Arsenal boss Unai Emery has revealed he was interested in signing Alexandre Lacazette when he was head coach of Paris Saint-Germain.

The France international has been in fine form in 2018-19, scoring four goals in five Premier League starts and another in the EFL Cup win over Brentford.

The 27-year-old struggled a little to settle following his 2017 move to the Gunners from Lyon but is fast becoming a key player in the new era under Emery.

And the Arsenal head coach underlined his admiration for Lacazette by admitting he considered bringing him to PSG, despite boasting a luxury forward line of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani.

When I arrived at PSG, we were thinking to sign Lacazette, Emery said ahead of Monday s Premier League clash with Leice…

Marseille s Argentine international defender Gabriel Heinze on Friday blasted a decision to deny access to visiting fans for Sunday s crunch showdown with old rivals Paris St Germain at the Parc des Princes, accusing the authorities of knowing nothing about football.

There are things going on which I don t like. Without fans there is no spectacle and football is about the fans. I don t like playing like this (without visiting fans), said the former PSG, Manchester United and Real Madrid defender after police backed a French League (LFP) move to keep visiting fans out.

The person who has decided this knows nothing about football and as for it being a clasico , well it s the supporters who make a real clasico’ , Heinze said.

He made his comments after the Paris…

Theo Zwanziger was on Friday re-elected as president of the German Football Federation (DFB) for a third term.

Zwanziger, 65, will remain in his post until 2013 after receiving a unanimous vote from the 255 delegates of the DFB, one of the largest sporting federations in the world with 6.7 million registered members.

A lawyer by training, the father-of-two was the sole candidate for the role at the head of the DFB, which has in his time seen the German national team reach the semi-finals of the both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and the Euro 2008 final.

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that PSV Eindhoven striker Tim Matavz has agreed to join an unnamed Bundesliga side.

The same source has revealed that the Phillips Stadium outfit have accepted an offer from a German club for the Slovenian striker.

As a result, Matavz will move to German Bundesliga on an outright transfer, with the deal set to be made official in the coming days.

The 25 year old was on the verge of joining Rubin Kazan in January, but the move fell through as the player failed a medical.

He has since recovered from a knee injury and is finally set to leave PSV Eindhoven following several unsuccessful attempts.

Matavz joined PSV from Groningen in the summer of 2011 and has since managed 24 goals in 70 Eredivisie appearances.

The talented forward made nine…

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes the FA Cup is a big competition for his side, but has questioned how seriously it is taken in England.

The German manager admitted he had a number of selection issues to work through, given his side is missing 11 first team players through injury ahead of Friday s third round clash against Exeter City, but insisted he would put out the best team he could in the midst of a busy schedule.

Liverpool last played on Tuesday, defeating Stoke City 1-0 in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.

I said a few weeks ago you need a little bit of luck. And with injures we didn t have to much of this, that s the truth, Klopp said.

We have to take the situation like it is and we have go to Exeter and I will be there for sur…

Atletico Madrid have made some big moves in the summer transfer windows of 2018 and 2019. Thomas Lemar was signed last year in a deal worth around 70 million euros, while Joao Felix came to Wanda Metropolitano after Los Colchoneros paid somewhere around 120 million euros.

But that has not been enough for them and apparently, Diego Simeone s side wants more attacking reinforcements. According to AS, Atletico Madrid are now planning to make a bid of around 35 million euros for the Torino s striker Andrea Belotti. That is expected to happen in the January transfer window, as Simeone wants to bolster his strike force and the 25-year-old seems to be the primary target for his club.

However, Torino are most likely to reject that offer. They are are believed to value Belotti …

Dusan Vlahovic scored a spectacular late equaliser as Fiorentina fought back to draw 1-1 with Inter and hand Juventus a boost in the Serie A title race.

Borja Valero s early strike against his former club looked set to be enough to claim the points for Inter, who had temporarily fallen into second place due to Juve s comfortable win over Udinese earlier on Sunday.

However, having seen a goal ruled out by the VAR before squandering several gilt-edged chances, Antonio Conte s side were unable to double their lead.

Fiorentina took full advantage as teenager Vlahovic stepped up with a sensational solo strike in stoppage time to secure a lifeline for under-pressure coach Vincenzo Montella while ensuring Inter could only move level on points with Juve at the top.…

Serie A giants Juventus have confirmed the loan signing of Cagliari s Alessandro Matri on the same day they saw Amauri join Parma.

Matri, 26, has joined Juve on a six-month loan deal with the option of a permanent transfer after scoring 11 goals in 22 appearances in the Serie A this season.

The Turin-based club have paid Cagliari 2.1 million pounds to secure the striker s services for the remainder of the season and will part with 13.2 million pounds at the season s end if they decide to sign him permanently.

As part of the Matri deal, Juve youngster Lorenzo Ariaudo will head to Cagliari.

The signing will offer manager Luigi Delneri more attacking options after he lost key forward Fabio Quagliarella to injury for the rest of the season.

Matri s s…

Mauricio Pochettino called for more trust and urged the Chelsea fans to offer “unconditional” backing to his young team after they progressed into the FA Cup semi-finals with a roller-coaster 4-2 win over Leicester.

Stoppage-time goals by substitutes Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke settled a last-eight clash that had everything, with Leicester reduced to 10 men after Raheem Sterling’s missed first-half penalty, while the Blues’ Axel Disasi also produced extraordinary own goal.

When Disasi fired his back pass beyond goalkeeper Robert Sanchez in the 51st minute, it offered Leicester a lifeline and they levelled in stunning fashion 11 minutes later when Stephy Mavididi rifled into the corner.

WEMBLEY AWAITS! |

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

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