West London outfit Chelsea have been earlier dealt a heavy blow in their pursuit of Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka as the player refused to give them his nod.

Reports according to Football.London claim that the star player turned down an offer from the Stamford Bridge to the North London side and he has no regret about that.

Bukayo Saka is one of the biggest prospects in the Gunners team and it was very evident in the quality performance he showed in his side’s Europa League clash against Qarabag.

The 17-year-old caught the attention of the football world in Europe and has been tipped to be a very special player in the future.

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Bukayo Saka is already being likened to World Best player Cristiano Ronaldo in their style of play with suggestions that he will have a great career like the Portuguese man.

However, manager Unai Emery had praised the young lad for making such an impact at his young age as he promised to hand him more playing time in the team.

The North London side are known to be lovers of youth players and have over time invested a lot in them just like it was done in the days of former manager Arsene Wenger.

Europa League round of 32 draws take place earlier today and the two Premier League clubs taking part in the competition were drawn with relatively small clubs.

Arsenal vs BATE

The Gunners made it through to the knockout stages of the competition as group winners, hence, it wasn’t a surprise they get BATE as their next opponent.

The Gunners shouldn’t have any problem defeating BATE who progressed from their group as runner-up to Chelsea.

Unai Emery men are in top form at the moment and they would be hoping to maintain their wonderful run of form throughout the season.

In-form or not, BATE shouldn’t cause Unai Emery any problem over both legs.

This is not to take anything away from the round-32 encounter, but it’s safe to say that Arsenal won’t have much to do against BATE.

In most of the group matches that were played, Emery gave some academy products chance to show what they’ve got.

Bukayo Saka, Joe Willock, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah all featured in some matches played by the Emirates outfits.

The Gunners will be on the road for the first leg of the clash while the return leg is scheduled to take place at the Emirates Stadium.

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Chelsea VS Malmo FF

Just as their Premier League counterpart, Chelsea have been paired with other minnows of European football.

Maurizio Sarri’s men are up against Malmo who was runner-up to Genk with nine points.

The Blues were winners of their group with 16 points, hence, Malmo shouldn’t be too difficult for Chelsea to overcome.

The 2012-13 Europa League winners are doing well on the European scene and they are expected to score plenty of goals against their less-fancied opponents when the competition resumes by February next year.

Considering the level of his next opponents, Maurizio Sarri should be able to give some youngsters another chance to feature with the senior players.

Reuben Loftus-Cheek and Hudson-Odoi — if they failed to go on a loan move to other clubs in January — should get some game-time against Malmo in the return leg of the encounter.

Conclusion

As much as Malmo and BATE appear as an easy draw for Chelsea and Arsenal respectively, the Premier League clubs must be in their best form to progress to the next round of the competition.

They must avoid overconfidence as that will be their greatest enemy during the game.

All in all, nothing should stop both clubs from making it through to the next phase of the competition.

Manchester United’s problem is not lack of quality defenders, neither is it the Glazers’ incompetence. It’s far more than that.

Mourinho’s men have failed to rise to the occasion when it matters most. They were thrashed once again by a top-four club as impressive Liverpool were too much for them to curtail in yesterday’s clash.

The Reds were rampant from start to finish and they deservedly picked maximum three points at Anfield.

Having played against all the top-four clubs so far this season, Mourinho managed to get just one point, thanks to a 2-2 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in October.

Despite playing at home, the Portuguese manager saw his side crumbled to a 3-0 defeat in the hands of Pochetino’s Tottenham.

Manchester City were too good for Manchester United when both sides met in Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium last month.

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The Citizens put three goals past David De Gea while the Red part of Manchester couldn’t score more than a single goal.

Irrespective of the fact that Guardiola’s men were in front of their fans, United ought to have done better but the team lacked inspiration and unity.

Luckily for Mourinho, his team recorded their first point against a top-four club as they played a 2-2 draw against Maurizio Sarri’s high-flying Chelsea.

Last night’s defeat to Liverpool was United’s last game against all the Premier League title contenders before next year. However, the question is can Mourinho qualify the team for next season’s Champions League.

Will United end this season among top-four clubs?

