Nice winger Hatem Ben Arfa has spoken out on his enforced exile to the reserves during his time at Newcastle United, describing the period as hell .

Following an initial loan spell, Ben Arfa was signed on a permanent deal by Newcastle in January 2011 and quickly became a fans favourite at St James Park.

However, his Newcastle career came to a bitter end, a fall-out with then manager Alan Pardew leading to the Frenchman being banished to the reserves.

A loan move to Hull City followed in September 2014, but his spell at the KC Stadium was brief as Ben Arfa fell out of favour with boss Steve Bruce, with Newcastle then terminating his contract in January this year.

Ben Arfa joined up with Nice that month, only to see his contract cancelled as it was ruled…

Liverpool s Phillipe Coutinho was outstanding against Manchester City

Manchester City were stunned at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night by a Liverpool side full of energy and superb passing play. The Sky Blues had no response to Jurgen Klopp’s side, who could have scored more goals on the night such was their dominance in attack, and here are five things we learned from the clash.

Manchester City missed Vincent Kompany

Manchester City have never managed to successfully replace captain Vincent Kompany when the Belgian is out of action through injury, and it was the case this weekend. The Sky Blues were disjointed at the back, and were described as having no leadership in Kompany’s absence. Eliaquim Mangala and Martin Demichelis partnered each other at the…

Eddie Howe has laughed off crazy speculation linking him with the England manager s job following his success at AFC Bournemouth.

Howe, a former player at Bournemouth, has become a hero at the club after guiding them out of administration and away from the bottom of League Two to the Premier League in just seven years either side of a short spell at Burnley in 2011-12.

After 15 games in their debut Premier League season, Bournemouth sit 17th  outside the bottom three on goal difference  and their style of play has seen Howe attract numerous plaudits.

Although the 38-year-old is flattered to be linked with the England job, he believes it is far too soon for such speculation to have any credibility.

I have never given it any thought but if I am fortuna…

According to a report by Italian media outlet, Lazio have made contact with Everton over the possibility of signing Ramiro Funes Mori.

The Argentine is seen as a potential replacement for Stefan de Vrij, as the Dutch centre-back seems certain to leave the Rome club this summer. His destination remains unconfirmed at the moment, but Everton s city rivals Liverpool have been mentioned in that aspect.

After spending most of the season on the sidelines due to injury, Funes Mori has only returned to Everton s senior squad last weekend against Swansea, where he made a substitute appearance. There has rarely been a player at Everton who divided the fanbase to such extent. Extremely passionate but prone to errors, some praise his commitment on the pitch while others believe the…

Massimiliano Allegri believes Juventus need another extraordinary transfer window to keep challenging on three fronts, though he does not think an overhaul is necessary.

Allegri s men are in charge at the Serie A summit, find themselves in the Coppa Italia final and are one of the last eight in the Champions League after another productive campaign.

However, Juve lost 3-0 at home to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday, leaving them staring at likely elimination.

Should Juve fail to produce a remarkable comeback in the return fixture, it will see them fall short of last season s journey to the final, where they also lost to Madrid.

Two years earlier they were beaten in the showpiece by Barcelona, a defeat that pr…

Milan coach Stefano Pioli believes the race for the Scudetto is wide open despite Inter finishing 2021 as Serie A s Winter champions .

Inter are four points clear at the top of the table as they bid to retain the title having wrested it from Juventus grip last season.

Pioli s men took advantage of Napoli s loss at home to Spezia on Wednesday to move into second with a 4-2 win at Empoli.

And, as Serie A heads into its two-week break over the festive period, Pioli sees no reason why Inter cannot be overhauled.

We won the Winter Champions title last season, but we didn t end up getting the Scudetto, so it s all wide open, Pioli told Sky Sport Italia.

The objective is to keep improving. We had 66 points the first season, 79 the second, the target i…

Jack Grealish and Phil Foden were again named as substitutes by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola for the visit of Leicester City.

The England pair were pictured on a night out after City s 7-0 rout against Leeds United earlier in December and dropped out of Guardiola s starting line-up for the 4-0 win over Newcastle United last Sunday.

City staff were reported to be disappointed by the condition of the pair when they reported for a recovery session after the Leeds game and Guardiola reminded City players of their responsibilities once more on Friday.

Guardiola again decided Grealish and Foden should be among the substitutes for the Boxing Day clash with Leicester.

Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez were the three selected to start i…

Schalke coach Jens Keller has called for an improved performance from his team ahead of their encounter with Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

The 2009/10 Bundesliga runners-up accounted for lowly Werder Bremen 2-0 last week, their fifth win from six league outings.

Schalke occupy fourth position in the table and can close to within a solitary point of fellow Champions League hopefuls Leverkusen with victory at the weekend.

But Keller says Schalke will need to be at their best if they are to avenge November s 2-0 loss.

We need to show a different game or a different spirit than in the first half in Bremen, Keller told reporters.

Leverkusen will be a tougher contender than Bremen for sure and I think that they will punish us for mistakes like we did …

Geoff Cameron believes Stoke s style of play will evolve under Mark Hughes this season.

Former manager Tony Pulis, who left by mutual consent in May after seven years in charge, was noted for his direct style of play and although it earned Stoke promotion to the Premier League in 2008, many fans, and indeed Pulis himself, were frustrated by the long-ball tag.

Stoke supporters were divided over Pulis, particularly towards the end of his tenure, as the Welshman s pragmatic approach was not always attractive to watch.

The arrival of Hughes brings with it the promise of a new-look Stoke, with defender Cameron confident that a different method will be noticeable under the former Manchester City, Wales and Blackburn boss.

Cameron, who joined from the Houston Dynamo in …

UEFA have confirmed that the winners of the Europa League will earn a place in the Champions League from 2015.

The move, announced at the UEFA Congress on Friday, is an attempt to increase interest in Europe s secondary club competition.

There have been several initiatives in the past to boost the prestige of the tournament, including changing the name to its current guise from the UEFA Cup in 2009.

Teams that finish third in their UEFA Champions League group also drop into the competition.

The decision follows months of discussions between the governing body and the European Club Association.

The competition generates less income and media focus than the UEFA Champions League, but it is hoped that Friday s announcement will raise the profile of t…