Arsenal facing striker crisis ahead of trip to Southampton.

Arsene Wenger is facing a striker crisis ahead of Thursday's clash against Southampton after Danny Welbeck picked up a thigh problem.

With Olivier Giroud suspended, Welbeck was a certainty to play in the lone striker role on New Year’s Day.

But the England forward is a doubt for the trip to St Mary’s, meaning Wenger could be without a recognised striker.

Wenger confirmed: ‘We have one alert after the game at West Ham and that’s Danny Welbeck, he could be short for Thursday.’

Lukas Podolski looks to be the favourite to play in the striker role if Welbeck fails to prove his fitness, with Theo Walcott only just returning from injury. And Wenger, who also revealed Aaron Ramsey will not be fit for the trip, has slammed Inter Milan for their offer to sign Podolski.

The Serie A club want to take the Germany international on loan until the end of the season when the transfer window re-opens.

Bojan to miss Manchester United clash as Stoke star is ruled out with hamstring injury.

Stoke City talisman Bojan Krkic is out of his side's New Years' Day clash against Manchester United.

The in-form forward went off with a suspected hamstring injury in the victory against West Brom on Sunday.

Sportsmail understands that Bojan underwent medical tests on Tuesday afternoon and they have revealed minimal damage to an interior muscle between the hamstring and groin.

However, the lunchtime visit of United to the Britannia Stadium comes too soon and the former Barcelona star is expected to be out for around a week. 

He will also sit out the FA Cup match against Wrexham on Sunday.

Bojan has scored three Premier League goals since joining Stoke in the summer.

Frank Lampard extends Manchester City contract until end of the season.

Frank Lampard is set to remain at Manchester City until the end of the season after the club thrashed out a deal with New York City and had it ratified by the Premier League. 

City had been locked in high-level with talks with the Premier League on Wednesday afternoon as they looked to secure Lampard's availability for the New Years Day match against Sunderland.

It is understood that the Premier League board have now granted their approval to the amendment of Lampard's deal and he is eligible to face Sunderland.

A club statement read: 'Manchester City can confirm that it has extended Frank Lampard's contract up to the end of Manchester City's season, enabling his participation in both domestic and European campaigns.' 

Lampard has spent the first half of the season on a short-term deal at City after signing a pre-contract agreement with sister outfit New York City FC that was due to commence on January 1.

The two clubs have now reached an agreement that allows the midfielder to remain in Manchester. He remains a contracted Manchester City player and is not at this moment associated with the New York side. 

Barclays Premier League Fixtures

1:45 pm                            Stoke City vs Manchester United

4:00 pm                           Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace

4:00 pm                          Hull City vs Everton

4:00 pm                          Hull City vs Everton

4:00 pm                          Liverpool vs Leicester City

4:00 pm                         Manchester City vs Sunderland

4:00 pm                         Newcastle United vs Burnley

4:00 pm                         Queens Park Rangers vs Swansea City

4:00 pm                         Southampton vs Arsenal

4:00 pm                        West Ham United vs West Bromwich Albion

6:30 pm                        Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea

Happy New Year to every one of my readers.

I would love to wish every one of my readers a wonderful new year and a prosperous one. I pray that God will protect every one of you and also give you your heart desires in this wonderful year.

Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla appear to be in high spirits as they prepare to face Southampton

Arsenal's players looked in good spirits after a successful Christmas period, as they trained ahead of the third of their festive fixtures hoping to pick up another three points.

Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez appeared to be having a great time, with the Chilean star in particular unable to suppress his laughter throughout Wednesday's training session.

Defender Laurent Koscielny, who returned from injury for the 2-1 win over West Ham on Sunday, was also in a good mood, showing off for the cameras as Arsenal prepared for a trip to Southampton.

The Gunners go into the game off the back of consecutive wins which have lifted them to fifth in the table, level on points with Thursday's opponents, and a win could take them as high as third if Manchester United lose at Stoke.

But Arsenal may have to play the game without a recognised striker, with Olivier Giroud serving the second game of his three-match suspension and Danny Welbeck doubtful and due to be assessed before the game.

However, elsewhere Arsene Wenger's injury problems are beginning to ease, with Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky fit again, while Koscielny could be set for a second consecutive start after a stop-start first half of the season.

Jose Mourinho insists his side deserve to be top.

Jose Mourinho cares little that Chelsea's eight-point advantage over Manchester City has been cut to three at the halfway stage of the Premier League season.

