Category Uncategorized

The ex-Reds defender has portrayed the players with expiring contracts as the problem at Anfield when the truth is that the club is to blame

Liverpool versus Manchester United at Anfield – it's always a massive match regardless of the context. But Sunday's showdown is of even greater significance than usual for the hosts. Liverpool are leading the Premier League but their lead could be cut to just three points by the time the game kicks off. Victory is imperative and should be the sole focus – but it's not.

Just as much attention – if not more – will be given to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah. Whereas a win over arguably the worst United team of the past decade is considered something of a formality, there is now a very real fear that Liverpool will lose their tug-of-war with Real Madrid for the game's most gifted right-back, while the best player in the world right now has just declared that this will be his final season on Merseyside.

After all, the battle has already officially begun for Alexander-Arnold's services and the mere fact that player contracts are overshadowing the biggest fixture in English football (at least from Liverpool's perspective) only goes to prove that they also have the potential to derail the Reds' title hopes. So, who's to blame here? Alexander-Arnold and Salah? Their representatives? Or is this a mess all of Liverpool's making?

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Madrid make their move for Trent

  Liverpool ended 2024 top of not only the Premier League but also the Champions League – and yet they didn't even get to fully enjoy New Year's Eve.

  Just a few hours before the clock struck 12 on December 31, Real Madrid made their move for Alexander-Arnold, prompting predictable panic among the club's supporters.

  Sooner or later, one way or another, Florentino Perez nearly always gets what he wants (the dreadfully drawn-out Kylian Mbappe saga is a case in point) and it's clear that the president of the most powerful club in football is desperate to sign Liverpool's homegrown hero, who now has less than six months left on his current contract.

  The Reds haven't given up hope of holding onto Alexander-Arnold but it now feels as if they're fighting a losing battle. Of course, there's no way they'd even consider losing such an important player at this stage of the season but a free transfer looks like a formality.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  'Only a matter of time'?

  Michael Owen knows all about leaving Liverpool for Madrid and he is no longer in any doubt that Alexander-Arnold is bound for the Santiago Bernabeu this summer.

  "The very fact that Real Madrid have now made their intentions clear towards signing Trent Alexander Arnold leads me to believe that it's only a matter of time before he signs for them," the former England international wrote on X.

  "If he was going to sign a contract extension, Madrid wouldn't have officially made their move. Secretive talks will have taken place. Huge news."

  One of Owen's former team-mates, Jamie Carragher, is just as convinced that the formal New Year's Eve approach to sign Alexander-Arnold during the winter window was all part of the plan.

  "I love Trent as a lad [and] a player," the defender-turned-pundit posted on X, "but his team would've told Real Madrid to bid [and] also would've known [Liverpool] would turn it down. It's to try to cover themselves when he leaves for free."

  Carragher's appraisal of Alexander-Arnold and Madrid's motives certainly seems spot on, and he was also right to point out that "The most important thing for [Liverpool] in 2025 is winning the Premier League. No-one's contract or future should come in the way of that!"

  It's also true that the transfer talk is "something the club/fans don't need with a huge game coming up" on Sunday.

  However, the implication that the club deserves as much sympathy right now as the supporters is ludicrous. Liverpool definitely didn't "need" this distraction – but they did allow it to happen.

• AFP
  

  Not one but three expiring contracts

  As if anyone needs reminding, Alexander-Arnold is not an isolated case at Anfield. Liverpool don't just have one key player in a position to sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club – they have three. And that's not unfortunate, it's unforgivable.

  Let's be honest, if United actually had any players of the calibre of Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Virgil van Dijk and allowed them to enter free agency territory, a combination of INEOS and the Glazers would be getting absolutely slated by supporters and the media right now.

  So, why should FSG, Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes be given a pass, particularly after a summer in which only one new face arrived at the club? It's not as if a contingency plan is in place to deal with the potential loss of three men who were utterly integral to the club winning a sixth Champions League, in 2019, and a first English title for 30 years the following season.

