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Arsenal have endured some bad luck this campaign that has derailed their title challenge, leaving supporters frustrated due to their unusually high volume of muscle injuries.

Arsenal's hard luck story this season under Mikel Arteta

At the start of the campaign, Mikel Arteta would’ve been optimistic that his side could finally claim the Premier League title under his reign after steadily building a squad capable of fighting on all fronts.

Stylistically, an aggressive focus on set-pieces alongside signings such as Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori appeared to have added extra steel to the flair present in the Gunners’ attack. However, their season hasn’t gone the way many envisaged.

Crashing out of the EFL Cup and FA Cup to Newcastle United and Manchester United put an end to dreams of domestic cup silverware, while their inconsistent run of form in the Premier League compared to Liverpool has become a bitter pill to swallow for an expectant support.

Nevertheless, Arsenal have been subject to an injury crisis that has left them with a major shortage of bodies in forward areas throughout the second half of 2024/25. Unfortunately, recognised strikers Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus are still ruled out, leaving square pegs in round holes through the middle.

Bukayo Saka has been the main absentee of a long list for the Gunners, taking their tally of players who have spent time on the sidelines to 18 across this term. Returning during the week, the England international fired his side to a 2-1 victory over Fulham at the Emirates Stadium.

Other incidents such as Declan Rice’s harsh red card at home to Brighton & Hove Albion set an unwanted tone early on, culminating in a series of unfortunate events that have left the North Londoners feeling short-changed despite still being on course for a respectable second-place finish.

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Posts ByEmilio Galantini Apr 3, 2025

In a seemingly never-ending cycle of setbacks, Arsenal have fallen victim to yet another body blow ahead of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.

Arsenal's Grade 3 hamstring tear statistical anomaly

Arsenal have now suffered three Grade 3 hamstring tears in one season, following confirmation that Gabriel Magalhães has been ruled out until next term with an injury of that description. Saka and Havertz comprise the other two who fit the criteria.

According to a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, in a 20 year-period of Premier League football (from 2001/02 to 2021/22) only 3 per cent of hamstring injuries were Grade 3, making suffering three such problems in the space of six months a truly rare phenomenon that has barely been witnessed in football history.

Arsenal’s hamstring injuries this season

Gabriel Magalhães

Out until next season

Bukayo Saka

Finally back after long setback

Kai Havertz

Return unknown

Ultimately, many contributing factors play their part in a club falling short of their objectives. In this case, Arsenal have a right to feel that injuries have definitely altered the course of a season that was destined to deliver so much promise.

One bloc of countries approaches them with maturity and flexibility; for players from the other teams, they need to like it or lump it

Osman Samiuddin20-Jul-2024Let’s say there are two kinds of players in world cricket: Player A and Player B. (If it’s easier to picture Player A as, say, a New Zealand men’s international and Player B as, I don’t know, a Pakistani men’s international, by all means go ahead.)Player A is employed by an organisation. On top of basic financial remuneration, the player receives a range of perks of a kind most stable jobs offer: holidays, parental leave, sound medical care. They are also represented by a labour association that looks out for their best interests, during their playing career and after. Their employer is sensitive to the fact that the work landscape is changing and that this is the age of the gig economy. There are ever more opportunities out there for their employees, which allow the players not only to future-proof themselves financially but also to evolve and develop as cricketers while active. A central contract for Player A offers security and is, broadly speaking, a tool for empowering them.This an unexceptional paragraph of fact in most situations except in the situation of cricket because Player B is also, on paper, employed by an organisation. But that is where the similarities end. In reality Player B is not so much an employee as someone on the wrong side of an unbalanced power equation. Player B could have a 60-page contract with not a single mention of holiday policy or time off. Player B’s contract reads more like a thin book of strictures, fattened by a detailed spelling out of the punitive consequences should they do that which they should not. Player B has no recourse to a player association that looks out for their best interests. A central contract for Player B offers the employer a means of control, emasculating the employee in a manner that takes their status close to indentured servitude.Related

