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Arsene Wenger has spoken out about drug testing and his concerns that anti-doping tests are not strict enough in football.

The Arsenal boss believes that the Anti-Doping system is flawed in football because it is not strict or thorough enough which enables players to escape detection, according to The Sun.

“I don’t think we do enough. It is difficult to believe you have 740 players at the World Cup with zero problems,” he said.

“UEFA’s doping control do not take blood, they only take urine. I have asked many times for that to change.”

John Fahey, president of the World Anti-Doping agency has backed Wenger on his opinion. He believes that footballers should be tested more regularly for EPO-a blood boosting drug. Fahey believes that by introducing biological passports for sports stars like in cycling and tennis, that it will eliminate drug issues. Biological passports will show up any changes in body chemistry.

“I saw some examples recently in tennis, where senior players were  saying  they were not tested terribly regularly. I would say tennis can do  more, as can  football,” said Fahey.

“I simply say this about football — they are not testing enough for EPO. They  can do more and we encourage them to do more.

“While testing is a good deterrent factor and may be an effective way of  catching people, I would argue the athlete biological passport is a very  effective tool. Why isn’t football using it?”

In response, a spokesman for the FA reiterated their drug testing policy and reassured that everything was working as it should be. The FA run their own extensive drug testing programme and confirmed in a press release that they: “operate one of the largest and most comprehensive drug testing and education programmes in the world. This includes both urine and blood tests, while the FA regularly tests for EPO. We also conduct blood testing for Human Growth Hormone and run a blood-profiling programme.”

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FIFA have confirmed that they will be collecting blood and urine specimens to start building biological profiles of all the participants in the Confederations Cup and World Cup 2014.

Click here to place a pre-match bet on Wednesday 13th February’s clash between Real Madrid and Manchester United and you will receive a free In-Play bet to the same stake on the big match.

Manchester City find themselves facing the good kind of problem ahead of Saturday’s Manchester derby. On the one hand, their Premier League title is a mere formality with seven games left to get themselves over the line; on the other, nothing would be sweeter than clinching it against the club whose shadow they’ve lived in for the vast majority of their modern history.

And thus, Pep Guardiola has a key decision to make over Sergio Aguero, who wasn’t part of the travelling squad that made the trip to Anfield on Wednesday night after suffering an injury. It’s not thought to be serious but it remains to be seen if he’ll be available for the weekend.

Even if he is though, Guardiola is still faced with a dilemma. While Gabriel Jesus’ peripheral display against Liverpool highlighted the significant chasm between City’s two strike options, the Etihad Stadium outfit don’t need to win this game.

So is it actually worth the risk of starting Aguero, especially bearing in mind how injury-prone the Argentine striker, who Transfermarkt value at £67.5million, has been throughout his Premier League career, and especially with the return leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Liverpool just around the corner?

Assuming he’s fit enough to be available for selection, would you risk starting Aguero against United this weekend? Let us know by voting below…

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There has been a flurry of excitement for England’s Euro’s qualifier at Wembley tonight against Lithuania.

While everyone is wondering whether or not Tottenham sensation Harry Kane will start this, evening there is also a lot of excitement when looking at the goalkeepers.

Joe Hart has been on fantastic form this season, pulling off some superb saves, but he is not England’s only goalkeeper who has been of form in recent months. It is great to see so much young talent in an England side who are really testing Joe Hart for his place in the starting eleven.

With Ben Foster and Fraser Forster now out with long term injuries, many believe it has now left England with “one world class” goalkeeper. Let’s have a look at those shot-stoppers who have been making the headlines this season.

With so much competition it will be interesting to see – are English goalkeepers in the best form of their lives?

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Ben Foster

Ben Foster was impressive throughout last season, which earned him a call up for the 2014 World Cup squad.

He was the first West Brom player to represent England since 1970. This season he has carried on that form and it earned him another call up as Hart’s understudy.

This was until the game last weekend against Stoke where he suffered a cartilage injury, which has ruled him out until October.

Fraser Forster

Fraser Forster, Southampton’s leading keeper has had a fantastic season so far, which earned him a call-up for the England squad. Sadly just after his call-up, he was injured against Burnley, which has ruled him out of action for eight months.

Forster had only conceded 21 goals as part of the tightest defence in the Premier League so far this term before his injury, and he was really in form of his life. He was certainly giving Roy Hodgson a lot to think about. Such a bad timing for an injury!

