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After a couple of worrying performances and results, Arsenal brought their pre-season campaign to an end with a brilliant victory over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday afternoon.

It was the sort of performance from Mikel Arteta’s men that should leave fans feeling excited and confident ahead of their Premier League opener against Manchester United on Sunday.

There were impressive displays from across the pitch, with Viktor Gyokeres opening his account, Bukayo Saka scoring again, and Martin Zubimendi controlling things from the middle of the park.

The Spanish international was arguably the best player on the pitch, and yet, if reports are to be believed, Arsenal could be looking to make an even better signing before the window slams shut next month.

Arsenal target better signing than Zubimendi

Away from the mostly impressive performances on the pitch, this summer has been one to remember for Arsenal, as the club have already made six first-team signings.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The likes of Gyokeres and Zubimendi already look like game-changing additions, while the likes of Noni Madueke, Christian Norgaard and Cristhian Mosquera have made the bench look far stronger than it did last season.

Yet, perhaps as an indication of just how important this season is going to be, the club look set on bringing in even more players, including one who’d be a better signing than Zubimendi.

At least that is according to a recent report from Spain, which has reaffirmed Arsenal’s intense interest in Rodrgo.

The report has revealed that the Gunners want to take the Brazilian superstar on loan for the upcoming campaign and include an option to buy at €90m in the deal, which is around £78m.

It could be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Rodrygo’s incredible ability and experience, it’s one worth fighting for, and for our money, he would be a better signing than Zubimendi.

Why Rodrygo would be a better signing than Zubimendi

The first reason Rodrygo would be a better signing than Zubimendi comes down to the options Arteta already has in their respective positions.

For example, while the Spaniard is now the team’s first-choice six, the manager could easily call upon Declan Rice to play there, as he did initially, or he could opt to go with Mikel Merino or Norgaard.

If things got bad enough, he could go with Ben White, as the Englishman played the role during his time with Leeds United.

On the other hand, while Arteta has options to play on the left, none of them are particularly exciting or effective.

Gabriel Martinelli, for example, was the starting left-winger for much of last season and was only able to amass a rather paltry tally of 16 goal involvements in 51 appearances.

Likewise, Leandro Trossard wasn’t able to make much of a case for himself either, racking up 20 goal involvements in 56 appearances.

That brings us to the second reason the former Santos gem would be a better signing, which is his own record.

For example, across the last two seasons, the Brazilian “superstar,” as dubbed by Luka Modrić, has found the back of the net on 31 occasions and provided 20 assists in 105 appearances, totalling 7159 minutes.

Appearances

51

54

Minutes

3707′

3452′

Goals

17

14

Assists

9

11

Goal Involvements per Match

0.50

0.46

Minutes per Goal Involvement

142.57′

138.08′

That means the former 24-year-old “monster,” as dubbed journalist Eduardo Hagn, has been averaging a goal involvement every 2.05 games, or every 140.37 minutes across the last two years.

That brilliant rate of return is only made all the more impressive when you take into account the fact that he had to play out of his preferred position on the left for most of those games.

At the end of the day, goals win games, and when we take into account Rodrygo’s output and Arsenal’s dire need for improvements on the left wing, it becomes hard to deny that the Brazilian would end up being a better signing than Zubimendi this summer.

Arsenal closing in on deal to sign "untouchable" star, £55m fee now agreed

The Gunners are making progress in their pursuit of an attacker, with talks currently ongoing.

1 ByDominic Lund Aug 10, 2025

Pakistan’s captain felt ball-tracking had painted “a different picture” to the actual ball he faced from Kwena Maphaka

Danyal Rasool06-Jan-2025Pakistan captain Shan Masood believes a ball-tracking failure was at fault for his being given out lbw on the fourth and final day of the Cape Town Test match against South Africa. Masood, who scored 145 in Pakistan’s second innings, was ruled not-out by umpire Nitin Menon off the left-arm quick Kwena Maphaka’s bowling, and had the decision overturned on review when Hawkeye deemed the ball to be hitting off stump.Masood felt the pictures Hawkeye threw up did not align with the reality of what had happened off that delivery. “It’s simple,” Masood said after the end of the game. “It was an outswinger. If you see the ball that I was beaten by, it jagged away a long way. I was beaten on the outside edge, and it was shown as an inswinger. I was baffled by that to be very honest.”Related

