Arsène Wenger Questions Motives of Chelsea Decision to Sell Juan Mata: Nightly Soccer Report

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has questioned the motives of Chelsea Football Club’s decision to sell Juan Mata to Manchester United.

Wenger said today:

“[Mourinho] sums up what Chelsea’s thinking is [about Juan Mata].

“I am surprised because Juan Mata is a great player and they sell a great player to a direct opponent. It opens [up] again a little bit the opportunity of this transfer market because Chelsea had already played twice against Man United so they don’t play again. They could have sold him last week [before the United game].

“It opens, at least, the opportunity of the dates of this transfer window. Some teams have already played twice against one opponent and some others, not. If you want to respect the fairness for everybody exactly in the game, that should not happen. I just think you would want everybody on the same level. I can understand completely what Chelsea is doing. They do not do the rules but, maybe, the rules should be a bit more adapted to more fairness.”

In Arsenal’s remaining fixtures, they still have games against Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham, among others. Chelsea have a much easier schedule with no games against United, but they do play Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City and Spurs.

While Wenger says it’s not a level playing field, the Premier League is not going to change the fixture list any time in the future to have clubs play each of their opponents between August-December. Some clubs will always have a perceived advantage in the transfer window.

Here are today’s world soccer headlines:

Premier League

• Arsène Wenger questions motives of Chelsea decision to sell Juan Mata — The Guardian
• Nicolas Anelka to fight FA charge and requests personal hearing — Daily Star
• Roma’s Marco Borriello has agreed to join West Ham on loan for the rest of the season — 101GG
• Glen Johnson out ‘indefinitely’, reveals Brendan Rodgers — The Independent
• Southampton ready to sell Dani Osvaldo after striker butted team-mate Jose Fonte during training session — Telegraph
• Jo Inge Berget is the next Norwegian footballer heading to Cardiff — TV2
• Why Juan Mata is the perfect solution to Manchester United’s problems — International Business Times
• John Terry set to leave in the summer amid contract limbo — The Mirror
• Arsenal are playing ‘Russian roulette’ with Walcott’s career — Goal
• Swansea City reject Fulham bid for defender Neil Taylor — BBC Sport
• Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku faces Kick It Out axing  — The Telegraph
• FA hints that Steve Bruce could hold the key to the club’s potential name change — ITV Sport
• Premier League targets Cardiff and Swansea pubs over illegal screenings — BBC Sport
• Demba Ba agrees £7million Trabzonspor transfer – only for Chelsea to block deal — Metro
• Will Juan Mata become Manchester United’s Mesut Özil? — The Guardian
• Cardiff City boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bids for Wigan Athletic defender Ivan Ramis — Wales Online
• Spurs given boost with Vertonghen, Paulinho, Sandro and Kaboul in line for Man City return — Daily Star
• Premier League 2013-2014 in graphs — Cartilage Free Captain

International soccer

• World Cup song to feature Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull — FOX Soccer
• Canada to bid for 2026 FIFA World Cup — CBC
• European Championship hosts France to take part in qualification stages — The Guardian
• A guided tour of the U.S. men’s national team’s summer home base — Sports Illustrated

Football League

• Josh McEachran joins Wigan Athletic on loan — The Pride of London

La Liga

• Copa del Rey: Diego Godín goal gives Atlético Madrid leg one edge on Athletic — Pro Soccer Talk

Serie A

• Coppa Italia: Fiorentina eliminates Siena, joins Roma, Udinese in semifinals — Pro Soccer Talk

The Nightly Soccer Report is tomorrow’s news today. It’s often tomorrow morning’s worldwide newspaper headlines that are published the night before. We do all the work for you, combing the Internet and aggregating the news for you. Read The Nightly Soccer Report on World Soccer Talk every night before bed, so you can stay on top of all the news that matters.