Jack Butland

Jack Butland has had quite a mixed season so far. In October he joined Derby on loan, where he was an immediate success.

He was soon called back by Stoke and has since been back-up for Asmir Begovic. Since returning to Stoke he has only played in FA Cup and League Cup matches, but he has recently signed a contract extension to keep him at Stoke until 2019.

Seems a bit of an odd choice to call him up for England when he has had so little game time, but what can you do when two of your top three choices are out?

Rob Green

Rob Green has been at Queen’s Park Rangers since 2012 and, despite their struggles this season, he has been in excellent form for the struggling club.

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Rumours are currently circulating that Jose Mourinho has been keeping an eye on Green who, at 35, is nearing the end of his career.

It seems he is keen to sign Green in the summer to replace veteran Chelsea goalie Petr Cech. Now he has been called-up as Joe Hart’s number 2 and that certainly won’t harm his chances of moving to the Premier League leaders.

Joe Hart

Joe Hart, number one for Manchester City, has been in unstoppable form in recent weeks after that unforgettable one man show against Barcelona. Lionel Messi hailed him “unplayable” at that match.

He had a slow start to the season but has really hit a peak of form. Let’s hope we see it at National level because he can be incredible to watch when he is in form.

It has been a while since we have had so many goalkeepers who are in decent form to choose from- it can only be a good thing. Come on England!

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has played down a need to spend big during the January transfer window.

The Frenchman has been urged by the club’s fans to bring in top players in a bid to boost their Premier League fortunes after a stuttering start to the season.

With club announcing new sponsorship deals and having received substantial fees from transfers, it is believed that money is in place to draft in fresh faces.

However, Wenger feels that additions are not needed and that he has a strong enough squad to compete:

“It has become more difficult for one simple reason: We have a good squad.” He is quoted by The Mirror.

“I know we swim against the stream a bit because people don’t believe that. I say we have a very good squad.”

The Gunners have been linked with a number of players in recent weeks, including the likes of Wilfried Zaha and David Villa.

Although Wenger admitted that he needs to strengthen his squad, he hinted that arrivals will have to wait until Theo Walcott’s contract situation is resolved and key players have returned from injury:

“We have some improvements to make and we know exactly where. In January it is difficult to find the players that are really better and can give something special to the squad.

“The number is right. We have a good balance.

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“We are working very hard. First of all we want to sort out the injuries we have, and we are trying very hard to close the deal with (Theo) Walcott.

“Once we have done that, we will certainly do something else. At the moment I cannot tell you more.”

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One of the major question marks against Jose Mourinho’s name when he was appointed Manchester United manager was his reluctance to trust young players.

The debate essentially boils down to whether Marcus Rashford is a success at Old Trafford as many of the other hot prospects at the club have been sent out on loan to continue their development away from the club.

That might well be with a career away from the 20-time title winners in mind but with a squad overhaul on the cards this summer, Mourinho should be looking wherever he can for bodies who can help.

With that in mind, Football FanCast have taken a look at four of the players on United’s books who have spent the season or half a season away from the club, before asking whether they have what it takes to change Mourinho’s opinion and force their way into the first team next season.

Ranging from La Liga to the Championship, here’s a look at how Man United’s loan brigade have fared so far this season…

Fosu-Mensah is definitely one of the more highly-rated talents in Mourinho’s ranks. Capable of playing as a defensive midfielder, centre-half and right-back, his versatility as well as his physicality will surely appeal to Mourinho.

With Matteo Darmian reportedly moving ever closer to the Old Trafford exit door, there is a spot going as the understudy to Antonio Valencia next season and Fosu-Mensah will hope that he has done enough in his time at Selhurst Park to impress Mourinho.

Surely a large part of the reason the Dutch defender was loaned to Palace was the presence of his countryman Frank de Boer in South London, but his reign was incredibly short-lived.

Therefore, the exposure to passing football he was supposed to get has not quite materialised, instead working under the more pragmatic Hodgson. That may please Mourinho further.

Mourinho was reportedly unhappy with Pereira’s decision to join the Spanish side on a temporary basis, so highly does he rate the Belgian-born playmaker.

However, it is already tough for him to accommodate all of United’s current attacking options, so it seemed as if the inexperienced but talented Pereira would benefit from a season elsewhere.

