Arsenal Lacks Character And Mental Strength- Dani Alves.

Barcelona full-back Dani Alves said the Catalans were glad when they drew Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League, as he believes the Gunners lack the "mental strengths" and character to do well in Europe. He also praised the development of star forwards Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.

As reported by John Cross of the Daily Mirror, the Brazilian hailed Arsenal for their obvious quality and sheer talent, but he couldn't help but point out their mental fragility.

''When the draw was made, we knew it could have been tougher for us. That is no reflection on the quality of Arsenal. The quality of the way they play the game and the quality of some of their players is there for all to see.
It is a reflection on their experience, character, and mental strengths. There are teams in Europe that don't have the quality that Arsenal have, but you would rather avoid them and play Arsenal - because you know that those teams have experience and character.''- He said.

Barcelona defeated Arsenal 2-0 in London during the first leg of their Champions League tie. The two teams will meet again on Wednesday.

Source: Bleacher Report.

Manchester City Reaches Champions League Quarters For 1st Time.

Manchester City's players trudged off the field. Many fans left early. The final whistle was greeted with only a smattering of cheers.

It was hardly the way the English club envisaged marking progress to the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in its history.

Another landmark feat for Abu Dhabi-owned City was achieved on Tuesday thanks to a lackluster 0-0 draw with Dynamo Kiev at Etihad Stadium, which sealed a 3-1 victory on aggregate. Progress came with little fanfare and at a cost, with captain Vincent Kompany hobbling off in the fifth minute with a recurrence of his long-standing calf problems that could keep him out for a month.

"It was really satisfying to make history for this club," City defender Pablo Zabaleta, although it was hard to tell by the end.

Injuries to Kompany and fellow center back Nicolas Otamendi, who hobbled off in the 23rd after a clash of knees, were the major incidents in a soporific match as City advanced with the minimum of concern but without impressing, either.

Kiev, seeking a first Champions League quarterfinal berth since 1999, needed to score three goals to stand a chance of advancing but barely threatened until creating a couple of opportunities in the final minutes. City's reorganized defense stayed relatively solid and the team took few risks, with winger Jesus Navas striking a 61st-minute shot against the post for City's best chance.

"Unfortunately we have lost our match in Kiev," Dynamo coach Sergei Rebrov said.

Source: USA Today.

Navy Sinks Chinese Boat Fishing Illegally.

Argentina's navy announced Tuesday that it used gunfire to sink a Chinese-flagged boat that was fishing illegally in national waters.

China's government said it expressed its serious concern to Argentina and called for an investigation

The navy statement said the boat was intercepted Monday off the coast of Puerto Madryn, about 907 miles (1,460 kilometers) south of Buenos Aires.

The statement said the boat did not heed warning calls and instead tried to ram an Argentine naval vessel. Sailors then shot holes in different parts of the fishing boat, causing it to sink, the navy said.

Four people on board were rescued and arrested. They remained in custody and were to go before a federal judge in southern Chubut province, the statement said.

The navy said it had been 15 years since one of its vessels last sank a foreign vessel fishing illegally in Argentina's waters.

In Beijing, Lu Kang, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, posted a statement on the ministry's website saying the boat had been fishing in Argentine waters and was chased for several hours before Argentine naval fire holed the vessel. It said four Chinese were picked up by the Argentines and 28 more were rescued by a nearby Chinese vessel.

The statement did not directly address the question of whether the boat was fishing illegally or tried to ram the Argentine navy vessel.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy to Argentina have lodged urgent representations with Argentina, expressing serious concern, urging Argentina to carry out a full investigation immediately and to inform China of the details, to protect the safety and lawful rights of Chinese sailors, and to take effective measures to avoid similar incidents," the statement said.

Source:AP.

Homeless Man Gets $100K For Spotting California fugitives.

A homeless man from San Francisco who pointed police toward two Orange County inmates who had escaped from jail will get the lion's share of a $150,000 reward set up for their successful capture, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors awarded Matthew Hay-Chapman $100,000, said Jean Pasco, a county spokeswoman.

Two Target employees and a man whose van was stolen by the escapees will split the remaining $50,000.

Hossein Nayeri, Jonathan Tieu and Bac Duong escaped from Central Men's Jail in Santa Ana on Jan. 22 and were the subject of a statewide manhunt for days.

Hay-Chapman spotted Nayeri and Tieu on Jan. 28 in San Francisco and recognized their stolen white GMC van from news reports. He pointed them out to police officers in the area, leading to their arrest.

The third fugitive, Bac Duong, had surrendered to police in Orange County the day before.

The owner of the stolen van will receive $20,000, officials said.

Armando Damian, of Los Angeles, called police to say that a man responding to a Craig's List ad had taken it for a test drive on Jan. 23 and not returned.

A Target store manager and a loss prevention officer will each receive $15,000.