And the Chelsea boss and his players looked in high spirits ahead of the New Year's Day trip to Tottenham as they braced the cold weather during a training session on Wednesday morning.

John Terry, in particular, appeared to be enjoying the session as the Blues captain was left in stitches after the players piled on top of John Obi Mikel at Cobham.

                   

Chelsea have been pace-setters since their opening win at Burnley, with only New Year's Day opponents Tottenham temporarily overtaking them on goal difference after two rounds of matches.

Now, after playing all the other 19 teams in the Premier League and ahead of the first return fixture of the season, Mourinho has reflected on a strong start by his side.

'Everybody starts with the same points and if we have one more point than them (Manchester City), we did well,' Mourinho said.

'We are top of the league at the end of the first round because we deserve it and because it is a consequence of what we did.

'Chelsea is playing very well since the beginning of the season. That's the only thing we work at, the only thing we concentrate on.

'And in the second part of the season we are going to try to do exactly the same thing.

'Against Tottenham, we will be there again trying to get a good result.'

Mourinho is chasing a third Premier League title and Chelsea's first in five years.

Seven times he has led a championship on Christmas Day - in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain - and each time his team has gone on to win the title.

Chelsea winger Thorgan Hazard subject of £6.3m bid from Borussia Monchengladbach.

Borrusia Monchengladbach have offered £6.3million for Chelsea starlet Thorgan Hazard.

The 21-year-old brother of Eden has impressed during his loan spell and the German side want to make his move permanent.

Sportsmail reported that talks were ongoing last week and the fourth-placed Bundesliga side have followed that up with a firm offer as they press for a Champions League place.

Hazard has also been on loan at Belgian side Zulte Waregem and is considering whether his prospects of breaking through at Stamford Bridge are too limited.

The former Lens youngster has made 15 Bundesliga appearances this season, scoring once and providing four assists.

Hazard joined Chelsea for an undisclosed fee from the French club in July 2012, a month after his brother Eden had signed from Lille for £32m. 

The younger Hazard has played once for Belgium, in 2013, and was on the stand-by list for the World Cup.

Fernando Torres trains for the first time since completing his move back to Atletico Madrid

Fernando Torres trained for the first time since returning to Atletico Madrid.

The striker completed his loan move from AC Milan earlier this week and will hope to make his second debut for the club against Levante on Saturday. 

Earlier, the Spaniard must have felt a warm sense of familiarity as his plane touched down on the tarmac at Madrid's Barajas Airport. 

Posting a picture on their Instagram, Atletico Madrid announced the arrival of their new striker, who gave fans a thumbs up whilst waiting for his baggage to arrive.

The La Liga champions wrote: 'Fernando @Torres has just landed at Barajas Airport. He sends greetings to all.'

Torres, 30, agreed to rejoin his boyhood club on loan from AC Milan on Monday and will stay until the end of the 2015-16 season.

During his first spell at the club the Spanish World Cup winner made 214 appearances for Atletico, scoring 84 goals.

His first match back in the red and white stripes could be against city rivals Real in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey on January 7 - although the La Liga champions do play Levante on January 3. 

Real boss Carlo Ancelotti is looking forward to the the prospect of facing the striker he signed during his time at Chelsea for £50million.

In quotes reported by AS, the Italian said: 'It will be exciting to play against him. I wish him all the best.

Bruce Grobbelaar claims Liverpool are looking to replace Simon Mignolet with Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar believes his former club have already identified Mexican stopper Guillermo Ochoa as a possible replacement for Simon Mignolet.

Reds boss Brendan Rodgers said the Belgium international would be sidelined for an 'indefinite' period after dropping him for the match at Manchester United a fortnight ago.

However, the 26-year-old earned an unexpected reprieve when Brad Jones was forced off with a thigh injury 15 minutes into the 1-0 Boxing Day win against Burnley.

Despite playing his part in a 4-1 win against Swansea on Monday night, Liverpool legend Grobbelaar believes the Belgian may be on borrowed time with 2014 World Cup star Ochoa in the frame.

He told talkSPORT: 'I’m not really any more encouraged by Mignolet [following his dropping]'.

'He's learned his lesson. He needs to play better. I'm a stickler on goalkeepers that don't start in the right position and his starting positions have been all wrong.

'Liverpool need another goalkeeper and I believe Ochoa from Mexico has been looked at.'