  It's bizarre, then, that an extremely well-informed pundit like Carragher and many others within the press have attempted to portray the players – and their representatives – as the problem here.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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

• Getty Images
  

  Is Salah really being 'selfish'?

  When Salah first went public with his frustration over the lack of progress over a new deal, Carragher labelled the Egyptian "selfish", accusing him of thinking only of himself "and not the football club".

  But Salah's contract is expiring and he clearly wants to stay. At 32 years of age, is he not entitled to think about his future and push for a new deal? Hasn't he already done enough for Liverpool to deserve an extension? Loyalty should be a two-way street at the end of the day.

  Granted, in an ideal world, none of this would be played out in the media but football is a murky business populated by people motivated by making as much money as possible. Pursuing individual interests is very much a part of a team game, and arguably always has been. Did Liverpool really think, then, that the three players' representatives would be happy to let the negotiations play out on the club's terms?

  Furthermore, their contractual situations had been a constant topic of debate even before Salah became the first to speak out, while it's also worth noting that Alexander-Arnold – just like Van Dijk – has been true to his word in that he's still said nothing remotely inflammatory to the press about his particular predicament.

  Carragher, though, has devoted more column inches and airtime appealing to Alexander-Arnold's sense of belonging in the hope of convincing him to reject Real's advances, than addressing the real root of the problem – the club's lack of foresight, which can be attributed to the recent disruption behind the scenes at Anfield caused by the departure of a succession of influential figures.

Tom Banton retained in squad after standing in for Dawid Malan during Sri Lanka ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2021England have named an unchanged 16-player squad for the three-match ODI series against Pakistan, which gets underway in Cardiff on July 8.England are already 2-0 up in their ODI series against Sri Lanka, with the final match taking place in Bristol on Sunday. Tom Banton was a late call-up for that series, after Dawid Malan withdrew for family reasons, and he retains his place in the squad to face Pakistan.Speaking in the wake of England’s eight-wicket win in the second ODI against Sri Lanka, at The Kia Oval on Thursday, Graham Thorpe indicated that changes could be afoot for the Bristol fixture, as England seek to test their bench strength ahead of the Pakistan series, which he admitted was likely to be a stiffer test of their credentials than Sri Lanka have managed to offer.”Potentially the Pakistan series could push us further,” Thorpe said. “We’ve been pleased with our own performances. We didn’t want any complacency to creep in. And because of the competition we have, the players want to put in good performances.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd”Sri Lanka have a decent group of players, there’s no doubt about that. I think they’ve been weakened more on their batting side than their bowling unit but I believe Pakistan will be a team that’s further ahead in terms of experience and how they’ll be able to challenge. It’ll probably be a tougher contest.”One player who could come into the mix for the Bristol match is George Garton, the Sussex left-arm fast bowler. If selected, he will be making his England debut, three years after he was drafted into the Test squad as a replacement in the 2017-18 Ashes.Liam Dawson, Hampshire’s left-arm-spinning allrounder, is another player who has yet to feature in either match so far, and could be set for his first England appearance since 2018, having been a non-playing reserve in the 2019 World Cup-winning squad.England will name their squad for the T20I leg of the Pakistan series later this month, a series which will serve as an important pointer ahead of the T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman this winter.”I think it will be a very good series,” Moeen Ali said. “Pakistan are normally a very good side, they give us good games, and I think they’ll be a stronger opposition than Sri Lanka, which means you get more of a chance to bat and bowl as a player who’s down the order, for example, and hasn’t been bowling much.”Definitely, they are one of the best [T20I] teams in the world, along with West Indies, India, Australia,’ he said. “I think Pakistan are our bogey-team in World Cups, they always seem to do really well against us, so we can’t take them lightly at all, they are a fantastic team with quality players.”England ODI series vs Pakistan
1st ODI, Cardiff, July 8
2nd ODI, Lord’s, July 10
3rd ODI, Edgbaston, July 13

تمكن نجم فريق مانشستر سيتي، إيرلينج هالاند، من تسجيل هدف التعادل في شباك نظيره آرسنال، في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويستضيف ملعب “الإمارات” مباراة الفريقين، في إطار منافسات الجولة الرابعة والعشرين من البطولة (لمطالعة التفاصيل من هنا).

