Tag Futebol

A stunning flurry of sixes from Nat Sciver couldn’t quite power Trent Rockets over the line in an eliminator thriller at the Ageas Bowl, as Southern Brave booked their place in Saturday’s Lord’s final, thanks to an all-round masterclass from Georgia Adams.Middle-order batter and offspinner Adams carried Brave to a competitive score with an exhilarating 38 off 24 to lift her side to a total of 134 for 6, having looked unlikely to reach three figures at one point.Adams then picked up 2 for 15, including both Bryony Smith and Mignon du Preez as Rockets slipped from 40 for 0 to 45 for 3 in the space of six balls, and the game seemed done and dusted when Tahlia McGrath backed up a haul of 2 for 11 in her first ten balls with a pinpoint penultimate set that went for just four more runs.With 24 runs still needed, Brave captain Anya Shrubsole backed her allrounder to close out the contest, but Sciver – who had stood firm while wickets fell away around her – was now in the zone, and with a two from the first ball and then three consecutive launches for six, she brought the requirement down to four from one. McGrath, however, held her nerve, and Sciver could only drive her final delivery to mid-off for a single.Brave duly won by two runs, and will be out for revenge against Oval Invincibles – Adams’ former team – in the final after being bowled out for 73 last year.Rockets had lost by 10 wickets in the group stage game between the two sides, but enjoyed a much better start as they picked up Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley in the first end, the former for her second duck in succession.Nat Sciver drives down the ground during Trent Rockets’ run-chase•Getty Images

Smriti Mandhana picked up a trio of boundaries but she then edged Sciver to short third. Brave’s big three batters, who had scored about two-thirds of their runs in the competition, all out inside 30 balls having been stuck in.It needed the middle order to fire, and slowly they did. Australian McGrath – who had only scored 19 runs in her four innings thus far – steadied things with 31 off 29 balls, having square driven her first ball to the boundary. She put on 34 with Maia Bouchier before failing to clear mid-off, before Adams joined Bouchier to accelerate with a 43-run stand.Bouchier crashed Katherine Brunt twice through the off side before heaving Georgia Davis through wide long-on to move to 29 and her best score of the tournament.Adams was even more vicious in her ball striking, after Bouchier had departed, bonking a straight six off Alana King and another dropped into the boundary sponge by Brunt to smash 38 off 30 balls – although she was caught off the final ball by Brunt.In reply, Elyse Villani and Bryony Smith ticked off runs at a run-a-ball. Smith survived a drop at midwicket but things seemed much less frenetic than the Brave innings.That all changed with the 38th delivery as Rockets collapsed. First, Adams knocked back Smith’s middle stump with her offspin. Then McGrath picked up Villani paddling to short fine and Mignon du Preez with a reactionary caught and bowled, to her own disbelief, in the same set. The team in yellow slumped from 40 without loss to 45 for 3.Marie Kelly picked out long-on to hand Adams her second wicket, King was castled by fellow Aussie leggie Amanda-Jade Wellington and Molly Strano brilliantly ran out Brunt. But Sciver was the major piece still left in the puzzle.She was dropped at mid-off on 8 and had a stumping missed on 11, but tucked into any poor balls. She clubbed Lauren Bell, Wellington and McGrath for sixes over the long-on boundary. Her fifty came in 29 balls but her best was still to come. Agonisingly for the Rockets, it was too little, too late.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Flamengo tem mais um problema para o jogo contra a Universidad Católica (CHI): David Luiz não treinou com o grupo nesta segunda e está vetado da partida de terça, no Maracanã, pela Libertadores. O duelo, válido pela quinta rodada do Grupo H da Copa, será às 21h30.

RelacionadasFlamengoZagueiro do Flamengo se manifesta após passar por cirurgia no pé esquerdoFlamengo16/05/2022FlamengoFlamengo x Universidad Católica: prováveis times, desfalques e onde assistirFlamengo16/05/2022FlamengoFlamengo x Universidad Católica (CHI): jogo pela Libertadores tem 40 mil ingressos vendidosFlamengo06/05/2022

A informação foi inicialmente publicada pelo “ge”. David Luiz fez apenas trabalhos na parte interna do CT nesta segunda-feira. O Flamengo não informou sobre a situação do zagueiro, substituído aos 15 minutos da segunda etapa na partida contra o Ceará, no sábado.