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If Player A foregoes a central contract, they are not ostracised by their board. They have an adult discussion about priorities and commitments and areas of overlap, which might be to the potential benefit of both parties. If Player B foregoes a central contract, on the other hand, they’re dead to the board. Socially they are seen in similar ways to betrayers or deserters.For Player A, an NOC (no-objection certificate) to play in a franchise league is a formality. For Player B, the NOC is merely a symbol of their powerlessness and exploitation. It’s a little like the global tyranny of visas. A sizeable minority of people doesn’t think about visas at all, jetting off to another country at a minute’s notice. The majority, meanwhile, suffocates under the weight of the requirement, spending half their lives filling out visa forms and paying exorbitant fees for the pleasure, and the other half waiting anxiously for them to be granted. If your visa doesn’t come through, tough (and suck up the financial hit) but at least you can envy-scroll through the Insta feeds of that minority, eh?These are broad, non-specific sketches. There are shades of course: some Player As are not as well off as other Player As, and some Player Bs are not as oppressed as other Player Bs. But the point is this: central contracts have become a modern bellwether for the health of the international game. When they were first widely adopted, a quarter of a century ago, they were celebrated as a game-changing step in the professionalisation of the game. (Australia, forever ahead of the curve, have had them since the mid-’80s). Now when players turn them down, it’s a sign that the international game is fading into irrelevance; the ECB chief executive, Richard Gould, called contracting “an existential issue” earlier this year, before overhauling the system to try and make the ECB as attractive an employer in the marketplace as a Chennai Super Kings.Except that it isn’t as simple as that because, as Player A and Player B show, central contracts might have started off with the same promise but they now represent multiple realities. Yes, turning them down (or choosing shorter deals as some England players did) in one part of the cricket world – let’s lump Australia, New Zealand and England together, clumsily, as a western bloc – suggests that international cricket is no longer what it was. But in South Asia, cricket’s biggest population, where the game is that much bigger, the option of turning a central contract down doesn’t really exist. Some players might be minded to, but turning down those who run the game is still seen as a snub in these parts, not an employment choice. So what does it say about international cricket there, where central contracts are desirable exploitative?Kane Williamson can choose to decline an annual contract with New Zealand and not have his loyalty questioned, unlike subcontinental players when they look for similar options•Mark Brake/ICC/Getty ImagesBy opting out of their contracts, for example, Kane Williamson and Trent Boult were essentially making choices for their work-life balance. There are few, if any, who can think of doing that in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh or India.On paper, Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir did pretty much what Boult did: opt out of central contracts, but still be available to return to play in a big ICC event. In reality, both first fell out with the PCB because of tensions over their availability for Pakistan, and NOCs, then had to make a public show of retiring so they could get those NOCs, and then had to take back their retirements to be available for Pakistan again. And that’s to say nothing of the toxicity that surrounded all this, the sniping from ex-players, coaches, selectors and fans; pretty much what Boult did in the same way ice is pretty much like fire.Ishan Kishan took a break for “personal reasons” (a phrasing that in itself puts one in the mind of those old Bollywood days when flowers were used to symbolise on-screen kisses) late last year and promptly lost his place in the side and from the central contracts pool. If Usama Mir had been a citizen of any of the western bloc countries, he would have filed and won a restraint of trade case against the board for refusing him an NOC, as the PCB did. Yet as a Pakistani cricketer he can’t even think about quitting his central contract, because, well, see Player B in the third para above. And because even without a contract, he’ll still need to rely on the board’s good graces to issue him an NOC, so it’s best not to piss them off.Not that long ago, of course, Player A was in a similar bind. Remember the agitations of Kevin Pietersen in 2012, wanting to play a full season of the IPL even as it clashed with his England commitments? It’s taken time for the ECB and NZC and CA to arrive at the pragmatism and flexibility they exhibit today. In truth, they had no choice because of a truly bonkers cricket calendar and labour laws in their countries. And it’s something to hear Tom Latham say that flexibility is needed. By contrast, Player B is discovering that the more complex the calendar gets, the more their board treats it as the Ming vase to their hammer.It would be remiss to not mention West Indian cricketers here, who were the first to collectively push against the inadequacies of the central contracts system in this new world. But they are somewhat unique in hovering somewhere between – or maybe being a bit of both – Player A and Player B. They have agitated and been punished by board administrations, but also been supported by a strong players’ association and reaped rewards. Pioneering, perhaps, rather than unique.West Indies’ players fought long and bitter battles for their right to ply their trade around the world•Getty ImagesUltimately central contracts are only a symptom. It is, as the World Cricketers’ Association (WCA, formerly FICA) has unfailingly been reminding us for over a decade, the scheduling, stupid. Two parallel cricket calendars, international and domestic franchise leagues, running side by side through the year, every year, neither shrinking; two calendars, let’s not forget, designed by the same people, only, pretending as if each were drawn up in isolation from their own selves.No wonder Tom Moffat, the WCA chief executive, says his organisation has all but given up hope that these same people will ever come together and formulate a workable structure. A soon-to-be-published WCA survey, says Moffat, will show that players want the WCA to put forward some solutions. Eighty-four per cent of players surveyed want ring-fenced windows during which either only T20 leagues are being played or only international cricket, and not both concurrently.Good luck with that. The geographical footprint of cricket is one thing: how do you squeeze leagues in North America and the Caribbean, in Australia and the subcontinent, in the UK and southern Africa, into a couple of windows? Plus, the bilateral calendar is hardly uniform, and lately the white-ball portion of it has started feeling especially random. And there are ICC events every year now.Instead, it might be simpler to do what cricket is doing anyway at the moment, which is to sit back and wait for the BCCI to do something about it. And the BCCI is currently engaged in a face-off with itself for which, by way of explanation, I can’t think of anything better than that Spiderman meme. On one side is the richest board in world cricket, doing more than its bit for international cricket, touring as many countries as it can (apart from one, natch), engaging in pointless bilaterals with countries that need them but also playing five-Test series and prioritising the World Test Championship, and paying its cricketers handsomely to play international cricket. On the other is the board that owns the richest, most expansionist T20 league in the game with one window already carved out for it and other windows being created in other parts of the world by franchises from that league. And it doesn’t allow its players to go play in those leagues, or any others.Recently, the BCCI publicly reasserted the primacy of India duty above the IPL, which is – how to put it – interesting times. The rest of the world will have to wait to see how that plays out (or if at all it does because, you know, inertia is not unknown in Indian cricket administration). And then, as the phrase goes, adjust accordingly.

