Arsenal marked Jack Wilshere s return to action with a nerve-wracking 1-0 victory over a 10-man QPR, thanks to a late strike from Mikel Arteta.
The Spaniard scrambled the ball over the goal-line in the 84th minute following an afternoon of toil for Arsene Wenger s side in which they once again failed to find their attacking rhythm.
The result, which lifts the Gunners to fourth position in the Premier League, came thanks to a helping hand from QPR defender Stephane Mbia, who was sent-off in the 80th minute after foolishly kicking out at Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen.
QPR manager Mark Hughes will now face increasing speculation over his future as the west London club remain rock-bottom in the Premier League with three points from nine matches.
The Wels…
Benfica coach Jorge Jesus is resigned to losing highly rated midfielder Nemanja Matic during the transfer window.
The 24-year-old joined the Portuguese club from Chelsea in January 2011 as part of the big-money deal that saw centre-back David Luiz move in the opposite direction to Stamford Bridge.
Matic has since excelled under Jesus, making 45 appearances last season as Benfica narrowly missed out on the Primeira Liga title and lost in the UEFA Europa League final to Chelsea.
Now 58-year-old Jesus has acknowledged that he may struggle to keep hold of the Serbia international.
Of course Matic s exit worries me, Jesus told Benfica TV.
When he came to Portugal he was on the periphery at Chelsea. We thought that he had potential. In the two years that followed…
Brazil star Neymar says he is desperate for countryman and AC Milan forward Robinho to join him at Santos.
Robinho has endured a frustrating campaign to date and failed to recapture the form which saw the Serie A giants spend 18 million euros on his signature back in 2010.
Rumours have continued to linger about his future at San Siro, with the 28-year-old persistently linked with a move back to his homeland and his former club.
Neymar said he would be delighted if his club could tempt Robinho back home, and partner him with his international team-mate.
I am biased because he is my idol, Neymar told Xinhua. To have an idol back at the club would be something special.
If the fans want him then I want him here too. But ultimately it s the preside…
Girondins Bordeaux have won the French Super Cup for the second consecutive time, beating Coupe de France winners Guingamp 2-0.
The opening goal came after 37 minutes and was scored by Fernando Cavenaghi. Just before full time, the Ligue 1 champions ended all doubts as Fernando added a second goal.
Bordeaux won their first Super Cup in January 1987, which was actually the 1986 Super Cup game. The 2008 victory was Girondins second.
The French clubs have two weeks left to prepare for the new season. Bordeaux begin their title defending campaign at home against Lens. Guingamp remain in the Ligue 2.
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Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard is isolating after contracting coronavirus, the club announced on Saturday.
United were preparing to face Everton in a friendly at Old Trafford in front of an expected crowd of 55,000 and confirmed starts for captain Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial.
But the club added: Unfortunately, Jesse Lingard is unavailable after testing positive for COVID-19. He is isolating in line with government and Premier League guidelines.
Lingard enjoyed an outstanding loan spell with West Ham last season, scoring nine goals in 16 Premier League appearances.
The England international netted on average once every 158 minutes, the 11th-best rate in the division among players with multiple goals.
Lingard, who also …
The final groups for Asian qualifying for World Cup 2010 will take place on Friday after Qatar and United Arab Emirates booked their spots in the last phase on Sunday.
Needing victory over Iraq in Dubai, Qatar got a 77th-minute goal from Al-Arabi striker Sayed Ali Bechir to send them through as runners-up in Group 1 along with Australia.
The UAE, meanwhile, held on by the skin of their teeth to advance to the final stage of qualifying, finishing as Group 5 runners-up despite falling 3-1 at home to Syria.
Jehad al-Hussein scored goals on 34 and 51 minute to put Syria 2-0 up, but they needed to win by at least three goals in order to advance. Ismail Matar put them up against it 10 minutes from time when he netted from the spot for the Emirates, and not even a late…
Members of America s Olympic gold medal-winning women s football team learned on Tuesday what clubs they would be joining in the new Women s Professional Soccer league.
At a ceremony hosted by National Basketball Association All-Star and WPS part-owner Steve Nash, seven teams received three players apiece from the US national team.
Today has been a truly exciting and important day for the league and for the entire sport of women s soccer, said Nash, who is also among a group financially supporting the bid of the Vancouver Whitecaps, a United Soccer League First Division side in its bid to join the MLS.
The number of close games during the Olympics were a fantastic showcase of how the women s level of competition continues to grow globally.
And here i…
Juventus chief executive Giuseppe Marotta hopes that the club s transfer-window business can help translate their domestic dominance into the Champions League.
The Bianconeri have won five consecutive Serie A titles but, after losing the 2014-15 Champions League final to Barcelona, they were cruelly knocked out by Bayern Munich in the last-16 last season.
Paul Pogba has joined Manchester United in a world-record deal in the current window, but the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Miralem Pjanic, Mehdi Benatia and Dani Alves have arrived to strengthen Juve while Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Blaise Matuidi has been tipped to make the move to Italy.
Sevilla, Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb provide the opposition in Group H, and Marotta is confident that Juve can be a contender in…
Burnley have completed the signing of Chelsea forward Patrick Bamford on a season-long loan.
On Saturday following a 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge Burnley manager Sean Dyche revealed that a deal for the 22-year-old was close to being completed and the transfer was confirmed by the club on Tuesday.
Bamford, who has never made a senior Chelsea appearance, had loan spells at Crystal Palace and Norwich City last season but failed to find the net in a combined 13 league outings.
The England Under-21 international scored 17 times in the Championship for Middlesbrough in 2014-15, and arrives to challenge Burnley s first-choice strike pairing of Sam Vokes and Andre Gray for a place in the side.
BREAKING: Clarets sign striker Patrick Bamford on a season-long loan…
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Meeting for the second time in a matter of days, Southampton will once again welcome Arsenal to an empty St. Mary s on Tuesday night.
Southampton
Starting with the hosts, after getting hit with a 2-0 defeat against Leicester last time out on Premier League duties, Southampton will take plenty of solace from their recent FA Cup bounce. Putting in a professional display over the weekend and booking their showdown with Wolves in the fifth-round of this year s tournament, the Saints landed themselves a 1-0 win against the Gunners on Saturday lunchtime. Gaining a string of plaudits since opening the 2020/21 campaign and with some in Ralph Hasenhüttl s camp still dreaming of a stunning European charge, the former RB Leipzig boss will now …