Chelsea and Manchester City sent scouts to watch Wilfried Bony against Liverpool.

Representatives from Premier League leaders Chelsea and second-placed Manchester City were at Anfield on Monday night to watch Swansea star Wilfried Bony in action. 

City's director of football Txiki Begiristain and head scout Gary Worthington were both in attendance to see the Ivorian play, while Chelsea's chief European scout, Mick Doherty, was also in the stands.

Bony, who has netted eight league goals for Garry Monk's side this season, failed to score as Liverpool ran out comfortable 4-1 winners.

The 26-year-old's display against Brendan Rodgers' side is unlikely to have put off potential suitors given his sterling goal-scoring record this year.

Bony has scored 20 Premier League goals for Swansea in 2014 - more than any other player in the division.

Liverpool are known admirers of the former Vitesse Arnhem forward, although they are not in a position to bid for him until the summer.

That could leave the door open for City, who currently have strikers Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic all out injured.

Chelsea appear less desperate for a new striker given the impressive form of Diego Costa, while Jose Mourinho also has Didier Drogba and Loic Remy in reserve.

Drogba not surprised at Man city title challenge

Few thought the Chelsea juggernaut could be stopped this season, but Didier Drogba always expected the title race to go down to the wire.

The west Londoners started the campaign in astonishing form, leading one bookmaker to pay out on them winning the Premier League after just 11 matches.

Chelsea boasted an eight-point cushion over Manchester City at that point, although that lead now stands at just three.

The gap would have been a single point had Manuel Pellegrini's men not blown a two-goal lead to draw with Burnley and fans' favourite Drogba insists complacency is not behind the difference being cut.

'I think it's going to be tough,' Drogba said. 'We knew it was not over.

'A few years ago, I think we were 11 or 12 points in front of Man United and then they won the league.

'So eight points or nine points - I don't know how many points we had on top of Man City - I think it is not enough.

'At that time of the season, it was too early, but I think now we start again a new championship. I think the game is on.'

Chelsea will enter 2015 atop of the standings and were in the lead at Christmas - something which has proven a good omen in the past for Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese has won the league on all seven occasion his sides have been leading on December 25, but he suggests they would be in an even more comfortable position had the Blues not been the victim of a diving campaign.

Mourinho went on that rant after being denied what he felt was a potentially match-defining penalty early in the second half of Sunday's 1-1 draw at Southampton, when Cesc Fabregas went down under pressure from Matt Targett.

Instead of a spot-kick, however, referee Anthony Taylor deemed it a dive and booked the infuriated Spanish midfielder - part of a what Mourinho believes is a growing movement against his side.

'It's difficult from the bench to see, but I think the referee was close enough,' Drogba said of the Fabregas incident. 

Barcelona transfer ban upheld

Barcelona will not be allowed to sign any players in 2015 after the Catalan club's appeal against their transfer ban was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Primera Division outfit turned to CAS in August after FIFA

rejected their appeal to overturn a two-window ban, which was

handed to them by world football's governing body in April due to concerns over the "international transfer of minors".

But their quest hit a further dead end on Tuesday, meaning they will be unable to bring in any new blood until January 2016.

"The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by FC Barcelona against the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) regarding the decision issued by the FIFA appeals committee on 19 August 2014," a statement from CAS read. "In such decision, the Spanish football club was sanctioned with a transfer ban for two periods, a fine of CHF 450,000 and a reprimand after it was found to have infringed the FIFA regulations with respect to the registration of a number of minor players."

However, Barcelona say they may appeal the CAS decision to a

Swiss federal court.

Following the ruling, the club released a statement on their website which read: “With all respect for the sports authorities, the club has expressed its utter nonconformity with the resolution. "FC Barcelona wishes to state, with all due respect for the sports authorities, that it totally disagrees with the verdict of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced today to confirm the sanction originally imposed by FIFA as a consequence of the alleged breach of regulations on the international transfer of minor footballers.

"The errors that the club might have committed, and which have been recognised and argued before the corresponding authorities, are, in all cases, of an administrative nature and to a large extent have been caused by the existing conflict between the FIFA regulations and Spanish legislation, along with the club's conviction that it was acting correctly.

"Therefore, FC Barcelona considers the sanction to be completely

disproportionate as it supposes an excessive punishment for the club, when considering its trajectory and the circumstances of this specific case.

