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Key events
That’s my stint on this blog done. I will hand over to Tom Bassam, who will guide you through the next hour. Enjoy!
Guardiola: ‘no discussions’ about exit from Manchester City
Will Unwin
Pep Guardiola has insisted there have been no talks over his departure from Manchester City. The 54-year-old has 18 months remaining on his contract but reports on Thursday suggested the Premier League club are making plans in case he departs in the summer.
“There are no discussions – end of the subject,” Guardiola said. “I will not be eternal here, none of us will be forever in this world but there are no discussions. What is going to happen will happen and the club has to be prepared for everything. The club has to be prepared but that subject is not on the table right now.
“The last three or four years every time someone asks me that question. Sooner or later, when I’m 75 or 76, I will quit City. I understand the question but I have 18 months left and I am so delighted. That question happens every single season and I’m OK.”
A victory over West Ham on Saturday would lift City to top spot for a few hours, with Arsenal playing in the evening.
“What’s going to happen, who knows?” Guardiola said. “But if I have 10 years on my contract or six months, football changes a lot. Now I’m focused on West Ham and go for a few days with my dad and that’s all, come back for Nottingham and Sunderland and Brighton and Chelsea.”
Nuno Espírito Santo seems in rather despondent mood for his West Ham press conference, before his side’s daunting trip to in-form Manchester City. West Ham have surrendered leads in their last two matches, including Sunday’s 3-2 defeat at home to Aston Villa and sit 17th in the table.
We’ve been doing really nice, good things throughout the games, but missing some aspects of closing the games down. In terms of performance, I think we are performing well. I think the boys did a really good match against Villa.
We were punished by details and mistakes and it’s up to us to correct those. We’re in a difficult position and have to sustain our performance throughout all the game. We need to work on removing these oscillations from the games and Saturday is another opportunity to do that.
In case you missed it earlier this week: The Football Daily Christmas Awards 2025.
Forty-one of the Guardian’s 100 male players on this year’s list came from the Premier League, which is bad news for the competitiveness of the European competitions. Here’s Marcus Christenson on whether any of the other leagues can close the gap on England’s top flight.
It’s a big game in Scotland this weekend as leaders Hearts host Rangers on Sunday. For all their struggles this season, Rangers are not out of the title race, especially if they win at Tynecastle.
When Danny Röhl took over from Russell Martin in October, the Rangers were in turmoil, eighth in the league with one win in seven. Although the Europa League has proved too high a level for the Ibrox side under Röhl, Gers have moved into third place in the domestic league with six wins and two draws in eight game. Here’s what Röhl has said in his pre-match press conference.
“With a win on Sunday, we will be just six points behind them, one more game in hand. If you take this then it could be three and then the situation will change from when I arrived to now. But we know there’s still a long way to go, still a lot of games to play.
“I think my team feel it now, you feel the confidence. I think the win on Monday was a big one for us, it was a good start in a busy schedule. The next six games are crucial until the (Scottish) cup game and then we’ll know exactly where we are. We have made the first steps so far and now it’s about making the next step.”
Röhl is working with the club’s new football consultant and advisor, Stig Inge Bjørnebye, to bolster his options in January. “The wishes are to get a lot of players in on the first of January. But I think in this window will be about timing, that’s the first part, and the second thing is preparation. We’re trying to prepare some things now.
“We have talks with agents, with maybe potential players, ongoing conversations, but I think this is normal,” added Röhl. “This is a normal process. But the most important key is that I have a good conversation with my recruitment team and with my guys around me. Then we’ll make sure that we find the right players.”
Rotten news for former wonderkid Houssem Aouar – the French-born Algeria international has been injured on the eve of Afcon. He was injured in training on Thursday, an Algerian football federation statement said, and will be replaced for the tournament in Morocco by Angers’ Himad Abdelli. No details of the injury were given.
Some transfer news, courtesy of Jamie Jackson. Semenyo is a brilliant footballer and is certainly worth £65m in today’s market. Premier League ready, etc.
However, selling Garnacho to Chelsea for £40m, being very short handed on the left for half of this season and then signing a replacement (who is four years older) for £25m more is VERY Manchester United.
Luis Diáz was ranked No 31 in our top 100 male footballers list. Is that fair? Seems a little low to me, but you can find out how our 219-strong voting panel – which included Didi Hamann, Romário and Dunga – came to their decisions right here.
