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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has provided an update on the long-term injuries to Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber.

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Arteta gives updates on Partey and TimberTimber could return before end of seasonPartey could return very soon for GunnersGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

Timber may recover from an ACL injury before the season ends, Arteta has acknowledged. The Dutch international, who joined from Ajax in the summer, won numerous accolades for his preseason exploits. Sadly, he hasn't played since suffering a knee injury in the first Premier League match of the season against Nottingham Forest.

As for Partey, Arteta has hinted that the midfielder could make his return to action against Newcastle on Saturday evening. The midfielder has made only four appearances in the Premier League this season having suffered with a number of problems.

AdvertisementWHAT ARTETA SAID

Talking during his press conference, Arteta said [via football.london]: "Will Timber be able to return before the end of the season? I really hope so. He’s doing really well. He’s been with some players on the pitch. He’s going to start to do some bits with us on the pitch in the next week or so. Then we’ll have to see how he’s doing, his confidence level, his fitness level. Hopefully, the answer will be yes.

"Will Partey return this week? Let’s see. We have another session today. He’s been out for many, many months now. We need to really nail the timing of when he has enough in the tank to compete. But I think he’s very close."

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Timber has been making progress and made his first steps back out onto the grass during the mid-season training camp in Dubai. Since then, the 22-year-old has intensified his recuperation. As for Partey, his absence has become far too common an occurrence for the Gunners but due to Declan Rice and Jorginho's addition over the last 18 months, Partey's importance in the squad has deteriorated.

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WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

The Gunners will continue their battle for the title when they take on Newcastle United on Saturday, February 24. They will look to hit the ground running as they look to get over their Champions League loss to Porto earlier.

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Mark Noble has admitted in his Evening Standard column that the endless speculation over not only Marko Arnautovic’s future, but also that of every one of West Ham United’s strikers, has affected the team.

What’s the word?

Arnautovic spent most of the January window with his head seemingly elsewhere when it emerged that clubs in the Chinese Super League were chasing his signature. Javier Hernandez and Lucas Perez also had their names regularly spread across the back pages.

Even the injury-prone Andy Carroll was tipped to be heading for the exit door as a shock replacement for Harry Kane at Tottenham. But come the end of deadline day, not one of the quartet actually left the London Stadium.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals what Lasagne-Gate was really like for Tottenham’s food-poisoned stars – Check out the video below…

Now, with the window behind them, Hammers captain Noble has acknowledged in his Evening Standard column that the speculation over their respective futures affected the rest of the squad.

The £6.3million rated midfielder noted: “That [speculation] has to have an effect on everyone, not just the players concerned but all the squad.

“It hasn’t been ideal at all. Everyone knows how it works. Agents are very active during the window, and there is no way players concerned can prepare properly for a game when that is happening.

“I’m not making any excuses for our past two performances, but it must have had an adverse effect.”

Pellegrini’s man-management crucial

When the leader of the pack is stating that the interest in his colleagues has affected results, the captain of the ship must step up and hit refresh on the mindset of his players.

In the case of West Ham, this responsibility falls to Manuel Pellegrini and the end product of his man management will come clear on Monday night when the Irons host the current league leaders Liverpool.

The Reds will be keen to push further clear of the current title-holders with a win, and if Jurgen Klopp can orchestrate such a result, it will be the Hammers’ fourth loss in a row after defeats at Bournemouth, AFC Wimbledon and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

There is only so much Pellegrini can do when it comes to outside influences, such as transfer talk and whispering agents – but after Noble suggested this is a common issue at the club in January, it’s something he’ll need to try and prepare for next time around.

For now though, Pellegrini needs to get his squad simply thinking about their football again, rather than potential futures elsewhere.

City could only blame themselves after missing a hatful of chances and twice throwing away the lead to drop points at home once more

Manchester City dropped two more points against a top-six side and once again could only blame themselves after failing to put Tottenham out of sight in a thrilling 3-3 draw on Sunday.

