Arsenal have closed the gap on Chelsea at the top of the table and Arsene Wenger’s side have a game in hand – see all the latest Premiership outright betting here.

Roberto Mancini wants Robinho to stay at Eastlands and help to ‘write the history’ of Manchester City.

The Brazilian has been linked with a move to Barcelona in the January transfer window and has admitted that he will seek talks with Mancini to determine the new manager’s plans for the club.

City officially unveiled their new boss on Monday, with Mark Hughes sacked following Saturday’s 4-3 victory over Sunderland.

Mancini has placed Champions League qualification at the top of his ambitions for the season.

He is also keen to build bridges with some of City’s biggest names, with a number of first-team players expressing their disappointment at Hughes’ departure.

“Robinho is a fantastic player,” he said.

“But for a big player like him, it is important to make the history of a club.

“I played at Sampdoria for 15 years. I wrote the history. It is important. Robinho can do that here.”

Mancini’s first game in charge of City will be against Stoke on Boxing Day, giving him plenty of time to study his new squad before selecting his starting XI.

The former Lazio and Inter boss admits he will be looking to add to his squad during the January transfer window and insists he will not be making recruitment decisions by himself.

“In Italy, it is not just the manager who decides on players, it is also director of football,” he said.

“I will speak with Garry (Cook, chief executive) and Brian (Kidd, assistant manager).

“Together we will decide who we need. It is no problem. The most important thing is for City to win, now and in the future.”

One player believed to be unhappy with the departure of Hughes is fellow Welshman, Craig Bellamy. However, Mancini expects Bellamy to quickly readjust to the new regime, describing such changes as “normal” in football.

“Today was my first day at the training ground and I did not have a problem with the players,” Mancini said. “Training was good. It’s normal players should feel bad when their manager goes. I hope they will feel that way about me when I leave in many years’ time because I hope to stay here for many years.

“After today Craig will be okay. This situation is normal. When I played 25 years ago, I loved my manager, but my manager went away. This is the same situation. It is normal in football.”

Arsenal have closed the gap on Chelsea at the top of the table and Arsene Wenger’s side have a game in hand – see all the latest Premiership outright betting here.

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