Arsenal star Thomas Partey will return to training alongside his team-mates ahead of the north London derby with Premier League leaders Tottenham, according to Mikel Arteta.

Partey has been sidelined with a thigh injury sustained in Arsenal s defeat to Aston Villa at the beginning of November.

The 27-year-old Ghana international had been training on his own as part of his recovery, but will now join up with the rest of the Arsenal squad.

Speaking after the Gunners 4-1 win over Rapid Vienna in the Europa League on Thursday, Arsenal manager Arteta suggested Partey could play a part in Sunday s showdown against Spurs.

Well, he s putting a lot of pressure on us, Arteta told a media conference.

He s training tomorrow [Friday] with us and let s see ho…

Burnley manager Sean Dyche has defended his Liverpool counterpart Brendan Rodgers ahead of their Premier League meeting on Boxing Day.

Liverpool have thus far failed to recreate their scintillating form of the 2013-14 campaign, and they come into Friday s clash at Turf Moor 10th in the table and without a win in their previous three outings.

Rodgers has come in for criticism in some parts largely for his work in the transfer market in his attempts to replace the goals of Luis Suarez, who departed for Barcelona.

With last season s second top scorer Daniel Sturridge also absent, through injury, Rodgers side have struggled to earn consistent results and Dyche expressed his sympathy for his opposite number s position.

It s a tough one, he said. How do you de…

Borussia Dortmund have coasted to a 3-0 victory over Nuremberg at the Signal Iduna Park, moving into second place provisionally in the Bundesliga.

The reigning German champions secured all three points with a competent display that was decided by a first-half double from Jakub Blaszczykowski, with Robert Lewandowski adding a third in the 88th minute.

Dortmund were awarded a rather soft penalty in the 18th minute as Timo Gebhart felled Lukasz Piszczek in the area. Blaszczykowski was handed the responsibility and he buried the spot-kick to the keeper s right in cool fashion.

Nuremberg have not won a game after going behind since March 2011 and any hopes of bucking that trend were gone when Blaszczykowski swept home from a low Mario Goetze cross, doubling his side …

News coming out of St Petersburg is that Russian top performer from Euro 2008 Andrei Arshavin is almost certain to sign for Tottenham Hotspur within days.

It is believed that the two clubs have already agreed to the terms.

Arshavin is seen to be the ideal replacement for Robbie Keane who has joined Liverpool as well as Dimitar Berbatov who could be on his way to Old Trafford within days.

Arshavin would probably have made the move earlier had it not been for the asking price of 28 million that Zenit St Petersburg had been asking for the Russian playmaker.

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Manchester United s players will wear black armbands in Sunday s Premier League game with Southampton following the death of fan representative Ian Stirling.

Stirling, one of United s most prominent supporters, died from a stroke at the age of 57.

He was a founding member of United s Fans Advisory Board and was a central figure in a number of campaigns, including against the club s Glazer family owners.

United confirmed on their official website that they will pay respect to Stirling during the match with Southampton at Old Trafford by sporting black armbands.

Everyone at Manchester United is deeply saddened by the passing of respected fan representative, Ian Stirling.

Ian was a passionate fearless champion of fan interests, and a cherished friend…

Chelsea have completed the signing of Michy Batshuayi from Marseille on a five-year deal, with the Belgium striker becoming new manager Antonio Conte s first arrival at Stamford Bridge.

Batshuayi who has reportedly cost the Blues €40million scored 17 goals and supplied nine assists in his second Ligue 1 campaign, as Marseille finished a disappointing 13th in 2015-16.

The 22-year-old had also allegedly attracted the interest of Juventus, Tottenham, West Ham and Crystal Palace, but Chelsea won the race for his signature.

I am delighted to sign for one of the biggest clubs in Europe and embark on the next chapter in my career, Batshuayi told the club s official website.

I hope I can help Chelsea win many trophies during my time at Stamford Bridge.  

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Sevilla have reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid for the loan signing of Argentine midfielder Matias Kranevitter, subject to a medical.

Kranevitter made the switch to La Liga from River Plate in August 2015 before immediately returning to the club on loan.

He switched to Atleti in January and made eight La Liga appearances as they finished third in the league and also reached the Champions League final, where they were beaten on penalties by rivals Real Madrid.

The 23-year-old is now set to continue his development with Sevilla for the 2016-17 campaign, with both clubs confirming an agreement had been reached.

Kranevitter, who was part of the Argentina squad that reached the Copa America final, will undergo a medical on his return to Spain before s…

Der FC Liverpool bemüht sich erneut um die Rückkehr des talentierten Mittelfeldspielers Thomas Ince vom FC Blackpool. Das erste Angebot hatte der Zweitligist im Januar abgelehnt.

Liverpool. Nach einer Absage im Januar hat der FC Liverpool erneut ein Angebot für Thomas Ince vom FC Blackpool abgegeben. Erst 2011 hatte dieser die Anfield Road in Richtung des Zweitligisten verlassen. Blackpool lehnte das Angebot im Winter ab, da Liverpool nicht bereit war, die geforderten sieben Millionen Euro zu überweisen.

Ex-Liverpool-Star neuer Trainer bei Blackpool

Jetzt starten die Reds einen erneuten Versuch, in der Hoffnung, dass der Zweitligist dieses Mal zu Verhandlungen bereit ist. Die jetzt gebotene Summe soll nach Informationen der Sun im Bereich von umgerechnet fünf Mill…

Schalke sporting director Horst Heldt has conceded that Jose Manuel Jurado s performances at the club have been disappointing.

The 26-year-old has struggled to make his mark at the Gelsenkirchen-based club since completing a 13-million-euro move from Atletico Madrid in 2010.

As a result, the former Real Madrid youngster appeared to be heading for the exit door, but Heldt has seemingly given the Spaniard another chance to redeem himself.

He has been here for two years and he has had three coaches during this period, he told Bild.

We do not have to fix him, he must get things right himself.

He is an extraordinary player, an excellent playmaker. But he must do much more, otherwise he will fail again in his third year.

Heldt revealed Jur…

Edin Terzic needed a record-breaking intervention from his Borussia Dortmund substitutes to achieve his own BVB first in a 3-1 win at Freiburg on Friday.

Dortmund boss Terzic was bidding to become the first coach to win nine consecutive Bundesliga games with the club, but it was all going wrong when Michael Gregoritsch had Freiburg in front at half-time.

And the scoreline was still 1-0 with 20 minutes to go when Youssoufa Moukoko was introduced from the bench.

But the 17-year-old had a huge impact, first teeing up fellow teenager Jamie Bynoe-Gittens to net his first league goal before giving Dortmund the lead himself.

Marius Wolf made sure of the points with two minutes to play, with all three scorers coming on as substitutes – a Bundesliga first for Do…