Schurrle close to Wolfsburg switch

Arsene Wenger says Arsenal have no fear in European away games and believes the Gunners have shown over the years they can beat any opponent.

Arsenal initially struggled in away games when they first made it into the Champions League, drawing with Lens and losing to Dynamo Kiev to crash out in the group stages in 1998-99. 

Draws away to Fiorentina and Barcelona a season later saw them again fail to reach the knockout stages.

Since then they have reached the final in 2005-06 and the semi-finals again in 2008-09, with Wenger claiming the club has gotten rid of the fear that held them back before, although they have not progressed beyond the round of 16 in the previous five campaigns.

The Champions League was a new competition for us when we first started …

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers wants his team to show they can take on the best in the world when they host Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

The Hoops are looking for their first points of the Champions League campaign after going down against Feyenoord with nine men and losing to a last-gasp goal against Lazio after being denied the lead for a second time by a marginal offside decision.

Rodgers said: “We are playing one of the top clubs in the world and one of the best teams.

“We want to be able to take on the best teams in the world. We don’t have to be the best in the world but we certainly want to be able to take them on.”

Celtic warmed up with a dominant display in Sunday’s 4-1 win over Hearts.

“The players will go into it with great…

Samir Nasri has ended his six-year stint at Manchester City by joining Samuel Eto o at Turkish club Antalyaspor.

City confirmed the move on their official Twitter account, with Antalyaspor also announcing his arrival shortly after.

The former France international is understood to have inked a two-year deal with the Super Lig side where he links up with former team-mates Jeremy Menez and Johan Djourou.

Nasri originally joined City from Arsenal for a reported £25million in 2011 and has won two Premier League titles and an EFL Cup with the Citizens, for who he made 176 appearances.

However, he was not part of Pep Guardiola s plans last season and spent the campaign on loan at Sevilla and, although he re-joined City for a pre-season tour of the United State…

Austria coach Marcel Koller has extended his contract until 2017 after successfully guiding the nation to their second European Championship.

Since taking charge in November 2011 Koller has overseen an upturn in their form, his side dropping just two points from 10 matches during qualification for Euro 2016 as they topped Group G Austria s first successful qualification having co-hosted on their only previous appearance in 2008.

His reward for reaching the finals in France is a new deal with the Austrian Football Federation (OFB).

Marcel Koller will remain team manager of the national team after Euro 2016, an OFB statement read.

The 55-year-old Swiss and the OFB have agreed on a contract extension until 2017. 

Since 2011 Marcel Koller has l…

Mark Hughes has insisted that Peter Crouch is not for sale, according to the Express.

The Stoke City manager called on the striker in Saturday’s match against Leicester City and was justified in doing so as the thirty-six year old grabbed an equaliser to salvage a point for his side.

That appearance saw the former England international equal the record of substitute appearances in the Premier League and he is keen to play more regularly though Hughes wants to keep hold of his man.

Crouch moved to Stoke from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2011 and has since racked up two hundred and ten appearances in all competitions, scoring fifty-eight times.

His goal on Saturday saw him extend his own record of the most Premier League headed goals, which now…

Real Madrid have confirmed Kylian Mbappe will wear their famous number nine jersey as they revealed the date for his official unveiling.

Mbappe, who is joining Los Blancos as a free agent after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, will be unveiled as a Madrid player at an event at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday, July 16.

The 25-year-old is fresh from exiting Euro 2024, with France having lost 2-1 to Spain in the semi-finals.

Mbappe failed to score from open play through the tournament, after suffering a broken nose during France s opening match, though he did break his Euros duck by converting a penalty in their final group game against Poland.

Madrid also revealed Mbappe will take the number nine shirt previously worn by Karim Benzema.

Changes with shi…

Real Madrid youngster Martin Odegaard will spend the 2019-20 season on loan at Real Sociedad, the LaLiga clubs have confirmed.

Odegaard joined Madrid in 2015 but has spent the past two and a half seasons out on loan in the Eredivisie, with Heerenveen and Vitesse respectively.

His spell at Vitesse last season proved fruitful as the attacking midfielder scored 11 goals from 39 appearances in all competitions.

However, the 20-year-old has not been considered ready to compete for a place in Madrid s first team, with Los Blancos sending Odegaard out on loan for a fourth successive campaign.

What do you think about ?

We can’t wait to see him in the txuri urdin jersey

— Real Sociedad (@RealSociedadEN)

The Norway international ha…

Turkey head coach Fatih Terim has urged supporters to get behind the side in their crucial Group D showdown with Czech Republic on Tuesday.

A 1-0 loss to Croatia on matchday one was followed by a tame 3-0 defeat at the hands of holders Spain, leaving Terim s side a point adrift at the bottom of the table.

Fans made their feelings clear during the loss to Spain, with a number aiming boos towards midfielder Arda Turan following another disappointing display, leaving the head coach frustrated.

But Terim insists that the team need plenty of support at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens in order to get the victory they need to keep alive their hopes of progressing to the last 16 as one of the top third-placed teams.

Nobody should doubt that I ll do what is nece…

Mats Hummels has lifted the lid on his temperamental relationship with Jurgen Klopp when the pair were together at Borussia Dortmund.

Hummels – now with Bayern Munich and representing Germany at Euro 2016 – worked under Klopp from 2008 until 2015, before the latter moved on to Liverpool, and things did not always run smoothly between them.

You can always have a discussion with your coach and raise your voice, the defender told L Equipe.

It does not happen often with [Germany coach Joachim] Low, but things occasionally got very intense with Klopp. There was a lot of emotion. We had our fair share of quarrels.

But things were all good again an hour later and we understood each other. We had a great relationship.

I don t think I m a diffi…

In what was an action-packed battle at Old Trafford on Thursday night, Manchester United officially punched their Champions League return as they claimed a thumping 4-1 victory against Chelsea.

Knowing that a single point would have been enough in their bid to claim a crucial top-four finish, Erik ten Hag’s side certainly made a major statement here as they breezed past a Chelsea squad who are in the midst of a Premier League crisis.

With midfield talisman Casemiro opening the scoring with a smart flicked header after just six minutes, United didn’t look back as the trio of Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford all got themselves in on the act on either side of the half-time break.

Enjoying what was a party atmosphere around Old Trafford durin…