Wenger: Arsenal gunning for Manchester City

Arsene Wenger has his sights set on chasing down second-placed Manchester City and believes Arsenal can leapfrog the champions if they improve their consistency. The Gunners moved up to third place in the Premier League table after beating Everton 2-0 on Saturday and now lie just four points behind Manuel Pellegrini’s men after City lost to Liverpool. The French boss has not given up hope of overhauling the champions, while midfielder Aaron Ramsey returns to the squad to face QPR on Wednesday. With 11 matches left to play this season, Wenger has not given up hope of finishing as runners-up – a feat the north Londoners have not managed since the 2004-05 season - though he admits they are "nowhere near" to winning the title.

Benedito suspects Barcelona board wanted to sell Messi

The Catalans' current president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, has claimed he hopes the Argentine attacker will remain at Camp Nou for many years to come, but Benedito says the mixed messages coming from the Barca board show they cannot necessarily be believed or trusted. Barcelona presidential candidate Agusti Benedito suspects the club's current boards have seriously contemplated selling star player Lionel Messi.   Messi's relationship with the current board is known to be somewhat strained and came to a head when economic vice-president Javier Faus upset the four-time Ballon d'Or winner in 2013 by saying there was "no need" to give the club's all-time top goalscorer a new contract. "Sometimes they say things and then their actions go in the opposite direction. I hope in Messi's case that their words and their actions correspond."Barca face Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday and, despite difficulties with Financial Fair Play, the Premier League champions are one of the teams monitoring Messi's situation at Camp Nou, along with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.  

Fifa insists on arbitration panel for NFF election dispute

Fifa has recommended that an arbitration panel should be set up by the Nigeria Football Federation to resolve the disputes arising from the September 30 elections in Warri. In a letter signed by Fifa's Director of Legal Affairs Marco Villiger and Head of Corporate Legal Oliver Jaberg respectively, it acknowledged the receipt of letter from Ike Igbogwe over the NFF's rejection of its request for an arbitration panel. The world football ruling body has recommended the establishment of an arbitration panel to solve the disputes engulfing the Nigeria football house. Fifa said it has no authority to resolve the crisis insisting it was an internal affairs and resolved to accept in entity the verdict of a 'competent body' set-up to rule over the appeals' verdict against seeking redress at a regular court. "We acknowledge receipt of your correspondence dated 12 January 2015, and have duly taken note of its content," its statement which was also copied to the NFF on Monday, January 19, the letter read.

Liverpool need a goalkeeper - Rodgers

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has set his sights on bringing a new goalkeeper to Anfield in the January transfer window. The 21-year-old Danny Ward has made the step up from Liverpool's reserve team to provide back-up to Mignolet - dropped by Rodgers in December after a string of poor outings - as Jones battles a thigh injury. With Simon Mignolet woefully out of form and the injured Brad Jones's contract expiring in June, Rodgers has few options to choose from between the posts. Mignolet's abilities were once again put in the spotlight as his inability to handle a high ball helped AFC Wimbledon draw level in Liverpool's FA Cup third-round trip to Kingsmeadow and Rodgers accepts he needs to bolster his options. "I think we need a goalkeeper of some sort; it's just depending on how long Brad Jones is going to be out injured," he told reporters.  Rodgers believes that the source of Mignolet's lack of confidence is a struggle with the demands placed upon him to contribute to Liverpool's possession-based game. Previous first-choice Pepe Reina was regarded as one of the Premier League's finest distributors, with the Belgian unable to fill the Spaniard's shoes fully so far.

Siasia requests for training tour of Turkey on return from US vacation

Nigeria U23 coach Samson Siasia returned to the country on Friday night from his vacation in the United States of America with request for a training tour of Turkey. The U23 coach has returned to Abuja following the Christmas and New Year holidays with hopes of securing a camping tour of Europe to prepare for the AAG qualifiers. The coach was expected to hit town on Tuesday but couldn’t make it as a result of flight hitches due to poor weather conditions.Siasia had submitted his programs to the Nigeria Football Federation and strongly requested for a training tour possibly in Turkey where he can concentrate fully and work on the players he had already picked for the All African Games qualifying match against Gabon in February. “This will also make it possible for the invited foreign-based players to join us without experiencing the rigors of having to travel down to Abuja. But everything depends on the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation,” Siasia disclosed. “We need to camp in a place where the team will not be distracted and will be able to face our programs fully without any hindrances and hitches.