Como opções na zaga, o técnico Paulo Sousa tem Pablo, que será titular, Léo Pereira e Rodrigo Caio – este último, contudo, ainda está readquirindo o ritmo de jogo após cinco meses de recuperação e ainda não está apto a atuar por 90 minutos – além do jovem Cleiton.

Além de David Luiz, o Flamengo tem outros sete desfalques: Santos, Diego Alves, Filipe Luís, Fabrício Bruno, Gustavo Henrique, Matheus França e Vitinho, todos lesionados ou em processo de recuperação.

Sam Billings will make his third Test appearance against India on Friday after Ben Foakes was ruled out after having failed to recover from Covid-19. Billings is one of two changes as James Anderson returns after missing the final Test against New Zealand, regaining his spot from his replacement, Jamie Overton.Foakes had to be pulled out on the fourth morning of the previous Test at Headingley after returning a positive test, having complained of back trouble on day three. Kent captain Billings made the late journey up to Leeds on the third evening, arriving at the team hotel at 2am. He became England’s first Covid substitute a matter of hours later, taking a catch off Jack Leach between his knees as England won by seven wickets to seal a 3-0 series win.Billings was subsequently added to the squad for this fifth Test of this 2021 series at Edgbaston, primarily as cover to give Foakes every opportunity to play. Despite training on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Surrey wicketkeeper was unable to prove his fitness.”Unfortunately Foakesy has not recovered as well as we’d have liked to,” Stokes said. “Sam is going to stay in the team and be our keeper.”He [Foakes] just hasn’t really recovered from last week. He doesn’t feel like he could give the best account of himself this week, so we took the decision out of his hands and said, ‘get yourself better’.”It was Bairstow who initially covered for Foakes when he was unable to take the field on day three at Headingley. Stokes, however, said there was no thought given to doing so again.Much has been made of Bairstow’s affinity for the gloves, particularly given that all but one of his six Test centuries scored before the start of 2022 had come as the designated wicketkeeper. Since then, however, he has re-established himself as an engine-room destroyer, with four centuries and 774 runs already this year, at an average of 64.50.Under Brendon McCullum and Stokes, Bairstow has become a totem of their selfless, attacking cricket, and both are keen to keep it that way, with Stokes reiterating Foakes’ position as the first-choice keeper.”At the moment Jonny is in the form of his life. He’s our best middle-order batsman at the moment. Ben Foakes is our keeper going forward and we just want Jonny to concentrate on batting. Because however he is thinking about it at the moment is working, we just want Jonny to keep doing what he is doing with the bat.”The return of Anderson was expected, especially as he said on Wednesday that he could have played the last New Zealand Test had the series still been at stake. Perhaps Overton might count himself unlucky to be the man to make way, however. He bowled quickly and relatively well, but excelled with the bat, striking a remarkable 97 as part of 241-run stand with Bairstow, rescuing England from a precarious 55 for six.”That’s how sport at the top level can work sometimes,” Stokes said. “Obviously Jimmy didn’t feel he recovered as well as we would have liked to last week. So Jamie got his opportunity to show what you can do in a cricket field. He gave the best account possible of himself. And, he’s obviously someone that we see has a bright and long future for him going forward.”So yeah, it obviously must be very disappointing for him, but he can walk away knowing that he’s done everything that he possibly could have done last week to really put his name forward to have a look a good career for England.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

With the Edgbaston Test against India set to complete the five-match series that had to be postponed in 2021 due to a Covid outbreak, England have effectively made seven changes to the team that trails 2-1 in the series after last year’s Oval Test. Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed have since been replaced at the top of the order by Zak Crawley and Alex Lees, with Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Ollie Robinson the other absentees.Stokes himself was one of the players who sat out last year’s matches, after taking a mental-health break from the game while recuperating from a badly broken finger. And while he said he had not watched much of the action last time around, he was under no doubt about the threat that India would pose, having also effectively switched captains mid-series, with Virat Kohli stepping down from the role.”We just beat the best team in the world 3-0,” Stokes said, referencing New Zealand’s status as World Test Champions. “India are obviously a completely different opposition, a different dynamic of team, but we are concentrating on ourselves. We understand what we do well, but we have also take into account who we’re playing against. Just because the opposition changes doesn’t mean that we’re going to change.”We still obviously know we need to win this Test to draw the series from a year ago. But as I said last week, at the moment this is bigger than results, bigger then what happens out on the field. There’s more to it than that. We obviously want to win every game that we play, but it’s bigger than that.”Asked if England had it in them to get even more attacking in their approach, after three dynamic displays against New Zealand, Stokes replied: “If there’s a team that can, it’s us.”Crawley is the one regular selection in England’s ranks who hasn’t produced a significant contribution to their run of three wins in a row. But Stokes was adamant that he would receive all the support he needs to rediscover his most imposing form, despite a top score of 43 in six innings.”Before we’d even played a Test match, the squad was picked on the basis that every player in every position is the best player in England to carry us forward in the way that we want to,” Stokes said. “This team, and this squad, is going to be given a lot of time to perform. Zak Crawley is still in my plans, and Brendon’s plans going forward, to make this Test team great again.”