"In this regard, where the judicial grounds for the CAS decision are announced, the club shall proceed by studying and evaluating the different legal options available, among others the possibility of appealing against the CAS arbitration to the Swiss Federal Courts."

The Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP) also issued a statement on

Tuesday in which it expressed its concern that other Spanish clubs could find themselves in the same situation as Barca.

"We consider that the sanction can only be classified as totally

disproportionate, inappropriate and unrelated to the errors, since it involves a disproportionate punishment for FC Barcelona,” the statement read. "As a result of this existing conflict, to properly protect the interests of

under-age players, the current model of Spanish football and because other Spanish clubs can be found in a similar situation, the LFP is conducting a review of the adequacy of the different rules of FIFA, as well as the different standards of the European Union, and based on this will consider the possibility of reporting to the European Union the current regulation of the transfer of under-age players."

Referee Anthony Taylor apologised to Jose Mourinho for booking Cesc Fabregas for diving instead of awarding penalty.

Blunder referee Anthony Taylor apologised to Jose Mourinho for failing to award a penalty when Cesc Fabregas was tripped at Southampton on Sunday.

It has emerged that Taylor, who instead booked Fabregas for diving in the 1-1 draw, said sorry to the Chelsea boss before both had left St Mary’s.

Mourinho claimed afterwards the official would be ‘ashamed’ of his decision and went on to say that a campaign had been started against his Chelsea players after the latest allegation that they are prone to cheating.

It is unusual for an official to offer his apologies to a manager so soon after a game, even though they are allowed to discuss decisions after a 30-minute ‘cooling-off period’.

Mourinho is clearly attempting to shield his players from criticism after a number of them were accused of diving in recent weeks.

West Brom sack head coach

West Brom have sacked head coach Alan Irvine less than seven
months after he was given the job.
Saturday's defeat at Stoke left Albion just a point clear of the bottom three halfway through the Premier League season having won just four games.
And Irvine, a shock appointment when he succeeded Pepe Mel in the summer, has paid the price for a run of seven defeats in nine
matches. Coaches Rob Kelly and Keith Downing will take charge for the trip to West Ham on New Year's Day.
Irvine had been without a boss' job for three-and-a-half years when Albion chose him to work alongside director of football Richard Garlick and technical director Terry Burton.
An Albion statement said Irvine had been placed on gardening leave, and Burton said: “We appointed Alan in the summer convinced that we had taken on one of the foremost coaches in the UK and nothing that has happened since then has altered our view. The individual progress of our players such as Craig Dawson and Saido Berahino are testament to that.
"But sadly that simply has not translated into results and they remain the ultimate currency of Alan’s position. Securing a sixth season in the Premier League is the overriding target and sometimes unpleasant decisions have to be taken to serve that imperative."Alan has impressed everyone with his manner, dedication and diligence but he knows that results have simply not been good enough. We place on record our gratitude for his efforts and hold nothing but good wishes for his future endeavours. This was a decision taken with regret but sadly driven by necessity.”At the time of Irvine's appointment Tim Sherwood claimed he had turned down the job, and
the former Tottenham boss is Sky Bet's early odds-on favourite to
succeed the Scot.
Irvine is the third Albion boss in recent years to lose his job midway through the season: the same fate befell Roberto Di Matteo and, 12 months ago, Steve Clarke.

Alan Pardew becomes new Crystal Palace boss

Alan Pardew is the new Crystal Palace manager after a £2million compensation settlement was thrashed out between the south London club and Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.

Pardew had made clear to Ashley he wanted to go to Palace, where he was a former playing favourite, and the Toon chief has agreed to reach a compromise with Eagles counterpart Steve Parish rather than demand the full £5m he would be entitled to under the terms of Pardew's contract at St James' Park.

Newcastle dispute the compensation figure and claim the actual amount is much higher.Pardew ducked the post match press conference after Newcastle's dramatic 3-2 victory against Everton on Sunday and has agreed to move to Selhurst Park once the clubs reached a deal.

The 53-year-old boss has faced various campaigns calling for his resignation or dismissal by sections of Newcastle supporters throughout his turbulent reign at the club.

Ashley, who did not attend the victory over Everton on Sunday, has been plotting his next move from his holiday retreat.

The billionaire is wary of the upheaval when his manager quits the club and will also need to find a replacement prepared to work under his demanding ways. 