He has built a reputation of being a serial title-winner in T20 cricket and despite a successful last season is positive his best is yet to come

Deivarayan Muthu10-Oct-2022There’s a bit of R Ashwin about R Sai Kishore. The left-arm fingerspinner relishes bowling across phases and keeps upgrading his skills to get up to speed with T20 cricket.Sai Kishore broke into the Tamil Nadu side as a powerplay specialist from the TNPL, but over the last two seasons he has also fronted up to bowl at the death, something that was on display during the IPL 2022 final.Related

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In the TNPL that followed, Sai Kishore often slid up the order for Chepauk Super Gillies as a pinch-blocker or a pinch-hitter, the same role that Ashwin performs for Rajasthan Royals. Sai Kishore has also pinch-blocked for Tamil Nadu in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy, including the final against Himachal Pradesh last year.”I’ve always wanted to improve myself,” he tells ESPNcricinfo, ahead of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s starting on October 11. “If this doesn’t work, I will go to the next aspect. Upgrading myself has been my driving force – it is not just playing for India and doing well at the IPL. Part of the conscious effort to turn into a better cricketer was working on my batting and be a better team man. If I can do a job with the bat for the team, the team can play an extra bowler. That is the thought process.”In 2018, I started batting at No. 10, slowly I could score 20-25 runs, and slowly people got the confidence that he could at least play and get some runs. It is not something natural, I’ve worked hard with R Prasanna [Tamil Nadu assistant coach] but 100% I will get there [as an allrounder].”ESPNcricinfo LtdThese are still early days in Sai Kishore’s career, but he has already built a reputation of being a serial winner in T20 cricket. He has won back-to-back IPL titles, first with Chennai Super Kings and then with Gujarat Titans, back-to-back Syed Mushtaq Ali titles with Tamil Nadu and back-to-back TNPL titles with Chepauk. Sai Kishore credited Tamil Nadu’s team culture for their transformation into a dominant white-ball force.”We have grown together, and nobody takes their place or the game for granted,” he says. “Nobody is a certain starter in this XI, you have to be that good in this team, and people coming through the ranks are aware of that. People have bought into the culture of bowling for the other guy and bowling for the team. Each one of them is ready to do the dirty work for the team. As long as we continue to do that, I feel Tamil Nadu being a dominant force in white-ball cricket will continue.”When T Natarajan was unavailable through injury last season, Sai Kishore himself did the dirty job of bowling at the death. That experience served him well in the IPL 2022 final when he was called up to bowl the 16th and 18th overs. He responded with the wickets of Ashwin and Trent Boult.”Definitely the experience of bowling at the death in Syed Mushtaq Ali helped me in the IPL,” Sai Kishore says. “I’m not trying to protect myself. The bowling analysis may sometimes say expensive, but as a spinner, you need guts to bowl at the death. Okay, I could get hit, so what? If the team feels I might be the best fit in this situation, I’m willing to do it and that has given me courage and experience.”So, when I bowled at the death in the IPL final, it wasn’t like ‘why I’m bowling here?’ I’m ready for it – I’ve done it for Tamil Nadu, I’ve done it in TNPL. Hopefully, through all these experiences and through these roles, I will get better.”ESPNcricinfo LtdFor someone who bowls in the powerplay and death, Sai Kishore’s overall T20 economy rate of 5.68 is particularly striking. In fact, it is the best by an Indian – and second best globally – among bowlers who have bowled at least 900 balls in T20 cricket. Sai Kishore downplayed his numbers, suggesting it was somewhat skewed because of his limited experience in the IPL.”When a batsman hits me for sixes, I often try to minimise the damage,” he says. “Sometimes you will be bowling well, and the batsman will not take you on. At the time, you should be more fearless and go for his wicket. At that point, you shouldn’t mind giving two sixes and should go for his wicket. I usually focus on these things and by doing this, my game-awareness has improved.”I don’t classify myself as an attacking spinner or defensive spinner; I believe T20 cricket is just about playing that situation. The stats are also [that good now] because I haven’t played much international cricket or IPL cricket. It’s largely domestic cricket, but hopefully, if I can replicate it more consistently at a higher level, it would be a great thing.”