Here is a fresh Q&A with the former Liverpool winger, courtesy of Luis Miguel Echegaray. I enjoyed his description of Bayern teammate Harry Kane.
He does things in training where I say to myself, “this can’t be.” He’s so good. So good. It’s the truth! He plays so much and does everything well. Hunts for the ball, passes, defends – you watch him defend, he dedicates himself so much, someone so calm … and yet he scores goals. This guy lives for them. Each one that comes to him – once, twice, three times – he scores all of them. He’s also a great person. Very down-to-earth, family-orientated … just a spectacular person.
Leeds’ Daniel Farke ‘picky’ about January signings
Daniel Farke has revealed the club are “open and ready” to try and improve their squad but stressed the pitfalls of a difficult market in January.
Farke said: “If you sign (players) in the summer you have pre-season to prepare and integrate them and so they can adapt to your style and processes. It’s a bit more difficult in January. You either get a player where they’re quite often a problem because he’s coming back from injury. Or you have to spend lots to get a player in his rhythm and they can be over-priced. I’m very picky in January.
“You need many things to come together to find a solution, but we’re working on a professional level. If we find an addition who is affordable and makes us better, you have to be open and ready for it. We can speak about January when January has arrived. My whole focus is just on this group.”
Leeds face Crystal Palace at Elland Road on Saturday having lifted their fans by taking five points from their last three games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Brentford. Farke has been rewarded for switching to a flexible 3-5-2 formation, with striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin – four goals in his last four matches – proving the main beneficiary. PA Media
Guardian back at the Amex: After constructive discussions between the Guardian and Brighton & Hove Albion, the club has agreed Guardian reporters can return for this weekend’s game against Sunderland.
Forest’s Sean Dyche: ‘I’m renowned for being the Grinch’
Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche is enjoying being “the Grinch” as he works his squad hard on the field. Forest are enjoying a rare clear week in the fixture list, with no midweek game before Monday night’s visit to Fulham. It is Forest’s last game before Christmas, but Dyche is not letting up.
“I’m renowned for being the Grinch at this time of year! Christmas comes and goes pretty quickly in my life, as you can imagine with being in football since I was 16,” he said. “It is one of the downsides of the job. It is a working period, as it always has been for me.
“It has been a pretty hard day of work today, then they will be recovering tomorrow and we will build into the game. I think it’s been a good break for the players, just because of the travelling and the game schedule they have had. It has fallen good for us this time. I think it’s a good change for the players to have a few extra days this week to recover. And for players coming out of injuries, they have had more training days.”
Here is a bit more of Mikel Arteta from his Arsenal press conference. The game against Everton on Saturday will mark six years to the day since his appointment with the Gunners. Arteta also played for Everton manager David Moyes for six years before moving to the Emirates as a player in 2011.
“I think [Moyes] taught me the love that he’s got for the game and then the integrity that the game requires at any cost. I think he’s a remarkable man … I’m very grateful for everything that he did *for me and for Everton as well.”
Arteta also provided some injury updates: Arsenal will not see any of their injured players return this week, with defender Ben White *out for the next few games, but forward Kai Havertz and centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes close close to recovery.
Our Afcon quiz is live!
Michael Owen blind ranks his Christmas dinner, with predictable results. The absolute state of gravy at No 9, sprouts at No 5 and turkey at No 1.
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Arsenal’s Arteta backs Gyökeres to improve in 2026
Ed Aarons
Mikel Arteta has backed Viktor Gyökeres to improve in the second half of the season but admitted Arsenal need to build on their understanding with the £64m striker.
Gyökeres hasn’t scored since returning from injury against Chelsea last month and has six goals in 18 appearances. Arteta is optimistic Kai Havertz will be back from a long-term knee injury in the new year, and Gabriel Jesus has returned after 11 months and should feature against Everton on Saturday.
Gyökeres is expected to retain his place having started ahead of the Brazilian Mikel Merino in the last-gasp win over Wolves and Arteta believes the best is yet to come from the 27-year-old.
“We bought a player with an incredible goalscoring record that had to adapt to the league,” Arsenal’s manager said. “He had no pre-season. The first few weeks were difficult because physically he wasn’t in his best state. And he’s a player that needs that, like any other player in this league almost, to perform at that level.
“Then he kicked on. I think he had a really good period and got injured. And now he’s back. But I saw a lot of positive things in the last two games that he’s done. We need to continue to tweak and understand him a little bit better in certain situations. And he needs to do the same. But that’s about time. And we have full support for him.”
