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Mikel Arteta has some big decisions to make when the Gunners host Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday

Premier League leaders Arsenal return to action against Brentford on Saturday looking to put their defeat at Everton behind them.

That 1-0 loss at Goodison Park was the first Mikel Arteta’s side have suffered in the league since they were beaten 3-1 at Manchester United in September.

But Manchester City’s defeat at Tottenham on Sunday ensured the Gunners maintained their five-point lead at the top of the table, an advantage they would stretch to eight points should they beat Brentford this weekend.

So how are things shaping up at Arsenal ahead of the game? GOAL takes a look.

GettyArsenal team news

Gabriel Jesus has returned to Arsenal’s training ground this week to step up his recovery plan following knee surgery, but the Brazil International is still some way off being able to return to action.

Emile Smith Rowe has missed Arsenal’s last two games due to a thigh problem and is not expected to be fit to face Brentford this weekend. Reiss Nelson is fully fit and available again after his hamstring issue, but Mohamed Elneny is sidelined for the season due to a knee problem.

Thomas Partey was replaced after an hour against Everton last weekend, but that substitution was not believed to be injury related.

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Martin Odegaard: Arsenal’s captain had an off day by his high standards against Everton last weekend and the side suffered as a result.

When Odegaard plays well, Arsenal play well, so the Gunners will be looking to their skipper to inspire them to a much-improved performance to the one they produced at Goodison Park.

If Odegaard gets on the ball and finds space in the final third, it could be a long afternoon for the Brentford defence.

GettyTalking point

There is plenty of debate ahead of the game about whether Saturday is the time for Mikel Arteta to shake things up a bit.

The likes of Ben White and Gabriel Martinelli have been slightly off it in the past couple of weeks and could benefit from a rest, especially with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Leandro Trossard pushing hard for a place in the starting XI.

Arsenal have their huge clash with Manchester City on Wednesday night looming large so if Arteta is ever going to rotate his starting XI, Saturday seems like the moment he will do it.

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Getty ImagesWhat has Arteta said?

The Arsenal manager knew his side under-performed against Everton, but was quick to offer his players support ahead of this weekend’s crucial clash at the Emirates.

“This is the moment I love my players more,” he said. “Now we stick together. This journey is going to be difficult and challenging, and there’s going to be bigger stones in the middle that we’re going to have to overcome that. And now we’re going to prepare really well in the week to get to Saturday in the right emotional level and right spirit to be perfect.”

After scoring an unbeaten 88 which secured Bangladesh’s seven-wicket win against South Africa, Soumya Sarkar revealed that he kept trying to pull the short balls since he was confident he had the mindset to take on the visitors’ attack

