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Manchester City signed midfielder Nico Gonzalez from Porto in the biggest move from Premier League clubs on Monday’s transfer deadline day, while Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel headed to Tottenham on loan.

City’s midfield frailties without Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who is out for the season due to a serious knee injury, were exposed in a 5-1 thrashing at Arsenal on Sunday, dropping the reigning Premier League champions 15 points behind leaders Liverpool.

Former Barcelona midfielder Gonzalez, 23, arrives for a reported fee of 50 million pounds ($62m).

“This is the perfect opportunity for me at this stage of my career,” said Gonzalez.

“I know the reputation Pep has, and I cannot wait to work with him. In fact, I am honoured he wants me to play in his team.”

City have already splashed out more than 120 million pounds ($149m) in January on Egypt forward Omar Marmoush and young defenders Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov.

Tottenham were busy in the final hours of the window as they bolstered the front line of Ange Postecoglou’s injury-ravaged squad.

Bayern Munich’s Tel reportedly turned down the opportunity to join Spurs earlier in the window after a 50-million-pound deal was agreed with the German giants.

But the French under-21 international has now moved to north London until the end of the season with an option to make the move permanent in the summer.

Spurs, though, were frustrated in their bid to add more defensive recruits on deadline day.

The BBC reported Crystal Palace rejected a 70-million-pound ($87m) bid for captain Marc Guehi, who has just 18 months left to run on his contract at Selhurst Park.

Chelsea’s Axel Disasi had been linked with a move across London, but instead joined Aston Villa, with the move confirmed only two hours after the window shut.

There were no deadline day deals for Premier League title contenders Liverpool and Arsenal or struggling Manchester United.

Arsenal reignited their Premier League title challenge with a stirring fightback to beat Tottenham 2-1 in the North London derby.

Mikel Arteta’s side were rocked by Son Heung-min’s early opener on Wednesday at the Emirates Stadium, but seized the bragging rights against their bitter rivals thanks to Dominic Solanke’s own goal and Leandro Trossard’s strike just before half-time.

Arsenal’s first win in four games in all competitions lifted them within four points of leaders Liverpool, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.

Liverpool’s game in hand on Arsenal still makes them title favourites, but the Gunners are at least applying some pressure on Arne Slot’s men.

Beaten 2-0 by Newcastle in the League Cup semifinal first leg last week and eliminated from the FA Cup third round by 10-man Manchester United on penalties on Sunday, Arsenal were desperate for a response, and Tottenham once again proved their ideal opponents.

Questions have been asked of Arteta’s ability to add more silverware to the 2020 FA Cup, which remains the only trophy of a reign that started in 2019.

With Bukayo Saka already sidelined due to hamstring surgery, Gabriel Jesus’s potentially season-ending knee injury had added to Arteta’s woes.

But Arsenal have now won seven and drawn one of their last eight league games against Tottenham.

It was another painful blow for under-fire Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, whose team are just eight points above the relegation zone.

Postecoglou must find a solution to the inconsistency that saw them beat Liverpool 1-0 in the League Cup semifinal first leg before needing extra time to see off fifth-tier Tamworth in the FA Cup third round.

Tottenham are without a win in their last five league games, losing four of those to drop to 13th place.

Raheem Sterling wasted a golden opportunity to put Arsenal ahead in the opening moments when his heavy touch allowed Djed Spence to clear after the winger raced through on goal.

Looking racked with nerves, Tottenham keeper Antonin Kinsky was fortunate not to gift a goal to Arsenal on his Premier League debut after taking too long to clear, with Kai Havertz unable to apply the finishing touch.

Tottenham hit back with a burst of pressure that produced the opener in the 25th minute.

When Arsenal could only clear a corner to the edge of the area, Son smashed a shot that glanced off William Saliba as it flashed past David Raya.

The South Korean’s goal lifted him to fourth place in the all-time North London derby scoring charts with eight, behind Harry Kane’s 14 and 10 each for Emmanuel Adebayor and Bobby Smith.

Arteta’s men recovered their composure to wrestle back control in controversial fashion before half-time. They won a 40th-minute corner that replays showed should have been a goal-kick because it ricocheted off Trossard and took full advantage.

Declan Rice’s delivery was misjudged by Kinsky, and Gabriel’s header back into the six-yard box went in via a hefty deflection off the unlucky Solanke. It was the fourth time set-piece specialists Arsenal had scored from a corner against Tottenham since the start of last season.