He clearly has ability but again, has been unable to show it in Spain and, if Mourinho is making his decision purely based on his performances with Valencia then it is unlikely he will be a big part of the plans at Old Trafford next time around.

Yet, with prices escalating across the transfer market, the opportunity to procure extra creativity at no cost might appeal to Mourinho.

Wilson looked set to burst into the United first team when he netted twice on his first team debut under Ryan Giggs at the end of the painful 2013/14 season, but it hasn’t materialised since then.

Louis van Gaal was a fan of Wilson’s pace – even starting him in a 3-0 win over Liverpool – but couldn’t find a regular place for him in his plans and that has stalled his development.

A January move to Bramall Lane hasn’t really taken off – Chris Wilder likes to rotate his large amount of forwards and that hasn’t helped – with just one goal from six games.

It would appear that his future lies away from Old Trafford. He is nowhere near physical enough for a Mourinho striker and he hasn’t been clinical enough at Sheffield United to impress.

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Johnstone has been arguably the most impressive of the loanees, as he has played every week at Aston Villa, where he has established himself as number one.

But, such is the form of David de Gea, the best he can hope for – unless Real Madrid come knocking again – is to become second choice at Old Trafford.

Even then, Sergio Romero looks like he has that locked down so Johnstone is surely likely to seek employment elsewhere this summer.

That might well be at Villa, as he has impressed former United man Steve Bruce, but West Ham are also rumoured to be interested in the summer.

It’s been a topsy-turvy season for Liverpool so far – after a very slow start, Brendan Rodgers’ side have upped their game and are now serious contenders for a top four spot. But how much of their recent turnaround in fortunes do they owe to their ever-improving defender Mamadou Sakho?

Since the start of the New Year, no top flight team have conceded less goals than Rodgers’ Liverpool. The Reds have kept four consecutive Premier League clean sheets, and the reason for their recent success in defence, has an awful lot to do with the return of Mamadou Sakho.

The centre-back, who made the eye-opening £18million switch from French side Paris Saint-Germain 18 months ago, initially struggled to adapt to the fierceness and intensity of the Premier League. In fact, many believed he was overpriced and not quite good enough for Liverpool. However, this season, Sakho has proved all his doubters wrong, as the 24-year-old seems to have settled into Anfield life with aplomb, and has been a real revelation for the Merseyside club this term.

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Due to an injury sustained in late September, the Frenchman missed over a month of first team action. But since his return to the side, Liverpool’s defence has tightened up significantly, and Sakho is starting to live up to the high standards he set at PSG. The France international has appeared regularly in the heart of the Liverpool backline since mid-December, and the Reds haven’t lost a single game in 90 minutes during that time. In the 12 games prior to Sakho’s return, Liverpool had only won four, lost five and conceded 15 goals – so it’s fair to say they really missed his dominant presence at the back and the turnaround since has been truly remarkable.

So what has been the catalyst for Sakho’s impressive pick-up in form this season? Well for a start, I think it’s clear for everybody to see that he has matured tenfold, not only has the defender rapidly caught up with the pace of the Premier League, he seems to be enjoying his football and has taken the responsibility of re-joining Rodgers’ first team in his stride.

Liverpool’s recent turnaround in form has seen them climb up to seventh in the Premier League table, and they now just sit four points off Southampton who occupy the final Champions League spot. Despite the heart-breaking loss to Chelsea in the League Cup Semi-Final recently, the Merseysiders should feel extremely optimistic about the way their season could potentially pan out. After finally seeing off Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup on Wednesday, it’s imperative that the Reds keep their strong momentum going and finish the season staunchly.

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It’s undoubtedly been a campaign of ups and downs for Brendan Rodgers’ side this term, but they are certainly on the road to recovery. With the recent return of the influential Daniel Sturridge, as well as the impressive form of the majority of Liverpool’s senior players – including the outstanding emergence of Sakho of late – things are starting to look a lot rosier at Anfield.

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Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill is keen on bringing former Everton midfielder Tim Cahill to the Stadium of Light on loan in January according to Sky Sports.

The New York Red Bulls star enjoyed eight successful years in the Premier League with the Toffee’s before being shipped off to the MLS.

The former Millwall midfielder had hoped for a return to Goodison Park on loan during the January transfer window but will settle for a move to the North East with O’Neill extremely interested.

