Arsenal Offer Guendouzi to Barcelona in Player Swap Deal

Arsenal have talked a rather interesting swap deal to Barcelona.

Philippe Coutinho’s future at Barcelona is on rather thin ice. In fact, everything points towards the Catalans’ record signing leaving the club sooner rather than later. And if the latest reports are to be believed, Arsenal offer Mattéo Guendouzi to Barça in an attempt to secure the services of the Brazilian winger.

The 21-year-old midfielder has had a falling out with the club and it seems that the Gunners are willing to part with him if they can get a quality player in return. Of course, Barcelona also want to get rid of Coutinho but seeing how they value him at 80 million euros whereas Guendouzi is valued at around 40, there is a clear disparity between the two.

Over in France, the media are also reporting that the Azulgranas have, for that reason, requested both the player and additional 50 million euros from the English side while Arsenal only offer Guendouzi to Barça in a straight swap deal.

Mikel Arteta has been reluctant to use the midfielder since a fallout against Brighton & Hove Albion in June and increasing interest from Barcelona suggests he may not play for the north London club again.

But there have been new updates on the situation and it seems that Barcelona are willing to send both Ivan Rakitić and Arturo Vidal to the Emirates if that would see the young midfielder go the other way.

In that case, however, Coutinho would still remain a Barcelona player until the right offer, most likely for a different club, arrives. Luckily for the Catalans, he is no short of potential bidders, if the reports are to be believed.

Manchester United fans racially abuse Ashley Young after Barcelona defeat as Kick It Out urge Twitter to act

The United defender was targeted with vile racist abuse after Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat in Barcelona by Twitter accounts that appeared to be managed by supporters of the Premier League club

Manchester United are investigating vile racist abuse posted on Twitter about Ashley Young that appeared to come from the club’s own fans.

United suffered a convincing 3-0 defeat at the Nou Camp on Tuesday night, adding to the 1-0 loss at Old Trafford last week to send Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side crashing out of the quarter-finals.

In the wake of the defeat, racially abusive messages were posted on social media site Twitter from a series of anonymous accounts about England international Young, labelling him a “f****** n*****” and an “ape c***”.

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United have said that they “will take the strongest possible action” that is available to them and that it “utterly condemns” the “racist social media comments”.

Furthermore, the club are “working to identify individuals involved”.

Anti-racism group Kick It Out issued a statement to highlight the abuse to Twitter, and called on the social media giants to “take serious action to tackle the rampant discrimination” across the social media network.

“Yet another black player, this time Ashley Young, targeted with racist abuse on social media after tonight’s Champions League game,” the Kick It Out Twitter account posted on Tuesday night.

“Again, we’re left asking @TwitterUK the same question – when will you take serious action to tackle the rampant discrimination on your platform?”

But a Twitter spokesman refused to comment on the specific abuse posted about Young. “We do not comment on individual cases for privacy reasons,” a Twitter spokesperson said.

“Our abusive behaviour policy prohibits behaviour which attempts to harass, intimidate or silence another person’s voice and we take strong enforcement action if violations are found.

Ashley Young was targeted with vile racist abuse on Twitter (Reuters)

“Progress in this space is tough, but we are deeply committed to improving the health of the conversation on the platform.

“To this end, we are now suspending three times more abusive accounts within 24 hours after receiving a report than this time last year. We’ll continue building on this work to prioritise the safety of our users.”

Young started the second leg in Barcelona at left-back in the absence of the suspended Luke Shaw and found himself targeted by Lionel Messi, who prospered from United’s defensive troubles by scoring twice in the first half.

But the match has been overshadowed by this latest incident of abuse, which follows a series of issues across England as well as racist chanting aimed as England internationals including Danny Rose and Raheem Sterling during the Euro 2020 qualifier victory over Montenegro last March.

Zinedine Zidane returns to coach Real Madrid

Zinedine Zidane has made a surprise return to coach Real Madrid less than a year after leaving the Spanish giants in the wake of one of its great European successes.

The 46-year-old Frenchman led Real to three consecutive Champions League trophies during his first spell in charge at the Bernabeu, but then stepped down in May 2018.

READ: How Premier League’s fourth-placed team may miss Champions League qualification

Messi’s trump card: Why Dembele is key to Barcelona winning the Champions League

Zidane replaces former teammate Santiago Solari, who was promoted to the role of Real coach after Julen Lopetegui was dismissed following a poor run of form in October.

“Real Madrid appreciates the work done by Santiago Solari and the commitment and loyalty he has always shown to this house,” said a Real Madrid statement on Monday.

“The Board of Directors has also agreed the appointment of Zinedine Zidane as the new coach of Real Madrid with immediate incorporation for the remainder of the season and the next three, until June 30, 2022.

“Zidane was already a Real legend thanks to an illustrious five-year-period as a player at the club between 2001 and 2006.

He took over as Real Madrid coach in January 2016 and made a near immediate impact, winning the Champions League later that season.

Two more European titles followed before he abruptly left in May 2018, a matter of days after securing the hat-trick of Champions League titles as Real defeated Liverpool in Kiev.

No team had won three Champions League or European Cups in succession since Bayern Munich between 1973 and 1975.

Upon announcing his departure, Zidane said the team needed “a change after three years, another voice, another method of working.”

Zinedine Zidane announced his resignation as Real boss in May 2018 before returning nine months later.

A popular figure among Real’s star players, Zidane lost just 16 times in his 149 games in charge. He also averaged a trophy every 16 games, with Real picking up two FIFA Club World Cups, two UEFA Supercups, a La Liga title and a Spanish Supercup alongside the Champions League crowns. Real have toiled in the period since. They are currently 12 points behind La Liga leaders and arch rivals Barcelona.

They also suffered a surprise Champions League exit at the hands of Ajax last week. Spanish newspaper Marca labeled that defeat as the “failure of the century.”

READ: How Euro-kings Real lost crown

READ: Amazing Ajax humble Real Madrid

Zidane will take over with Real having little to play for except ensuring it qualifies for next season’s Champions League.Real is currently placed third in La Liga with the top three teams qualifying automatically to next season’s group phase. Barcelona also eliminated Real from the Copa del Rey, Spain’s domestic cup competition, last month.Prior to Solari’s appointment as Real coach earlier this season, the Argentine had managed the club’s youth team and the Champions League holders said they were talking to him about a new role at the Bernabeu.