Arsenal have appointed their former captain Mikel Arteta as head coach on a three-and-a-half-year deal. The 37-year-old won the FA Cup twice in a five-year career with the Gunners and succeeds fellow Spaniard Unai Emery, who was sacked in November. Arteta had been working as a coach under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, joining the club in 2016 after retiring as a player. “We need to be competing for the top trophies in the game,” Arteta said.
Arsenal are in talks with Manchester City over the availability of coach Mikel Arteta. It is not known whether Arteta, 37, has been offered the chance to succeed Unai Emery, who was sacked in November. Gunners chief executive Vinai Venkatesham was pictured outside the Spaniard’s home after both flew north following City’s 3-0 win at Emirates Stadium on Sunday. City boss Pep Guardiola says he would not stop Arteta if he decided to leave.
Mark van Bommel has been sacked as head coach of PSV Eindhoven after two wins in eight games in the Dutch Eridivise. PSV are fourth in the league, 10 points behind leaders Ajax, and lost 3-1 to Feyenoord on Sunday.
Saint-Etienne’s stadium has been closed until further notice after “massive use” of fireworks and flares in the stands during their 4-0 defeat at home by Paris St-Germain on Sunday. Kylian Mbappe’s 89th-minute goal was scored against a backdrop of fireworks and flares being let off by fans.
Wolves vs Espanyol
Sporting Lisbon vs Istanbul Basaksehir
Getafe vs Ajax
Bayer Leverkusen vs Porto
Copenhagen vs Celtic
APOEL vs Basel
Cluj vs Sevilla
Olympiakos vs Arsenal
Borussia Dortmund vs Paris St-Germain
Real Madrid vs Manchester City
Atalanta vs Valencia
Atletico Madrid vs Liverpool
Chelsea vs Bayern Munich
Lyon vs Juventus
Tottenham vs RB Leipzig
Napoli vs Barcelona
American Terence Crawford retained his WBO welterweight title with a ninth round knockout of Egidijus Kavaliauskas at Madison Square Garden. Crawford, 32, recovered from an apparent knockdown in round three to overwhelm the Lithuanian, dropping him in the seventh and twice more in the ninth, a right hook ending the fight. “When I let my hands go that’s when I started landing more favourable shots,” said Crawford after his 36th win.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has signed a new deal with the club that will run until 2024. Klopp, who joined the Reds in October 2015, signed a new six-year contract in July 2016 and that has now been extended further. Liverpool won the Champions League under the German last season and finished second in the Premier League. They lead the top flight this season and have an eight-point lead in pursuit of a first league title since 1990. “This club is in such a good place, I couldn’t contemplate leaving,” Klopp, 52, told Liverpool’s website.
Andy Ruiz Jr “brought disgrace to himself” and boxing by being in “no fit state” to fight in his loss to Anthony Joshua, said promoter Frank Warren. Ruiz Jr, 30, weighed 20st 3lb for the fight in Saudi Arabia, more than three stone heavier than Joshua, who gained a wide points win to regain the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles.
Dillian Whyte has been formally reinstated as the mandatory challenger for Deontay Wilder’s World Boxing Council world heavyweight title. It comes after Whyte, 31, had a doping violation charge dropped. In June, he had provided a sample that contained traces of a banned steroid, but UK Anti-Doping has withdrawn the charge as the levels were “very low”. Whyte could now fight the winner of Wilder versus Britain’s Tyson Fury.
Napoli have appointed Gennaro Gattuso as the Italian club’s new head coach following the dismissal of Carlo Ancelotti on Tuesday. Ancelotti was sacked just hours after taking Napoli into the Champions League last 16 with a 4-0 win over Genk.
Flights have been cancelled after a private plane came off the runway at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The airport is expected to be closed until at least 17:00 GMT and an inquiry has been launched into what happened when the plane landed at about 06:00. Four people were on board the plane but no-one was hurt, a spokesman for the airport has confirmed.
Russia has been handed a four-year ban from all major sporting events by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). It means the Russia flag and anthem will not be allowed at events such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and football’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But athletes who can prove they are untainted by the doping scandal will be able to compete under a neutral flag.
Anthony Joshua reclaims WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight world titles. Joshua beats Andy Ruiz Jr by unanimous decision after 12 rounds in rematch in Saudi Arabia. He dominated throughout thanks to composed, tactical performance.
FIFA has been forced to switch the venue for the final of the Club World Cup in Qatar because the stadium where it was scheduled to be held has not been signed off. The Education City Stadium in Doha was due to host Liverpool’s semi-final on 18 December, plus the third-place play-off and the final on 21 December.
Watford have appointed Nigel Pearson as manager until the end of the season. The former Leicester City boss will take charge after Saturday’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace. The 56-year-old is Watford’s third manager of the season following Quique Sanchez Flores’ sacking on Sunday after less than 90 days in charge. Continue reading
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers says the backing of the club’s owners convinced him to sign a contract extension through to 2025. The former Liverpool manager, 46, had previously dismissed speculation linking him to the Arsenal job. “Having that ownership here gives you great confidence that you can progress together,” he said.
Heracles striker Cyriel Dessers has revealed his desire to play for Nigeria at international level rather than his country of birth Belgium. The 24-year-old, who was born in Leuven to a Belgian father and qualifies for Nigeria through his mother, is uncapped at youth level. Top scorer in the Dutch Eredivisie with 11 goals, he was named the league’s November Player of the Month after scoring six goals and producing three assists.
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Everton have sacked manager Marco Silva after 18 months, with the club in the Premier League relegation zone after their Merseyside derby humiliation. Wednesday’s 5-2 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield was their ninth of the season and leaves them 18th in the Premier League after three successive losses.
Togo legend Emmanuel Adebayor is considering his future after quitting Turkish top tier strugglers Kayserispor. The 35-year-old joined Kayserispor in August following a spell with rivals Istanbul Basaksehir and had high expectations when he made a return to the country. He scored in Kayserispor’s 4-1 loss at giants Besiktas on Monday before announcing his departure from the Kayseri outfit who are bottom of the 18-team Turkish Super Lig.
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