Pep Guardiola, the Barcelona coach, has laughed off suggestions he might try to sign Jack Wilshere, the talented Arsenal midfielder.
The 19-year-old was the Gunners' best player in their 2-1 over Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie at the Emirates Stadium in midweek, more than holding his own against the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
The England international even outshined his captain, Cesc Fabregas, whom Barcelona are eager to bring back to Camp Nou.
Guardiola, though, admitted he would not be making a move for Wilshere, and also hinted his side would find it tough to prise Fabregas away from north London.
"He [Wilshere] is a great player — a great player for Arsenal," the Barca coach said.
"And in any case, Arsene Wenger [the Arsenal manager] doesn't sell his best players."
Guardiola claimed he expects a stern test from Wenger's side in the return leg of their Champions League clash at Camp Nou.
Barca needed a late Lionel Messi strike to beat Athletic Bilbao last night as they returned to winning ways, while Arsenal, fielding a much-changed side, could only draw 1-1 at lower-league Leyton Orient in the FA Cup.
The Gunners also let a four-goal lead slip to draw 4-4 at Newcastle recently, but Guardiola insisted he drew no comfort from those results.
"Arsenal are a wonderful side," he said. "You will not hear me discredit Arsenal — they are a great side with a great coach and they will be a very difficult opponent.
"It will be a great game against a great team."
There had been talk in Spain of a mini-crisis for Barcelona after the Catalans had failed to beat Sporting Gijon last weekend and then lost at Arsenal, but a hard-fought 2-1 win over Athletic saw normal order restored.
"I see this talk of a crisis at Barca and laugh," Joaquin Caparros, the Athletic coach, said.
Caparros saw his side go behind after just three minutes, but Dani Alves was in an offside position when he ran on to Xavi's pass before squaring for David Villa to score for the third game running.
"The offside is very clear and a goal in third minute ruins everything you have worked on," he said.
On the flipside, however, Messi looked unfortunate to have two penalty appeals turned down before he scored a late winner.
Barca were not at their best but still moved back five points ahead of Real Madrid in the Primera Liga with 14 league games left.
"To be five points ahead of Madrid is a total success," Guardiola said. "They are a great team and they have a coach who has not lost a home game for nine years.
"For me, there is no better team in Europe."
Barca face their arch-rivals in the final of the Copa del Rey in April and could yet meet Jose Mourinho's side in the latter stages of the Champions League.
Guardiola said winning becomes more difficult every year.
"People say that it's easier because we have been together for longer," he said. "But every year it gets harder; you don't see Rafael Nadal beating Roger Federer 6-0, 6-1, 6-0, just like you didn't see the Chicago Bulls winning easily when Michael Jordan was playing — sometimes they won with the last shot of the game."
Victor Valdes missed yesterday's game with a knee problem, but the keeper should return in time for the clash with Arsenal.
"He has a small strain," Guardiola said. "He will be back in a few days, but we have every confidence in (second-choice keeper Jose Manuel) Pinto."
Indeed, Pinto made several fine saves against Athletic and the former Celta Vigo keeper was only beaten by Andoni Iraola's second-half penalty.
The match was Guardiola's 100th league game in charge at Barca and saw Messi make his 250th competitive appearance for the Catalan club.
The fake news generation
288,000 – the number of posts reported as hate speech that were deleted by Facebook globally each month in May and June this year
11% – the number of Americans who said they trusted the news they read on Snapchat as of June 2017, according to Statista. Over a quarter stated that they ‘rarely trusted’ the news they read on social media in general
31% - the number of young people in the US aged between 10 and 18 who said they had shared a news story online in the last six months that they later found out was wrong or inaccurate
63% - percentage of Arab nationals who said they get their news from social media every single day.
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Jawan
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Honeymoonish
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SPECS
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
FORSPOKEN
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Starfield
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The squad traveling to Brazil:
Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.
Company%20profile
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