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PSG chairman Nasser al-Khelaifi has claimed that Manchester City striker demanded too higher wages when offered a chance to move to France and that is what prevented the deal going through, according to Sky Sports News.

Tevez was seemingly on his way out of the Etihad last season but seems to have put his differences aside with boss Roberto Mancini and has started the season well, but it could have been very different according to Al Khelaifi.

“If the transfer was not sorted out, it was not because he didn’t want to come, but because we didn’t accept his wage demands,” Al-Khelaifi told Germany’s Sportbild.

“He wanted to come. We don’t pay too big wages to our players. Last winter Carlos Tevez asked too much and didn’t match the club’s philosophy. So we refused.”

Despite being one of the richest clubs in the world, Al-Khelaifi is refusing to simply throw money at players just to make them come to Paris and Tevez would not get his own way.

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“We take big care of our expenses. For example, Thiago Silva does not earn one more cent than what he earned at AC Milan. To me, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the best forward in the world,” the chairman added.

History has told us that Arsene Wenger is always the first one to air his grievances with the international fixture list after one of his players returns to the Emirates Stadium carrying an injury after representing his country. But on this occasion the Frenchman has barely made a peep after his globetrotting brood returned to North London unscathed. Wenger was even the recipient of good news for a change as Jack Wilshere completed the full 90 minutes for the reserves on Wednesday after spending the last 14 months on the sidelines with niggling ankle and knee problems. The Gunners have undoubtedly enjoyed one their best starts to a season in recent memory and the return of Wilshere to the first team fold will serve as an immeasurable boost to Wenger as he prepares his side for the most brutal period on the football calendar

This week on FFC would Theo Walcott be better deployed in his favoured striking position and could the Gunners be about to miss out on one of their priority targets in January?

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Best of FFC

Is Alex Song’s Barcelona career showing that Arsenal really didn’t need him?

Have Arsenal finally sorted the problem out?

Liverpool and Arsenal face £15m transfer battle

Why Wenger can tip the fine margins in the January window

Accusing the likes of Arsenal is simply ‘double standards’

The ideal role for Theo Walcott

Does Santi Cazorla provide more than he ever did?

Arsenal Step Up Interest In £15m Atletico striker

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Best of WEB

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Confidence Is A Brittle Thing – A Cultured Left Foot

The future’s bright – the future’s red and white! – Gunnersphere

Three is a Magic Number – Online Gooner

Who should spearhead our attack? – Gunnersphere

Interlull from afar and selection conundraaaa – Arseblog

Will the penny ever drop Arsenal? Fans actually do make the difference. – Le Grove

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Experienced Players, or Project Youth, which comes out the real winner? – Highbury House

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Quote of the Week

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“In October the moment of truth starts for the team. The league establishes itself a little bit and the Champions League goes to decisive moments. Therefore of course, it’s important to be decisive and convincing. The target is always the same [after an international break]. When they come back, we want to quickly focus on our own targets again and get the team back mentally on our next game. I believe that we’ll work and the team, after our last performance at West Ham (a 3-1 win), will want to continue the good run and focus well.” Arsene Wenger believes the ‘moment of truth’ in Arsenal’s season is nigh

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Featured Video

Everton striker Kevin Mirallas believes the return of influential midfielder Marouane Fellaini could provide a psychological blow ahead of the Merseyside derby.

The Belgium international has been battling against a knee injury he picked up while on international duty earlier in the month.

The midfielder, who has been a key ingredient in the success that David Moyes and Everton have enjoyed so far this Premier League season, missed the 1-1 draw against QPR, as well as Belgium’s games against Serbia and Scotland.

The 24-year-old has responded positively to his treatment and is expected to make the line-up for the 219th Merseyside derby when Liverpool and Everton lock horns at Anfield at the weekend.

Mirallas is convinced that just the sight of his countryman in the starting XI will provide everybody in blue a mental boost.

“I think he will be playing on Sunday,” Mirallas told the Liverpool Daily Post.

“He is a fantastic player and when he’s not there it’s harder for the team to get good results.

“It’s also good to have Marouane available because he is scary for the other team. People in the opposition fear him. It will be really important for him to play. He would be a psychological asset.”

The clash however will have come too early for Darron Gibson who has also been struggling with injury and has been out since the beginning of September.

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Tony Hibbert is one player who should make the squad after beating his battle with injury. The defender has been out of action since last month’s game against Newcastle and yesterday made a return in the under-21 side.

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It is fair to say that it is hard to imagine a worse time to be a referee, particularly in the Premier League goldfish bowl.

The latest allegations of racial abuse now concern a man in the middle, Mark Clattenburg; and relates to ‘inappropriate language’ used against John Obi Mikel in Chelsea’s league defeat to Manchester United on 28th October.

