´Great chance´ I leave Marseille, says Diarra

William Gallas produced the perfect response to his critics as the Arsenal captain booked his side s place in the Champions League group stages with a rare goal in Wednesday s 4-0 win against FC Twente.

Gallas s captaincy credentials had already been questioned after his meltdown against Birmingham last season, so when the France defender s sloppy marking gifted Fulham a shock victory on Saturday he was inevitably singled out for some harsh words from fans and pundits.

But Gallas led by example in the third qualifying round second leg against Twente. He was outstanding in defence and scored with a second half tap-in after Samir Nasri had given Arsenal the lead at the Emirates Stadium.

Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner scored in the closing stages to put the s…

Defending champions Italy needed a last-minute goal to eke out a 2-1 victory against lowly Cyprus in a below-par performance to kick-off their World Cup qualifying campaign on Saturday.

Antonio Di Natale, with his second goal of the night, secured an undeserved three points in this highly entertaining game in Group Eight.

The defending champions were given an almighty scare by minnows Cyprus who ran them ragged at times on a balmy Mediterranean evening.

There was little difference between the two sides, Cyprus were unlucky many times. We could have lost this game, said Italy coach Marcello Lippi.

Cyprus coach Angelos Anastasiades found it hard to hide his disappointment.

I m very upset because we can do better. What else can I say? said Anas…

Chelsea and Arsenal conclude their packed 2018-19 seasons on Wednesday as they face off for Europa League glory in Azerbaijan.

Ignoring for now the problems associated with staging the final in Baku, neither side can be said to have had a trouble-free time of things over the past 10 months or so.

Maurizio Sarri and Unai Emery have, in some respects, enjoyed success in their first seasons in charge, but each man is facing concerns that will be magnified should they end up on the losing side this week.

Ahead of the final, two of Omnisport s writers take a look at where the positives lie for Sarri and Emery and where there is plenty of work to be done.

 The prize on offer   |

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague)

What s gone well?

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Arsenal star Hector Bellerin believes the people behind the hit YouTube channel ArsenalFanTV are not true supporters of the club, instead hustling to make money out of the Gunners plight.

Arsene Wenger s side are set to miss out on qualification for the Champions League for the second season in a row, sitting eight points outside of the Premier League s top four.

The steady decline of the club Premier League champions most recently in 2003-04 has fuelled the rapid rise of ArsenalFanTV, which boasts 670,000 subscribers on YouTube, over half a million Facebook likes and 259,000 followers on Twitter.

Supporter rants published by ArsenalFanTV in the wake of poor results and performances by Wenger s men frequently go viral on social media.

But Bellerin, s…

Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Newcastle United are set to compete for the services of out-of-favour Manchester City midfielder Jack Rodwell, .

The England international has failed to make a real impression on the City first team since arriving at the club from Everton in the summer of 2012.

He has started just seven league games in the past two seasons, and just one of those came last season while internationally, he has played just six minutes for England since making his switch to the Etihad Stadium.

The 23 year old has three years remaining on his current contract, leaving the Premier League champions in a strong position regarding any negotiations.

Despite Rodwell being surplus to requirements, Manuel Pellegrini may be keen to keep hold of him a…

Valencia confirmed the signing of young Portuguese midfielder Andre Gomes from Benfica on Wednesday, pending a medical.

Gomes played just 23 senior matches for Benfica last season in all competitions, missing just two matches as the Portuguese club advanced to the UEFA Europa League final, only to lose to Sevilla on penalties.

Having had limited opportunities under Benfica coach Jorge Jesus since being promoted to the senior squad in 2012, Gomes decided to leave the Estadio da Luz for Valencia s Mestalla with the La Liga club confirming the move on their website.

Andre Gomes will take a relevant medical examination on Thursday, July 17 to become a new player of Valencia, a statement read.

Gomes has represented Portugal 37 times across various age-level t…

Jurgen Klopp admits he does not understand how Barcelona have been able to conduct their high-spending transfer plans, and has cautioned that the club may face irreparable damage down the line.

The Catalan giants have bolstered their ranks with a slew of major recruits ahead of the new campaign, including Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde.

But the club s long-documented financial struggles has seen them forced to sell off non-playing assets and activate various levers  in order to register them in line with rules laid out by La Liga.

Even then, the Spanish giants have not been able to get all of their new faces on board, with Kounde still waiting for sufficient cap space to be made in order to include him in Xavi s squad.

President Joan Lapor…

Jose Mourinho believes better days are ahead for Gedson Fernandes even if his spell with Tottenham is cut short in January.

Portugal international Fernandes joined on an 18-month loan deal from Benfica at the start of 2020.

The 21-year-old has only made 13 appearances for Spurs since then and was left out of the club s Europa League squad this season.

Mourinho concedes Benfica would be within their rights to end his stay, but hopes Fernandes enjoys a successful career with or without Tottenham having been impressed with his attitude. 

The situation is sad because he was out of the Europa League list, Mourinho said to Sky Sports about Fernandes, who has made only one Spurs appearance in 2020-21.

By being out of that list it immediately [removed…

Captain David Villa and New York City are dreaming of silverware, as the star-studded high flyers bid to hoist the MLS Cup aloft for the first time.

In their second season since joining MLS, expansion franchise New York are the team to beat in the Eastern Conference as they sit atop the table.

With former France, Arsenal, Manchester City, Inter and Juventus midfielder Patrick Vieira at the helm, New York spearheaded by Villa, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo have already bettered last season s points total (37) with 38 after just 25 matches, as the play-offs loom.

After a topsy-turvy 2015 campaign, the World Cup, European Championship, Champions League and La Liga winner Villa told Omnisport it is an exciting time to be involved with New York in the Big Apple.

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Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta is optimistic that the deal to bring Chelsea s Juan Cuadrado back to Serie A will be completed over the next few days .

The Colombia international joined Chelsea on a four-and-a-half-year deal for a reported £23 million in February 2015 but struggled to make an impact in his first few months at the club.

As a result the versatile wide midfielder was shipped out on loan to Juve for the 2015-16 campaign and he enjoyed a solid year as Massimiliano Allegri s men won Serie A.

The appointment of former Juve and Italy coach Antonio Conte as Chelsea s new manager seemed to give the Colombian s career in England a boost, but he now looks all set to return to Turin.

I hope that over the next few days we can conclude the …