Golden Soccer 360

Diego Costa ended Arsene Wenger's hopes of bowing out with silverware as Arsenal suffered an agonising 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final to lose 2-1 on aggregate. With the tie level after the first leg, former Chelsea striker Costa struck in first-half injury-time to secure victory at the Wanda Metropolitano for Atletico, who will face Marseille in the final. Arsenal fashioned a number of openings but the final pass was too often lacking as they were unable to breach Atletico's defence. The closest the visitors came to scoring was when Jan Oblak saved well from Granit Xhaka and substitute Henrikh Mkhitaryan fired narrowly over the bar. But Arsenal ultimately paid the price for two significant defensive lapses over the course of the tie, the first resulting in Antoine Griezmann's late goal at the Emirates and the second giving Costa the chance to score at the end of a tight first half. Having named the same team th...

Arsenal and France defender Laurent Koscielny is set to miss the World Cup after suffering a serious Achilles injury during the Europa League semi-final second leg. Koscielny was stretchered off after just 12 minutes of Arsenal's clash with Atletico Madrid. The 32-year-old lost his footing while moving towards Atletico forward Diego Costa off the ball and was in obvious distress as he clutched his lower leg. He went off to be replaced by Calum Chambers and it subsequently emerged that he had suffered a serious injury and could be out for six months. France kick off their World Cup campaign against Australia on June 16 but Koscielny - who has 51 caps - is set to be missing from their defence. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said: "It doesn't look very good. "You can always hope that the scan will say something different but the first signs aren't very good. "It looks like it could be ruptured although I'm a bit cautious, no one can say th...

Talks between Steven Gerrard and Rangers are at an advanced stage and the former England captain could become manager at Ibrox within the next 24 hours, according to Sky sources. Senior club officials met with Gerrard in London on Thursday afternoon and it is likely that the process is nearing completion. The Liverpool legend is currently an academy coach at Anfield but it emerged last week that Rangers were interested in making the 37-year-old their next permanent manager. Graeme Murty was set to manage Rangers until the end of the season but was dismissed on Monday in the wake of a 5-0 loss at Celtic. Gerrard  told  BT Sport  earlier this week : "I've held initial talks with Rangers and I plan to pick them up in a couple of days time . "There is [interest]. I've held positive talks with them." Pedro Caixinha began the season in charge at Rangers, having taken charge on a three-year deal last March, but the Portuguese boss was fi...

Jose Mourinho remains "positive" Romelu Lukaku will be fit for the FA Cup final, despite ruling him out of Manchester United's game against Brighton. Lukaku limped out of United's 2-1 win over Arsenal last weekend with a foot injury and on Thursday posted images of himself receiving treatment at the Move to Cure clinic in Antwerp, Belgium. United manager Mourinho said the club are still waiting for scan results before setting a comeback date, but is optimistic the striker will be fit for their trip to Wembley on May 19. "I don't know [how long he will be out]," said Mourinho. "I just know that he will not play tomorrow. Apart from that we need to wait for more scans, more time." Asked if Lukaku will play in the FA Cup final, Mourinho added: "I hope so, it looks positive." Mourinho put Eric Bailly's absence from the first team down to trying to help his centre-backs hoping to earn a place at the World Cup. Chr...

In-form Liverpool midfielder James Milner could play a key role for England at the World Cup if he was to end his international retirement, says Jamie Redknapp. Milner announced he no longer wished to be considered for England duty in August 2016, following a disappointing European Championships, where he played just three minutes. However, the midfielder is the top assist maker in the Champions League this season, has been an important part of Liverpool's run to the final and, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's injury reducing England's options in central midfield, Milner would be a valuable option for Gareth Southgate, says Redknapp. "James Milner has been a revelation this season," said the Sky Sports pundit. "It makes you think - would you bring him back to the England squad? I've never seen Milner play better, he's in the form of his life. "With Oxlade-Chamberlain out, we haven't got lots of central midfield players. But he's ...

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says a tweet sent from the FA Cup account mocking Harry Kane was "embarrassing". The  tweet was posted  after Manchester United's 2-1  FA Cup semi-final victory  over Spurs last weekend. The message asked United and England defender Chris Smalling "What's in your pocket?" and included a short clip of him replying: "Harry Kane." The Football Association apologised, and Pochettino said: "We need to protect our English players." The Argentine, who was  appointed Spurs boss in 2014,  added: "We need to give them belief. We need to teach them, to educate, and this type of situation disappointed me a lot. "For me, it was embarrassing. It was a shame because the FA is English football... and a potential captain like Harry Kane in the World Cup... I think was difficult to understand, very, very difficult." Kane has scored 37 goals in 44 games in all competitions for Spurs this sea...

Paris St-Germain manager Unai Emery is leaving the French champions at the end of the season. PSG clinched the French title earlier this month but the Spaniard, 46, is out of contract in the summer. Former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel - who has been linked with Arsenal - is widely expected to be  Emery's replacement. "I have told the players I am leaving," said Emery, who joined PSG on a two-year deal in June 2016. he club finished second behind Monaco in Emery's first season in charge but defeated the champions 7-1 on 15 April to claim their fifth league title in six years. Emery, who won the Europa League  three years running  with Sevilla, has previously been  linked with a move  to Real Sociedad. "I thank president Nasser Al Khelaifi, the director of sport Antero Henrique, the supporters and all the players for these two seasons."