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Masood, who had batted more or less chancelessly for over six hours over two days for his innings, had looked largely untroubled on the fourth morning until that delivery. Maphaka, bowling from left-arm over to the left-handed Masood, landed it on a length and got the ball to keep a touch low while straightening past the outside edge as Masood attempted to defend it, squaring him up and striking him on the back pad.Upon review, Hawkeye deemed the ball to have struck Masood in line with off stump, and did not show any significant deviation away from the stumps that would have saved him. “With the naked eye, you could see it felt like it was outside the line as well. I just felt it was a different picture. I didn’t get hit where Hawkeye was showing it to be hit. I was hit more on the outside of the leg than the inside; it shows it on the inside. That’s not an inswinger. I was beaten by an outswinger and that’s what the umpire thought as well, and that’s all I can say to that.”Masood made no attempt to conceal his displeasure when the pictures went up on screen. He stood rooted to the spot for an extended period, gesticulating in disagreement. When he did turn around to trudge off, he still wore an expression of anger and frustration. As he walked up to the pavilion, he once again gestured in an outward arc with his hands to mimic the movement of the ball.”It’s up to the administrators to see if that’s a fair decision or not, but I certainly felt that technology didn’t show the trajectory of how that ball was,” Masood said.Pakistan had ended on the right side of an lbw decision before lunch, also off the bowling of Maphaka. Saud Shakeel was rapped on the pad as the ball angled towards leg stump, and on that occasion, too, Menon had ruled it to be not out. South Africa did not review, with Hawkeye indicating it would have gone on to hit leg stump.

"Naples has always been marginalised by the rest of Italy. It is a city that suffers the most unfair racism," said Diego Maradona. When he played for Napoli in the more prosperous northern cities like Milan and Turin, he and his team-mates would be subjected to banners reading 'Welcome to Italy'; 'Napoli, cholera sufferers' or 'Vesuvius, wash them with fire'.

For players cast aside by Manchester City and Manchester United, however, Napoli has become a safe haven. It was the first choice destination for Kevin De Bruyne after he was forced out of City by Pep Guardiola after a glorious decade and he has gotten off to a flying start there, with two goals in three games.
Rasmus Hojlund, who was kicked out of United after the arrival of Benjamin Sesko despite wanting to stay, made a dream start to his loan spell with a well-taken goal and a fine all round performance in Napoli's 3-1 win at Fiorentina on Saturday. 

Then there is Scott McTominay, who has not just found safety in Naples from the chaos of United, but a platform to relaunch his career as a talismanic goal-machine, firing his new team to the Italian title, being named Serie A’s player of the season and then being nominated for the Ballon d’Or.

The trio will be returning to their former home on Thursday to take on City in Napoli’s Champions League opener and they will be keen show they are reaping the benefits of La Dolce Vita…

AFPIn love with the Premier League

While Hojlund and McTominay were seen as flops when they left United and De Bruyne was considered past his best at City, they were all seen as highly attractive propositions to Antonio Conte, who holds a special respect for Premier League players. Conte took the English league by storm by leading Chelsea to the title in his very first season despite an abysmal previous campaign under Jose Mourinho and then Guus Hiddink.

And while star names like Eden Hazard and Diego Costa played crucial roles in that triumph, the coach also got the best out of previously unsung players like Victor Moses, who he turned into a wing-back, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta. His experience gave him a special appreciation of physical players from England’s top flight and when he took his next job at Inter he populated his side with former Premier League players such as Matteo Darmian, Aleksandar Kolorov, Christian Eriksen, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez and Ashley Young, even signing Moses on loan for half a season.

His Premier League-heavy squad helped Inter win their first title in 11 years before Conte left after falling out with the board, as he so often does, over transfers.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportPassionate about physical players

And when he returned to Italy after a short-lived but highly eventful spell at Tottenham, he again looked to England. Billy Gilmour joined from Chelsea, he signed Lukaku once more (from Roma) but the missing piece was McTominay, signed just before the transfer deadline.

"Conte is a coach who is very methodical so he is passionate about physical players who run a lot, players who are strong, fast and who can follow his tactical instructions," explains Italian journalist Antonio Moschella. "That's above all why he wanted McTominay. It is clear that, like everyone else, he likes Premier League players. It's the top league in the world."