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur13-Jul-2015After scoring an unbeaten 88 which secured Bangladesh’s seven-wicket win against South Africa, Soumya Sarkar revealed that he kept trying to pull the short balls since he was confident he had the mindset to take on the visitors’ attack. Soumya said that he was not worried about the consequences, like getting out, but understood the need to prolong his good starts.”I heard from somewhere that they will stop me by bowling bouncers,” Soumya said. “I wanted to play at them, even if I got out. I wanted to get out of that mindset. I planned that no matter how fast they bowl and how much they try to bounce me, I just wanted to take them on.”South Africa’s pace attack bowled eleven deliveries to Soumya that ranged between very short to just short of good length, but the batsman either managed to get on top of the bounce, or threw himself at a pull. He initially got mixed results as many of the balls fell short of the mid-off fielder after he failed to time it.But later in the innings, after Soumya had crossed 60, he cracked a pull emphatically off Kagiso Rabada for four. It was a statement of intent that he later said wanted to deliver to the opposition attack. Soumya added that South Africa hardly gave him breathing space like he received from the Pakistan attack on his way to an unbeaten 127 three months ago. He rated this unbeaten knock higher than the century.”Against South Africa, I have had to make a bad ball as they weren’t giving away. Pakistan were giving at least one bad ball per over. This was a tougher knock. We were chasing a bigger total against Pakistan so we could plan accordingly. Small targets are always hard to chase. We have to change plans quickly. You have to start fresh after quick wickets. I will keep this innings ahead.”In the four innings after his maiden century on April 22, Soumya failed to bat for more than 47 deliveries or 70 minutes. He made 54, 34, 40 and 27, but got out trying to attack further. The BCB president Nazmul Hasan had mentioned the same to him during their meeting on Saturday, but Soumya said he has heard the exact same thing from everyone.”Everyone says the same thing. Even those who are younger than me tell me, ‘Bro, please finish your innings’. I have been getting used to this,” he said. “I didn’t do too many different things to prolong my innings. My target wasn’t to score a 50 or a 100 but to finish the chase. I just wanted to play till the end.”Soumya said that he minimised the risk in his plan to play a longer innings. Bangladesh’s poor start of losing Tamim Iqbal and Litton Das by the fourth over also contributed to his subdued start.”I cut down one or two of my shots thinking that it might bring me a positive result. A big innings always brings relief. I started differently today but that was due to the circumstances. I think I faced just one ball in the first three-four overs. We had lost two wickets by then so I had to think fresh. I had thought earlier that I would play in my own way. But the two wickets changed my plans.”The other factor he feels helped was having Mahmudullah back in the team. Soumya and Mahmudullah added 135 runs for the third wicket that took Bangladesh within four runs of victory. The pair has already added three fifty-plus stands and Soumya said Mahmudullah understands his game the best, which helps them bat well together.”Since the World Cup whenever I see Riyad bhai come to bat, I smile. I do that whenever I see him in the middle. Today I told him everything is fine. But what he tells me, I always take it seriously. He understands my batting very well.”

James Pattinson summoned a frightening spell that cut deep into New Zealand’s batting and helped bring about the end of Brendon McCullum’s storied international career

The Report by Daniel Brettig21-Feb-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Pattinson’s pace cut deep through New Zealand’s top order•Getty ImagesAs much as this series has packed into two Test matches, one element missing was high pace. James Pattinson changed all that on the third evening at Hagley Oval, summoning a frightening spell that cut deep into New Zealand’s batting and helped bring about the end of Brendon McCullum’s storied international career.On a day when Neil Wagner’s persistent short-ball attack had already been rewarded with a flurry of wickets after lunch, as New Zealand restricted Australia’s first-innings lead, Pattinson showed how speed can transcend conditions. His hostility and reverse swing left the hosts 14 runs in deficit with only six wickets remaining ahead of day four.Always a rhythm bowler, Pattinson had not quite found his form on day one and also bowled the fateful no-ball that cost Australia McCullum’s wicket. This time his pace and seam position were very much in sync, accounting for Martin Guptill, Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls before boring in at McCullum.While he did not take the wicket, Pattinson gave McCullum plenty to think about and on 25, the batsman slogged at Josh Hazlewood and was wonderfully caught by David Warner at midwicket. He and Steven Smith shook the departing McCullum’s hand but both know that victory and the world No. 1 Test ranking is now within reach.Adam Voges and the nightwatchman Nathan Lyon had played serenely in the early part of the day, but Voges’ departure to the pull short, after the fashion of Joe Burns and Smith, heralded the loss of quick wickets. In all, Australia’s last six wickets tallied only 67.Wagner’s energy and commitment to banging the ball into the pitch was not sophisticated, but over time it worked wonders on a surface given to the occasional bout of variable pace. His celebrations grew in exuberance at each wicket, as Australia’s advantage was limited.For Voges, it was another instance of applying the sturdy, calculated approach that has brought him runs at a scarcely believable rate in recent times. Momentarily his Test batting average again cleared 100, the only man to occupy that rarified air above Sir Donald Bradman.There had been more ambitious hopes for New Zealand when play began, following up on last evening’s dual dismissals. Wagner resumed with a similar line of attack, peppering Voges and Lyon with short stuff.Partly through determination and good technique, partly due to the docile character of the pitch, the batsmen were able to stand up to this examination, as Lyon repeatedly covered the bounce and dead-batted it near his feet.Runs flowed a little more freely after those early overs, though neither batsman played with extravagance. Voges offered a neat cut shot here, a checked drive there, while Lyon worked the ball around with the earnest intent of a man who would like to bat further up the order more often.Trent Boult had one concerted lbw appeal and review against Voges, but video evidence had the ball not swinging back enough to hit the stumps. It was telling that McCullum was reduced to bowling himself with the nightwatchman at the crease, and the Hagley Oval crowd raised a cheer when he beat Lyon’s outside edge.At the other end, Williamson would tempt Lyon into following a ball angled across him, and McCullum swooped nicely for the catch. Mitchell Marsh had a 21-ball sighter before the interval, and had the potential to lift the scoring rate dramatically when play resumed.Instead it was Voges who tried to push things along, and departed when Latham timed his leap to catch a flat pull shot at midwicket. Marsh also tried to take on Wagner, and likewise arrowed a catch to the inner field on the leg side.Pattinson broke the sequence with a sliced drive to point, before Peter Nevill’s attempted upper cut settled into BJ Watling’s gloves. Josh Hazlewood offered a simple catch to McCullum at slip to hand Wagner his sixth wicket, a deserved analysis.It was immediately apparent that Pattinson was bowling with good pace and a hint of movement, and the ball was still new when he found Guptill’s outside edge. Latham and Kane Williamson endured for a while, and Australia briefly pondered a review when Jackson Bird hit the No. 3 on the back pad.Smith brought Pattinson back and he soon had Latham’s wicket when some extra bounce resulted in a glove down the leg side. Nicholls was tightened up by a disciplined line and some pronounced reverse swing, before Pattinson angled one wider and was rewarded with a waft, an edge and a catch for Smith.McCullum’s arrival was warmly received, and for a while he seemed to be building something. He eschewed the extravagance of day one, instead mixing defence with calculated attack, but Pattinson did not give him a moment’s peace as Smith allowed the spell to stretch into a seventh over.There was one raucous lbw appeal denied, and one catch turned down after replays showed the ball had gone from bat to ground to boot – shades of Marsh’s ODI dismissal in Hamilton. Eventually Pattinson was spelled, and when McCullum hoisted Hazlewood over the midwicket fence New Zealand still dreamed.Next ball, however, Warner swooped, ending a glittering career and putting the prize of top spot well and truly within Australia’s sights.

