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    Ray Parlour snubs Zinchenko and Jesus as he names shock Arsenal transfer signing of the season

    RAY PARLOUR has named his candidate for Arsenal’s signing of the season – and it’s not Gabriel Jesus or Oleksandr Zinchenko.The Gunners spent the 2022-23 campaign embroiled in a Premier League title race with eventual champions Manchester City.
    Parlour has named a shock candidate for his signing of the seasonCredit: The Sun
    The Arsenal legend has named Jorginho as the club’s best new additionCredit: Getty
    Despite leading the table for over 90 per cent of the season, Mikel Arteta’s side fell short with one game to play.
    But Parlour, who made 447 appearances for Arsenal between 1992 and 2004, has praised the Gunners for their impressive effort.
    In an interview with The Metro, the former midfielder hailed Bukayo Saka as Arsenal’s young player of the season, Martin Odegaard as the club’s player of the season, Gabriel Martinelli as the most improved player of the season and Ben White as the unsung hero.
    But when naming his signing of the season, he opted for a shock candidate.
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    Parlour chose Jorginho, who joined the club in January, as his most favoured addition.
    He said: “Jorginho has done a good job in midfield. He’s got good experience for the money [Arsenal paid].
    “I’m going off the value of the players signed. Trossard has also been an excellent signing. Jesus leads the line very well.
    “But probably for the money they spent and the experience they got, which they needed, as well as a back-up in midfield, I would go for Jorginho. For the last two or three games he has been really good.
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    “You can’t buy experience. He knows what needs to be done to win trophies. Zinchenko has been excellent as well.”
    Jorginho joined Arsenal in a £12million transfer from Chelsea on deadline day in January.
    He has since made 16 appearances for the Gunners. More

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    How Premier League table would have looked without VAR with HUGE change to European places

    BRENTFORD would have take Aston Villa’s Conference League place without VAR this season.But despite a campaign of big calls and some controversy, none of the other key positions at either end of the table have been altered because of the technology.
    There would only be a few changes to the Premier League table without VAR
    Brentford would have qualified for Europe without VARCredit: Getty
    Aston Villa pipped Brentford and Tottenham to a Europa Conference League placeCredit: Alamy
    SunSport has tracked every decision changed after VAR intervention this season – 114 in total – and worked out the results of the match if the original decisions had stood.
    That included 54 goals disallowed – including 36 for offside calls – and just 13 goals awarded, while 27 spot kicks were given and 12 penalties annulled.
    Our study shows Newcastle had both the most VAR decisions FOR and AGAINST them – 11 of each.
    Five teams – Chelsea, Everton, Leeds, Manchester City and Southampton – all benefited from VAR overturns on just three occasions, while Fulham had only two changed decisions against them.
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    But our analysis shows that the changes only marginally affected the final standings after the 380 matches played between August and Sunday.
    The top four would still have finished in the same order, although City would have won the league by 12 points rather than five.
    Brighton, earning two points more, would leapfrog Liverpool – six points fewer – into fifth although both would still be in the Europa League spots.
    But Brentford would have been two points better off and seventh as Aston Villa were a staggering 11 points better off as a result of changed decisions.
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    Indeed, had Deniz Undav’s first “goal” at Villa Park on Sunday not been ruled out for an offside call, Spurs would have finished seventh in the actual table.
    Further down the league, the non-VAR table sees Chelsea and Crystal Palace swap places in 11th and 12th and Nottingham Forest going above West Ham and Bournemouth into 14th.
    Yet while the bottom four would all have earned more points – five in the case of relegated Leeds – the finishing positions would have remained exactly the same, with Everton staying up by a single point rather than the two point gap in the official standings. More

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    Liverpool ‘to sign long-term Arsenal and Man Utd target in shockingly low transfer deal with contract expiring’

