METRO NAIJA

Sunday, 5 June 2016

Wenger 'revolutionised' Arsenal, says Campbell

Sol Campbell has defended Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and credited the under-fire Frenchman with transforming the club.

Arsenal missed out on the Premier League title for a 12th season running as sections of the Emirates Stadium faithful turned on the club's long-serving boss.

Campbell was part of the last Gunners side to be crowned champions when they went the whole of the 2003-04 top-flight campaign unbeaten.

And he called for Wenger to be given more time, which looks inevitable after the 66-year-old got the backing of chief executive Ivan Gazidis this week.

"Everyone's got to realise how much he's done for Arsenal," Campbell, who played for the London club from 2001 to 2006 and then again briefly in 2010, told The Guardian. "He revolutionised the club.

"Yes, everyone wants to win the Premier League and Champions League. It takes time.

"He's done incredibly well for the amount of money he's spent - look at Man United, who have spent £250 million in two years and have only gone sideways.

"It's not easy at all. Arsenal and Arsene will know when it's time to move on. It'll happen naturally and that's how it should be because he has given so much to the club."

Gazidis told The Telegraph: "The reason we have Arsene as our manager is because our board believes he can deliver success."

Nainggolan confirms Chelsea approach

Radja Nainggolan has confirmed Chelsea have approached Roma to discuss a potential transfer, but is adamant the move is by no means done just yet.

New Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is reportedly keen to lure the Belgium international to Stamford Bridge ahead of next season, having previously attempted to sign him while at Juventus.

The Premier League side have already opened talks with Roma, but Nainggolan is not getting carried away as both clubs have yet to agree on a transfer fee.

"There has been contact between Roma and Chelsea," the midfielder told HLN Nina.

"But I will not get involved so long as there is no agreement between the clubs.

"Chelsea are keen to strengthen their squad and Conte is a manager who wanted to sign me before. Chelsea are a big club.

"But the transfer is not a done deal so long as there is no signed contract on the table. And it would not be easy to leave Italy after 11 years."

Nainggolan, 28, has a contract with Roma until June 2020.

Germany eased to a routine 2-0 win over Hungary on Saturday in the world champions' final warm-up friendly before Euro 2016.

An Adam Lang own goal and Thomas Muller's second-half strike saw the hosts come out on top at Veltins-Arena, although Die Mannschaft struggled at times for fluency in Gelsenkirchen.

Nevertheless, one of the pre-tournament favourites will arrive in France on the back of a victory as they prepare for their first match of Group C against Ukraine in Lille next Sunday.

Joachim Low made five changes from the team that lost 3-1 to Slovakia in heavy rain in Augsburg last weekend, reverting to four at the back as Manuel Neuer, Mesut Ozil, Toni Kroos, Benedikt Howedes and Muller all came into the starting XI.

For Hungary, Richard Guzmics and Gergo Lovrencsics replaced Roland Juhasz and Adam Gyurcso respectively following a 0-0 draw with Ivory Coast in Budapest last month.

Germany had the ball in the back of the net as early as the second minute, Julian Draxler seeing his effort at the back post incorrectly ruled out for offside.

Antonio Rudiger should have scored nine minutes later, heading a corner well wide from close range despite being unmarked in the centre of the penalty area.

Those moments were the pick of an early flurry of chances but they were followed by a lull unbroken until Low's men did finally take the lead six minutes before half-time.

Draxler slipped a throughball to Jonas Hector and the overlapping left-back, advancing into the penalty area, delivered a pass to the near post, where the ball was turned home by the leg of centre-back Lang, under pressure from a stretching Mario Gotze.

Germany continued to dominate possession in the second half, probing patiently before doubling their advantage in the 63rd minute.

Jerome Boateng's cross found the head of substitute Mario Gomez, who drew a save at full stretch from Gabor Kiraly, only for Muller to arrive and slam home the rebound.

Hungary wasted their best chance to pull one back barely a minute after the restart, Tamas Priskin sending an attempted lob over Neuer's goal shortly after his introduction from the bench.

A succession of substitutions contributed to a further slackening of the already tame pace late in the second half, although local fans were at least afforded a glimpse of young star Leroy Sane in a Germany shirt at the home of his club side Schalke, while Bastian Schweinsteiger enjoyed a run out as he continues his recovery from the knee ligament injury that saw him miss much of 2016 for Manchester United.
Lukas Podolski, Andre Schurrle and Emre Can, the latter back from an ankle problem, were also given minutes by Low as the heavyweight side fine-tuned their preparations to depose holders Spain in France.