Quinton de Kock and Wayne Parnell are the two nationally contracted players who have opted to change franchises ahead of the 2015-16 summer

Firdose Moonda26-May-2015Quinton de Kock and Wayne Parnell are the two nationally contracted players who have opted to change franchises ahead of the 2015-16 summer. Both are leaving the teams where their careers began with De Kock moving from Lions to Titans and Parnell from Warriors to Cobras.De Kock’s shift is more surprising because he was quite close to Lions’ head coach Geoffrey Toyana, who oversaw an important phase of his career when he was trying to break into international cricket. After de Kock had an unsuccessful start with a particularly poor tour of Sri Lanka in 2013, Toyana spent many hours in the nets with him to hone his game. The results were stand out – de Kock reeled off three centuries in succession against India, became South Africa’s regular limited-overs opener and wicketkeeper and started his Test career as well.In the process, de Kock also earned IPL deals, first with Sunrisers Hyderabad and then Delhi Daredevils where he would have worked closely with Rob Walter, Titans’ head coach for two seasons after a long stint as South Africa’s fitness and fielding coach. Titans won their first trophy under Walter, the one-day cup in the 2014-15 season, after sharing the trophy with the Cobras the year before.Walter has two more years in charge and will be targeting more silverware. De Kock will add to a squad that has already poached another Lions player, Chris Morris and two other glovemen. Heino Kuhn and Mangaliso Mosehle may give him a break from being behind the stumps. The situation will not be too unusual for de Kock, who also found himself with a clutch of keepers at the Lions. Thami Tsolekile and Dominic Hendricks both play at Lions and have been retained for next season.At the coastal end of the country, Parnell travels from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town for “lifestyle” reasons according to his agent Donne Commins. While his move has left the Eastern Cape based franchise without one of their senior bowlers, it has added to the embarrassment of riches in the Western Cape. Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Rory Kleinveldt, Justin Kemp, Dane Piedt and Robin Peterson make up the international component of the Cobras attack while they also have promising youngsters in Dane Paterson and Mthokozisi Shezi, who, like Parnell, is a left-arm seamer.The only solace for the other franchises is that Cobras’ national players do not often turn out for them because of international commitments and Parnell is likely to be no different. When he is available, coach Paul Adams intends to use him as a “fully-fledged allrounder.”