I don’t know if the last year could’ve been any better. But with experience, I can get much better and I feel my best is yet to come.R Sai Kishore

Sai Kishore believes that working with a wristspinner – Rashid Khan at Titans and M Ashwin at Tamil Nadu – has also contributed to his success.”In a way, it plays into my hands and gives me a chance too. If a wristspinner keeps it tight, I will get wickets and if I keep it tight, he will get wickets. If both of us get hit, the team will lose (laughs). It’s been a good partnership with MAsh and Rashid – they always play for the team’s plans – and it has been easy bowling in tandem with them.”During his stint with Titans, Sai Kishore also tested himself against David Miller at the nets and developed greater confidence in bowling to left-handers. Against right-handers, he has an economy rate of 5.86 and an average of 20.38 and against left-handers an economy rate of 6.60 and average of 14 (where data is available).”When you bowl to a powerful guy like Miller, you will know what to do and what not to do as a left-arm spinner,” Sai Kishore says. “Ashish Nehra [Gujarat Titans coach] and Hardik [Pandya] backed me to bowl to left-handers in the IPL, they picked me because I can bowl to everyone and not just to right-handers. Ashish Nehra gave me that confidence and that goes a long way.”In the Indian domestic circuit also, there are a lot of good players of spin and the challenge is not just restricted to left-hand batters. A lot of these batters hit the ball in different pockets of the field and maybe once you get hit, next time you draw on the previous experience and come up better. So, I just see it as a learning experience, and you have to be fearless and back yourself against him.”Winning multiple T20 titles aside, Sai Kishore has had exposure as a net bowler with the India side in both white-ball and red-ball cricket. More recently in the season-opening Duleep Trophy, he emerged as the highest wicket-taker, with 17 strikes at an average of 20.05. And now at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he will be central to Tamil Nadu’s chances of doing a three-peat.”I don’t know if the last year could’ve been any better,” Sai Kishore says. “But with experience, I can get much better and I feel my best is yet to come.”

Too few West Indies batsmen showed the application required in their bid to salvage a draw

Nagraj Gollapudi20-Jul-2020With an hour left in the game, as the final drinks break of this Test was called, Ben Stokes walked alongside Shannon Gabriel. It was a matter of time for an England victory with Gabriel and his new-ball partner Kemar Roach doing their best to avoid the inevitable. But Stokes did not want West Indies to relax: he said a few words in the direction of Gabriel, who just kept his head down. First ball upon the resumption, England got the breakthrough.Stokes plucked out two stumps and why not – he had flattened West Indies’ bowlers with the bat first and then broken the resolve of their batsmen twice via crucial breakthroughs with the ball. One of those was that of Jermaine Blackwood, just a ball away from tea.Blackwood was in the middle of a flourishing partnership with Shamarh Brooks in the second session. Their alliance had cleaned up after the farce that was the Windies top-order, which showed no fight, resolve or technique and succumbed at the first punch from England.ALSO READ: Sky’s the limit for ‘Mr Incredible’ Stokes – RootBlackwood had picked up three early fours off Sam Curran and had dominated Dom Bess from the word go. Playing his naturally attacking game, Blackwood felt comfortable. So much so in that final over before tea, bowled by – who else? – Stokes, Blackwood felt he could afford to smile and chirp back to the England allrounder.Stokes was attempting to expose Blackwood’s weakness: facing the short-pitched delivery. Bowling from around the stumps, wide of the crease, Stokes banged in the perfect short ball, that climbed sharply into the ribs of the airborne Blackwood. Instead of ducking it, Blackwood responded awkwardly to fend it off, but lobbed a catch that Jos Buttler took running to his left. Stokes did not waste the opportunity to say a few words in the direction of Blackwood.It was the turning point and West Indies never recovered. West Indies lost this Test because of many reasons, but the most important was their batsmen never showed the relentlessness of Stokes. With the bat, Stokes had shown the grit and determination to succeed – however ugly he looked, however slow he played. What mattered to him was the big picture, building a big total, and then forcing West Indies to follow-on. Allied with the belief of Stuart Broad, Stokes nearly had West Indies facing embarrassment on Sunday.Although England ultimately had to bat again, they did so from a position of strength. Then, for the second day in succession, Broad made the new ball talk. John Campbell had already spilled an easy catch from Stokes, and then further embarrassed himself by once again becoming a walking wicket.Shai Hope, too, has been hopeless. A nip-backer from Broad reared off a length from the fourth-stump line to hit the top of his off stump. Hope meanwhile squatted in response as if it was a grubber. Hope’s Test career now hangs in balance. He has been totally out of sorts, unable to find a rhythm and settle down. Unlike Kraigg Brathwaite, who has at least proved that he can play late and play time despite his string of failures in the second innings, Hope has looked like man with a head full of questions instead.Shamarh Brooks fell to Sam Curran for 62•Getty ImagesFor once the vigilant defence of Roston Chase failed, leaving the responsibility of saving the Test match with Brooks and Blackwood. With Blackwood showing intent, Brooks played second fiddle initially, and after the Jamaican left, he showed character to withstand the renewed pressure from England. Could he do what Blackwood did in Southampton to take West Indies to the finish line and secure a draw? He only had one specialist batting partner in his captain Jason Holder, after Shane Dowrich once again showed his weakness against the short delivery.With the ball getting softer, but staying low, in the final session Curran went round the stumps, and lured Brooks with slow cutters. The ploy was to draw the batsman forward with silly mid-off and a short cover placed as a trap. Brooks was attentive initially and watched the ball, playing late with soft hands. The margin of error was zero – if he failed, it was end of story. And that is what happened when Curran burst through, despite the watchful gaze of Brooks, who did not even review having been rapped on the knee, in front of off stump.They might have eventually taken the game into the final hour, but West Indies were not close to batting out the 80-odd overs they needed to for a draw that would secure the Wisden Trophy. West Indies made a cumulative total of 485 runs in the match, which was nearly what Engalnd made in the first innnings (469). No West Indies batsman has scored a century in the series so far. Brathwaite, Blackwood and Brooks have shown some resolve, but they will admit they have lacked the hunger and belief of Stokes.Despite the slow nature of the pitches and dry conditions, the tourists have been vulnerable against balls arriving on the stumps: so far this series they have lost 22 wickets in that fashion, at 10.50 apiece.Holder admitted it was a concern. “Many of our batters got caught on the crease, on a surface like this you need to commit forward or back,” Holder told Sky Sports after the defeat. “We’ve got to understand scenarios better. We fought through decent periods in the game but maybe need a little bit more grit, determination to get through challenging spells. It’s just about getting through those tough spells.”In the afternoon session the TV cameras caught West Indies head coach Phil Simmons stealing a few winks in the dressing room. That image captures nicely the state of mind of most of his batsmen. We all have taken a nap at work but in a Test match is a different thing: West Indies were caught snoozing by a relentless England.

