Long-serving Newcastle United goalkeeper Steve Harper has backed struggling striker Papiss Cisse.
Cisse’s incredible goal-scoring helped Newcastle United to fifth last year, but the Senegal international is yet to score this season, and missed miserably from the penalty spot against Norwich City.
The 27-year-old was not supposed to be taking the penalty with Hatem Ben Arfa having already converted from the spot this season but was handed the opportunity to end his goal drought by stand in skipper Jonas Gutierrez.
Harper told the club’s official website: “You have seen the spirit in the camp right there in that moment. It shows what fantastic spirit we have got that people want to get Papiss going.
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“He was incredible last season and just needs a goal this time. It’s a real team ethic here, and giving him the opportunity to score just shows that. It wasn’t to be, unfortunately, but Papiss will score for us – loads of them this season.”
Sir Alex Ferguson is happy to keep his opponents guessing when it comes to selecting his strikers and Wayne Rooney seems to agree, according to The Sun.
Ferguson left Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez all on the bench for United’s home defeat to Spurs but all came on to inspire an unsuccessful comeback.
“It is early doors but with the situation we have at the moment, I don’t know where I am going in the sense of what my best partnership will be because I haven’t seen Rooney and Van Persie together,” Ferguson told the Sun.
“But I am happy in the knowledge I have the options there.”
England striker Rooney is clearly determined to get back into the side as soon as possible but he understands the quality of his competition.
“There is a lot of competition up front but that is great for the squad,” Rooney said.
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“The manager will rotate when he feels it is necessary as there are a lot of games throughout the season.
“It means we can get a rest here and there to make sure we are ready for the big games towards the end.”
boss Brendan Rodgers has admitted that Luis Suarez must harbour the goalscoring responsibilities for the club, and that rotating or resting the forward may not be an option.
The Reds have a lack of depth in attack, with Fabio Borini and Suarez the only recognised frontmen at the club.
The Italian has broken a bone in his foot and as such requires surgery, leaving Rodgers with only Suarez in attack until January.
“I’ve rested him a couple of times knowing the squad we have and the games we have, looking to prioritise, but like most footballers he wants to play every minute of every game,” Rodgers told Sky Sports.
“It is something I need to assess. The most important thing is winning games – that is what we need to do and in order to do that as often as we can I need the best players on the field.
“Luis will absolutely love playing three times a week but I need to try to nurture him because there are still many games to play between now and January.
“And even in January if we bring someone in it may not be January 1, so that is something which, over time, I need to assess and we’ll look to manage the squad,” he continued.
Andy Carroll is currently on loan at West Ham, but the Northern Irish coach has stated that he has not considered bringing the England international back to Anfield as cover.
“It isn’t something I have considered, to be honest.
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“Andy has obviously gone out to get games. We have people watching when he plays and they report back on how he is doing.
“But with Fabio’s injury just coming up we will assess it from there,” he concluded.
Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor looks to set to come back into the Tottenham squad this weekend for their Premier League fixture against Wigan.
The former Manchester City marksman has been struggling with a back injury but his manager Andre Villas Boas confirmed that he will be available for selection, for the game at White Hart Lane this weekend.
The Spurs boss has called for the player to be patient in his return. It had been speculated that there was a rift between the player and manager but AVB was quick to also play this down.
However, it is clear that Jermain Defoe has left an impression on his manager with Adebayor not guaranteed a place in the starting XI.
AVB went on to tell ESPN : “Ade has returned to training and he will be available for the Wigan game.
“The trouble has been that he has not played so much this season, mainly because of injury. He missed six games for a period and then two more recently.
“Whenever he came on he did well and he wants to be part of the team, but Jermain Defoe is doing well. In nine Premier League games, he has five goals. This is the kind of goalscoring ability that you want for your team.”
Despite Adebayor maybe having to wait, AVB was quick to clarify the position of one of his defenders Steven Caulker.
“I’m extremely happy with him. He is 20-years-old and doing extremely well, coping with the best strikers in the world, Torres, Rooney, Van Persie,” AVB said.
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The Portuguese boss also played down the significance of the Serbian police charging Caulker after the brawl at the end of the England Under-21s’ Euro 2013 play-off last month.
Manchester United midfielder Anderson has dismissed any talk that he may be leaving Old Trafford either in January or in the summer as reported by Sky Sports News.
The Brazilian international has become a bit part player under Sir Alex Ferguson due to persistent injuries, but despite that the midfielder feels United would not let him leave Manchester.
The 24-year-old however did concede that if a move away from the Red Devils materialised, he would only ever want to return to Portugal to play for his previous club Porto.
“In Portugal, I have only ever played for Porto and if one day I came back, I would play for them,” Anderson told A Bola.
“But the return to Portuguese football is far from happening. United will not let me go and I will not put myself in that scenario.”
