Arsene Wenger regrets allowing Nicolas Anelka to join Chelsea

Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has admitted that he may have made a mistake not re-signing Nicolas Anelka in January 2008 – when the Frenchman instead signed for Chelsea.

The Frenchman told The Tuesday Club Podcast: “Maybe (it was the wrong decision).

“He wanted to come back. Maybe it was a mistake. I wanted to give the signal to the players that once you left the club there is no way back. I

“I felt that they would then have a hesitation to leave. I didn’t give them the feeling of ‘ok I go somewhere else, I try it and if it doesn’t work I come back’.

“That’s why I didn’t do it and overall maybe I should have done it. Nicolas still scored in 125 games overall in the Premier League I think, something like that, so he could have helped us.”

Maurizio Sarri agrees to terminate Juventus contract as Fiorentina close in

Reports in Italy suggest that Maurizio Sarri has agreed to terminate his contract with Juventus by mutual consent, freeing him up to take the Fiorentina job.

The coach was fired in August, despite winning the Scudetto in his only season at the helm, and is still under contract with the Bianconeri.

He had initially refused to negotiate an exit by mutual consent, forcing Juve to continue paying his salary.

According to Tuttosport and Sky Sport Italia via Football Italia, there has been a breakthrough now and tomorrow the termination could be made official.

The Turin-based newspaper claims Sarri will be given the full €6m net he was owed for the 2020-21 season, but cancel the option for a third season at €2.5m.

In turn, it’ll free up Sarri to take on another job and it could well be a dream, as Fiorentina are interested in his services.

Beppe Iachini is hanging by a thread after poor performances and results, so Sarri would be an ideal replacement, as he grew up near Florence.

(WATCH VIDEO) Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior settle differences after Champions League squabble in Germany

Reports in Spain claim that Real Madrid stars Karim Benzema and Vinius Junior have come together to settle their differences after a spat in Tuesday night’s Champions League draw at Borussia Monchengladbach.

Benzema was filmed at half time by Telefoot – in a report carried by Marca – telling Madrid left-back Ferland Mendy not to pass the ball to the Brazilian forward, so bad was his way of playing.

Benzema told Mendy: “He (Vinicius) does what he wants. Brother, don’t play with him…oh my God. He is playing against us.”

Marca then reported how Gol TV have captured more of the conversation between Benzema and Mendy before the second half, in which the striker added: “He (Vinicius) does not do anything meaningful.”

Mendy is then quoted as saying in response: “When he becomes scared, he loses what makes him great.”

Madrid fought back from two goals down in the 87th minute to draw 2-2.

And, now, according to Marca as cited by Football Espana, the two attacking partners held talks at the club’s training facilities in the days that followed to discuss the situation and both are now said to have made up, with the understanding that things were said in anger and in the heat of the game.

Benzema is said to have approached Vinicius and explained why he said what he did and offered a full apology and claimed that he saw no bad feelings between them going forward, which the Brazilian accepted.

It is maintained that the two share a strong and healthy working relationship and indeed, both are friendly away from games.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Frank Lampard responds to claims he didn’t rate Christian Pulisic “because he’s American”

Frank Lampard insists he never doubted Christian Pulisic after Red Bull Salzburg boss Jesse Marsch claimed the Chelsea head coach did not rate the American because of his nationality.

Chelsea completed a £57.6m deal to sign Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund in January 2019 while Maurizio Sarri was in charge of the club, but the USA international did not move to Stamford Bridge until the summer of that year when Lampard had replaced Sarri.

Earlier this month, Marsch claimed Lampard doubted Pulisic’s ability to make an instant impact at Chelsea because he was American.

However, Lampard believes Marsch recalled a conversation between the pair last year incorrectly and praised Pulisic for enjoying a “breakthrough” season at the club, report SkySport.

“I did read the comments and I was surprised that he had managed to read my mind as well as he thought he did,” Chelsea boss Lampard said in a press conference on Thursday.

“He has recounted the conversation wrong and I have to put it correct. It was a game against Salzburg in pre-season and Christian scored two goals. Jesse came up to me and we spoke about Christian. He said he was a talented player and I agreed with him and we spoke about how exciting his development will be.

“That was the conversation. Jesse managed to put it across slightly differently. I played in America for 18 months and I would never underestimate the desire that American players have to learn and to improve. Christian has that desire and talent also so it was never in doubt for me.

