Arsenal have been dealt a huge blow ahead of the latest episode of the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Saturday after Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld returned to first-team action in the 2-0 win against Newport County on Wednesday night to put himself in contention for a start this weekend.

The Gunners would have been hoping that they would come up against Davinson Sanchez following his horror show in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, but now Alderweireld could be lining up alongside fellow Belgian Jan Vertonghen at the heart of the defence instead after he played the full 90 minutes against the League Two outfit.

The 28-year-old made his long-awaited return against the Exiles having been sidelined with a hamstring injury he picked up in Mauricio Pochettino’s men’s 3-1 win against Real Madrid in the Champions League on November 1.

Arsene Wenger would have been hopeful that the centre-back wouldn’t have been fit enough to start against his team – and he still might not be risked from the start by Pochettino – with the French manager ready to unleash Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on their arch-rivals’ defence as they look to close the gap between the two to just one point with a win.

The Gabon international started and scored on his debut in the 5-1 win against Everton last Saturday, and he is likely to get the nod ahead of Alexandre Lacazette again this weekend too.

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Reported former Newcastle United target Eliaquim Mangala has been ruled out until the end of the season because of a knee injury, and Magpies fans have been quick to have their say on the news.

The Daily Mail reported on January 29 that United manger Rafa Benitez had enquired about bringing the £80,000-a-week star to St James’ Park on loan before the January transfer window slammed shut last month, but the 26-year-old joined Everton in a similar deal instead.

However, just two matches into his time with the Merseyside outfit the centre-back picked up a knee injury that will keep him on the sidelines until after the climax of the campaign, with Toffees boss Sam Allardyce confirming he will be out for the long-term.

Newcastle supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the injury update, and while one said “another bullet dodged”, another said “phew that was a close one”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Martin Dubravka has revealed that he is desperate to sign a permanent deal with Newcastle United following his impressive start to life in the Premier League.

The 29-year-old joined Newcastle on loan from Sparta Prague last month, and the Slovakian has made a positive impression since arriving in England.

Indeed, the stopper starred against Manchester United on his debut, and also made a series of impressive saves in Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at the weekend.

It is understood that the Magpies will have the opportunity to make the deal permanent at the end of the 2017-18 campaign, and Dubravka is hopeful that he will stay in England.

Dubravka told The Guardian:

“I hope I’ll stay. It’s amazing here. Everybody in Slovakia knows about Newcastle; it’s a big name in my country.

“I know many people talk about the top six in England but, in Slovakia, Newcastle’s one of the most famous clubs.

“Everyone wants to be a hero of a club like Newcastle but I have to take this step by step. If you think things are going to go well, then they won’t.”

Dubravka, who is a nine-time Slovakia international, only joined Sparta Prague from Slovan Liberec in June 2017.

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Newcastle have only lost one of their last eight Premier League matches, but sit down in 15th position in the table – just two points clear of the relegation zone.

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Pascal Chimbonda has warned Fulham starlet Ryan Sessegnon about moving to the Premier League club.

The 17-year-old has been in sensational form over the last few seasons for the Cottagers.

Rumours were rife last summer that the teenage wide player would be scooped up by one of the elite clubs.

However, he opted to sign his first professional contract at Fulham and has gone from strength to strength.

This season, the youngster has scored 14 goals, 10 of which have come in his last 13 appearances.

Earlier this month, The Mirror reported that Sessegnon would prefer to join Tottenham over Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City.

Given Mauricio Pochettino’s proven track record with giving young players a chance, it would be understandable if the Englishman chose Spurs.

The fans, as well, have made it clear on social media that they are keen for the club to bring him in.

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However, Chimbonda, who played for the North London outfit across two spells, has suggested that Tottenham may not be the best place for the youngster at this time of his career.

In an interview with Betstars, the 39-year-old said:

“He’s still young, he’s good for the Championship but there’s a difference between being good in the Championship and arriving in the Premier League. If he comes to Spurs he won’t play regularly or may go out on loan, he will only come on sometimes and that’s really hard for the player. I think he needs to go to a team below Spurs, where he will play football.”

The footballing gods have thrown together a tasty Champions League quarter-final tie as Liverpool will take on Manchester City.

The match-up means that an English team will definitely be in the semi-finals of the competition, and given the results between these two clubs this season, it is anyone’s game.

So far, Liverpool are the only club to beat Pep Guardiola’s City in the Premier League this season and they did it in a dramatic 4-3 victory at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp’s side were outclassed in the first top-flight fixture between the two sides this season as the blue half of Manchester waltzed to a 5-0 triumph.

The scoreline was not the only miserable thing for the Reds; they lost Sadio Mane to a red card after the Senegal international inadvertently kicked goalkeeper Ederson in the face.

Interestingly, the timings of the quarter-final tie slot in between some huge league matches for both clubs.

Anfield will host the first leg on April 4, with the return leg at the Etihad Stadium on April 10, and in between those outings, Liverpool will take on Merseyside rivals Everton and City will play a potential title-winning game against Manchester United.

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Liverpool could have been drawn against Real Madrid, Juventus, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Roma or Sevilla, but they will face an all-English tie.

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Celtic defender Jack Hendry took a massive forward step in his career on Tuesday night, making his debut for Scotland in a friendly away to Hungary.

Winning the match 1-0, it was an important victory and performance for Alex McLeish’s side, who are embarking on a new era after yet another failed qualification campaign and were looking to bounce back from defeat against Costa Rica on Friday night.

The clean sheet will be of particular delight to central defender Hendry, who dealt with the attacking threat of the Hungarians well all evening, showing why Celtic moved for him in January and justifying his inclusion in McLeish’s first squad.