Son Heung-min caught City on the hop to give Spurs the lead after his side cut through the champions on the counter-attack, but moments later put the ball through his own net. Phil Foden's sensational team goal then put City in front and they should have killed the game off, with Erling Haaland missing big chances either side of half-time.

But they let their foot off the gas in the second half and twice surrendered the lead – first via Giovani Lo Celso's sizzling strike and then Dejan Kulusevski's header, after Jack Grealish had restored the champions' advantage.

GOAL rates Man City's players from the Etihad Stadium…

Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence

Ederson (5/10):

Made a hash of Son's shot, which squirmed through his arms. Blameless for Lo Celso's thumper or Kulusevski's late header.

Kyle Walker (7/10):

Made excellent recovery runs and stayed well on top of the threat of Udogie and Gil down his flank.

Manuel Akanji (6/10):

Made a strong start in the hybrid defence/midfield role but stood back more in the second, playing into Spurs' hands.

Ruben Dias (6/10):

Made a crucial slide tackle to prevent Kulusevski finding Son.

Josko Gvardiol (5/10):

Struggled to keep a handle on Kulusevski and had to resort to fouling him, earning a booking.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesMidfield

Bernardo Silva (6/10):

A sloppy pass nearly led to a big Spurs chance. Otherwise played well.

Rodri (6/10):

A mixed bag. Made some sloppy passes and tackles and is now suspended for the trip to Aston Villa. Made amends by sparking the Grealish's goal as he seized the ball from Bissouma.

Phil Foden (8/10):

Made lots of nice moves, often dictating play from deep. His finish was a work of art.

Getty ImagesAttack

Julian Alvarez (7/10):

Had a hand in City's first two goals but gave the ball away before Lo Celso struck.

Erling Haaland (5/10):

A lousy performance both in his build-up play and his finishing, particularly his sitter in the first half. Half made up for it by setting up Grealish's goal with a deft touch.

Jeremy Doku (7/10):

Electric and unpredictable. Unlucky not to score when he hit the woodwork. Taken off in the 52nd minute with an injury.

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Getty ImagesSubs & Manager

Jack Grealish (8/10):

Made a huge impact and drew lots of attention from Spurs' players, who kept on fouling him. Scored a fine goal which looked to have won the game.

Rico Lewis (7/10):

Kept the ball well and was strong defensively too.

Nathan Ake (N/A):

Came on in the 87th minute and was beaten in the air for Kulusevski's goal.

Mateo Kovacic (N/A):

Came on in the 87th minute.

Pep Guardiola (5/10):

Made an uncharacteristically large number of substitutions to try and fix things. Taking Foden off didn't make much sense and has now dropped four points in consecutive home games, admittedly against very strong opponents.

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford is famed for his running speed, but Rasmus Hojlund claims to be even quicker over the turf.

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England ace is famed for his paceDanish striker now on boardTight race predicted between pairWHAT HAPPENED?

Rashford’s ability to race past opponents has helped him to become an established star at Old Trafford and an international performer with 55 England caps to his name. Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt is among his many admirers, with the Olympic gold medallist conceding that even he would struggle to live with Rashford’s pace over a short distance.

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Hojlund – who joined United for £72 million ($89m) during the summer transfer window – says he is even quicker than Rashford, telling reporters when asked who would prevail in a race between the pair: “That’s me.” He added on linking up with Rashford in speedy counter-attacks: “We try to talk to each other and he knows I'm going to be there. He knows I can keep up with his pace when we go on the counter.”

WHAT THEY SAID

Rashford has made a slow start to the 2023-24 campaign, with United often struggling as a collective, but Hojlund is backing a proven performer to come good. He added: “I really like and enjoy playing with him. He is a world-class player. He's a player I've looked up to, even though he's only a few years older than me. He has done well since he came in as a 19-year-old and scored against Midtjylland. I think he has been a great player ever since, and it is of course great that we are team-mates today.”

