It made Thierry Henry and Tony Adams happy, and Mikel Arteta on the touchline was so excited by it all that he probably expended more energy than the Tottenham midfield.
So bravo Arsenal, bravo. A 3-1 win – their 600th in the Premier League – over Tottenham looks great on paper and proved rather fetching on grass, too, the Gunners picking off their north London neighbours at will, particularly in an embarrassingly one-sided first half.
But in essence, this was all about keeping up with the Joneses. Any significance from a sunny Sunday afternoon s Emirates Stadium stroll can only be gauged by what Arsenal, and indeed Spurs, do next.
Successive 1-0 wins over Norwich City and Burnley kept the wolves from Arteta s door after Arsenal s slow start to the Premier…
Joao Felix is Atletico Madrid s new record signing having joined from Benfica for a whopping €126million, meaning the pressure is on for him to succeed and the omens aren t great.
A fine talent in his own right, Joao Felix scored 15 goals and set up another seven in 26 Primeira Liga games last season, while also impressing with his technical ability and creativity.
But at just 19 years of age, it s a huge price tag to live up to and Atletico s record of signing creative players and forwards in recent years has been verging on woeful.
While Antoine Griezmann has proven a huge success, few others since he joined can be considered as such, while the Frenchman is expected to leave.
With Joao Felix brought in as his replacement, we look back on the other pla…
Adam Nawalka hailed the professionalism of Robert Lewandowski with the Bayern Munich striker set to spearhead Poland s World Cup challenge.
Lewandowski was the top scorer in the European qualifiers with 16 goals and scored a Bundesliga-best 29 times to propel Bayern to another German title last season.
The 29-year-old has never played at a World Cup following Poland s failure to qualify in 2010 and 2014 and coach Nawalka is delighted Lewandowski will now be rewarded for his continued excellence.
Speaking ahead of his side s Group H opener against Senegal in Moscow, he said: I believe the scale of his talent is immense but it s supported by a lot of work and a professional attitude.
He is one of the best players in the world and Robert sets an example to …
He used to play for Arsenal s youth teams, but now he is one of their targets to return to the club. According to the English media, Arsenal are interested in signing PSV Eindhoven s Donyell Malen, one of their biggest talents in recent years. The 20-year-old forward is in great form this season, scoring goals for fun, even once putting five past a goalkeeper in a single match.
But it looks like Gunners will have to face some stern competition. If Barcablaugranes are to be believed, PSW forward is a target of Barcelon as well. They also claim that not only are Barca following Malen, but also Real Madrid are keeping an eye on him.
If that is really true, then Arsenal will have some serious work to do in order to get the player to return to the Emirates Stadium. Malen was…
Jorge Sampaoli is succeeding at Sevilla. Image via 1meee.com
They were the team that finally ended Real Madrid’s 40 game unbeaten run, they’re just a point behind los Blancos in the table and nobody has won more games than them in La Liga this season. No, for once we’re not talking about Barcelona, we’re talking about , a side coached by the man who might just be the next to take over at Camp Nou.
Jorge Sampaoli only joined Sevilla six months ago but already he has guided them to their best ever points total at the midway stage of the season while also progressing to the last 16 of the Champions League where they will face, and fancy knocking out, Premier League champions Leicester City.
Perfect for Barcelona
Sampaoli’s side play the sort of high-temp…
Lionel Messi is not a good leader and Brazil star Neymar is a better player, according to former Argentina fitness coach Carlos Dibos.
Argentina are facing a tough battle to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, with their 2-0 defeat to Bolivia in La Paz leaving them in fifth place in the South American qualifying section with four matches left.
Messi was banned for their latest loss after he was hit with a punishment by FIFA for swearing towards an official and, unless an appeal against his suspension is successful, the Barcelona star will not return until the final qualifier against Ecuador in October.
Dibos has questioned Messi s ability to inspire the team as Diego Maradona once did and said the captain can no longer be considered the best player in the world.
…
Spain maintained their 100 per cent record in Euro 2020 qualifying with a 2-1 away win over Romania in Group F.
Sergio Ramos 10th penalty for his country opened the scoring in Bucharest on Thursday, with Paco Alcacer adding Spain s second early in the second half.
The Euro 2012 winners had to survive a fightback as substitute Florin Andone scored his first Romania goal since 2015, but the hosts could not find an equaliser despite Diego Llorente s late red card.
La Roja s victory came in their first game since Robert Moreno was confirmed as coach on a permanent basis after Luis Enrique stepped down, the former Barcelona boss last week revealing his nine-year-old daughter, Xana, has died from bone cancer.
Spain s intent and incision was evident from the off…
According to Sky Sports, Marseille are interested in signing Tottenham Hotspur defender Danny Rose. The 28-year-old has a price tag of £22 million, with Mauricio Pochettino reportedly being open to the idea of him leaving the club. The Englishman has made well over 100 appearances for Spurs since joining back in 2007, fluctuating between being a fan favourite and being a source of frustration for the fans.
Still, the Doncaster-born defender s departure from North London would be a sad one for many supporters, given how long he s been playing for the club. Rose first burst onto the scene back in 2010 when he scored a fantastic goal to help Spurs to victory over bitter rivals Arsenal, and while he may not have become the world class talent that many were hoping he would be, he …
Xavi has insisted Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland were never realistic targets for Barcelona, though he is confident he will have money to invest in the squad.
Barca wrap up what has been a turbulent season against Villarreal on Sunday.
The Blaugrana will finish second in LaLiga, a testament to the work done by Xavi since he replaced the much-maligned Ronald Koeman earlier in the campaign.
However, they were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage and fell to a defeat to eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarter-finals, while there was no success in the Copa del Rey either.
The 2021-22 season came on the back of Lionel Messi s shock departure, as Barca grappled with financial issues that saw the superstar le…
Jeff Stelling will return to the screens in a new presenting role as host of Prime Video’s Every Game Every Goal show, the on-demand streaming service has announced.
Stelling, 68, who stood down as anchor of Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday show in May after almost 30 years in the role, has joined Prime Video’s broadcast team for 20 live and exclusive Premier League matches in December.
Former Football Focus and BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker, 45, will also host some of Prime Video’s new shows, which will exclusively cover two rounds of Premier League fixtures.
A final farewell from Jeff Stelling
— Sky Sports (@SkySports)
Prime Video said Every Game Every Goal on December 6 will show “all the goals and key moments from every game as s…