ونجح النجم إيرلينج هالاند، في تسجيل هدف التعادل لصالح مانشستر سيتي، في الدقيقة 55.

جاء الهدف بعد عدة تمريرات بين لاعبي مانشستر سيتي، قبل عرضية من سافيو إلى هالاند، الذي سددها برأسية قوية في شباك ديفيد رايا. هدف هالاند في مباراة مانشستر سيتي وآرسنال

كان آرسنال قد تقدم بهدف سجله اللاعب مارتن أوديجارد، في الدقيقة الثانية من الشوط الأول.

Rajasthan Royals’ new captain Sanju Samson nearly won his side their opening game single-handedly, with a stunning century, but fell short on the last ball by holing out to deep cover when they needed five to win. Chasing a stiff 222, Samson brought it down to 21 off 12 and then 13 off six. They managed only two off the first three balls of the last over and needed 11 from three when Samson crunched Arshdeep Singh over the covers for a six. He then drilled the next delivery along the ground to wide long-off but sent a sprinting Chris Morris back without a single, which took the equation to five from the final ball.Samson connected well with Singh’s cutter but only found deep cover, where Deepak Hooda fittingly took the catch after he had set up the game for the Punjab Kings with a blitz of 64 off 28, the perfect assault they needed after the start KL Rahul and Chris Gayle provided.After Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler fell within eight overs, for 0 and 25 respectively, the onus was on Samson and he kept the chase on course by taking the Royals past 100 in the 11th over. But he would have also fallen much earlier had the Kings not given him two lives on 12 and 35. Samson cashed in by timing his drives and flicks to perfection and muscling the shorter balls for a total of 12 fours and seven sixes.The asking rate soared, but so did the boundaries from Samson’s bat. With able company from Shivam Dube and Riyan Parag, he hammered a combined 59 runs off 22 balls off the Australian duo of Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson. The partnership of 52 off 22 balls between him and Parag stretched the match right until the end but it was only a few yards eventually that separated the two sides.Samson steers the Royals ship alone
When Buttler was bowled by a deceptive slow yorker from Richardson, the Royals needed 152 from 75 balls and Samson was on 29 off 22. Samson’s confidence and strokeplay, however, didn’t suffer at all. He took on the pace bowlers and only settled for singles or doubles when M Ashwin turned the ball or Mohammed Shami turned in bursts of accurate pace bowling.It was the combination of Arshdeep and Shami that kept the game in the Kings’ favour. When the Royals needed 48 from 24, Shami bowled a mix of short balls and yorkers that went for only eight in the over. When Richardson bowled the next, Samson turned the tables again with crisp strokeplay for 4, 6 and 4 that took him to a 54-ball century. Shami was bowled out, which meant Meredith bowled the penultimate over; Tewatia fell on the first ball but Samson whipped another six on the leg side to bring the equation down to 13 from six.Arshdeep eventually bowled the toughest over of the night, in which he kept aiming for the wide yorkers. The first three worked, the fourth didn’t and eventually he trumped Samson to seal victory.There was nearly a three-way collision as Mohammed Shami completed a return catch against Ben Stokes•BCCI