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The 22-year-old has had a meteoric rise this season, signing for Dundee from the fringes of the Wigan squad last summer before joining the Hoops.

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Fans were certainly impressed with his international debut with fans of clubs other than Celtic taking to social media to praise the player in the wake of the friendly win…

Everton were powerless to stop Manchester City in the English Premier League on Saturday, falling to a 3-1 defeat at Goodison Park.

The result was never in doubt, with City scoring within four minutes and then adding two more before half-time, leaving just a Yannick Bolasie goal as consolation for home supporters in the second half.

Fans were desperately disappointed with the negative performance, slating not just Sam Allardyce’s tactics but also ineffective displays from the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin.

The 28-year-old has been generally disappointing since his switch from Manchester United last January and fans are rapidly losing faith in his ability to perform to the standard required at the Toffees.

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They believe they need more dynamism in the middle of the park, especially when Schneiderlin is doing little to protect his defensive line.

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Will they invest again in the transfer market this summer to solve the problem?

Fans took to Twitter to share their frustrations with the Frenchman’s performance…

When Manchester City began stretching away from their competitors in the Premier League, many wondered whether they could go all the way and complete the quadruple.

Pep Guardiola’s men won the first trophy of the season by easing past Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final in February.

However, their hopes of winning all four pieces of silverware took a hit when they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Wigan Athletic in the fifth round.

With the title race pretty much a formality for City, attention turned to the Champions League, where they were drawn to face Liverpool in the quarter-finals.

The tie did not go to plan, though, as they were stunned in the first 31 minutes of the first leg at Anfield.

Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane scored the goals without reply, but despite the deficit, some City fans still held hope that the team would turn it around at the Etihad.

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Guardiola’s side almost did when Gabriel Jesus netted two minutes into the fixture, but Liverpool held on and secured a place in the semi-finals thanks to goals from Salah and Roberto Firmino.

A 5-1 aggregate defeat would have been tough to take for City, especially following Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Manchester United, but rival fans are making the most of it.

According to reports in The Mirror, Everton have been joined by newly-promoted Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers in the race to sign Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, rated at £16.2m by Transfermarkt, this summer.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Mirror says that the Merseyside outfit have already made a huge offer to bring the England international to Goodison Park – a move that 61% of their fans on Twitter backed last month – although they could face competition for his signature from Wolves, with Liverpool and Manchester City also watching developments.

The Mirror says that it is increasingly likely that the 26-year-old will leave the Gunners this summer because of a stand-off between the two parties over a new contract.

The report adds that Wilshere has been handed a take-it-or-leave-it offer of £90,000-a-week wages – not including extra incentive clauses – which is less than the £110,000-a-week deal he is currently on.

How has Wilshere done this season?

The England international looked certain to be on his way out of Arsenal this summer having initially struggled to get in their Premier League squad at the start of the campaign following his return from a loan spell at Bournemouth, but his fortunes have changed in recent months.

Since making his first top flight appearance of the season on October 22, the 26-year-old has only failed to get on the pitch on six occasions, and has shown glimpses of the form he is capable of when he isn’t suffering from injury issues.

Should Everton be worried by Wolves’ interest?

It’s difficult to say.

While the Toffees will know that they should be able to offer a more lucrative financial offer than the newly-promoted club, Wilshere showed that he isn’t afraid to go out and play for a smaller club having joined Bournemouth on loan previously.

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The 26-year-old could see a move to Wolves as a fresh and interesting challenge given the ambition they appear to have, but Everton have that same ambition and want to challenge the top six clubs on a consistent basis.

All in all, Wilshere would probably prefer to join a more established top flight club like Everton than Wolves, but it could be the offers from abroad from the likes of Juventus and AC Milan that the Merseyside outfit should perhaps be more concerned about.

According to German publication Bild, Southampton turned down the chance to sign Schalke contract rebel Max Meyer for €10m (£8.8m), and Everton should take advantage by bringing him to Goodison Park on a free transfer this summer.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Bild says that Saints were offered the chance to bring the 22-year-old to the Premier League during the January transfer window, with the Bundesliga outfit already accepting at that stage that the player wasn’t going to extend his current deal which expires at the end of the season.

However, Bild reports that the south coast outfit rejected the move, meaning there could be a real scrap to sign the Germany international – who has been suspended by Schalke after he claimed in an interview that his club had bullied him – this summer.

Meanwhile, the Toffees snatched a 1-1 draw against Southampton at Goodison Park on Saturday that all-but ensures they will end the campaign in eighth position, but unpopular boss Sam Allardyce, who was slated by his own fans on Twitter over the weekend for the lack of respect he has shown, will already be identifying transfer targets to help them significantly improve on that in what has been a disappointing year overall.

How has Meyer done this season?

The 22-year-old has been one of Schalke’s real star players in previous campaigns, but his contract situation and the fractured relationship with his manager appears to have affected his form badly this term.

The Germany international has scored one goal and provided a further assist in 28 appearances in all competitions, and he is unlikely to add to that now because of his suspension.

Meyer has largely played as a defensive midfielder this season, but he is versatile and can also play in the centre, as an attacking midfielder and even as a striker, and he will likely prefer to play further forward whichever club he does join this summer.

Why should Everton sign him?

Firstly, he is available on a free and the Toffees should be looking to sign talents like the 22-year-old who have plenty of quality and potential to improve.

Secondly, he would provide some much-needed competition for the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin and Idrissa Gueye in the middle of the park, and Gylfi Sigurdsson in a more attacking role.

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With seven goals in 24 caps for Germany, it is clear to see that he has the quality to help take the Merseyside outfit to the next level.

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