Barcelona’s Pedro Rodriguez is a summer target of Arsenal and Liverpool which is a fairly surprising thing taking into consideration that the Spanish forward did not play an important role for his club in the past season.

Pedro made a total of 35 appearances for Barcelona in the previous season but 20 of them arrived from the bench as he played a substitute role. Even though Pedro struggled trying to get playing time at Camp Nou, the club decided to renew his contract until 2019 and Pedro has a buyout clause of €150 million.

It doesn’t look like things will be changing anytime soon for Pedro at Barcelona. The head coach of the Spanish side, Luis Enrique has at this disposal, players such as: Lionel Messi, Neymar, Suarez and many other top players which makes it extremely difficult for Pedro to snatch a spot in the main team of Barcelona.

If Pedro is interested in joining a club where his chances of appearing in the main squad it’s better off for him to make a move to Arsenal or Liverpool which are the clubs that have shown interest in signing the Spanish attacker.

Unfortunately for Arsenal, Liverpool and all of the other clubs that want to sign Pedro, it has been become clear that the player is happy playing a backup option at Camp Nou as he signed his contract extension and has not shown any signs of leaving Barcelona anytime soon.

Arsenal will have to search somewhere else for their offensive options as Pedro is out of the reach. Real Madrid’s KarimBenzema is another summer target that Arsenal has been linked with but the Frenchman will cost a hefty fee as the player is an important figure in Real Madrid and they would only be interested in releasing him for a substantially high price tag or a good enough offer involving other players as part of the exchange.

Podolski has not impressed Inter Milan and according to the head coach of the Italian side, Podolski will be returning to Arsenal.

The 29 year old forward Lukas Podolski wanted to spark his career by making a move to Inter Milan but his revival hasn’t happened as the player still struggles to make a name for himself despite having transferred from England to Italy.

So far, Podolski has been featured in 13 appearances and has scored 1 goal.

This is not an impressive record for a player who is trying to make a statement and an impact.

On January 5 of 2015, Podolski signed a loan deal with Inter Milan as the player decided to travel abroad and perform in an Italian club for the first time of his career but it hasn’t turned out to be a good move as Roberto Mancini has already confirmed that Podolski will be returning to London at the end of the season.

Inter Milan’s Roberto Mancini announced that Podolski will be making his return to Arsenal as the Italian coach said: “Not everything can happen quickly, particularly when you are moving from one country to another or from one club to another.That also applies to Podolski, who I rate as a great player and a great professional. His situation is a bit different because he’s on loan and he wants to go back to Arsenal, and that is how it will be.”

After signing with Inter Milan, one of the things that Lukas Podolski was hoping to happen was to not sit on the sidelines and have to be a back-up option. This is what has been occurring with the German forward during his time with Arsenal but unfortunately for him, but despite having transferred to Inter Milan he still has been used as a substitute player more than anything else.

São Paulo managed a 2-0 victory over XV de Piracicaba that kept them at the top of the Paulista A1 table after three matches.

This was the third successive victory in this competition for the club after they had finished the Brazilian Serie A with a defeat in the final match of last season. After conceding two goals in the last victory against Capivariano, it was important for São Paulo to keep a clean sheet and look forward to the upcoming tough clash against Santos.

Former Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano gave his team a 1-0 lead after 30 minutes while a penalty converted by Rogério Ceni in the 58th minute confirmed three points for the club.

São Paulo manager Muricy Ramalho was a happy man after the victory. He said that Fabiano making his presence felt in the match was not surprising given that the former Brazil international has always been about finding the back of the net. Apart from scoring, the 34-year-old also had an impressive game overall. He has now taken his season’s tally to 2 goals in three league matches.Ramalho is happy with the way the team is progressing under him, but he has eyed more improvements as the Copa Libertadores comes near.

TheCopa Libertadores campaign will begin with a match against Corinthians in the middle of February.”Luis knows what to do. Forward does not give just to make goal. I’m explaining this to him and the duck. You must participate without the ball, pressing opponents. When you are well prepared, he [Luis] yields. This goal he did today, he always does, because that diagonal it is deadly.It is important to get a competitive team. We are still thinking, we need to repeat over the team, we have to think in Libertadores debut,” saidRamalho.

São Paulo are one of the teams looking to make it into the finals of the 2014 Copa Sudamericana.

They suffered a setback in the first leg of the semi-final after losing to their opponents Atlético Nacional. The second leg, crucially, will be at home, and manager Muricy Ramalho says that the home support will have a major say on the final result. São Paulo need a victory in order to have any hopes of reaching the finals, but they also need to shut out of their opponents in order to prevent an away goal.