Cahill was somewhat of a goal machine for Everton but Marouane Fellaini has certainly taken over his position now so a loan move to Sunderland would see far more game time for the Australian international.

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With the MLS out of action for a few months the likes of Cahill, Thierry Henry, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane are all set for two month loan spells in the Premier League.

As reported by The Sun, the race to sign Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah this summer has started after the forward’s incredible form at Anfield this season.

What’s the story?

With 36 goals in all competitions for the Reds this term, it’s inevitable that he’ll be attracting interest from European giants this summer and it seems the headlines surrounding his potential departure have already begun.

The Sun report that Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona are all interested in signing the attacker, prepared to pay a world record fee of £200m to tempt Liverpool into selling.

More than the amount that took Neymar to Paris last summer, would £200m be an offer that the Reds couldn’t afford to turn down?

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Should they sell?

The last thing Liverpool want is another transfer saga like Philippe Coutinho’s, recognising that the pull from European football’s elite clubs is strong both in terms of status and cash.

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However, Salah feels like he’s barely arrived at the club and getting at least another season out of the Egyptian should be their big priority. If he can repeat anything close to this term’s goalscoring then his value will not have decreased by next summer.

There’s an argument to be made that clubs should always sell a player at his peak value, but Liverpool have trophy ambitions and letting go of Salah would be a major blow in that regard, even if the reported £200m would allow a major transfer signing spree.

Probable Lineups…

Manchester United (3-5-2): De Gea, McNair, Smalling, Blackett, Valencia, Carrick, Fellaini, Young, Rooney, Van Persie, Di Maria

Manchester United are still suffering from their defensive crisis with seven players, five of them defenders, being unavailable for selection. Marcos Rojo, Rafael, Daley Blind, Luke Shaw, Phil Jones, Jonny Evans, and Jesse Lingard are all not able to feature against Hull City. Although Evans is back in training, he revealed that he is still not ready to step right into the action and could be rested for another week. Radamel Falcao is also fit to feature but could be introduced later on as he begins his return to full match fitness. Louis van Gaal opted to revert back to his initial 3-5-2 formation, a change which saw his side beat Arsenal 2-1. Ashley Young is likely to play at left-wing back as Angel Di Maria could be moved into a more attacking role alongside Robin Van Persie with Wayne Rooney lurking right behind.

Hull City (3-5-1-1): Harper, Chester, Dawson, Davies, Elmohamady, Livermore, Huddlestone, Quinn, Robertson, Ben Arfa, Jelavic

Hull City will be without Gaston Ramirez who was suspended in the 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur last week and will join Robert Snodgrass on the sidelines with their new signing picking up a serious knee injury on his debut match. Some good news for Steve Bruce is that Mohamed Diame has declared himself fit to face Manchester United, but it is still unknown whether his manager will risk bringing back into the fold so soon. Similar to Diame, Alex Bruce is still a doubt but may start on the bench given he has only recently returned from a hamstring injury.

What the fans are saying…

Remember this?

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Towards the end of last season, Manchester United overcame Hull City at Old Trafford with a 3-1 scoreline thanks to James Wilson netting a brace and Robin van Persie striking the third. A win for the Red Devils this time around could see them continue their bids to secure a Champions League spot while Hull are also looking for three points so that they can avoid the drop zone.

West Bromwich Albion defender Jonas Olsson publicly criticised players who dive, after replays showed Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla simulating in the box against the Baggies last weekend.

However, the defender was rather philosophical in his criticism, noting that due to the omission of in-game replays, referees have “a difficult job.”

He continued by stating, “If it’s a dive the focus should be on the person diving as well [as the defending tackle],” and by doing so it would create an impartial atmosphere for the foul – or dive – to be reviewed.

Olsson’s comment refocuses the debate by highlighting a ref’s intrinsically obstructed responsibility – devoid of video evidence – and then pointing the blame at the simulating players in question.

“I don’t like people diving. I’m not very objective either being a defender. Most of the time I like this league because of the fair play it contains,” he said before expressing his admiration for officials in light of a job without “the privilege of watching replays.”

Earlier in the year Arsene Wenger went further to suggest that a deterrent for diving should be legislated for by the FA. “If an obvious dive is punished by a three-match ban, the players would not do it anymore. I would support it. It has to be obvious diving.”

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Cazorla’s dive came in the first half and stands as an obvious example of a player gaining the upper hand in an underhanded way.