Both Arsenal and Tottenham target Eric Bailly on January

Manchester United defender Eric Bailly is wanted by both Arsenal and Tottenham for a January transfer.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is a big fan of the Ivory Coast international, who has become disillusioned at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho as the Daily Star  reports.


Arsenal too are also keen on Bailly and now the pair are set to go head-to-head when the transfer window reopens.
Bailly cost United £30million when he joined from Villarreal in 2016, and they almost certainly won't ask for any less from their Premier League rivals.

Manchester United defender Eric Bailly

 

 

 Bailly has started five games for United this term, but was hauled off after just 19 minutes of the clash with Newcastle United

Robert Pires rates Iwobi highly

Iwobi replaced Aaron Ramsey with 30 minutes remaining and it was his cross that forced Watford’s Craig Cathcart to

 turn the ball into his own net for Arsenal’s opener. And the Nigerian’s performance caught the eye of Arsenal legend Pires, who believes Iwobi has a huge future ahead of him at the Emirates. ‘I know just one thing, I told him after the game he made the difference,’ Pires told Standard Sport. ‘He’s a great player, very fast

Alex Iwobi and his teammates

Robert  Pires

‘He finds good solutions on the field with his vision. He has good mentality and spirit. Of course, he’s young but he’s learning very quickly. ‘Arsenal with Alex Iwobi and Alex Iwobi with Arsenal have a good future.’ Iwobi, meanwhile, revealed after the 2-0 victory over Watford that Emery has told him to stop being ‘so critical’ about his own performances. ‘I’m more positive and more confident with the ball,’ the 22-year-old said

‘The boss has basically told me that if something doesn’t work, just keep going and don’t dwell on it. ‘He’s told me to stop being so critical and to just keep trying no matter what happens, no matter if things don’t go as I want them to. ‘That’s given me a lot more confidence to try a few more things, like beat a player, to shoot more. I’m always ready to get on the ball a bit more, so I guess it’s helped in that sense.

‘I’ve lost a bit of weight because of the intense training and I think it’s made me a bit sharper.’ The Gunners continue their Europa League campaign on Thursday evening with a trip to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag. They then return to the Premier League and make the short trip across London to Fulham on Sunday.

Valencia says that he support Mourinho

The Ecuador international has been forced into a hasty apology after a social media mishap landed him in hot water

Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia has apologised for inadvertently 'liking' an Instagram post calling for manager Jose Mourinho to be sacked.

The Red Devils manager came under increasing pressure on Tuesday following a 0-0 draw with Spanish club Valencia at Old Trafford in the Champions League, prior to"I'm not even surprised about the outcome of this game," the user posted. "I always look forward to our games but recently Mourinho has made watching us a punishment now. Something needs to change. It's time for Mourinho to go."

Valencia was spotted as having 'liked' the post and was forced to post a hasty apology online.

Posting on Twitter, he said: "Yesterday, I liked a post on Instagram without reading the text that accompanied the picture. These are not my views and I apologise for this. I am fully supportive of the manager and my teammates. We are all giving our everything to improve the results." which club legend Paul Scholes had said that he was "embarrassing the club".

Fuel was poured on the fire by the 33-year-old, who liked an Instagram post criticising the manager after the draw

Antonio Valencia

✔@anto_v25

Yesterday, I liked a post on Instagram without reading the text that accompanied the picture. These are not my views and I apologise for this. I am fully supportive of the manager and my teammates. We are all giving our everything to improve the results.

"No, I have never had any problem with anyone, thank God," Valencia said. "The decision [about the captaincy] is for the coach to make, now we need to see the positives. We played an important game and got a point, now we have a game against Newcastle and we need to fight.

"What I can say from the inside is that the lads are calm, working every day with a good attitude. We haven't got good results and that's why rumours arise."

The Ecuador international right-back played his fifth match of the season for the Old Trafford side on Tuesday. He had missed the opening couple of fixtures of the season due to a calf strain, meaning Paul Pogba took the captain's armband, and was also rested for last weekend's surprise 3-1 defeat at West Ham.