Moschella adds that Napoli have taken a keen interest in former Premier League players due to the success of Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, who arrived after a disappointing spell at Fulham, initially on loan, and later became their inspirational captain. "Since then they have been looking at players who did not do well in the Premier League but believing they could do well in Italy because the level is lower." 

And there is no better success story from this approach than McTominay.

GettyUnited's loss, Napoli's gain

Conte had identified a lack of steel in his team amid a shock 3-0 loss to Hellas Verona in his first game, when he declared his players had “melted like snow in the sunshine”.

With McTominay in the team, Conte changed Napoli’s formation from 3-4-2-1 to 4-3-3 with the former United man at the tip of the midfield. By the time McTominay moved to Napoli, he had already discovered his goalscoring touch. It first happened for Scotland after being deployed further up by Steve Clarke and then Erik ten Hag did the same for United. But even though McTominay had saved the Dutchman’s job with his brace against Brentford, he was still used sparingly, often as a last resort rather than a Plan A. 

And when United needed to raise cash in the summer of 2024, McTominay was the player the club decided to let go. Ten Hag did not want to lose him but nor did he put up too much resistance. Napoli and Conte, however, could not believe their luck. McTominay scored 12 goals in Serie A, including six in the final seven games, proving utterly crucial to them pipping Inter to the title by a single point.

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Getty ImagesFrom misprofiled to the King of Naples

"He never had a primary role at Man United, while here we gave him one," Conte said towards the end of last season. "He feels more complete and knowledgeable and he's reaching a key stage in his career where he needs to decide his direction. He's worked hard and now he's a complete player."

McTominay called the title win the best moment of his career, trumping the FA Cup final win with United over City and any other moment during his seven-year spell with his boyhood club. And he felt that Napoli appreciated him in ways that United had not. He told : "When I got into the first team, I was quite misprofiled in where I was playing,” he said. “My strengths have always been getting into the box, scoring goals, being a problem in there. But I was being used as a No 6, or as a centre-back, and that has never really been my game."

"I think he wanted to prove Manchester United wrong and prove people in the Premier League wrong. He has gone over there and done that pretty successfully," said his Scotland team-mate Andy Robertson. “That’s credit to him, credit to his attitude and his determination to be the best version of himself. Now he is a king over there."

Last weekend’s opening Premier League match of the season for Arsenal was a struggle.

Mikel Arteta’s men were hardly free-flowing in pre-season and that was in evidence at Old Trafford as they laboured to a 1-0 victory.

Alas, the Gunners did win and secured three points that built a platform for an incredible 5-0 win over Leeds United on Saturday evening.

Arsenal were perhaps a little slow to get going on the goals front but they eventually burst into life on a day of many positives for the north Londoners.

The biggest positives from Arsenal's win over Leeds

Let’s be honest, there was only going to be one result here this weekend. Before the game had got underway a certain Eberechi Eze was announced to the Emirates Stadium faithful as an Arsenal player.

The saga was remarkable. Eze was on the verge of signing for rivals Tottenham Hotspur only for a call between Arteta and the England international on Wednesday paved the way for an incredible hijack.

The Gunners board came together and within hours they had a deal agreed with Crystal Palace.

Once of Hale End, it marks a stunning return to the Arsenal and the thought of the 27-year-old playing in this attack is mouthwatering.

Speaking of which, it was a day of joy for Viktor Gyokeres. Last weekend, he was grilled, he was the scapegoat for an underwhelming performance away in Manchester.

In all honesty, it wasn’t his fault. Arsenal struggled to create and Gyokeres was left isolated. Well, he hit back at the critics superbly on Saturday, scoring twice.

While the Swede’s second was a well taken penalty, his first goal in a competitive match for the Gunners was an excellent one. Riccardo Calafiori, who picked up two assists on the day, pinged the ball in behind for the forward to run onto.

Gyokeres found possession in his favoured left channel, burst into the penalty area and then tucked the ball home at the near post.

For Arsenal’s big marquee signing, it was the perfect response to last weekend, but he wasn’t the only to find form.

Bukayo Saka found the net in explosive fashion while Jurrien Timber, making his first start of the campaign, bagged twice.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

So, it’s all rosy as far as the Gunners are concerned, but for a player who failed to get on the pitch, it was not an ideal day.