The Stokes duck and boundary-laden powerplay
The Royals got the big wicket of Stokes on the third ball of the chase but that also nearly resulted in one of the numerous drops of the night. Stokes top-edged a short ball from Shami, and Rahul and Hooda both sprinted towards the ball, as did the bowler, with the keeper-captain colliding with the bowler who still managed to hold on. Three overs later Arshdeep took a sharp return catch off Manan Vohra and would have had Samson too for 12 had Rahul held on while diving to his right. Samson got another life on 35 when Mayank Agarwal dropped him while running back from mid-off. Samson crunched boundaries almost at will thereafter.The fifth over also had Buttler welcome Meredith to the IPL with four consecutive fours but he fell two overs later to Richardson, having helped the Royals accumulate 59 in the powerplay.The other powerplay and the other KL Rahul
Rahul’s strike rate was often questioned in the last IPL. He may have nullified those questions for now by going for the boundaries often and not dropping anchor. After Mayank Agarwal edged one behind off IPL debutant Chetan Sakariya, Rahul and Chris Gayle picked up at least one boundary an over in their 67-run stand, and even accelerated after the powerplay.Both Rahul and Gayle were also given lives; Rahul dropped at the long-off boundary by Stokes on 15 and Gayle’s difficult return catch put down by Tewatia on 33.Related

• Australians at the IPL 2021: Glenn Maxwell's revival, David Warner's challenge, quicks go the distance

• 'Sanju's innings will be remembered as one of the finest'

• Talking Points – The penultimate-ball dot: did Samson do the right thing?

• Samson: 'You're a captain when you're fielding, not when batting'

• Meet Chetan Sakariya – who overcame tragedy to make the IPL

Promoted over Pooran, Hooda steals the show
When Gayle holed out to long-on for 40 off 28, the Kings were 89 for 2 at the halfway mark, the perfect stage to unleash Nicholas Pooran. But they sent in Hooda, and by the time one could think of the reason behind it, the batsman lifted the run rate from nine to 11 an over with a hammering the Royals wouldn’t have expected.The 13th and 14th overs were the most productive with three sixes each. Rahul started the assault off Shivam Dube with a straight six for his 30-ball half-century, and Hooda ended the over with sixes on either side of the pitch. The 14th over belonged only to Hooda as he dispatched three Shreyas Gopal deliveries for sixes whenever the ball pitched in his slot. Hooda was also given a life in the next over when he skied a Mustafizur Rahman cutter – Buttler ran back from cover and barely got his hands under the ball.The Royals paid the price for that as well. Hooda whipped a no-look six off Morris, brought up a 20-ball fifty and punished Sakariya with three consecutive fours at the end of the 17th over despite some clever pace and length variations from the bowler. Morris eventually had Hooda caught at long-on but Rahul continued to strike sixes, even as Pooran fell for a first-ball duck. Rahul and Shahrukh Khan collected another 15 off the 19th over as extras from Rahman also added to the Kings’ total, before another impressive over from Sakariya meant the 20th went for only five and he finished a memorable debut with 3 for 31.

GOAL counts down the finest footballers to have lined out for the Catalan club since 2000 – based on talent, trophies, longevity and impact

Few clubs have experienced as many glorious highs and devastating lows as Barcelona since the turn of the century. The Catalans have enjoyed an era of unprecedented success, with four of their five European Cup wins coming between 2006 and 2015 thanks primarily to a group of exceptional academy graduates led by the greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi.

However, the Argentine's departure in 2021 came during one of the darkest periods in the club's history, with Messi's exit made a necessity because of gross mismanagement and reckless spending that left the Blaugrana on the verge of bankruptcy.

So, to say the past 25 years have been eventful would be a colossal understatement, particularly as Barca have always managed to put outstanding talents on the field no matter what was going on off it – as underlined by the strength of the current squad.

But who are the best players to have played for the Catalans since 2000? GOAL counts down its top 25 below and, as always, we'd encourage you let us know your thoughts – and gripes – in the comments section!

• Getty
  

  25Eric Abidal

  One of the most inspirational figures in Barcelona's history, Eric Abidal played all 90 minutes of the 2011 Champions League final just three months after undergoing surgery to remove a tumour in his liver. In a touching gesture, captain Carles Puyol allowed the Frenchman to be the first to lift the trophy at Wembley, with Abidal admitting, "It was an incredible moment."