Asked whether expected Gyökeres to go to another level in the second half of the season, Arteta said: “I think so, yes.”
Slot: Liverpool have ‘moved on’ from Salah controversy
Arne Slot feels Liverpool have “moved on” from the Mohamed Salah controversy and hopes the player’s Africa Cup of Nations involvement takes further heat out of the situation.
Salah sparked crisis at the club with an explosive interview a fortnight ago in which he, among other things, claimed he had been made a scapegoat for a poor run of form.
He was consequently dropped for a Champions League game at Internazionale but, after talks with manager Slot, returned as a substitute in last week’s Premier League victory over Brighton. The 33-year-old is now on international duty, for potentially up to another month, with Egypt.
Slot said: “As I said last week, actions speak louder than words and we moved on. He was in the squad and he was the first substitution I made. But now he is at the Afcon, playing big games for himself and the country, so I think it is fair to them, and also to us because we are going to play some important games, that all the focus is for him over there and there should not be any distraction from me saying things about his time at Liverpool.
“We have moved on after the Leeds interview and he played against Brighton. Now he is there, so it is fair for his country, and for him and us, to talk about Tottenham and other games.”
Liverpool will give a fitness test to Dominik Szoboszlai ahead of Saturday’s trip to Spurs after the Hungarian suffered an ankle injury late in the Brighton game. PA Media
I’m not sure what sort of discussions were had between Newcastle United and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but Yoane Wissa has not joined his compatriots at Afcon following his recent injury lay-off. I can’t really imagine the same situation happening at the Euros or Copa América, where a fit player would choose not to (or be prevented from) playing for his country and a major international tournament.
Eddie Howe is obviously delighted that his striker is fit again and scored for the first time in Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Fulham. These are fresh quotes from the Newcastle press conference:
“Yoane is probably more closely linked to Alex [Isak]’s style without being Alex himself. Yoane has got his own strengths, and his running in behind in particular on Wednesday night, I thought, was excellent. His movement for slip passes and for stretching their backline, I thought, was right out of the top drawer. It was a great lesson for any young striker to watch his movement in that game.
He’s his own man and he will bring his own strengths. It’s great to have him available and I think having that player there will benefit Nick as well, so he definitely makes us stronger.
That’s not to say that Nick can’t be hugely successful here and the team can’t be successful with him in it, but we just need to find ways to play better and feel those rhythms and partnerships that we pride ourselves on.”
Newcastle will welcome Chelsea to St James’ Park desperate to erase the better memories of last weekend’s derby defeat at Sunderland, but with full-back Tino Livramento having joined a lengthy injury list with a knee problem which will sideline him into the new year.
“I don’t think it’s a serious injury,” Howe added. “The complication we have is Tino has injured that knee before in a very similar area, so that always makes the potential recovery time a little bit longer, so I don’t think we’ll see him possibly before 2026.”
The Guardian’s top 100 male footballers: No 10-1 revealed
The winner has been revealed …
Re the players that have made it to Afcon, this is a handy explainer of the extent to which Premier League teams will be affected.
Some of the names not featuring at Afcon are remarkable, and feature some of the most talented footballers from the continent. The main reason for this is that their nation has not qualified (for example, Ghana), but there have also been omissions from squads that have made it (unexpectedly Ivory Coast’s Simon Adingra, who was voted the best young player at Afcon 2023, providing a fine assist for the winner in the final) and there has even been an unexpected retirement on the eve of the tournament (Nigeria’s William Troost-Ekong, who was voted the player of the tournament at the last Afcon).
Here is a non-exhaustive list of players that are also not at the tournament.
Serhou Guirassy (Guinea/Borussia Dortmund)
André Onana (Trabzonspor/Cameroon)
Yoane Wissa (DRC/Newcastle United)
Mohammed Kudus (Ghana/Tottenham)
Antoine Semenyo (Ghana/Bournemouth)
Ola Aina (Nigeria/Fulham),
Yankuba Minteh (Gambia/Brighton)
Hakim Ziyech (Morocco/Wydad AC)
Nicolas Pépé (Cote d’Ivoire/Villarreal)
Mohammed Salisu (Ghana/Monaco)
Cheick Doucoure (Mali/Crystal Palace)
Amine Adli (Morocco/Bournemouth)
André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon/Napoli)
Victor Boniface (Nigeria/Werder Bremen)
Afcon kicks on Sunday, which is rather exciting. Morocco v Comoros is the first game and Osasu Obayiuwana has penned this preview for your eyes only.
