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• Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists he wants to keep goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale

  Mikel Arteta insists he wants to keep Aaron Ramsdale – but refused to rule out the England goalkeeper leaving Arsenal in January.

  Ramsdale lost his position as Arteta’s first-choice goalkeeper earlier this season following the arrival of David Raya on loan from Brentford.

  Since September 3, Ramsdale has made just three appearances – two of which came in the Carabao Cup, with his one Premier League game in that time coming with Raya ineligible against the Bees.

   

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  With his place at Euro 2024 in the balance as he continues to warm the bench at the Emirates Stadium, Ramsdale’s future is seemingly up in the air.

   

  Arteta recently urged Ramsdale to be patient over any decision, saying the situation could look very different in March.

  A shoulder injury to England colleague Nick Pope, however, could see Newcastle in the market for another goalkeeper in January.

  Asked if he would be open to selling Ramsdale to Newcastle, Arteta replied: “I want Aaron with us.

  “I am very happy to have two very, very good goalkeepers and Aaron is staying with us.

  “We want to be better, so we want to add to what we already have. That’s the intention that we have.”

  But, when pushed on whether he would categorically rule out a January switch for Ramsdale, the Spaniard added: “I won’t do that to any player. Any player.

  “I cannot tell you that any Arsenal player is not going to leave in January. Or he is to stay here for the next three years.

  “I won’t say that no player is going to go to Newcastle. Or no member of the staff either. I won’t say it. If you say yes or no, I won’t say it.

  “I cannot guarantee that nobody is going to be leaving in January. For Newcastle or any other club. So it is a no.”

• Manchester City charged by FA after players surround referee against Spurs

  Manchester City have been charged by the Football Association for failing to ensure their players behaved in a proper manner during added time in Sunday’s Premier League match against Tottenham.

  City’s players, and particularly Erling Haaland, reacted furiously when they were denied the chance to play advantage in the closing moments of a thrilling 3-3 draw after the Norwegian striker had been fouled.

  Haaland had shrugged off the challenge from Emerson Royal to play Jack Grealish through on goal, but referee Simon Hooper pulled play back to award the hosts at the Etihad Stadium a free-kick.

  Haaland continued to voice his anger as he left the field after the final whistle and he later went even further by posting a remark criticising Hooper on social media.

  “Manchester City have been charged with a breach of FA Rule 20.1 after their players surrounded the match official during their Premier League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 3 December 2023,” read a statement posted on the FA Spokesperson account on Twitter.

  Bernardo Silva felt City suffered a “very, very bad” decision but admits the team also need to do their own job better.

  “It is a bad decision and everyone saw it,” said the Portuguese midfielder. “But at the end we are all humans.

  “The referee probably is the first one to know it was a very, very bad decision because he (Grealish) was one on one with the keeper and it could have given us the three points.

  “It is a tough one to take, but in the end it is what it is, it’s football, and sometimes people make mistakes.”

  The PA news agency understands Hooper will not be stood down from refereeing duties for the Sheffield United v Liverpool match on Wednesday.

  City also had themselves to blame after spurning a hatful of chances to claim what could have been a comfortable victory, with Haaland among the guilty parties.

  Haaland on Monday followed up his social media complaint, which simply read ‘Wtf’, with a good-natured response to a humorous tweet referencing him.

  The 23-year-old’s incredulous expression during Sunday’s match was edited into The Scream painting by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch.

  Reposting the image, Haaland wrote: “Wtf that made me smile for the first time today.”

  City led 2-1 at the break thanks to a Phil Foden goal after Son Heung-min had scored at both ends in the opening nine minutes.

  Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvarez also hit the woodwork in the first half, while Haaland missed an open goal after one of numerous Spurs errors.

  Spurs recovered to level through Giovani Lo Celso, but it seemed Grealish had won it in the 81st minute, only for Dejan Kulusevski to equalise again in the 90th minute.

  It was City’s third successive draw and saw them slip to third in the Premier League.

  Silva said: “We have been conceding late goals against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and now Tottenham.

  “At the end it is seven points. We could be four points ahead on top of the league if we did our job properly, which is kill the game, or at least don’t concede in the last minute. At this level those little details matter.

  “We need to demand more from ourselves, each one of us.”

  Spurs’ late equaliser ended their run of three successive defeats.

  Kulusevski, who powered in the crucial goal off his shoulder, revealed the visitors’ stronger second-half showing came after some stern words from manager Ange Postecoglou during the break.

  The Sweden international told the club’s website: “The coach was very angry at half-time. It was the first time I have seen him like that but he did the right thing.

  “What we did was special in the second half. It is an unbelievable feeling. These moments in life are small. We have to enjoy them and just be thankful and be proud of the team.”

• Alexis Mac Allister delight after opening Reds account with ‘best goal of life’

  Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister admits it was nice to be momentarily freed from the restrictions of his defensive role to score the “best goal of my life”.

  The Argentina international’s superb 30-yard rising drive into the top corner in Sunday’s dramatic 4-3 win over Fulham was his first for the club since signing from Brighton in the summer.

  His attacking qualities have been largely nullified following his arrival as necessity has meant he has been asked to play a deeper role in midfield than he is used to, but his flash of brilliance showed he has not lost any of his instincts in the final third.

  “Not a bad start to my career there in Liverpool as a goalscorer,” he said.

  “I had a nice one against Leicester (for Brighton) but it was disallowed so I think it was the best goal I scored in my life.

  “As soon as I hit it, I knew that it was going to be a goal. When I play as a number six I am not very worried about goals and assists (because) I have other work to do – but it’s always nice to score.”

  Mac Allister’s goal would have been a worthy match-winner but some haphazard defending allowed Fulham to equalise twice before taking the lead with 10 minutes to go.

  That set up a grandstand finish with Wataru Endo and Trent Alexander-Arnold scoring within a couple of minutes of each other to snatch victory and extend their perfect Anfield winning record to 11 matches this season.

  Captain Virgil van Dijk accepted there was a degree of sloppiness in Liverpool’s game but said at the start of a busy December it was important just to secure the points and move on to the next game, which comes at Sheffield United on Wednesday.

  “I think we were a bit too sloppy in possession in the transitions but I am not that kind of guy that wants to look too much to the negative side,” said the Netherlands defender.

  “If we win these types of games the way we do now is not a bad thing so we have to take the positives out of it, especially during this busy period that starts now.”

  Alexander-Arnold was pivotal to the victory as it was his impressive free-kick, which went in via the underside of the crossbar and the back of goalkeeper Bernd Leno, which kicked things off early in the game.

  When Mac Allister was withdrawn with 25 minutes to go it was the right-back who stepped into central midfield to continue to dictate matters with his passing and Van Dijk has been impressed with how his vice-captain has operated mainly in a hybrid role for the last nine month.

  “Well obviously when he has the ball at his feet and he is free he can put the ball wherever he wants and that is a big quality,” added the Dutchman.

  “We all know that and opponents know it as well. They tried to put him a bit more under pressure but obviously for him to (contribute to) two goals and be important on the offensive side is good and it is something we’re going to need, so let’s keep it going.”