Giuseppe Rossi to take pay cut at Fiorentina

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has brushed off Thierry Henry s criticism as he targets his best-ever season in the Premier League.

Henry an Arsenal club legend suggested in April that the London-based outfit will not win England s top flight with Giroud as their principal forward, and maintained a high quality striker was needed at the Emirates Stadium.

Giroud admitted he did not initially understand the reasoning of the comments but says they will not impact his game as he aims to further contribute to the side.

Alongside Giroud, who scored 14 league goals last season, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger looks set to rely on the likes of Alexis Sanchez (16), Danny Welbeck (4) and Theo Walcott (5) up front during the 2015-16 campaign.

Giroud s best Premier Leag…

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone says nothing will ever make up for the two Champions League final defeats he has suffered against Real Madrid.

Simeone s side were beaten on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time in May s showpiece at San Siro, with Cristiano Ronaldo converting the decisive spot-kick after Juanfran had hit the post.

It marked Atleti s second defeat in three finals against their city rivals, after they were beaten 4-1 after extra time in Lisbon in 2014 following Sergio Ramos equaliser in second-half injury time.

Simeone said after this year s disappointment that he would have to go away and think , prompting speculation that he could quit the Vicente Calderon after close to five years in charge.

But while he insists that he …

Ronald Koeman believes Barcelona have a strong enough squad to compete for major honours as long as others step up to fill the void left by Lionel Messi.

Barca are heading into a new season without Messi in their ranks for the first time since 2003-04 following the superstar forward s shock switch to Paris Saint-Germain this week.

Messi scored 672 goals and assisted 265 more for the Catalan giants across 778 appearances, helping the club to 35 trophies across his 17 years in the first team.

The six-time Ballon d Or winner directly contributed to 39 goals in LaLiga last season – scoring 30 and setting up a further nine.

Antoine Griezmann was the only other player to reach double figures for goal involvements (20), with Ousmane Dembele next on the list wi…

Manchester City s interest in signing Tottenham forward Harry Kane is well known.

The two sides will meet on Sunday in the Premier League with the situation adding spice.

Spurs have held out on City s interest although the matter will develop as the conclusion of the transfer window approaches.

TOP STORY – SPURS HOLDING FIRM ON KANE

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is refusing to budge as Manchester City attempt to sign Harry Kane, reports The Telegraph.

Levy will come face to face with City officials in Sunday s Premier League meeting between the two sides.

The report claims the Spurs chairman is unwavering in his plan to retain his best player despite Kane expressing his desire to leave.

Daniel Levy is set to hold fi…

Galatasaray midfielder Wesley Sneijder says reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League is an achievement in itself for his side.

The Netherlands international believes the Turkish champions, who knocked out Schalke in the last 16, can be satisfied with their European campaign even if they bow out in the next round, which will be drawn on Friday.

We are in the last eight and that s already a big thing, the former Ajax and Inter star told Sky.

Galatasaray won the UEFA Cup in 2000 but have never tasted glory in Europe s premier club competition despite regularly contesting the early rounds.

Sneijder lifted the trophy with Inter in 2010 but played down his new team s chances of progressing beyond the quarter-finals.

We ll have to wait for t…

A man was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of threatening at knifepoint the fiancee of Darren Fletcher, the Manchester United midfielder, and burgling the footballer s house.

Hayley Grice was forced to take off her engagement ring while Fletcher s mother was also forced to hand over watches and jewellery in a raid that took place on February 23, just hours after the player had flown out with the United squad for a Champions League match in Milan.

Fletcher s young twins were also in the house in the upmarket village of Bowdown, south of Manchester.

A statement issued by Greater Manchester Police on Tuesday said: A man has been arrested in connection with a robbery at a house in Bowdon, Trafford.

Shortly before 9pm (2100GMT) on Monday, February 23 2009, p…

Bournemouth have joined the race to sign Napoli midfielder Jonathan de Guzman,.

The Netherlands international, who rejected the chance to sign for Sunderland last week is now set to join Eddie Howe’s side who are four games in to their first ever season in the Premier League.

De Guzman moved to Naples from Villareal last summer having spent the 2013/14 campaign on loan at Swansea City.

He has been absent from both of Maurizio Sarri’s match-day squads so far this campaign, and started just twelve Serie A games in the entirety of last season.

The twenty-seven year old has been capped fourteen times for his country, with three of those appearances coming at last summer’s World Cup finals.

The Cherries drew with Leicester City on Saturday…

Denmark followed Group C winners France into the last 16 with the first goalless draw of the 2018 World Cup against Les Bleus at the Luzhniki Stadium on Tuesday.

France had already qualified and Denmark needed a point to be certain, although a 2-0 win for already eliminated Peru against Australia sent them through regardless of their result.

Didier Deschamps, marking his 79th game in charge to level Raymond Domenech s France record, rested key players such as Paul Pogba and Hugo Lloris and kept Kylian Mbappe on the bench for the majority of the game with an eye on their knockout campaign. 

Deschamps six changes contributed to a lack of cohesion that prevented France from ending the group stage with maximum points for the first time since they won the tournam…

River Plate striker Lucas Alario has received an offer from French champions Paris Saint-Germain, according to his official representative.

As summer recruit Jese Rodriguez nears Parc des Princes exit, the Saints are stepping up their efforts to sign a new centre forward who would challenge Edinson Cavani for a starting berth.

It would appear as though River Plate’s Lucas Alario has emerged as their top target and the player’s agent has now moved to confirm the speculation.

“We had an important offer and they (PSG) should make another one,” agent Pedro Aldave said in El Superclasico program on Argentine radio Rivadavia.

However, he also suggested that his client was quite happy to remain with the Millionaires for the time being, making it clear t…

Celtic will play Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup final after they beat Rangers 1-0 in an Old Firm semi-final at Hampden Park.

A typically high-tempo Glasgow derby saw Jota head in the only goal of the game just before half-time to keep Celtic s treble hopes alive.

Rangers had chances to level in the second half, with James Tavernier hitting the post, but they were unable to find a way past Joe Hart on Sunday.

Just one win away from sealing the Scottish Premiership, Ange Postecoglou s side further cemented their superiority over their rivals with a fourth win in five Old Firm derbies this season.

Maeda’s reaction
Jota’s header | |

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC)

Rangers nearly took an early lead as the pre-mat…