Arsenal close to signing Brazilian defender Andre Santos

 

Arsenal are set to sign Brazilian international left-back Andre Santos from Fenerbahce for £6.2m, BBC Sport understands. The 28-year-old from Sao Paulo was bought by the Turkish club in 2009 from Corinthians in his homeland.
After Sunday's 8-2 defeat by Manchester United, manager Arsene Wenger said he was chasing new players before the transfer window closes on 31 August.
Wenger is also on the verge of signing striker Park Chu-young from Monaco.
Last season Santos made 25 league appearances for Fenerbahce, scoring five goals.
Santos played for Brazil as they won the Fifa Confederations Cup in 2009, but he did not make the 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup Finals. He did return to play in the 2011 Copa America, but missed a penalty as Brazil lost to Paraguay on spot-kicks in the quarter-finals.
Having seen left-back Gael Clichy join Manchester City, Wenger played 21-year-old Kieran Gibbs in that position on the opening day of the season against Newcastle United.
Gibbs then injured his hamstring in the Champions League qualifying play-off first leg against Udinese.
Wenger used Bacary Sagna at left-back during the 2-0 Premier League defeat to Liverpool on 20 August, and the second leg against Udinese, where Arsenal qualified for the Champions League group stage.
But Sagna was ruled out at Old Trafford on Sunday, paving the way for another left-back, Armand Traore, to play, but he is now on the verge of leaving the Gunners for Queens Park Rangers

Rooney scores hat-trick as United hit eight past Arsenal

Wayne Rooney (left) is congratulated by team-mate Anderson after completing his hat-trick in the 8-2 rout of Arsenal.

 

 Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick as champions Manchester United retained their 100% English Premier League record this season with a remarkable 8-2 thumping of injury-hit Arsenal at Old Trafford.
United dominated the Gunners who suffered their worst ever Premier League defeat.
With Manchester City winning 5-1 at Tottenham also on Sunday, it proved a superb day for the two Manchester clubs, who are level at the top with a maximum nine points from their three games.
What now for Arsenal and Fabregas?
In contrast, north London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal are struggling at the other end of the table, with Tottenham at the bottom without a point and Arsenal fourth from bottom with just one point.
Arsenal, who sold star players Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri this month, were always struggling to cope with the home side once Danny Welbeck headed United into the lead following hesitancy in the defense.
And Arsenal then wasted a golden chance to level when captain Robin Van Persie's penalty was saved by United keeper David De Gea after Jonny Evans pulled back Theo Walcott.
United soon made them pay when Ashley Young curled home a superb second before Rooney's brilliant free-kick made it 3-0.
Walcott pulled a goal back for Arsenal just before half-time from an acute angle, but United restored their advantage with another trademark Rooney free-kick in the 64th minute.
By now, United were running riot, and Nani made it 5-1 after being left free in the penalty area to clip the ball into the net.
Substitute Park Ji-Sung added a sixth before Van Persie scored from close range to make it 6-2.
Arsenal then had defender Carl Jenkinson sent off for a second yellow card -- meaning the club have had a player dismissed in each of their first three matches. And soon after, Rooney completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after Walcott's foul on Nani.
The humiliation was completed when Young matched his first-half strike with another superb effort in injury time.
The defeat, the first time Arsenal had conceded eight goals in a league game since 1896, increased the pressure on manager Arsene Wenger, with new signings expected to arrive before the deadline for trades on Wednesday.
"Of course it hurts, it's humiliating, but you could see that we had not recovered physically in the second half from Wednesday night's win over Udinese," Wenger told the official Arsenal website.
"We were short in some areas, that is for sure. They have class and they punished us. It was 3-1 at half-time and I think that was harsh against us.
"We missed a penalty, we had a chance to get back to 3-2. We tried desperately to get back but we opened ourselves up and were punished. Their finishing was great today," added the Frenchman.
United's performance was matched by the dazzling display of big-spending rivals Manchester City, with Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko scoring four goals in their rout of Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
With Frenchman Nasri in fine form on his debut following his move from Arsenal, City were too strong for Spurs, and they went ahead in the 34th minute when Dzeko scored from Nasri's cross.
And the duo combined again seven minutes later when Dzeko scored with a clever back-header from Nasri's cross.
Dzeko completed his hat-trick early in the second half when he tapped in Yaya Toure's cutback.
The home side pulled a goal back when Younes Kaboul headed in Rafael van der Vaart's corner.
But Sergio Aguero soon restored the three-goal advantage with a brilliant drive from outside the penalty area.
And Dzeko curled home his fourth and Manchester City's fifth in injury time.
The result leaves Harry Redknapp's side without a point along with Blackburn and West Bromwich Albion, who suffered their third straight defeat 1-0 at home to Stoke Sunday.

In Sunday's other Premier League match, Newcastle beat Fulham 2-1 at home with two goals from striker Leon Best.