MatériaMais Notícias

O Botafogo voltou muitas casas na busca por um ponta nas últimas horas da janela de transferência. O clube recebeu recusas de Sporting e Boavista nas tentativas por, respectivamente, Bruno Tabata e Gustavo Sauer. As equipes portuguesas solicitaram pagamentos à vista pelos jogadores.

RelacionadasBotafogoImprevisibilidade de Diego Gonçalves contra o Corinthians agrada a Luís Castro: ‘Ele é uma boa alternativa’Botafogo11/04/2022BotafogoBoa estreia? Victor Sá foi o jogador com mais dribles em Botafogo x Corinthians; veja os númerosBotafogo11/04/2022BotafogoBotafogo fecha com dupla do Taubaté para o time sub-20Botafogo11/04/2022

+ Eran Zahavi acena positivamente ao projeto do Botafogo, e clube confia em contratação no meio do ano

O clube carioca tinha a intenção de adquiri-los em definitivo, mas com o pagamento parcelado durante o ano. Tanto Boavista quanto Sporting bateram o pé para receber o dinheiro de forma inteira agora, algo que está longe do que o Botafogo pode fazer.

+ Veja a tabela do Brasileirão

O Alvinegro, com pouco tempo na janela, resolveu desistir das situações de Sauer e Tabata. O clube já tem novos alvos para a posição, mas corre contra o tempo – a janela fecha nesta terça-feira. O “SIC” informou primeiramente e o LANCE! confirmou.

Gustavo Sauer, inclusive, já tinha acertado salários e parte financeira com o Botafogo. O Boavista havia pedido 2 milhões de dólares (R$ 9,4 milhões, na cotação atual). Os valores colocados à mesa pelo Alvinegro até chegavam perto, mas o formato de ser à vista inviabilizou o negócio.

As conversas por Bruno Tabata sempre foram mais difíceis e os valores eram até mais altos do que os de Sauer. O Sporting também não aceitou a situação proposta pelo Botafogo, que precisará se reinventar no bastidores para achar um reforço para a posição.

Barcelona star Raphinha sent out a fiery message ahead of Brazil's World Cup qualifying clash against arch-rivals Argentina.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Brazil to face Argentina in a World Cup qualifierRaphinha sent out a fiery message to arch-rivalsScored in Brazil's win against Colombia last weekFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED?

The South American foes are set to lock horns in a crucial 2026 World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday. Brazil head into the clash after a 2-1 win over Copa America 2024 runners-up Colombia last week where Raphinha and Vinicius Junior were on target. Ahead of the showdown in Buenos Aires, the Barcelona man has sent out a rallying call to motivate his team-mates.

AdvertisementWHAT RAPHINHA SAID

During a chat between Raphinha and Brazil legend Romario, the Selecao icon first asked: "We are going to play against Argentina, our biggest rival. Now, thank God, without Messi, are we going to beat them?" In response, Raphinha said: "We will beat them, no doubt. On and off the pitch, if we have to."

Romario again asked: "Are you going to try to score a goal against Argentina?" The Barca winger replied: "Yes, with everything." The duo then ended the conversation with Romario asking, "F*ck them?" Then Raphinha responded: "F*ck them."

Getty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Messi has not joined the reigning world champions for their latest round of World Cup qualifiers after a muscular complaint. Despite their leader's absence, Argentina won their last qualifying game against Uruguay 1-0 courtesy of Thiago Almada's strike.

WHAT NEXT FOR RAPHINHA?

After competing against the Argentines on Tuesday, it is unlikely that the 28-year-old will be able to take the field for Barcelona against Osasuna in their La Liga fixture on Thursday.

