FOOTBALL TRANSFERS: Not signing a defender is 'risky' - Wenger Admits

With Arsenal's defensive stocks being tested, Arsene Wenger has hinted at signing cover in January.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger conceded not reinforcing his depleted defence before the close of the January transfer window would be too "risky".
French full-back Mathieu Debuchy added to Wenger's defensive woes during the week, ruled out for three months due to a dislocated shoulder.

READ ALSO: EPL: Chelsea Routs Swansea As Man U Struggled TO Beat QPR
Arsenal's defensive stocks have been tested throughout the 2014-15 Premier League season, with Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal all spending time on the sidelines.

West Ham defender Winston Reid and Borussia Dortmund captain Mats Hummels have been touted as potential signings in January.

And Wenger is aware failure to add defensive cover would be a gamble with Arsenal desperate to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League.

"It's risky. It's too risky," said Wenger. "If we have another injury or two we will struggle.

"We can, because we have [Calum] Chambers, [Per] Mertesacker, Koscielny. But we have now lost Debuchy, who could play centre-back, Monreal, who can play centre-back, Gibbs as well has been out.

READ ALSO: Amber Rose Finally Gets Wiz Khalifa's Attention With Her Hot Pics
"Of course we have made enquiries and then you have a second handicap of who wants to sell their best players, especially a central defender, in the middle of the season.

"They say: 'OK, come back in June or July and maybe yes.'"

Wenger added: "I am not the only one working on the case."

"It's not a supermarket where you go in and buy a defender, it's a market that is very restricted, that players who can strengthen the best 10 teams in Europe, you don't find many and it's the same for everybody.

"We are a big attraction, of course we are, but if it was easy we would do it."
Follow 4119ja on twitter

Click here to "like" the 4119ja Facebook page, to get updates directly on your Facebook timeline. Subscribe to our BBM Channel (C00379595D or search for "411 9ja") to get live updates on published post. Please drop your comments below      

EPL: Chelsea Routs Swansea As Man U Struggled TO Beat QPR

Chelsea routed Swansea 5-0 for the leader’s biggest win of the English Premier League season on Saturday, while Manchester United produced only its third away success of the campaign at Queens Park Rangers.
Diego Costa and Oscar both scored twice before Andre Schuerrle completed Swansea’s home humiliation, to go provisionally five points ahead of Manchester City, which hosts Arsenal on Sunday.

READ ALSO: EBOLA OUTBREAK: Sierra Leone Cemetries Full Of Children
“The team is playing with high quality and has a clear identity of playing,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. “Sometimes teams are good and play well without the clear identity, but all this season we are going in a certain direction.”

United labored through the first half at QPR before a second-half turnaround saw substitutes Marouane Fellaini and James Wilson clinch a 2-0 victory. QPR remains in the relegation zone after a fifth straight winless league match, while United remains fourth, two points behind Southampton.

The south-coast team won 2-1 at Newcastle after the first goals from Eljero Elia since joining on loan from Werder Bremen this month.

Tottenham moved up to fifth with a 2-1 victory over Sunderland, Liverpool won 2-0 at Aston Villa, bottom-place Leicester lost 1-0 to Stoke, and Crystal Palace came from two goals down to beat Burnley 3-2, making it two wins out of two under Alan Pardew.

READ ALSO: LOL!!! Even Strippers Dey Pray Before Climbing Pole [MUST SEE]

There were also five goals in south Wales but they were all scored by Chelsea – four in the opening 36 minutes. And the first came 49 seconds into the match from Oscar’s 20-yard (meter) shot.

Cesc Fabregas’ 15th assist of the league season set up Diego Costa’s first, and the striker then seized on poor defending to score his 17th goal of the campaign.

Costa’s cut-back allowed Oscar to net Chelsea’s fourth with ease. The only surprise was it took Chelsea until the 79th to net again, with Schuerrle tapping Branislav Ivanovic’s cross into an empty net.

By contrast, United has been struggling to score. Fellaini’s opener at QPR – from Antonio Valencia’s pass – was only the team’s second goal in six hours of league action.

The second at Loftus Road came in stoppage time on the counterattack, when QPR was pushing for an equalizer, with Wilson netting from the rebound after first being denied by goalkeeper Robert Green.

READ ALSO: STILL REPPING: Olamide, Phyno And Remininsce Records New Indigenous Track

At White Hart Lane, there was no debut goal from Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe against his former club.

Jan Vertonghen’s second-minute opener for Tottenham was canceled out by Sebastian Larsson’s curled free kick, but Christian Eriksen struck the hosts’ winner in the 88th.

There was a fourth win in five games for seventh-place Liverpool. Fabio Borini volleyed in his first goal of the season before Rickie Lambert’s low strike at Villa, which has gone nearly nine hours without scoring.