    LIVERPOOL could attempt to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio this summer, according to reports.Jurgen Klopp is determined to strengthen his midfield when the transfer window opens next month.
    Liverpool want to sign Milinkovic-SavicCredit: Reuters
    And Milinkovic-Savic, 28, has emerged as a key transfer target.
    According to Italian outlet CalcioMercato, the Reds could sign the Serbia international for as little as £22.5million this summer.
    Milinkovic-Savic will enter the final year of his contract in June and he is not expected to renew.
    Lazio are willing to let him go this summer in order to avoid losing him for free in 2024.
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    And Liverpool believe he could play an integral role in the squad next season.
    The midfielder has scored 11 goals and assisted eight for Lazio this season.
    He is also on the verge of helping the club to an impressive second-place finish in Serie A.
    The Reds have also been linked with Alexis Mac Allister, Mason Mount and Matheus Nunes.
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    But Klopp recently revealed that he is seeking reinforcements in all areas of the pitch.
    Earlier this month, he said: “We look in all departments apart from goalkeeper at the moment.
    “Yes, if there is a good one (defender) out there, I would not deny it. That’s all. We look at all areas of the pitch, definitely.” More

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    Huge mural of Jack Grealish scoffing fast food appears on side of chippy but fans say ‘he’s only been there two minutes’

    JACK GREALISH is scoffing fish and chips in a new mural in Manchester.But fans joked it was a bit premature because “he’s only been there two minutes”.
    Jack Grealish is joined by Ederson and Esme Morgan in the fish and chip shop muralCredit: Cavendish
    The playmaker is delighted by the artwork but fans gave him some banterCredit: Instagram / @jackgrealish
    A chippy shop on Maine Road, right outside the Etihad Stadium, has been painted on the side as part of an ad campaign for the new Puma home kit.
    A smiling Grealish, 27, features holding a bowl of chips with one in his hand ready to be eaten.
    Goalkeeper Ederson is on hand with his gloves on and ready to pour vinegar over City Women’s ace Esme Morgan’s chips.
    The artwork initially had the trio in blank shirts – but has now been updated to include the 2023-24 kit.
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    Grealish, who arrived from Aston Villa for a record £100million in 2021, was delighted to be included and took to Instagram to share his “love” for the painting.
    But a few fans could not resist a cheeky dig at the playmaker.
    One said: “Truly the end of times.”
    Another wrote: “Grealish has only been there for two minutes and already has a mural.”
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    A third joked: “I’d be careful walking past that wall. One slight breeze and that Grealish mural will crumble to the ground.”
    Grealish has endeared himself to the City fans in particular since the World Cup with his red-hot form.
    He has contributed four goals and 11 assists after Qatar 2022 to help fire Pep Guardiola’s side towards the Treble.
    They wrapped up the Premier League title – prompting Erling Haaland to declare to Grealish: “I f***ing love you, you know that.”
    Others joked he looked a little worse for wear on his BeReal the day after celebrating his second Prem crown.
    Grealish can add the FA Cup against rivals Manchester United on Saturday, a week before taking on Inter in the Champions League final. More

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    Shocking moment thug knocks out man as football fans brawl outside stadium after Leicester vs West Ham game

    THIS is the shocking moment that a fan knocks a man out with a brutal head kick as football fans brawl outside a stadium.The horror clip, shared on Twitter, is believed to have been filmed near Leicester City’s King Power Stadium after the club’s 2-1 win against West Ham.
    Footage of a brawl believed to be between Leicester and West Ham fans was posted to social mediaCredit: GruppaOF
    The fight allegedly took place after Leicester City’s relegationCredit: GruppaOF
    One thug caught a downed man with a vicious head kickCredit: GruppaOF
    It shows a crowd of men throwing punches in the road as opposing fans clashed.
    One man appears to have lost his footing as he lies prone on a zebra crossing.
    As he comes to his hands and knees to get up, a brute launches a vicious punt at his skull.
    It finds its mark and the defenseless man is knocked out cold, with his head bouncing off the tarmac with a sickening crack as he crumples.