  Abidal, who was a versatile, intelligent and imposing defender, was subsequently forced to undergo a liver transplant, but showed even more of the remarkable resolve he had demonstrated previously by returning to the field shortly before the expiration of his Barca contract in 2013. "Abidal has been with us for six years and he is a very special person," then-president Sandro Rosell said. "He has won our hearts."

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  24Ivan Rakitic

  Ivan Rakitic was treated shamefully during his final year at Barcelona, who tried desperately to force him out of the club. "I'm not a sack of potatoes who you can do anything with,” he fumed in April 2020. The Blaugrana's desire to remove him from the wage bill was understandable, given their financial situation and the arrival of Frenkie de Jong, but Rakitic deserved far better treatment and much more respect. 

  The all-action midfielder featured in at least 50 games for five of his six seasons at Camp Nou and was a key member of Luis Enrique's treble-winning team, even scoring the opener in the Champions League final win over Juventus. Jose Mourinho had a point, then, when labelled him "one of the most underrated players in the world" in 2019.

• Getty Images
  

  23Robert Lewandowski

  Robert Lewandowski is only approaching the midway point of his third year at Barcelona and it's fair to say that he was nowhere near his very best during the 2023-24 campaign. The striker still netted 26 times during his 'off' season, though, and he now has 79 goals in just 113 games.

  Lewandowski still has some way to go to become a true Barca legend, but he's already got one Pichichi award for firing the Catalans to the Spanish title in 2022-23, and he's now perfectly placed to repeat the feat, after scoring 15 goals in 14 Liga games to start the current campaign.

  "It's amazing to have such a period where you're always scoring," Blaugrana boss Hansi Flick said, "but, for me, he's the best there is in front of goal."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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

• Getty
  

  22Patrick Kluivert

  Patrick Kluivert helped Barcelona win La Liga in his first season after joining from AC Milan in the summer of 1998, but a painful period of underachievement followed for the Catalan club – despite the best efforts of the Dutch striker.

  As a player schooled in the Ajax academy, Kluivert was a technically excellent centre-forward who was also blessed with height and strength, which he used to both score goals, and create them. The Netherlands international also formed a productive partnership with Rivaldo during his time at Camp Nou and hit 81 goals between the start of the 2000-01 season and his departure four years later.

Middlesex have announced the signing of Mitchell Marsh as their second overseas player for this summer’s T20 Blast.Marsh had signed for the club ahead of last season, but his deal was cancelled on account of the Covid-19 pandemic. He is their second overseas signing for the Blast, alongside Mujeeb Ur Rahman.A Middlesex release said that Marsh will be available for the whole of the Blast’s group stage, though he could miss some games if selected for Australia’s limited-overs tour against West Indies.In 2019, Middlesex qualified for only their second T20 quarter-final since winning the competition in 2008, though they struggled to cope with the combined absences of Paul Stirling, Dawid Malan, AB de Villiers and Eoin Morgan last summer, winning three games, losing five with one tie and one no-result.”It will be great to have a player like Mitch in our squad for the T20 Blast this year,” Stuart Law, Middlesex’s head coach, said.”On the field, he provides experience, power and aggression, while off the field, [he] will be great in a team environment and will add to the change in the dressing room we are after. We look forward to welcoming Mitch later in the year.””I’m thrilled to be joining Middlesex again, a club with such rich history,” Marsh said. “I can’t wait to get over and join my team-mates and hopefully win some silverware for the club.”

Journalist Fabrizio Romano says Manchester United are close to completing their latest new signing, as Dan Ashworth looks to kick his new era at Old Trafford off with a bang.

Man Utd transfer news

Red Devils transfer rumours have swarmed the papers since Ashworth's arrival, with Matthijs de Ligt seen as a primary target to bring in at centre-back. A new update claims that the club have given the "green light" to sign the Bayern Munich defender, following talks with Erik ten Hag.

Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee has also emerged as a genuine option for United, as they look to acquire the signature of a player who can add much-needed competition for Rasmus Hojlund moving forward. The Dutchman has shone for his current club, scoring 14 goals in 58 appearances, and he has experienced playing for a huge club in the past, playing 17 times for Bayern.

Meanwhile, the Red Devils have reportedly submitted a bid for highly-rated Tottenham teenager Mikey Moore, who is such a big young talent that he has been dubbed the "English Neymar". Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund are also believed to be in the picture, though.

In terms of an alternative to De Ligt, Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo has also been backed to head to Old Trafford in the current transfer window, but the former does appear to be the more likely signing currently.

Man Utd closing in on striker signing

According to Romano on X on Sunday evening, Zirkzee's move to Manchester United is now close to being completed, with everything in agreement with the striker's agent, and his club now officially informed that he has agreed to join United.

The only detail left to decide is whether Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ashworth will pay the €40m (£33.8m) release clause in full or negotiate a separate fee with Bologna.

"Manchester United and Joshua Zirkzee, almost there. Man Utd have now informed Bologna about agreement reached with Zirkzee over personal terms. All done also with JZ’s agent. Man Utd, talking to Bologna about new deal structure… or they can trigger €40m release clause."

At this point, it would be a huge surprise if Zirkzee's move to United didn't go through, considering how far talks are seemingly along. Everything appears to be in place, as Ten Hag, Ashworth and Ratcliffe seal a key piece of business for a player who appears to really want to don the famous red shirt.

The 23-year-old's aforementioned numbers for Bologna may not be those of a relentless goalscorer, but he is still a young footballer who could shine so much alongside superior footballers than the ones he is currently playing alongside.

Former AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli is under no illusions as to how good Zirkzee is as an all-round talent, too, saying of the Bologna ace earlier this year: "He’s a great player. I’ve followed him since his days at Bayern Munich and then at my Parma. A fantastic player, with physicality and quality. He has everything. He’s doing very well at Bologna."

Bruno will love him: Man Utd pushing to sign £34m star alongside Zirkzee

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is steering Old Trafford back on course.

1 ByAngus Sinclair Jul 8, 2024

To have Zirkzee and Hojlund dovetailing with one another will help take the pressure off both, also ensuring they are not overplayed by Ten Hag, and the hope is that both mature into formidable players over time, possibly even partnering one another down the middle of United's attack.

Head coach Simon Katich adds that the team ‘ran out of steam’