It remains to be seen whether Clattenburg is found guilty of this accusation, one which he strongly denies. If he is found guilty, then he deserves to be punished, but if found innocent, you have to wonder what basis these allegations were made from; and whether it is yet another example of referees being victimised for making the odd poor decision.

This has even led to suggestions of referees boycotting Chelsea matches in fear of being reprimanded of a similar offence- a sad state of affairs indeed.

But at least managers are now seeing how tough a referee’s job is in such high profile circumstances, but that does not stop their credibility being questioned on a regular basis.

A referee will be abused on countless occasions during a football match, with abuse coming from both sets of players and supporters. Can you imagine a referee complaining to the PFA every time a player used inappropriate language against him?

We all know the answer and it has reportedly left many officials feeling sad and disillusioned without any backing or support from the footballing authorities.

Finding a solution to prevent abuse from both sides may be difficult, but football could follow on from the example in Rugby; where referees wear microphones that broadcast the conversations between player and official to the audience.

Former England Rugby Union international, Brian Moore believes this will help to limit the abuse coming from both sides and clean up football’s image- thus limiting the number of Clattenburg type incidents from occurring in the future.

Many say football would never consider implementing such a system, but it would be intriguing to see how it could work in practice; and could be the answer in helping football to clean up its act.

My interpretation is that the Clattenburg incident has brought light to the topic of abuse in football; and that the use of inappropriate language against anyone, particularly of a racist nature has no place in the game.

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But there needs to be a level playing field where referees feel just as entitled as a player to make a complaint regarding abuse.

Football’s main authorities need to readdress initiatives like the respect campaign and ensure there is more balance to accusations of this nature and that referees do not feel like scapegoats.

You can follow me on twitter: @JamesHilsum

Arsenal have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Hamburg striker Son Heung-Min, after the club declared that the youngster will be staying put.

The Premier League giants are said to be tracking the South Korean, who has gained a reputation as a prolific goal scorer in the Bundesliga.

Despite speculation that he may be on the move, the club’s sporting director Frank Arnesen has insisted that the attacker is not for sale:

“He is a real poacher. Chance, boom, goal,” he told Hamburger Abendblatt.

“He is one of our key players for the future. Our pain barrier concerning Son is gigantic.

“We do not want to give away players who make us better, under no circumstances.”

The 20-year-old also insisted that he is happy to stay in Germany:

“(I feel) very, very comfortable (at Hamburg). The city is amazing and the fans are really terrific,

“I still have a contract until 2014 and I have to talk about it with my dad and my agent.”

Liverpool are also believed to be monitoring the situation.

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Heung-Min moved to Hamburg in 2008 from his homeland and broke into the first-team last season.

His good form has led to him becoming a part of the South Korean national set-up, for whom he has made nine appearances.

Source – Sky Sports

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has revealed that he has funds available for the January transfer window and that he expects to sign two permanent players, as reported by the Telegraph.

Wenger is usually coy about any transfer dealings but he seems confident in bringing new faces to the club and possibly one old face too.

“This winter we will work very hard because we have some funds available,” Wenger told French television station Bein Sport.

“It could happen that we buy two players, but I cannot reveal the names.”

“A loan [for Henry] is still a possibility, but we will still try to strengthen for the long term.

“Henry is the talent that you dream to have. He has fantastic physique, fantastic technique, a fantastic brain, all built together in one man.

“At the start he was not confident enough but he has gone on to show what a great player he is.”

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Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers will not lose his job, even if the club fail to beat QPR on Sunday, according to reports from The Mirror.

If the Reds lose at Loftus Road, Rodgers will have won 25 points from 20 Premier League games, a record which saw Roy Hodgson sacked.

Unlike the now England coach, the ex-Swansea man will not be given the boot, as the club’s owner John W Henry still believes that he is the man to usher in a new generation of success at Anfield.

It is also thought that the Merseysiders’ hierarchy want to maintain a sense of stability at the club, following the sacking of Kenny Dalglish over the summer.

Their faith in the Northern Irishman will be further illustrated next month, as the club look to splash the cash in a bid to improve their domestic form.

Daniel Sturridge is on the verge of completing a £12m move from Chelsea, to provide support to over worked star striker Luis Suarez.

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It is also thought that former Liverpool youth player Tom Ince is close to returning in a £4m deal from Championship outfit Blackpool.

Rodgers may also be in the market for further attacking reinforcements, with rumours that he is pursuing Barcelona’s David Villa, who could be available on loan.

Cristiano Ronaldo is ready to force a move away from Real Madrid in the summer after waiting 11 months for them to give him a new deal, the Sun reports.

In a situation which holds similarities to that of when he left Manchester United, the news comes just as Sir Alex Ferguson expressed he would love Ronaldo back at Old Trafford, but that he couldn’t see a way of it happening.

