Manchester United s 2-1 defeat at home to rock-bottom Sheffield United provided a stark warning to any Red Devils players who were potentially starting to believe the hype, but Saturday offers the chance to bounce back against an old rival and make club history.

In years gone by, United against Arsenal was arguably the most anticipated fixture in the Premier League calendar – two teams stacked with talent and fierce competitors, and led by two managerial greats.

While the outlook is perhaps a little different now to what it was at the height of the Arsene Wenger-Alex Ferguson rivalry, United head to Emirates Stadium aiming to break a record set by Fergie s greatest team.

Earlier this month, United s 2-1 win at Fulham extended their unbeaten Premier League awa…

Nicolas Pepe is playing his best football since arriving at Arsenal for a club-record fee in 2019 and has been challenged to maintain his form by Mikel Arteta.

Ivory Coast international Pepe struggled to  a regular place in the starting line-up after returning from a three-match Premier League ban for headbutting Ezgjan Alioski in a 0-0 draw at Leeds United in November.

He was restored to the first XI for the FA Cup fourth-round meeting with Southampton after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was ruled out for personal reasons and has started delivering the sort of performances that were expected following his £72million arrival from Lille 18 months ago.

Although Arsenal were beaten 1-0 by Southampton, Pepe had five chances created – two more than the rest of his te…

AFC Ajax attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen has refused to sign a new deal at the club, fueling speculation that he could be set to leave the Amsterdam Arena in the summer, .

Eriksen, 20, has been linked with a number of English Premier League clubs in recent months, including the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

The Denmark international joined Ajax on a two-and-a-half-year deal from Superligaen side Odense BK in a deal worth a €1 million in October 2008.

Eriksen, whose current contract expires in June 2014, has bagged nine goals and 13 assists in all competitions for Ajax this season.

The Danish Footballer of the Year has just turned down a proposed contract extension from Ajax, according…

World players’ union FIFPRO has called for FIFA to investigate Spanish football president Luis Rubiales after he kissed Jenni Hermoso in the aftermath of Sunday’s World Cup final.

Rubiales, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), kissed the forward on the lips during the medal ceremony following the team’s 1-0 win against England in Sydney.

FIFPRO’s call for action followed a statement from the Spanish players’ union on Tuesday that condemned such behaviour as “never appropriate or acceptable”, while United States winger Megan Rapinoe described the event as a “physical assault”.

statement on Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales:

— FIFPRO (@FIFPRO)

Rubiales, who has faced calls to resign,…

There can be no doubt Jorge Sampaoli is a more than credible candidate to be named 2015 FIFA Coach of the Year ahead of Barcelona s Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola of Bayern Munich.

The Chile coach saw his three years of hard labour at the helm pay dividends as he secured the nation s maiden senior international title, getting the best out of his players and guiding them to Copa America glory for the first time in the competition s 99-year-history.

True, Sampaoli had a number of factors in his favour: Chile were competing on home soil and could rely on the exceptionally strong spine of Claudio Bravo, Gary Medel, Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez, while Argentina went into the competition after failing to end a 21-year trophy drought with defeat to Germany in the 2014 Worl…

Niall Quinn has paid a touching tribute to Marton Fulop after the 32-year-old former Sunderland goalkeeper died after losing his battle with cancer.

Fulop had a tumour removed from his arm in 2013 but succumbed to the serious illness on Thursday.

The former Hungary international played 44 matches for Sunderland between 2006 and 2010, and helped the club achieve promotion to the Premier League in 2007.

Former Sunderland chairman Quinn has fond memories of Fulop, who also featured for Leicester City, Manchester City, Ipswich and West Brom.

Marton was a most beautiful man who brought nothing but joy and a big, radiant smile into the Sunderland dressing room, Quinn told Sky Sports News.

The news is so tragic. He has a beautiful family as well, and …

Italy international Fabio Quagliarella has signed a new contract with Sampdoria, the Serie A club have announced.

The veteran s deal runs until June 2021, by which point Quagliarella will be 38.

He joined Samp for a second spell in 2016 and has made a combined 184 appearances for the club across the two stints, scoring 78 times.

Former Torino, Napoli and Juventus striker Quagliarella was top scorer in Serie A last year for the first time in his career, beating Duvan Zapata, Krzysztof Piatek and Cristiano Ronaldo with his 26 goals.

That form led to him winning a recall to the Italy team in March, when he won his first cap in nine years.

He became Italy s oldest scorer later that month when he netted against Liechtenstein at the age of 36 years and…

Juventus chief executive Beppe Marotta believes Massimiliano Allegri will continue as head coach of the Serie A champions.

Allegri completed a fourth domestic double in as many seasons in Turin, with Sunday s goalless draw against Roma sealing a seventh straight Scudetto overall for the Bianconeri.

The 50-year-old has been touted as a frontrunner for the vacancy created by Arsene Wenger s departure from Arsenal but told a post-match news conference at the weekend that he would only leave the Allianz Stadium if the Juve board sacked him.

Given remarks made by Marotta to Gazzetta dello Sport, this turn of events seems somewhat unlikely.

We will have a discussion with him in the coming days, it also depends on his feeling and evaluations. On our part there…

Everton s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri believes managing the Toffees is one of the most difficult jobs in football.

Carlo Ancelotti s appointment as Everton s new boss was confirmed on Saturday, before interim manager Duncan Ferguson secured a goalless draw with Arsenal in his final match in charge.

Ancelotti was unveiled to the media on Monday, having taken over with Everton sitting just four points above the relegation zone a fortnight after Marco Silva was sacked.

Moshiri knows the Italian has a tough task on his hands, but believes Ancelotti s experience gives him the ability to cope with the expectations at Goodison Park.

Everton is a very difficult job, because you are two home losses from being disowned by the fans, Moshiri, who invested i…

Brazil coach Tite says star player Neymar would never be left out of one of his squads as long as he was fit to feature.

Neymar was not involved for Paris Saint-Germain in their opening Ligue 1 fixture of the season against Nimes as speculation continues over his future.

Barcelona have long been linked with a move for their former forward, with reports this week claiming PSG have turned down a bid from the Catalan giants, as well as their LaLiga rivals Real Madrid.

PSG paid a world record €222million to sign Neymar from Barca in 2017 but his time in Paris has been blighted by injuries while team-mate Kylian Mbappe has become a key figure for Thomas Tuchel s side.

Neymar suffered a blow at the end of last season when, after recovering from a foot problem…