Pardew is known to be frustrated after being told at a transfer meeting held around four weeks ago that there will not be any money to spend in January.

Instead there is the possibility that Moussa Sissoko will leave in January after Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain declared an interest in the France midfielder. 

West Ham announce record profit

West Ham United have announced a record group profit before tax of £10.3m - a marked improvement on last year's loss before tax of £3.5m.

Turnover was up to £114.8m compared to £89.8m the previous year, while the wage/turnover ratio also decreased to 55.6% from 62.6% last year, the lowest ratio since this was first calculated 15 years ago.

The club finished last season in 13th place in the Premier League

while they will end 2014 in sixth position following their best-ever Premier League start.

The 2015-16 season will be their final season at the Boleyn Ground ahead of a move to the Olympic Stadium in 2016.

Joint-chairman David Sullivan said: "My board and I are satisfied with the achievements we have made in the 2013/14 season.

"The highlights for us were retaining our Premier League status and reaching the semi-final of the Capital One Cup, signing an agreement to sell the Boleyn Ground in preparation for our move to the Olympic Stadium for the 2016/17 season, and our fantastic support despite our many injuries and therefore subsequent challenging performances on the pitch.

"We continue to believe we will deliver both on and off the pitch by investing in the team, the brand and managing the business well."  Vice-chairman Karren Brady added: "Through the hard work of a fantastic, dedicated, loyal and determined team both on and off the pitch the club has grown in size, revenue and in stature this season.

"The management team off the pitch were able to capitalise and

maximise on all the opportunities the manager and the team delivered on the pitch."

At the weekend, Sullivan revealed he and his co-owner David Gold had put a 20 per cent stake in the club up for sale. He said they are looking to raise £80m to help reduce debts which currently stand at £110m, of which £55m is owed to Gold and Sullivan.

Fabregas frustrated by yellow card

Cesc Fabregas says referee Anthony Taylor had "a bad day at the

office" after he booked the Chelsea midfielder for diving during

Sunday's draw at Southampton.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was furious that his team were not awarded a penalty early in the second half when Fabregas went down in the box following a challenge from Matt Targett.

Instead of awarding Chelsea a spot-kick Taylor decided the Spaniard had dived and booked him, a decision which Mourinho believes is part of a growing movement against his side.

"There was definitely contact," Fabregas told chelseafc.com.

"I don't think the referee had the best game of his life but we're all human and a bad day at the office can happen to anyone. That's it, let's not talk more about it, we have to talk about football."

Mourinho claims that Chelsea are the victim of a diving campaign which he feels is costing his team points.

"In other countries where I worked before, tomorrow in the sports papers it would be a front-page scandal because it is a scandal," the Chelsea boss said following the match.

"I think it is a scandal because it is not a small penalty - it is a

penalty like Big Ben. In this country - and I am happy with that, more than happy with that - we will just say that it was a big mistake with a big influence in the result.

"I am happy that it is this way, with respect for the referee. He made a big mistake like I make, like the players make sometimes."

Mourinho blamed the Fabregas booking on recent accusations of

diving made against Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic, who was named by Sam Allardyce in the wake of West Ham's Boxing Day defeat at Stamford Bridge.

"Of course (it has influenced the referee)," he said. "That's a

campaign, that's a clear campaign. People, pundits, commentators, coaches from other teams – they react with Chelsea in a way they don't react to other teams.

"They put lots of pressure on the referee and the referee makes a

mistake like this. We lose two points, Fabregas earns a yellow card."

Chelsea legend Ron Harris entered the debate by claiming players who are going down “very easily” are creating a “disease” in football.

Harris, who made a club record 795 appearances for Chelsea, jumped to the defence Mourinho and Fabregas and believes they were right to feel aggrieved about the booking.

The former Chelsea captain believes Taylor made a mistake in

showing Fabregas a yellow card and that Targett should be feeling “relieved” after not conceding a penalty.

Harris said: "It's a very difficult job refereeing today. It's easy to sit there in the TV studio and say 'he's got this decision wrong'.

"Everybody makes mistakes, but they're being highlighted at the

moment.

"Players, in every level of football, seem to go down very easily

nowadays compared to what they used to.

"For the last three or four years there's been a disease in football

where people fall very easily.

"The only people that will stop it are the players themselves."