The 27-year-old Portugese star has scored an incredible 170 goals in 170 games for the Spanish champions, and he has a staggering £810million get out clause.

However come the summer, he will have two years left on his current deal meaning if he was to reject a new deal then Madrid would likely be forced to consider offers falling well short of their ideal price.

It has been suggested that Ronaldo has told former United team-mates of his desire to return and that Madrid officials have already discussed a transfer fee they would accept, which is said to be around £120million.

The frustrated forward has also always been keen to win the Ballon D’Or, something which he feels his current club could have done more towards helping him achieve.  His former boss Ferguson recently expressed he feels “Ronaldo is as good as Messi”, the kind of praise he thrives off and doesn’t feel he gets at Madrid.

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At the moment this is all speculation, but if things continue as they are it seems we could see another transfer saga involving Ronaldo in the summer, this time in reverse to the one we saw in 2009.

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Atletico Madrid will request to take David de Gea on loan from Manchester United if Thibaut Courtois make his return to Chelsea at the end of the season, The Daily Mail reports.

According to the newspaper, the United goalkeeper has been linked with an early return home after struggling to cement his position between the Old Trafford sticks in his second season at the club.

De Gea, who joined Manchester United last season after a £18 million transfer, has failed to meet after two impressive years defending the Atletico Madrid goal.

Los Colchoneros would happily take de Gea back, especially if Chelsea recall the impressive Belgian stopper, Thibaut Courtois after a two-year loan at Atletico that has proven the £8million the Blues shelled out for him was value for money.

De Gea has also been linked with Real Madrid as a long-term replacement for Iker Casillas, although this option seems unlikely after Real signed Diego Lopez in the January window due to Casillas being sidelined for two months.

Although Alex Ferguson has publicly stood up for De Gea in several occasions, United would have to sign a new goalkeeper if the Spaniard finally moves back home. The name of Stoke City keeper Asmir Begovic has been bandied around in the past few weeks after an outstanding Premier League season for Tony Pulis’ side.

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Would it be fair to say that the outcome of this game would go a long way to determining the Premier League future of both sides? This is definitely one of the seasons cliched ‘six pointers’.

Reading have fallen back into the relegation mire after taking 10 points from a possible 12 across January and February and have lost their last three games in a row. That being said survival is by no means out of their reach and, having taken 18 of their 23 points at the Madjeski Stadium, must make home form count. The Royals were thumped by fellow strugglers Wigan on their own patch two weeks ago but with the Latics in FA Cup action this weekend Brian McDermott knows the chance move out of the relegation zone has never been greater.

The same can be said for Aston Villa who sit a point and a place above their hosts. Inexperience has burned Paul Lambert’s young side on more than one occasion this term but can take heart from a bright performance in the narrow loss to Manchester City on Monday. Its notable that, while City’s goal came from a defensive error, Villa have tightened up at the back since that horrendous run at the back end of 2012 when they conceded 15 goals in three games. That could play a huge part against Reading who’ve seen the goals dry up in recent weeks. In the same degree Lambert has Christian Benteke leading his attack and will expect the exciting Belgian to lead them to victory in Berkshire.

Team News

Adam Federici (sprained ankle) is out so Stuart Taylor will continue to deputise in goal for Reading. Jimmy Kebe is a doubt and Pavel Pogrebnyak sits out the second of a three match suspension.

Aston Villa are hoping to have captain Ron Vlaar back after he missed the previous two games with a calf problem. Fabian Delph starts a two-game ban and Karim El Ahmadi is struggling with an ankle knock.

What the managers said…

“At the end of every season as a manger you never want any regrets. I want to look back on this season and know that whatever happens we have done what we had to do and we have taken the game to the opposition. I don’t need to emphasise anything about this game to the players. They know how important it is for them, their families, our club and most importantly for our fans to put on the right performance. We want to give the supporters value for money, and that’s what we’ll be aiming to do between now and the end of the season. If we can get the fans into the game early then they’ll make a real difference.” Brian McDermott wants his side to leave no lingering regrets at the seasons conclusion (readingfc.co.uk)

“There are loads of teams who will be edgy. It will take courage tomorrow. We will need it all over the pitch. To go and play football and not get caught up with the occasion. We certainly don’t look like a team that is playing under pressure. We were well in the game against Manchester City – we never allowed them to play their normal fluid game. I would like to think that everyone has fight in them to win a game – it’s okay to be aggressive. But we need to play the game and not the occasion.” Paul Lambert is convinced his side have the right attitude to avoid relegation (Daily Mail)

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Pre-Match Statistic: Expect late drama at the Madjeski Stadium as four of the last five matches between the two sides has featured a 90th minute goal.

Prediction: Reading 1-2 Aston Villa

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