Interactive Sport

Arsene Wenger has had his say on the question of diving. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger recognises the emotionally charged nature of the north London derby, but is also keen to stress the importance of victory to their season as a whole. A win for Wenger's side in Saturday's Premier League game against Tottenham at Wembley would take the Gunners just one point behind their fourth-placed rivals and it was that, and the goal of securing a Champions League place via their final league position, that he was keen to focus on at Thursday's pre-match press conference. "There is always huge passion before the game and the emotion at stake that becomes a bit more agitated," he said. "I worked with Pat Rice when I first arrived so he got me very quickly on that territory. It is always a game that is charged emotionally. "This season, if you look at the table, is a very important game. For us, it is an opportunity to come back closer to the Champions League places, wh...

    Could Lionel Messi be on the move to China? The January transfer window may only just have closed but Europe's biggest clubs are already plotting their summer moves with there being a World Cup to negotiate around. Our friends at Football Whispers have scoured the European media to round-up the latest transfer news . Spain Chinese Super League club Hebei China Fortune are preparing another bid for Barcelona forward Lionel Messi after their first move was rejected. The Argentine legend has just signed a new long- term deal at the Nou Camp with a €700m (£617.8m) release clause. New rules in Chinese football mean any deal would cost Hebei a staggering €1.4billion (£1.2billion). (Mundo Deportivo ) Real Madrid playmaker Isco was the man of the moment earlier on in the season but Zinedine Zidane is prepared to sell him during the summer window, and Premier League clubs are on high alert. He remains to be a Liverpool transfer target, while Arsenal and Manchester City have been long-te...

Virgil Van Dijk has assured critics he has no struggles with weight – either his own or that created by the transfer fee following his big-money move to Liverpool. The Holland international has endured a mixed start since becoming Liverpool’s record £75million signing in January. At times he has looked commanding, yet he was poor in the FA Cup against West Brom, dropped for the trip to Huddersfield, then gave away a last-minute penalty with a clumsy challenge on Erik Lamela against Spurs on Sunday. In addition, Van Dijk has had to field questions about his weight and training regime after Jamie Carragher suggested he did not keep himself fit enough during the protracted transfer from Southampton. But Van Dijk moved to assure Liverpool fans they will see a return on their investment in time and urged them to be patient while he gets up to speed. “I have been out for eight months – last January until September I didn’t play at Premier League level,” he said. “It is not easy to come back,...

Antonio Conte has slammed his Chelsea stars for playing with “fear” from the get-go as they fell to a 4-1 defeat to Watford this evening. Chelsea missed an opportunity to take advantage from Tottenham and Liverpool taking a point at the weekend after falling to their second successive defeat. It is also the second time Chelsea have lost by three goals in as many games after being down 3-0 by Bournemouth last week. Tiemoue Bakayoko was sent off after being shown a second yellow card midway through the first half and Troy Deeney put Watford one up going in at the break. Chelsea stayed in the game in the second half and equalised through Eden Hazard 10 minutes from time. But Conte’s defence capitulated in the closing minutes as Daryl Janmaat, Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra all scored to earn Javi Gracia his first win as Watford boss. Pressure is mounting on Conte now with suggestions his time could be up at Stamford Bridge. And the Italian coach berated his players for lacking “perso...

Antonio Conte says he needs three world class players at Chelsea Antonio Conte has advised Chelsea to take a quality over quantity approach to the transfer market and sign three world-class players. Chelsea have struggled in their bid to retain the Premier League while Manchester City have asserted their dominance on the title race, with Conte becoming increasingly outspoken over the club's transfer policy.                                                    Conte, whose future at Stamford Bridge looks unclear, believes their inability to compete with City derives from their failure to acquire players of the highest level and concedes they are only competing for a place in the top four despite having 13 games remaining.                                    Asked what Chelsea needed to do to catch City, Conte said: "Now we have to struggle to fight for a Champions League place - that is top. We must be realistic. We must be strong to accept this type of situation. Then, in the fu...

The final of this year’s African Nations Championship, will be contested between hosts Morocco and Nigeria on Sunday. The game will be played in Casablanca, a day after the bronze medal match between Libya and Sudan in Marrakech. Morocco were dominant in the first semi-final against Libya with a 3-1 win, a victory that came in extra time. The Super Eagles narrowly survived in the hands of the Desert Hawks of Sudan with a 1-0 win, after going down to 10 men. Both countries have never won the biennial competition, which is designed for players plying their trade in Africa’s domestic leagues. The home-based Super Eagles are also on course for their best finish in the competition, having previously finished third under Stephen Keshi in 2014. Kick-off time for the match is 8pm

Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, has reacted to Alexis Sanchez goal against Huddersfield Town on Saturday. The Chilean scored his first goal for Manchester United since his transfer from Arsenal. Sanchez failed to score on his debut against Yeovil in the FA Cup last week and and also drew blank to during Wednesday’s defeat to Tottenham. However, the 29-year-old showed a lot of energy at Huddersfield, slotting home the rebound after his penalty had been saved by Jonas Lossl. Mourinho told reporters afterwards, “It was nice for Alexis Sanchez to win a match, the first at home. “Nice for him to play well and show the desire and happiness in playing football. “It is most important. It was not the goal of his dreams, but it is a goal.”