    Two fellow fans try and lift him to drag him out of harm’s way, but his body hangs lifelessly as his head droops limply forward.
    The fight continues as the men can be heard shouting at each other, thought it is not clear what they are saying.
    The user who posted the video claims to be the account of Gruppa OF and refers to the organisation as the “#1 hooligan group in the world”.
    They caption the post with the date and the phrase: “Leicester win. 1 West Ham KO.”
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    The footage prompted outrage in the comments.
    One social media user wrote: “Attempted murder that – jail time.”
    Another fumed: “Booting a man in the head and then running away. Cowardly.”
    Despite their win, Leicester were relegated to the Championship yesterday as Everton stayed up on a dramatic final day of Premier League action.
    Manager Dean Smith is reportedly set for talks with the club’s board over his future after only being appointed as caretaker coach in April.
    Leicestershire Police and East Midlands Ambulance Service have been contacted for comment.
    The man crumpled after the blow was struckCredit: GruppaOF
    The footage was posted to social media on a page claiming to represent a hooligan groupCredit: GruppaOF
    The unconscious man was dead weight as two others tried to drag him out of harm’s wayCredit: GruppaOF More

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    Chelsea appoint Mauricio Pochettino as new manager as owner Todd Boehly expresses delight with ‘thoughtful process’

    CHELSEA have finally announced Mauricio Pochettino as the club’s new manager.The former Tottenham manager has been locked in talks with owner Todd Boehly as the West London club searched for Graham Potter’s replacement.
    Mauricio Pochettino has been confirmed as Chelsea’s new managerCredit: PA
    Mauricio Pochettino has managed four clubs
    A verbal agreement was struck at the end of April, and now the Blues have confirmed the 51-year-old as boss.
    Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, Chelsea’s co-sporting directors, said: “Mauricio’s experience, standards of excellence, leadership qualities and character will serve Chelsea Football Club well as we move forward.
    “He is a winning coach, who has worked at the highest levels, in multiple leagues and languages.
    “His ethos, tactical approach and commitment to development all made him the exceptional candidate.”
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    Owners Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, José E. Feliciano, Mark Walter and Hansjörg Wyss added: “The sporting team conducted a diligent and thoughtful process that the Board is proud of.
    “We are delighted that Mauricio will be joining Chelsea. Mauricio is a world-class coach with an outstanding track record.
    “We are all looking forward to having him on board.”
    Pochettino had been out of work since leaving Paris Saint-Germain last summer.
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    He is one of the most successful and popular managers in recent times at Spurs, Chelsea’s bitter London rivals, despite failing to win a trophy with the club.
    He averaged 1.89 points per game – the most for any Tottenham boss in Premier League history with a minimum of 38 Premier League games in charge.
    The ex-Southampton chief capped off his five-year stint at White Hart Lane by leading Spurs to the 2019 Champions League final, where they lost to Liverpool.
    But he was sacked just months later following a poor start to the next campaign before eventually taking over at PSG in January 2021, winning the Coupe de France and Ligue 1 prior to his departure.
    Potter was sacked by Chelsea in April despite being hired on a five-year deal worth £12m-a-year.
    He was appointed after Boehly sacked Champions League-winning manager Thomas Tuchel following a poor start to the season.
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    Potter won seven of his 22 Premier League matches in charge of the club, drew seven and lost eight.
    Chelsea are in a mess after Boehly splashed out £330m on new signings in January, taking their total spending this season well clear of £600m.
    Interim boss Frank Lampard won just one match in charge of the Blues as they ended the season 12th with their lowest ever Premier League points total.
    THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY…The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheSunFootball and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball. More

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    Sky Sports pundits predict which of Leicester, Leeds and Southampton most likely to make immediate Premier League return

    THE Sky Sports pundits have predicted which of the relegated clubs are most likely to make an immediate return to the Premier League.Leicester and Leeds followed Southampton into the Championship on a dramatic and heartbreaking final day of the season.
    Roy Keane, Micah Richards and Jamie Carragher had their say on the relegated clubsCredit: Twitter / @SkySportsPL
    There could be wholesale changes at Leicester over the summerCredit: AFP
    Southampton, Leeds, Leciester… Which club is most likely to bounce straight back up to the Premier League? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/CCWBO1maRp— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 28, 2023