An email from Dave Estherby.
“I have to disagree with Neville, Carragher et al that everything should be handled “in-house”; doing pressers before and after games is something I imagine most managers wouldn’t do were it not a contract stipulation. I don’t think a bit of honesty here and there is a reason to start throwing mud/starting rumours/whatever it may be. Maresca is clearly pissed off about something, he a big boy so I would guess he’s already aired these grievances in private, if that’s fallen on deaf ears I think he has every right to speak his mind publicly. Don’t the fans have a right to know that’s going on?”
Absolutely, Maresca has a right to air the dirty laundry in public, but it rarely ends well for managers when they do this, particularly at clubs like Chelsea. If Maresca does survive, it will be interesting to see if Chelsea back their manager in January. There are rumours that Maresca is demanding an(other) elite midfielder, perhaps because Roméo Lavia can’t stay fit for longer than five minutes. Whatever happened to ‘making do’?!
A reminder that the top 10 of our 100 best male footballers in the world 2025 will be revealed in the next few minutes.
Here is the list 100-11.
The most interesting line from that Maresca press conference was: “It’s important to understand the reason why this [Manchester City] news was there.”
Since we are still in the dark about Maresca’s comments last weekend, that is a clear message to the Chelsea hierarchy. A veiled threat of sorts. The Italian is playing a dangerous game, even if he spent 90% of the press conference saying all the right things as Chelsea manager: ignoring the reports, playing down the speculation, focusing on the next game, etc.
A bit more Maresca for you:
I have a lot to achieve here [at Chelsea]. We achieved the third semi-final in 18 months the other day. Last year was good for trophies, we finish fourth in the Champions League, now we want to improve on that this year.
He also provides some injury news, for all you FPL freaks.
Liam Delap and Dario Essugo are probably available for Aston Villa and Roméo [Lavia] is still out, Levi [Colwill] is still out.
Maresca: Manchester City links are ‘100% speculation’
Chelsea’s press conference has started.
Enzo Maresca, Chelsea manager, is asked about the stories linking him to the Manchester City job.
It doesn’t affect me. It’s 100% speculation. In this moment, there is not time for these type of things. I have a contract [at Chelsea] until 2029. I’m very proud to be here. I don’t pay attention to that. One week ago, it was the same with Juventus so I don’t pay attention.
It’s important to understand the reason why this [Manchester City] news was there. I’m focused on the Newcastle game. It is going to be a difficult game.
Maresca is asked if he has spoken with the club hierarchy about the Everton comments. A reminder that the Chelsea manager claimed last weekend that “the last 48 hours had been the hardest since I joined the club because so many people didn’t support me and the team.”
About the Everton press conference? No. About other things? Yes.
Ashton Gate to stage the Women’s League Cup final
Tom Garry
Ashton Gate, the home of Bristol City, will stage the Women’s League Cup final on Sunday 15 March 2026, it has been announced.
It is the first time the venue has staged this final, although Ashton Gate hosted a Women’s FA Cup final in 2012.
The match will be a 2:15pm (all times GMT) kick-off, broadcast live on BBC One and Sky Sports. Only Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City have lifted the trophy since the cup was founded in 2011.
The quarter-finals are taking place on Sunday, with Liverpool hosting the holders, Chelsea. Crystal Palace, the only remaining side from below the top flight, are at home to Arsenal.
Last season’s beaten finalists, Manchester City, are away against managerless West Ham, while in another all-WSL tie, Manchester United host Tottenham. All four quarter-finals get under way at 1pm.
Preamble
Hello world! We are well and truly into the festive fixtures now. The games come thick and fast, and staying on top of one’s form and fitness is paramount. Given their Club World Cup efforts, Chelsea are worse off than most when it comes to injuries.
It’s results that matter, though, and the heat is on Enzo Maresca after his comments last weekend.
Failure to explain them has only increased the scrutiny on the Italian, who is due to give his pre-weekend press conference imminently before Chelsea’s trip to Newcastle tomorrow. There are various reports flying around that Maresca is fighting with the Chelsea board over signings and is also being linked with replacing Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, should the Spaniard leave. Remember, Maresca was one of Guardiola’s assistants 2022-2023.
So we’ll have the latest from that, plus all the rest of the Premier League news and analysis going into this weekend.
Do email me on [email protected] with any thoughts. Let’s do this.
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