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Arsenal continued their unbeaten start to the season on Sunday afternoon but once the full time whistle blew in the north London derby, it didn't feel like that. In fact, it felt like a defeat.

Fans, players and coaching staff alike were left dejected having only taken one point from their game with Spurs.

The Gunners were electrifying in the opening half an hour of the game but would only come away from proceedings with a 2-2 draw.

Bukayo Saka's deflected effort, later adjudged to have been an own goal by Cristian Romero opened proceedings before Heung-min Son steered home from close range as the break was approaching.

Saka was again at the heart of proceedings in the second half, firing home a penalty after the aforementioned Romero was involved again, this time being penalised for a handball.

However, Son once again stepped up when it mattered as just moments later Ange Postecoglou's rejuvenated outfit equalised for a second time.

For Mikel Arteta, it was a hugely costly error from Jorginho, a substitute for the injured Declan Rice, that was the deciding moment.

What happened to Declan Rice against Spurs?

The £105m summer signing has been nothing short of phenomenal this term, proving himself to be a real ball-winning monster in the middle of the park.

His ability to make a recovery is second to very few, so when he didn't appear for the second half, alarm bells rang.

Surely Arteta wasn't bringing off the club's record signing at half time in their most important game of the season? It turns out there was a reason.

Rice was restricted to the bench due to a calf problem that had to be strapped up. The hope is that he won't be on the sidelines for an extended period.

Indeed, the club's injury troubles are beginning to mount now. Rice's midfield colleague in Thomas Partey has been out for a few weeks, while Gabriel Martinelli hobbled off a week ago against Everton and Leandro Trossard sustained an injury in training.

What did Jorginho do wrong against Spurs?

The injury blow to Rice was alarming but had he stayed on the pitch, it's likely Arsenal would be walking away from the contest with all three points.

Saka had only just put Arteta's side in front for a second time before straight from kick-off, Jorginho lost the ball to James Maddison.

The Italian got the ball caught under his feet and as he tried to play out, was robbed of possession.

Only William Saliba was left behind the former Chelsea star, but not even a man of his defensive quality could stop the Spurs attack.

Maddison raced through the centre and then played in Son who cooly slotted past David Raya in the Arsenal goal.

The result was perhaps cruel on the Spaniard who had made a remarkable save, straight from the David Seaman textbook in the first half, to deny Brennan Johnson.

Arteta was quick to rush to the defence of his January signing after the game, suggesting he still loved Jorginho, but there will be few fans feeling the same affection.

Filling in for Rice is never going to be an easy task. As soon as he went off the lack of physicality and indeed the alarming space in the middle of the pitch was laid bare.

The £110k-per-week midfielder tried his best to get on the ball, making 38 touches, just four fewer than the ball-playing Raya despite 45 fewer minutes on the pitch.

That said, he could only win 50% of his defensive duels. Rice, by comparison, didn't have his best game in that regard with a 60% win rate, but his mere presence did enough to provoke Maddison into playing a deeper role. He had no such difficulty against Jorginho, as he pushed forward more often, notably for the second equaliser.

One Arsenal journalist, Connor Humm, even went as far as to describe his performance as a "disaster".

That was rather apt for a shoddy performance in which Jorginho truly struggled with the pace of the game. Against a side who enjoy less possession, the Italy international will be no problem at all. However, in this type of match, his lack of energy was and will be a huge concern.

Manchester United’s season went from bad to worse as they suffered another defeat – this time to Galatasaray – in the Champions League group stages and the mood around Old Trafford is anything but positive.

Following on from a rather solid debut campaign last year, Erik ten Hag was tasked with finally challenging Manchester City for Premier League glory, yet the 2023/24 season has so far seen a major regression.

Across just seven league matches, United have already lost four while scoring just seven goals, and it’s evident that their summer recruitment has yet to pay off.

The Dutchman lured the likes of Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund to Manchester and while the latter is finally starting to settle in, netting three goals in two Champions League games, the former two haven’t quite hit the ground running.

The summer transfer window promised so much as Ten Hag aimed to heavily bolster his squad and big names such as Victor Osimhen, Joao Felix and Harry Kane were all touted for moves at one point or another, yet nothing ever materialised.