    Sam Allardyce’s side were comprehensively beaten 4-1 by Tottenham.
    Leicester were safe in the live table when Harvey Barnes fired them in front at home to West Ham.
    But Abdoulaye Doucoure’s sweet strike rescued Everton, despite the Foxes holding on to take all three points against the Hammers.
    And now the three crushed sides all face a return to the second tier – with Roy Keane, Micah Richards and Jamie Carragher unconvinced there is a standout candidate to jump straight back up again.
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    Richards said: “It’s hard. I mean probably Leices… it depends who they keep, who stays and who goes.
    “We always talk about Southampton being a stable club, the way they recruited and brought players in then sell them on.
    “So you would stay Southampton are quite stable. It’s an open-ended question.”
    Keane seemed to suggest Leeds’ managerial situation could be problematic – with Allardyce set to leave Elland Road after his brief and unsuccessful four-match stint.
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    It is a similar situation at Leicester with Dean Smith brought in for the final eight games of the season but unable to retain the Foxes’ top-flight status.
    Carragher agreed, and referenced the fact that Saints have already lined up Russell Martin from Swansea to take over at St Mary’s.
    The ex-Liverpool defender added: “Southampton, even before the last game, know who their manager is next season, they’ve brought in Russell Martin straight away.
    “It will be really interesting how long Leeds or Leicester actually take to appoint a new manager or whether these managers that are there stay on.
    “Dean Smith said he’s not quite sure if he’s going to be there or not.
    “I think they’ve got to be really decisive and announce that in the next week or so.”
    KING POWER SHIFT
    Of the three relegated teams, Leicester are set to see their expensively-assembled and highly-paid squad decimated the most.
    Youri Tielemans and Caglar Soyuncu are two of the seven players out of contract this summer who look set to walk away for free.
    James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Wilfried Ndidi and Timothy Castagne are all expected to be sold, too.
    Fans on Twitter also shared their views in the replies.
    One said: “Southampton will come back fairly easily as they have planned for this. Leeds might come up as their squad is full of Championship players, Leicester have a bigger issue as there will be a huge exodus in the summer.”
    Another wrote: “Can’t see Southampton losing many players this summer. Leeds will lose players and Leicester might lose a good 40 per cent of the first team. Southampton might have the better chance to come back up.”
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    A third added: “Both Leeds and Leicester to bounce back, I have that hope.”
    But a final user commented: “I truly think none of the three will come back up immediately.”
    Sam Allardyce was unable to keep Leeds in the Premier LeagueCredit: Getty
    Southampton could keep a settled squad to mount a promotion chargeCredit: Getty More

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    Arsenal’s pot for their Champions League return CONFIRMED… thanks to goal from their former star Olivier Giroud

    OLIVIER GIROUD may have left Arsenal in 2018 but his latest goal for AC Milan helped out his former club.Giroud was on target as AC Milan beat Juventus 1-0 – a result that secured his side Champions League football next season and means Juve cannot qualify.
    Giroud’s goal for AC Milan helped his former side Arsenal outCredit: Getty
    Mikel Arteta’s side have now been confirmed in Pot two for the Champions League drawCredit: Getty
    As a result, Arsenal’s chances of having a successful return to the competition have been boosted as they will now be in Pot Two for the draw.
    Uefa use their coefficient system to determine the seedings for European competition with the Gunners sitting 23rd.
    It looked like the Gunners were going to be in Pot Three and potentially be drawn in a group of death.
    But, with Juventus failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League Mikel Arteta’s side’s place in Pot Two was confirmed.

    The Italian giants were eighth in the coefficient rankings but fortunately for Arsenal they missed out – with a 10 point deduction in Serie A playing a huge part.
    By being in Pot Two it now means that Arsenal can only face one of Europe’s big hitters in the group stage.
    As of now, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica and Feyenoord could all be visiting the Emirates, as well as the winners of the Europa League out of Roma and Sevilla.
    Giroud could make a return to north London as AC Milan sit in Pot Three thanks to their win over Juventus.
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    The Frenchman joined Arsenal from French side Montpellier in 2012 and made 180 appearances for the club, scoring 73 goals in the process.
    The 36-year-old joined London rivals Chelsea where he won the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup.
    He joined Milan in 2021 and has so far scored 23 goals in 61 appearances, winning Serie A in the process.
    Arsenal have been out of the Champions League for six years and fans can now once again be excited to compete in the biggest competition in club football. More