Postecoglou was furious with the decision to allow the corner, but there was worse to come for the Australian as Trossard put Arsenal ahead in the 44th minute. Thomas Partey started the move by robbing Yves Bissouma in midfield and picking out Martin Odegaard.

The Arsenal captain’s pass sent Trossard galloping into the penalty area for a fierce low drive that whistled over Kinsky’s weak attempted save into the far corner.

Arsenal remained on top after the interval, but the profligate Havertz headed wide from Odegaard’s cross and nodded straight at Kinsky from Partey’s delivery. Kinsky saved from Rice and Odegaard in the closing stages as Arsenal threatened to win at a canter before Pedro Porro hit the post for Tottenham in a dramatic finale.

Follow our live build-up with breaking team news before our full text commentary stream of the north London derby.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou believes his team are struggling to such an extent that even in-form Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah would fail to make much of an impression as part of the side.

Spurs, who face the Premier League leaders in the first leg of their League Cup semifinal on Wednesday, have dropped to 12th in the league and lost three of their last four games.

While Salah has scored 21 goals and provided 17 assists in all competitions, Postecoglou said the 32-year-old Egyptian would have his work cut out delivering similar figures for the London side this season.

“Mo is a world-class player but if you put him in our team now I’m not sure he’ll have that same level of performance because of the situation we’re in as a group,” he told reporters.

“You need a team that’s in good form, creating opportunities, playing on the front foot, having a really solid foundation of a defence that is ­cohesive. None of these things exist at the moment [at Spurs].

“We’re ­relying on individual moments.”

On the flip side, Postecoglou said Spurs captain Son Heung-min, who has scored just seven goals in all competitions this season, would thrive in the current Liverpool side.

“I’d hazard to say that if you put Sonny in Liverpool’s team, I reckon his goalscoring return would be decent,” Postecoglou said. “But when we’re at our best, I still think you’ll see Sonny’s return.”

Spurs activated a one-year extension in the 32-year-old South Korean forward’s contract on Tuesday.

Son, named club captain in August 2023, shared the Premier League’s Golden Boot with Salah in the 2021-22 season after scoring 23 goals.

He is also captain of South Korea, making 131 appearances to date and scoring 51 times.

LIVE: Tottenham vs Liverpool – English Premier League  Al Jazeera English

Tottenham have lost their appeal against the severity of Uruguay midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-match ban for making an offensive comment about South Koreans in relation to a remark about Spurs teammate Son Heung-min.

The Football Association said Tuesday that Spurs’ appeal was dismissed following a hearing and the sanction stands, with the reasons for the decision published soon.

Bentancur has already been suspended for five domestic games, and will miss the English League Cup quarterfinal match against Manchester United on Thursday as well as the visit of Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.

Appearing on a Uruguayan television show in June, Bentancur was asked for a Tottenham player’s jersey and replied, “Sonny’s?” He added it could be Son’s cousin, too, because “more or less they are all the same.”

Bentancur later apologised to Son on Instagram, saying it was a “very bad joke” and he would “never disrespect you or hurt you.” Son accepted the apology.

Details of the decision released by the independent commission showed that Bentancur explained his comments “were sarcastic and a gentle rebuke” for the journalist calling his teammate “The Korean” and that he challenged the reporter’s description of Son.

In its conclusions, the regulatory commission, however, wrote that “even on the basis of the player’s evidence and submissions, we consider the player’s conduct in using the words he did, in the full context in which they were used, was clearly abusive and insulting, and would amount to misconduct.”

The commission added that it also took into consideration the fact that Bentancur did not intend to offend Son or anyone else.

Bentancur was also issued with a fine of $126,000 by the commission.

Follow our live build-up, team news, score and commentary from the London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at 16:30 GMT.

Follow our live build-up and full text commentary as the Premier League champions entertain Spurs at Etihad Stadium.

Who: Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur

What: English Premier League football

Where: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, United Kingdom

When: 5:30pm (17:30 GMT) on Saturday

How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have all the build-up and full text commentary of the game

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says he would stay to the end of his contract with the Premier League champions even if they were relegated, a day after he signed a two-year extension that will keep him at the club until 2027.

Guardiola, who joined City in 2016, has won 18 trophies with the club, including six Premier League titles and their first Champions League.

City are embroiled in a hearing over alleged breaches of the league’s financial fair play rules, however, which could potentially see them face points deductions, a fine and relegation if found guilty. Guardiola has always defended City, saying he trusts the owners, and the Spaniard said relegation would not cause him to leave the club.

