Welcome to Sport News and Entertainment: 09/03/13

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Super Eagles should not underrate Malawi, says Akpoborie

The former Nigeria international has told the players who will be on duty on Saturdayagainst the Flames to take the game seriously. Former Nigeria international Jonathan Akpoborie has advised the Super Eagles that will take on Malawi on Saturday not to think that the game will be easy.

The Nigeria side would need at least a draw against the Flames to qualify for the play off stage of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. Akpoborie noted that matches like this are difficult to play because everybody thinks the Super Eagles will win. "My simple advice for them is that they should not underrate the Flames of Malawi. Yes it is true that we need to play out a draw, but we should approach the game with the mindset that we must win,"

"We are far better than the Malawians. They cannot be compared to us. But that should make us handle them very well and finish off the game before they know what is happening. "Stephen Keshi has invited the best legs for this game and I know the players are confident of winning the match. But caution should be the word here.

"We have the advantage in the game. Malawi will not sit back to defend. They will attack and that will give us the opportunity to create chances and score goals. "I believe we are going to win. But we must play well to win the match," Akpoborie said. The match comes up at the UJ Esuene Stadium, Clalabar at 4pm (WAT).

Arsenal make Demba Ba enquiry

Arsenal have made an enquiry to sign Demba Ba on loan from Chelsea. The Gunners have been in contact with the Blues about taking the Senegal striker for the rest of the season. But they face competition from Roma for Ba, who has found himself out of favour under new manager Jose Mourinho.

The forward has not even made the bench for Chelsea's last two fixtures despite being fully fit, and slipped even further down the pecking order when the Blues signed Samuel Eto'o last week.

With Fernando Torres and Romelu Lukaku also at Stamford Bridge, Ba is unlikely to feature much this season. Chelsea can trim their wage bill by loaning out the forward but might prefer him to go overseas rather than to a direct Premier League rival. Arsenal had an interest in signing Ba permanently in January when he was at Newcastle United but were concerned about his history of knee trouble.

Arsene Wenger wants proven back-up for Olivier Giroud, who has begun the season in outstanding form. The Arsenal manager has failed in a series of bids to land a new forward on a permanent deal this summer and has now adjusted his sights to a loan deal.

The Gunners are in advanced talks with Real Madrid to buy Ozil for €47 million and have agreed a loan deal with Palermo for Viviano, who arrived in London on Sunday night to put the finishing touches to his move.

Arbeloa: I thought Ozil was joking about leaving Madrid

Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa has revealed that he thought Mesut Ozil was joking when he told team-mates he was leaving this summer.

The Germany midfielder left the Santiago Bernabeu on transfer deadline day in a €50 million move to Arsenal, fighting off reported interest in the 24-year-old from the likes of Paris Saint-Germain.

"I'm a little surprised about the transfer," Arbeloa told reporters on Tuesday. "It's a shame and a big loss in our locker room, personally and in footballing terms.

"He said goodbye on Sunday, but I thought he was joking. Ozil is different, there is no one else like him in the world. He makes such a difference."

Fellow Madrid star and Spain international Isco - whose arrival in the summer is considered one of the reasons for Ozil being cast out of the Liga giants - lamented the ex-Werder Bremen starlet's exit to the Emirates.

"Actually, I was surprised that Ozil left and moreso because he said last week that he was going to stay," the attacking midfielder said. "Ozil, we all know, has great quality and is a player can change the balance of a game."

La Liga makes €102m profit, Premier League loses €487m: Europe’s top five league summer spending in numbers

With the summer transfer window having come to an end in the major European leagues, Goal takes a look at which competition spent the most

La Liga can consider itself to be one of the winners of the summer transfer window as the only of the top-five leagues to record a significant profit ahead of the 2013-14 campaign, which was in stark contrast to the mammoth deficit that the Premier League racked up.

Despite Real Madrid smashing the world-record transfer fee with the arrival of Gareth Bale from Tottenham for €100 million and Barcelona spending €57m on Brazil international Neymar, the Spanish top flight still recorded a positive balance of €102.6m.

The main reason for La Liga's profitable summer is the departure of Gonzalo Higuain and Mesut Ozil, while Radamel Falcao, Roberto Soldado, Alvaro Negredo, Jesus Navas and Thiago Alcantara all brought in big fees, too.

In second position, Serie A recorded a modest €3.1m profit after a busy summer window which saw plenty of new arrivals to the Italian top flight.

Napoli, for example, brought in players such as the aforementioned Higuain plus Raul Albiol, Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon.

Other big-name players to come to Italy include the likes of Mario Gomez, Kevin Strootman and Carlos Tevez, while Stevan Jovetic, Marquinhos and Erik Lamela all said farewell to Serie A.

