Last season was a breakthrough campaign for Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez. The 21-year-old Spain international became a first-team regular at the Vicente Calderon and quickly marked himself out as a key asset to Diego Simeone.Atleti were runners-up in the Champions League last term - narrowly losing out on penalties to bitter rivals Real Madrid - and Saul was vital in guiding Los Colchoneros to their second final in three seasons having scored a sublime solo goal against Pep Guardiolas Bayern Munich in the semi-final. The versatile, all-round midfielder is now being linked with Arsenal, with the Gunners reportedly eyeing further reinforcements after their £80m summer spending spree.The Football Whispers Index currently gives Sauls potential move to the Emirates a score of 1.1 out of five, which suggests any such deal is far from certain. But the fact that this one has crept up from a zero rating a couple of days ago means momentum could be building.Saul was a prospect of note within the Atletico Madrid academy for several years before his first-team debut in a Europa League fixture against Besiktas as a 17-year-old in 2012. Saul ignited Atletis Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich with a sensational solo strike at the Calderon The Elche-born midfielder moved to Madrid to initially join Real Madrids academy in 2006, before moving across the capital to sign for Atleti in 2008. The youngster, who has represented his country at all youth levels, became a regular for Atletis B team B team in 2010.A 2013/14 loan spell with Rayo Vallecano saw Saul hone his skills by playing predominantly as a centre-back, developing the kind of appreciation for the defensive side of the game that has served him so well in Simeones ultra-disciplined system.Sauls accelerated progression to first-team regular was largely due to the misfortune of a team-mate. Portuguese midfielder Tiago Mendes was ruled out with a broken leg for most of last season, freeing up a berth which was soon claimed by the Spaniard. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ?￡6.99. No contract. Also key to Sauls ever presence in the side was his versatility. Although he has played mostly right of Atleticos midfield four, he is equally adept at playing on the other flank, or centrally as either a deep-lying pivot or a more advanced attacking midfielder.With such versatility and a remarkably broad skill set for one so young, its easy to see why Arsenal would be interested.Gunners boss Arsene Wenger bolstered his midfield options this summer with the £30m capture of combative midfielder Granit Xhaka, who arrived from Borussia Monchengladbach in May. Is Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez the missing piece to Arsenals midfield puzzle? The north Londoners were also linked to moves for wide men, with French newspaper LEquipe claiming a bid had been lodged for Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez, as well as the yearly links to Julian Draxler in the German media.Despite this, such moves did not materialised. Could Wenger have been keeping his cash aside with a swoop for Saul in mind? If so, the Atleti man would likely find himself competing for places with a couple of English players whose development seems to have stalled of late.Former Southampton pair Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are the players who would be most threatened by the potential arrival of Saul, as Alexis Sanchez has taken up a more central role this season while record signing Mesut Ozil is among the first names on the team sheet at the Emirates. Will Wenger spend again? Arsenals January transfer targets: Riyad Mahrez and Julian Draxler linked Lets see how Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain stack up when compared to the one-cap Spain international.Theo WalcottWhen isolating the players statistical performance over the last three seasons, some interesting trends appear. Walcotts directness is shown by the fact that he has netted 13 goals - five more than Saul - despite having only played 2449 minutes of football to the Spaniards 3897.The England attacker also boasts better shot accuracy, with 64 per cent of his efforts finding the target to Sauls 55 per cent, as well as a higher rate of take-on success.But Sauls skills begin to show their merit when analysing his creativity. He has created 32 chances for team-mates compared with Walcotts 29, and has laid on five assists -- one more than the Englishman. Walcott has scored five more goals than Saul over the past three seasons And the fact Sauls attacking stats are even comparable to Walcotts is made all the more impressive when considering his time spent playing in defence, where his offensive influence would have been greatly diminished.Oxlade-ChamberlainLike Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain has also featured in fewer first-team minutes than Saul over the last three seasons, with 2686. Even so, the Oxs attacking productivity has left a lot to be desired, with just three goals - five fewer than Saul - and only a single assist.His shot accuracy is also below the standard of the man he may find himself competing for places with, as only 36 per cent of Oxlade-Chamberlains strikes have worked the opposition goalkeeper.Where the 23-year-old shines, though, is through his dribbling ability. An impressive 64 per cent of Oxlade-Chamberlains take-ons have seen him getting the better of his opponent - a figure which puts him ahead of both Saul and Walcott. Oxlade-Chamberlains 