Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Giroud reveals he is in talks over new Arsenal contract

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has revealed that he is in negotiations with the club with a view to extending his contract beyond 2016

Giroud, who signed from Montpellier for £12 million two summers ago, has become an integral part of the Arsenal side since the departure of Robin van Persie and is intent on building on recent successes.

"I have two years left on my contract [until June 2016] but we are in negotiations to extend. For now, I am here. There are many great things to do,"

he told footmercato.net.

"I feel comfortable in the Premier League. My first season not too bad, I had a pretty good second. I hope to do even better [next season]. I am progressing from year to year, the same as the team."

He scored two goals for France on Monday night as Les Bleus warmed up for the World Cup with a 4-0 friendly victory over Norway.

Tottenham appoint Pochettino as new manager

Tottenham Hotspur have appointed Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager on a five-year deal.

The Argentine resigned from Southampton after 18 months with the club.

The 42-year-old becomes Tottenham's 10th manager since 2001 and replaces Tim Sherwood who was sacked on 13 May.

"This is a club with tremendous history and prestige and I am honoured to have been given this opportunity to be its head coach," Pochettino told the Spurs website.

 Pochettino's assistant Jesus Perez, first team coach Miguel D'Agostino and goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez have also left Southampton to join him at Spurs.

The White Hart Lane club started last season with Andre Villas-Boas as manager but sacked him in December.

Sherwood replaced the Portuguese and led the club to a sixth place finish in the top-flight.

Tottenham also sold forward Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a world record £85.3m fee last summer as they signed Paulinho, Roberto Soldado, Nacer Chadli, Etienne Capoue, Christian Eriksen, Vlad Chiriches and Erik Lamela.

"There is an abundance of top-class talent at the club and I am looking forward to starting work with the squad," added Pochettino.

"Tottenham Hotspur has a huge following across the world and I have great admiration for the passion the fans show for this team.

"We are determined to give the supporters the kind of attacking football and success that we are all looking to achieve."

The former Espanyol boss took over at Southampton in January 2013, when he replaced Nigel Adkins, and led them to eighth last season - their highest finish in the Premier League.