Arsenal star will suffer after Madueke and Eze arrivals

On Saturday, there weren’t too many surprises as far as the team sheet was concerned but it was eye-catching to see that Noni Madueke started on the left hand side of the pitch.

With Eze having also now signed, the competition for places in that area is likely to be fierce.

Madueke did not score or assist on his first start for the Gunners but it was a productive first outing, notably registering two key passes, attempting five crosses and winning half of his duels, via Sofascore.

There will be better performances to come from the summer arrival but it was perhaps a landmark day for Gabriel Martinelli.

A week ago, the £48m-rated Brazilian was given the nod and like Gyokeres, became a scapegoat for the sluggish performance that played out.

Minutes played

60

Touches

14

Accurate passes

3/5 (60%)

Shots

1

Key passes

1

Successful dribbles

0/1

Crosses

0

Possession lost

7x

Times fouled

1

Fans have seemingly run out of patience and on today’s evidence, you’d now be hard pressed to consider Martinelli a regular starter again.

In 2024/25, he started 25 of the 33 Premier League games he featured in, scoring eight times in the process. That’s a handy tally but it’s not the elite level Arteta requires to win the league.

Leandro Trossard received a pay increase in midweek but the Belgian is in a similar boat. He’s a tremendous squad player but you are unlikely to get an elite level of performance out of him on a consistent basis.

Madueke is still getting up to speed but on a day where he made his first start and Eze signed, it was damning that firstly, Martinelli wasn’t selected to start, and secondly, that he didn’t feature off the bench.

What’s more damning is that Arsenal picked up injuries too. Yet, with Martin Odegaard and Saka going off, the Brazil international was nowhere to be seen. Ethan Nwaneri and the remarkably talented 15-year-old that is Max Dowman were both preferred.

A great day for Arsenal it certainly was, but Martinelli should be fearing for his place in the side now moving forward.

Hugo Ekitike has been slammed for his "dumb" red card in Liverpool's 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Southampton. The France striker, who was already on a yellow card, came off the bench to score a late winner for the Reds but picked up a second booking for taking his shirt off in celebration. Now, the ex-Eintracht Frankfurt man has been torn apart on social media.

Ekitike forgets he's on yellow card when removing shirt

Liverpool looked to be heading to a 1-0 win after summer signing Alexander Isak's opener but Shea Charles equalised 14 minutes from time for the Championship side. Ekitike, who is competing with the Swede to be Liverpool's starting striker, tapped home five minutes from time before being dismissed for a second yellow. Now, some football fans believe that Isak is "in his head" after his "stupid" act, even though he sealed the 2-1 victory.

AdvertisementSocial media tears into Ekitike

@OneMotolani wrote on X: "Is Ekitike dumb, man? Two dumb yellow cards. Slot will make him pay for that. I think Isak is in this kid’s head. Isak scoring messed with his head. Can’t tell me nothing. Too fired up when he came on too."

@lfcjusto tweeted: "Hugo Ekitike picked aura ig pics over playing against Crystal Palace. I love him."

@Gbemiga__A commented: "That Isak goal rattled Ekitike's brain," and @unrulyking000 added, "Ekitike. dumbest red card I’ve seen. He clearly has a low IQ. So stupid."

@jordyinit put: "Ekitike saw Isak score his first, came on, scored, and held his shirt up to remind Anfield. Class. Dumb red though."

Finally, @_lfcleanne stated: "Absolutely shambolic from Hugo Ekitike. An already hard away game just got a lot tougher without him. Needless and so very stupid."

Getty Images SportHow long is Ekitike banned for?

Isak was signed for a British record £125 million ($169m) earlier this month, something that puts extra pressure on £79m ($107m) summer recruit Ekitike to deliver. The 23-year-old has had an excellent start to life at Anfield, scoring five goals in eight games. But, after his sending off, he will serve a one-match ban, giving Isak – who opened his Liverpool scoring account – a chance to usurp him from the starting XI going forward.

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Premier League test comes next for Liverpool

The forward will now sit out Liverpool's trip to unbeaten Crystal Palace, who bested them in the Community Shield final last month, in the Premier League on Saturday. Incidentally, Ekitike's celebration, and subsequent dismissal, could be a costly move in the long run.

