Chelsea vs Arsenal: Gunners fans in Henrikh Mkhitaryan shirts stopped by police in Baku

Footage has emerged showing Azerbaijani police apparently stopping two Arsenal fans on the streets of Baku for wearing Henrikh Mkhitaryan shirts.

Gunners fans are in the city ahead of Arsenal’s Europa League final clash against Chelsea on Wednesday evening – a match you can follow LIVE on talkSPORT.

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Arsenal have confirmed they will be without Mkhitaryan for the all-English European final, with the 30-year-old refusing to travel to Baku over the conflict between his country and host nation Azerbaijan.

The same political tensions saw him skip the Gunners’ clash against Qarabag in Baku earlier this season, while they also prevented him from playing for Borussia Dortmund in a Europa League game against Gabala – in northern Azerbaijan – in October 2015.

UEFA have been heavily criticised for their decision to stage the final in Baku, with Arsenal and Chelsea fans experiencing issues with travel and acquiring tickets to the match.

However, speaking ahead of the match, Arsenal duo Granit Xhaka and Sokratis Papastathopoulos have insisted their team-mate’s absence has provided them with extra motivation to win the Europa League.

“Of course we are disappointed he’s not here but I think we spoke a lot about Mkhitaryan, and a lot of political things, and it’s time to speak about football,” Xhaka told the media on Tuesday.

“He’s very important for us, and we want to give him a trophy tomorrow.

“We’ve been twice in a row in the Europa League, and a club like Arsenal has to be in the Champions League.

“It’s an amazing and important game for us, because we want to give the club and the fans the Champions League back.”

Sokaritis, who also played with Mkhitaryan for several years at Borussia Dortmund, added: “We’ve had five or six years together, I know him very well, we are good friends.

“So I just wrote what I feel. But we have also to play for him and for the players who are injured, and tomorrow if we win this game, it’s also for them.”

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Brentford are being awarded three points on the basis of a 1-0 win, which moves them up from 15th to 12th in the table. The EFL said Bolton, who are second-bottom of the table and already relegated, were guilty of misconduct and that there would be disciplinary proceedings taken against them.
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One player every Premier League club should consider selling during summer as transfer window opens

The summer transfer window officially opened for Premier League clubs on Thursday.

Be prepared for plenty of deals throughout the summer right up until the deadline on August 8.

There are a number of big money transfers that have already been reported as likely to take place ahead of the new season.

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The most notable is that of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid and it has been reported that the deal will be announced following the Europa League final.

Here at talkSPORT.com we have taken a look at one player that every team should consider selling during the window.

Arsenal – Mesut Ozil

The midfielder earns a reported £350,000-a-week and he is undoubtedly a talented footballer on his day.

Arsenal boss Unai Emery does not appear to be a huge fan, though, and has left him out of the matchday squad on several occasions.

Perhaps those wages could be better spent on a player who Emery does want to play week in week out.

Bournemouth – Jordon Ibe

The Cherries paid £15million for the midfielder back in 2016 and was initially a regular starter.

He was soon dropped by Eddie Howe because of his lack of consistency and the 23-year-old has not kicked on from his enormous potential.

In 19 Premier League games this season, he managed just one goal and one assist.

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Brighton – Florin Andone

Brighton only signed the forward last summer, in a deal with Deportivo La Coruna worth around £5million, but has struggled in the Premier League.

He managed just three goals in 23 games and was the lowest rated Seagulls player on WhoScored.com.

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Burnley – Matej Vydra

Burnley need a goalscorer if they are to avoid another relegation fight next season.

Matej Vydra sadly is not that man and has struggled with the step up to the Premier League each time he has tried.

The 27-year-old has been prolific in the Championship scoring 20 goals or more in two seasons but has failed to prove himself in the top flight at three times of asking.

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Cardiff – Kenneth Zohore

Relegation will force Cardiff’s hand as to who they sell in the off-season with players like Aron Gunnarson already heading for the exit.

One player who they could get off the books is Zohore. The Dane only managed one goal in the Premier League this campaign and was clearly not favoured by Neil Warnock.

Chelsea – Eden Hazard

Bear with me Chelsea fans. It makes logical sense to get rid of Hazard now for around £100million rather than lose him next summer for nothing.

Hazard is entering the final year of his contract and, although another season of the forward would be great, they need to start planning for life without the Belgium international.

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Crystal Palace – Christian Benteke

The striker has not shown the form he possessed in his first season at Palace where he netted 15 times.

In the last two seasons, he has managed just four Premier League goals in 46 games and Michy Batshuayi has shown others can do better in the team.