Antonio Valencia Man United captain

Walcott still missed at Emirates

The 29-year-old might have grown stale at the Gunners, but how they long for someone with similar attributes to offer a 'Plan B' in Unai Emery's squad

 Theo Walcott returns to Emirates Stadium on Sunday to face his former team. The 29-year-old joined Everton in January following 12 years in north London, where he won three FA Cups and scored 108 goals in 397 appearances, but the decision to leave was made easier by the fact that he struggled to maintain a regular spot in the Arsenal XI coupled with then manager Arsene Wenger’s decision to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan


Walcott has since revealed that he grew disenchanted with the game as his time at Arsenal came to an end, and for someone who has already contributed two goals and an assist to Marco Silva’s side this season, the England man will this weekend be looking to exact some revenge on his old club for letting him go.
“I'm not going to lie, I fell out of love with football for a little bit. Because I had some good performances, but then just didn't get the chance to play on,” Walcott said




“Scoring over 100 goals for Arsenal is a great achievement for me personally, and then just the last year-and-a-half was tough, I can't lie. It was really tough, not being able to get into the team, being in and out.
“I just felt I wanted to get the excitement of football again. I didn't feel like it was going to be at Arsenal then.
“[Former Everton boss] Sam Allardyce at the time got in contact, and I felt: ‘Yeah, this is the right move for me.’ I got the buzz and enjoyment back, and I couldn't be in a happier place to be honest, I'm playing football with a smile on my face. I just love football again.”

The Gunners have the look of a new side under head coach Unai Emery but there are still some areas of the pitch where additions are required - one of those being on the wing. Arsenal’s right hand side remains a problematic area, especially in the defensive areas where Manchester City, Chelsea and West Ham have exploited the weakness in recent games by scoring their respective goals after taking advantage of those flaws.
Hector Bellerin, in particular, has been exposed defensively because he rarely has a natural winger playing in front of him or tracking back. Henrikh Mkhitaryan seems the best suited to that position, although he drifts into his preferred inside-right role, and while Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey have both played there, they are traditional ‘No.10s’ and more successful playing through the middle

Hector Bellerin and his head coach Unai Emery

Admittedly, wingers have changed a lot since the likes of Marc Overmars was strutting his stuff down the flanks for Arsenal. The other top-six clubs generally have a main striker supported by an inside forward who is able to drift out wide or player in the centre. An example of this can be seen at Manchester City, who boast Sergio Aguero as the frontman and Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez as the wide forwards. Similarly, Tottenham have Harry Kane as their centre-forward while Son and Christian Eriksen are considered the wide forwards.
Walcott’s best qualities were his ability to run in behind and stretch defences. A player like Wilfried Zaha, who has already courted interest from the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham, could be the perfect addition to reduce the narrow system that the Gunners have restricted themselves to playing. Different game plans are crucial when you consider Arsenal are playing in four competitions and will need options on the bench to change things. Danny Welbeck has played on the wing, as has Aubameyang, with the only natural winger Reiss Nelson heading out on loan to Hoffenheim earlier this month
 It’s evident that Premier League teams rarely play with two up front, and the reliance on width is now focused more on the full-backs. Arsenal are certainly missing someone like Walcott - a goalscoring wide attacker - but they need someone to help the defenders, too. Signing a winger won’t solve all of Arsenal’s issues but it will give them variety and increased options in a position where they don’t have any natural wide men

Kanes bumper contact causes teammate demands

There is growing drama in the Spurs dressing room as teammates seek improved contracts after star striker Harry Kan e was handed a bumper deal worth a massive £200,000 (A$358,000) a week.
Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose have reportedly all demanded new deals, according to The Sun, to match the England talisman’s percentage pay rise

Tottenham's Harry Kane celebrates a goal with teammates

Kane scored 30 goals in the league last season and was rewarded with a massive new deal to ward off potential suitors amid reported interest from the likes of Real Madrid.
Alderweireld, Eriksen and Rose allegedly want pay boosts of around 40 per cent, but traditionally frugal chairman Daniel Levy is refusing to match their demands

