Mikel Arteta s January business will not change due to Arsenal s past two results, although Bukayo Saka continues to provide the creative spark the Gunners need.

Arsenal were winless in seven and 15th in the table at Christmas but have since beaten Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion.

The latter 1-0 victory at Brighton came courtesy of an Alexandre Lacazette strike 29 seconds after coming off the bench on Tuesday.

Arteta s men are now nine points clear of the bottom three, surely quelling any mischievous relegation talk, but they are not looking to take their foot off the gas.

Asked if back-to-back wins for only the second time this season in the league would affect the urgency to make moves in the coming transfer window, Arteta replied: No, the last few…

Virgil van Dijk expressed his gratitude for the support he has received after making his return in Liverpool s 4-3 friendly defeat to Hertha Berlin.

Van Dijk made his first appearance since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the Merseyside derby last October at the Tivoli Stadion in Tirol on Thursday.

The Netherlands captain and fellow defender Joe Gomez, who had been sidelined with a knee injury since November, were introduced by Jurgen Klopp with 20 minutes to go.

Van Dijk later thanked those who had helped him on the road to recovery during his lengthy absence.

He tweeted: 285 days ago, I started on a journey back towards playing. It s hard to express how I am feeling, but it s important to me that I say I feel blessed to have had t…

Manchester City have re-signed defender Angelino from PSV after activating a reported £5.3million buy-back clause in his contract at the Eredivisie club.

Angelino began his professional career at the Etihad Stadium but did not make a Premier League appearance for City.

He left for PSV a year ago and made 43 appearances in 2018-19 but City have opted to bring the 22-year-old back to boost their defensive options.

After signing a four-year contract with the Premier League champions, Angelino told the club s official website he is looking forward to developing his game under Pep Guardiola.

I am thrilled to have rejoined City, a side playing incredible football under Pep Guardiola, said Angelino.

Watching them while playing in Holland has been a…

Atletico Madrid captain Gabi wishes the Europa League decider against Marseille will not be Antoine Griezmann s last final with the club as speculation mounts over his future.

A third Europa League title is on the line for Atletico, who face Marseille in Lyon on Wednesday amid Griezmann s links with Spanish champions Barcelona.

France international Griezmann – who opted to remain in Madrid for the 2017-18 season despite strong interest from Manchester United – is a rumoured target for Barca.

And veteran midfielder Gabi hopes the 27-year-old remains at Atletico beyond this season s Europa League showpiece.

We ve been talking on Antoine [Griezmann] the whole year, Gabi told reporters. He is fine.

I see him very good, physically very good, focu…

World champions Germany have arranged friendly matches against England and Italy for March next year.

Germany, World Cup winners in Brazil 12 months ago, last faced rivals England in November 2013, when Per Mertesacker scored the only goal in a 1-0 win.

The two teams are set to meet in Berlin on March 26, before Italy provide the competition for Germany in Munich three days later.

Italy managed a 1-1 draw when the teams faced off in November 2013.

Germany will hope the matches serve as a warm-up Euro 2016 in France, with Germany second in qualifying Group D after six matches.

These are exactly the games that everyone wants, Germany assistant coach Oliver Bierhoff said.

It was important that we measure ourselves in the few dates tha…

Wellington Phoenix moved into the A-League s top six following a 3-1 win over Western United that extended their unbeaten run to seven matches.

After four defeats to start the campaign, Wellington have had an upturn in form and Ufuk Talay s side led 1-0 at half-time through David Ball s poked finish from a Ulises Davila cross.

New Zealand international Callum McCowatt then scored his first A-League goal after the break before Davila beat the offside trap and coolly finished 10 minutes from time.

The home side would grab a consolation, though, Steven Taylor bizarrely blocking a shot with his outstretched arm when lying on the ground to concede a penalty that Alessandro Diamanti converted.

However, that was all United had to show for their efforts as they …

Hansi Flick wants every member of his Bayern Munich team to work on turning their defensive struggles around as they prepare for a dangerous Bundesliga clash with in-form Freiburg.

Bayern saw their hopes of a second successive treble ended on Wednesday as they suffered a shock DFB-Pokal exit at the hands of 2. Bundesliga promotion challengers Holstein Kiel.

They conceded a 95th-minute equaliser to make it 2-2 at the end of normal time, with the second-tier side going on to prevail 6-5 on penalties.

Flick s side have not kept a clean sheet since the Champions League win over Lokomotiv Moscow on December 9, while the second of just two shutouts in the Bundesliga came back in the 5-0 defeat of Eintracht Frankfurt on October 24.

Bayern have faced the fifth-fe…

Paris Saint Germain s resurgence will be tested to the full this weekend when Paul Le Guen s side have the unenviable task of hosting champions Lyon in what is being billed as a Parc des Princes clasico .

PSG are on a roll, notching up their third win inside a week against Le Havre last weekend, with prolific striker Guillaume Hoarau grabbing his eighth goal of the campaign.

Lyon defender Cris is relishing the away day trip to the French capital and the prospect of taking on Hoarau and company.

Hoarau has a real talent, he s a player who works a lot, a true battler. I ll have to keep him in my sights, even if he s not the only one we ll have to keep tabs on.

Assessing the nature of the task facing PSG in Paris on Saturday Cris added: They re climbin…

High-flying Tottenham will take their four-match winning streak to Anfield on Sunday, hoping to unseat a rejuvenated Liverpool.

Andre Villas-Boas Spurs have catapulted into third spot in the league with a whiff of Champions League in their nose.

They should at least secure a top-four spot, but now they are two points inside the top-three, Villas-Boas will only be looking skywards to guarantee their group-stage spot in Europe s elite competition in 2013/14.

The Reds, meanwhile, have climbed back into contention for securing a spot in the Europa League next season with back-to-back victories.

Albeit against either poor or distracted opposition the latter being Swansea, who were preparing for a League Cup final when they lost 5-0 at Anfield Liverpool have pu…