He was not informed of the decision to drop Shamim, and said he has been told he would have little say in squad selection

Mohammad Isam26-Nov-2025

T20I captain Litton Das has expressed his unhappiness with the Bangladesh selectors’ decision of dropping Shamim Hossain from the squad for the first two T20Is against Ireland. Chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain said last Friday that they were dropping Shamim to give Mahidul Islam Ankon a chance in the middle order.Litton, however, said that the selectors didn’t inform him or coach Phil Simmons about such a decision.”I think it would have been better if [Shamim] was in the team. But this is not my call, [it is] totally the selectors’ call,” Litton said. “I don’t know why, but the selector dropped Shamim without giving us notice. I have known that a captain would know which player would be in the team, and which player would be out of the team. I don’t see any reason behind Shamim getting dropped. It would have been better if he was in the team.”Related

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Litton also said that he has received a directive that he would have little say in squad selection. Litton, however, did not say where the instructions came from or when he got them.”The selection panel and board has told me that I have to totally work with whatever team they have selected,” Litton said. “I can’t have a say about which player I want or don’t want. I have known for a long time that a captain has a planning for organising the team. Recently, I have been informed that my job is to deliver something good from the field with [the] team that I have been given.”Litton, however, said that he will continue leading the side despite such conditions given to his leadership. “I won’t say it is insulting, but I think the captain and coach must be informed. We don’t know anything about [the selection]. If the same thing happens during the World Cup, I will try to implement with the team to the best of my ability.””Why not Shamim [Hossain]? He performed extraordinarily in some of the series” – Litton Das•AFP/Getty Images

Litton also said “sorry” to Shamim, calling it a disappointment for the player.”It won’t disturb the team but [the situation] is disappointing,” Litton said. “You can’t expect the same performance in every series from every player. We have been trying to build a team for a long time. Why not Shamim? He performed extraordinarily in some of the series. Getting dropped from there, it is disappointing for Shamim.”As a captain, I can’t say anything more than sorry to Shamim. I don’t expect all 15 players in my squad to perform at the same level. We have to back a player when he doesn’t perform in two or three series. I am really sorry that I couldn’t back him.”Shamim has had only single-digit scores in his last three T20I outings for Bangladesh, which may have prompted the selectors to drop him. Shamim, however, has made some important contributions in Bangladesh’s T20I revival this year. He made 48 against Sri Lanka in Dambulla in July. That innings took Bangladesh to a massive win, which is now considered as a turning point for them.Shamim also contributed against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the Asia Cup. His 22-ball 33 against Afghanistan in early October was the last time he reached double figures, before his run of three successive single-digit scores in T20Is.Meanwhile, chief selector Gazi made a statement after Litton’s comments on the non-selection of Shamim.”Our focus should be on the Ireland series that’s coming up, but because of what our captain Litton Das said at a press meet, I wanted to say a few things,” Gazi said. “We held a brief meeting with the captain and coach before the Bangladesh squad for the Ireland T20Is was announced. When we asked about his opinion about Shamim Hossain, Litton Das told us that he wants Shamim in the team against Ireland. He also informed us that he spoke to the coach [Simmons], who said he also wants the same batters who played against West Indies, in the next T20I squad.”After discussing with Hasibul Hossain [another selector], we decided to leave out Shamim from the squad. We thought that we will announce the squad for the first two matches so that if we win the series by then, we can do some experiment in the third T20I. We announced the team following the rules, after going through cricket operations and the board. The selectors don’t always have to agree with the captain and coach when making selection calls. We don’t have to take any permission. We are accountable to the board.”

