Troubled Manchester City play maker Yaya Toure has announced his exit from the national team setup of Cote d’Ivoire.

“Writing this note was probably the most difficult match of my life. After 14 years at the highest level, I’m sure this is the right time for me! The fact that I am 33 now, the intensity of training and the multitude of games are not the reasons why I am making this decision,” Yaya wrote.

After an underwhelming season last term, Yaya is on the sidelines since Pep Guardiola took over at the Etihad. There has been trading of words over Toure by the player’s agent and the Spanish tactician. On African level, despite Ivory Coast having a packed team of established superstars like former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, ex-Gunner Gervinho, former Liverpool defender Kolo Toure, former Arsenal player Eboue and others, it was in 2015 that they won their first African Cup of Nations title. Toure acknowledge this to be his precious memory in an Ivorian shirt.

Toure made his debut for his country in 2004. He was made the captain after Didier Drogba retired from international football after the 2014 World Cup. He won part of the 2009 UEFA Champions League-winning squad for Barcelona. He moved to England, and has built an enviable reputation ever since.

“I would like to say solemnly that I am stopping!” Toure wrote, dropping the bombshell. “With the Elephants, it was even more special. I learned to win for my country. That’s why I will always retain the pride in having achieved four African Golden Balls for the Ivory Coast,” Toure added.

Former Chelsea forward Didier Drogba has spoken for the first time about his incredible scoring record against Arsenal.

The former Ivory Coast international is regarded as one of the greatest African strikers to have graced the Premier League. He scored numerous goals against almost every opponent to set up Chelsea on the path towards three league titles and several other domestic honours. However, his record against Arsenal stands out from the crowd. Since Drogba became a Chelsea player, the blues enjoyed an impeccable record against the gunners after having previously suffered in the same fixture

The mighty forward once again continued his impeccable record against the gunners by scoring against them in a pre-season friendly for the MLS All-Stars. Drogba has featured against Arsenal in 16 games and he has now taken his tally to 16 goals. This time around, he had to beat his former teammate at Chelsea – Petr Cech – in order to score the goal. Even though Arsenal ended up winning the match due to a late winner, Drogba was happy to continue his incredible record against the gunners. He had no answer as to why he always manages to score against Arsene Wenger’s team; later, he said that he only had to thank good luck for this record.

“I don’t know, I don’t know, I want to say that I’m lucky but when you score 16 goals against them I don’t think it’s luck no more,” said the Chelsea forward after the latest goal against Arsenal. A few years ago, Wenger revealed that he turned down an opportunity to sign Drogba when he was still trying to make his name in French football. Chelsea snapped him up for £ 24 million from Marseille back in 2004 even when he was a raw and unfinished product. Drogba enjoyed his best years under the likes of Carlo Ancelotti.

A lot of teams are known to give young players the opportunity to shine in the Premier League.

Some convert the chance to a permanent spot in the team, some do not. We look at some of the young defenders – in no particular order – breaking into the Premier League in the 2016/2017 season, yet hoping to contend with some of the best players in the world.

First is Rob Holding playing at Arsenal FC. The 20-year old player has the opportunity due to the injury crisis that hit the defence. The centre half already had his debut when he featured in the pre season friendly game against the MLS All Stars in the United States. Coach Arsene Wenger said he was impressed with how he marked two-time former Chelsea forward Didier Drogba. Wenger said: “He reads the game well and understands what’s going on, anticipates well and that’s a quality at such a young age that you do not find a lot.” Holding was signed from Bolton for £2 million and is set to get Premier League matches as the injuries persist.

Ben Gibson of Middlesbrough is another defender set to take on EPL stars this term. The 23-year old player is a key player in the promotion-winning team from the English Championship. His left footedness for a centre half adds to his uniqueness.

West Ham United Reece Oxford was stunning when he played against Arsenal in the opening game of last season despite being just 16 years. There are a lot of queries if he would have more responsibilities under Slaven Bilic this season.
Everton recalled Matthew Pennington from laon on Walsall early in the last campaign as the defenders picked up injuries. He got a lot of first team plays, and has continued his decent campaign in the pre season. As John stones moves to Manchester City, Pennington is set to get more chances for The Toffees this term.