Anderson is now fit and ready to return to the first team and fight for his place in a midfield that can be chosen from up to 12 players.
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It’s for very good reason that Arsenal supporters demand excellence in the transfer market. The stance from the club to push ticket prices to the maximum, while housing a football team in one of the country’s most modern and impressive stadiums, drives the need for something inspired with regards to player recruitment.
Fans do not always want to hear about the latest wonderkid who may or may not turn out to be the new saviour or poster boy for the club. Arsenal have a fine tradition of attacking football under Arsene Wenger, thus forcing the demand for quality over bargain bin signings.
But every now and then, it always raises a sense of hope and a different level of excitement when a club pulls an ace out of their sleeve, a diamond in the rough and one who was a bargain signing in the most positive sense of the word.
Iago Aspas isn’t a name that would normally send the excitement levels rising among Arsenal’s supporters. The fans want something in the vein of Santi Cazorla, a player of exceptional quality with the reputation to back it up. For simply the lack of reputation, Iago Aspas certainly doesn’t strike the same chord.
That is unless you’re oblivious to La Liga beyond the stars of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Diego Simeone’s diamond of a striker at the Vicente Calderon. But Iago Aspas, currently of Celta Vigo and who last season played in the Segunda division, falls comfortably into that bracket of players who are exciting Spanish football and winning a host of admirers. There’s no glamour in looking to teams like Betis, Celta and Rayo, but this season is showing the incredible depth of quality right through La Liga.
Iago Aspas currently operates in the striker role for Celta, but is more than well equipped to handle the duties of a wide player. He’s a forward with incredible pace but also clinical enough to be his team’s focal point in attack.
When Celta went to the Camp Nou three weeks ago, it would have been easy to mark that one off as an easy victory for the Catalans. But Aspas put forward another excellent showcase of his talents, stretching the Barcelona back four and threatening Victor Valdes’ goal on a number of occasions.
Aspas has comfortably been Celta’s standout performer this season, just as he was last season when they won promotion. He’s also a player who is playing well above his current level, and a move to a bigger club even in Spain shouldn’t be out of the question.
It was Guillem Balague, however, who brought up the idea of Arsenal looking at the Celta forward, alongside Fernando Llorente and Adrian Lopez. Off the bat, it’s easy to see why Wenger may look to Aspas as an option for strengthening his attack at the Emirates. The Spaniard is incredibly quick, but plays with the technical excellence you’d normally associate with Wenger’s recruits. He has a fearless attitude about his play, something that should be looked at from that performance against Barcelona. There’s no hiding away for him from the bigger and much more powerful opponents; this is very much a player who knows how good he is and how much damage he can do.
At 5’9 it would be a little foolish to completely write-off his potential contributions to Arsenal and in the Premier League. Luis Suarez is doing an excellent job in leading Liverpool in attack, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez are the regular starters at Manchester City over their bigger team-mates, and Arsenal’s leading players this season have been Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta – all under 6 foot.
There should be no reservations about Arsenal targeting a player of Iago Aspas’ quality. The club will never willingly splash out on players who command fees of £20 million and up, but it is imperative the club identify the best players who do fall into their price range.
Aspas is still building towards his prime, being only 25, but everything he’s displayed so far this season ticks the boxes of a typical Arsene Wenger signing, even more so than Llorente and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. As mentioned, he’s quick and very mobile, but his versatility will also be a big help to the club with his ability to play on the flanks when Olivier Giroud takes up the target man role.
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But above all, the fee to land the Spaniard should be minimal. He’s already expressed a desire to stay with Celta, having recently signed a contract extension and having come through the Galician team’s youth set up. But should an approach from Arsenal be put forth, the player would almost certainly jump at the chance to elevate his status in European football.
What Wenger could have here is another project, another opportunity to turn a very good player into an exceptional one. He has a poacher’s instinct, and only needs the right environment and coaching to transfer his 23 goals of last season in the Segunda division into 20-plus in the top-flight (he already has five goals in 12 appearances for what you’d obviously call a poor Celta side ).
He is by no means the glamour signing that Arsenal need to give them a lift and a new lease of inspiration, but he’s very much a player of quality who will improve the level of depth in the squad at the Emirates.
Marouane Fellaini has outlined qualification for the Champions League as Everton’s main goal for the season.
The Toffees have made a fine start to the Premier League season, notching 26 points putting them fourth.
Fellaini has been key in the Merseysiders’ performances so far, weighing in with vital goals and assists.
He believes that finishing in their current position is the squad’s main aim and believes that with some hard work it could be possible:
“Everybody wants to play Champions League next season.” He told the club’s official website.
“So we work hard for this and hopefully we can finish in the top four.”
The Belgian has been used by manager David Moyes in a more attacking role this term, with positive results.
The 25-year-old was named as the player of the month for November and is happy with his current form:
“At the moment I am playing well. I am happy – but the most important things are the team and the club.