Despite flying high in the Premier League and Champions League, it feels like Arsenal can’t catch a break this season.

Mikel Arteta’s side have played far better football than they did last year, but have been just as unlucky, if not more so, when it comes to injuries.

For example, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Viktor Gyokeres, and Noni Madueke are just some of their stars who have been forced to sit on the sidelines, or still are.

And then, if things couldn’t get any worse, the Gunners are now going to be without Gabriel Magalhães for up to two months, although Arteta might just have a surprising replacement in mind for the Brazilian.

Arsenal's record when Gabriel does not play

It’s no secret that, thanks to his impact in both penalty areas, Gabriel has become one of Arsenal’s most important players in recent years.

In fact, it’s this ability that led Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher to suggest he could “be seen as the most influential player in the Premier League” only last month.

However, how essential is the big Brazilian to Arteta’s side? While that’s a pretty tricky question to answer, a decent way of approaching it would be to look at how the team have fared when he’s not been in the side over the last two and a bit years.

Starting with the 23/24 season, then, and across all competitions that year, the former LOSC Lille star made 50 appearances, 48 of which were starts, in which he scored four goals, provided one assist and averaged 2.16 points per game.

There were only two matches in which he didn’t appear: a draw against Fulham and a win over Sheffield United, meaning the team averaged just 2 points per game without him.

However, a two-game sample size is rather paltry, unlike last season, when he was absent for 16 games, of which the club won just eight, drew five and lost three, meaning the Gunners averaged just 1.81 points per game without the Brazilian in the team.

How did they fare when he was playing? Well, across all competitions, the Sao Paulo-born titan made 42 appearances, in which he scored five goals, provided three assists and averaged 1.98 points per game.

Games

50

2

Wins

34

1

Draws

6

1

Losses

10

0

Points per Game

2.16

2

Games

42

16

Wins

24

8

Draws

11

5

Losses

7

3

Points per Game

1.98

1.81

Therefore, while there is not a massive drop in points per game for Arsenal without Gabriel in the side, there is still a noticeable one, and with games against Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich and Chelsea coming up, that is a worry.

However, Arteta has more than enough replacements for his monster centre-back, including one who could come as a bit of a surprise.

Arsenal's surprise Gabriel replacement

The consensus among most Arsenal fans at the moment seems to be that either Riccardo Calafiori or Cristhian Mosquera would be the ideal replacements for Gabriel this weekend.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The former has been in fine form all season, and the latter has shown glimpses of real talent when he’s stepped in.

However, while either player would make total sense, another, more surprising option Arteta could go with is Ben White.

Yes, the former Brighton & Hove Albion man does feel like something of a forgotten man at the moment, and has spent most of his time at the club playing right-back, but the £50m signing could come in and do a job on Sunday.

After all, while he hasn’t played there consistently for some time – his last start in the middle was back in October 2024 – the Englishman was signed as a centre-back and spent the entirety of the 21/22 season playing there, and playing well.

In fact, the only reason he was moved to the right was because William Saliba was finally given a go, and Gabriel was not at all suited to playing at full-back.

Moreover, by playing the Poole-born ace there, Calafiori won’t have to vacate a position he has been incredible in all year, a young Mosquera won’t be thrown into one of the most tense games of the season, and the same could be said for Piero Hincapie.

Finally, and this is particularly pertinent for the game against Spurs, the 28-year-old is, in the words of journalist Charles Watts, a “master of the dark arts.”

In other words, he could be the perfect player to get under the skin of the Spurs players and either throw them off their game or even get them sent off.

Furthermore, he has a track record of making life particularly difficult for Guglielmo Vicario.

Ultimately, it would be a surprise and something of a risk, but even so, Arteta should look to start White at centre-back for Arsenal while Gabriel is out.

A new Zubimendi: Berta makes first move to sign "Rodri-like" CM for Arsenal

The incredibly exciting prospect could be another Zubimendi for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal.

1 ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 20, 2025

Minority owners Red Bull have reportedly told Leeds United to replace Daniel Farke with a manager who has worked with Thomas Tuchel at Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.

Leeds set fresh Farke sack timeline

The pressure is on Farke, who’s looking to avoid his very own Groundhog Day in the Premier League. The German is yet to achieve survival in the Premier League, despite previous attempts with Norwich City, and will be desperate to silence any doubters at Elland Road this season.

It looked for a moment as though the Leeds boss was about to do exactly that against Manchester City last time out, to his credit, only for Pep Guardiola’s side to turn on the style and secure a late 3-2 victory. A point at the Etihad would have been invaluable for those in Yorkshire, but they now play host to Chelsea this Wednesday with Farke under increasing pressure.

According to The Guardian, defeat against both Chelsea and Liverpool could spell the end for Farke at Elland Road. On paper, that may seem harsh. After all, Leeds are facing the world champions who just earned a point against Arsenal with 10 men and the Premier League champions, albeit during a tumultuous period for the Reds.