Saurabh Somani06-Nov-20204:11

‘We ran out of steam with the bat’ – Katich

Royal Challengers Bangalore ended their IPL 2020 season with a six-wicket loss in the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday. It was a campaign that began promisingly but fizzled out towards the end. The Royal Challengers had won seven of their first ten games, but then lost five in a row. They batted first in each of those five games, but crossed 160 only once, a fact that captain Virat Kohli put down nerves in the batting group.”Maybe a bit of nerves, a bit of hesitation,” Kohli told host broadcaster Star Sports after the Eliminator. “As I said, we need to be more expressive with the bat. We didn’t probably have any phases in the game where we got away from the opposition. We just allowed bowlers to bowl in the areas they wanted to and didn’t put them under enough pressure I believe. If you look at our last three-four games, we’ve hit a lot of fielders as well. A lot of good shots going to the fielders. It’s been a strange kind of phase of four-five games for us. Tonight, just didn’t have enough on the board.”The Royal Challengers made 131 for 7 after being asked to bat by the Sunrisers on a slow pitch with turn. The expected dew didn’t set in until late in Abu Dhabi, which brought the Royal Challengers’ spinners into greater play, but the Sunrisers got the win with two balls to spare, Kane Williamson (50*) and Jason Holder (24*) guiding the chase. The one opportunity they had to dismiss Williamson was a difficult one, when Devdutt Padikkal at the deep square leg boundary parried the ball back into play in the 18th over before stepping over the rope, but couldn’t come back inside in time to catch it.”I don’t think we had enough on the board,” Kohli said. “We made one hell of a game out of it in the second half, and the position we got ourselves into in the second half – probably with a better execution… it’s a game of margins and if Kane is taken there it’s a different game altogether. But they put us under a lot of pressure in the first innings. A few soft dismissals, a few fortunate ones for them as well.”AB de Villiers – feeling the weight of single-handedly carrying RCB?•BCCIHead coach Simon Katich felt that the batting ‘ran out of steam’ after the strong start.”We felt like we were on track at the 10-games mark, and then heading into the last four games… looking back on it now, it feels like we probably ran out of a bit steam,” Katich said at the post-match press conference. “Particularly with the bat. That’s probably the one area that faded a bit after a really good start to the tournament. Credit to the Sunrisers today, I thought they squeezed us beautifully. They took early wickets and then we were always under pressure trying to play catch up. We always felt if we can get 150 on the board we would be in the game, particularly with the two leggies (Yuzvendra Chahal and Adam Zampa) in the team and seeing the wicket. It was slow and offering a little bit of turn. To stack our batting today and only get 130 was disappointing. Sunrisers thoroughly deserved to go through.”The Royal Challengers maintained a stable opening combination for most of the tournament, starting with Aaron Finch and Padikkal at the top and then replacing an out of form Finch with Josh Philippe, but for the Eliminator, it was Kohli who came out to open with Padikkal.”Yeah look it was settled,” Katich said of the opening combination. “Aaron Finch didn’t get dropped till the 11th game. In terms of a settled combination, we did that for the first ten games. Unfortunately, Finchy didn’t make as many runs as he would have liked. We made the change, Josh Philippe came in, got an opportunity. But when it came to the playoffs, we made a decision that Virat was going to open today. Unfortunately it didn’t work, but realistically, we didn’t chop and change too much compared to the past. It was pretty consistent for the bulk of the tournament. Just ended up being a forced change due to form.”While acknowledging disappointment at not progressing further in the tournament, Katich stressed that it was far from doom and gloom for the Royal Challengers.”While we fell away to the back end of the tournament, I think throughout, we felt like we made some strides on the previous couple of years,” he said. “Plenty of positives in the tournament, certainly not all doom and gloom. We’ve got to make sure that we’ve learned from this experience. Tonight’s a great lesson for our younger guys, to experience the pressure cooker of the playoffs. Obviously didn’t go to plan tonight, hopefully that lesson and experience will hold them in good stead in years to come.”

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been left personally impressed by a 22-year-old player, with the north Londoners making an approach for him.

Edu targeting new defender for Arsenal this summer

Despite many believing that a new striker is the final missing piece of the jigsaw, as Arsenal seek to end their long wait for a Premier League title, it is believed that sporting director Edu Gaspar and the Gunners recruitment team are targeting another centre-back as well.

Edu prepared to make Arsenal bid for £102m star as cut-price move possible

The Gunners think he’s ideal.

2 ByEmilio Galantini Jul 2, 2024

William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are two crucial components of Arteta's formidable Arsenal side, who have challenged the imperious Man City and run them close in two successive seasons.

The centre-back pairing have impressed on-lookers while cementing themselves as mainstays at the heart of Arsenal's defence, with the north Londoners conceding fewer goals than any other team in the Premier League last season.

Arsenal

29

Man City

34

Liverpool

41

Everton

51

Man United/Crystal Palace

58

However, Arteta is also lacking a star alternative for when either Saliba or Gabriel succumb to injury. This has led Arsenal to scour the market for new central defensive options, and many names have been mentioned over the last few weeks.

Barcelona star Jules Kounde is attracting interest from Arsenal, amid claims the La Liga giants would be open to doing a £51 million deal if Ronald Araujo commits his future at the Camp Nou (Sport).

Kounde has actually featured at right-back since 2022/2023 and has done a solid job for Barca on that side, so perhaps the Frenchman's versatility could be very appealing to Arteta.

