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Arsene Wenger has warned his Arsenal side that they face missing out on Champions League football next season if they continue to drop points, the Guardian reports.

Defeat at the hands of Chelsea on Sunday left the Gunners seven points adrift of North London rivals Tottenham in fourth and the Emirates Stadium boss admits his side need to beat their psychological demons and take the initiative in games if they’re to bridge that gap.

“We have lost two big games in the last week and that’s very damaging for us,” he said. “We cannot afford to drop points any more if we want to be in the top four. This was very similar to last week.

“The team has fantastic quality and spirit but we only come into the game when we’re 2-0 down. At the moment, that’s worrying. In the big games, once you start 2-0 down, it’s very difficult.”

Wenger bemoaned his side’s lack of self belief at Stamford Bridge, conceding they were second best for much of the game and made it easy for the Blues before Theo Walcott’s second half goal.

“Chelsea played well at the start but we were not well positioned on the pitch and were stretched, giving them too much room to play,” he added.

“We didn’t defend tight enough and allowed them to play where they wanted.

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“There’s a psychological part of it, for sure, because we didn’t really go for it at the start again.The team have to believe more in the quality we have.”

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Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul was only on the pitch for 45 minutes of Spain’s 1-1 draw against Germany on Friday night.

Despite that, the half-time substitute showed that he has the qualities that Manchester United lack in their engine room, and why they reportedly have an interest in a big money move for him.

Diego Simeone and Jose Mourinho are reasonably similar in their approach to the game; both demand defensive solidity, a strong work ethic and the willingness of their players sacrifice themselves for the team.

Saul has shown he can do that at Atletico but a midfielder doesn’t burst into the Spain setup without the quality on the ball to back it up and the midfielder – valued at £64m by Transfermarkt – certainly has that to his game as well.

In just one half, he had 50 touches and made 45 passes, so it’s clear that he’s largely playing one-touch football on the international stage. How United are crying out for someone who can quicken the tempo of their build-up play by doing just that.

He also hardly gave the ball away, with a 95 per cent passing accuracy. That would also please Mourinho, who doesn’t like his midfield players taking too many risks.

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He also mucked in defensively, showing the traits he has learned at Atletico, with one interception and there is no doubt that he can ably protect the defence as well.

Saul has a rare blend of craft and graft that would be absolutely perfect for Manchester United and he showed that once more on Friday night.

It has been a tough start to life back in the Premier League for Queens Park Rangers. The Hoops currently sit just outside the relegation zone in 17th position after 15 matches, with survival being the only target this season. Their recent home form is what is keeping them just ahead of the bottom three, with three of their last four matches at Loftus Road having garnered maximum points. Inevitably, the real problem has been QPR’s abysmal record on the road.

They have lost all seven away matches so far, including 4-0 drubbings away to Tottenham and Man Utd. While they have had a tough start away from home, this kind of record must improve as soon as possible if QPR are going to be able to stay in the Premier League. But, with trips to Everton and Arsenal coming up over the Christmas period, that may be a big ask in the short-term.

The key man for the Super Hoops so far has been striker Charlie Austin. The 25-year-old has struck eight times in 14 league games so far – exactly half the club’s entire tally. Despite this being his first season in the top flight, he has taken to it extremely well, not looking out of place at all.

Austin has always been a natural goalscorer at every club he has been at during his career and his finishing capabilities have been on show for the whole world to see of late. His composure in front of goal has been superb and QPR will be desperate for him to continue this as he will surely be key to whether or not the club stay in the division this season.

Another marksman will probably be needed in January with Austin being the only real source for goals so far this season. Bobby Zamora has been used throughout the campaign, starting for around half his appearances. Whilst he is good at holding up play and being the provider to Austin, what QPR really need is another goalscoring option and Zamora isn’t the answer to that.

Eduardo Vargas can play in a forward position, and although he has chipped in with a couple of goals, QPR really needed more out of him at this stage.

QPR have spent a lot of money this season and in recent years. They should be performing a lot better considering the amount splashed, but something just doesn’t seem to be clicking. It is true that they have a lot of high earners who are perhaps not as committed to the club as they should be.

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They certainly have a squad assembled that has the quality to survive in the Premier League, but what is obvious is the fact that they simply have to start picking up points on the road. With some solid form developing at home and a top striker in Austin, they should still be playing Premier League football this time next season.

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It seems years ago now, well in fact it was years ago, but Kieran Richardson’s loan move to West Brom back in 2005 proved to be one of the most genius pieces of Premier League business in the history of the competition. The former Manchester United youngster was in lethal form and at times appeared to be keeping the Baggies up single-handed. At the end of the season, West Brom avoided relegation with much of the plaudits going to their young loan signing.

