Alexei Smertin is going to head the committee of the Russian Federation which will work towards the complete abolition of racism in the game.

Smertin served the Red Army with distinction and is well respected as a player, but, in this case, he is definitely an interesting and an eyebrow-raising choice
That’s because Smertin is someone who has denied in the past that the racist incidents even happen in his country and has slammed the journalists from outside for highlighting this issue just to ruin Russia’s image.

Many Arsenal fans believe that Arsene Wenger needs to go if Arsenal is going to win the title again.

They feel that their club is not ambitious anymore and that they are satisfied to finish in the top four every year.

Liverpool remain doubts to lift the Premier League title this year after their stunning loss to underperforming Swansea whilst at home in a critical part of the season.

The loss soared the confidence of league leaders Chelsea particularly after Tottenham – another major contender – played a draw with Manchester City.

Former Arsenal player Andrei Arshavin seems to have found a success once again, but withKairat Almaty.

The 35-year-old left Kuban Krasnodar last season after being disappointed with the limited number of first-team opportunities that he was experiencing at the club. He even threatened to quit football at the end of the campaign if he did not find any potential suitors. Former Russian national team assistant managerAlexandrBorodyuk, who worked alongside GuusHiddink, brought in Arshavin after some convincing. It was during the time of Hiddink with Russian national team that Arshavin emerged as one of the top players.

Russian side Spartak Moscow reportedly want out-of-favour Manchester United winger Memphis Depay.

Sport Express reports that the club is willing to get the player on a loan deal before deciding on a permanent deal.

Everton is the leading side focused on getting Depay, but they would have to battle the Russians for the Netherlands international. Spartak already have Quincy Promes and they would be hoping the Holland international would be able to convince his close pal to join him. Both players holidayed in Los Angeles during the summer.

Liverpool are reportedly on the heels of Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun.

The 21-year old rising star plies his trade at Russian club FC Rostov. Azmoun developed playing for Iranian youth team sides but quickly piqued the interests of various clubs. Top European sides were watching him, and local Irani sides like Esteghlal, Sepahan and others offered him deals but he rejected them. Azmoun preferred a move to Russia when he decided to play for Rubin Kazan. The move made him the first Iranian footballer to switch to the Russian Premier League.

Andrei Arshavin stated that he is currently happy to be playing for FC Kairat.

The player is currently in form despite reaching his 35th birthday. The former Arsenal forward has managed to make 25 appearances for the club out of which 4 have been in the Europa League.

Andrei Arshavin reckons if people don’t take the prohibited drugs, there’s no way they can meet the demands of a few sports.

In Arshavin’s view, there are two types of sports, Cyclic and non-cyclic. Non-cyclic are the ones where similar movement is not needed all the time, like in soccer, a player doesn’t always move the same way. He can take different positions at different times depending on how his opponent is going. So, the drugs are not necessarily needed for the performance in such sports. You can manage without drugs as well.

Former Arsenal forward Andrei Arshavin has stated that the London club is too conservative, and this is what is preventing the club from going forward.

He said that the team had a great chance to win the title last season, but unfortunately they did not do it.

The last day of the summer transfer window witnessed a lot of deals completed, with some coming as a surprise to many.

One of the shocking deals was the move by Chelsea to reclaim Brazilian defender David Luiz from Paris Saint Germain. Luiz’s return to Stamford Bridge is a three year deal.

Clubs had up to 11pm to get the deals done, though deals have been known to drag past the limit but only in special cases. The clubs would have to send the transfer documents to the Premier League – contract, transfer agreement and levies, work permit and so on.