Sweden will allow Zlatan Ibrahimovic to leave their Euro 2016 training camp to sign for Manchester United.

Reports on Saturday suggested the striker has agreed personal terms at Old Trafford, though Sportsmail understands his agent Mino Raiola is in Monte Carlo on other business and, despite Jose Mourinho's interest in his former charge, the deal is not yet complete.

However, United still expect the maverick forward to make the switch to the Premier League and Sweden boss Erik Hamren indicated he would be happy to allow Ibrahimovic out to complete a move on one of his days off.

Spain's Garbine Muguruza beat world number one Serena Williams in straight sets to win her first Grand Slam title at the French Open.

Fourth seed Muguruza won 7-5 6-4 to make amends for losing last year's Wimbledon final against Williams.

The 22-year-old is Spain's first female champion at Roland Garros since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in 1998.

Williams, 34, had hoped to win a 22nd Grand Slamsingles title and tie Steffi Graf's Open-era record.

"I'm so, so excited - to play in a Grand Slam against one of the best players, it's the perfect final," Muguruza said.

"I'm so happy. I had to be very ready and concentrated on all the points and just to fight as much as I can."

All the matches I've played against her helped me.

It's our favourite tournament in Spain and I want to thank all my Spanish supporters."

Incoming Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti believes Antonio Conte has left Andrea Pirlo out of his Italy squad for Euro 2016 because the veteran midfielder does not fit his pressing style.

The 37-year-old was somewhat surprisingly snubbed for the finals in France despite the absence of Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti in midfield.

Ancelotti was not surprised, though, and feels Pirlo's move to the MLS with New York City cost the experienced midfielder his place.

"The current Italy team will have to find a good model of play that suits them because Conte does not have many star names and he has already lost Marco Verratti and Claudio Marchisio to injury," Ancelotti told The Telegraph.

"My guess is that Conte wants to play with a high intensity which is why he has not selected Pirlo.

"Obviously, I love Pirlo as a player. My God, what a talent. But playing for New York City in Major League Soccer means that he has grown accustomed to another kind of rhythm.

"He is 37 now and if his manager wants to play the pressing game then Pirlo is not the obvious choice.

"Even so, Pirlo spots a pass in a split-second that lesser players could spend a whole lifetime waiting to see.

"The key to Italy's success will be getting the tactical approach just right and they already have a strong defensive structure from the Juventus players in the squad."

Italy meet Sweden, Belgium and Republic of Ireland in Group E.

Sami Khedira claims it does not matter who captains Germany at Euro 2016 as regular skipper Bastian Schweinsteiger battles to prove his fitness.

Khedira wore the armband as Die Mannschaft surprisingly lost a friendly 3-1 to Slovakia last Sunday.

Manchester United midfielder Schweinsteiger has spent much of 2016 on the sidelines with a knee ligament injury and appears unlikely to start when Germany's European Championship campaign begins with a match against Ukraine in Lille next weekend.

But Khedira has sought to play down questions about on-field leadership, insisting the 31-year-old former Bayern Munich star will remain the squad's figurehead.

"I'm getting tired of questions about the captaincy," he said.
"Bastian is our captain. It doesn't change anything if I wear the captain's armband or not. Obviously it's an honour to captain the German national team.

"Basti is very focused and he left a good impression in his first training match. He still has a few days. We are all very glad to have him on board with us."

Should Schweinsteiger fail to convince Joachim Low of his fitness, the Germany coach will still have some enviable options at his disposal, with Toni Kroos and Mesut Ozil, as well as impressive newcomers Julian Weigl and Joshua Kimmich, among those vying for a place at the heart of the team.

"I played in defensive midfield in Augsburg, but at Juventus I played slightly more attacking," Khedira said.

"With Bastian, Toni or Mesut and also with Joshua Kimmich and Julian Weigl, who've made a great impression here with us, we have a lot of options for this position as basically any of these players can play in midfield."
Khedira knows from the experience of winning the last World Cup in Brazil that Germany will face a challenge breaking down some stubborn opponents in France, but it is a task Low's team are ready to confront.
"Like in 2014, we simply have to accept the terms that we are facing," he said.
"Our group opponents, the Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland, will all try to catch us on the wrong foot. We can't complain even if our opponents play defensive with all eleven players [behind the ball].
"We know that there is a lot of hard work left to be done and that we will face a headwind at times. We are not dreamers, but we are thinking positively ahead of this tournament. Our work in training is extremely focused."