Hazard Deserves to be in the same bracket with Messi

Eden Hazard deserves to be considered one of the best players in the world and is in the same league as superstars like Lionel Messi according teammate Pedro.
The Spaniard played alongside Messi for eight years at Barcelona and believes his Belgian attack partner is world class.
“It is obvious that Eden Hazard is in the three, four players that are the best in the world like Leo, Cristiano Ronaldo  , Neymar, Eden,” Pedro said

Chelsea's Eden Hazard

“Because Eden every year, you show your football and your numbers - score goals, assists, play a lot of minutes, play very good.
“I don’t know, maybe in a few years Eden can win the golden ball or another thing because he is a very good player.
“He is a big star. It is very good for the us that Eden is in good form with good confidence, doesn’t lose ball, is dribbling very good, score goals.”
Hazard has started the season in incredible form, sitting atop the Premier League golden boot rankings with five goals in as many matches

Barcelona's plan to step up Paul Pogba

BARCELONA have hatched a plan to aid their pursuit of Paul Pogba

Manchester United's midfielder Paul Pogba

 

Barcelona are planning to watch every single game Paul Pogba features in for the remainder of the season as they step up their pursuit of the Manchester United midfielder.

The Mirror report the Catalan club are keeping close tabs on the Frenchman, with a view for making a bid in excess of £100m (A$179m+) for hi
Barca allegedly had ‘spies’ watching Pogba as he scored twice and provided an assist in United’s midweek Champions League victory over Swiss side Young boys.
The Spanish champions failed in their attempts to sign the star in the most recent transfer window and are now plotting to swoop again for the player at the conclusion of this campaign.
s services.
 

A clear message to Ed Woodward over Mourinho`s Man United future

'Give Mourinho time and he can win the club a title'

The Red Devils lost two of their first three league games for the first time in the Premier League era this season, sparking speculation that Mourinho could be axed as manager.
The former Real Madrid and Chelsea boss has a strained relationship with chief executive Ed Woodward and publically criticised the club’s transfer dealings over the summer.


But Schmeichel, a five-time Premier League title winner, insists Mourinho is capable of turning things around if he is given ‘time and patience’ from the Manchester United board.
‘He’s been at great clubs,’ the legendary goalkeeper told Sky Sports. ‘Real Madrid, Inter Milan. He won the Champions League with Porto. Three Premier League titles with Chelsea.
‘He’s done so many great things in football. But Manchester United is a different level to anything. The scrutiny, the traditions and the history that we have.
‘This is in the equation every day. Every single day, we respect our history. We have very proud traditions.


‘We finished runners-up last season from fifth the campaign before. We’re straight into the Champions League this year, we won the Europa League and we’ve been in two FA Cup finals.
‘This is great. Yes we strive for more, but these are very positive things.
‘When we give him time and patience, when we understand this is a period in which we have to develop, we can win the Premier League.’
Denmark hero Schmeichel joined Manchester United in 1991 and went on to play 398 appearances for the club in all competitions.

Jose Mourinho 

But even he admits he struggled to adapt to life at Old Trafford and says the same could be true for Mourinho.
‘You can’t just walk into Old Trafford and you’re there. There’s so much to get used to,’ he added.
‘He must think “wow this place is so special” because of what happens around him.
‘Every single place that he goes, he will
‘This is what the other clubs don’t have in those kind of numbers. There is nowhere he can go where Man United is not with him. I think that takes time.
‘When I arrived at the club, I was surprised, and it took a long time to get used to.
‘That was in 1991 and the club has grown since then. It’s different today. All over the world; South America, Asia and everywhere I travel it’s full of people who love the club.’
Following the international break, Manchester United resume their Premier League campaign with a trip to Watford on September 15 not meet one or two United fans, but big numbers. They live and breathe Man United.

