Frank Lampard has said that he is prepared to risk his legacy after becoming the new head coach at Chelsea. The 40-year-old was widely fancied for the role after the departure of Maurizio Sarri and the move has finally been made official after the Blues agreed on a compensation package with Derby County.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Lampard acknowledged that he may be risking his legacy with the job, but he is nonetheless prepared to prove himself, he said: “Maybe it is a risk. I am quite bold. You have to be in football because the minute I stepped into management, what did I want to do? This is no disrespect to Derby, a fantastic club for me, I was ambitious as a player, I wanted to manage at the top. The opportunity to come here, having had my link here, this is an obvious club I would love to manage, simply that. The minute I started management, the minute I realised this could be the case, if I am fortunate and do okay, I get the job at Chelsea and I risk it.”

Arsenal youngster Reiss Nelson is determined to impress for the Gunners first-team next season following his season-long loan spell with Hoffenheim. The 19-year-old had a stop-start campaign with the German side due to injuries but he still made an impact with seven goals from 23 league appearances and was nominated for the Rookie of the Year award.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Nelson said that he is keen on making a comeback with the Gunners this term following a testing challenge in the Bundesliga, he said: “Arsenal is my main goal. After the Euros I’ll look to go back to pre-season, do that very strong and hopefully play for the team I love. “I haven’t spoken to him [Unai Emery] yet. The recruitment team said I need to concentrate on the Euros and then we’ll get back into Arsenal later on.

Petr Cech has indicated that he is focused on winning the Europa League with Arsenal and would thereafter decide on his future. The 37-year-old has already confirmed that he would be retiring from the game at the end of the season and recent reports have linked him with the sporting director role at former club Chelsea.

Ahead of the Europa League final against the Blues, Cech has clarified that he is focused on securing European silverware with the Gunners and any speculation regarding his future would be sorted following his final game in professional football, he tweeted: “Despite the news today as I had already said to everybody before, I’ll make decision about my future after the last game. Now my sole focus is to win the EL with Arsenal.”

Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech is determined to beat Chelsea when the sides face in the Europa League final this month. The 36-year-old has already announced that he would be retiring from the game at the end of the season and he has the opportunity to go on a high by securing trophy success with the Gunners.

Speaking to Evening Standard, Cech said that he is determined to have a happy ending to his career and would not have expected a better script with a chance to beat the Blues to the Europa League crown, he said: “If somebody wrote the script for me, then that would probably be in it. If you’re about to win a European trophy you have to beat any opponent anyway, so for me it would be an extra special game but regardless of that you want to win the trophy for yourself. My dream is to go all the way to the final and play the last game in the final with a happy ending, with a trophy in my arm and a medal around my neck.”

Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has acknowledged that he prefers to play alongside Alexandre Lacazette upfront, though he would not want to anger the manager by stating his opinion. The Gabon international has formed an excellent bond with Lacazette during his time at the club and the duo have contributed 38 goals together during the ongoing campaign.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Aubameyang admitted that he likes to work together with Lacazette in the frontline, but he can’t change the perspective of the head coach, he said: “Everybody knows that I like to play with Laca because we have a great partnership. Sometimes one plays, the other is on the bench. It’s like that. You have to fight for the team. I think you know that I like to play with two strikers but I don’t want to say it because the coach will be maybe a bit angry.”

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has said that the players should learn to control the game better after a slender 1-0 win over Watford on the road. The north London side took the lead fortuitously after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pounced upon Ben Foster’s poor clearance and they were thereafter handed a man advantage with Troy Deeney sent off for an off-the-ball incident with Lucas Torreira.

Despite this, the Gunners were not clearly in control of the game through the 90 minutes but they eventually secured the maximum points after some last-gasp defending towards the end. Speaking after the match, Emery said that his team were competitive on the night but should have done better in controlling the proceedings of the game.

Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has said that the Gunners are capable of making a comeback despite suffering a 3-1 defeat to Rennes during the away leg of the Europa League round of 16. The north London giants benefited from a fortuitous Alex Iwobi goal in the opening three minutes and they could have quite easily doubled the advantage with the chances thereafter.

However, in a moment of madness, Sokratis saw himself sent out for a second yellow card and this changed the tide with Rennes scoring from a free-kick before the break. Following the interval, Rennes were the better side with the man advantage and they managed to make it count with a Nacho Monreal own goal and a late Ismaila Sarr strike to secure a comfortable triumph in the end.

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has urged his team to show consistency in the forthcoming matches as they seek to make the push for the top four. The north London side are currently one point behind the Champions League positions but they can make ground with a friendlier fixture schedule when compared to their close rivals.

Speaking in a press conference, Emery spoke about the positivity brought about from the atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium which has contributed to their league form. However, the Spanish tactician urged his team to showcase the same level of performance on the road where they have managed just one league win since December.

Germany legend Michael Ballack has spoken fondly about his time playing together with Petr Cech at former club Chelsea and believes the shot-stopper will step into coaching following his retirement from the game. The 36-year-old has recently announced his decision to step down from his playing days at the end of the season.

Speaking to Omni Sport, Ballack has praised the attitude of Cech over the years and said that he will be missed on the playing field from next term. However, the former Germany captain is optimistic that the Czech will consider a probable switch to the dugout where he can leave a huge influence on the upcoming players.

Former Arsenal star Martin Keown has questioned the abilities of Bernd Leno between the sticks following the Gunners’ embarrassing 5-1 defeat to Liverpool on the road. The Germany international has produced a number of fine performances for the Gunners since taking over the gloves from Petr Cech but his showing was not entirely impressive against the Reds, where he was accountable for a couple of errors including one where he had conceded a corner while trying to pass from the back.

Speaking after the game, Keown was critical about the showing of Leno and highlighted that the keeper does not even make the Germany squad on a regular basis. He added to suggest that Cech could have done a better job than him, although the latter has been out of contention for Premier League duties since September.