A former Arsenal player has questioned if Mikel Arteta has the "personality" to manage a "big player" such as striker Victor Osimhen.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Arteta comes under fire from ex-Gunner
• Questioned if he can handle a "big player"
• Arsenal told to sign striker Osimhen

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Former Gunners captain William Gallas has urged his old team to sign Napoli ace Osimhen, who is spending the season on loan at Galatasaray, in a bid to finally end their centre-forward issues. However, the Frenchman does not believe Arteta will be able to handle the Nigerian, something he claims managerial greats such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, and Jose Mourinho would be able to do.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT WILLIAM GALLAS SAID

  When asked which striker Arsenal should sign, Gallas told Prime Casino: "I think Victor Osimhen would be the man I would try and sign. He’s been performing well for Galatasaray, obviously on loan from Napoli, and he’s only going to be there for a season. He’s a good player. Maybe not the player, but maybe he can score 20 a season. But if he doesn’t, he gives you movement, he gives space for the second forward to exploit and score goals. He takes the focus of defenders, so he could play with Kai Havertz or another striker. He will be a little bit more free and then he can score goals for the club. So that's why a striker like him would be good for Arsenal. I was talking about this many years ago. He was too good, I think, to go to Galatasaray. I'm still saying the same thing. I know the club’s fans are going to be on my back again. Is he too much of a big player for Arteta? Maybe Mikel Arteta doesn't have the personality to manage players like Osimhen or to deal with players with personality. Big managers like Klopp, Guardiola, Ancelotti, Mourinho and Ferguson. Even Arsene, he had the personality of being our friend, but he knew how to speak to players. You have to know how to speak to your players. It doesn't mean you're going to have arguments. You have to know how to deal with them, that’s all."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Arsenal have failed to sign a striker over the past two seasons, something that has come back to haunt them off the back of the injuries to forwards Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz this term. The Gunners look set to miss out on another Premier League title in 2024/25 and if they want to end their 21-year wait for that trophy, they may need a top striker.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  Arsenal, who sit 15 points behind league leaders Liverpool, host Chelsea in their next Premier League game on Sunday.

Chelsea made it four out of four in the UEFA Conference League, beating Heidenheim 2-0 away from home, with goals coming from Christopher Nkunku and Mykhailo Mudryk on Thursday evening.

The Blues held 67% possession against the German outfit, taking 17 shots, creating five“big chances and generating 2.90 xG.

Unfortunately, the performance ended with Cesare Casadei being sent off, receiving a second yellow card, which means he will not be available to face Astana in their next Conference League game.

It was a game full of good performances though, and one of the best came from the goalkeeper, Filip Jorgensen, who is now breathing down Robert Sanchez’s neck for the number one spot.

Filip Jorgensen's performance in numbers

So far this season, Jorgensen has found himself as the back-up to Sanchez, with the youngster playing in cup competitions, whilst the latter starts in the Premier League. However, after the Swede’s performance against Heidenheim, Maresca could have a decision on his hands.

The 22-year-old was impeccable, making as many as 11 saves in the game. That meant he prevented a total of 2.18 xG while making seven saves inside the box, and completing 37/44 accurate passes (84% completion).

It’s safe to say that both his shot-stopping and composure on the ball were brilliant, the latter being a big deal for his Italian manager.

And Jorgensen isn’t the only one knocking on the door for a Premier League start, as another Chelsea man put in a brilliant display returning from injury, stating his case to start against Aston Villa this weekend.

Performance in Numbers

Want data and stats? Football FanCast's Performance in Numbers series provides you with the latest match analysis from across Europe.

Expand Collapse Jadon Sancho's performance in numbers

Jadon Sancho put in a brilliant display against the German club, where he had so much success with Borussia Dortmund in the past. The 24-year-old winger received a 9/10 match rating from The Express, playing a big part in both goals in Chelsea’s 2-0 victory.

Jadon Sancho vs Heidenheim

Stat

Sancho

Minutes

89

Assists

1

Touches

61

Accurate Passes

44/48

Key Passes

2

Long Balls

1/1

Successful Dribbles

3/6

Ground Duels Won

4/7

Tackles

1

Stats taken from Sofascore

But it wasn’t just his assist and part in both goals, Sancho also made two key passes, kept things simple at times to circulate play, making 44/48 accurate passes (94% completion).

He completed 50% of his dribble attempts, and also worked hard on the defensive end to make one tackle and win four ground duels.

Maresca has been playing with Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto on the wings in recent weeks, with João Félix the player who came in at the weekend in the absence of Neto, but after Sancho’s performance, he could be knocking on the door for a place in the starting XI against Aston Villa, on either the left or right wing.