The English top flight is littered with youngsters just waiting for a first-team opportunity and the chance to make a difference at a smaller club in order to stake a claim for a first team spot back at their parent club.

We don’t have room to tell you all of them, so here is a collection of the Top 15 Premier League youngsters that clubs should consider loaning in January that would be beneficial to both parties.

So click on Tom Carroll and see if any of our starlets catch your eye

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Former Tottenham Hotspur flop Federico Fazio outdid his former team as he was part of the AS Roma side that qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday night, and Spurs fans were quick to react to the news.

The north London outfit were knocked out of Europe’s elite club competition following a 4-3 aggregate defeat to Serie A giants Juventus last week, and the Old Lady’s Italian rivals joined them in the last eight as a 1-0 win in Rome saw them beat Shakhtar Donetsk on away goals.

The 30-year-old, who played 32 times for Spurs before joining Roma in 2017 – something the Wembley faithful weren’t too upset about at the time – featured for the full 90 minutes for his side in the win against the Ukrainian champions.

Tottenham supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the Argentine centre-back’s latest display, and while one said “bet he’s sad he left Spurs”, another described him as “another Spurs reject doing well”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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It has been a tough start to the 2014/15 season for Mauricio Pochettino as his Tottenham side failed to hit the ground running.

Pochettino’s high-pressure, energetic style of play at Southampton was almost non-existent amongst the Spurs team in the opening fixtures of the season. However, with a few adjustments here and there, Pochettino’s managerial plans are starting to take shape at White Hart Lane.

One of the key successes for Pochettino has been installing the hunger of the youth into the starting eleven. The likes of Harry Kane, Ryan Mason and Ben Davies have all performed well; producing the energetic style and commitment that Pochettino looks for in his teams.

Harry Kane is the standout example of this. Before Kane, Spurs would often rely on the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado to lead the line. These strikers have simply failed to produce for Tottenham and their lack of work rate was a further frustration for Spurs fans.

Now that Kane has been given a run in the first team, Pochettino’s fortunes have changed. Kane looks a handful, a constant aerial threat who will happily do all the running it takes to help his team. Tottenham fans hail Kane by chanting ‘he’s one of our own’ and his performances on the pitch suggest that he really wants to perform well for his hometown club.

It is not just the youth team products who are starting to perform for Pochettino either. The likes of Christian Eriksen and Nacer Chadli have six goals each for Tottenham so far this season. Chadli only managed five goals in the entirety of last season, excelling under Pochettino this time around.

Christian Eriksen has scored some vital Premier League goals in recent weeks to grab important away wins for Spurs. His late strikes against Hull City and Swansea City gave Tottenham the three points and made a big difference to their standing in the Premier League table. The slow start to the season for the Argentine is now starting to gather pace and Tottenham look in more of a stable condition to push up the table.

Although Tottenham have improved as the seasons gone on there are still a number of issues that Pochettino should address.

The continued struggle of players like Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela will be a concern for the manager as they are only showing glimpses of what they can do. Seeing as the club invested over £50 million on both Soldado and Lamela in the summer of 2013, they have done little to repay the investment and Pochettino may look to sell the players in order to generate enough cash for his own transfer targets.

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The unfortunate situation for Pochettino is that he finds himself working with a group of players that Andre Villas Boas spent over £100 million on. Therefore, it was always going to take time for the former Espanyol manager to shape the Tottenham team into something that suited his managerial style.

Despite this hinderance, Tottenham are now starting to string results together as Pochettino continues to make his mark on a team that needs rebuilding. If the manager can continue to implement his style into this Tottenham side then there is no reason as to why Spurs cannot continue to climb the Premier League table.

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Manchester United maintained their six point lead at the top of the Premier League with an easy win over Sunderland at Old Trafford.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have led the table at Christmas in each of the last three seasons and showed no mercy in dispatching the relegation threatened Black Cats to secure their place at the top of the tree this year.

Martin O’Neill, who saw his side beat Reading on home turf on Tuesday, will be dreading the hectic festive period after recoding just three victories in their last 25 games and sit just a point above the relegation zone.

There were no surprises when United took a deserved lead in the 16th minute. Ashley Young tormented Carlos Cuellar and Sebastian Larsson on the left before his cross deflected off former Red Devil John O’Shea and fell to Robin Van Persie, who controlled and finished with aplomb.

It was game over three minutes later as Tom Cleverley doubled the home sides advantage, exchanging passes with Michael Carrick and bending a sumptuous effort past Simon Mignolet from just inside the penalty area.

Wayne Rooney could have made it three before half time with a volley that flashed wide of the target before the visitors sparked into life with James McClean testing David De Gea with a low shot.