Torres returns to Atletico Madrid

Fernando Torres is returning to Atletico Madrid on loan until the end of the 2015-16 season.
The Spanish club confirmed the details on their website on Monday morning, just two days after AC Milan agreed to sign the 30-year-old striker from Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Torres has spent the first half of the season on loan in Milan with the deal set to be ratified on January 5 when the Italian transfer window opens.
Torres left Atletico for Liverpool in July 2007 and enjoyed three-and-a-half productive seasons on Merseyside before leaving for Stamford Bridge.
He moved to Serie A during last summer with Chelsea and Milan
agreeing on Saturday to make the switch permanent, which paved the way for Torres to be loaned to Atletico. The deal is subject to him passing a medical.
A statement on Atletico's website read: "Fernando Torres returns to Atletico after the agreement reached by our club with Milan and he will play on loan for the remainder of the season and one more campaign. He returns home, where he trained as a player and became one of our biggest stars."
Torres made more than 200 appearances for Atletico after making his debut in May 2001.
He scored the only goal of the Euro 2008 final for Spain against
Germany and was a substitute two years later when they beat the Netherlands in the final of the World Cup.
Torres, who also picked up a Champions League winners’ medal for Chelsea in 2012, once said: "I was not a Liverpool fan or a Chelsea fan. I was an Atletico fan. I still am. Maybe they're the only badge I will kiss."

Podolski set to sign for Inter Milan on £1.5m six-month loan deal from Arsenal.

Inter Milan believe they have struck a deal to sign Lukas Podolski on a six-month loan deal but not until after Arsenal have played at Southampton on New Year's Day.

Representatives of the Italian club were in London on Saturday for meetings and are confident they will soon have Podolski in their ranks, who was an unused substitute in the Gunners' 2-1 win at West Ham on Sunday. Inter will pay a loan fee of £1.5million.

The unsettled Germany forward has one year on his Arsenal contract at the end of this season and may not return if his loan is successful.

Wenger was not willing to allow Podolski out before the game against Saints because Olivier Giroud is banned after his red card on Boxing Day.

'At the moment, nobody goes out,' said the Arsenal boss. 'We have Mesut Ozil back at the beginning of January, so we have a lot of competition up front.' 

Podolski has flourished in Europe this season but has been given limited opportunities in the Premier League.

The 29-year-old has scored three goals and all have come in the Champions League.

Wenger hails 'committed' Arsenal

Arsene Wenger hailed Arsenal 's committed display in the 2-1

Premier League victory at West Ham on Sunday.

The visitors took the lead against the run of play after 41

minutes when Santi Cazorla found the net from the penalty spot

after being fouled in the box by Winston Reid.

Danny Welbeck slid in to add a second three minutes later before Cheikhou Kouyate headed West Ham's only goal nine minutes into the second half.

West Ham had earlier seen ex-Arsenal midfielder Alex Song's long-range strike controversially ruled out for offside, and the home side looked dangerous for large spells.

However, Wenger believes his players were fully deserving of the three points that see them climb above West Ham into fifth.

"We deserved to win the game," he said. "It was a typical

committed, direct game where we needed to be solid in the air,

take our chances on the break.

"Unfortunately when they came back to 2-1, we had five or six

chances on counter-attacks that we couldn't take, but overall

everybody did the job very well, from the keeper to up front.

"We couldn't finish the game off - it's down to the quality of their

goalkeeper. It's down to sometimes missing our chances,

sometimes as well maybe there was a player in a better position.

"Overall we created a lot of chances."

Wenger went on to praise his side's fighting spirit, adding: "It was more fight than a creative game but you need to have that in

England as well, especially when we played two days ago with 10

men for 40 minutes.

"When I looked at how much we gave physically [against QPR on

Boxing Day], I was worried.

"We knew before the game that we had to dig deep to win because we were a bit jaded but we did that."

Cazorla assumed penalty-taking duties from Alexis Sanchez after

the latter missed a spot-kick in Friday's 2-1 victory over QPR.

"He [Cazorla] was the right number on the list but Alexis

acknowledged it," explained Wenger. "Everybody has missed

penalties. Anybody can miss."

Jose accuses referee

Jose Mourinho accused referees and opposing managers of having a "campaign" against Chelsea in a furious rant following his side’s 1-1 draw with Southampton at St Mary’s.

Mourinho was left incensed when referee Anthony Taylor failed to award a penalty for a 55th-minute trip by Matt Targett on Cesc

Fabregas and instead booked the Spanish international for diving.