The Italian boss has proven he isn’t afraid to make big decisions, and if tonight’s performance is anything to go by, both Jorgensen and Sancho could be called upon this weekend in an important Premier League fixture against the Villans.

Related Chelsea must sell £100k-p/w flop who Boehly thought was "hugely exciting"

The Chelsea flop has failed to live up to expectations since his move to the Bridge.

Posts ByEthan Lamb Nov 27, 2024

Arsenal legend Paul Merson believes Chelsea will sack Enzo Maresca if the Blues fail to beat relegation-threatened Southampton and Leicester City.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Chelsea in poor run of form
• Maresca tipped for sack
• Palmer's struggles explained

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Merson believes that if Chelsea are unable to beat Southampton and Leicester, who are 20th and 19th respectively in the English top-flight, in their next two Premier League games, the Italian will lose his job. The ex-England international also theorised that Palmer's drop-off in form is down to not having Nicolas Jackson playing alongside him, with the striker currently out injured.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Entertainment
  

  WHAT PAUL MERSON SAID

  He said on Sky Sports: "If they don’t win their next two games, the manager won’t be there. They’re playing against two of the worst teams to play in the Premier League for I don’t know how long in Southampton and Leicester. So, if they don’t win those two games, he will do well to keep his job. Chelsea have got to get in the Champions League. They need the Champions League to keep players like Cole Palmer as he will want to play in that competition. They will have to finish in the top five, otherwise I dread to think what’s going to happen. I just don’t see what the plan is."

  Merson added: "Even Palmer has struggled now, Palmer needs Nicolas Jackson, and Jackson needs Palmer. Without Jackson's movement, Palmer gets suffocated out of the game. He hasn't got any movement in front of him. People give Jackson stick but you can see how good he is now he's not in the team. Now, all of a sudden, they've got nothing up front, so no one's making the runs and Palmer's got no space. So he's getting deeper and deeper. Jackson's a massive miss."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Indeed, Chelsea have taken just nine points from their last 10 league matches and Palmer has failed to register a single goal or assist across his last five games. They are just one point outside the Champions League qualification spots, with fifth likely to secure a berth into next season's competition. But it is very tight in the fight for Europe and if the Blues' poor run continues, they could slide down the table quickly.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  Maresca's Chelsea host bottom of the table Southampton on Tuesday, followed by Leicester on March 9 at Stamford Bridge. In between those games, they take on Copenhagen in the last 16 of the Europa Conference League.

It’s been an interesting start to the campaign for Tottenham Hotspur this season.

Ange Postecoglou’s side have been flawless in the League Cup and Europa League, but have looked a little disjointed in the Premier League.

However, given that it’s only the Australian’s second year in charge, these issues shouldn’t come as a surprise, and with a few more transfer windows under his belt, he could have the personnel to match his game plans.

In fact, based on recent reports, the club look set to sign a dream midfield addition next year, although that could be bad news for Yves Bissouma.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from Spain, Tottenham are expected to sign Real Betis star Johnny Cardoso in 2025.

The report claims that the Lilywhites had a €25m – £21m – option to buy the American included in the deal that saw Giovani Lo Celso return to Betis in the summer.

However, Daniel Levy and Co will have to act fast if they want to bring the midfielder to N17, as the story also claims that the option expires in either late June or early July and, after that, the La Liga side will be able to demand whatever price they want.

With that said, by all accounts, this looks like a transfer that will happen, so the Spurs faithful likely have nothing to worry about, although given how well he’s played in Spain, Bissouma should be a little concerned, as the American could be his upgrade.

How Cardoso compares to Bissouma

Okay, so if Spurs act on their option to sign Cardoso, as expected, the fact that he primarily plays as a defensive and central midfielder means he’d likely compete with Bissouma for a place in the starting lineup.

So, with that in mind, how do the pair stack up against one another? Well, when it comes down to the pair’s raw output this season, the Mali international comes out on top with two goals to the American’s zero, but at the end of the day, goals aren’t what make a good holding midfielder, and when we look at their underlying numbers, it’s a very different story.

For example, while the Spurs ace has better passing numbers, the Betis star comes out miles ahead in the majority of relevant defensive metrics, including tackles, shots and passes blocked, clearances, interceptions, ball recoveries and aerial duels, all per 90, which is what you want from your six.

