Ashley Cole believes Arsenal are heading for a fifth successive season outside of the top four unless Mikel Arteta gets to grips with the current crisis at the club.
A wretched start to the Premier League campaign has seen Arsenal drift to 15th place, losing seven of their opening 12 games including the last four at home.
They headed into Wednesday s game against Southampton trailing their visitors by 10 points, a staggering set of circumstances so early in the season that reflects both Saints strong start and Arsenal s current malaise.
The omens for Arsenal looked good when Arteta s team, building on some positive results and lively performances, beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final at the beginning of August.
Yet the Spaniard, appointed last Decemb…
Fit-again Beth Mead says after “a lot of tough days” over the past year she has been “smiling like a Cheshire cat” following her return to the England squad.
Mead – top scorer and player of the tournament when England won Euro 2022 – sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage 12 months ago that saw her sit out the rest of last season and the subsequent World Cup in which the Lionesses finished as runners-up.
The winger has been back in action for Arsenal in recent weeks, scoring twice in Sunday’s 3-0 win against West Ham, and received an international recall for the forthcoming Nations League matches against the Netherlands and Scotland.
So are we
— Lionesses (@Lionesses)
She told a press conference: “I’ve been smiling lik…
Bukayo Saka is one of the best young players in the world and will be a huge threat to the United States hopes when they meet England, according to goalkeeper Matt Turner.
The USA began their World Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw against Wales on Monday, and they will face a stern test of their Group B credentials against Gareth Southgate s team next time out.
Saka took centre stage as the Three Lions crushed Iran 6-2, becoming the youngest player to score a World Cup brace for England (aged 21 years and 77 days).
Turner has seen Saka s talents at close quarters since joining Arsenal from the New England Revolution in June, and he knows the USA must keep a close eye on the tricky winger if they are to stand a chance on Friday.
I think it s pretty clear he s…
Rodrigo Bentancur says Uruguay enjoy thriving when they feel like they are out of the spotlight, ahead of a World Cup reunion with Portugal on Monday.
Four years on from their last-16 encounter in Russia, which La Celeste won 2-1 thanks to an Edinson Cavani brace, the pair will meet in a crucial Group H clash at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.
Portugal headed into that 2018 showdown as favourites and are tipped for success again this time around, having opened with victory over Ghana while Uruguay were held to a goalless draw by South Korea.
But Bentancur says his side are happy to fly under the radar and quietly go about their business.
I think it will be a different game, he said. Football has evolved. Now, we play with more intensity. We will bring our A-…
Valencia midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia is a doubt for the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona after the club confirmed he underwent a second operation on an intermuscular haematoma.
Kondogbia had a procedure due to the issue on April 7 and Marcelino was hopeful the Central African Republic midfielder would be fit to return before the end of the season.
However, Valencia announced the 26-year-old has suffered a setback and was admitted to hospital on Tuesday, damaging his chances of featuring in Seville on May 25.
Geoffrey Kondogbia was taken to hospital on Tuesday night with bleeding from an intermuscular haematoma, for which he had received surgical treatment on April 7, read a Valencia statement.
The player underwent tests and a further operation. M…
Rangers quickly swept away Old Firm frustrations with a 3-1 cinch Premiership win over Kilmarnock at Ibrox.
Philippe Clement lost his first game as Gers boss in the narrow 2-1 defeat at Celtic Park on Saturday but, just as it looked as if they were losing their way a bit after an energetic start, late first-half goals from wide-men Ross McCausland and Abdallah Sima gave them a commanding interval lead.
Killie, who went into the game unbeaten in six games, fought back and Danny Armstrong reduced the deficit in the 58th minute with a penalty awarded after VAR intervention.
It was the first penalty Rangers had conceded in 75 cinch Premiership matches since Lewis Ferguson netted for Aberdeen in a 1-1 draw in January 2022.
— Rangers Football Club (…
Tottenham responded to their setback at Burnley with a comfortable 4-0 win over struggling Leeds United on Saturday.
Spurs boss Antonio Conte had called his own future into question after they slipped to a fourth defeat in five Premier League games at Turf Moor, and his players produced the response he would have wanted at Elland Road.
Goals from Matt Doherty, Dejan Kulusevski and Harry Kane effectively settled the contest within the first 30 minutes as the visitors breathed new life into their Champions League aspirations.
Kane teed up Son Heung-min for Tottenham s fourth as they combined to make Premier League history, leaving Leeds, who have now lost three consecutive home games in the top flight for the first time since November 2003, in no doubt that they a…
Market: Over 1.5 goals
Odds: 2/5 @
Looking to extend on their recent charge for Ligue 1 safety, Lyon will travel to the Stade Oceane when they meet Le Havre on Sunday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, while Le Havre might have opened the New Year holding a five-point buffer from slipping into the relegation play-off spot, Luka Elsner’s side signed off 2023 in the midst of a real struggle. Although the Dean Club might have extended on their Coupe de France adventure last week as they snatched a 2-1 victory against second-tier outfit Caen, the Normandy-based outfit have won just a pair of their previous 11 straight Ligue 1 appearances. With that extended crisis stemming all the way back to a 2-1 win against Clermont back on September 24th, Le Havre will at lea…
Best Odds: 4/11
Bookmaker:
Smelling the chance to extend on their remarkable qualifying flurry on Tuesday night, a high-flying Scotland will welcome Georgia to Hampden.
Scotland
Starting with the hosts, mounting what was an iconic qualifying comeback away at Norway over the weekend, there is no doubt that the mood in Scotland’s camp is at a red-hot high. Eventually snatching a 2-1 victory away at Erling Haaland’s Norway, the Tartan Army are riding what has been a famous wave of momentum since getting their Group A adventure underway earlier in the year. With their sights now firmly set on securing a return to the major tournament stage, Steve Clarke’s men have remarkably won each of their first three qualifying appearances. Signing off March’s internati…
Premier League data dive: Jota slots again for Reds, Man City retain top spot and Chelsea stung by B
With the final international break of the season done and dusted, it was back to Premier League action on Saturday as teams prepare for the all-important run-in.
Having not had any changes of leader since the turn of the year, it was a novelty to see it change twice in one day, albeit with a familiar look at the end as Liverpool and Manchester City both recorded wins.
Something far less routine happened at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea were clobbered by Brentford, while there was also a win for Wolves against Aston Villa and draws at Brighton and Hove Albion, Leeds and Manchester United.
Stats Perform takes a look at some key Opta facts from a selection of the day s games…
Liverpool 2-0 Watford: Jota the slotter strikes again
It was a nervy a…