Facts about English Premier League

Team with many EPL Trophies; Manchester United -20

Team with many UEFA Trophies in England;Liverpool- 5

Team that took EPL unbeaten:Arsenal -2003-2004

Richest club:Manchester United

A team that has never been relegated:Arsenal

Team with many FA trophies:Arsenal

Long serving coach: Arsene Wenger-Arsenal_22years

A coach that improved a team than any other: Sir Alex Furguson _Manchester United.

A team that has defended the EPL trophy: None

The EPL Trophy

Spurs pile more misery on Manchester United

Manchester United has slumped to a second consecutively defeat yesterday on Monday 27th night .Man United played against Tottenham Hot Spurs on Monday at their home ground field Old Trafford. They were unable to to defend the Spurs strikers and Harry Kane opened and Lucas Moura doubled the scoring.Tottenham Hot Spurs joint top of the premier league table with 3-0 winat Old Traford.

United are now behind Spurs,Liverpool and and Chelsea by six points and stand four points behind the defending champions Manchester City.This has intensified the pressure on manager Jose Mourinho to leave the club. The odds of Mourinho loosing his job have been on trend in the recent weeks as he clashed with the club vice chairman Ed Woodward due to lack of signings.

Mourinhos  anger of not being given funds to boost his centre back was clearly shown by Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof in a desastrous defensive during their match against Brighton last weekend when Man United lost 3-1.Mourinho made six changes to his squad but it was even worse and they were hammered 3-0 at the Old Traford.

United had many chances to score but they did not use them appropriately. Romelu Lukaku had a biggest chance after 15 minutes of the match when Danny Rose short back pass tha put Lukaku clean through on goal but he pulled his shot wide off the post.Hugo Lloris denied Lukaku brilliant chances to keep spurs in front after Hary Kane rose highest to kieria Tripplers corner to loop a header into the Red Devils net.

A minute later after a great save of Hugo Llorris from Lukaku Spurs doubled their advantage when Lucas Moura swept Christian Eriksen cross home.Six minutes later ,the same Lucas Moura decided to add salt on United wound by outpacing Victor Lindelof before shooting from far corner and made Spurs win the match 3-0.

Tottenham players celebrates their goal against Manchester United

Unai Emery records his first win at Emirates

The new coach at Emirates started the season in a bad mood after loosing two games consecutively. Arsenal opened season at their home ground field against Manchester City mostly known as The Citizens.The game ended 2-0 where Man City won.Raheem Starling opened the scoring to the citizens and then Barnado Silva scored the final one.In this game Emery failed to sho his new revolutions to the former Wengers club. The second match was against their rivalry team Chelsea mostly known as the Blues.
The match between  this two two teams is mostly known as The London Derby.The matchwas at the Stamford Bridge  the home ground field of the Blues.Though beaten the team showed a good come back and some hopes for their fans.Chelsea started scoring through Pedro Rodriguez and then Alvaro Morata the second.The Gunners made a good come back and they were able to equalize before before half time.Hendrik Muhkatryan started for the Gunners after a nice cross from Nacho Monrealand then Alex Iwobi scored the second and made the match to end 2-2 in the first half.

In the second half they played well but conceded a goal from Macos Alonso on the 83rd minute.That showed a good comeback for the team and revolutions of the team under the new coach and on Saturday 25th last weekend showed it at their home ground field by beating Westham United 3-1. This was first Emerys win in EPL since his arrival at Emirates

Arsenal players celebrates their  goal against west ham

.

Mourizio Sarri criticises Raphael Benitez for poor game tactics

Chelsea head coach Mourizio Sarri has deeply criticized the Newcastle head coach Raphael Benitez for poor game tactics.Newcastle United played against Chelsea at their home ground on Sundayand it was clear seen that Newcastle United defended from the first minute to the last.Newcastle had five defenders which denied Chelsea a chance to outpace them with easy.