Cardoso vs Bissouma
Statistics	Cardoso	Bissouma
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists	0.24	0.11
Progressive Passes	4.04	7.00
Progressive Passes Received	1.49	0.00
Passing Accuracy	82.0%	90.7%
Tackles	2.77	2.75
Shots Blocked	0.64	0.25
Passes Blocked	1.28	0.75
Interceptions	2.13	1.00
Clearances	2.98	2.75
Ball Recoveries	6.17	3.25
Aerial Duels Won	1.06	0.25
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Season

Moreover, something that the former Brighton & Hove Albion ace was guilty of last season was picking up unnecessary red cards, and when we compare the pair’s disciplinary record, the 23-year-old “ball winner”, as he was dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, once again comes out on top.

For example, in his 10281 minutes of football across his career to date, the former Internacional gem has picked up 22 yellow cards, averaging one every 467 minutes, and zero red cards or second yellows.

In contrast, the Issia-born Lilywhites man has picked up 58 yellow cards in his 16799 minutes of football, equating to an average of one every 289 minutes, and four red cards – including one-second yellow – which works out as one every 4199 minutes.

Ultimately, Bissouma is a talented footballer, and one who should be playing in the Premier League, but his defensive numbers are notably worse than Cardoso’s, and when we take into account the disciplinary side of things as well, the American looks like he’d be an ideal upgrade.

Ange's "frightening" Spurs star is now worth millions more than Maddison

The talented international has been electric for Spurs.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Oct 30, 2024

Arsenal are thinking about making a January bid to sign a £67 million “shooting star” player, who’s interestingly been compared to Man City colossus Rodri.

Arsenal's transfer plans after Edu departure

The departure of influential sporting director Edu Gaspar was announced on Monday, news which sent shock waves throughout the Arsenal fandom as manager Mikel Arteta also bids goodbye to a key ally at the club.

Sky Sports: Arsenal set sights on signing "exciting" player after Edu exit

He’s got a growing reputation.

ByEmilio Galantini Nov 6, 2024

The Gunners will now be putting plans in place to succeed Edu, but that won’t be an easy task by any means. We believe Bayer Leverkusen director Simon Rolfes should be considered as Arsenal’s next transfer chief, while other reports suggest assistant director Jason Ayto is an obvious choice to replace Edu.

In the meantime, Arteta’s side are still believed to be assessing their options in the market without Edu’s leadership. Arsenal’s transfer groundwork is often done a year in advance, according to reliable reporter Simon Collings, who also writes that their remaining executives have experience conducting major deals.

Chelsea (away)

November 10

Nottingham Forest (home)

November 23

West Ham United (away)

November 30

Man United (home)

December 4

Fulham (away)

December 8

Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg claims that Arsenal remain in the race to sign Leroy Sane on a free transfer, so nothing has changed in that regard, as the north Londoners maintain their plans to upgrade Arteta’s squad in key areas.

Before Edu’s departure, it was claimed that Arsenal are eager to sign back-ups to key members of the squad.

“I’ve heard the Arsenal hierarchy have held discussions about what happens if certain players get injured, and that includes Saka,” said well-connected ex-recruitment chief Mick Brown, who’s worked at Tottenham, Man United and West Ham, to Football Insider.

“They want to get to a point where they have a solid backup for every player in their starting XI. Long-term, they’ll be planning to strengthen in every position.”

Arsenal also face losing both Jorginho and mainstay midfielder Thomas Partey when their contracts expire next year, so Arteta could be short in that department if they don’t consider alternative options or decide to offer them extensions.

Eintracht Frankfurt starlet Hugo Larsson is believed to be on Arsenal’s radar heading into January, and now CaughtOffside have shared a further update.

Arsenal are considering a £33 million bid for Larsson in January

The outlet reports that Arsenal are considering a £33 million bid for Larsson in January to test Eintracht’s resolve, but it is believed the Bundesliga side currently value their star midfielder at up to £67 million.

Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are very keen on the Sweden international as well, amid Larsson’s comparisons to Rodri due to his ‘expert’ breaking up of play, ‘technical ability to break lines and thread killer through balls’, as well as his 6’1″ frame.

The 20-year-old has started this season in excellent fashion, with Sky reporter Kerry Hau branding Larsson one of the most exciting players in German top flight football right now, and Eintracht’s “shooting star”.

“Right-footed, Larsson is an energetic, box-to-box midfielder,” said TEAMtalk’s Samuel Bannister in a profile on the player.

“Standing out for his spatial awareness, he is constantly looking to get on the ball and drive his team forward, even though he has also been used to playing from a deeper role. Strong and technical, he doesn’t have too many weaknesses – but time is on his side to add further elements to his game, which he already seems to be doing.”