“I said six months ago when all the clubs accused us to have done something wrong, what happened if we are relegated – I will be here,” Guardiola told reporters before Saturday’s home game against Tottenham Hotspur. “Next year, if we are in the conference, we will come up to the Premier League. I knew it then. I feel it now.”

Guardiola said he had agreed a new deal in “just two hours”, and when asked why he signed a two-year extension, he joked, saying it was because he liked the Manchester weather. “It’s a good question. I don’t want next season – in September, October, November – ‘It’s the last year of Pep.’ I don’t want to be in that position,” he added.

“I would like to stay for two years, but I know if the results are not good, it will not be two years.”

Guardiola lost four matches in a row for the first time in his managerial career before the international break, but he brushed it aside, saying City are also the only club to win four league titles in a row.

“When you are here eight or nine years, you live all the scenarios and situations. You are able to lose four games in a row. At the same time, you are able to win four Premier Leagues in a row,” he said. “The difference is most teams are able to lose four in a row in different competitions, but just one team won four Premier Leagues in a row. Both sides of the coin can happen.”

But with Ballon d’Or winner Rodri sidelined for potentially the rest of the season, Guardiola was dealt another blow when Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic suffered an injury on international duty. “It will be a while, three weeks or a month, more or less,” Guardiola said.

Tottenham’s inconsistency has left them 10th in the standings, but manager Ange Postecoglou is paying little attention to their poor form and spoke in glowing terms about Guardiola, whom he got the better of in a League Cup victory this month.

“He’s fantastic for the Premier League. He keeps setting the standard, which is great for all of us trying to mow him down,” the Greek-Australian told reporters.

“It’s not easy to win in different countries, and I know that he’s been at big clubs, but as we’ve seen recently, that’s not necessarily transferable to winning things all the time. You’ve still got to do it.

“So he’s maintained a ridiculous level of excellence. The way his team plays, they’re always sort of challenging every opponent they face, and I guess his energy to maintain that for so long – it’s been outstanding.

“He’ll go down as one of the greats already, and the indication that he’s re-signed means there’s more to come.”

Manchester City team news

Ruben Dias remains sidelined while fellow defenders John Stones and Manuel Akanji have resumed training. Nathan Ake is also set to return to training to boost the beleaguered backline.

Tottenham Hotspur team news

Spurs have several players missing, including both their regular centre halves after Postecoglou confirmed that Cristian Romero would not be available along with Micky van de Ven.

Uruguayan Rodrigo Bentancur will also be absent, having been hit with a seven-match ban by the Football Association for making a derogatory remark about teammate Son Heung-min. Tottenham have appealed the length of the ban.

Head-to-head

Manchester City have edged the 172 meetings so far with 68 victories to Tottenham’s 67.

Spurs have a remarkably good recent record, winning four of the last eight encounters. Their first meeting was in the FA Cup in 1909 with the away team winning 4-3 in Manchester.

Tottenham have appealed against the length of Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-game suspension for his comments about teammate and South Korean star Son Heung-min.

Bentancur was banned by the Football Association on Monday, which ruled him out of six English Premier League fixtures and a League Cup quarterfinal against Manchester United.

The 27-year-old Uruguayan midfielder was charged with misconduct in September over a television interview he gave in his home country in June when his reference to Son’s race made it an aggravated breach. Tottenham, however, are unhappy with the number of games Bentancur will miss and released a statement on Wednesday confirming their intention to appeal.

“While we accept the guilty finding against Rodrigo by the independent regulatory commission, we believe the subsequent sanction is severe,” the club statement read. “Rodrigo will remain suspended from domestic competitions while the appeal is heard, and the club will make no further comment during this time.”

Bentancur was asked during an interview to show the shirt of a Tottenham player and replied: “Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.”

He apologised on Instagram to Son for his remarks, and Son accepted that apology in a statement on the same platform. “I’ve spoken with Lolo [Bentancur]. He made a mistake, he knows this and has apologised,” the South Korea captain said. “Lolo would not mean to ever intentionally say something offensive. We are brothers and nothing has changed at all.”

Bentancur was also fined 100,000 pounds ($126,000) with the disciplinary panel insisting it should have been “reasonably foreseeable” to him that his remarks about Son would be widely distributed.

The panel said they took into account as mitigation his apology and previous clean disciplinary record.