Arsenal made the decision to sack Unai Emery over the past several weeks because they felt it was necessary if they wanted to salvage their season, according to director Josh Kroenke.

Following weeks of speculation, Arsenal finally relieved Emery of his duties on Friday in the wake of a 2-1 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League.

That was a seventh successive match across all competitions that the Gunners failed to win, a run that has seen them slip to ninth in the Premier League following Saturday s matches.

Freddie Ljungberg was installed as interim head coach until Arsenal make a full-time appointment.

Whoever takes up the vacancy should not expect the club s ambitions for the season to be more grounded because of their difficult start…

Mesut Ozil insists he has no regrets over his decision to join Arsenal despite his time at the club fizzling out in underwhelming circumstances. 

Ozil was omitted from Mikel Arteta s Premier League and Europa League squads in October and has been tipped to move to MLS franchise DC United or Turkish side Fenerbahce during the January transfer window. 

The former Real Madrid midfielder, a club-record signing when he joined for a reported £42million in 2013, featured in 12 of Arteta s first 16 games in charge of the Gunners, but he has not made an appearance since the suspension of football amid the coronavirus pandemic in March. 

Ozil s influence has waned since providing 19 assists and creating 28 big chances in 35 Premier League outings during the 2015-16 sea…

Manchester United supporters staged a fresh protest against the club s owners on Saturday ahead of the 17-year anniversary of the takeover by the Glazer family.

Many supporters marched to Old Trafford ahead of the Premier League game against Norwich City, some carrying banners as others held lit smoke flares.

With a large police presence, there were no reports of major trouble, although the protesting continued as supporters arrived at the stadium.

A large number heeded calls to boycott the opening 17 minutes of the match, instead staying on the stadium concourses and leaving seats empty.

An early goal from Cristiano Ronaldo, to give United the lead, was followed within minutes by supporters chanting stand up if you hate Glazers and we want Glazers out .<…

Vidal has been reunited this season with his former Juventus boss Antonio Conte, who led the Turin giants to a hat-trick of Scudetto successes before leaving to coach Italy.

The Chilean midfielder sees Conte s Nerazzurri being ready to sustain their early challenge and avoid the downturn in results that saw them fall away in the 2019-20 campaign.

Winning their final three games of last season saw Inter finish just one point behind Juventus, but the title had been wrapped up with two games to spare.

Last year Inter were close to winning the Scudetto, Vidal said. They were a young team that worked hard, but made mistakes in decisive moments, matches in which you cannot make any missteps.

This year we must be careful, concentrate, it s a difficult moment …

Doncaster have appointed Grant McCann for a second spell as manager.

The 43-year-old replaces Danny Schofield who was sacked following the conclusion of the League Two season on Monday, where Rovers finished 18th.

McCann first managed Rovers in the 2018-19 campaign and guided them to the League One play-offs before leaving to join Hull.

He returns tasked with the job of getting the club back into the third tier.

The Northern Irishman told the club’s official website: “Once I heard of the interest, it was a tremendous opportunity for myself.

“After the phone calls came, I had a chat with my wife and the first thing she said was it was one of the happiest times she’d seen me when I was at Doncaster. That really hit home with me.

“I…

Carlo Ancelotti took a swipe at a subdued performance from Real Madrid in the 1-0 defeat to Getafe, saying: It seems we stayed on holiday for one more day.

The Madrid head coach said there was no cause for drama or tragedy given his team continue to blaze a trail at the top of LaLiga.

However, the shock loss at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez was a miserable way to begin 2022 for the capital titans, who are attempting to unseat neighbours Atletico Madrid as Spanish champions.

It was the second time in three seasons under Ancelotti, who was appointed in June for a second spell with Los Blancos, that Madrid have lost their opening game of a calendar year.

The previous defeat came against Valencia at Mestalla in January 2015, when a 2-1 loss halted a run of 22 c…

Erling Haaland would suit playing for Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, according to Ruud Gullit. 

Borussia Dortmund striker Haaland is expected to be one of the most in-demand players when the transfer market re-opens in the close season. 

The 21-year-old reportedly has a clause in his contract that means he will be available for €75million (£68m), a fee that looks like a bargain given his goalscoring exploits. 

Manchester City are believed to be the frontrunners for his signature, while Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid have also been heavily linked. 

Gullit does not believe United will be able to beat the competition to Haaland s signature, with the former Netherlands international claiming Liverpool will be the best place for the Dortmund s…

An early strike from Dusan Vlahovic earned Juventus a 1-0 win over Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday, as Massimiliano Allegri s side lifted their first trophy for three years.

Vlahovic put Juventus in front in the fourth minute when he latched onto a pass from Andrea Cambiaso and broke into the box, before driving his finish past goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi.

Vlahovic, who also found the net when Juve lost the final to Inter in 2022, became the third Bianconeri player to score in two Coppa Italia finals after John Charles (1958-59, 1959-60) and Savino Bellini (1937-38, 1941-42).

The Serbia striker thought he had doubled Juve s lead in the 72nd minute when he nodded home from Cambiaso s cross, but that effort was disallowed for offside.

The B…

Manchester City already have one of the best players in the world in Erling Haaland. Having tied Phil Foden to a new contract, they believe they will soon have another.

Foden s long-awaited five-year deal was announced by City on Friday ahead of a big trip to Anfield this weekend.

This fixture, away at Liverpool, has seen Foden deliver two of his most complete performances in a City shirt in the previous two seasons, scoring and assisting in a 4-1 win in the 2020-21 campaign before grabbing another goal in last term s 2-2 draw.

Now, those sorts of displays are arriving with even greater consistency, prompting an even more prominent role for arguably England s brightest prospect.

When Pep Guardiola shuffled his pack at Copenhagen in midweek to rest key men…

Milan head coach Stefano Pioli said his side deserved to finish second in Serie A after securing their long-awaited Champions League return with a 2-0 win at Atalanta on Sunday.

Pioli s Milan led Serie A in the first half of the 2020-21 season but faded, before restoring second spot, only to draw 0-0 at home with Cagliari in the penultimate round to leave their top-four hopes up in the air in a three-way fight with rivals Juventus and Napoli.

Franck Kessie scored a double from the spot as Milan got the decisive win to leapfrog Atalanta as Serie A runners-up and secure their first Champions League berth since 2013-14.

Kessie became the first player to score 10-plus penalties for Milan in a Serie A season since Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2011-12.

We achieved i…