LONDON // Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is facing three months out following surgery on his left ankle.
Wilshere’s fellow midfielder Mikel Arteta is also looking at a spell on the sidelines after injuring a calf during Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund, which took the London club into the Uefa Champions League last 16.
Wilshere wrote on Instagram yesterday, alongside his picture taken after surgery: “You have to be strong and courageous and know that you can do anything you put your mind to.”
With Mezut Ozil, defender Mathieu Debuchy and forward Theo Walcott also injured, manager Arsene Wenger has problems as he tries to revive his team’s faltering English Premier League campaign.
“It’s difficult to take on the chin at the moment. You go into many games and need everyone available,” Wenger said after Arsenal’s impressive display that secured a place in the knockout phase for the 15th successive season.
The convincing victory over the Group D leaders eased the pressure on Wenger, who faced growing criticism from Arsenal fans following the 2-1 home defeat by Manchester United on Saturday that left them eighth in the table.
“I don’t try any more to think what people think,” Wenger said. “What is important is that we are united. This team has a top-quality attitude and we have shown after the disappointment on Saturday that we were united in the game, determined and committed.
“We were more under pressure because on Saturday we played well but maybe we were victims of our generous attitude going forward. Here we had a bit more urgency to defend, especially when we were 1-0 up.”
Arsenal travel to West Bromwich Albion tomorrow buoyed by the victory and particularly by the performance of 21-year-old striker Yaya Sanogo, who scored the opening goal against Dortmund.
“He’s a young boy but he has presence, character and he is naturally committed,” Wenger said.
Although Sanogo limped off with a hamstring injury, Wenger can recall Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud to face West Brom, alongside the prolific Alexis Sanchez who netted the second goal against Dortmund, his 10th goal in 10 games for club and country.
Nose-breaking butt lands Brandao in jail for month
Bastia’s Brazilian striker Brandao was yesterday jailed for a month and fined €20,000 euros (Dh91,725) for headbutting Paris Saint-Germain’s Thiago Motta.
The president of the Paris court suggested the 34-year-old striker could benefit from a reduced sentencing and not a prison stay.
French prosecutors had requested an eight-month suspended term and €15,000 fine, against Brandao who waited for and headbutted Motta after a Ligue 1 game on August 16.
CCTV security cameras at Parc des Princes showed Brandao headbutting Brazilian-born Italian midfielder Motta and then ran away to the Bastia changing rooms leaving the Paris player with a broken nose.
Brandao claimed he had been insulted by Motta throughout the match, relating to a rape charge Brandao was cleared of in 2012.
He denied that it was premeditated, claiming he had wanted to “have it out with Motta and then blew a fuse” in the heat of the moment.
The prosecutor had described the player’s actions as calculated, pointing out that a threat of violence had been made earlier in the evening.
“On the pitch he [Brandao] said he’d be waiting for me afterwards, but I never thought he’d actually do it,” Motta told the police.
French football authorities have hit Brandao, who is in hospital being treated for a thigh injury, with a six-month ban, ruling him out until February.
ELSEWHERE
England
Manchester United defender Jonny Evans has played 60 minutes in a reserve match and could return to manager Louis van Gaal’s injury-hit back line against Hull City on Saturday. The Northern Ireland international has struggled with a succession of niggling injuries this season, giving Van Gaal a major headache with Phil Jones, Rafael, Chris Smalling, Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo also sidelined for long spells. “It’s nice to get 60-odd minutes under my belt,” the 26-year-old Evans told MUTV. “It’s been a long time coming. I didn’t expect to be out this long so I’m pleased to get some minutes. I thought the lads played well and it was an enjoyable game to be part of.” Evans is United’s longest-serving defender following the departures of Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra at the end of last season. Argentine Rojo has also started training again after recovering from a dislocated shoulder but will not be ready to face Hull. Van Gaal played 19-year-old Paddy McNair and Tyler Blackett, 20, in the 2-1 win at Arsenal on Saturday which lifted United to fourth in the table.
Turkey
Istanbul giants Galatasaray are to sack Italian manager Cesare Prandelli after their poor performances in the Uefa Champions League this season, the Hurriyet newspaper reported on Thursday. The club’s board took the decision to part company with Prandelli after its 2-0 defeat to Anderlecht in the Champions League on Wednesday night, which ended any hopes of reaching the last 16, the paper said on its website. Galatasaray also had a humiliating weekend 3-0 defeat at the hands of Black Sea arch rivals Trabzonspor. Prandelli had arrived at the club only in July, succeeding fellow Italian Roberto Mancini, after failing to steer Italy into the knockout stages of the World Cup as national manager. He had signed a two-year deal with Galatasaray worth at least €2.3 million (Dh10.5m) a year. Galatasaray’s woeful Champions League form saw them pick up just one point in Group D and record defeats to Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund.
Mexico
Craig Whyte, the former owner of Glasgow giants Rangers, has been detained in Mexico on an arrest warrant relating to his takeover of the Scottish club, Scottish prosecutors said. Whyte, 43, took over Rangers, one of the best-supported teams in Britain, in 2011 but the club went into administration the following year. Police Scotland have launched an investigation into Whyte’s acquisition and arrested four men in England last week. Under a pile of debt, the parent company of Rangers, Scottish champions a record 54 times, went into liquidation in 2012 and the club was forced to drop to the bottom of the professional leagues. Rangers have since risen to the second tier of the Scottish game.
Ghana
Former Chelsea manager Avram Grant is the new coach of Ghana after agreeing a 27-month contract, the country’s football association announced. The 54-year-old Israeli, who missed out on the Champions League with Chelsea in 2008 after a penalty shoot-out defeat in the final against Manchester United, will lead Ghana in January’s African Cup of Nations finals. Grant replaces Kwesi Appiah who led Ghana at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but was fired in September.
Switzerland
Swiss club FC Basel are to face disciplinary action from UEFA after a pitch invasion by their fans during their 1-0 home Champions League loss to Real Madrid on Wednesday. The case will be examined by European football’s governing body on December 11. The Bulgarian and Croatian football federations were also fined €95,000 (Dh435,000) and €60,000 respectively for the use of smoke bombs in the stands during a Euro 2016 qualifier between the two countries on October 10 in Sofia.
France
Ghislain Printant has been appointed coach of French Ligue 1 strugglers Bastia until the end of the season, the club announced on Twitter yesterday. Printant, who has held the post on an interim basis since the sacking last month of Claude Makelele, has earned four points in his last two matches with the Corsican outfit.
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