Follow 4119ja on twitter

Click here to "like" the 4119ja Facebook page, to get updates directly on your Facebook timeline. Subscribe to our BBM Channel (C00379595D or search for "411 9ja") to get live updates on published post. Please drop your comments below      

QPR Vs MAN U: Super-Sub Goal From Marouane Fellaini

In arguably the pick of this afternoon’s 3pm kick-offs in the Premier League, Queens Park Rangers play host to 13-time PL winners Manchester United at Loftus Road.
The game endured a rather subdued start – indeed, both sides seemed void of all creativity going forward as they went in at half-time without scoring. The Old Trafford outfit appeared to be struggling with their 3-5-2 formation, once again, whilst the West Londoners were trapped in an endless cycle of pumping the ball forward to Bobby Zamora.

READ ALSO: Sanchez Is Setting The Pace At Arsenal - Chamberlain Admits

But finally, the deadlock was been broken by a relatively unlikely source. Marouane Fellaini started the match on the bench but came on at half-time for a lackluster Juan Mata and had a huge impact, netting United’s first of the afternoon.

The Belgium international’s Red Devils career has often been shrouded in controversy, but if the score remains the same for the next half hour, he’ll be United’s hero of the afternoon.

Follow 4119ja on twitter

Click here to "like" the 4119ja Facebook page, to get updates directly on your Facebook timeline. Subscribe to our BBM Channel (C00379595D or search for "411 9ja") to get live updates on published post. Please drop your comments below      

Szczesny Gifts Southampton 2 Goals To Celebrate The New Year

Two steps forward, one step back has become the norm at Arsenal these days and Wojciech Szczesny ensured it would be business as usual for Arsene Wenger in the new year.



The Arsenal keeper contributed two calamitous mistakes that gifted Southampton the chance to establish a two-goal lead and claim a victory that ultimately was alarmingly comfortable from Wenger’s point of view.

The outcome was that Southampton struck a blow in the increasingly crowded battle for a top four place, moving three points clear of an Arsenal side who dropped to sixth after Tottenham’s stunning 5-3 win over Chelsea in the late kick-off.

READ ALSO: Tottenham vs. Chelsea: Referee Phil Dowd Was Too Slow - Mourinho Gives Excuses

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman is convinced his side have the capacity to sustain their challenge for a top four finish and if future opponents are half as generous as Arsenal, they will achieve their aim with plenty of room to spare.


Szczesny’s first error was to race off his line and fail to win the ball on the left hand edge of his penalty area. Stranded in no man’s land, the keeper was unable to prevent Sadio Mane’s admittedly excellent finish from the tightest of angles from giving the home side a 34th minute lead.

Then, with Arsenal looking for a way back into the game in early stages of the second half, the keeper got in a terrible mix-up with right-back Mathieu Debuchy and ended up hacking the ball tamely to Dusan Tadic who gratefully accepted the opportunity to add a 56th minute second.

Koeman summed things up accurately enough.

“I don’t like to talk about the mistakes of the opponent, because that can be disrespectful,” said the manager. “But the second was maybe a new year present.”

It’s probably a good job Wenger didn’t hear the remark.

The Arsenal manager was visibly fuming at Szczesny’s first error, by the time of the second, disbelief had turned into resignation.

Having come into the game as the only one of the top six to have won their opening two holiday games, this was a chance for Arsenal’s season to gather momentum.

READ ALSO: Steven Gerrard To Quit Liverpool This Summer

Instead, the afternoon ended with another inquest and what appeared to be latest example of supporter dissent when a fan was arrested after leaping from the crowd and remonstrating in front of the dugouts.

“Every time we look like we can get on a run, we have a hiccup,” said Wenger. “We have to learn from that very quickly because we will need that.

“Today more than the position in the league, my main concern is that it was a game that was winnable that we lost, more than fourth place. Because we need to be consistent defensively from the start.”

Wenger resisted any urge to single Szczesny out for criticism but his insistence that “I don’t want to talk about him” spoke volumes.

David Ospina will start Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Hull City and can prepare himself for an extended run in the side if he impresses.

For Arsenal, their FA Cup defence has assumed even greater significance with the competition once again offering their best chance of success this season.

Prior to Mane’s opening goal, Arsenal appeared to have settled into the game but from the moment Mane out-paced Laurent Koscielny and panicked Szczesny, a home win always appeared likely.

READ ALSO: JODIE: Singer Says She Will Remain A Virgin Till Her Marriage Night

Southampton keeper Fraser Forster twice saved well from Alexis Sanchez but Arsenal were vulnerable to Southampton’s attacking threat and were undone for a second time after Steve Davis latched onto Victor Wanyama’s long ball and drilled in the cross that prompted a second mix up.

“This result show we can beat a big team,” said Koeman. “The draw against Chelsea was important, after that the players had the belief to win something.

“I don’t say now after this we have more possibilities to stay high but I believe and the belief was there before. We had a fantastic run, we didn’t make parties, we didn’t make troubles after five defeats. You need the confidence to play good football. Every game you have to be prepared because every game is difficult.”

Follow 4119ja on twitter

Click here to "like" the 4119ja Facebook page, to get updates directly on your Facebook timeline. Subscribe to our BBM Channel (C00379595D or search for "411 9ja") to get live updates on published post. Please drop your comments below      

Tottenham vs. Chelsea: Referee Phil Dowd Was Too Slow - Mourinho Gives Excuses

A seething Jose Mourinho invited scrutiny on the performance of referee Phil Dowd after witnessing his Chelsea side lose 5-3 at Tottenham in a result which wiped out their lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League.