League	Revenue	Expenditure	Total
La Liga	€492.6m	€390m	€102.6m
Serie A	€412.8m	€409.7m	€3.1m
Bundesliga	€204.6m	€263.3m	€-58.7m
Ligue 1	€229.1m	€378.9m	€-149.8m
Premier League	€275.4m	€762.7m	€-487.3m

Elsewhere, the Bundesliga had to settle for a €58.7m loss following the arrival of players such as Thiago (Bayern Munich), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (both Borussia Dortmund). The exit of players such as Andre Schurrle and Gomez were not enough to make up for the heavy spending of both title candidates.

Unsurprisingly, Ligue 1 saw plenty of cash leave the country due to the Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco's powerful stance on the transfer market.

PSG lured the likes of Cavani and Marquinhos to France, while Claudio Ranieri's side secured the services of Falcao, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez among others.

The most notable departures include Aubameyang, Etienne Capoue, Younes Belhanda and Josuha Guilavogui.

However, the Premier League take the title of this summer's big spenders, with a large part of their expenditure coming on deadline day as Arsenal snapped up Ozil.

Manchester City also spent their fair share of money, though, as they lured Fernandino, Jovetic, Negredo and Navas to England, while Chelsea brought in Schurrle and Willian.

Liverpool (Mamadou Sakho, Iago Aspas and Tiago Ilori) and Tottenham (Lamela, Soldado, Paulinho and Christian Eriksen) both spent big as well in their attempts to win Champions League qualification and even Southampton spent over €30m on foreign signings as they snapped up Victor Wanyama, Dejan Lovren and Pablo Osvaldo.

On the other hand, high-profile departures include the inevitable Bale, Tevez and Gervinho, but Premier League sides in general recouped very little money from transfers abroad compared to their spending.

Van Persie: I will play for another 10 years

Manchester United striker Robin van Persie believes that he has what it takes to play for another 10 years. MANCHESTER UNITED LATEST 12/1 Man Utd are 12/1 with Paddy Power to win the Champions League The Netherlands international, 30 years old, is confident that next summer's World Cup in Brazil will not be his final major tournament for Oranje. "We want to do better over there then at the European [Championships]," he told NUSport. "At least, I want that, and after that I want to do it better again. That's how I am."The World Cup won't be my last big tournament. I've never had a major injury, hardly any muscle problems. I will play for another 10 years." The former Arsenal man cites the influence of Manchester United team-mate Ryan Giggs as a source of motivation in prolonging his playing career. "Yes, serious, that's my goal when I feel myself like I do now," he continued. "It's a drive for me when I see Ryan Giggs train every day fantastic and play fantastic."

West Brom outcast Odemwingie joins Cardiff

Cardiff have completed the signing of West Bromwich Albion striker Peter Odemwingie, subject to Premier League ratification. The Nigerian forward had been linked with moves to Swansea and Stoke during the transfer window but Malky Mackay has won the race for the 32-year-old, who has signed a two-year deal. Odemwingie becomes Cardiff's eighth new signing since their promotion to the Premier League and will provide added firepower, having scored 30 goals in his three-year spell at the Hawthorns. Cardiff City Football Club is pleased to announce the signing of Peter Odemwingie from West Bromwich Albion," read a statement from the club. "Peter completed his medical on Monday afternoon and will link up with his new team-mates later this week." Odemwingie had fallen out of favour at West Brom after he tried to force through a move to QPR in January, and he is pleased to have been given the chance to make a "fresh start" with the Premier League new boys. "I'm delighted to complete my move to Cardiff City. I'm looking forward to this fresh start at a club that is really going places, a team that's progressing fast," Odemwingie told the club's website. "My father-in-law is a City fan and he's told me what a great club this is. I'm looking forward to meeting up with the boys and then start preparing for the trip to Hull after the international break. "I've seen a little bit of the city and I know that my wife and I will really enjoy living in Cardiff. I can't wait to get started - this move makes me very happy.

West Brom seal £6m Anichebe signing

Everton have confirmed that striker Victor Anichebe has joined West Brom for £6 million on a three-year deal. In a complicated set of events, the Toffees clinched the loan signing of Romelu Lukaku, who at one stage looked to be heading to the Hawthorns. However, after the Chelsea striker opted to move to Goodison Park on loan Steve Clarke stepped in to sign the Nigeria international. The Baggies also broke their transfer record earlier in the day, snapping up Stephane Sessegnon from Sunderland adding to an attack that has yet to score in the Premier League this season. Clarke acquired free agent Lee Camp and wrapped up a deal for Morgan Amalfitano on a season-long loan earlier on Monday. Anichebe was in his ninth year at Goodison Park and scored 26 goals in 168 appearances for the club