Opener gives squad a boost after tough tour of India, as England build towards Australia opener

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-20252:28

Buttler: ‘We’ve done plenty of training throughout the tour’

England’s Champions Trophy prospects have received a boost after Ben Duckett was given the all-clear, following a left groin injury sustained during last week’s ODI series against India.Duckett’s form at the top of the order had been one of the positives for England in an otherwise disappointing campaign. He made two half-centuries across the T20I and ODI series, in which England won just one of the eight matches, but contributed regular strong starts in the powerplay, alongside Phil Salt, which whom he made three consecutive fifty stands.However, Duckett appeared to tweak his groin while fielding in the latter stages of India’s innings in the final ODI at Ahmedabad on Wednesday, and was visibly hampered while making a boundary-laden 34 in England’s subsequent innings.However, with England having decamped to the UAE ahead of their Champions Trophy campaign, scans on Duckett’s groin have revealed no significant issue, and an ECB press release declared him “fit and available” for England’s tournament opener against Australia in Lahore on February 22.England are due to arrive in Pakistan on February 18, and the news is a welcome boost given the squad’s other injury concerns. They have already lost Jacob Bethell to a hamstring injury, with Somerset’s Tom Banton drafted into the squad as a replacement, while Jamie Smith has not featured since the third ODI on January 28 due to a calf injury.Ben Duckett was in form during the India tour without converting his starts•Getty ImagesThere are concerns among the fast-bowling contingent too, with Brydon Carse managing a toe injury and Jamie Overton affected by a hamstring issue. Jofra Archer is also nursing a cut hand.The squad has had to ride out criticism of their training methods, too, with Kevin Pietersen particularly outspoken about their lack of net practice during the ODI series.Renewing his attack on X on Thursday, Pietersen said that injuries are part and parcel of sport, adding that that was not what was stopping “batters from batting against net bowlers and learning the art of playing spin”.However, Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, rejected the “factually incorrect” take on England’s preparations, and insisted that his team was on track to compete strongly at the Champions Trophy.”Guys have come from a lot of cricket and keeping guys fresh is just as important, especially when you have injuries,” he said. “We’ve done lots of training. We have had injuries in the camp so we’ve backed guys off a little bit to make sure we had a fit team.”

Birmingham City might not be wrapped up with all their dramatic summer business just yet.

At the start of the frantic transfer window, you couldn’t move for rumours suggesting the Blues were going to splash the cash on another exciting talent, with the number of incoming signings standing at 12.

That tally could well sneak over to the 13 threshold before 7pm, as a late loan deal looks to be in the offing to boost Birmingham’s already flashy attack.

Birmingham to sign Premier League attacker

It would be fair to say the whirlwind activity has slowed down in recent times, however.

Expect the pace to pick back up, though, with Football League World revealing that the Blues are plotting a late loan move for experienced Sunderland forward Patrick Roberts, alongside also not giving up on winning the services of Celtic winger Yang Hyun-jun.

The report states that Chris Davies wants more ammunition after a lacklustre showing in Birmingham’s recent 2-0 loss to Leicester City, with Roberts ticking the boxes.

Derby have also been interested this summer, but it looks as if the Championship newcomers are lone suitors now chasing after the 28-year-old with Sky Sports reporting on Monday lunchtime that the Blues are ‘set to sign’ the winger on loan.

How Roberts could be Gray 2.0

He might well end up being Davies’ second coming of Demarai Gray, offering the Blues another skilful, yet seasoned head up top.

After all, while he has fallen down the pecking order as Sunderland shot up to the Premier League, Roberts would still be a top asset for Birmingham to possess temporarily, based on his previous EFL heroics.

From 170 games at the notoriously punishing level, Roberts has amassed a healthy haul of nine goals and 22 assists, with nine of those goal contributions coming about just last season, before he was cast aside for Sunderland’s own quickfire business.

Gray has also proven himself to be sharp, tricky performer – much like Roberts down the right flank – whenever he’s plied his trade in the tough division, with eight goals and four assists next to his name from 76 Championship career outings.

Two of those assists have been tallied up since his return to the club, with Birmingham hopeful that the loan addition of another second-tier veteran can propel the Blues further into the promotion reckoning, after a largely positive return to the level so far, minus the disappointment of the 2-0 loss at the King Power Stadium.

