Freddie Ljungberg has insisted he has not had any say on who will take over as Arsenal s next permanent head coach.

Ljungberg has been in charge for Arsenal s last three matches on an interim basis following the sacking of Unai Emery, celebrating his first win on Monday as the Gunners rallied to beat West Ham.

The 42-year-old is reportedly in contention to stay at the helm until the end of the season while the club continue their search for Emery s successor.

Mikel Arteta, Patrick Vieira and Massimiliano Allegri have been linked, while Carlo Ancelotti is also said to be in the running after the Italian was sacked by Napoli on Tuesday.

However, Ljungberg has not held talks with Arsenal chiefs over the vacant position and reiterated he is only focused on …

Supporting cast members played essential roles as Liverpool and Tottenham mounted incredible comebacks to reach the Champions League final and now the time has come for the stars to shine.

Divock Origi helped to bury Barcelona, Lucas Moura left Ajax in ruins and yet neither semi-final hero has been able to squeeze into our combined XI of the individuals aiming to snatch the headlines this Saturday.

Harry Kane, an increasingly strong chance to feature at the Wanda Metropolitano, also sits out on this occasion with Opta data employed to aid the tough calls in areas of extreme depth.

Extra attention has been paid to performances in Europe and led to the creation of a high-performing team blessed with top talent from back to front.

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Chelsea s League Cup final victory over Tottenham at Wembley was labelled massive by goalscoring captain John Terry.

John Terry hailed a massive triumph for Chelsea after they beat Tottenham 2-0 to claim the League Cup at Wembley on Sunday.

Chelsea captain Terry opened the scoring shortly before half-time as the Premier League leaders secured a first trophy since Jose Mourinho s return as manager in 2013.

Mourinho s side pulled further clear when Diego Costa s 56th-minute strike took a deflection off Kyle Walker to beat Hugo Lloris and Tottenham never seriously threatened to pull off a fightback thereafter.

That s the first one, Terry told Sky Sports before being presented with the trophy.

It s massive. That could be the start of something�…

Brendan Rodgers has moved to keep expectation levels surrounding Jordan Henderson in check ahead of Liverpool s FA Cup quarter-final against Blackburn Rovers. 

Henderson has captained the Merseyside club in the absence of the injured Steven Gerrard and is arguably in the form of his career. 

Comparisons have been made between Henderson and his team-mate Gerrard, who misses out again with a hamstring injury, but Liverpool boss Rodgers is wary of linking the two midfielders. 

Addressing the media on Friday, Rodgers said: You should stop trying to put pressure on Jordan Henderson. 

Just because he shoots from outside the box doesn t mean he s Steven Gerrard. He s making his own headlines.

Henderson has hit the headlines by netting fine goals in…

Gareth Southgate felt the extraordinary Harry Kane showed his mental strength by scoring a record-breaking goal in England s 2-1 Euro 2024 qualifying win against Italy.

The Three Lions gained a measure of revenge for their loss to the Azzurri in the final of the last European Championship at Wembley with a victory in their Group C opener at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Declan Rice opened the scoring and Kane become England s outright leading goalscorer with a penalty at the end of the first half in Naples on Thursday.

A debut goal for the Argentina-born Mateo Retegui in the second half and Luke Shaw s late red card could not prevent England from securing a first away win over Italy since May 1961.

It was a special night for Kane, who broke a record he s…

Cristiano Ronaldo must stand up now and speak and not wait to lift the lid on his situation at Manchester United, says Gary Neville.

The Red Devils failure to secure a Champions League berth last season led to reports Ronaldo told the club he wanted to leave just under a year after returning to Old Trafford from Juventus.

A shambolic start to life under Erik ten Hag, which saw an opening home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion followed by a 4-0 drubbing at Brentford, has only exacerbated the situation.

However, despite being linked with a host of Europe s biggest clubs it appears there are a lack of viable options for Ronaldo with Chelsea and Bayern Munich said to have rejected the chance to sign him, while a potential switch to Atletico Madrid would be wildly un…

Luis Suarez scored his 50th goal for Uruguay as they booked their place alongside Wales in the China Cup final with a 2-0 victory over Czech Republic.

The Barcelona forward Uruguay s all-time leading goalscorer netted the opener from the spot in Nanning after being brought down in the box by goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka just 10 minutes into the contest.

Edinson Cavani added a second eight minutes before half-time with a superbly struck overhead kick, although there was some suspicion of offside against the Paris Saint-Germain frontman.

The result earns Uruguay a meeting with Wales in Monday s final, following a 6-0 triumph for the Euro 2016 semi-finalists over hosts China on Thursday in Ryan Giggs first game in charge.

Czech Republic will face China in a thir…

Lionel Messi was an all too notable absentee as Argentina were humiliated 6-1 by Spain in Madrid on Tuesday, the joint-heaviest defeat in their history.

Barcelona superstar Messi missed both of Argentina s friendlies during the international break, also sitting out the 2-0 win against Italy due to an adductor injury, and his presence was sorely missed as Julen Lopetegui s men ran roughshod.

Since losing the Copa America Centenario final to Chile in June 2016, a defeat that saw Messi briefly quit the national team, it has been an indifferent period in Argentine football.

Messi has often been criticised for failing to match his phenomenal Barca standards with the national team, but there is no denying his importance to the side – the hat-trick against Ecuador th…

Barcelona s front three of Lionel Messi, Neymar and luis suarez helped the Catalan giants record a 5-3 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals

Last night Barcelona lost 3-2 at Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-final second leg, but won the tie 5-3 on aggregate.

The Catalan giants now face the potential prospect of facing arch-rivals Real Madrid in the first ever Clasico Champions League final, although Los Blancos have to overcome a stubborn Juventus team tonight to make that happen.

Crucial

Barcelona’s five goals over the two legs were all scored by their fantastic threesome of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. Three of those were scored by Brazilian superstar Neymar and two by the irrepressible Messi.

…

Champions League finalists Juventus are lining up a move for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Erik Lamela, .

The Italian giants, who secured the second part of a potential treble with an extra time win over Lazio in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday evening, are looking ahead to next season when they will aim to win a fourth successive league title.

Ex-Roma man Lamela has largely failed to live up to his £25m price tag since signing from Roma in the summer of 2013, with the 23 year old having scored just six goals in sixty-two appearances in all competitions.

Now Juve look set to offer him the chance to return to Serie A, where the Argentina international spent two years prior to his switch to White Hart Lane.

Spurs finish their 2014/15 league campaig…