Having picked just 26 points from possible 51, it is increasingly looking like the Red Devils are set to miss out on next year’s Champions League campaign.

They currently occupy the 6th position, you might want to say that only Arsenal separate them from Chelsea right?

Before you think in that direction, it is important you know that they are 11 points off the Blues in the League standings.

This Means the Blues must be defeated in four games while United win as many matches as possible, to stand a chance of making it to the fourth position.

With Chelsea’s current form, losing four games might not come to pass throughout the campaign. The Blues are looking more determined to return back to Champions League competition after seasons.

Arsenal are very much in the contest for a top-four spot despite their 3-2 defeat to Southampton at St Mary’s stadium last night.

Emery’s side are not pushovers and Manchester United will have to overtake them in the rankings before thinking about Chelsea and Tottenham.

If things won’t turn around for Mourinho at Old Trafford, the Portuguese manager could be shown the exit door before the season comes to an end.

Manchester United manager José Mourinho is surely one of the best managers in the world, but, there is one shocking event that often occurs to him — he always get sacked by his employers in his third season with any club.

Is that a coincidence or a myth? That’s one question that many often ask themselves.

At Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Porto, and Chelsea, he didn’t last more than three seasons with any of these clubs before being shown the exit door.

Today makes it exactly three years that the Portuguese’ contract with Chelsea was terminated due an unimpressive run of form which saw the Blues wallowed in the relegation zone.

Is Mourinho set to celebrate his unwanted anniversary with another contract termination?

After yesterday’s woeful display against Liverpool in a game that ended in a 3-1 defeat to his team, Mourinho’s future at Old Trafford became more uncertain.

The Glazers, who have been at loggerheads with the Portuguese manager for the most part of this season, are reportedly considering parting ways with the former Madrid boss.

Losing to in-form Liverpool wasn’t a crime, but the way things are going at Old Trafford is unacceptable.

Players are not willing to put their lives in the line for the team. Mourinho has lost control of his dressing room and his tactics appear too obsolete to succeed with the latest revolution in soccer.

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Though Mourinho has much trust in his players to turn things around as the season enters its second period, but the same can’t be said about the players?

Considering the way the whole team performed against the Reds on Sunday, it is certain the players didn’t have any iota of trust in Mourinho.

They were too reluctant to make tackles, sluggish in turning defense to attack. They didn’t look like the United we used to know during Alex Ferguson’s to time.

To complicate the matter for himself, the Portuguese manager is obviously not in good terms with most of his players. Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial and summer signing Fred are unwilling to play for the manager.

Everything happening at Old Trafford — unfavourable results, the cold relationship between players, board members and managers — are all pointing to one thing and that’s Mourinho’s inevitable contract termination.

Mauricio Pochetino has been linked with Manchester United’s managerial position, though, the Tottenham manager had already turned down the offer.

As we anxiously await United’s decision over Mourinho’s future, it is important to know that the Red Devils currently sits in the six position — four places higher than when he was at Chelsea at this time of the season in 2015.

London club Fulham are the latest club to indicate interest in signing Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez when the transfer window reopens in few weeks time.

Struggling Premier League side Fulham are in the transfer market for quality reinforcements to drag them out of the relegation zone and Denis Suarez is certainly in that category.

Fulham are last on the Premier League table and three points adrift of safety.

The Cottagers have already appointed experienced Premier League manager Claudio Ranieri as a replacement for the sacked Slavisa Jokanovic and the club is ready to back him when the January transfer window reopens at the start of next month.

Fulham and Ranieri can sign Barcelona star Denis Suarez for just £14m and he could be the catalyst for the Cottagers’ revival according to soccersouls.

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Spanish La Liga giants Barcelona are willing to let the former Villareal midfielder leave the club for a cut-price transfer fee.

Denis Suarez has been on the outskirts of the Barcelona first team this season.

The Spaniard has made just six appearances for the Catalan giants in all competitions.

Apart from the Cottagers, Denis Suarez is also attracting interests from Arsenal and Chelsea.

New Blues boss Maurizio Sarri came close to signing the player twice while he was the Napoli manager.