79 per cent pass-completion rate surpasses Sauls Surprisingly, the 24-cap England international also has a higher pass-completion rate than Saul, with 79 per cent - while Walcott betters both men with an 82 per cent pass accuracy.Saul plays the wide midfield role in a vastly different way to either Walcott or Oxlade-Chamberlain. The Atleti star is not blessed with the kind of pace that the England pair can call upon.But what he lacks in raw speed he makes up for with tactical responsibility, creativity, and the intangible attribute of big-game temperament, having consistently performed to a high standard in Madrid derbies, clashes with Barcelona and in the latter rounds of the Champions League. Arsenal forward Theo Walcott says he will be more selfish on the football pitch His ability to play anywhere across the midfield will also be an asset that has caught Wengers eye, as well as his physicality, standing a hair over six foot.If Arsenal do decide to make a move for Saul, he will not come cheap. In May, he penned a new contract at the Vicente Calderon, committing his future to Atletico until 2021 and bumping his buyout clause up to €80m (£70.3m).You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: Arsenal video Arsenal fixtures Arsenal stats Get a ￡10 free bet! Nike Air Max Vendita Online . They have homered once every 27.3 at bats, which just happens to be the third best mark in the American League, albeit just 10 games into the season. Vapormax 2019 Scontate . 1. Lions WR Calvin Johnson (6 REC, 101 YDS, 1 TD, 10 targets) leads receivers with 1,299 yards and 12 touchdowns, though his 118.1 receiving yards per game ranks second behind Clevelands Josh Gordon. Gordon (10 REC, 261 YDS, 2 TD, 15 targets) is emerging as a superstar, putting up huge numbers even with Jason Campbell and Brandon Weeden at quarterback. http://www.airmaxscarpescontate.it/scarp...ezzo-basso.html. The football club recently announced an increase in season ticket prices in five of the seven categories at Investors Group Field for 2014. While most increases are in the two to three per cent range, the clubs most affordable season tickets will jump from $199 to $250 — a 26 per cent leap. 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For an MLS franchise that has gone all-in on the transfer market in a bid to finally make the playoffs after seven seasons of failure and a woeful 51-105-66 record, there is still much work to do. The good news is Toronto has a bye this weekend when 16 clubs kick off the 2014 season. Toronto opens March 15 in Seattle. "We planned that brilliantly," Nelsen said dryly after practice Tuesday under the bubble at the teams well-appointed north Toronto training ground. Nelsen, in his second year at the helm, has managed to find some positives in the rocky pre-season. "It did expose our weaknesses," he said. "You always get exposed at some part of the season, whether its injuries or suspensions or international call-ups or something like that." "We know what we have, we know what we need to be and where we need to get to," he added. "Its good to know now rather than a quarter or halfway through the season. "Well be a different animal come the 15th but in the back of my mind, its a nice thing to know moving forward." Depth is an issue. Toronto can field an impressive starting 11 but pre-season has already shown that the wrong combination of injuries at the wrong position can cause havoc. The team remains very much a work in progress. Even MLSsoccer.com, which ranked TFC 17th out of 19 teams in its weekly "power rankings," has Toronto 14th in its pre-season lisst.dddddddddddd "Were not all aboard the bandwagon just yet," said the website. Nelsen, whose team went 6-17-11 last season, says he doesnt concern himself with "outside voices." But the former New Zealand international knows that whipping up a gourmet meal is more than just buying the right ingredients. "Just because you make some changes, its not like a light switch. It does take time," he said. "Thats the beauty of sport. "But in saying that we fully expect to get where we want to be. And if you think the expectations are high outside, theyre probably higher inside. But we know its hard and we know its a journey to get to." The pre-season injury list has included forwards Gilberto (quadricep) and Dike (tendon), midfielders Jonathan Osorio (flu) and Daniel Lovitz (knee) and fullbacks Mark Bloom (quadricep), Bradley Orr (calf) and Justin Morrow (hip). Bradley, who withdrew from the U.S squad to face Ukraine in Cyprus, is nursing a minor foot issue. More worrying for Nelsen is the fact that the injuries to Bloom and Orr started as minor issues but got worse. "Well definitely be addressing it," Nelsen said. "You always get niggles and you always get injuries but theyre re-injuries. When you re-do an injury, its major cause for concern." Nelsen expects everyone to be ready for the season. Defoe, the former Tottenham star, is expected to join the team after Wednesdays England friendly against Denmark. "As soon as he plays the game for England, hell be on a plane over," said Nelsen. Still, that means a longer road for team chemistry. Although, unlike past off-seasons, Torontos transaction list has been relatively short and very select. Bradley, Defoe, Gilberto, Cesar, Morrow, Jackson, Orr, and veteran midfielder Dwayne De Rosario are all targeted as starters. The injuries at fullback have meant rookie centre back Nick Hagglund has been shifted to an emergency right back. "Couldnt be more happy with Nick," said Nelsen. ' ' '