I Love Football

Premier League side Arsenal have lost the qualification spot for the UEFA Champions League despite defeating Everton 3-1 in the final game of the season.

The Gunners finished fifth as Liverpool, who were a point ahead of them, won their last game as well.

This would be the first time long-time manager Arsene Wenger would have to play in the Europa League as he has consistently helped the team to the elite tournament in twenty years. Liverpool defeated already relegated side Middlesbrough 3-0 to seal their qualification hopes.

Antonio Conte has backed striker Diego Costa to come good when he comes against his Premier league rival Romelu Lukaku in the weekend's game against Everton.

Both strikers have been fighting for top spot in the goalscoring charts, but Lukaku has been able to get an edge in race over the last few weeks due to a combination of good form and Costa being unable to produce the goods. The Spanish striker went through a goalscoring drought which saw him fail to score in five consecutive league games. However, he was able to end the drought in emphatic fashion after scoring twice against Southampton in 4-2 win.

It was all gloom last season when Newcastle United wererelegated from the Premier League.

The brilliant Rafa Benitez came in too late and he could not stop them from sinking. This term, the Magpiesfans would have something to cheer up on as the team have been impressive. The battle is far from over as Brighton & Hove Albion want the title but it has been a successful sojourn in the English Championship.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino fears that striker Harry Kane could be set for a similar spell on the sidelines, just as he did in the first half of the campaign.

The club sorely missed the presence of the England international back then. The inability for his replacement Vincent Janssen to come up with the goals meant that Tottenham went through a barren run of form during that period. There is a danger of the same repeating, as Kane had to go off the game against Millwall with what appeared to be a serious injury. He was seen leaving the stadium – after the 6-0 victory – in crutches.

Nottingham Forest is considering the sale of Denmark international striker, Nicklas Bendtner.

The striker joined Forests as a free agent last summer on his release by Wolfsburg, but his inability to have an impact and been considered surplus to requirements in the City ground has left club fans unimpressed .

Leicester City have issued a statement backing manager Claudio Ranieri with unwavering support.

After winning the league title last season in quite incredible fashion, the club are back near the bottom of the table. Even though Lester did expect a tough campaign after having won the title, Ranieri would not have imagined a relegation battle. At the start of the campaign, the Italian focused heavily on the Champions League and this led to a dip in the league form – even though the club did qualify for the knockout stages of the European competition.

Ahead of their second Group A clash against Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday, head coach of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, Hugo Broos spoke at length before the start of the African Cup of Nations of the fact that there are no more minnows in the competition; this is something the team has to bear in mind going into the game.

Both sides played a 1-1 draw in their opening fixtures on Saturday, with Guinea-Bissau holding host, Gabo and the indomitable Lions letting a lead slip off their hands against the Burkinabe.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson believes that it will not be long before striker Daniel Sturridge hits top form and reclaims his first-team spot. Sturridge was a £ 12 million signing from Chelsea back in January 2013.

He formed a deadly partnership with striker Luis Suarez during the club’s incredible campaign in which they finished runners-up to Manchester City a few years ago. Since the arrival of JurgenKlopp, though, Sturridge has struggled for first-team opportunities. He certainly did not help his case by being injured for much of last season.

Former Spurs player Paul Stewart has said that the number of sexual abuse victims within football could reach its hundreds.

Stewart, who says he was abused by a coach whilst he was a boy for four years, has sensationally disclosed that the sport could face hundreds of allegations on the scale of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

Interim manager of the Three Lions Gareth Southgate has asked that the Football Association take one month to decide his future with the team.

There have been rumours that Southgate might not get the role, but since he has lived to the standards the FA wanted, the manager has called that the FA decide his future within a month.