By Tim Stannard

1) Wenger with no real idea of what’s going on at Arsenal

Despite being in possession of dispirited and largely despondent fans, a top-four place in the Premier League being a thing of the past and giving off the air of a football relic in an era of thrusting, young, touchline bucks, Arsene Wenger seemed to be a fairly happy Frenchman on Tuesday.  

Unfortunately for Gunners fans that seems to be Wenger largely giving up on trying to control Arsenal’s fate and surrendering to the football gods, like a stranded airline passenger staring at a blank departures board and heading to the bar. Why worry, when you have no control?

That was Tuesday’s vibe as Wenger spoke ahead of the following day’s League Cup clash at Chelsea. The loss of Alexis Sanchez was the main topic of the conversation and the response was “what do you do?” along with a metaphorical shrug. Same with last week’s departure of Theo Walcott. The feedback was not much more positive either on whether Olivier Giroud would be leaving with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arriving - "at the moment, we are not close to doing any deals with him or anybody else.”

Please pay close attention to the flight information boards, Arsenal fans. And get a good blanket. You could be waiting a while.

2) Zizou ends Ronaldo’s phone-gate rumors

Coach Zizou has delivered the answer to question the world has been posing – why did Cristiano Ronaldo look at a cellphone after receiving a hefty cut on his eye?

The answer was – disappointedly – the obvious one. "He wanted to know how his wound was, and nothing else," sighed the Real Madrid coach on what was probably stupid question number 36 of Tuesday’s press conference ahead of the following day’s Copa del Rey clash against Leganes. The now very swollen Eye of Ronaldo will prevent the footballer from taking to the Bernabeu pitch, however Sergio Ramos is set to play a part after returning from injury to help shore up a very leaky back four.

The latest batch of quarterfinal encounters get underway with Atletico Madrid at Sevilla to try and overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg and reach the final four of a competition, which might be Atleti’s best chance of silverware this season. Tune into beIN SPORTS at 3:25PM ET / 12:25PM PT for what is going to be a frenzied, heated clash.

The Coupe de France continues on beIN SPORTS CONNECT with Nantes hosting Auxerre (12:15PM ET) and Marseille away at Epinal (2:45PM ET) from the faaaaaar reaches of the lower leagues of France. Upset ahoy!

Tune into the XTRA from 7PM ET / 4PM PT for the best action from around the world of soccer on Tuesday.

3) Moura’s PSG moan

TRANSFER TRACKER TIME THAT DOESN’T INVOLVE ALEXIS SANCHEZ!
Lucas Moura is not happy! And rather than filtering sob stories into the press, the PSG man has gone out and declared it in the hope of enticing a move from the Parc de Princes. “I'm gutted that I'm no longer playing,” revealed the Brazilian who is angling for a move to La Liga.

Manchester City are looking to boost their squad a little in the final week of the winter window by reportedly making bids for Athletic Bilbao centerback, Aymeric Laporte, and Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred.

Another exit from La Liga could well be Atletico Madrid striker, Kevin Gameiro, who is a little surplus to requirements with the Rojiblancos now that Diego Costa is in town – albeit when not suspended or injured. Which is about 50 percent of the time. Anyway, the much-travelled striker could be headed to Newcastle United.

Head to the beIN SPORTS Facebook page at 1PM ET / 10AM PT for the XTRA Social, when the hottest transfer topics of the day will be rated, slated and maybe even poo-pooed.

4) Nadal retires from Australian Open  
Seed fall alert! Rafa Nadal is now out of the Australian Open, after being forced to retire in the fifth set of an epic quarterfinal encounter with Marin Cilic, after suffering during a grueling encounter with a leg injury. Cilic will face Kyle Edmund in the semifinal whose curious claim to fame is that the player is British and is not called Andy Murray. Two more quarterfinal clashes will be taking place overnight in Melbourne beginning with the USA’s Tennys Sandgren.

The quarterfinals are continuing in the women’s bracket. Belgian player, Elise Mertens, has booked her spot in the final four. Madison Keys will take on the rejuvenated Angelique Kerber on Tuesday evening ET.

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