Chelsea dominated the game but it was difficult for them to get a goal.The first half ended 0-0 and neither of the teams were able to pass another defense.Chelsea had to shoot from far but that tactic did not work for the first half. Sarri was not happy about that and he said that the match bored because only one team dominated in the match. Chelsea got their first goal though a penalty kick where Eden Hazard netted. Few minutes later Newcastle equalized through Hozellu after a nice cross and rose higher over Chelsea defenders and headed the ball into the net.Due to high pressure and frequently attacks from Chelsea,Newcastle player played roughly to Willian and a foul was awarded.

Marcos Alonso used that opportunity and scored a nice goal from a free kick.It was Chelsea second goal and winning goal. Although they won the match it was tough for them and their coach said that were poor game tactics potrayed by Newcastle United and it was caused by his colleague coach Raphael Benitez.

Chelsea players celebrates their first goal against Newcastle United

Nadal makes Roger Federer doubles revelation ahead of US Open

"Iwould like to play doubles with Federer again"Rafael Nadal says.

The pair linked up for the first and only time at the Laver Cup last year as they beat Jack Sock and Sam Querrey.

Nadal and Federer have been arch-rivals for well over a decade but they came together to help Team Europe overcome Team World in the inaugural Laver Cup.

Supporters will be left slightly disappointed when the tournament returns next week as Nadal is absent from the event due to his Davis Cup commitments with Spain.

Former world No 1 Novak Djokovic is expected to step into the Spaniard’s shoes to play alongside Federer.

But Nadal is keen to link up with the 20-time Grand Slam winner at least one more time before either of them calls time on their illustrious careers.

“I think it's great to have him next to me, we have good fans here, (it) was a very special situation,' Nadal told Sina TV.

“We tried to enjoy. We talked a lot about the match, I think we played well.

“It was an unforgettable moment not only for us but for the tennis too.

Great feelings and hopefully it won't be the last time.”

Nadal is currently gearing up to defend his US Open crown next week.

And he has taken time to hail coach Carlos Moya and uncle Toni Nadal for helping him return back to his best form over the last year.

“Carlos has been very important in co-operation, he got some new ideas and we have a very good work spirit and good believer in my possibilities,” he added.

“Toni has been probably the most important person in my tennis life, so just thanks to him.

Rafael Nadal in action

PREMIER LEAGUE OWNED GLOBAL

• The Premier League is even more cosmopolitan with the arrivals of Wolves, Cardiff and Fulham
• All three newly-promoted teams are owned by foreign businessmen, from China, Malaysia and America
• 
  

The Premier League is even more cosmopolitan with the arrival of promoted clubs Wolves, Cardiff and Fulham. That's because the men bankrolling the three new additions come from China, Malaysia and America.

Of the clubs relegated last season, West Brom and Swansea were foreign-owned but Stoke were under the control of local businessman Peter Coates. That means the trend of increasing foreign ownership in the top flight continues, with British owners now accounting for only seven of the 20 Premier League clubs. Yet one of those, Crystal Palace, are only partly owned by Londoner Steve Parish, while another, Tottenham, have an English owner in Joe Lewis who is based in the Bahamas.

Modern-day football is awash with money from across the globe but, even below the top tier, buying a Championship club and leading it up into the Premier League represents a significant monetary opportunity. The majority of the second tier is now also foreign-owned, notably by Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris, who took control at Aston Villa in the summer (from China's Dr Tony Xia), and Andrea Radrizzani, who has lured high-profile manager Marcelo Bielsa to Leeds United

Our world map of where Premier League and Championship club owners are based shows the staggering scale of global ownership of England's top clubs.

Fulham owner Shahid Khan is the most high-profile of the new additions to the Premier League owners' club. A Pakistani-American billionaire, Khan found himself in headlines around the world earlier this year with his attempts to buy Wembley stadium.

Our world map of where Premier League and Championship club owners are based shows the staggering scale of global ownership of England's top clubs.

Fulham owner Shahid Khan is the most high-profile of the new additions to the Premier League owners' club. A Pakistani-American billionaire, Khan found himself in headlines around the world earlier this year with his attempts to buy Wembley stadium.