It appeared as though the former Ajax boss was focusing on improving his attacking options when in reality, his defence clearly needed a major shakeup.

Harry Maguire looked set for a move to West Ham United, yet it fell through as he wanted to fight for his place in the team and the only centre-back they signed was Jonny Evans – a 35-year-old veteran – and the move hardly set Old Trafford buzzing with excitement.

Ten Hag did have his chances to lure another defender or two to the club and former Bayern Munich star Benjamin Pavard was a name that was routinely linked during the transfer window.

Did Manchester United nearly sign Benjamin Pavard?

The Red Devils began to show interest in the player before the window was even open according to journalist Graeme Bailey, who said: “Benjamin Pavard informs Bayern Munich of desire to leave.

“Man Utd among interested clubs keen on the French star, as @90min_Football revealed back in April.”

Their interest never wavered and as the window was approaching the final few weeks, Sky Germany reported Florian Plettenberg provided an update which looked extremely promising.

He wrote on X: “Benjamin #Pavard: Concrete talks with @ManUtd at this stage! All parties involved are working on a verbal agreement now.

“Ten Hag is pushing for Pavard as he’s a versatile defender. Pavard wants to leave FC Bayern in August.”

Everything looked promising and signing someone such as Pavard – who had won the World Cup with France and the Champions League with Bayern – certainly was an exciting move and he would bolster a defence that had conceded 43 league goals last term.

In typical United fashion however, the move didn’t go through, and the Frenchman ended up at another European powerhouse – Inter Milan.

Why didn’t Manchester United sign Benjamin Pavard?

According to German news outlet Bild (via GOAL), United were reportedly willing to pay around $32m (£25m) for the player, yet this was below the €45m (£39m) and €50m (£43m) price tag that the Bundesliga champions were demanding.

They failed to increase their offer to what the German side were demanding and Inter ended up swooping in to secure his signature for a fee of just £28m with only days left in the summer transfer window.

It represents another case of the club failing to meet the demands of a player they are desperate to sign, before seeing him eventually move to another club and Ten Hag clearly had a nightmare on the 27-year-old.

Is Benjamin Pavard better than Raphael Varane?

As previously mentioned, United’s defensive record in the Premier League isn’t the greatest and their centre-backs haven’t been in the best of form, with Pavard actually outperforming Raphael Varane since joining Inter.

Indeed, the former Bayern star has helped his side keep more clean sheets (two to one), despite playing fewer games, while he also has made more tackles per game (two to one), won more total duels per game (six to 2.6) and made more interceptions per game (1.5 to 0.2), indicating that he has contributed far more in fewer league games than his compatriot.

The Inter maestro has also outperformed Varane across a variety of performance metrics when compared to his positional peers. According to FBref, Pavard ranks in the top 8% for tackles per 90 (2.36), the top 2% for progressive passes per 90 (6.39) and the top 2% for passes attempted per 90 (86.49), demonstrating his effectiveness at moving the ball forward as often as possible and this would’ve fitted in with Ten Hag’s tactical philosophy.

In comparison, when compared with positional peers, Varane ranks in the lowest 8% for tackles (0.86), the top 28% for progressive passes (4.06) and the top 43% for passes attempted (56.42) per 90 and it's clear who has been the better performer over the previous 12 months.

Pavard has always been destined to succeed at the highest level and former Bayern president Uli Hoeneß certainly lavished praise upon him when he joined in 2019.

He said: "He has already shown after a few weeks that he will be one of the best transfers that we’ve ever made. For me, what a player costs isn't what matters. It was clear to me that he could be an outstanding signing – particularly because of his great character."

Four years and ten trophies later, Pavard left Bayern rather more decorated than when he arrived and Inter have managed to secure the services of a wonderful defender who is still arguably in his peak years as a player.

Ten Hag, on the other hand, will surely regret not adding a few more millions onto his proposed offer for the World Cup winner and perhaps United’s defensive issue may not be as bad as they currently are.

United have kept a clean sheet in just three of their matches this season, conceding two or more goals on six occasions and this isn’t good enough for a club who wish to return to the summit of English football.