Luiz Ruiz scored the only goal of the game in the first leg. This kept their incredible run in the competition going.Atlético Nacional are yet to suffer a defeat in this competition so far. However,Ramalho expects that run to come to an end when the opponents visit São Paulo’s ground which can hold more than 65,000. Former Arsenal midfielder Denilson was part of the team that lost in the first leg. He is likely to retain his place given that the 26-year-old has been one of the better players for the club this season. A victory is essential for São Paulo given that they lost the Brazilian Serie A season to Cruzeiro.

“It will be a very tough match. Teams like them play better abroad than at home, because they know how to control a match. We should not let them play.We really expect São Paulo fans to attend the Morumbi and do what Nacional supporters did in Colombia, pushing all the time. It will not be easy to turn it around, but we’ll fight a lot for that. I hope the strategy we set will work, but I think we have the right to have the illusion. We can play them at the same level, equalise their intensity,” saidRamalho.

On September 14 of the ongoing year Sao Paulo battled against the current leaders of the Brazilian league in a match that saw the goalkeeper of Sao Paulo, Rogerio Ceni scoring the 120th goal of his entire career which is an incredibly high amount of goals for a goalkeeper. The 41 year old shot-stopper is the only player in his position which has been capable on finding the back of the net on so many occasions.

Rogerio Ceni’s penalty goal against Cruzeiro helped Sao Paulo in defeating the leaders of the Brazilian league as they won 2-0 and remain in the battle of winning the league silverware as their hopes are alive with this victory playing a huge role.

Cruzeiro are the defending champions of their league as they won the previous edition of the season and now Sao Paulo are eager on taking the title away from their Brazilian rivals.

This time around Sao Paulo is eager and hungry to take the title away from Cruzeiro and a 2-0 triumph has maintained their hopes alive.

Ceni scored the opening goal of the match at the 36th minute as he scored via a penalty kick and in the 2nd half it was the 25 year old forward Alan Kardec who managed to make his mark on the score-sheet by scoring after 72 minutes had passed.

This victory is the 3rd successive that Sao Paulo has secured in the top tier league of Brazil as the team of Muricy Ramalho is on a stunning form with positive results in just about every match they have played in the last few months. The league is only 3 months away from reaching its end and naming the next champions of this season and Sao Paulo is only aiming to win their 7th league title.

Brazil failed to capture the 2014 World Cup trophy even though the squad was playing in their home turf as they got eliminated from the tournament in a disappointing manner which saw the team of Luiz Felipe Scolari having to wait at least 4 more years for them to compete against the best squads in the world and secure another World Cup title.

Following their embarrassing exit from the tournament, the head coach of the team Luiz Felipe Scolari decided to resign from managing the squad and now it has been officially announced and confirmed that Dunga will be making his return to the Brazilian for the 2nd time.

Dunga has experience coaching Brazil as he was the manager of the team back in 2006 when he managed to lift the Copa America title in 2004 and 2007 as well as lifting the Confederations Cup. It was a very impressive campaign for the Brazilian manager taking into consideration that he never had any coaching experience being in charge of a national team.

During the 2010 World Cup, Brazil reached the quarter-finals where they lost against Netherlands and Dunga was fired from his position in the team but now he has been recalled back into the squad.

Dunga is well aware of the position that the Brazilian squad is currently going through as he went on saying that his team is no longer the best one out there and the squad has to prepare themselves for the challenges that await them.

“I am immensely happy to be back. We are no longer the best. This is a project we all need to be aware of.
Everybody had a concept of football and the World Cup. We can no longer pretend to be the big guys or that we are the best. The Brazilian shirt is very much respected, but everyone wants to beat us. We have to be prepared for that. We can’t think that we’ll pull on the Brazilian shirt and win the World Cup before it’s even started.” Dunga said.

Arsene Wenger unraveled his future during a recent interview as the Frenchman stated that he will continue with Arsenal beyond the end of the current season no matter what happens in the remaining matches of the campaign.

When asked about his future with the Premier League club, Wenger responded: “Look, I have said that many times already, I have given my word to this club and that I want to continue where I am and that means to stay.”

The summer transfer window is a chance for clubs to improve their squads with new arrivals and this is something that is especially certain for Arsenal as they are in need of battling against the best that Europe has to offer and getting into the Champions League.

Arsenal is keeping close tabs on Mirko Vucinic of Juventus. The 30 years old player has not played an important role for the Italian side and could be looking on his way out of Italy if the price is right.