24/25

4th (promotion)

42

2 + 7

23/24

16th

32

0 + 2

22/23

6th

42

5 + 7

After all, from his three seasons at the level with the Black Cats to date, Roberts has managed to steer the Wearside outfit to two triumphant playoff finishes, culminating in the glory of promotion at the end of last campaign.

Tony Mowbray would even herald his slick Englishman as “magic” during the 2022/23 season, irrespective of his side unfortunately slipping up in the lottery of the playoffs, with Davies now wanting a slice of Roberts at his very best to improve an attack already boasting Kyogo Furuhashi, Jay Stansfield, and the aforementioned Gray.

The West Midlands outfit has shown they can already cut it with the big boys of the EFL’s elite league, with just one defeat from their opening four league encounters.

But, landing Roberts, who is just fresh off a promotion success, could be a sublime addition to really take Birmingham to that next level, as his know-how, alongside Gray’s further experience, attempts to make back-to-back promotions an insane reality.

Birmingham hold talks to sign "valuable" £3m ace; waiting on "green-light"

This is exactly what Chris Davies could be after.

ByHenry Jackson Sep 1, 2025

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has lifted the lid on his relationship with girlfriend Isabel Haugseng Johansen. The couple have been dating since Haaland was at former club Borussia Dortmund and welcomed their first child together at the end of 2024. Haaland has revealed the couple enjoy playing video games together and also share a passion for kebabs.

Haaland opens up on his private life

Haaland has offered some rare insight into his private life as part of an 'A-team' series for Norwegian broadcaster NRK. The Manchester City goal machine has been quizzed on his relationship with girlfriend Haugsung Johansen and has offered some glimpses of their life together. Haugsung Johansen is also a footballer, and played for Bryne in Norway, which helped bring the two together. The Manchester City goal machine admits it was Haugsung Johansen who made the first move which led to the two coupling up. He said: "She sent me a message. She played in the same club as me, Bryne. She was the one who checked me out. I wasn't the one who checked her out."

AdvertisementGetty Images SportMan City ace reveals his perfect night in

Haaland also went on to speak about how the couple like to spend their time away from the football pitch. He added: "I cook. This will probably sound a bit embarrassing to her, but she likes to play [games]. So we play Minecraft together. We build houses and all that. Or we go home to Bryne and order kebabs."

The Manchester City has previously revealed he's an avid fan of Minecraft. He let slip he was playing the game on social media after previously being rather coy on his favourite video games. After breaking the Premier League record for most goals in a season, he told Sky Sports: "I will go home now and play some video games and then speak – I cannot say which games – it’s too embarrassing."

It's also not the first time that Haaland has revealed his weakness for kebabs. The Norway star has made no secure of his favourite foods but has admitted it's hard to indulge as an elite footballer. He told Sky Sports in 2022: "I absolutely love it, I have to say. It's one of the best things, but I can never eat it. Sometimes I sit at home and I'm like: 'Oh, that would be so good'. But then I go to the fridge and make something else."

Haaland growing up after becoming a dad

Haaland and Haugsung Johansen welcomed their first baby together in December, with the Manchester City goal machine admitting he is "starting to grow up now." News of the birth was inadvertently broken by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola after seeing the striker score in a win over Leicester in the Premier League. Guardiola told reporters after the match: "Sometimes Erling has been judged badly but it's part of football. He's tired, he's played a lot of minutes. He's become a father for the first time in the last few days, a lot of emotions and an exciting few days for him."

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Couple enjoy time out in Italy

After becoming parents for the first time, Haaland and Haugsung Johansen were spotted enjoying some time out in Italy during the summer. The couple were spotted out together on a romantic break in Rome and also took in a Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda fashion show. The trip prompted Haaland to profess his love for Italy on social media: "Rome is without doubt one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been to! And the food? Omg. Incredible. I’m enjoying the summer! Thanks D&G and the city of Rome for making the time here smooth. I love Italy!"

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Italian fans were quick to respond to his post by urging the goal machine to leave Manchester City and try to secure a move to Serie A.

Captain Hardik Pandya, meanwhile, backs experienced Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and Reece Topley to do well at Wankhede

Vishal Dikshit19-Mar-20255:07

Can Hardik-led Mumbai Indians bounce back this season?