Fulham boss Shahid Khan


Born in Lahore and now residing in Florida, Khan also owns NFL team the Jacksonville Jaguars, but is in close contact with manager Slavisa Jokanovic over Fulham's first Premier League season since 2013-14

The same applies for Cardiff and their Malaysian owner Vincent Tan, whose personal wealth stands at £676million. Cardiff went down with Fulham in that same season but have been led back to the Premier League under the guidance of Neil Warnock.

Tan has had his fair share of tumultuous moments as owner of Cardiff. His rebranding of the club in 2013, including switching the home kit colour from blue to red, caused uproar among the club's fanbase. He eventually bowed to fan pressure in January 2015 to revert back to blue.

Wolves stormed to Championship glory last season with the backing of Chinese group Fosun International, who have an enormous overall wealth of £60billion.

Wolves, owned by super-rich Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, have big ambitions in the Premier League.

The conglomerate bought the Midlands club in 2016 for £30m. A rocky first season saw Walter Zenga sacked after 87 days as the club slid towards the relegation zone before Paul Lambert steadied the ship. But the control he wanted over transfers meant his stay was only ever going to be short-lived. Current manager Nuno Espirito Santo replaced him in May 2017.

He is represented by high-profile Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes, who is friends with Guo Guangchang, the owner of Fosun, which also owns part of Mendes's Gestifute player agency. Mendes represents a host of talent, mainly Portuguese and including Cristiano Ronaldo, and he clearly has an influence over proceedings at Molineux – Wolves twice broke the Championship transfer record last year to sign Helder Costa for £13m from Monaco and Ruben Neves — the youngest captain in Champions League history and full Portugal international — from Porto for £15.8m. Both are clients of Mendes.

For the likes of Fosun and Khan, the allure of achieving sporting success could well outweigh their desire to stay or sell and line their pockets with more millions. That will all be revealed in time.

The Premier League has an array of owners from across the globe, whose motives also lie somewhere between sporting success and financial gain, although one without the other is almost impossible. From Manchester United's New-York-based Glazer family to Manchester City's UAE royalty, Sheikh Mansour, business people have seen opportunities to increase value in a club by helping them a few rungs up the footballing ladder, or just enjoy the crazily-spiralling revenues from global television broadcast deals.

There are three Chinese owners of Championship clubs now (Gouchuan Lai at West Brom, Paul Suen at Birmingham, and Dai Yongge and Dai Xiu Li at Reading) while there are also owners across the division from Greece to Malaysia, via far-flung nations such as Saudi Arabia and Thailand.

English football has a fast-paced, physical style of play woven into its identity that never seems to change. Yet further from the field of play and in the stands, its culture is becoming ever more diverse.

PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPIONSHIP OWNERS.

Arsenal – Stan Kroenke, USA

Bournemouth – Maxim Demin, Russia

Brighton – Tony Bloom, Britain

Burnley – Mike Garlick, Britain

Cardiff – Vincent Tan, Malaysia 

Chelsea – Roman Abramovich, Russia

Crystal Palace - Joshua Harris, David Blitzer and Steve Parish (USA and Britain)