The game was tied at 1-1 at the time and although Chelsea peppered the Southampton goal for the remainder of the second half, they were unable to find a winner.

Mourinho was happy with his players’ efforts but enraged by the

latest of what he sees as a spree of unfair refereeing decisions

against his side.

“I can’t believe that the referee didn’t give a penalty,” he said. “I can believe that Southampton defended with everything they have – good organisation, good spirit, good solidarity between the players.

“I can also understand the game that my players played. They tried to win, especially in the second half, when we had complete control. I cannot understand such a big penalty [decision]. Or I understand [it could be] a consequence of something that looks like a campaign.

“Starting day one [of the season] at Burnley, it was a penalty at

Burnley and the referee gives a penalty to Diego Costa. That I can’t understand."

After berating Taylor, Mourinho turned his attention to West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce, who had accused Chelsea players of diving following the two teams’ meeting on Boxing Day.

Mourinho said: “Out of nothing, Sam Allardyce starts speaking about Chelsea players diving, and in another game it is another coach.

“We are polite people. At the end of the game, no problems, no fights, no shouting to referees, but the reality is that there are penalties and penalties, and this one is a huge one.

“Can you understand why a coach after the game says Chelsea

players are diving? Match after match they are saying the same. And the other opponents are the ones who are getting the penalties that decide matches and results.”

Asked if other managers’ remarks to the media were putting pressure on referees, Mourinho replied: “Of course. They are human and their tendency is to react that way. I will go to the referee [Taylor] in 15 minutes just to wish him a good year and to tell him that he will be ashamed when he sees it on television.”

Van Gaal promises Manchester United improvement

Louis Van Gaal has warned rivals to ‘watch’ Manchester United in 2015 and has promised further improvement from his side next year.

United will finish the year third in the Premier League table after a goalless draw against Tottenham on Sunday in which they

dominated the first-half and created several clear-cut chances, only to be kept at bay by Hugo Lloris.

Nevertheless, Van Gaal has been pleased with the progress made

by United since he took over in the summer and believes his side

will be in a position to challenge for the title next season.

“We are improving every week. Of course we will get better in 2015 so watch,” Van Gaal told reporters. “Next season it will be a true Louis Van Gaal team.”

Van Gaal was frustrated with his side’s errant finishing against

Spurs and again hit out at the Premier League's fixture scheduling, describing the second-half as a "struggle for life" two days after the Boxing Day victory over Newcastle.

“When you can’t win these type of matches when you’re the better team, it’s very difficult to be the champion at the end of the season,” Van Gaal added.

“When you don’t reward yourself, normally the opponent wins. In the second half it wasn’t football anymore. It was a struggle for life.

“You also need a little fortune. Tottenham could also have scored

in the second-half but when you play your best half of the season, at White Hart Lane against a top six club, and you play like that, then you have to finish them.”

Man City fail to close gap on Chelsea

For those who feel the Barclays Premier League is becoming too predictable at the top end, it is always worth hanging around for Christmas. There is a reason the English continue to chase leather in the cold while the rest of Europe holidays at this time of year and, here at a rather flabbergasted Etihad Stadium, was it.

Two goals to the good at half-time after strikes from David Silva and Fernandinho, Manuel Pellegrini’s team emerged for the second period aware that Chelsea had dropped two points at Southampton and that a tenth successive win in all competitions would take to them to within a point of their great modern rivals.

Ten wins on the spin. That hadn’t happened to City since 1921. Remarkably, it wasn’t to be either.

A rather odd Burnley goal soon after the second half began gave the Lancashire club some hope. Whether it will be attributed to Danny Ings or George Boyd is not yet clear but what we do know is that Joe Hart should have saved it.

For the City goalkeeper, it was a mistake as poor as it was poorly-timed. Had City shown the mark of defending champions, they may have rendered it rather irrelevant.

Pellegrini’s players began to look rather leggy as the game wore on, though, and Burnley emerged as the stronger team. Ashley Barnes drove in the equaliser with a certainty and conviction City lacked with ten minutes to go and the English champions’ big opportunity had gone.

City actually led from the 23rd minute and were two ahead shortly after the half hour mark. That, however, didn’t necessarily tell the whole story of the opening period. The first half, as it turned out, was to hold several portents for the game as a whole.

LG not happy with Christmas fixture list

Louis van Gaal has once again bemoaned the Premier League's Christmas schedule after his Manchester United side failed to score against Tottenham.

