Agencies/London


Arsenal’s defence do not fear Barcelona’s prolific front three, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, and are keen to test themselves against the world’s best players in the last 16 of the Champions League, midfielder Mesut Ozil said.  Arsenal paid the price in the draw, after they finished second in their group, and now face the holders for the third time in six years, having been knocked out by them on the previous two occasions.
Messi, Neymar and Suarez have scored 52 goals between them in all competitions so far, and former Real Madrid man Ozil said it would be tough, but exciting, to face the side again in February and March.
“Barcelona are the hardest team in the world to play against. Barcelona are the best team at the moment in the world. We know that,” Ozil told the Times newspaper.
“But as a player I look forward to encounters like this. For me it is important to have these big games, it’s nice to play against the best teams; to compete with them is a big opportunity for us.
“We respect Barcelona but they will respect us too. We are not afraid of Barcelona. We just need to play our game and we can beat them. There is no fear. In football everything’s possible.
“It is a tough match but I don’t think our defenders were afraid after the draw. It’s a big opportunity for them to prove themselves against the best attack in the world, players like Suarez, Messi, Neymar. It will be an exciting game, with the possibility of lots of goals, but it’s not like we are afraid,” he added.


Pedro backs Fabregas to silence Bridge boo-boys
Spain forward Pedro has backed his club and international team-mate Cesc Fabregas to overcome hostility from some Chelsea fans and come good for the west Londoners. Midfielder Fabregas was jeered by some sections of the Stamford Bridge crowd during Saturday’s 3-1 win over Sunderland as part of protests against the sacking of ‘Shed’ hero Jose Mourinho.
Fabregas, like Pedro a former Barcelona star, has been accused, alongside another Spain international, Diego Costa, of undermining the popular Mourinho, contributing to the Portuguese manager’s sacking.
“It was difficult for him but he can get through this,” Pedro told the Evening Standard, of Fabregas. “He is strong mentally and very competitive. Cesc is a top player, a very good character in the team, he is a winner and it’s good he plays for us. I understand why the fans are so upset. It’s normal when the team and coach are in this position.”
Mourinho convinced Fabregas to join Chelsea for £30 million (41 million euros, $45 million) in June 2014, with the former Arsenal midfielder helping the Blues claim the Premier League title last term.
But Fabregas’s form this season has been a far cry from that of the previous campaign and the 28-year-old was forced to deny any part in alleged dressing room revolts earlier this season. “Thank you for all you have done for me. I owe you a lot and we will all miss you. Good luck in the future,” said Fabregas on Twitter after Mourinho’s sacking last Thursday.
Jones issues manchester United rallying call
Manchester United defender Phil Jones has issued a rallying call to his team-mates to stick together and relieve some of the pressure on under-fire boss Louis van Gaal.  The Dutchman has come under increased scrutiny amid a poor run of results with Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat against Norwich seeing United slide out of the Premier League’s top four. The Red Devils are without a win in six matches in all competitions and also suffered an embarrassing Champions League group stage exit after losing to Wolfsburg earlier in the month.
However, England international Jones said the mood at Old Trafford was worse during David Moyes’s ill-fated reign two years ago. “I wouldn’t say it’s the lowest moment. I think it became pretty glum, if you like, under David Moyes and it was unfortunate. We weren’t playing well at the time.
“There’s no point saying we’ve played some good football this season because ultimately we’ve lost three games in a row—but we have in patches. We need to stick together, there’s nothing else you can do.”
Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has been linked with taking over from Van Gaal in the wake of the club’s recent struggles, but Jones insisted the players were fully behind the Dutchman and backed him to turn things around.
“The manager is doing all he can and is doing a terrific job. It’s not even questionable in the dressing room. The lads are absolutely fully-focused on performing well for the manager, the fans, ourselves, week-in, week-out.
“The players in there aren’t hiding behind anyone. We know full well we have to take responsibility. There’s no other way. The manager picks the team and the team has got to go out and do its best. We might be playing well, or playing well in patches, or not scoring or whatever it may be, but we need to stick together and us as players need to take responsibility for that. There’s no two ways about that.
“We just have to keep plugging away, keep creating chances and hopefully we’ll hit someone four or five-nil, but we just have to get back to the drawing board again and pick ourselves up.”
United will hope the festive period brings them better luck, although they face a tricky trip to Stoke City on Boxing Day.

Bournemouth still in thick of relegation battle: Howe
Bournemouth cannot get carried away by three successive Premier League wins with just four points separating them from the relegation zone, manager Eddie Howe said.
A 2-1 victory at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday followed on from impressive victories over Chelsea and Manchester United to leave Howe’s men 14th in the standings. “From my perspective, you can’t be. That means you’re going to be content, potentially sit back and think ‘great, job done’,” Howe told British media. “We are still in the thick of it, we still have to pick up points and there is no relenting from our perspective. It is hard work and improving the players is key.”
Bournemouth had impressed the purists with their style in the early weeks of their first ever season alongside the elite of English football but their slide into the bottom three had raised doubts about their chances of survival.
Despite a rash of long-term injuries to a host of key players, including captain Tommy Elphick and leading scorer Callum Wilson, Bournemouth have found their stride with a five-game unbeaten run.  “There’s still a long way to go so we are not getting carried away with ourselves. Football has such a short term view these days and only a few weeks ago we were getting some bad publicity for certain things,” Howe said.
“Results had not gone our way but I felt the performances were good and now, I think we have got a little bit of reward for our hard work in that period where we didn’t change too much about our team.