Harry Kane scored twice as Spurs ended a 10-match winless run against the Blues, who now share the Premier League lead with a Manchester City side who have erased an eight-point deficit to Mourinho's men.

READ ALSO: Steven Gerrard To Quit Liverpool This Summer

The Chelsea manager complained of a "clear campaign" against his side following Sunday's draw at Southampton, but escaped Football Association disciplinary action.

He again felt aggrieved by two decisions he felt went against his side and may now face FA censure.


The first was when Jan Vertonghen fell and brushed the ball with his hand after blocking Oscar and the second when Mourinho felt Eden Hazard had been hauled down by last man Federico Fazio.

Despite accepting Hazard's version of events and that no foul had been made, Mourinho used the incident to highlight Dowd's display.

Mourinho told BT Sport: "Hazard, honest as always, tells me in his opinion it was not a foul or a red card, so that's good, in spite of Mr Dowd is too slow to go with that ball, he was like 40 yards away, he made the right decision.

"The decision (that) was like 10 meters away, he couldn't make and that's a decision that is the crucial moment of the game."

READ ALSO: RONALDO: See How The Madrid Star Refused To Shake Hands With UEFA President At The FIFA Club World Cup [VIDEO]

That was a reference to the Vertonghen incident, which came when Chelsea led and Mourinho was unwilling to forget, even though many thought it incidental in a game where Chelsea conceded five goals.

Anthony Taylor booked Cesc Fabregas for a dive, rather than award a penalty at Southampton and Mourinho suggested two decisions in the last two games cost his side maximum points.

At the post-match media conference, Mourinho added: "With the result 1-0, one clear action could make it 2-0.

"Normally, at 2-0, the result would be completely different and the history of the game would be different.

"I'm more shocked with other things than to concede five goals.

"Where I am shocked is that, in three days, we had two incredible decisions that punished us in a very hard way.

"We had one (point) out of (a possible) six when two crucial decisions would give us six points.

"What matters are the points. The decisions, the normal tendency is for people to forget the decisions."

Mourinho had no intention to speak to Dowd following the match, but did return at half-time speaking in the referee's ear.

The Blues boss back-tracked somewhat on the "too slow" comment in relation to the Fazio-Hazard incident, but again took the opportunity to point to the Vertonghen handball.

Mourinho said: "That is difficult for him and difficult for everyone, not just for him. That situation is something you accept is difficult.

"The first one, in the first half, which is clear, like the one against Southampton, which was also clear. They're the ones that are difficult to accept.

READ ALSO: ARSENE WENGER: Alexis Sanchez Is Our Suarez

"Managers and players, we win and lose. And Mr Dowd didn't lose."

Mourinho feels Hazard is being kicked routinely and unfairly and needs protection.

"People in love with football in this country, people must be in love with Eden Hazard," Mourinho said.

"The way, match after match, he's being punished by opponents and he's not being protected by referees, maybe one day we won't have Eden Hazard.

"It's one, two, three, four, five, 10 aggressive fouls against him. They kick and kick and kick, and the kid resists.

"He's a very honest guy in the way he plays, but that's another problem."

Follow 4119ja on twitter

Click here to "like" the 4119ja Facebook page, to get updates directly on your Facebook timeline. Subscribe to our BBM Channel (C00379595D or search for "411 9ja") to get live updates on published post. Please drop your comments below      

Mourinho lauds 'beautiful' Chelsea display

Jose Mourinho hailed Chelsea's 'beautiful' first-half display after they beat West Brom 2-0 to go seven points clear in the Premier League.

The Londoners continued where they left off before the international break by making it six home wins out of six in the top flight on Saturday.

Diego Costa's 11th goal in 10 Premier League games put Chelsea in front and Eden Hazard added a second as the hosts took advantage of West Brom's defensive frailties.

Albion then had midfielder Claudio Yacob sent off for a challenge on Costa after only 29 minutes and they looked set to be on the end of a hammering as the leaders caused them all sorts of problems.

Ben Foster made a string of saves but Chelsea were unable to reward their dominance with further goals, although Mourinho was more than happy with a dominant display.

"The first half was brilliant – beautiful," said the Chelsea manager. "The quality of football was high. We were playing so well, so fast and so fluid.

"We made the pitch very wide, created space and scored two goals. We should have scored more, but it was fantastic.

"In the second half it was different. We decreased our intensity and made it a little bit easier for them, but I have to say also that West Brom did very well and were well organised defensively.

"I would have liked to have killed the game and scored more goals to give the crowd a little bit more of what we gave them in the first half, but it wasn't possible. We have to think first about the points.

"But when I use the word beautiful in relation to the football we played in the first half, I think we all agree. The football was brilliant.

"They [the players] did really well and you could feel it from the beginning. I can stimulate and motivate, but the reality is that it’s up to them and they were fantastic."

Click here to "like" the 4119ja Facebook page, to get updates directly on your Facebook timeline. Subscribe to our BBM Channel (C00379595D or search for "411 9ja") to get live updates on published post. Please drop your comments below