That is the harsh reality of the Premier League, though, and Leeds are seemingly willing to act as early as possible in an attempt to avoid the drop. As such, names like Ange Postecoglou have already been mentioned as potential candidates recently, but Red Bull have reportedly recommended Zsolt Low instead.

Red Bull tell Leeds to hire Zsolt Low

As reported by TeamTalk, Red Bull have told Leeds to hire Low to replace Farke if they decide to part ways with the German. The minority owners don’t have a say on sporting matters but are there for the 49ers to lean on, should they please.

Related Leeds eyeing move for 4-3-3 Farke successor who has admirers at Elland Road

The Whites are struggling for form in the Premier League and could now change tact in the dugout.

Posts BySean Markus Clifford Nov 28, 2025

It seems that, if they choose to do exactly that, then Low could be an option. The 46-year-old won’t be a name that many are familiar with at Elland Road, but he is someone that PSG, Bayern Munich and Chelsea know well.

Low was Tuchel’s assistant at all three clubs and is known by Red Bull thanks to his time as the interim boss at RB Leipzig at the end of last season and his time as Adi Hutter’s assistant at Red Bull Salzburg.

Zsolt Low at Leipzig

Record

Games

8

Wins

2

Draws

3

Defeats

3

Goals scored

13

Goals conceded

17

Out of the options available, Low would arguably be the greatest gamble. He’s had just eight games as a manager and won just two of those games at Leipzig last season – using a 4-4-2 system.

His work as an assistant is admirable, but Leeds must replace Farke with a far more experienced candidate.

Leeds lining up January spending spree for "phenomenal" Farke replacement

Have we been given a glimpse into the real Liverpool? The win over Real Madrid in the Champions League this week certainly felt like a throwback to last season.

Arne Slot reverted to type. The midfield was comprised of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch, that triumvirate whose connection and coherence proved so crucial to last year’s triumphant Premier League campaign.

Things have changed on the red half of Merseyside this season. Sweeping summer changes have reshaped the framework, and a by-product of this has been tactical imbalances and a lack of the fluency and sharpness that propelled the Reds into the ascendancy last year.

One of the issues predates this early-season slump by a long stretch. Six defeats from seven matches in all competitions before the recent upswing is inexcusable, and each corner of the system has been culpable, but there’s undoubtedly been something missing on the left flank, with Luis Diaz now playing elsewhere.

Liverpool miss the Colombian, but not as much as Sadio Mane before him.

Why Liverpool are still missing Sadio Mane

Liverpool are not so much missing Mane directly as his profile. Last season, Diaz scored 17 goals and supplied eight goals as he flitted between the left flank and a central striking berth. The Colombian was sold to Bayern Munich in August, like Mane before him, and now his presence is missed.

Diaz did a strong job in replacing Mane, but the Senegalese sensation will go down in history as one of the most dangerous wingers to have graced the Premier League, with his former international coach Aliou Cisse even describing him as “one of the best” in the world back in 2018.

Devastatingly dynamic and with an unending appetite for goals, Mane thrived across his years under Klopp’s wing, joining from Southampton for £34m in 2016 and forging one of Europe’s most iconic strike forces, alongside Bobby Firmino and Mohamed Salah.

Now, Liverpool have neither player in their mix. Cody Gakpo has most regularly played on the left wing for Liverpool this year, and while the Dutchman is a talented and multi-faceted player, he is not on the same level as Mane in his prime, and neither does he operate with the same electric movement as Diaz.

However, Slot may actually have found his own version of Mane in another Liverpool star, a player who is showing signs of real quality in a red shirt.

Liverpool's new version of Sadio Mane

Liverpool underwent a series of changes in the summer transfer market, and though the Alexander Isak saga dominated the final weeks of the window, much was made of Liverpool’s record-breaking £116m move for Florian Wirtz.

Hailed as a “statistical unicorn” and a “final third freak” by analyst Sam McGuire before first donning the famous Liverpool jersey, Wirtz has not yet proved this is true on English soil, but he’s a work in progress, adapting to a new land, and we have started to see the first shoots of success in recent games.

Real Madrid marked the finest display of his Anfield career so far, and what a game to announce yourself in. Handed an 8/10 match rating by the Liverpool Echo, Wirtz was praised for his tireless work ethic and creativity. In the first half, the German created five chances for the hosts, as many as the entire Los Blancos team.

But, whereas Mane impressed across his start to life at Liverpool, posting 13 goals and seven assists across 29 matches in 2016/17, Wirtz is still yet to break his duck after 15 fixtures.

But this man’s underlying quality is indisputable. He is a world-class talent. And, as per FBref, he ranks among the top 5% of Premier League attacking midfielders and wingers for progressive passes and shot-creating actions, as well as the top 11% for chances created per 90.

Understandably, many think the 22-year-old should have offered more so far. In some ways, they are right. But Liverpool have been a curious case this season, and the frosty tactical conditions have made it difficult for such a player to dovetail in and fire on all cylinders from the get-go.

He might not be the same sort of clinical and direct player as Mane, but Wirtz proved on the left flank against Real Madrid that he can play a leading role in a Liverpool team questing for all the biggest prizes.