A last-place finish in IPL 2024. A new captain who was booed by the home crowd at Wankhede a few times. A new season without Jasprit Bumrah for the first few games. And without their captain Hardik Pandya for their first game, against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) no less.Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians (MI) have their plate full of challenges that will be thrown at them in IPL 2025 as they try and win their first title since 2020. To turn their fortunes around, they are banking on the core group they retained before the auction in November last year; the return of Trent Boult, who was the Player of the Match in the IPL 2020 final; and the seniors getting back with Mahela Jayawardene, who returns as head coach after having won the title with them three times during his first tenure with them from 2017 to 2022.”Last season threw us some challenges, but it’s been a big auction, and a lot of changes have happened,” Jayawardene said at MI’s pre-season press conference in Mumbai. “With that, we got a fresh canvas to start and paint our destiny. We have the core group with us who’s got the experience, who knows what the culture is, how we need to play, and how we need to win.Related

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Jayawardene: Not having Bumrah a challenge

What can MI do to cope with Bumrah's absence?

“And with the new group of guys includes some of the old faces coming back – like Trent, who was a big part in our success in 2020. So, for us, it’s about the putting this parcel together, making sure that we gel well as a group, understanding our strengths, and have a good start.”Even though the same core was there last year too, there were reports and rumours of rifts inside the dressing room as the team started with three straight losses. Amid that, Hardik faced a lot of backlash from the local fans for taking over from their five-time champion Rohit Sharma, who has since gone on to lead India to the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy titles. Even though Mark Boucher was MI’s coach last season, Jayawardene was asked what he thought of the “miscommunications” within the team last year.”The communication within the bubble was quite good,” Jayawardene, who was MI’s global head of performance across T20 leagues till 2024, said. “And even though I wasn’t the head coach, I was part of the main set-up. So I knew what was happening. It was important for us to get together. We pride on our core group; that’s been our success for many years, and these guys have done brilliantly, [and] worked hard. It’s not an easy thing to win an IPL trophy. And Mumbai has been successful delivering that, and each year, the challenge is for us to set ourselves up for that.”With the core group, the experience that we have, we have added more experience into that this year. That was something planned that we wanted to achieve. We have seven guys in our main squad who’ve won IPL trophies with different franchises as well. As a coach, I’m trying to get that structure in place, get the best out of them, and then add the other individuals that we need to add to be a bit more different.Hardik Pandya will lead a side that will feature two India captains in Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav•AFP/Getty Images”I realise that the last few years with the rule changes and all that, the dynamics have changed, and that’s something we need to be mindful of, but at the same time, play the brand of cricket that we want to play as a group, and dominate in there.”Hardik himself was a crucial part of the India sides that lifted the two ICC titles since the last IPL, even being the vice-captain during the 2024 T20 World Cup. He will now lead an MI side that features two India captains – Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav – and India’s Test vice-captain Bumrah, whenever he is fit. Hardik said the last 12 months had been “very entertaining” for him, and that he was “lucky” to have three captains in his side who will “always be there” for him.”I am very confident. I was confident back then. I was confident when I was playing the Champions Trophy, and I am confident now,” Hardik said. “So if you ask me about my confidence, it’s always going to be high.”My life has been quite up and down, but I think that has been the learning which I really enjoyed. It has just not taught me about the sport, [but] it has taught me about life as well that how life would be over the years. This year, it’s a fresh year. A lot of things have changed, a lot of things are added. There will be always passion. There will always be grit, there will be always challenges which I love, and for me, the crucial part would be to make sure if the challenges are thrown at my boys, how I can help them fight their way out.”

“See, [for] the bowling group, I will tell you the plans: we are very clear to get a lot of experience in it, because Wankhede can be sometimes very unforgiving to the bowlers. So it was very, very important to bring in experience – from Mitch [Santner] to Trent [Boult].”Hardik Pandya on how MI put their bowling attack together