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“I try to give my maximum in every game. The manager likes it when I play in attack. I’ve been scoring the goals and I work hard on the pitch.”
Fellaini has been linked with a potential move away from Goodson Park, with Arsenal rumoured to be interested.
With the incoming January transfer window, many a Premier League club will be looking to bolster their ranks and improve their squad before they enter into the business end of the season.
A typical problem of New Year transfers however, is that managers have to settle for what they can get as opposed to what they want, leading to clubs eventually signing well over-priced, completely useless footballers in a bid to resolve their problems, who eventually make things a lot worse.
So here are 15 Premier League footballers who other clubs should avoid at all costs in January or else fall into the trap that the month-long transfer window always presents.
Some are dangerously under-performing, many are over-priced, others are simply rubbish and a few are just far too old.
Click on Stewart Downing to check out the top 15 footballers Premier League clubs should give a wide berth to this January
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That short era in Arsene Wenger’s time which strictly followed the youth policy to combat stronger powers appears to be as good as over. The poster boy for that period just following the move into the Emirates Stadium has returned to Barcelona, Samir Nasri moved for the greener grass at Manchester City, Denilson is out, Carlos Vela too, Nicklas Bendtner, and Theo Walcott may well have been the last and final piece to leave the club this year.
Good riddance to all bar one or two? Well not really. Bendtner was always a bit of a handful but is undoubtedly far more talented and useful than many options Arsenal currently have. Carlos Vela is currently showing with Real Sociedad what he can do with a consistent run in the first-team—something he was never afforded while in north London. And then there’s Havard Nordtveit, the Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder who is excelling in the Bundesliga after never making an appearance for Arsenal in the Premier League.
Wenger has of course made a couple of bad calls during his time as manager, one being the idea to use Denilson for such a lengthy spell in the starting XI without much return, or the decision to push Emmanuel Eboue further up the field into the right-wing position. But Nordtveit’s performances in Germany should be a cause for some regret on the manager’s part.
The Norwegian was of course a part of Lucian Favre’s side who stormed up the Bundesliga table to finish in fourth, ahead of Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburg, who in contrast had a terrible season. Gladbach did so playing some fantastic football on the way, too. Marco Reus was the star player in a team who were subsequently dismantled this past summer by the bigger clubs in Germany, only to be replaced by players who were unfamiliar with life in the Bundesliga.
There have been a number of bright spots this season for The Foals, most notably Marc-Andre ter Stegen. But Havard Nordtveit has also displayed the kind of maturity and stability that Arsenal have been crying out for in the middle of the park.
There’s been nothing wrong with Mikel Arteta’s performances this season for Wenger’s side, but there’s often a feeling that the team do need a genuine stay-at-home defensive midfielder.
It’s always pleasant to watch Nordtveit and the decisions he makes on the field. He knows when stay back and hold his position in the deep midfield position, playing the important role as the first line of defence and breaking up opposition attacks. But such is his understanding of the defensive midfield position that he also knows when to push forward and complement the attack.
It’s coincidental that at this time it appears Arsene Wenger is on the lookout for a player who can perform well in the defensive midfield position and centre-half. With Johan Djourou on the way out of the club and Sebastian Squillaci unwanted, the desire has been to chase a player who can fill in when two of the three prominent centre-back names are out but who can also add another body to the midfield. Nordtveit’s defensive awareness has shown him to play the centre-back position extremely well, while his size and ball-playing ability means he could have been a success if he was dropped into the Arsenal team now.
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The fee Gladbach spent on the player should be seen as nothing short of robbery from Arsenal’s perspective, as any player switching clubs for just under £1 million and going on the develop in the way he has should be seen as nothing less.
Wenger has always moved to avoid re-signing former players, and largely you can understand why. But if the club did insert a buyback clause into the sale, Nordtveit would be a fantastic addition to the current Arsenal team.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will go head to head with Atletico Madrid for the signing of Lyon ace Yoann Gourcuff according to talkSPORT.
Wenger is keen to add more stability to his midfield with Jack Wilshere in need of rest and the likes of Abou Diaby and Mikel Arteta constantly struggling with injuries.
Gourcuff has failed to rediscover his younger form since he joined Lyon in 2010 and the French club are happy to allow the midfielder to leave on loan if the price is right.
Arsenal and Atletico would both be interested in a loan deal until the end of the season with a view to a permanent switch if he impresses.
La Liga club Atletico have already spoken with Lyon about the possibility of a loan but club agent Nikola Franco has revealed that a loan fee of in the region of £2.5million would be out of the question if a deal was to happen this month.
“Atletico are interested in Yoann Gourcuff,” he told L’Equipe.
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“But the club does not want to discuss a loan fee with Lyon. The only option proposed by Atletico is a free loan with a purchase option at the end of the season.”