New Zealand secured top spot in Group B of the OFC Nations Cup with a battling 1-0 win over Solomon Islands in Port Moresby.

The tournament doubles up as the second phase of the Oceania region's 2018 World Cup qualifying competition, with the top three teams from each group progressing to the third round, which begins next March.

Luke Adams headed home his maiden international goal to settle the contest 10 minutes from time after Matt Ridenton engineered space to deliver the cross.

The All Whites will discover their semi-final opponents when the Group A schedule concludes on Sunday.

Solomon Islands will join them in the last four, pipping Fiji to second place on goal difference after the latter suffered a 3-2 defeat to Vanuatu.

Samuela Kautoga and Roy Krishna found equalisers to Vanuatu goals from Dominique Fred and Fenedy Masauvakalo but there was no answer after Brian Kaltack's 75th-minute penalty.

Fiji can at least console themselves with third place and progress in World Cup qualification as Vanuatu's goal difference remained inferior.

Leroy Sane says he feels sympathy for Marco Reus, after the Borussia Dortmund star's injury paved the way for him to take a place in Germany's Euro 2016 squad.

Two-cap Schalke attacker Sane made Joachim Low's selection as the World Cup winners look to add a fourth European Championship to their collection, after Reus failed to shake off an adductor injury in time.

Bayer Leverksuen's Julian Brandt and Karim Bellarabi, as well as Sebastian Rudy of Hoffenheim, also missed out of selection - with Sane preferred among Low's attacking options after scoring nine goals in 42 games for Schalke last season.

"You obviously feel for your team mates who don't make it," Sane told the DFB's official website.

"They are all great football players and wonderful colleagues.

"It's particularly unfortunate for Marco Reus, as another injury prevented him from taking part in a big tournament.

"I got along really well with all four of them and I feel for each of them. The coach has to make a decision and I can imagine that he didn't have an easy time making it."

Sane will not have time to dwell on his colleagues' misfortune, however, with a potential key role to play as Germany seek a first European crown in 20 years, starting with a Group C clash against Ukraine next Sunday.

"At first you're obviously somewhat reserved," he added. "You watch everything closely but stay in the background.

"On the pitch it's all different though. The older players demanded me to perform to my abilities. They told me that I should show myself.

"I'm the type of player who voices his concerns on the pitch anyway. When I see a dangerous situation building up behind a player, then I will let him know.

"Obviously us players try to help each other on the pitch. Age doesn't matter in that regard."

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has confirmed Barcelona have made an approach for Samuel Umtiti, but has stressed a transfer is still far away at this stage.

Recent reports from Spain suggested the 22-year-old is on the verge of signing a five-year deal with Barcelona, with the Catalans keen to bring in a replacement for Borussia Dortmund-bound Marc Bartra.

However, Aulas has insisted Barcelona have not followed up on their initial approach yet.

"Barcelona have approached us about Umtiti about 10 days ago," Aulas told Eurosport.

"But there are no negotiations taking place yet. Samuel is not on the verge of leaving the club."

Meanwhile, Umtiti's agent and brother Yannick was also adamant the transfer is by no means a done deal yet.

"I do not know where the information that it is already a done deal is coming from," he stated.

"There has not been contact with Barcelona yet. We are not negotiating about a transfer to Barcelona."

Umtiti, who was added to the France squad for Euro 2016 to replace the injured Jeremy Mathieu, has a contract with Lyon until June 2019.

England manager Roy Hodgson said Wayne Rooney's name will be the first on the team-sheet as he looks to end speculation of where the captain's best position is.

Rooney finished the season with Manchester United playing a key role in midfield during their extra-time FA Cup final triumph over Crystal Palace last month, while the form of Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane for Leicester City and Tottenham respectively makes them strong contenders for the forward positions.

Rooney played a number 10 role in the 1-0 friendly win over Portugal, though Vardy and Kane struggled to find their best form despite playing against 10 men for much of the game.

An irritated Hodgson tried several times to end the Rooney debate at a news conference ahead of England's Euro 2016 opener against Russia, as reporters continued to probe the manager on where he was planning to play the skipper.