Signing Messi 'impossible' for Chelsea

Chelsea assistant coach Steven Holland believes it is "impossible" for the club to sign Barcelona star Lionel Messi due to Financial Fair Play restrictions. Messi's future has been the subject of intense speculation ever since he hinted back in November that he could leave Camp Nou, amid reported tensions with boss Luis Enrique and the Barcelona hierarchy. The Argentine superstar is reportedly unhappy at Barcelona, but Blues assistant coach Steve Holland is adamant that Uefa's Financial Fair Play regulations prevent any deal. The Argentina superstar appeared to fan the flames this week by following Chelsea on Instagram, but Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has since reiterated the club's desire to keep their all-time record goalscorer. Last month Jose Mourinho played down any talk of a potential transfer, insistiing that Chelsea are incapable of meeting the €250 million release clause in the 27-year-old's contract as a result of Uefa's Financial Fair Play regulations.

Yaya Toure is African Player of the Year 2014

Manchester City's Yaya Toure has been named the African Player of the Year 2014 by the Confederation of African Football at an awards ceremony held in Lagos on Thursday evening.  The Ivoirian has been named the best player from the continent for a fourth straight time after beating local favourite Enyeama and Aubameyang at a ceremony in Lagos. The Ivoirian won the title for a fourth straight time beating off competition from local favourite Vincent Enyeama and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the title. However, it was the Ivoirian Toure who was called up to the podium again winning the award for a record fourth time after previous sucesses  in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Toure told media that he felt 'lucky' to win it considering the size of the competition. In the ceremony, Nigeria produced the African Women Player award, Africa Youth Player of the Year as well as the National Team of the Year. In the other awards given on the evening, Firmin Ndombe Mubele won the award for best African player based on the continent.  Two Nigerians, Vincent Enyeama and Ahmed Musa also made it into CAF Team of the Year.

Barcelona 5-0 Elche: Messi, Neymar and Suarez all on target in Blaugrana romp

Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez all found the back of the net as Barcelona destroyed Elche 5-0 in the first-leg of their last-16 Copa del Rey tie. The breakthrough came on 34 minutes when Neymar side-footed home from close range and they turned on the style as Suarez and a Messi penalty made it 3-0 at half-time. Jordi Alba made it four early in the second half before Neymar added his second in the 59th minute to complete the scoring. The victory eases the pressure on coach Luis Enrique, who came in for criticism after dropping Messi to the bench as the Catalans were beaten 1-0 by Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday. The Brazilian wasn't do be denied, though and finished off a neat passing move by passing the ball into the back of the net from a matter of yards out. Suarez was the man to assist - squaring for the Brazilian to break the deadlock and open his Copa account for the season. Barca started brightly on Tuesday night as the Argentine, swiftly restored to the starting XI, jinked through the Elche defence and fired straight at Przemyslaw Tyton after 10 minutes. Dani Alves then went close with a long-range effort after Titon elected to punch Messi's inswinging free-kick, while Neymar dinked his team-mate's lofted pass wide of the visiting goal before the half-hour mark.

Inter and Bayern agree deal for Xherdan Shaqiri

Xherdan Shaqiri is set to join Inter, the club have confirmed, after they reached an agreement with Bayern Munich on Thursday. The Switzerland international has agreed a move to the Italian giants, with a four-year contract just requiring his signature after the clubs settled on a fee. The Nerazzurri have agreed to sign the Switzerland international on loan until the end of the season for €2 million, and will then be obliged to pay €12m at the end of the season to make the deal permanent. An extra payment will be made if Inter qualify for the 2015-16 Champions League. Inter announced the transfer is almost complete on their television channel, claiming the highly-rated 23-year-old attacker just needs to put pen-to-paper on the verbally agreed contract to seal the deal.