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Mertens has played a key role in Maurizio Sarri’s men establishing a one-point lead over six-time defending champions Juventus in the race for the Scudetto and, having rebuffed interest from China last year and been linked with Premier League heavyweights Arsenal and Manchester United, the Belgium forward is loving life in Campagnia. He told Il Mattino: “I’m playing and having fun on the pitch and I’m very happy. I’m happier now than I’ve ever been before....

LONDON (Reuters) - Arsenal crushed Watford 4-0 and Manchester City hammered Bournemouth by the same score on Saturday as the faltering big guns breathed fresh life into their faint hopes of lifting the Premier League title. Not even another free kick masterpiece from Dimitri Payet could inspire West Ham United in their push for a Champions League spot as they had Cheikhou Kouyate sent off in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace....

For the modern day underachievers of the Premier League, 2015-16 was yet another case study in how a promising start petered out and ended in nothing. After a bright start to the season, Arsenal yet again managed to lose their way over the festive period and faltered in their pursuit of a maiden English crown since 2003-04 yet again. A bad run from Tottenham at the far end of the seasons saw Arsenal leapfrog them into second on the table, as a result of which the Gunners’ fans celebrated St....

The Gunners finished fifth in the Premier League last term and failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in Wenger’s reign, meaning they will play in the Europa League instead. Arsenal to win the Premier League - 11/1 Wenger’s men begin their campaign with the traditional Community Shield curtain-raiser against Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday. And the Frenchman feels investment from all of last year’s top six, aside from local rivals Tottenham, means it is tough to predict who will be lifting the Premier League trophy at the end of the season....

Arsenal beat Manchester United 1-0 on Sunday in the Premier League courtesy of a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty, but Partey’s performance stood out. “He was really good,” Arsenal boss Arteta on Partey Partey, who joined Arsenal from La Liga side Atletico Madrid on deadline day for €50 million, has slotted right into the Gunners’ midfield. The Ghanaian international was regarded as one of the best midfielders in Spain during his time there, having made nearly 200 appearances in all competitions for Atletico Madrid....

The injury might have come as a shock to Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger as Ramsey was having the best season of his career having started 22 matches for the Gunners, notching up 10 goals and 7 assists. — Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) January 31, 2014 0 votes

Former Arsenal star calls for Mesut Ozil’s inclusion Mesut Ozil is yet to feature for Arsenal this season and he is exactly the kind of player they need to solve their creativity woes. Former Arsenal star Paul Merson believes that the German would make Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang better players. Ozil wasn’t named in the 25-man squad submitted by Arsenal in October, which means he will not be able to make an appearance until January at least....

Sanchez has scored 28 goals in 49 appearances this season despite not being an out-and-out striker, but media reports have suggested he is unhappy at the club. The 28-year-old has a year left on his contract and has been linked with both Manchester United and City and several other leading clubs across Europe. “Firstly, he scored a lot of goals for us but his first job is not to be a striker, it is more midfield but he is an unbelievable player....

“He told us that he was very happy at Anderlecht, that the club has been magnificent with him since his arrival, but it was time to prove himself at the highest level. To prove his loyalty to the club and to finish the job, he and his team mates started in 2011, he will stay until the end of the season. However, he also confirmed to us that he has signed a not so “secret” pre contract with Arsenal for the summer....

Saturday’s blockbuster sees Arsenal travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool which certainly is for sure the match of the weekend. The top of the table clash comes just after Chelsea shocked Manchester City at the Etihad by the thinnest of margins, meaning the Gunners could retain top spot after twenty four games in this excruciating Premier League campaign. Arsenal come into this clash after a routine win over Crystal Palace at home while Liverpool will be kicking themselves to get only a point against West Brom at the Hawthorns following a horrendous give away from former Gunner Kolo Toure....

Conte: My heart is in Italy The England international has excelled since moving to White Hart Lane from MK Dons in February 2015 and has twice won the PFA Young Player of the Year award for his performances in the Premier League. Former Liverpool CEO Ian Ayre claimed this week the Reds had been interested in Alli only to be put off by what he described as excessive demands from the player....