"I'm not prepared to make this the Wayne Rooney show," Hodgson said.

"You're talking about the player who has played 111 games for England and scored 53 goals so perhaps his best position is anywhere on the field.

"It's a good problem to have, shoehorning in attacking players. I don't think for a long time that I've had that, a lot of good attacking players to shoehorn so you won't find me complaining about that.

"You would find me complaining if we weren't defending as a team, conceding lots of goals chances and every time we played we needed to score three to win a game so I've seen no evidence of that."

Former Manchester United winger Nani has backed new manager and compatriot Jose Mourinho to bring the good times back to Old Trafford.

Nani was one of Alex Ferguson's players to be moved on by Louis van Gaal when he replaced David Moyes, but the Dutchman's revolution failed to bring consistent results.

Van Gaal paid the ultimate price for that after United failed to qualify for next season's Champions League with a fifth-place finish in the Premier League in 2015-16, though he did lead them to an FA Cup triumph.

But Nani says United have finally found the right manager to bring the glory days back to the club in Mourinho, who will be tasked with re-establishing United as the dominant force they were in England under Ferguson.

"He is a fantastic manager - the best in the world in the last years," he said.

"He has done well in England in the past. We know he can always produce something at every team he goes to and we hope he will help Manchester United to win titles again."

Nani, who took on some of his old United team-mates in Chris Smalling and Wayne Rooney in Portugal's 1-0 loss to England on Friday, also offered his thoughts on the latter's future for club and country.

The debate rages on where Rooney's best position for England is ahead of Euro 2016, with the form of Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy and the England captain's strong form for United in midfield leaving manager Roy Hodgson with a variety of options.

But Nani said Rooney will be a key contributor no matter where he plays, having seen him fill a range of roles in their time together at United.
"I played with him for many years so I know what Wayne can do on the pitch," Nani said.

"I saw him ply on the left wing, the right wing, striker. I saw him a little bit more down in midfield. I am not surprised to see him more in midfield.

"He has a lot of qualities. It is different to midfield than to play striker but of course he is a great player and any time he can do something great for England."

Patrice Evra said France are a nation that "loves controversy" ahead of their hosting of the Euro 2016.

The Juventus and France full-back has been no stranger to such controversy throughout his international career and was reportedly the leader of a mutiny against former coach Raymond Domenech during his time as captain at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

There have been similar threats to squad harmony ahead of the European Championship, too, as Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema accused coach Didier Deschamps of having "bowed to the pressure of a racist part of France" by not picking him.

But Evra, who was himself embroiled in an infamous case of racism while at Manchester United involving then-Liverpool forward Luis Suarez, said there was no basis for Benzema's claims.

"This is my country and I love it," Evra said.

"We are in a country that loves controversy. We have a Euro to play in France and we talk nonsense. We must focus on the field.

"Everything that has been said around it, frankly, it did not make me mad because these are lies and it does not hold any truth.

"What is important is the training of just now to prepare for the match against Scotland. I understand the controversy, it helps to sell newspapers. I understand. But it is completely the wrong topic. It's ridiculous."

Evra said focusing on the players that France did not have available was pointless and insisted the focus should instead be on the squad Deschamps has assembled.

"I have always said that the strength of this team, it's the group, the 23 players," he said.

"Other players will play instead of the injured, they will do the job.
"I think that we are all behind them, we will give them the confidence. We must talk of the players who are here.

"The injured, absents, they will not be in the Euro. We can talk a long time about them, we will not be able to get them back."

France face Scotland on Saturday in their last pre-tournament friendly, before kicking off Euro 2016 against Romania on June 10.

Sunday, 5 June 2016

Wenger 'revolutionised' Arsenal, says Campbell

Saturday, 4 June 2016

Nainggolan confirms Chelsea approach

Germany 2 Hungary 0: Muller on target in routine win

Ibrahimovic agrees Personal terms with Manchester

French Open 2016: Garbine Muguruza upsets Serena Williams to win title

Ancelotti: Pirlo does not fit Italy's pressing games

#Euro2016: Khedira not angling for Schweinsteiger's armband

World Cup 2018 Qualifying Review: New Zealand win as Vanuatu stun Fiji

Sane sympathises with Reus as Euro 2016 opportunity knocks

Lyon confirm Barcelona approach for Umtiti

Hodgson: Rooney's best position is anywhere

Nani backs Mourinho for United success

Evra: France love controversy