Sport

Arsenal will face Swedish minnows Ostersund managed by Englishman Graham Potter in the last 32 of the Europa League. Arsene Wenger will come up against the 42-year-old who has worked wonders taking Ostersund up the Swedish leagues. Incredibly, Ostersund were formed in October 1996 just weeks after Wenger began his managerial spell in north London. 

Diego Maradona was on hand to unveil an incredible 12ft statue of himself holding the World Cup in Kolkata, but questions were immediately raised over whether it actually looks like him. The former Argentina international has become something of an icon in the football-mad city after an original visit in 2008, during which thousands of fans packed into the airport to catch a glimpse. His second public appearance has been a long-time coming having originally been scheduled for September, meaning the statue had to stay behind the blue and white curtain for months before he could eventually unveil it at a ceremony on Monday.

It was business as usual on Monday as Manchester City's players returned to first-team training less than 24 hours after the fiery end to the Manchester derby on Sunday. Pep Guardiola's side opened up an 11-point lead between them and their bitter rivals at the top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 win at Old Trafford. Nicolas Otamendi converted from close range in the second-half after Marcus Rashford had cancelled out David Silva's opener to give City all three points.

Gareth Bale has returned to training with his Real Madrid team-mates as they prepare for their semi-final clash with Al Jazira in the Club World Cup on Wednesday evening. The Welshman has been recovering from a calf injruy which saw him miss his side's thumping 5-0 win over Sevilla this weekend. The 28-year-old's most recent setback came in Madrid's Copa Del Rey draw with Fuenlabrada, after the former Tottenham winger set up both of his side's goals to help them progress through to the next round.

Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool side made Christmas come early for some young supporters as they paid a visit to Alder Hey Childrens Hospital to spread some festive cheer and posed with one cheeky Everton fan too. The Liverpool stars took time out of their busy schedule to surprise the youngsters, who will be spending the Christmas period in the hospital, with goody bags filled with gifts. Klopp, accompanied by Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson, Philippe Coutinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and several other players, made the short trip from their Melwood training base on Monday before their session.

Most sportsmen and women want to use the latest technology and advancements in sports science to aid their injury recovery. But John Terry has chosen to employ some old school fitness techniques alongside the new as he continues to recover from the foot injury he suffered last month. The former England captain has missed Aston Villa's last five Championship matches. But ahead of their clash with Millwall on Saturday, he was back at Villa Park going through the latest stage of his rehabilitation.

Australia coach Mitchell Johnson has piled the pressure on England after pointing out Alastair Cook's poor run of form and Joe Root's debatable choices ahead of the third Ashes Test in Perth. Johnson, who spearheaded Australia's 5-0 Ashes sweep of England four years ago, believes the visitors will struggle mentally for the remainder of the Ashes series. The 36-year-old backed up his claims following Australia's net session at the WACA, as he pointed out that Root's decision to send the hosts in to bat during the second Test could haunt the English captain.

Tottenham star Victor Wanyama has been given some fresh inspiration as he eyes a return from injury.  Fans in his home-nation Kenya took to the streets in order to wish their national captain a speedy recovery.  The midfielder has not played for his club since injuring his knee in the second game of the season but has since returned to light training. 

Antonio Conte has officially placed Chelsea's hopes of defending the Premier League title into deep freeze as his players trained in wintry conditions.  Chelsea returned to training in the sleet on Monday morning having been beaten 1-0 by West Ham United on Saturday lunchtime.  The result, combined with Manchester City's win over rivals United, means the Blues are 14 points off the league leaders, which Conte says in an insurmountable gap.

The former England and Liverpool striker was up early to catch a train and thought he had protected his Bentley GT Continental against the conditions by parking under a tree at his Flintshire home. However Owen awoke this morning to find his £150,000 car covered had fallen foul of the weather after the protective branch had collapsed under the weight of the snow.

Paul Merson brilliantly pulled off a prank during his shift on Soccer Saturday, slipping Oasis songs into his commentary in honour of Noel Gallagher's punditry debut. For every track Merson managed to surreptitiously mention, Soccer AM donated £50 to Prostate Cancer UK and their stooge did an outstanding job. Jeff Stelling and his panel were totally oblivious to Merson's secret mission and he managed to rack up a total of 12 songs. Gallagher, a huge Manchester City fan, was a special guest for Sky's coverage of the derby against Manchester United, lining up in the studio alongside regulars Graeme Souness and Gary Neville.

The dumping of snow in Leicester allowed Claude Puel's players a chance for a good old fashioned snowball fight. Riyad Mahrez, Shinji Okazaki and Ben Chilwell were the main protagonists around Belvoir Drive training centre. The trio of Foxes launched snowballs at eachother, with Mahrez pictured grinning whilst holding a particularly massive lump. Okazaki dressed for battle with a monikered snood pulled up under his nose and Chilwell also wrapped up warm for the hijinks.

Ronaldinho proved he still has what it takes to dazzle crowds as he scored a superb goal from inside his own half. The Barcelona legend was taking part in a charity match in Sao Paulo when he delighted fans to a sprinkling of Brazilian magic. The 37-year-old has yet to officially retire from football and proved on Sunday afternoon that he is still superior to most in the game.

The NFL's reluctance to postpone games due to adverse weather conditions was fully evident during Week 14 as Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts played in blizzard-like conditions on Sunday. Severe weather warning have been issued across Buffalo after a snowstorm left the city under over a foot of snow, but it was not enough to put off thousands of NFL fans who turned up to watch their beloved team.

Summer 1994 and just a few weeks after Brazil had won the World Cup in America, the youngest member of their squad is off to start a new life in Europe. He is 17, he has joined PSV Eindhoven, he is Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima. He is the original Ronaldo. Over the next 15 years, Ronaldo will score his way into the history books and smile his toothy way into the sympathies of neutrals as well as the fans of Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, AC Milan and, of course, Brazil. Ronaldo was to earn 98 caps, scoring 62 goals. He lost the 1998 World Cup final to France, then won the 2002 World Cup final against Germany — scoring both of Brazil's goals in a 2-0 win. Each final contained drama that centred on Ronaldo.