Pavard may not have been the miracle worker the Red Devils need, yet he is outperforming Varane this term and could have been an excellent option for Ten Hag to call upon.

Surrey completed an innings win against Hampshire inside three days with Morne Morkel and Amar Virdi both making an impact

ECB Reporters Network11-Jun-20181:52

Surrey set the pace in Division One

ScorecardSurrey’s relentless bowling attack ripped through Hampshire to set up an innings win at the Ageas Bowl and continue the London-based side’s unbeaten start to their Specsavers County Championship campaign.Amar Virdi and Morne Morkel both grabbed three wickets, with Rikki Clarke following his five-for in the first innings with two more scalps – as they won with Hampshire still 58 in arrears.It was the first time Hampshire had suffered an innings defeat at the Ageas Bowl since Surrey inflicted a similarly hefty victory on the ground two years ago.Light had been adjudged too bad to start the innings having been bowled out for 135 late on day two, and the opening seven overs were negotiated without too much trouble from Joe Weatherley and Jimmy Adams. But in the eighth over Adams was pinned by left-arm quick Sam Curran in front of off stump.James Vince unfurled six boundaries in a typically stylish innings – with two drives, one off the front foot, the other off the back, particularly pleasing to the eye.But he was undone by his impatience as he trotted down the wicket and attempted to whisk through the off side against Virdi, only to get beaten by the flight.Ben Foakes completed the stumping with a brilliant one-handed take and quick hands to break the stumps.Sean Ervine also fell to Virdi’s off-spin as he edged to Rikki Clarke at first slip, due in part to a lack of footwork.As the top order fell, Weatherley patiently waited for his chances to attack. The former England under 19 captain saw off the new ball and built the basis for an impressive and long, knock.Morne Morkel celebrates a wicket•Getty ImagesHe reached his second Championship half century of the season, from 121 deliveries, having perfected the late cut after lunch. But he was run out without scoring another run.Partner Rilee Rossouw drilled a drive at Morkel at extra cover, which was misfielded, the South African called through a third run which saw Weatherley short of his ground after a relay between Morkel, Jade Dernbach at the bowler’s end and Foakes.Rossouw attempted to make up for the misfortune with a punchy innings of his own, while wickets fell at the other end.Morkel used all the skills gained over his 86 Test career to produce late away movement to clip the top of Lewis McManus’ off peg.Likewise, Rikki Clarke used his long and great, first-class career to swing the ball back from leg stump at Gareth Berg and have him lbw, before moving it the other way to dismiss Brad Taylor leg before.Kyle Abbott shouldered arms at a Virdi sharp turner before Dale Steyn prodded Morkel to Ollie Pope at gully – who splendidly caught to his right. Fidel Edwards completed the collapse fending Morkel to short leg, with Hampshire bowled out for 175.Surrey make it three wins and two draws this season and claimed 23 points from the match to Hampshire’s three.

With the 2021 summer transfer window at a close, it looked like Manchester United were finally gearing up to mount a sustained title charge, following what was, on paper, a remarkable summer of business for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Having led the Red Devils to a second-place finish the year prior, the Norwegian cult hero then set about bolstering his squad with three marquee signings, bringing in Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane to raise the expectation levels among the Old Trafford faithful.

Fast forward to the present day, however, and United's decade-long wait for the Premier League crown continues, with Ronaldo no longer at the club following an acrimonious exit back in November, while Sancho has been cast aside amid his own clash with current boss Erik ten Hag.

As for Varane, the experienced Frenchman has undoubtedly been the most successful of that trio, although that is not saying much, with those in Manchester potentially regretting their capture of a player who has far too regularly been dogged by injury.

How much did Man United pay for Raphael Varane?

As the World Cup winner stepped out onto the Old Trafford turf and hoisted his new United jersey aloft ahead of the opening game of the 2021/22 season against rivals Leeds United, supporters would have been forgiven for getting carried away, with such a statement signing indicating that this was the mighty Manchester United once again.

With four Champions Leagues under his belt following a glittering stint at Real Madrid, the towering centre-back looked to be the "world-class defender and leader" that the Red Devils were in need of, according to journalist Samuel Luckhurst, with both he and Harry Maguire set to be a "title-challenging partnership".