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Everton – Cenk Tosun

Having only started 10 games this season, the Turkish forward may soon be surplus to requirements.

The Toffees are reportedly looking into the signing of Callum Wilson which would further restrict his minutes as Dominic Calvert-Lewin develops further too.

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Fulham – Maxime Le Marchand

Fulham were a mess defensively this season and conceded a staggering 81 goals as they were relegated.

They will need an overhaul in the Championship and one player who they should think about letting go is Le Marchand.

He had a tackle success rate of just 64 per cent while he only won 56 of his 101 aerial duels.

Huddersfield – Isaac Mbenza

The Terriers had one of the worst Premier League seasons in history finishing with just 16 points.

One of their critical issues was the lack of goals with just 22 scored all season.

Forward Mbenza scored just once in his 22 appearances and may find game time limited with Karlan Grant leading the line in the Championship.

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Leicester City – Kelechi Iheanacho

The former Manchester City man has failed to live up to his promise with the Foxes and even squandered a golden opportunity to score against his former club, which would have denied them the title.

This season he has just one goal from 30 total league appearances, albeit 21 of those have come from the bench.

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Liverpool – Nathaniel Clyne

The right-back was shipped out to Bournemouth on loan in January as he could not get into the side.

He is not likely to regain his place with the excellent form of Trent Alexander-Arnold and capabilities of Joe Gomez to fill in if he is absent.

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Manchester City – Riyad Mahrez

Pep Guardiola currently has too many brilliant players fighting for not enough team spaces and more players are set to come in too.

Mahrez is fighting for a starting spot alongside Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva and he is probably fourth choice.

If he wants regular football then he should move elsewhere but may be he is content to carry on playing a supporting role and win titles.

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Manchester United – Paul Pogba

Pogba’s disruptive influence on Manchester United has been well documented and if they truly want to fix things at the club then he may be a place to start.

His form has been far too inconsistent for a player who cost around £89million and it would not be the end of the world if they sold him.

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Newcastle United – Javier Manquillo

The defender has not been a fan favourite at the club since joining from Atletico Madrid for £3million in the summer of 2017.

Even Rafa Benitez admitted he may not have signed him if he had more funds at his disposal.

The 25-year-old has not had a memorable season at St James’ Park with a rating of just 6.59 on WhoScored.com.

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Southampton – Charlie Austin

In three full seasons with the south coast club Austin has not managed more than seven goals in a single campaign.

This season he netted just twice in 20 games and his overall league record with Southampton is 16 goals in 66 games.

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Tottenham – Kieran Trippier

A World Cup hero one year ago, the right-back has had a tough season and has been playing through the pain too.

Napoli want to land the full-back and could give Spurs a big profit on the £3million they paid for the player, while allowing them to improve in the position.

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Watford – Ben Foster

The veteran is 36 now and the Hornets should think about planning for life without the goalkeeper.

He conceded 59 goals and kept just seven clean sheets this season so this may be an area Watford look to strengthen.

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West Ham – Marko Arnautovic

Perhaps the Hammers are regretting not taking the big money offer for Arnautovic in January.

After telling the club he wanted to leave for China, and then staying with an improved contract, his form took a significant dip.

He went 11 games without scoring before netting three times in the final two games of the season.

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Wolves – Leo Bonatini

The Brazilian helped Wolves secure promotion to the Premier League with 12 goals in the Championship.

He managed just six top flight appearances, without scoring, before being shipped out on loan to Nottingham Forest.

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Jurgen Klopp’s signings for Liverpool are worth nearly €1BILLION – almost 50% more than what Reds paid for them

When Jurgen Klopp arrived at Anfield as Brendan Rodgers’ successor in 2015, few could have predicted the impact the German would have.

With the Reds drifting further and further away from the Premier League elite, Klopp set about transforming his beleaguered new side into world-beaters.

As the enigmatic German forced his squad to salute the Kop after a 2-2 draw at home to West Bromwich Albion, critics and cynics sniggered in unison.

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Chances are, those same sceptics are the ones lauding the former Borussia Dortmund boss for taking Liverpool to a second successive Champions League Final.

The red half of Merseyside will cram into the Wanda Metropolitano to watch their heroes attempt to bring home a sixth major European trophy against Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Much of Klopp’s success can be attributed to his excellent man management and tactical aptitude – creating an unstoppable force both home and away.

But it is his savvy approach to the transfer market which has propelled the Reds from barely making the Champions League last season, to pushing Manchester City all the way for the title this year.