Substitute Conor Wickham forced another save out of De Gea, as did a deflected McClean strike, but any hopes of a comeback were ended just before the hour mark when Van Persie tiptoed into the box and squared for Rooney to tap in.

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Despite that goal settling the contest Sunderland continued to search for a consolation and were finally rewarded when United old boy Fraizer Campbell rose to head home Stephane Sessegnon’s cross in the 72nd minute.

Wickham came close to setting up a tense finish but was thwarted by De Gea again as Ferguson’s charges made it five top-flight wins on the trot.

Bailey Peacock-Farrell is aiming to be number one for a long time at Elland Road, but admits competition for the spot will be intense.The 21 year-old goalkeeper started just his second league game for Leeds in the 3-0 defeat vs Wolves on Wednesday night.Peacock-Farrell was busy on Wednesday night, as a shocking defensive display from Leeds left the young keeper exposed for most of the night. His performance split the Leeds fans, as he made a crucial mistake for the third goal after a good performance until that point.Speaking ahead of Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship clash with Reading, Peacock-Farrell admitted his career had stagnated slightly since joning the club in 2015.

The youngster joined Superettan club Landskrona BoIS on a three-day trial in January, but the Swedish club decided not to sign him.

After a loan spell at York, he was thrown into the action on Wednesday thanks to an injury to Andy Lonergan and the poor form of Felix Wiedwald.

Asked whether he would keep his place for the Reading match, Peacock-Farrell said he’s not sure, as his fellow keepers are just as desperate as him to get the nod.

Leeds fans, would you stick with Peacock-Farrell at Reading on Saturday? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…

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After a few seasons of struggle, hurt and agonising pain of the play-offs, newly installed manager Stuart Pearce has inherited a team that is as strong as ever at Nottingham Forest.

In the past three Championship seasons, the two teams occupying the automatic promotion spots by the second international break have gone on up to win promotion to the promised land come the end of the campaign. Nottingham Forest currently sit pretty in second.

After the heart break of crashing out of the play-off semi-finals on a number of occasions, former Manchester City and England Under-21 gaffer Pearce is well on course to guiding Nottingham Forest back to the holy grail of Premier League football.

Despite losing young talents Jamaal Lascelles and Karl Darlow to Newcastle United – although they have returned on loan for the remainder of the season, Pearce made some shrewd signings in the summer transfer window. Former Chelsea youth academy product Michael Mancienne joined from German outfit Hamburg, and now the defender is the club’s captain and is leading by example. Britt Assombalonga, the former Watford forward who arrived for a sizeable £5million fee from League One side Peterborough United has already found his feet at the club and is sure to bang in more goals than he has done thus far.

However, the one arrival that has impressed the whole of the Championship is Michail Antonio. The signing from fellow Championship side Sheffield Wednesday has been in remarkable form since pulling on the famous red and white shirt. The winger has made a combined total of nine goals and assists so far, more than the likes of Middlesbrough midfielder Grant Leadbitter, Charlton Athletic’s Igor Vetokele, Norwich City forward Lewis Grabban and teammate Assombalonga. Scoring five goals so far, Antonio’s passing, long shots, dribbling and aerial duels is the reason why he is the hottest property in the second tier of English football.

Having scored four goals in 26 appearances for the Owls during last term, Antonio is the main man in order to increase his team’s chances of gaining promotion after a 15 year absence from the big time. Financially, Forest is in good hands with the Al-Hasawi family pumping money into the club. This is something strange to most clubs, as Forest actually have foreign owners who care purely for the club. Appointing Stuart Pearce as manager is a great example.

All in all, this fantastic club is already in great shape to compete with the Premier League’s very best. The fan base is fit for England’s top flight as well as the brand of football Pearce insists on implementing in Nottingham. The long overdue promotion struggle will most definitely galvanise the new signings, aside from the experience of the the old guard in the shape of Andy Reid and Danny Collins.

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That’s something legendary Brian Clough will be extremely proud of.

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With the January transfer window approaching, a number of Premier League clubs will be looking to take advantage and move on the deadwood in their squads.

It should perhaps be a given that clubs such as Arsenal might feature heavily, but Arsene Wenger doesn’t have the biggest of squads at the Emirates, nor can he rely on a fully healthy side for the majority of the season. In contrast, Roberto Mancini will very much be looking to make way for others, while Alex Ferguson may want to reassess his options and strengthen other areas of his team.

For the most part, clubs will struggle to get a decent return from the transfer market, with the majority of players having little to show in the way of eye-catching performances in recent months. But the issue of the financial state of the game will also weigh heavily on those looking to fund other purchases. Regardless, these players have either become passengers or simply headaches for a manager looking to move his club forward. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see many of them feature in the transfer stories come the new year.

Click on Florent Malouda to unveil the 15

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