Soccer world reacts to Leicester´s remarkable Premier League title

Thierry Henry has reportedly agreed in principle to return to Arsenal on loan from New York Red Bulls in January.

Arsenal are aiming for their all-time leading goal-scorer to begin his second loan in consecutive seasons on January 1.

Henry is understood to have told Arsenal he wants to return to the Emirates Stadium and the club are now thrashing out a temporary agreement with the Red Bulls.

The key sticking point is the length of the loan, with Arsene Wenger keen to have the 35-year-old for as long as possible.

The MLS club have reportedly given the go-ahead for Henry to join for a similar six-week period to last season but they are reluctant for the Frenchman to be allowed an extension to his stay much beyond mid-February.

Henry is due back in …

It doesn t say much for the Bundesliga defenders that Luca Toni and Mario Gomez accrued 40 goals between them last season and yet when they got to Euro 2008 their return was zero.

Toni had a pretty thankless task ploughing a lonely furrow up front for world champions Italy, with neither veteran Alessandro del Piero nor Antonio Cassano capable of providing much support his only moment of note was being brought down by Eric Abidal in their final group match against France leading to a penalty.

The poor fellow was so distraught at his predicament that he got in touch with Bayern Munich strike partner Miroslav Klose.

I had a text after the Portugal game (Germany s 3-2 win in the quarter-finals), he (Toni) told me he has a problem with his best friend and asked me…

Nottingham Forest have announced the appointment of Alex McLeish as their new manager.

After the surprise departure of Sean O Driscoll following Forest s 4-2 win over Leeds on Saturday, the club have moved swiftly to appoint the former Aston Villa, Birmingham City and Scotland manager, despite speculation linking the club with Roy Keane and Roberto Di Matteo.

Chairman Fawaz Al-Hasawi hailed the appointment, saying he was delighted to welcome McLeish to the City Ground.

I m delighted to welcome Alex to our club and look forward to working with him, the Forest owner told the club s website.

Alex took Birmingham to promotion from the Championship and has great experience of working in the Premier League.

He’s hungry for more success and I beli…

CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs has named the fourth clubs where Roberto Firmino could go after leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, as quoted in .

Despite having the option to stay at Liverpool, the Brazil international froward has decided to part ways in the summer transfer window when he will become a free agent.

Jacobs said: “Liverpool wanted Firmino to extend, but he was intent on taking his time and highly appreciative of the fact Liverpool didn’t put pressure on him for an answer. It wasn’t an easy decision.

“My understanding is Firmino now sees the array of the forwards at the club and decided a new challenge is best because he has a strong appetite to be starting the majority of games.

“Al-Nassr are interested and are also look…

UEFA has opened an investigation into the Champions League qualifying second leg between Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kyiv, during which fans of the Turkish club seemed to chant the name of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Russia s invasion of Ukraine began in February and has resulted in thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions.

Dynamo boss Mircea Lucescu boycotted the post-match news conference in protest, with the chants arriving after Oleksandr Karavayev scoring what turned out to be the winner for the Ukrainian side in the second leg in Istanbul, which finished 2-1 on the night and on aggregate.

According to Ukrainian news outlet Expres, Lucescu told broadcasters: We cannot accept the behaviour of the fans. I did not expect such chants. It is a pity…

Celtic have seen a £2m bid for Scott Sinclair rejected by Aston Villa, .

The Scottish Premiership champions announced Brendan Rodgers as their new manager last month, and the Northern Irishman is keen on reuniting with the winger who he worked with at Swansea City.

However Villa, who were relegated to the Championship at the end of last season dismissed the Bhoys’ offer as unacceptable with the Midlands club looking to secure and immediate return to the top flight.

Sinclair moved to Villa Park, initially on loan from Manchester City in January 2015 and has so far racked up thirty-nine appearances in all competitions, scoring nine goals.

Prior to his move to the Claret and Blues, he had a loan spell with West Bromwich Albion while he has also turne…

Spanish international Santi Cazorla, who was being chased by Real Madrid, has renewed his contract with Villarreal, Spanish media reported on Wednesday citing his agent.

Real had offered to pay the 23-year-old player s buyout clause of 16 million euros (23.6 million dollars) but Villarreal demanded 28 million euros for the attacking midfielder, news radio Cadena Ser reported.

Talks between the two clubs reportedly broke down on Tuesday night.

Cazorla, who helped lead Spain to victory at Euro 2008, then signed a new contract with Villarreal, Marca quoted his agent Julio Llorente as saying.

The player and Villarreal president Fernando Ruig will appear at a press conference later on Wednesday, the club said on its website.

…

France were outplayed 3-1 by little Austria, just 101st in the world, for a catastrophic start to their 2010 World Cup campaign to throw up further questions marks over coach Raymond Domenech.

The 2006 World Cup finalists had a terrible Euro 2008, losing in the group phase, and this Group Seven result will further weaken the position of Domenech.

Goals by Marc Janko and Rene Aufhauser before the break put the hosts firmly in front but Sidney Govou got one back for France on the hour.

A converted penalty by Andreas Ivanschitz in the 72nd minute finished off the scoring and France s fate.

The French football federation will surely be keenly expecting a better result against Serbia on Wednesday at the Stade de France and against Romania on October 11.

Shkodran Mustafi insists he is not perturbed by criticism of Arsenal s defence, although he feels their work should be given more credit.

The Gunners have enjoyed a largely encouraging first season under Unai Emery, but their defending continues to be the subject of scrutiny.

They conceded 51 goals in the Premier League in 2018-19 more than all but two of the teams in the top 10 as they ended the campaign in fifth place.

Mustafi in particular has been criticised for his performances at times this term, but the centre-back says amassing 70 points from 38 games proves Arsenal have defensive quality.

It is not getting to me because our job as defenders is to try not to concede goals, but if you make 90 per cent of your job and in the 10 per cent the opponen…

Besiktas will need a miracle to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals at Bayern Munich s expense, says Hamit Altintop.

The Super Lig champions surprisingly topped their pool with four wins and two draws against Porto, RB Leipzig and pre-tournament favourites in Group G Monaco.

Besiktas were seeded for the last 16 but drew the short straw against the runaway Bundesliga leaders, who finished second behind Paris Saint-Germain in Group B.

Former Bayern and Turkey midfielder Altintop believes Besiktas have the requisite skill to compete in the Champions League, but expects the greater continental experience at Jupp Heynckes disposal to prove too much.

Bayern v Besiktas

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague)

Besiktas style is …