Sports

Mesut Ozil has been frozen out at Arsenal and former manager Arsene Wenger described the situation as a waste for the midfielder and the club.

The German playmaker, now 31, joined in a then club-record deal from Real Madrid seven years ago, with Wenger saying Ozil possessed all the attributes I look for in an Arsenal player .

But his reputation has nosedived since that reported £42.5million move and Ozil was left out of Mikel Arteta s Europa League squad last week, underlining how isolated he now is at the Gunners.

Wenger, whose 22-year time at the helm ended in 2018, lamented the position Ozil finds himself in and urged the club to reconsider their approach.

  in 2013, became a Gunner  

— Arsenal (@Arsenal)

I feel it is a waste fo…

Bayern Munich moved level on points with Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund as they defeated Hertha Berlin 1-0 at the Allianz Arena.

With Dortmund not in action against Bayer Leverkusen until Sunday, the champions seized the opportunity to pile pressure onto their rivals despite a largely poor performance against Hertha.

The visitors carried the greater threat before Javi Martinez nodded Bayern in front just after the hour, settling nerves among the home supporters.

The final 30 minutes were still not wholly convincing, however, and long-suffering Bayern winger Kingsley Coman was dealt another injury blow, disappearing down the tunnel nine minutes after arriving from the bench.

A frustrating afternoon for a Hertha side who would have been good value for…

Nick Montgomery has challenged Hibernian to take a big step towards more cup glory by eliminating Aberdeen in Saturday’s Viaplay Cup semi-final.

The Hibees last won a trophy in 2016 when they claimed the Scottish Cup for the first time in 114 years, while they last got their hands on the League Cup in 2007.

Current left-back Lewis Stevenson, 35, was involved in both of those triumphs while club captain Paul Hanlon, 33, played in the most recent one.

Both players are in contention to start against the Dons this weekend as the Hibees bid to set up a final showdown with city rivals Hearts or Rangers.

“There’s a lot of history at the club,” said Montgomery. “The past is the past but there are some great memories there.

“Now there is an opp…

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel insisted the French giants have not achieved anything after boosting their Champions League qualification hopes by defeating Manchester United 3-1.

A Neymar brace and Marquinhos goal placed United s last-16 progression on hold, while putting last season s runners-up PSG in control of their own destiny heading into the sixth and final matchday in Group H.

Neymar opened the scoring inside six minutes at Old Trafford on Wednesday before United star Marcus Rashford scored in his third successive Champions League appearance against PSG.

After Anthony Martial wasted a gilt-edged opportunity and former PSG forward Edinson Cavani rattled the crossbar, it all went pear-shaped for United – who watched Marquinhos bundle the bal…

Bruno Fernandes believes Edinson Cavani s ability to smell the goal was behind his match-winning display in Manchester United s 3-2 victory over Southampton on Sunday.

United trailed at the break courtesy of goals from Jan Bednarek and James Ward-Prowse, but the half-time introduction of Cavani proved the catalyst for United s eighth successive away league win, a new club record.

The Uruguay international teed up Fernandes to halve the deficit in the 60th minute, the midfielder now the fourth United player to net in five consecutive Premier League away games, before Cavani erased Southampton s lead with a diving header from the Portugal international s deflected strike.

The striker completed the turnaround in the second minute of stoppage time, stooping to meet M…

Premier League football takes a back seat again for the best part of a fortnight now as the international break arrives, but the past weekend gave us plenty to chew on in the interim.

Liverpool and Manchester City played out a belter of a match at Anfield on Sunday, as Mohamed Salah shone yet again on English football s biggest stage.

That contest provided further evidence of the gap between those two and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s Manchester United, though Bruno Fernandes latest achievement suggests the Norwegian should be doing better given the talent at his disposal.

Below, Stats Perform looks at some of the quirky Opta facts from the weekend…

Salah a double threat

Sunday s 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield was utterly en…

Diogo Dalot admits Manchester United’s players cannot shirk responsibility for their shortcomings after an underwhelming second season under Erik ten Hag continued with Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.

United twice trailed at the Vitality Stadium and were fortunate to escape with a point following a poor first half in which the impressive hosts wasted a series of chances.

While Bruno Fernandes’ double prevented defeat in Dorset, Ten Hag’s seventh-placed side face an uphill task to secure European qualification and also avoid the club’s worst Premier League finish.

Defender Dalot believes battling back on the south coast was an encouraging sign but concedes the team have significant room for improvement going into their final six top-flight fixtures.<…

Market: Israel win

Odds: 2/5 @

Facing what looks set to be a crucial qualifying showdown on Tuesday night, Israel will welcome Belarus to Tel-Aviv.

Starting with the hosts, mounting what was a stellar second-half comeback away at Romania over the weekend, Israel will be desperate to use that gritty performance as a platform to build on here. While the Chosen Team might have opened their European Championship qualifying adventure earlier in the year tipped as an outside contender to find a route out of Group I, Alon Hazan’s side have certainly gained plenty of plaudits. Signing off June’s international break with a lively 2-1 win at home against Andorra, the midweek hosts have lost just one of their five qualifying appearances this year. Likewise, landing a 2…

Phil Neville has joined the coaching staff of the Canada national team just days after leaving his role with Inter Miami.

The 46-year-old will join up as part of John Herdman’s technical team alongside Richard Shaw, and the two new additions will be part of Canada’s plans for their CONCACAF Nations League finals in Las Vegas.

Neville was relieved of his duties with Inter Miami last week with the club sitting rock-bottom of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer, just days before Lionel Messi was announced as their new marquee signing.

Phil Neville and Richard Shaw joining Canada Soccer Men s National Team Coaching Staff

The two additions are effective immediately and will be part of Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team technical staff for t…

Substitute Bruno Petkovic scored and won a penalty in extra-time as Croatia secured a first Nations League final appearance with a 4-2 victory over the Netherlands in Rotterdam.

The Dinamo Zagreb striker was introduced at the start of the additional period – just seconds after the Dutch had snatched an equaliser in the sixth minute of added time – and delivered a game-changing performance.

Petkovic’s driving run and shot from 25 yards put Croatia in front again before the 28-year-old, who scored an extra-time equaliser in the World Cup quarter-final against Brazil, won a penalty for Luka Modric to make it 4-2.

He also had a second goal ruled out for offside by VAR seconds before the final whistle.

Croatia, who reached the 2018 World Cup final and fi…