Ronaldo scores three as Madrid hit Zaragoza for six

 

Cristiano Ronaldo has already found his scoring form with a hat-trick in Real Madrid's 6-0 thrashing of Zaragoza.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Cristiano Ronaldo scores a hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Zaragoza 6-0
• Sevilla beat neighbors Malaga 2-1 thanks to a pair from Alvaro Negredo
• Raul nets the only goal as Schalke defeat Moenchengladbach

Real Madrid began their Spanish Primera Liga campaign in style on Sunday, as Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition of Real Zaragoza.
Ronaldo opened the scoring early on after converting Mesut Ozil's pass and defender Marcelo added a second to give the visitors a comfortable advantage at the break.
The second half was all one-way traffic as Ronaldo helped himself to two more from close range, while Xabi Alonso and Kaka chipped in with superb long- range strikes, as Jose Mourinho's men sounded an early warning to champions Barcelona, who begin the defense of their title at Villarreal on Monday evening.
"At 2-0 the game was already over and so it depended on whether we played together or individually and the players chose the first option so we won by a big margin," Mourinho told reporters.

At 2-0 the game was already over and so it depended on whether we played together or individually
--Jose Mourinho

Ronaldo finished joint top scorer in Spain with Lionel Messi last season, and the two star strikers are expected to battle it out at the top of the goalscoring charts again this campaign.
Meanwhile, Alvaro Negredo scored both Sevilla's goals in their 2-1 derby victory over big-spending Malaga.
Negredo opened the scoring with a superb header in just the second minute and he doubled the home side's advantage midway through the first half, before Santi Cazorla scored a late consolation goal for Malaga.
In Sunday's other Spanish matches, a deflected Jonathan De Guzman strike gave Real Mallorca a 1-0 win over Espanyol, while the other three matches all ended in draws; Atletico Madrid 0-0 Osasuna, Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Vallecano and Getafe 1-1 Levante.
There were two matches in Germany on Sunday, with Spanish legend Raul scoring the only goal as Schalke beat Moenchengladbach 1-0.
Moenchengladbach had gone into the weekend's fixtures top of the table, but their first defeat of the season sees them drop to fifth, while Schalke are up to second place, behind leaders Bayern Munich on goal difference.

The other match saw Hannover and Mainz share a 1-1 draw, a result that sees Hannover end the weekend in fourth place as the only unbeaten side left in the Bundesliga.

Barcelona hit five to begin Spanish title defense

 

Cesc Fabregas celebrates his goal in Barcelona's 5-0 rout of Villarreal.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Barcelona open La Liga campaign with 5-0 rout of Villarreal
• Lionel Messi grabs a late double to round off scoring in Nou Camp
• Thiago Alcantara and new recruits Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez also score

RELATED TOPICS

• FC Barcelona
• Villarreal CF
• Real Madrid FC

(CNN) -- Barcelona began the defense of their La Liga crown with a convincing 5-0 win over Villarreal in the Nou Camp Monday night.
Goals from new recruits Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez followed an opener from the promising Thiago Alcantara.
Lionel Messi then added a double for Pep Guardiola's all-conquering team who have already added to their trophy cabinet with victories in the Spanish Super Cup and European Super Cup before the start of their league campaign.
Arch-rivals Real Madrid opened their title bid with a 6-0 rout of Real Zaragoza Sunday and Barca were just as impressive once youth team graduate and Spanish under-21 international Thiago had set them on the way with a 25th minute opener.
Home goalkeeper Victor Valdes made a brilliant save to deny Giuseppe Rossi in a rare Villarreal attack before the champions stretched their lead.
Fabregas, who combined superbly with Messi in midfield, used that understanding to latch on to a neat through ball from the Argentine ace and add the second just before halftime.
Any hopes of a Villarreal comeback were snuffed out quickly after the break as Chile winger Sanchez used his pace to burst clear of the visiting defense and notch the third.

Messi weaved his way to add the fourth and fifth to add the icing on the cake for the three-time defending Spanish champions

Arsenal, Liverpool and Lille chase Yossi Benayoun

Benayoun has only played one minute of football this season

Arsenal, Liverpool and French club Lille have all approached Chelsea over the possibility of signing midfielder Yossi Benayoun, BBC Sport understands.

The 31-year-old Israeli posted on Twitter on Monday that he is on the verge of leaving Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal are looking to strengthen their midfield following the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.
Benayoun joined Chelsea from Liverpool for £5m in July 2010 but has seen just one minute of action this season.
It has been rumoured Benayoun would be included in an offer from Chelsea for Tottenham playmaker Luka Modric.

YOSSI BENAYOUN FACTFILE

• Date of birth: 5 May 1980
• Current club: Chelsea - apps 11, goals 1
• Former club: Liverpool - apps 134, goals 29
• National team: Israel - apps 83, goals 24

Newcastle have also been linked with the Israel captain, who was restricted to 10 appearances for the club last season due to an Achilles injury, which kept him out for six months.
Benayoun spent two years at West Ham before joining Liverpool in 2007.
He scored 29 goals in 134 games for the Reds.