Istanbul, Tokyo and Madrid submit Olympic 2020 bids

Mikel Arteta has brought Mesut Ozil back into Arsenal s starting line-up at Bournemouth for his first game in charge of the Gunners.

Ozil was absent at Everton last time out and interim coach Freddie Ljungberg explained that though the German had a foot injury, he would not have featured anyway due to his angry reaction at being substituted in the home loss to Manchester City.

Yet new boss Arteta, who has kept Ljungberg on as one of his assistants on a new-look coaching staff, has included Ozil in his team as one of three changes, Alexandre Lacazette and Sokratis Papastathopoulos also coming in as Calum Chambers, Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli drop out.

Striker Martinelli had been a doubt due to a hamstring injury while Chambers is missing through�…

Amid growing interest from Leicester City, Tottenham have confirmed their head of recruitment Paul Mitchell will leave the Premier League club upon mutual decision.

Tottenham announced the news via their Twitter account on Tuesday, with chairman Daniel Levy praising Mitchell s contribution during his tenure at White Hart Lane.

Mitch has been with us for two years and created a well-staffed department and run our recruitment processes,  Levy said.

We understand and respect his decision to consider new avenues. The priority right now is the final few weeks of the transfer window.

I know that, whilst most of our business has been completed, Mitch is keen to ensure we start the season in the best position possible.

Mitchell was contracted at Tott…

Axel Witsel has suffered a torn Achilles and will miss an extended period of time , Borussia Dortmund have announced.

The Belgium international was helped off during the first half of Dortmund s 3-1 win at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Dortmund confirmed the extent of Witsel s injury on Sunday and, though a timeframe has not been put on a return, it is highly likely the 31-year-old will miss the rest of the season.

Reports in Belgium also suggest Witsel is a doubt for the rescheduled Euro 2020, which is due to start on June 11.

Unfortunate news. Axel Witsel suffered a torn Achilles tendon during yesterday’s match and will be out for an extended period of time.

We all wish Axel a speedy and successful recovery

— Borussia Do…

Arsenal face a trip to Championship side West Brom in the second round of the EFL Cup.

Mikel Arteta s side failed to qualify for Europe last season – the first time the Gunners have missed out on continental competition since 1996.

It means they will feature in the EFL Cup second round, with the Premier League s top seven sides given a bye to the third round.

West Brom, who are under the charge of new boss Valerien Ismael, will be their opponents in the week commencing August 23.

The last time the sides met, a 3-1 victory for Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in May condemned the Baggies to a return to the second tier.

League Two side Barrow will host Aston Villa, while Southampton and Brentford will also face a fourth-tier team in the form of Newpor…

Inter Milan have been fined 15,000 euros over racist chants about Mario Balotelli during a Serie A match with Chievo.

Former Manchester City man Balotelli, who previously played for Inter before moving to England in 2010, joined rivals AC Milan during the January transfer window.

He was the subject of offensive chanting by sections of the Inter support during their 3-1 win at San Siro on Sunday.

It is the second high-profile case of racism involving Balotelli since the striker returned to Italy.

Paolo Berlusconi the brother of AC Milan president Silvio was filmed using offensive language when referring to the Italy international prior to his debut against Udinese.

Earlier in the season, Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng left the pitch during …

The agent of Fenerbahce winger Milos Krasic has moved to confirm reports linking his client with a summer move to Russia.

Krasic, 28, has been struggling for playing time in Turkey, and he could be leaving Fener at the end of the current campaign in search of first team football.

, Dynamo Moscow are keen to sign the Serbian midfielder as a replacement for Balasz Dzsudzsak, who is followed by both Inter and Liverpool.

Even if the winter transfer window in Russia does not close until tomorrow, Dynamo will wait until the summer before making their move.

“We have had several contacts with Russian teams, but he (Krasic) is staying in Turkey until June,” agent Dejan Joksimovic told Izvestia.

Milos Krasic has spent most of his career in Russia, havi…

Joachim Low hailed Bastian Schweinsteiger as a great player and great man and says Germany s success over the past 12 years would not have been possible without the influential midfielder.

Schweinsteiger bid an emotional farewell to Die Mannschaft by captaining Germany in Wednesday s 2-0 friendly victory over Finland.

The 32-year-old announced his decision to walk away from international football following Germany s Euro 2016 semi-final defeat to France.

And Low hailed Schweinsteiger s contribution to the national team, particularly his role in helping Germany to World Cup glory in Brazil two years ago.

Before the game and during the substitution of Basti I was emotionally very affected. I was remembering all the years, we ve worked together for 12 years…

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri expects his side to exhibit an improvement in form when they take on Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.

The champions, who are seeking a fifth successive Serie A crown, suffered a shock defeat on the opening weekend, going down 1-0 at home to Udinese.

And Allegri is hoping for more from his players ahead of their trip to the capital on Sunday which will see Juve face their closest domestic challengers in the 2014-15 campaign.

Serie A is not a 100 metre race but a marathon, Allegri
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said.

You need patience to find the right rhythm. We know we have a great team, with players that have to grow, but we need to be given time to do so.

We will improve game by game, we just have to think about wo…

Brazil coach Tite has announced a 26-man squad for the friendlies against Ghana and Tunisia, the team s final games before the World Cup in Qatar.

Defensive duo Bremer and Roger Ibanez, who play in Italy with Juventus and Roma respectively, are the new faces in the squad who could earn international debuts.

Established names including Alisson, Thiago Silva, Casemiro and Neymar make the cut, with the squad predominantly consisting of those playing in Europe.

Palmeiras goalkeeper Weverton and Flamengo duo Everton Ribeiro and Pedro are the three from the Brazilian league included, along with 11 representatives from the Premier League and six from LaLiga.

Among the notable absentees are Arsenal s Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus, all …

Adrian Mutu has been handed the chance to kick-start his coaching career with Romania Under-21s a team he starred for before becoming a world-renowned top striker.

The Romanian Football Federation (FRF) confirmed Mutu in the job on Wednesday, after successful talks with president Razvan Burleanu.

It means the 41-year-old former Juventus, Fiorentina and Chelsea forward assumes control of a side who are in the frame to qualify for the Euro 2021 finals.

I feel honoured, it is a big responsibility for me, said Mutu, quoted on the FRF website.

The Romania Under-21 side were semi-finalists at Euro 2019, where they beat Croatia and England and drew with France before losing to Germany in the semi-finals.

He takes over from Mirel Radoi, who in November…