With Szoboszlai in such jaw-dropping form and Liverpool looking altogether more polished and effective with last season’s blueprint implemented in the engine room, there’s a case to be made that Wirtz could play in Mane’s old role with regularity.

He surely has the robustness and wide-ranging arsenal to fulfil his duties in that area with confidence and clarity. This is one of the most talented footballers in the world, after all.

Now, we must wait for the £195k-per-week talent to find the consistency in his performances that will lead to a country-wide recognition of his quality in a similar fashion to Mane before him. This will take time, of course, but with the Reds starting to look like a well-oiled unit once again now that issues have been ironed out, Wirtz could go from strength to strength.

Sometimes, patience is needed from football fans. Wirtz will come good. So good, in fact, that he might leave a legacy at Anfield that is on a level with Mane, that superstar winger who achieved so much in red.

Slot has just found the new Gini Wijnaldum in "special" Liverpool star

Liverpool produced a show-stopping performance to send Real Madrid packing in the Champions League.

By
Angus Sinclair

Nov 7, 2025

The Philadelphia Phillies fell short of expectations after bowing out of the 2024 MLB postseason in a stunning defeat to the New York Mets in the NLDS. ESPN's Jeff Passan reports that the early playoff exit could result in a roster shakeup for the Phils.

In his MLB offseason preview, Passan noted that Philadelphia has placed All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm on the trade block as they look to make some adjustments ahead of the 2025 season.

Bohm, who made his first All-Star Game in 2024, struggled in the second half of the season and even more so in the postseason. During the first half of the year, he logged a .830 OPS with 11 home runs and 70 RBI in 94 games. In the second half, his OPS dwindled down to .681 and he hit just four homers in 49 games. In the playoffs, Bohm recorded just one hit in 13 at-bats, though he didn't strike out a single time.

The Phillies figure to be back in World Series contention in 2025, but they may feel that an upgrade from Bohm will give them a better chance at achieving their goals. Various teams figure to have interest in the 28-year-old, who has two more years of arbitration left before hitting unrestricted free agency in 2027. Spotrac estimates he'll earn around $8.1 million next season.

Bohm has spent his entire MLB career with the Phillies, having appeared in 599 games for the franchise since debuting in 2020.

Australia international smites rapid fifty before taking key wickets to undermine Hampshire chase

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay05-Jun-2025

Grace Harris announced herself on the 2025 Vitality Blast with a blistering half-century and three wickets as Surrey made it two from two with a 32-run win over Hampshire at the Kia Oval.Hot off the plane the Australia international smashed 63 in 35 balls with four sixes and five fours. Harris shared half-century stands with Danni Wyatt-Hodge (62 from 41) and Paige Scholfield (49 from 18) – all this after Wyatt-Hodge and skipper Bryony Smith (33) posted 73 for the opening wicket.The fearsome onslaught carried Surrey to 213 for 4, Freya Davies taking 2 for 36 for the visitors, who rued four dropped catches and a bungled run-out attempt of Harris when she’d made just 1.Hampshire’s chase was heroic, led by Ella McCaughan’s classy 81, and supported by 29 from skipper Georgia Adams, but Harris (3-18) dismissed both in the space of three balls to cap a stunning debut as the Hawks finished on 181 for 8.After a sedate start, Smith blasted three sixes in quick succession, while Wyatt-Hodge, following a shaky series against West Indies for England, also cleared the ropes.Wyatt-Hodge was dropped twice on 30 and 35 before Smith holed out at midwicket off opposing skipper Adams. Harris should have gone soon afterwards when confusion left both batters at the same end, but a poor throw was fumbled by wicketkeeper Rhianna Southby and Harris was reprieved.She duly cashed in, raising Surrey’s hundred with six over mid-on, while Wyatt-Hodge was missed for a third time by Mary Taylor – a tough caught and bowled – before reaching 50 from 35 balls. The England opener eventually fell to a catch off Davies, but Harris forged on, two more maximums taking her to 50 from 27 balls.And while her innings ended tamely from a paddle to short fine leg, Schofield took up the baton with three sixes of her own, the last from the final ball of the innings to finish one short of 50.In-form Maia Bouchier began the chase with a straight six before holing out to a catch on the fence before the first over was done. Charlie Knott, too, flickered briefly and although she cut Tilly Corteen-Coleman into the hands of Wyatt-Hodge at cover, the visitors were 64 for 2 after six.Freya Kemp nicked one from Stonehouse through to wicketkeeper Kira Chathli and a maiden from Phoebe Franklin further cranked up the pressure. But McCaughan kept up the breathless chase, crisp driving and sweeping taking her to a polished fifty complete with 10 fours and Franklin spilt a skier to reprieve Adams as the tension mounted.With rain falling the 50-partnership came up in 33 balls and 85 were needed from the last seven.Smith failed to cling on to a tough chance at mid-off with McCaughan on 65, but Harris had her caught and bowled for 81 and when Adams perished two balls later to a stunning catch by Schofield, Hampshire were destined to fall short.