“I understand the rigours of the Premier League. It’s clearly the toughest league in the world and it’s not just Christian who would have felt that, but some of the greatest players in history have.

“What Christian did was find his feet very quickly and have a breakthrough season with lots of goals and assists. His performances were massively impressive and he will get better and better. I never doubted that.

“I’m not jumping on Jesse but as a manager I never doubted Christian and it’s important for me to put that straight.”

Man United legend reveals how Alex Ferguson wouldn’t play him for five matches to cause Chelsea hero nightmares

Ryan Giggs has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t play him for five games so he could be ready to cause Chelsea’s star Michael Ballack ‘nightmares’

The Manchester United manager told his winger to ‘forget’ about the matches in between and to prepare himself to face the German midfielder in three weeks time.

Ferguson wanted Giggs to play in the centre of midfield because he believed he could cause Ballack problems with his speed.

The Welshman said he had been in and out of the team prior to the game but that Ferguson often called upon players he trusted to perform certain roles in big games, report the Mail.

“The majority of the time he could trust us to play a role, I played midfield at Old Trafford against Chelsea.” Giggs told The Greatest Game podcast with Jamie Carragher.

“He pulled me like three weeks before the game. He said, ‘We’re playing Chelsea, I want you to play in midfield against Michael Ballack. He doesn’t like players running at him, you’ll give him nightmares.’

“Three weeks away, there’s like five games in between. I said, ‘What about the other games in between?’

“He says: ‘Forget about them. Just get yourself ready for Chelsea’. It was that sort of thing. Okay, you’d be subbed, be in and out of the team but get yourself right for that.”

Ben Chilwell reveals what he did when his “confidence took a hit”

Ben Chilwell bravely revealed on social media he had therapy after his “confidence took a hit”.

The England international joined Chelsea from Leicester City in the summer in a £50m deal, and has since helped in improving the Stamford Bridge side.

He said: “Last year I went through a period where my confidence took a hit and it affected me in my everyday life. I eventually spoke to someone about it and found it helped a lot.

“In football especially people don’t like to show weakness. But talking about difficulties or problems in your life with others is important.

“Everyone is going through something and hopefully someone has seen this tweet and feels they are able to talk to someone about something troubling them, where they felt they couldn’t before.

“I think it’s important we all talk on this topic, especially with everything going on at the moment.”

Former Chelsea star Willian complains he gets “frustrated” by elements of Mikel Arteta’s tactics

Arsenal winger Willian insists he is learning a lot under Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta but has admitted elements of the Spaniard’s tactics have often left him ‘frustrated’.

The winger joined the Gunners on a free transfer in the summer after rejecting a new contract at Chelsea and found adapting to life under his new coach, who wants his players to hold their positions and wait for the ball to come to them.

The Brazilian has not been able to make an impact since his two assists in the opening game against Fulham and is still waiting for his first goal in an Arsenal shirt.

Willian said he is beginning to get to grips with the demands of his manager but said it has been a steep learning curve.

“It’s been a cool, new experience. I hadn’t worked with a coach with that mindset,” Willian told Globo Esporte as cited by the Mail.

“The positional game doesn’t mean that you have no freedom on the pitch, you have the freedom to move, but many times you have to respect the position, what the coach asks, the instructions, understanding that it’ll be better for the team.

“It may happen that you don’t touch the ball and get frustrated, but Mikel always says that, wait a minute, the ball will arrive. I’ve been learning a lot.”

Willian missed Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat by Leicester last weekend with a calf issue

Frank Lampard warns Chelsea stars about Burnley’s threat

Frank Lampard has warned that Burnley still pose a significant threat, saying that he “will always respect” the Turf Moor side.

Chelsea return to Premier League action with an away trip to Burnley on Saturday, hoping to inflict more damage on a side without a league win this season.

Burnley currently occupy 18th place in the table and have scored just three goals, but Lampard insists Sean Dyche’s men still pose a significant threat.

“I will always respect a Burnley team managed by Sean Dyche because of the qualities they have,” Lampard said.

“I watched the game against Tottenham (a 1-0 defeat) and they were very unfortunate to not take anything from the game against a very good Tottenham team.

“It was what you expect from Burnley in terms of their organisation, their effort, their desire and their qualities.

“People can pigeon-hole Burnley but I don’t. I know they have quality players, I know they have a very effective way of playing and a very good manager so I expect a tough match.”