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The CIES football observatory is a research group based in Switzerland which specialises in technically analysing player performance and scientifically estimating the transfer values of players.

Aiming to calculate the value of players as correctly as possible, the research CIES undertake is regularly mandated by prestigious organisations such as (among others) FIFA, UEFA, City Football Group, Chelsea, Club Atlético Madrid and Benfica.

Plenty of Klopp’s signings are still at the club and form the backbone of his strongest XI. And, using the data provided by CIES, we can determine just how incredibly

For the purpose of this investigation, we have included Trent Alexander-Arnold. Although not technically a Klopp signing, the right-back has established himself in the squad under the German. Just take a look at how drastically the squad has increased in value.

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The selected players from the above graphic arrived at Anfield for a combined total of £390.5million.

In today’s market, and in accordance with the calculations made by CIES, the total value of thee players now stands at €905million (£796.7million).

At an increase of almost 50% it is clear to see just how much Klopp has transformed Liverpool and how his signings have taken the Reds to unbelievable new heights.

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West Ham United can confirm that Andy Carroll and Adrian will leave the Club when their respective contracts expire on 30 June 2019. The two long-serving players have combined to provide 13 seasons of service, playing 292 first-team matches between and providing some of the most memorable moments in recent Hammers history.

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Swansea 3-0 Brentford: Daniel James shines as Swans end four-game winless run

Swansea ended their four-game winless run as a first-half brace from Nathan Dyer helped Graham Potter’s men seal a 3-0 Championship victory over a poor Brentford side.

Dyer struck with less than a minute played and then added a second for his first league goals for Swansea since August 2014.

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Brentford offered nothing as an attacking force in the opening 45 minutes and, although they improved after the break, they were well beaten.

Manchester City target Daniel James added Swansea’s third with the goal his outstanding performance deserved.

Swansea were ahead with just 32 seconds on the clock.

Mads Bech Sorensen’s awful back pass sold Luke Daniels short, the Brentford goalkeeper bringing down the onrushing James, but Dyer was there for an easy tap-in.

Daniels was booked for the foul after referee Peter Bankes had played a fine advantage.

It was all Swansea and James cut inside from the left wing and on to his right foot before unleashing a powerful curling effort which rebounded off the crossbar with Daniels well beaten.

Bersant Celina was the next Swansea player to go close with a low drive, but this time Daniels was equal to the task.

The home side started with midfielder Matt Grimes at centre-half and he helped his team dominate possession.

Swansea fans paid tribute to fan David Mayes, 22, who died this week, with a round of applause in the 22nd minute before Connor Roberts fired past a post.

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A second home goal soon arrived. Swansea goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt hammered the ball down field and, with the Brentford defence nowhere to be seen, Dyer pounced.

Celina also hit the bar with a 25-yard free-kick just before the break.

The second half was end to end, with James leading Swansea’s frequent raids down the left.

Brentford right back Ezri Konsa was all at sea against the young Wales winger, who raced clear time after time.

Said Benrahma had a rare chance for Brentford, but Celina should have made it 3-0 after being found by Roberts on a home break. Daniels stood tall to block the Kosovan’s dink.

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Brentford introduced Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Marcondes in search of a comeback and they did see more of the ball in the second period.

But Swansea defended strongly as Potter introduced forwards Courtney Baker-Richardson and Oli McBurnie for Dyer and Celina and his team pressed high throughout the 90 minutes.

The changes worked and there was still time for Roberts to fire against a post and James to tuck home the rebound.

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Kevin De Bruyne reveals he met his wife after sliding into her Twitter DMs during Chelsea loan spell

Kevin De Bruyne revealed he met his future wife after sending her a direct message on Twitter.

The Manchester City ace is considered one of the best midfielders in the world and is leading Pep Guardiola’s men to an unprecedented quadruple.

However, before finding fame, the Belgium international was admittedly introverted and even struggles to form close bonds with his teammates.

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Although he is firm friends with Raheem Sterling now (despite thinking he was a ‘d******d’ at first) the 27-year-old  admits he owes much of his newfound confidence after sliding into his future wife’s DMs while on loan from Chelsea.

“Everything changed then,” De Bruyne told the Player’s Tribune. “But not just because of football. It was also because I had my (future) wife by my side.

“She helped me grow in ways that I’ve probably never expressed out loud — even to her. This is such an embarrassing story that I hesitate to tell it! But since I promised you honesty, then I guess I have to. And it’s pretty funny, anyway.