Among the biggest challenges coming his way is the absence of Bumrah, who has been out with a back injury since January. He is expected to join the MI squad some time in April, after he recovers at the Centre of Excellence (earlier called NCA) in Bengaluru under the watch of BCCI’s medical team. Bumrah was one of the few bright spots for MI in an otherwise forgettable 2024 season, when he picked 20 wickets – third-most overall – with a stunning economy rate of 6.48 in the most high-scoring IPL that saw eight 250-plus totals.MI will hope their pace attack of Boult, Deepak Chahar, Corbin Bosch and Reece Topley steps up, especially in the death overs, a phase in which Bumrah is all but irreplaceable.Hardik Pandya and Mahela Jayawardene share a laugh at the pre-season press meet•AFP/Getty Images”See, [for] the bowling group, I will tell you the plans: we are very clear to get a lot of experience in it,” Hardik said, “because Wankhede can be sometimes very unforgiving to the bowlers, the kind of track which we play on. So it was very, very important to bring in experience – from Mitch [Santner] to Trent.”Trent was very, very important for us. Deepak, all are experienced individuals. Boom [Bumrah], myself, Mujeeb [Ur Rahman] – even youngsters who have played a lot of cricket. And I think that was very, very important to bring a lot of experience. So when the tough time comes, they have felt the pressure earlier.”Hardik himself will miss MI’s opening game against CSK on March 23 in Chennai, serving a one-match suspension that he is carrying forward from the end of last IPL. To add to their worries, MI also hold a record of not winning their first match of an IPL season since 2012.”There’s a little bit more adrenaline for the boys as well [playing against CSK],” Jayawardene said. “Yeah, we have a big challenge to try and correct something in history where we haven’t won a first match in a tournament for a number of years. So looking forward to that.”

It would be fair to say that Arsenal were not at their best last night.

Mikel Arteta’s side had the challenging task of playing away at Athletic Bilbao for the opening game of their Champions League campaign, and unlike on Saturday, didn’t exactly blow anyone away.

Granted, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard did their images a world of good with two goals, but other than that, it was an underwhelming performance.

In particular, there was one player who was as inconsequential to proceedings as Mikel Merino was.

Merino's underwhelming performance

With Martin Odegaard out injured, Arteta opted to go with the same midfield three that started against Liverpool ahead of the international break.

However, while that decision made a little more sense at Anfield, where the Gunners were expected to be on the back foot, it was a little more puzzling last night, when they were undoubtedly favourites.

Unfortunately, instead of getting the Merino who scored a hat-trick for Spain and looked like a serious threat, the manager got the one who failed to add a whole lot to the team.

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For example, in his 96 minutes of action, the 29-year-old took just a single shot on target, amassed a paltry combined expected goal and assists figure of 0.09, completed just 21 passes and lost the ball 12 times.

It was by no means a horror showing from the Spaniard, but he was most certainly ineffective for large parts of the game.

We aren’t the only ones to think this either, as the Standard’s Sam Tabuteau awarded the former Real Sociedad star just a 6/10 match rating at full-time, writing that he ‘looked stretched’ at points.

However, while Merino did disappoint somewhat, he wasn’t the only one to do so.

The Arsenal star as disappointing as Merino

While they did win the game and were the better side, there were a number of other players who could fit the bill, but we are talking about Eberechi Eze.

Yes, while there is absolutely no doubting the Englishman’s incredible ability and desire, he was rather underwhelming in his first Champions League appearance.

Instead of being a constant threat and source of creative flair like we know he can be, there were parts of the game in which he struggled, notably when it came to understanding what Arteta likes of his left winger. The video clip below encapsulates that perfectly.

In his 71 minutes of action, the former Crystal Palace star took 16 touches fewer than David Raya, registered an expected assists figure of 0.11, completed just 19 passes, played a single key pass, lost the ball ten times and only made one cross.

Minutes

71′

Expected Goals

0.00

Goals

0

Expected Assists

0.11

Assists

0

Shots

0

Touches

40

Accurate Passes

19/25 (76%)

Key Passes

1

Aerial Duels (Won)

1 (0)

Lost Possession

10

Fouls

2

Crosses

1

Unsurprisingly then, others were just as disappointed by his showing, with Tabuteau giving him a 5/10 match rating, writing that he ‘struggled to get into the game.’

Likewise, one content creator claimed the winger was “totally off it today”, which is a more than fair assessment.

However, while the Greenwich-born ace has to take some responsibility for his lack of threat, last night’s game was perhaps the best example of why the manager has to play him more centrally going forward, as he’s just not a touchline sort of player.

Ultimately, Arsenal achieved what they set out to do last night, but the likes of Merino and Eze will be looking to put in stronger performances in the coming games.

They lost the ball 25x: Arteta must never start Arsenal duo together again

Arsenal sealed a 2-0 win over Athletic Club in their opening Champions League clash of the season.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Sep 16, 2025