Arsene Wenger claims that Arsenal s move to Emirates Stadium in 2006 was the most difficult time of his life.

The Gunners left Highbury for their new 60,000-seater home in time for the 2006-07 campaign after spending more than £400million to construct the state-of-the-art venue.

A loan taken out to finance the ground significantly curtailed Arsenal s spending power in the transfer market, meaning Wenger was forced to watch key players including Ashley Cole, Samir Nasri, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie depart his squad.

Wenger has been widely praised for maintaining their Champions League status until this season, but he has also been criticised for his record of securing no major trophies between 2005 and 2014.

The 67-year-…

Maximilian Wittek s second-half strike condemned an insipid Tottenham to a 1-0 loss against Vitesse in the Europa Conference League.

Spurs had won just two of their last seven away games in European competition before Thursday and their struggles on the road showed in a timid opening 45-minute showing.

However, the visitors were unfortunate to not go ahead after the interval at the GelreDome as Bryan Gil rifled onto the woodwork in an otherwise uneventful first hour of football.

Nuno Espirito Santo s side, who rested Harry Kane entirely for the trip to Holland, were eventually made to pay for their lacklustre performance when Wittek drilled in from the edge of the area to end Spurs unbeaten start in the competition and leave them third in Group G.

Full-ti…

Aymeric Laporte has insisted he is paying little attention to the political agenda driving criticism of his surprise selection in the Spain squad for Euro 2020.

Born in Agen in the south of France, the defender represented Les Bleus youth teams from U17s level all the way through to the U21s.

He was also twice called up by the senior national side but injury and a failure to convince manager Didier Deschamps of his worth meant he had not made an appearance by the age of 27.

However, an eight-year stint with Athletic Bilbao meant Laporte, whose great grandparents hailed from the Basque region, remained eligible for Spain, and Luis Enrique took advantage by including him in the squad for this summer s European Championship.

The Manchester City man perfor…

Two Manchester United fans were arrested in connection with tragedy chanting during Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Greater Manchester Police is also trying to identify another United supporter after footage widely shared on social media footage appeared to show him allegedly engaging in tragedy chanting.

GMP announced it had made eight arrests in total at the game, including three Liverpool fans for possession of Class A drugs, an away supporter on suspicion of possession of a pyrotechnic, and two United fans for a racially-aggravated public order offence and pitch encroachment respectively.

As well as the arrests, a 39-year-old man, George Fenning from Edinburgh, has been charged with possession of a Class B drug, possession o…

Nuno Espirito Santo hailed the unity demonstrated by Tottenham in their 1-0 EFL Cup fourth-round win over Burnley. 

Lucas Moura s 68th-minute header proved the difference at Turf Moor as Spurs progressed to the quarter-finals of the competition for the third time in four seasons. 

The visitors were made to dig deep as Burnley pushed for an equaliser late on, but they held out for victory and a first clean sheet in 11 matches in all competitions. 

Nuno felt his players deserved credit for their application as they responded to Sunday s Premier League defeat at West Ham. 

We did a good job controlling the way they play, he said. We were much better in the second half in terms of mobility and dynamic.  

The end of the match is about defendi…

New Oman coach Paul Le Guen says he wants his team to dare to dream that they can qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Former Lyon, Rangers and PSG coach Le Guen took over as the Oman national team boss in June.

Oman won the 2009 Gulf Cup of Nations under Frenchman Claude Le Roy but failed to progress to the final round of 2010 World Cup qualifiers, while they also missed out on the 2011 Asian Cup.

However, Le Guen, who guided Cameroon to the 2010 World Cup finals, told fifa.com his new side needs to believe in the dream of qualification for the Brazil tournament in three years time.

It’s not so much an aim or target, as a dream: we want to give everything we’ve got and qualify for the FIFA World Cup, Le Guen said.

We know that we’re not…

The England senior international team has been poor in last year.

The Three Lions cruised through the qualification for World 2010 but then simply didn’t show up for the tournament in South Africa.

England fans knew something needed to change and it has slightly but the results haven’t improved.

Weak

Quite frankly any other national team regarded as a top football national as England is would probably be cruising through this qualification group.

However England is making hard work of qualification. England is no longer a force in world football and that’s because the team has been allowed to get complacent.

Reputations

Players have just been picked on reputation, even though Fabio Capello promised to pick players on form. T…

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet has urged Connor Wickham to decide his own future.

Wickham, 21, joined Sunderland from Sheffield Wednesday for £8 million in 2011, but could leave the Stadium of Light on a free transfer in the summer, with the player s current deal set to expire on 30 June 2015.

However, a summer exit would give the Black Cats minimal compensation for Wickham, as Italian Serie A side Lazio continue to be linked with the 21-year-old striker.

Connor is still playing, there has been no ban, Poyet said. I ve not said if you don t sign you don t play.

There hasn’t been different treatment, but he needs to make a decision that’s best for his career. If he wants to go somewhere else and play in Europe, fine, that’s his decision.…

Garry Monk says Manchester City have the depth to cope with their significant list of absentees ahead of Saturday s clash with Swansea City.

The defending Premier League champions could be without four first-team regulars as they look to reverse a poor run of form at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.

Manuel Pellegrini s men have won just one of their last six matches in all competitions and were held to a 2-2 draw at lowly QPR prior to the international break.

The hosts who face Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday are likely to be without the injured Aleksandar Kolarov (ankle), while captain Vincent Kompany (calf), David Silva (knee) and Edin Dzeko (calf) are also doubtful.

However, Swansea boss Monk insists City have the squad to deal wi…

The clock is ticking for clubs across Europe looking to strengthen before the transfer window closes.

As the scramble for last-minute signings intensifies, there are several headline deals nearing completion and here are five of the biggest to keep an eye out for.

KYLIAN MBAPPE (MONACO TO PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN LOAN)

It has been a rapid rise to stardom for Kylian Mbappe, who is primed to swap Ligue 1 champions Monaco for runners-up Paris Saint-Germain.

The 18-year-old, who is also on Real Madrid s wish list, is set to join Neymar at the Parc des Princes in a loan deal that will be made permanent ahead of next season making the France international the world s second most expensive player behind the Brazilian.

Mbappe s rapid pace, smo…