From the Back Pages, January 19: Manchester United ready to let David de Gea leave to seal deal for Gareth Bale

Manchester United legend Andrei Kanchelskis has launched an astonishing attack on Louis van Gaal, claiming the Dutchman will never win the Premier League, not even in ten years. (Daily Mail)

To get a measure of how long it has been, the last time that Arsenal beat Manchester City away from home, it was Samir Nasri who scored the first goal for Arsène Wenger’s side and if that feels like a generation ago until you consider it was Alex Song and Nicklas Bendtner who got the other two back in October 2010. Not a single Arsenal player who started the game that day is still contracted to the club and three of them now play for City. (The Independent)

West Ham United 3 Hull City 0: They were on Sam Allardyce’s back again, but this time he could feel pats of approval for tweaking his tactics. Booed off at the interval, West Ham United returned with such attacking verve that they scored three times and pondered why the manager started with a flat midfield and not the diamond formation that has served his team, and most importantly a rejuvenated Stewart Downing, so well this season. (The Times)

Manchester City’s title hopes suffered a huge blow after a shock 2-0 defeat by Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium left them five points behind Chelsea. Their manager, Manuel Pellegrini, admitted the trip to Stamford Bridge in a fortnight is now pivotal. (The Guardian)

Arsenal could be about to pursue a move for Edinson Cavani after PSG coach Laurent Blanc confirmed the club are looking to offload players this January. (The Telegraph)

Freddie Flintoff had his first bowl in an England shirt for five and a half years as he did his bit to try and help the current crop find a win. (The Mirror)