For Solskjaer and co to have landed such a high calibre talent – who was still only 28 at the time – for a fee of around £41m looked to be something of a steal, with that having been roughly half of what was spent on Maguire just two years earlier.

As those at the Theatre of Dreams are no doubt aware, however, it has not been a smooth ride for the club or Varane since then, as the player's plummeting market valuation can attest to.

How much is Raphael Varane worth now?

The major issue regarding the £340k-per-week asset over the last two years or so has been his inability to stay injury-free across an entire season, having notably been restricted to just 22 Premier League appearances during his debut campaign, as United recorded their worst-ever points tally in the competition's history.

Season

Injury

Days

Games missed

23/24

Unkown injury

27

4

22/23

Foot injury

24

7

22/23

Leg injury

23

7

22/23

Sprained ankle

5

1

21/22

Muscular problems

18

3

21/22

Coronavirus

8

1

21/22

Stomach complaints

4

1

21/22

Hamstring injury

50

11

21/22

Groin injury

15

3

via Transfermarkt

As for last term, the 6 foot 3 gem did look "cool and calm and collected" when featuring alongside Lisandro Martinez – according to pundit Adrian Mariappa – although again his involvement was hampered throughout the season, after making only 24 league outings.

Ahead of the start of 2023/24, it was fair to suggest at that stage that Varane had at least performed when he was fit and available, although there have been worrying signs of late amid another injury-disrupted start to the campaign, having particularly disappointed against Galatasaray in midweek.

As per club legend Paul Scholes, the 30-year-old – who was ruled out against Brentford due to a "minor issue" – is beginning to look rather "sluggish", while the treble winner also branded the one-time Lens man and centre-back partner Victor Lindelof as "lazy" and "weak" during that 3-2 defeat.

Such brutal criticism may fit the narrative that Varane is a player on the decline, with the Lille native now believed to be worth just €20m (£17m) – according to CIES Football Observatory – representing a £24m decrease from his initial transfer fee.

It is then no surprise that Ten Hag was believed to be eyeing a new central defender over the summer, with the former Ajax boss likely ruing the fact that the club didn't pull the trigger on any of their leading targets.

Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane has been tipped to replace Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich when the German departs in the summer.

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Zinedine without a job currentlyTuchel steps down in the summerEx-Bayern star "could easily imagine" Frenchman at BayernGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

The Bundesliga giants announced last month that Tuchel would be stepping down from his role as head coach at the end of the season, opening the door to a whole host of managerial candidates. Zidane, meanwhile, has been out of work since his second stint as Real boss came to an end in 2021. The Frenchman, who won three successive Champions League trophies in his first spell in Madrid, has been touted to replace Tuchel by former Bayern star Mario Basler.

AdvertisementWHAT BASLER SAID

The 55-year-old told German outlet : "There aren't too many alternatives on the coaching market. I also believe that Xabi Alonso will stay at Leverkusen or go to another club – perhaps Madrid or Liverpool. Maybe he'll stay at Leverkusen for another year and then go to Madrid when Carlo Ancelotti retires. The only person I could easily imagine would be Zinedine Zidane."

However, Basler feels that Bayern shouldn't have been so hasty with letting Tuchel go, drawing parallels with the handling of Julian Nagelsmann last year. He added: "I don't understand Bayern's personnel decision. Bayern have once again made quick decisions, just like they did with Julian Nagelsmann back in the day. That was also very incomprehensible to me. If that scenario [Bayern winning the Champions League] materialises, I would be curious to see whether Bayern Munich would have the character to say: 'We made a decision too early. We want to reverse the decision'. Maybe they'll sit down with Tuchel again and see if they might not continue for another year or two."

(C)Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

As Basler references, Bayern are in with a shot at Champions League glory – a competition Tuchel has already won once with Chelsea – after overcoming Lazio in the last-16. However, Leverkusen's escapades under Alonso mean they are ten points behind in the Bundesliga, as those performances have seen the Spanish coach linked with a move away in the summer. Bayern are among those potential suitors, as they look set to rival Liverpool this summer or Real Madrid the next.