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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Rashford hit 30 goals for United across all competitions last season, earning him a new contract, but has just one effort to his name this term. Hojlund has delivered more end product for the Red Devils, with the 20-year-old Denmark international striker finding the target on three occasions through eight appearances.

Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty while Lucas Hernandez also found the net in a comfortable 2-0 win against Nantes for Paris Saint-Germain.

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Hernandez scored PSG's firstMbappe added second from penalty spotPSG have 14-point lead atop Ligue 1TELL ME MORE

The two sides combined for a forgettable first half, with a disallowed Nantes goal on the stroke of half time serving as the only real action. Hernandez opened the scoring in the second half with a fine zipping effort that rocketed into the top corner from outside the box. Then, Mbappe was brought off the bench just after the hour mark and converted a penalty 15 minutes later to seal the win.

AdvertisementGettyTHE MVP

Hernandez has been searching for his signature moment in a PSG shirt for a while at this point. The former Bayern man has failed to impress for Luis Enrique, often exploited in one-on-ones and not offering much going forward. This was hardly an earth-shattering performance at both ends from the France international, but his goal was a thing of beauty.

THE BIG LOSER

There is hefty competition in this PSG side. For those not named Mbappe, every performance counts. And Bradley Barcola didn't do himself too many favours tonight. The winger, just four days removed from turning in a mesmerising Champions League showing, was markedly off colour, and deservedly hooked at half time. He is still young – and will surely develop – but this was one to forget.

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GettyWHAT COMES NEXT?

The Parisians now have a healthy lead atop Ligue 1, and will look to stretch it in the coming weeks. Their next contest is against Rennes next Sunday, and a fixture with Monaco follows. All eyes will surely be on March 5, though, for the second leg of their last-16 tie with Real Sociedad.

Al-Hilal's Ruben Neves admitted that he almost joined Barcelona last summer, but opted for a Saudi Pro League move instead.

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Neves left Wolves after six years in 2023Was heavily linked with Barcelona, ArsenalAl-Hilal top of Saudi Pro LeagueWHAT HAPPENED?

Neves negotiated a long-expected departure from Wolves last summer, signing for Al-Hilal in a deal worth €55 million (£47m/$60m). But things almost went a different way, with both Barca and Arsenal coming close to securing his signature.

AdvertisementWHAT NEVES SAID

In an interview with Portuguese publication , Neves elaborated on his busy summer: "I was close to three clubs and finally it didn’t happen, which saddened me and helped me make the decision to go to Al-Hilal. I didn’t want to name names, but Barcelona was one of the hottest and it wasn’t a lie. It almost happened, as happened with Arsenal. Then there was another club outside of England. These were events that accumulated and then, with this golden opportunity, I had no doubts in accepting it. I was already hardened by transfers that do not happen."

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Neves had enjoyed a successful season in the Saudi Pro League, starting 19 of a possible 21 games for the title favourites, and has six assists to his name. Barcelona, meanwhile, failed to spend big last summer, instead opting to bring in former Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan on a free.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR NEVES?

Neves was linked with Newcastle move in January but spurned interest to stay in Saudi Arabia. He will continue to feature for Al-Hilal for the coming months, and will also hope to stay in the Portuguese national team setup under Roberto Martinez.

David Beckham brutally mocked his wife Victoria's feet on Valentine's Day after the Spice Girl got injured in the gym.

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Victoria Beckham suffers foot injuryHusband David mocks her feetContrasting posts on Valentine's DayGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Earlier on Wednesday, Beckham initially thanked his wife for getting him the latest edition of The Country Smallholder magazine due to his new-found love of chickens, the 48-year-old then wished her a happy Valentine's Day on his Instagram story feed. However, shortly after seeing Victoria had complained about a foot injury she had suffered; instead of sympathising with her, the former England captain made fun of the 49-year-old.