Former Chelsea talisman Didier Drogba still haunts Arsenal FC despite leaving the Premier League where he dominated for years.

The Ivory Coast international tormented Arsene Wenger and his side when everyone thought it was over. Drogba played against Wenger’s side for twelve years when he was at Chelsea FC – twice, and when he featured for Turkish side Galatasaray.

His career at Montreal Impact in the Major League Soccer might be coming to an end as the player ages, but his calm finish when the MLS All stars played against Arsenal would not be forgotten in a hurry.

Drogba’s tally is now 16 goals in 16 games against the Emirates side. Arsenal won the game at the end courtesy of a goal from Chuba Akpom and Joel Campbell 2-1. The exhibition game was a much better effort from Arsenal compared to their effort against Lens which ended 1-1. The 38-year old was impressive for the team at San Jose but couldn’t bully the inexperienced defenders Rob Holding and Krystian Bielik as he would have when he was much younger.

After the game, Wenger said: “Drogba is a poacher. He can do that in the box. When I see him in the box, fighting with young defenders, I always think there is danger because you know that he can get the upper hand and score a goal. That’s what he did.”

With Per Mertesacker sidelined till 2017, the Gunners would need to find experienced defenders as the current crop seem too inexperienced for the forthcoming season which would be very competitive. Arsenal are set to play Mexican side Chivas in Los Angeles on Sunday. Wenger says he is focused on bringing the best out of the team. He added that the cheques clubs are signing to remain in the league is scary as they are all ambitious.

At the age of 38, Didier Drogba is an extremely experienced player who still manages to score goals and consistently perform at a high level which is something very surprising for a player in such an elevated age.

Drogba is currently performing for the MLS side Montreal Impact and the Ivorian attacker had the chance to be one of the players selected to perform in the MLS All-Star as they faced off with Arsenal on July 28 of the ongoing year.

The Ivorian forward was excited to perform in this game as he had previously talked in an interview and Drogba praised Arsenal’s Petr Cech as the veteran attacker voiced his excitement in being able to face off against his former Chelsea teammate as he said:

‘’He is a legend and a really good friend. We have been talking about this match and Petr Cech told me that he was going to come. We have a chat group which includes a few Chelsea players and we have all been talking about this match. I am excited and hope to score a goal or two’’

The match was played as scheduled on July 28th at the Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California.

Drogba did indeed manage to score a goal as he blasted a shot past his former teammate Petr Cech but it was Arsenal which came out on top with the victory as the final scoreboard displayed 2-1 in favor of the Premier League club.

This game was a memorable one for Didier Drogba as he scored a goal against Arsenal as he continues to prove his worth even at the age of 38 but there was something else that occurred which shows that even the most experienced of players can make mistakes as Drogba performed for Montreal Impact in a MLS match and he kicked a player with the referee standing only a few inches away.

For someone who has had a playing career which spans for over 15 years, it was a fairly novice mistake to make as the referee was right in front of him and Drogba decided to kick a player of D.C United who was already down on the ground and this lead to having the Ivorian player being removed from the field as he received a red card.

Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has stated that he is a role model for the young people and that he wants to do everything he can in order to impact the youth positively.

Speaking to a Canadian radio, he said that he is a model for all the young players that want to succeed in the footballing world.

He said that it is not only his footballing skills that have brought him success but also his hard work. He believes that if you want to succeed you need to learn to play in a team and also to sacrifice yourself for the team. You need to learn how to trust your partners and how to inspire trust to others. It is all these qualities that you make you a good footballer.

Didier Drogba said that he worked hard to reach where he is. He said that at the start of his career he was not regular in his performance. Someone once told him that it is no use being good on the training pitch if you cannot play like that in competitive matches. This is what prompted him to make changes to the way he plays. He had to improve his performance on the pitch to make sure that he was consistently playing at a high level.

Speaking about the Major League Soccer, he believes that the level of football has improved significantly during recent years, and he think that it will keep on improving. He said that the arrival of players such as David Villa and Kaka has significantly improved the level and that the level of local players has been increasing as well. He said that in the years to come, the Major League Soccer will become more competitive and that will be seen in the quality of the United States players.