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DID YOU KNOW?

Other names linked with the Bayern job, apart from Zidane and Alonso, include Jose Mourinho and former Die Roten boss Hansi Flick. Ex-Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was incredibly mooted earlier this season, before Tuchel's fate was revealed.

With three days still to go, and a draw or win unlikely for the visitors, the coach Ottis Gibson said that he wanted his players to compete with pride

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo21-Jul-2018Before this series, South Africa’s lowest total in Sri Lanka had been 169. On this tour, they have now crashed to 126, 73 and 124 – a grand total of 323 runs, in a series in which opposition opener Dimuth Karuanaratne, by himself, has made 330 (and counting). Staring at a 2-0 whitewash two days into the second Test, South Africa are still at a loss as to how it all went so horribly wrong, but the only thing they know for sure, is that right now, it hurts.”We’ve got very capable batsmen – world class batsmen – in our dressing room, and they are hurting at the moment because they haven’t performed to the level that we expect in Sri Lanka,” South Africa coach Ottis Gibson said. “In the past, Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar especially have got runs here. We got a couple of new faces as well as youngsters getting their first or second taste of subcontinent cricket, trying to understand what’s it all about. But you could put up your hands and say that Sri Lanka in these conditions are too good for us.”South Africa will have to bat last in this Test, and are already 365 runs in arrears, with Sri Lanka likely to grow their lead beyond 400 on the third morning. With the pitch taking significant turn, South Africa’s is almost a hopeless situation – no team has ever successfully chased down over 400 on the island. With victory virtually out of reach, and a draw unlikely with three days to play, what is left to play for is pride, Gibson said.”That’s one of the things that we talk about – making sure that we play for pride, because when we left home we came here full of pride, and full of optimism and ambition, hoping we can do well in the series. It hasn’t worked out. I would like to think that the guys who haven’t performed up to now would look at is as one more opportunity whenever the Lankans are bowled out or they have declared. And that they try and bat as long as we can and see what we can get out the game still.”The one thing that I picked up very early when I came to South Africa was what it meant to represent the Proteas. I will still be drawing on that in the dressing room tomorrow to say that the thing about the Proteas is that we fight till the very end, and that’s what we are going to do for the duration of the game.”Among other South Africa hopes that haven’t quite panned out in Sri Lanka, was the expectation that the seamers could get wickets via reverse swing. Of the 13 Sri Lanka wickets to have fallen in this Test, only one went to a South Africa quick – with the visitors playing three fast bowlers in their XI, with only one frontline spinner in tow. In Galle too, reverse swing had failed to play the role it often does for South Africa, on tours of Asia, but the team had still felt that banking on pace and reverse swing was the right call, over playing two spinners.”We played two spinners in Galle and we got 20 wickets, but we didn’t make enough runs and we felt the batting was a bit short,” Gibson said. “So we thought we’d play an extra batsman. Looking at the surface before the game it looked a lot more abrasive than the Galle surface, and we felt we’d get a bit of reverse swing, so we backed our seamers.”

Ben Stokes’ defence draws attention to team-mates’ actions outside Mbargo nightclub on September 25