Speaking to BT Sport after the game, Van Gaal claimed that 48 hours rest is not enough time for his players to recuperate, explaining that his side began to struggle in the latter stages.

'The second half was a struggle. You can see the players can't recover in two days. It was an ugly match. We played very well in the first half, but [if] you don't score goals, you cannot win.

'I said it already before the matches, but okay. It's a culture of England. I think the human body cannot recover within 48 hours, and you have seen that the second half was a struggle.'

Despite this, the Dutchman waxed lyrical about his side's first-half display, labelling it as the best 45 minutes his United have played all season. 

When asked it a draw was a fair result, Van Gaal said: 'No, we lost two points. It was the best performance of Manchester United this season, in the first half. We could have scored four or five goals, but we didn't reward ourselves.  

Wenger refused buying Song and Fabregas back to Arsenal

West Ham midfielder Alex Song has revealed that he had hoped to return to Arsenal when he left Barcelona last summer, but Arsene Wenger didn't want him.

Song, who has been excellent since moving back to England, chose instead to join West Ham, while Arsenal declined to buy another holding player.

The Cameroonian claims that the same is true of Cesc Fabregas, who also wanted to re-join the Gunners, but instead moved to Chelsea.

'I would have liked to come back, but they didn't want me,' Song, who faces his old club for the first time as a West Ham player on Sunday, told L'Equipe. 'That's life. I'm not mad at them. 

'Cesc also wanted to come back to Arsenal, who did not want activate their buy-back clause. It was surprising. When I see what he is doing at Chelsea. He is even better than before!'

The 27-year-old also revealed that he could have played Champions League football, but instead opted to play in England, turning down Roma and Napoli to be part of Sam Allardyce's plans.  

'I could have played Champions League in Italy, with Napoli or Roma, in Turkey,' said Song.

'I could have played in France too, with Marseille. But my priority was to return to England. 

'For me as well as my family. We like it here. I have found a club that I didn't know very well but where things are going quite well.'

Southampton vs Chelsea starting XI

Southampton: Forster, Yoshida, Fonte, Alderweireld, Targett, Davis, Schneiderlin, Wanyama, Tadic, Mane, Pelle 

Southampton subs: Davis, Gardos, Long, Ward-Prowse, Isgrove, Reed, McCarthy

Chelsea: Courtois, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Luis, Matic, Mikel, Schurrle, Fabregas, Hazard, Diego Costa
Chelsea subs: Cech, Zouma, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Willian, Remy, Drogba 

Kick off: 3:05 pm

Man-Utd vs Tottenham starting XI

Manchester United starting XI

De Gea, Jones, McNair, Evans, Valencia, Carrick, Rooney, Mata, Young, Van Persie, Falcao.

Tottenham starting XI

Lloris, Chiriches, Fazio, Vertonghen, Davies, Mason, Stambouli; Chadli, Eriksen, Townsend, Kane.

Arsene Wenger to launch £20m bid for Sporting Lisbon's William Carvalho.

Arsenal are preparing to go back to Sporting Lisbon with a £20million offer for Portugal holding midfielder William Carvalho.

Talks between the two clubs broke down in the autumn after Carvalho was valued at £30m by his Portuguese team.

But with Arsene Wenger taking Arsenal through to the Champions League knockout stages, where they face Monaco, the importance of solving their well-documented defensive problems have increased. Carvalho, 22, is one of the very few top international-class players who will probably be available in January. 

Sporting were eliminated from the Champions League by losing their final group game against Chelsea on December 10 and though they will be in the Europa League, they are willing to cash in on their biggest asset.  

Michael Carrick set for one-year contract extension

Manchester United will activate a one-year extension of Michael Carrick’s £130,000-a-week contract to keep the midfielder at Old Trafford beyond the summer.

Carrick agreed to the clause when he signed a two-year deal in 2013 and has expressed a wish to stay.

The midfielder, 33, has been one of their most influential players since his return from injury and it has coincided with an upturn in fortunes for the club.

Manager Louis van Gaal wants to keep Carrick at Old Trafford and United will confirm their plans in talks early in the new year.

Carrick has become one of the most important players during United’s climb into third place in the Premier League and Van Gaal is a big admirer of his qualities.

Carrick also forced his way back into the England team this year. He has won five Premier League titles since his move from Tottenham in 2006 and was United’s player of the year in 2013.