Transfers

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says their 2-0 victory against Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinal on Saturday could convince striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to commit his future to the north London club.

Aubameyang, 31, scored in either half to fire Arsenal past holders City at an empty Wembley.

Aubameyang, the club's top scorer this season with 25 goals in all competitions, is out of contract at the end of next season and has not yet agreed to an extension.

Manager Mikel Arteta says the task of rebuilding Arsenal is a "massive job" and that there is an "enormous" difference between his side and Premier League champion Liverpool.

Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-1 on Wednesday but the London side is still ninth and trails the champion by 40 points.

The Premier League said on Wednesday that the 2020 summer transfer window dates will be open for 10 weeks from July 27 and close on Oct. 5, with a domestic-only window for English Football League (EFL) clubs until Oct. 16.

The league made the announcement after all shareholders agreed on the dates. It added that the transfer window was subject to the approval of FIFA.

The window, which has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent late finish to the season, opens one day after the completion of the top-flight campaign.

MADRID — Spain's World Cup-winning captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas has called time on his five-year spell with Porto after his contract with the Portuguese club expired on Wednesday.

Casillas, 39, suffered a heart attack during a training session last year and has not played any competitive football since April 2019.

Jürgen Damm, one of the fastest footballers in the world, is coming to America. The Mexican winger signed a deal to join Atlanta United after Damm’s contract with Tigres UANL expires at the end of the 2019-20 season, the Five Stripes announced Wednesday.

More importantly, Damm announced his move with the best dance moves I’ve ever seen. I cannot stop watching this video with a goofy-ass grin on my face.

FC Augsburg has wasted no time in adding to its squad this summer. The Bavarian side has completed some remarkable business by adding midfielders Daniel Caligiuri from Schalke and Tobias Strobl from Borussia Mönchengladbach, as well as goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz from Union Berlin. All three were signed on free transfers as their contracts at their previous clubs were due to expire at the end of June. 

Tobias Strobl
Daniel Caligiuri
Rafał Gikiewicz

Juventus are set to sign Brazil international Arthur Melo from Barcelona after the midfielder agreed a five-year contract with the Italian champions and passed a medical, according to Spanish media reports on Sunday.

The move is part of a twin negotiation between the clubs which involves Bosnia midfielder Miralem Pjanić moving to Barça, said reports in sports dailies Mundo Deportivo and Marca.

Dutch winger Arjen Robben is making a comeback to professional soccer after signing with his boyhood club FC Groningen for the 2020-21 season, the Dutch Eredivisie side said on Saturday.

 BREAKING:

ARJEN ROBBEN = BACK #Robbenreturns pic.twitter.com/fpoNJEg6Tg

European soccer body UEFA has temporarily relaxed its break-even rule known as Financial Fair Play, saying it wants to make sure that clubs are not penalized for unforeseen losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic this season.

The European soccer body said in a statement that clubs' accounts for the 2020 and 2021 financial years would be assessed together rather than separately, to give clubs time to recuperate from losses suffered during the last three months.

Celta Vigo’s backup goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez is out for the season with knee ligament damage he suffered in May. Due to Alvarez being out for the season, the Spanish football authorities granted Celta permission to make an emergency signing of another player in LaLiga or a free agent. 

With the No. 2 keeper injured, most people would expect the club to sign a player to take his place. Instead, Celta decided that the only way to avoid relegation — only two points separates the club from the relegation zone — is with the signing of its former striker Nolito from Sevilla.