George Dobell at Bristol Crown Court13-Aug-20181:16

‘Everything I did was in defence of myself and others’, Stokes tells jury

The jury in the Ben Stokes trial has been asked to consider the possibility that Alex Hales inflicted the most serious of the injuries outlined in the incident.The court has heard previously that Ryan Ali, who is standing trial for affray alongside Stokes, sustained a broken eye-socket in the fight in the early hours of September 25.But while Stokes accepts he threw punches at Ali and Ryan Hale, his barrister, Gordon Cole QC, used his summing-up to suggest that Stokes’ fellow England player, Hales, may have inflicted the damage with a kick. As a consequence, he asked the jury to reflect on whether it was “reasonable” to attribute all the injuries to Stokes’ fists.”You’ll see Mr Hales both stamp and, on one occasion, he appears to kick,” Cole said. “You know of injuries that were sustained.”Sustained, perhaps, by Alex Hales’s intervention? Blows, kicks or stamps to the head area. Does it follow, as a reasonable inference, that all of those injuries are properly attributed to Mr Stokes? We say, no, the evidence is ambiguous.”You’ve seen the kick that seems to be administered by Mr Hales that appears to have knocked the head of Mr Ali around. You’ve been shown the stills. He was clearly, you may think, kicked to the head.”If that is right, is it fair to attribute any injury to Mr Stokes?”Cole also sought to dismiss the suggestion that Stokes was “drunk” and “enraged” in the moments leading up to the incident as “complete nonsense”.He showed the jury footage that, he submitted, showed Stokes and Hales walking “calmly” past Ali and Hale in the street a few minutes before the fight broke out and then, frame by frame, went through the 57-second footage that appeared in The Sun suggesting that Hale was attempting to approach Stokes with hands raised in the moments prior to Stokes hitting him.Ben Stokes outside court as his trial enters its second week•PA Photos”At 31 seconds, Mr Hale is still coming towards Mr Stokes,” Cole said. “At 33 seconds he is coming at Mr Stokes on the pavement. At 34 seconds you have Mr Hale on the pavement.”41 seconds in, Mr Hale gets hold of Ben Stokes. That [next] 16 seconds doesn’t take you to the punch of Hale; it takes you to the slap of Ali. That’s 16 seconds to reflect with reason that enough is enough when you have been the victim of an attack.”Cole also suggested that Stokes had only become after involved after Ali had raised a bottle and, in the second part of the incident, when Hale had returned to the scene with a metal bar.”We say there’s absolutely no coincidence that Mr Stokes got embroiled at the start when weapons were being used and embroiled again when Mr Hale came back with the metal bar,” Cole said.”A person may use such force in the circumstances as is reasonable to defend himself. A person cannot weigh to a nicety the exact measure of their defensive action. Nobody need wait until they are hit. In a moment of unexpected anguish, Stokes has done only what he thought necessary.”Cole also quoted Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in a 1921 case in America, in which he said “Detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife.”Earlier Nicholas Corsellis, acting for the prosecution, suggested Stokes had “acted deplorably”.”[This incident] demonstrates Mr Stokes in a world and in a way that he is distanced from the admirable career he has had,” Corsellis said. “He acted deplorably when the red mist came down and struck with such force that one person was rendered unconscious.”If he began using self-defence, he very quickly moved on and became the aggressor. This was a pursued cause of retaliation by Stokes.”Corsellis also alleged Stokes was lying to the jury, in particular in recounting his version of events outside Mbargo nightclub and claiming he did not recall aspects of the incident.”A witness starts off with a clean slate but may not end up with one,” Corsellis said. “There are occasions when a person comes before a jury and denies, explains or seeks to justify when it is clear they are lying. Of course I’m talking about Stokes and his behaviour outside Mbargo.”There are aspects of Mr Stokes’ case where he has zero recollection: the cigarette butt, the homophobic abuse; the punch on Mr Ali. Selective memory, members of the jury. Either he can’t say, but the question is, is it ‘won’t say’ because of what the truth is?”The judge is expected to provide his summing-up on Monday afternoon and the jury will then retire to consider their verdict.

Arsenal reclaimed top spot in Group B in the Champions League last night, after Mikel Arteta’s side were victorious over Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium on their third outing of the 2023/24 tournament.

The Gunners were tested throughout the contest by the Spanish outfit, however it took two moments of quality for the north Londoners to undo the hosts' hard work and claim the vital win.

After losing against RC Lens in their previous game in the group stage, a win on Tuesday evening took Arsenal back to the top of the group, thanks to the outcome of the duel between Lens and PSV, which ended 1-1 in France.

How did Arsenal play against Sevilla?

It was far from Arsenal’s prettiest performance, as they were constantly asked questions by Diego Alonso’s side, as highlighted by the hosts dominating 56% of possession.

While it wasn’t an elegant showing by Arteta’s squad, it was decisive, as the Gunners made what they could from their depleted levels of possession, recording 2.04 expected goals (xG) to Sevilla’s 0.78, via Sofascore.