“It started with a tweet. I only had a few thousand followers at the time, because I was still on loan at Werder Bremen. So I tweeted something about a match or whatever, and this pretty girl favorited it.

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“I was single at the time, and my friend noticed it. So he said, ‘She looks like a nice girl, no? You should send her a message.’

“And I literally said to him, ‘No, no, no. Come on. People don’t like me. They don’t get me. She won’t respond.’

“So he grabbed my phone and started tapping out a message. He showed me the phone and said, ‘Come on, can I hit send?’

“I was probably on the floor, cringing, but for some reason I said, ‘O.K. fine, send it.’

“Says it all, no? I’m supposed to be this big footballer, and I didn’t even have the heart to slide into my future wife’s DMs! I didn’t dare!

“But thankfully, he sent the message for me, and she responded. We got to know each other over text for a few months. It’s a lot easier for me once I get to know someone, so after that, I was good. It really was a beautiful thing.

“She changed my life in so many ways. Honestly, I don’t know what I would do without her.

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FULL INTERVIEW Danny Rose on talkSPORT: His gratitude to Mauricio Pochettino for fulfilling England promise, explains Gareth Southgate's 'ruthless' side and his respect for Raheem Sterling
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Celtic news: Lisbon Lion Stevie Chalmers dies aged 83, the club confirm

Stevie Chalmers, one of Celtic’s Lisbon Lions, has died at the age of 83, the club have announced.

Chalmers etched his name into Celtic folklore when he scored the decisive goal in the 2-1 win against Inter in the 1967 European Cup final at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon.

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A statement from his family, issued via the club, read: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Stevie Chalmers, our loving father and devoted husband to Sadie. The Celtic legend was surrounded by family when he sadly passed away early this morning [Monday, 29 April).

Chalmers’ death comes a week after Billy McNeill, captain of the Lisbon Lions, also died.

The statement added: “In recent times Stevie endured the toughest of battles, but just as he approached every game in a green and white jersey, he tackled his long-term illness with much bravery and dignity.

“Stevie, first and foremost, was a family man to his loving wife Sadie; their children, Stephen, Carol, Paul, Ann, Martin, Clare, grandchildren, great grandchildren and wider family members.

“He felt honoured and privileged to have played alongside the Lisbon Lions, and this camaraderie and friendship carried on long after their playing days as the team became lifelong friends.

“Celtic was an integral part of Stevie’s life and he devoted much of his career to the famous Glasgow club. He was adored by Celtic supporters in Scotland and around the world, especially for his passion, loyalty and integrity.”

Chalmers scored 231 goals in 406 Celtic games between 1959 and 1971, with only Henrik Larsson (242), Bobby Lennox (277) and Jimmy McGrory (468) having scored more.

However, the goal in 1967 with just five minutes of the final remaining, ensured Celtic became the first British club to life the European Cup.

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He very nearly didn’t make it as a professional, though, as he was struck by tuberculosis meningitis at the age of 20. He spent six months in hospital, but made a full recovery.

Chalmers left Celtic in 1971 and had spells at Morton and Partick Thistle before retiring in 1975.

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Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell said: “This is such terrible news, and on behalf of the club, I would first of all like to pass on my condolences to Stevie’s wife, Sadie, their children, Stephen, Carol, Paul, Ann, Martin, Clare, and their grandchildren.

“Stevie was a much-loved husband, father and grandfather, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this desperately sad time.

“This is a particularly devastating time for the Celtic family, with the passing of Stevie Chalmers coming so soon after his friend and former team-mate, Billy McNeill. My condolences also go to the Lisbon Lions, already mourning the loss of their captain, and now grieving the death of another one of their own.”

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Celtic great Stevie Chalmers has died aged 83. Photograph: PA Stevie Chalmers, scorer of Celtic's winning goal in the 1967 European Cup final, has died at the age of 83, the club have announced.
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Stevie Chalmers, one of Celtic's Lisbon Lions, has died at the age of 83, the club have announced. Chalmers etched his name into Celtic folklore when he scored the decisive goal in the 2-1 win
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Stevie Chalmers, one of Celtic's Lisbon Lions, has died at the age of 83, the club have announced. Chalmers etched his name into Celtic folklore when he scored the decisive goal in the 2-1 win against Inter in the 1967 European Cup final at the..
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Stevie Chalmers, one of Celtic's Lisbon Lions, has died at the age of 83, the club have announced. Chalmers etched his name into Celtic folklore when he scored the decisive goal in the 2-1 win against Inter in the 1967 European Cup final at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon.
Celtic news: Lisbon Lion Stevie Chalmers dies aged 83, the