Video Assistant Referee would be use to overturn refereeing decisions for the first in England in the FA Cup game between Brighton and Crystal Palace. The English FA had longed announce their decision to use video technology in the FA Cup this season, and initially considered using it in the Liverpool vs Everton tie. But the Merseyside derby was deemed too high profile for the trial to take place. The FA made the announcements in March, and would be used first in the FA Cup third round tie between 5th and 8th January, and it would be used only in the Televised games played on Premier League grounds. The International Football Association Board has laid down protocol under which a match changing decision can be overturned through video review. per the protocol, only cases of “direct red cards, penalty or no penalty, awarding goals,  and when the identity of a culprit is mistaken can necessitate a decision to be overturned. The reason why the trial is being restricted to only televised games in Premier League grounds, is because they have the necessary infrastructure to aid the administration of the technology. Liverpool vs. Everton, and Brighton vs Palace are the only two games that meet this criteria.

With the World Cup draws over, teams are now left to prepare for how they would conquer whichever group they have been placed into. While every team who have qualified for the World Cup have a chance of winning the tournament, any country that would win would have to overcome their group stage opponents first. Here are a few eye-catching games in the group stages we believe you should not miss.   Portugal vs. Spain, June 15 Both of these sides are favourites for the competition. Spain who won the 2010 World Cup, has been on a decline for a few years now, and reigning European Champions would want to start their competition on a winning note. Argentina vs. Iceland, June 16 This could be Lionel Messi’s chance of winning the World cup, but Iceland would not be push overs. The small island nation shocked Europe by qualifying for this competition, and seeing how Iran almost held Argentina to a Stalemate in the last World Cup means there is room for upset here. Nigeria vs. Argentina, June 26 Nigeria beat Argentina 4-2 in a friendly in November, that game did not say much anyway, as these sides have met in five of Nigeria’s last six world cup appearances, and the Argentines have not lost a single game to them. England vs. Belgium, June 28 By the time these teams face off, both teams should have qualified but with Colombia or Poland possible next round opponents, they would both want to top the group and get a favourable draw.

Arsenal would be without the service of their French attacker Alexandre Lacazette after he limped off from their match against Huddersfield town. The former Lyon attacker had opened the scoring against the Terriers with a sweet effort, but was take off at half time as he struggled to remain in the match. Arsene Wenger has confirmed that he has a groin problem, which makes him available to face Red Devils. Lacazette joined the Gunners this summer for a club record fee, and although he has been slow to adapt to the Premier League, he is still one of the best performing players in the Gunner’s team. Meanwhile, Wenger believes Mesut Ozil has found a new “fight” that has seen him help the Gunners to a succession of wins. The German is set to leave the Gunners at the end of this season after refusing to sign a new deal. Many had expected the Gunners to cash in on him and Alexis Sanchez in the January transfer window, but that looks unlikely now as the Gunners would prefer to have them stay and help push them back into the Top Four. Ozil, Sanchez and Lacazette bagged a goal each while Olivier Giroud came of the bench to score twice and lead the Gunners to victory over David Wagner’s side.

Arsenal have completed a deal to bring Barcelona’s Sporting Director Raul Sanllehi to the Emirates. The Spaniard who has been credited with helping Barcelona make world class signings over the past few seasons, joined the Catalans in 2003. Sanllehi led the negotiations which brought in the likes of Neymar and Luis Suarez, who was claimed to have been signed for less than the price Liverpool intended to sell him at the time. Ivan Gazidis hailed the appointment of the Spaniard, claiming that they had been supplementing their team with some of Europe’s best hands for the past few seasons, which shows how much they want to take the club to the next level. According to  him, Raul is well known around Europe and comes with a lot of experience having been involved in some of the biggest deals around the world. Sanllehi is credited with assembling Pep Guardiola’s team that conquered the world in 2009. He would be hugely missed in his home country with the Spanish media claiming it would be hard to understand how Barcelona operates without the presence of Sanllehi. He is expected to join the Gunners in February.