It took seconds before the halftime whistle for Gabriel Martinelli to open the scoring on his Champions League debut, with the chance entirely sourced from the brilliance of Gabriel Jesus, who claimed the assist in style.

The former Manchester City whiz then claimed his third goal in three appearances in the competition this season in the 53rd minute, although his individual excellence was quickly muted by Nemanja Gudelj’s header that narrowed the deficit.

The away side weathered the storm that the hosts broke with wave after wave of attack, earning the victory thanks to the expertise of Jesus, who was dubbed “world-class” during the fixture by journalist Charles Watts.

With a goal, an assist and a pass completion rate of 92%, Arsenal’s number nine was awarded the highest Sofascore match rating with 8.5, however he wasn’t the only figure that stood out for the visitors.

How did Declan Rice play against Sevilla?

Lauded as “sensational” by journalist Matt Scott for his efforts, Declan Rice registered another impressive display for the Gunners on Wednesday night.

The midfielder controlled the tempo in a high-intensity midfield for 90 minutes in Seville, proving minute by minute just why Arteta was insistent on spending £105m to capture his signature in the summer.

As usual, the combative and controlled presence of Rice assisted Arsenal in keeping a grip on the game when the hosts challenged, highlighted by him winning 100% of his aerial duels and recording two tackles and one interception, via Sofascore.

While that element of his game is expected, the Englishman showcased his ability to roam into more advanced areas, registering three key passes and claiming an assist for Jesus’ superb goal that prevailed to be the match-winner.

Declan Rice vs Sevilla

Touches

62

Key Passes

3

Successful dribbles

3/4

Aerial duels won

3/3

Tackles

2

Ground duels won

5/10

Via Sofascore

TNT Sports commentator Lucy Ward said during the game that Sevilla “physically could not compete” with the presence of Rice, as the 24-year-old kept things tidy at a time of need in Arteta’s midfield.

A win was essential for the Gunners in the Champions League, and Arsenal got the task done thanks to the brilliance of both Jesus and their £105m hero.

Mohamed Salah made more history for Liverpool on Thursday when he scored in their blistering start to the Europa League clash against Sparta Prague.

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Salah scored in hammering of Sparta PragueHas netted at least 20 goals in seven straight yearsAlso grabbed two assists in incredible startWHAT HAPPENED?

Just 10 minutes into the game, Salah scored his team's third goal as they rolled over the Czech visitors in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie. It is the Egypt international's 20th goal in all competitions this season, making him the first Reds player to reach that figure in seven consecutive seasons.

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The forward also grabbed two assists in the early stages of the clash at Anfield, setting up Bobby Clark and Cody Gakpo as Jurgen Klopp's team strolled to a 4-0 lead inside the first 15 minutes of the clash, giving them a 9-1 aggregate lead.

DID YOU KNOW?

Salah remains in the race to finish as the top scorer in the Premier League, having struck 15 times to help keep Liverpool in the race for the title. However, he is three goals behind current top scorer Erling Haaland, while Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins has 16.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR SALAH?

After Thursday's annihilation of Sparta Prague, Salah and his Liverpool co-stars will turn their attention to the weekend's highlight showdown. They take on Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The former president of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), Chen Xuyuan, has reportedly been sentenced to life in prison for bribery.

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Ex-president found guilty of corruptionWill serve life sentence in Chinese prisonChina cracking down on corruption in footballWHAT HAPPENED?

Chen Xuyuan pleaded guilty to accepting bribes worth 81 million yuan ($11m/£9m), the reports. His conviction comes amid a crackdown on corruption from the nation's president Xi Jinping, with more than 12 coaches under investigation.

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Chen's illegal activity is said to have taken place between 2010 and 2023 and prosecutors say he accepted money and valuables in exchange for help to obtain contracts and arrange sporting events. He is said to have brought "tremendous damage" to Chinese football.

DID YOU KNOW?

China has cracked down on corruption in sport, the military and the banking industry. According to media in the Asian country, three more football officials were sentenced to between eight and 14 years in prison for corruption.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR CHINA?

President Xi hopes to revolutionise football in China and has spoken of his desire to see the nation qualify for the World Cup, host the tournament and eventually win the trophy for the first time in its history.