Julian Draxler of Schalke 04 is another player that Arsenal is working to lure in into the Premier League. During the January transfer window, Wenger tried to make a move for the German midfielder but failed on signing and they will continue their attempts on signing the young and promising player.

It will be difficult for Arsenal to secure the services of Draxler as his agent has already announced to the media that he will remain being a player of Schalke 04 at least until the end of the next season.

“Why should a player leave the club if the club has just built a top team? I also think it’s good if players stick to what they have signed. It would take an awful lot to happen for one of the two Draxler to leave. And even then I’m not sure it would be possible’’.Wittman said.

Former AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato has decided to quit Corinthians, the club he joined only recently from the Italian giants. Pato has decided to take this drastic action after violent attacks were carried out by fans at the training ground.

The 24-year-old striker had to take refuge in the dressing room along with several of his teammates in order to avoid harm. Corinthians’ fans have become increasingly impatient with Pato and a few other players, who they think have been the reason for the club decline in recent years.

Since winning the Club World Cup in 2012, Corinthians have not reached the same level again. They have gone through several managers, while also recently bringing in former Brazilian national team manager Mano Menezes.

Pato’s desire to move away from Corinthians is believed to be solely caused by the reaction of the fans, and was widely tipped. He has moved to São Paulo on a loan deal till the end of the season, while the former club of Neymar will receive Jadson in exchange. Jadson’s move to São Paulo, though, is on a permanent basis.

Corinthians will continue to pay half of Pato’s wages and it is still unclear whether the deal would be made permanent or not. The 24-year-old has been recently linked with a return to European football with the likes of Tottenham showing interest in him. “The clubs, Corinthians and Sao Paulo, have signed the contract and it just remains for the players to sign,” said a statement on the Corinthians site.

The Brazilian international was once regarded as a replacement for Ronaldo at international level, but a spate of injuries have prevented him from reaching this level. He still has several years left in him to once again rediscover the form that made him one of the most sought-after youngsters in the world.

The Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger, has denied the possibility of any new signings at the Emirates Stadium in the remaining days of the mid season transfer window.

The transfer window is going to be closed in about a week’s time and due to the fact that quite a few of the Arsenal players have suffered injuries in the recent past, there were speculations that a new face might arrive at the club in near future, but, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

In the ongoing season, Arsenal has the chance to win a couple of prestigious tournaments including the Premier League, but, for that, they need to have good players available as backups. So, there is no doubt that a signing is the demand of the hour for them, but, it’s not easy to finalize a deal in 7 or 8 days. A manager as experienced as Arsene Wenger would certainly not want to make a wrong decision in a hurry.

The one player who was reported to be on Wenger’s radar last week was Julian Draxler, but, after the statements that the Gunners boss made in his yesterday’s interview, it doesn’t seem that the German midfielder would be making his way to England.

When asked about new signings, Wenger said, “It’s not likely to happen. Just about a week left now and honestly speaking, we don’t have any deal which is close to get finalized.”

“Our squad is still pretty good I reckon and the great news for us is that some of our guys are coming back from injuries.”

“A new signing doesn’t necessarily make the squad strong.”
Arsenal’s next match is a comparatively easier one against Coventry City, but, that’s an important match for them. They would be playing that match in front of their home crowd.

This season has been a tough one for Denilson and Sao Paulo as they had to fight and struggle just to keep a place in the middle section of the Brazilian league in the Brasileirao. Even though the season was mostly a downhill ride for the Brazilian club and player, Denilson is hopeful that 2014 will see a lot of changes and turns things around.

‘’Even on vacations we end up thinking about how it will be next year. And I’m sure that we will do differently to fight for titles again. We suffered a bit in 2013, but we will turn it up. Told the official website of São Paulo’’.

Denilson stated that he will spent most if not all of his vacations with the family as the Brazilian player got married some weeks ago and according to him, the remaining days will be relaxing with his family in Paraiba.

‘’I have to go the northeast to rest a bit, because I’m sure next year will be different. This is good time to enjoy time with the family and relax. I’ll stay a few days in Ceará, and then I’ll visit my family in Paraíba. I have family there’’. The midfielder said

The 25 years old midfielder appeared in 46 matches for his team in this past season but failed to find the net a single time which is sparking a rumor of Denilson being possibly transferred out of the club in the upcoming transfer window.

Nothing still is confirmed regarding Denilson and him making a move back to Europe as the initialy speculation was suggesting him to make a return to Europe where he once played with Arsenal in 2006 but with Jack Wilshere rising up to the stage, the playing time of Denilson was limited until he made a move to Sao Paulo.