Manager Hazel Javier noticed two men acting suspiciously on surveillance footage on the night of Jan. 22. She showed the video to loss prevention officer Jeffrey Arana and called police because he thought the men might be the fugitives.

A cab driver who was held hostage for a week by the three men did not receive any of the reward money.

Source:AP

Arsenal Transfer News: Zlatan Ibrahimovic Confirms PSG Exit.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has confirmed he will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this season, opening up his chances of a summer move to Arsenal or Manchester United.

Speaking to the Guardian this week, Ibrahimovic said that, as things stand, he will no longer be a PSG player next season (h/t Daily Star's Luke Gardener):

But, for now, I will not be at PSG next season. I have one-and-a-half months left on my contract here. I will enjoy while I’m still here.

What will happen next year, I do not know, but for now, I will not be here.

I do not think they can change the Eiffel Tower by my statue, so... Even the leaders of the club cannot, I think. But if they can, I’ll stay here, I promise.

The Sweden striker thundered four past Troyes on Sunday as PSG routed the minnows 9-0 to claim another Ligue 1 title and Ibrahimovic's fourth in succession since moving to France in 2012

A list of Europe's top clubs are sure to be on red alert with confirmation one of the continent's elite finishers will be available for capture this summer, with Arsenal reported to be among that crowd of suitors.  

Needless to say the forward's prerequisite for remaining in the French capital doesn't look likely to be fulfilled anytime soon, meaning it's more than likely Ibrahimovic will be plying his trade elsewhere next term.

Sunday's four-goal haul brought Ibrahimovic's Ligue 1 goal tally up to 102, while he has now netted 141 goals for PSG across all competitions and has further cemented his place as the club's all-time top scorer.

BT Sport provided highlights of all nine goals PSG put past Troyes on Sunday as they bulldozed their way to yet another domestic title and remained a gargantuan 25 points ahead of second-placed AS Monaco

Ibrahimovic undoubtedly has all the credentials to play for Arsenal and would give them a certain shimmer in attack, but at the age of 34, the striker may not appeal to manager Arsene Wenger, whose priorities often lie in promoting youth.

Gunners legend Thierry Henry recently told Sky Sports his old Barcelona team-mate could be a good fit at the Emirates Stadium.

Source: Bleacher Report.

Chelsea Transfer News:Lastest On John Terry And Romelu Lukaku's Rumours.

Outbound Chelsea captain John Terry will reportedly be offered a management role with Danish side Brondby when he leaves Stamford Bridge this summer. Plus, the Blues are understood to be eyeing a club-record bid to re-sign Romelu Lukaku.

According to the Mirror's John Cross, Brondby owner Jan Bech Andersen is friends with Terry and would be open to offering the centre-back a player/coach role with the club in future. An extract from the report added that Terry isn't short of options, however:

Terry has already had strong interest from the Middle East as his former Chelsea team mate Gianfranco Zola manages Al-Arabi and has admitted publicly that he would like to sign him.

There has also been interest from China and Terry will not be short of offers if he leaves Chelsea this summer.

Former England captain Terry admits that he would like to stay at Stamford Bridge but says he has been told there is no forthcoming offer.

Terry's decision will depend greatly on how willing he is to begin the transition into management now, rather than continue pursuing a playing career outside the English top flight.

The managerial role at Brondby is free after Thomas Frank quit the club last week, but sporting director Troels Bech told Danish daily Ekstra Bladet there is a long list of applicants (h/t Joe Short of the Daily Express): "I have evidence that there are 20 or more very brave coaches at a very high level who have already put the ticket in. So we'll work very closely in the selection of candidates, (to find) one we believe can lead us in our goals."

Cross later confirmed Terry has been installed as favourite to take over at the Brondby helm, however, despite the fact he has another three months left to run on his Chelsea contract.

Meanwhile, former team-mate Lukaku is said to be on the Blues' inbound list. Toffees manager Roberto Martinez admitted that despite the investment of new major shareholder Farhad Moshiri, they may still be forced to sell their prized assets. 

Per the Guardian's Richard Jolly, the tactician said: "If Manchester United cannot keep Cristiano Ronaldo, that is a sign of a modern game. If you sell a player for those sorts of amounts, you can get the benefit of adding three or four players.”

But former Chelsea prospect Lukaku is enjoying his time at Goodison Park almost two years after completing a £28 million move to Everton, per Sky Sports' Lyall Thomas.

Source: Bleacher Report.

''What Do You Mean'' Was My Favorite Song Of 2015- Kanye West.

Rapper and Fashion entrepreneur Kanye West has passed judgement on the music scene from last year and Justin Bieber topped his list. He tweeted ''What do you mean by @Justinbeiber was my favorite song of 2015''

'What Do You Mean' was the lead single from Bieber’s album Purpose. Bieber made history in January 2016 by taking up the three spots in the singles chart with Love Yourself at number one, followed by Sorry at number two and 'What Do You Mean' at number three.