The 23-year-old Spain midfielder had his season interrupted by a hamstring injury but has now started seven of the previous eight Premier League games and is thriving under Mikel Arteta. The Gunners are back in action against third-placed Leicester City on Tuesday, where building on their 2-0 weekend triumph at Wolves is vital in terms of maintaining their slim hopes of Champions League qualification. A strong finish could also make Emirates Stadium a more attractive long-term home for Ceballos....

Aubameyang was left out Dortmund’s squad for the stalemate against Wolfsburg on January 14 after missing a team meeting, while he did not travel with his team-mates for last Friday’s draw with Hertha Berlin. Dortmund claimed a bid for the 28-year-old had been received from Arsenal at the weekend, though Goal understands the Bundesliga club are interested in Olivier Giroud as a makeweight in the deal. It is a familiar situation for Dortmund, who saw Ousmane Dembele go on strike before sealing a switch to Barcelona in August, but one Kovac cannot abide....

Arsenal team: Cech, Koscielny, Mustafi, Chambers, Bellerin, Wilshere, Xhaka, Kolasinac, Ozil, Sanchez, Lacazette.Subs: Ospina, Walcott, Holding, Iwobi, Welbeck, Maitland-Niles, Coquelin.Crystal Palace team: Speroni, Kelly, Tomkins, Dann, Schlupp, Milivojevic, Cabaye, Loftus-Cheek, Townsend, Zaha, Benteke Subs: Hennessey, Van Aanholt, Fosu-Mensah, McArthur, Puncheon, Riedewald, Sako.

The Germany international was criticised in the wake of Thursday’s defeat to Atletico Madrid, which saw the Gunners crash out of the Europa League and is not even on the bench against Sean Dyche’s men. Instead, Alex Iwobi lines up in attacking midfield while Henrikh Mkhitaryan is back in the first-team. Wenger has opted for Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to lead the attack together from the start for the second time in the Premier League since the latter joined in January....

The annual game is played on the second Saturday of December, the only game that weekend, so as not to share the national spotlight with other games. However, the final College Football Playoff rankings are set to be released the previous weekend, after the conclusion of conference championship games. And with Navy’s season not yet complete, they could miss out on one of those six New Year’s bowls. MORE: Coach rankings, 1 to 128 | SN Preseason Top 25 | 5-star going where?...

Cue the Lalo Shifrin music: this is going to be an adventure. In and of itself, Arnold’s victory is storyboard stuff–a vivid tribute to every Tinseltown California theme from the beachfront love of physical prowess to the myth of the can-do-over Golden State immigrant to the idea of fame as tonic for the human condition. In local terms it was remarkable for another reason: it was the first time a Republican had won the governor’s seat since 1994....

The Gunners, two points clear at the top of the table going into the game, and unbeaten at Anfield since 2007, were high on confidence having won eight of their last nine in all competitions, and surely would have expected to take at least a point against a Liverpool side notorious for inconsistency. It was of course Jekyll rather than Hyde that turned up in red on Merseyside, as Liverpool came flying out of the blocks with quite possibly the most electrifying 20 minutes of Premier League football in living memory; inexplicably scoring four times....

Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring for the hosts inside 5 minutes and Alex Iwobi scored his second goal in as many games to put the Gunners 2-0 ahead at half-time. Hector Bellerin’s shot was deflected into the net at the start of the second period, whereas Theo Walcott scored at 90 minutes to get the Gunners a comfortable 4-0 victory. The win puts Arsenal at 58 points, 3 points behind Tottenham and 8 points behind leaders Leicester City....

The 20-year-old forward only completed a move to Germany in January, having first caught the eye in Belgium with Genk. Manchester United were reported to be among those keen on doing a deal at that stage, and a number of other Premier League sides have since been alerted to Bailey’s potential. Leverkusen, though, have no intention of parting with a prized asset and are prepared to resist any bids which may be tabled in the winter transfer window....