AdvertisementInstagramWHAT DAVID BECKHAM SAID

After Victoria posted an Instagram story of her foot under a bag of ice and captioned it, "Happy Valentine's Day to me… Fell over in the gym!!!!, followed by a facepalm emoji, David poked fun at his wife.

He wrote: "How big is your toe? Wow. I never noticed that before," followed by the confused face emoji.

GettyTHE GOSSIP

The world-famous couple have a history of ribbing one another on social media following decades of being with one another. The pair, who also posted old photos of each other over the years on Valentine's Day, are likely to continue this back and forth for some time.

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WHAT NEXT?

Away from their relationship, David, who co-owns Inter Miami, will be focused on his team getting off to a good start in the 2024 MLS season next week. Miami are at home to Real Salt Lake on February 22, before facing the ex-winger's former team LA Galaxy four days later.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has claimed that Vinicius Jr. could "improve" his attitude amid criticism from Barcelona legend Carles Puyol.

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Puyol hit out at Brazil internationalAncelotti appears to agree with his takeVinicius victim of repeated racist insultsWHAT HAPPENED?

Puyol claimed that Vinicius needed to "change his attitude" in order to gain the recognition he deserves. Vinicius has been at the centre of multiple racist incidents in La Liga, with the most recent flashpoint coming against Sevilla.

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Ancelotti has repeatedly defended Vinicius, saying that he was "disrespected" against Athletic Club in January, but he appears to have changed his tack and has seemingly agreed with Puyol's sentiments.

WHAT THEY SAID

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Real's Champions League clash with Braga, Ancelotti said: "If Puyol wants to talk toVinícius, let him do it, he has a lot of experience. Vini is a difference-maker, that’s obvious. Maybe his attitude could be better in certain circumstances. But he has improved a lot, and continues to improve. We are delighted with him. He does his best, in the last few games he hasn’t quite been on top form, but he has improved a lot.”

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Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Madrid face Braga in the Champions League before returning to domestic action against Valencia this weekend.

Roy Keane was left fuming at Goodison Park as a fan kept filming him instead of watching Manchester United's clash against Everton.

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Keane rages at fan for filming him during Everton vs Man UtdAsked the person to stop filming and start watching the matchMan Utd thrashed Everton 3-0WHAT HAPPENED?

The United legend was seen raging at a fan at Goodison Park as the person kept filming him instead of watching the Premier League match between Everton and Red Devils.

As the fan zoomed the camera towards Keane, the former United skipper could be seen making angry gestures pointing to the ground while telling the person to concentrate on the game instead of filming him.

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On the pitch, the Red Devils picked up a comprehensive 3-0 win over the Toffees courtesy of goals from Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

The Argentine youngster opened the scoring for his club in the third minute of the game with a fabulous acrobatic bicycle kick that evoked memories of Cristiano Ronaldo's famous strike for Real Madrid against Juventus in the Champions League in 2018.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

Erik ten Hag's side will next take on Galatasaray in a must-win Champions League group stage clash on Wednesday in Istanbul.

Darwin Nunez scored a stunning goal for Liverpool against Bournemouth just seconds after a terrible first-touch, leaving Jamie Carragher agog.

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Nunez scored winnerCurled ball home from rangeLiverpool into quarter-finalsWHAT HAPPENED?

Nunez showed off both the worst side of his game and the best within three seconds in the 2-1 win over Bournemouth on the south coast. He initially failed to control a simple pass, and was jeered by the home crowd for it, before bending an outrageous finish into the top corner from just inside the box.

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Carragher was watching his former club and made sure to pass comment on the Uruguay international, who has endured some ups and downs at Anfield since his arrival. The former defender aptly labelled Nunez "Captain chaos".

DID YOU KNOW?

Nunez has been in fine form this season and has scored seven goals in 14 games in all competitions, while also laying on five assists.

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GettyWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Liverpool face Luton Town in the Premier League at Kenilworth Road this weekend.