London club – they are also three of England’s most important players.

Add in the likes of Harry Winks, and indeed Luke Shaw at Southampton, and it’s evident that Pochettino isn’t afraid of providing opportunities to young players and then backing them in the first team. And given the ability and potential Lookman has, he is sure to get the chance to prove his worth at Spurs.

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Ultimately, not many players have regressed under Pochettino’s stewardship at Tottenham, and with the North London outfit seemingly heading in the right direction under the Argentine, they are becoming an increasingly attractive proposition.

Thus, with Lookman reportedly seeking to leave Everton this summer, Pochettino’s influence could be enough to convince him of a move to Tottenham.

Tottenham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

As reported by The Daily Mail, Rangers manager Graeme Murty has backed both Ryan Jack and Greg Docherty to stake a claim for a place in Scotland’s midfield after the international retirement of Celtic star Scott Brown.

What’s the story?

Hoops captain Brown announced earlier this week he won’t be taking part in Scotland action as the country prepares to embark on a new managerial era under Alex McLeish.

With 55 caps to his name, Brown has been on the international scene for over a decade, seen as one of the more influential members of the squad in that time.

Now though, Rangers manager Murty has challenged his midfield stars to stake a claim and bring back a Scotland and Rangers tradition.

When asked whether Greg Docherty and Ryan Jack could aspire to make future squads, he was adamant they could.

As quoted by The Daily Mail, the Gers boss said:

Absolutely. I said that when we first signed him [Docherty]. Historically, Rangers central midfield players have played for Scotland. That’s the level he needs to be looking at. I have not seen anything in the young man’s attitude or ability to think anything different. It is something he should be aiming for and, knowing Greg, he will be hungry to get as far as he possibly can.

Now Scott has gone, there is a space in the middle of the pitch where Ryan [Jack] is more naturally inclined to play. That would fit him quite well but we have to make sure we get him back fit. Then he has to thrust himself in front of the manager’s eye-line to get his attention. A new manager has come in and there are spots up for grabs. It’s a blank canvas.

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What are their chances?

With U21 caps for Scotland, Docherty is undoubtedly showing potential to be a future international for his country and given his recent form for Rangers, you might even say he could be a stand-out for years to come.

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He’s been excellent all season for Hamilton but at Ibrox, surrounded by better players, is flourishing in a creative midfield role.

Ryan Jack, who better represents the style that Brown exhibited for the national team, might find it tougher to work his way into the Scotland midfield.  While fairly proficient for Rangers this season, he lacks the unique flair and creativity of a player like Docherty and the Ibrox side have arguably improved in his absence.

Sixty nine minutes in and things were looking bleak for Newcastle United and Alan Pardew. Two nil down against Hull City at home, the Magpies manager knew that unless his side could display some quality that had been lacking throughout the beginning of the Premier League season, they would end the weekend in the same position as where they started it – moored to the bottom of the table.

More urgently, however, the final 20 minutes of the game presented Pardew with possibly his final chance to prove his worth as a Newcastle manager; ridiculed, lambasted and embattled since the start of the year which has seen the Magpies win only five league games, the Londoner has for a long time been a strong favourite for the sack, and another anaemic defeat may just have been enough to placate the placard-wielding ‘Sack Pardew’ brigade, whose presence at St James’ Park – though less visible than expected – was nonetheless prominent.

Yet a crucial, if somewhat desperate substitution saw Newcastle’s knight in black and white armour return from the wilderness and save the Magpies, as well as Pardew’s job for another week at least. Papiss Cissé’s introduction in the 69th minute – his first appearance for the club since April due to injury – rejuvenated a Newcastle side on the brink, and after pulling a goal back within four minutes of entering the fray, Cissé doubled his tally and completed a brilliant Newcastle fightback with three minutes remaining.

With his superb cameo appearance, Cissé rescued his manager from almost certain defeat and doom, and it may very well be the case that Pardew will have to call upon the Senegalese to help him out again in the future. Though the 2-2 draw must have felt like a victory to many Newcastle fans, there is still a strongly hostile, mutinous air around St James’ Park. Pardew remains in the last chance saloon, with most members of the Toon Army furious that Mike Ashley, the resident landlord, hasn’t thrown him out already.

Cissé’s return to full fitness could not have come at a better time for Pardew. Despite being unusually busy in the transfer window, the Magpies failed to address a glaring lack of quality in attack, and Siem de Jong’s recent injury served only to further weaken Newcastle’s already toothless strikeforce.

The Senegalese will feel like a new signing for Pardew. Although his record over the past two seasons has been poor, scoring just ten league goals in 60 appearances, Cissé is known to have the quality to succeed in the Premier League. His first 14 games for the club since his arrival in January 2012 saw a highly impressive return of 13 goals, with two stunning strikes against Chelsea – the second of which was awarded the BBC Goal of the Season – being the highlight of a memorable half-season on Tyneside. This suggests that Cissé is very much a confidence player who thrives on quick success, yet struggles if he cannot find the net early on in the season.

Cissé’s brace in his first appearance of the new campaign is therefore promising, and the striker may have the opportunity to add to his tally when Newcastle face Crystal Palace in the League Cup on Wednesday. The London club may field a weaker side given that Premier League survival is the priority, so Cissé – if selected to play by Pardew, of course – will be hoping that a goalscoring cameo against Hull City can turn into the beginnings of a streak against Palace.

The paucity of effective attacking options available to Pardew means that Papiss Cissé has suddenly become one of Newcastle’s most important senior players in their bid to climb up the Premier League table. If the Senegalese can stay fit – and most importantly score goals with regularity, which he has proved that he can do at this level – then Alan Pardew may yet steer the Magpies to stability, which seemed unthinkable just a week ago.

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Queens Park Rangers legend Rodney Marsh claims that if Harry Redknapp takes charge of the West London club then they will definitely stay up this season.

Redknapp is set to replace Mark Hughes who was sacked yesterday and Marsh didn’t hold back when blaming Hughes and the owners for Rangers’ current poor form.

“Harry Redknapp is, in my opinion, one of the most fantastic football people that there are around. If it is him, I have got no doubt that he will turn it around and QPR will stay up,” Marsh told talkSPORT.

“Over the last 18 months the players they have signed have been really, really terrible players. That has to go down to the manager and the owner; it’s as simple as that.

“I’ve seen every single game QPR have played this season either on satellite in America or in London and they have absolutely no consistency or continuity about the football team.

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“Before the season started we had this fantastic heralding of a new goalkeeper that we were going to sign – Robert Green. He lasted one game. They have not played the same team twice the whole season and that tells you something.”