Meanwhile, reports have claimed Arsenal are also keen on Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, who has impressed for England at Euro 2024 and been one of the big positives of an otherwise mixed campaign for the Three Lions.

Of course, there is also Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori, who is now a sought-after centre-back across Europe following his displays for Italy at the tournament. Real Madrid are believed to be targeting Calafiori, following his Euros campaign and a brilliant season at club level.

Arsenal's interest is backed by Fabrizio Romano, and TEAMtalk even claimed this week that Edu is expected to submit an Arsenal bid for Calafiori.

Arteta personally impressed by Calafiori as Arsenal open talks

Football Transfers have their own update on the matter, and their information states that Arteta has been left impressed by Calafiori as Arsenal open discussions.

Juventus, Chelsea, Real, Tottenham and Bayer Leverkusen are also fans of his, as reported by FT, but the Old Lady may now struggle to afford him as a move away from Serie A looks more likely.

It's added that midfielder Jorginho, who played with Calafiori at Euro 2024 with Italy, has personally recommended the defender to Arteta. Edu and co are said to value the young centre-half at around £30 million, while Bologna want at least £42 million to let him go.

A £17 million player wanted by Bayern Munich is now considering an exit from the Nou Camp this summer, coming as Arsenal take a real interest in signing him this week.

Edu's summer transfer plan at Arsenal

Sporting director Edu Gaspar has been tasked with reinforcing manager Mikel Arteta's squad this summer, and the Brazilian recently admitted that planning has been underway for quite some time as the Gunners target young, hungry and energetic players.

Arsenal make offer to sign "dangerous" £51m Saka & Foden hybrid

The incredible winger could finally see Saka spend some time on the bench.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Jun 4, 2024

Edu also claimed that Arsenal have already drawn up their transfer target list, in a sit down with TNT Sports all the way back in February.

“Well, I understand what the fans are asking for but we already have our targets,” the transfer chief said.

“We have planned a lot ahead and I will be worried if we don’t score a lot of goals and if we’re not creating chances, which is the opposite because we create a lot and score a lot of goals. The plan is to try to get better every year and I think we are in a good moment. Let's see if we can keep improving.

Arsenal's best-performing players in the Premier League last season	Average match rating (via WhoScored)
Bukayo Saka	7.67
Declan Rice	7.38
Martin Odegaard	7.37
Kai Havertz	7.16
Gabriel Magalhaes	6.99

“I think if you see the type of the players we have at the moment, it’s players which have a big, big commitment of [to] the club, which is very important.

“So the way we transmit to the fans, transmit to people our commitment – sometimes you can lose, you can win games, it’s all part of the sport – helps us perform the best way possible and show the passion we have for the club and try to be win as many games as we can.

“Many times in certain conversations to recruit the players you don't see the character of the player or the character of the player does not fit well with what we are trying to do and then you have to move on and try to find what we’re really looking for. If you see all the signings we’ve made since we started together, everyone is almost the same, young, energetic and passionate, and good talents with big, beautiful futures ahead of them.”

Arsenal want to sign a new defender among their chief transfer priorities, maybe even a centre-back. In terms of the players who could fit this and Edu's criteria, one of them may have been named by Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo this week.

Arsenal emerge as strong contenders to sign Mika Faye

In a report on Monday, Mundo wrote that Arsenal have emerged strongly in the race for Barcelona starlet Mika Faye "in recent hours".

The £17 million centre-back, also wanted by Bayern Munich, hasn't made a single appearance for the Barca first team, but has impressed for their B side in the Spanish third tier. Considering his lack of chances for Barca's senior side, the teenage defender now has his mind on leaving this summer, unless they can guarantee him opportunities next term.

Faye made 33 league appearances for the Barca B side last season, even chipping in with four goals, and this is said to have alerted Arsenal chiefs.

As well as Bayern and Arsenal, Man United, Liverpool and Inter Milan are displaying a real fondness for the 19-year-old who's already been capped by his native Senegal.