Everton - Farhad Moshiri, Iran

Fulham – Shahid Khan, USA

Huddersfield, Dean Hoyle, Britain

Leicester – Srivaddhanaprabha family, Thailand

Liverpool – John W Henry, USA

Manchester City – Sheikh Mansour, UAE

Manchester United – Glazer family, USA

Newcastle – Mike Ashley, Britain

Southampton – Gao Jisheng, China

Tottenham - Joe Lewis, Britain

Watford – Gino Pozzo, Italy

West Ham – David Sullivan and David Gold, Britain

Wolves-Fosum International China

CHAMPIONSHIP

Aston Villa – Nassef Sawiris – Egypt

Birmingham – Paul Suen, China

Blackburn – Venky's, India

Bolton – Ken Anderson, Britain

Brentford – Matthew Benham, Britain

Bristol City – Stephen Lansdown, Britain

Derby – Mel Morris, Britain

Hull – Allam family, Egypt

Ipswich – Marcus Evans, Britain

Leeds – Andrea Radrizzani, Italy

Middlesbrough – Steve Gibson, Britain

Millwall – John Berylson, USA

Norwich – Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones, Britain

Nottingham Forest – Evangelos Marinakis, Greece

Preston – Trevor Hemmings, Britain

QPR - Tony Fernandes, Malaysia

Reading – Dai Yongge and Dai Xiu Li, China

Rotherham - Tony Stewart, Britain

Sheffield United- Kevin McCabe, Britain and Abdullah bin Musa'ed, Saudi Arabia

Sheffield Wednesday – Dejphon Chansiri, Thailand 

Stoke - Coates family, Britain 

Swansea - Steven Kaplan & Jason Levien, USA 

West Brom - Gouchuan Lai, China 

Wigan – Dave Whelan, Britain

Iwobi reveals how Emery has changed Arsenal training sessions

Alex Iwobi admits Unai Emery’s training sessions are unrecognisable from his predecessor’s, Arsene Wenger.

The former Sevilla and PSG coach is renowned for a high-energy, pressing style and despite a couple of early setbacks there were signs at Chelsea last weekend that his ideas are beginning to yield dividends. Iwobi was handed his first start of the season at Stamford Bridge and rewarded his manager with an impressive display, capped by just his third Premier League goal since January. ‘It’s exciting times to be fair,’ Iwobi told Arsenal Player. ‘Everybody’s enjoying and buying into the new ideas. For me personally, I’m enjoying the new sessions, the new training methods and the new ideas, so I’m enjoying my time with him

 ‘He demands a lot. He’s a lot more intense, a lot of high pressing and keeping the ball so that it benefits us if we have the ball. It’s good for us, especially the attackers who like to have the ball a lot. ‘It’s making me feel a bit sharper, I’m doing things with a bit more intensity. It’s not just for me, though, I feel like I’m helping the team a lot more. It’s benefitting me a lot more.

‘Whenever something in the system changes, you have to prove yourself again. But wherever you go, you have to prove that you’re better than whoever else is on the team. At a team like Arsenal, that’s always going to be hard so I always have to be on it in training and matches. ‘I’ve got to be different. It’s going to be hard because we’ve got so many attackers and so many world-class players, so I’ve just got to prove that I’m on that level or as good as them so that I can be ahead of them, which is my aim.’

Alex Iwobi with his team mates in training

Novak Djokovic makes history with Cincnnati Masters victory over Roger Federer

Former world number one Novak Djokovic became the first player to win all nine Masters 1,000 tournaments with victory over Roger Federer in Cincinnati.

The 31-year-old Serb, a five-time runner-up at the event, beat seven-time champion Federer 6-4 6-4.

Wimbledon champion Djokovic had lost the Cincinnati final to the Swiss on three previous occasions.

"It's a very special moment," he said. "It's the first time I get to stand with a winning trophy in Cincinnati."

Victory for world number two Federer would have brought him his 99th career trophy, as well as levelling the long-time rivals' head-to-head record at 23-23.

Djokovic will now look to take his form into the US Open, which starts on 27 August, having previously won two titles at Flushing Meadows.

Federer was under pressure from the start, saving two break points before holding to win the first game.

World number 10 Djokovic eventually broke his opponent's serve for 4-3 before holding to win the opening set.

But Federer started the second set the strongest, racing into a 2-0 lead before Djokovic fought back to level at 2-2.

He earned another decisive break at 4-3 before serving for victory on his first championship point in one hour and 24 minutes to complete a career 'Golden Masters'.

Federer said: "Congratulations to Novak for your amazing effort not just this week, but throughout your whole career, it is an amazing achievement.

"It's been a great week, tough on the players but we had a fun time."

Earlier, Kiki Bertens held off a championship point to upset world number one Simona Halep in the WTA tournament

Novak Djokovic in action