The big story: ‘I will manage next season whether it is at Arsenal or somewhere else’

Arsene Wenger on Friday hinted that he might not remain at Arsenal next season and would take a decision on his future in March or April, The Telegraph reported.

The veteran manager said he will take a decision in March or April, but will continue to be a manager, at Arsenal or elsewhere.

“No matter what happens I will manage next season whether it is here or somewhere else, that is absolutely for sure,” Wenger was quoted as saying.

The Frenchman has been in charge of the club for the past 20 years. Calls for his removal have gained momentum following a heavy 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

Other top stories

Football

  • Edin Dzeko smashed a hat-trick for Roma as they beat Villareal 4-0 in their first-leg encounter in the round-of-32 of the Europa League.  
  • Southampton have signed former Juventus and Barcelona defender Martin Caceres until the end of the season.
  • According to Mesut Ozil’s agent, the forward is being made the scapegoat for Arsenal’s problems. Ozil was criticised again after Arsenal suffered a 5-1 defeat at Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s Champions League clash.
  • Tottenham were handed a surprise 1-0 loss by Belgian side Gent in their Europa league encounter. French striker Perbet scored the only goal of the match in the 59th minute. The second leg of the encounter will take place at Wembley on February 23.  
  • Mark Clattenburg is quitting his job as a Premier League match official to become Saudi Arabia’s new head of referees.  
  • Manchester United continued their amazing run as Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a hat-trick in their 3-0 win against Saint-Etienne in the first leg of the round-of-32 clash in the Europa league.  
  • India coach Stephen Constantine has been asked to take temporary charge of the Under-17 squad and help them prepare for the World Cup, reported Hindustan Times.

Cricket

  • India U-19 managed to earn a hard-fought draw against England U-19 in the first Youth Test in Nagpur on Thursday.
  • Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif has been appointed the assistant coach of Indian Premier League side Gujarat Lions for the upcoming Indian Premier League season.
  • Captain Steven Smith started the tour by scoring his 30th first class century to help Australia reach 211/2 at tea on the opening day of their warm-up game against India A in Mumbai on Friday.
  • A five-wicket haul by Imran Tahir saw South Africa cruise to a 78-run win over New Zealand in the one-off Twenty20 in Auckland on Friday.

Tennis

  • Top seed Angelique Kerber crashed out of the Qatar Open after she was beaten by Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 0-6, 6-4. Kasatkina will face Monica Puig in the quarter-finals.
  • Top seed Marin Cilic reached his first quarter-final of 2017 after he beat compatriot Borna Coric 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 at the Rotterdam Open.
  • Netherlands’ Jean-Julien Rojer recorded his 300th doubles career win by partnering Horia Tecau to a 6-4, 6-4 victory at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament over second-seeded Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez.      
  • Top seed Ivo Karlovic was stunned by Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-6(2), 6-3 of the Memphis Open. With the win, Basilashvili reached the quarter-finals of the tournament.
  • Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov put up a solid performance at the Argentina Open after he beat second seed Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 7-6(4) to reach the quarters.
  • Sania Mirza and her doubles partner Barbora Strycova beat USA’s Raquel Atawo and China’s Yifan Xu to enter the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open. The Mirza-Strycova duo beat their opponents 6-2, 6-4.

Badminton

  • Shuttler PV Sindhu became the second Indian woman to break into the top-five of the badminton singles world rankings. The Olympic silver medalist, who broke into the top-10 in 2013, achieved her career-best ranking of No. 5 on Thursday.

Chess

  • Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika and International Master Padmini Rout won tiebreaks in the second round and advanced to the last-16 stage of World Women’s Chess Championship.

Golf

  • Gaurika Bishnoi carded one-under 71 on the final day to clinch her maiden title in the Women’s Professional Golf Tour at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in Kolkata on Friday.