Former Arsenal and Cologne striker Tony Woodcock backed Lukas Podolski to make a big impact after his move to the Emirates was confirmed.

Cologne announced on Monday that Germany forward Podolski will join Arsenal from next season in a deal believed to be worth 11 million pounds.

Woodcock, who had two stints at Cologne and a spell at Arsenal in the 1980s, is confident Podolski has the ability and experience to prosper upon his arrival in London.

Lukas is a very, very good player and I am sure that he will be a success at Arsenal so the fans should be very excited at the prospect of him joining their club, Woodcock told Goal.com.

I am certain that he will do very well in the Premier League because of the timing. This is the perfect time for Lukas to be …

Jurgen Klopp has won The Best FIFA Men s Coach award for the second year running after Liverpool s breakthrough Premier League triumph.

Klopp oversaw the Reds title success in 2019-20, ending a 30-year wait for a top-flight championship.

FIFA recognition for 2020 follows his win in the same award 12 months earlier after Liverpool won the Champions League.

The Liverpool manager pipped Hansi Flick, the Bayern Munich coach, and Leeds United s Marcelo Bielsa on this occasion.

Flick came up short despite guiding Bayern to the treble, with glory in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League.

Remarkably, he was still assistant to Niko Kovac on July 20, 2019 when the period under consideration for the award began.

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Chelsea central defender Antonio Rudiger does not want to move to West Ham United, according to . The Blues want to include the 27-year-old centre-back in a deal to sign Declan Rice from London and Premier League rivals West Ham.

However, according to the report, Rudiger does not want to move to West Ham. that West Ham want to sign the Germany international, but it seems that they will suffer a blow in their quest to secure the services of the 27-year-old.

According to , Rudiger made 19 starts and one substitute appearance in the Premier League for Chelsea last season, scoring two goals in the process. The defender also played twice in the Champions League for the London club. Back in 2018-19, the German centre-back scored one goal in 33 league games and played four ti…

December is here, so the Premier League schedule is ramping up ahead of the busiest time of the season.

While there may not be any major heavyweight clashes this weekend, there is still plenty to look out for, with Ralf Rangnick set to be in the Manchester United dugout for the first time and Steven Gerrard primed to go up against his former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers.

Chelsea will be looking to preserve their place at the summit as they face West Ham in a London derby – Liverpool and Manchester City, away to Wolves and Watford respectively, hope to pounce on any slip-up.

But before any of that, get yourself in the spirit with our Opta-powered quiz! No need to cheat… The answers are at the bottom.

Sit back and enjoy the best goals from Matchweek…

Real Madrid youngster Takefusa Kubo is looking to cut short his loan spell with Villarreal and join another club, the Yellow Submarine s head coach Unai Emery has confirmed.

Kubo has started just two LaLiga games for Villarreal since joining on a season-long deal from Madrid in August and was not part of the squad for Saturday s 2-1 win over Levante.

Getafe president Angel Torres revealed his side s interest in the Japan international this week and reports from Spain suggest the Madrid-based club are close to striking a deal.

Speaking after his side s victory against Levante, which moved Villarreal up to fourth, Emery admitted it is likely the winger will move on.

I asked Kubo if he wanted to stay or leave [Villarreal] and he told me that he is looking f…

World and European champions Spain host Saudi Arabia in international friendly action on Friday, while Brazil play South Africa.

Spain became the first country to win three successive international tournaments when they defeated Italy 4-0 to defend their European Championship crown in Kiev on July 1.

Prior to that, Spain won the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.

Their next challenge is to become the first nation since Brazil in 1958 and 1962 to retain the FIFA World Cup.

The first real step on the road to what would be a monumental achievement is a qualifier away to Georgia on Tuesday.

Before that, they will tune-up with a friendly against Saudi Arabia in Pontevedra, Galicia.

The Saudis last ou…

Premier League referees’ boss Jon Moss apologised to Gary O’Neil and told him Wolves had been denied a “blatant” stoppage-time penalty in their 1-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, according to the Wolves boss.

United’s debutant goalkeeper Andre Onana clattered into Sasa Kalajdzic deep into time added on, but Simon Hooper did not react and VAR Michael Salisbury deemed there was no foul, with an incredulous O’Neil instead booked for his reaction.

O’Neil said after the match he though Onana was trying to take Kalajdzic’s head off, and then revealed he had received an immediately apology from Moss.

— Wolves (@Wolves)

“Having just spoken to Jon Moss, fair enough he came straight out and said it was a blatant pen…

A court in Italy has ordered Antonio Conte to stand trial to answer accusations of sporting fraud as part of a wider investigation into match-fixing.

The Italy head coach w
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as hit with a four-month ban in 2012 after failing to report alleged manipulating of results in two matches during his time as Siena coach in the 2010-11 season.

The Court of Cremona has now requested the 45-year-old take the stand as part of a match-fixing probe, a spokesperson for the Italian FA (FIGC) confirmed to Perform.

Reports in Italy suggested Conte would be asked to stand trial, and that he could even resign as Italy boss in an attempt to clear his name, although FIGC president Carlo Tavecchio denied those claims last week.

During his time as Juventus coach, C…

Barcelona defender Marc Bartra has rubbished suggestions he is contemplating a move to Napoli reiterating his focus on becoming a Camp Nou regular.

The Barca youth product has not been a consistent starter for the senior side since making his debut in 2010 but made 25 appearances under Luis Enrique last term. 

Despite helping Barca to La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League titles, Bartra has been heavily linked with Serie A side Napoli in recent weeks.

However, the 24-year-old insists his future lies at Camp Nou, telling reporters: I m not listening to offers.

My head is focused 100 per cent on Barcelona.

Every year people say the same things, but staying at Barca was the only thing on my mind.

I have it all here. Feeling impo…

Chievo have completed the signing of former Juventus winger Simone Pepe on a free transfer.

Pepe spent the past five seasons with Juve after joining from Udinese in 2010, and he has won four Serie A titles and the Coppa Italia during his time in Turin.

However, the 31-year-old has been plagued by injuries in recent years and has made just 14 league appearances in the past three seasons.

The Italy international, who has 23 caps for his country, will now try and rebuild his career with Chievo.

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