The gold Adidas Predator boots worn by David Beckham when winning his 100th cap for England are expected to sell for £10,000 at auction.

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Iconic figure made 115 appearances for his countryCaptained the Three Lions on 59 occasionsNow working with Lionel Messi in MLSGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

The Manchester United legend, who now works with Lionel Messi in MLS as co-owner of Inter Miami, reached a century of outings for his country when taking in a friendly date with France in Paris on March 26, 2008.

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Beckham, who would go on to earn 115 caps for the Three Lions, suffered a 1-0 defeat at Stade de France against the likes of Franck Ribery, Nicolas Anelka, William Gallas and Claude Makelele – with England having already failed to qualify for that summer’s European Championship.

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The night was a memorable one, though, as he became only the fifth Englishman to reach 100 international appearances. Said occasion was marked by a pair of custom boots that featured St George’s Crosses and the names of the three children that he had at the time with pop star wife Victoria – Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz.

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WHAT THEY SAID

The boots in question are now set to go under the hammer, with a starting bid tabled of £4,600. David Convery, head of sporting memorabilia at Northamptonshire-based Graham Budd Auctions, has said of the lot: “David Beckham is not only an iconic player, but you could also argue that he started the 'style revolution' with this type of golden boot. These boots are already attracting attention on a global stage and we wouldn't be surprised if they reached or even went beyond their estimated price.”

Rahul Dravid has stressed on the anti-corruption measures to be adopted at all international and domestic tournaments, including the IPL, to keep cricket corruption-free

Amol Karhadkar06-Apr-2015Rahul Dravid has stressed on the anti-corruption measures to be adopted at all international and domestic tournaments, including the IPL, to keep cricket corruption-free. Dravid, the Rajasthan Royals mentor, also reiterated the need for getting corruption-related offences in the ambit of criminal laws as another step to rid the menace.”We have to remember that the IPL is a two-month tournament. Nine-ten months of the year, people are not with the franchises. Sometimes they are with their state teams or international teams and that is a long time of the year,” Dravid said. “Things like education and vigilance need to be followed not only by the IPL but by everyone else.”The IPL was hit by a spot-fixing controversy in 2013 when three of Royals’ players – S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila – were arrested. When asked about the measures need to be taken by the IPL authorities to reduce the trust deficit among fans, Dravid said everyone involved in the game should be more vigilant.”There have been unfortunate incidents related not only to the IPL but there have been unfortunate incidents related to international cricket as well, relating to spot-fixing and match-fixing, so it’s not a problem that exists only in isolation to the IPL,” Dravid said.”The IPL is a high-profile tournament. It does attract a lot of attention, hype and media, because of that it does attract at times a lot of wrong elements as well,” he said. “Vigilance is one thing that at all times we need to be vigilant about. Everyone is trying their best. They have the educational programmes, they have the ACSU. I know Rajasthan Royals, we go out of the way to make an effort, try and educate the players.”Being vigilant is very important. Everyone is trying to make an effort. You have got to recognise that there are always going to be people who are going to try and find a way into the game, sort of undesirable elements. We just have to remain vigilant. New players coming into the IPL need to be guided.”Dravid has been vocal about the need to introduce stricter laws to deal with fixing-related offences. “Irrespective of whoever is in charge of the IPL, one of the most important things is that we need to have stricter laws that deal with issues like match fixing, spot fixing. And there should be consequences when people make mistakes and are proven guilty,” he said.”We need to have those laws in place that in the long term act as a deterrent. For anything like robbery, theft and cheating there are laws and strict consequences. Those consequences need to happen from lawmakers. You need to go into areas of almost treating it as a criminal offence. That’s my belief. There are consequences in cricket and you pay the price.”

Real Madrid comfortably beat Napoli 4–2 on Wednesday to secure the top spot in their Champions League group, with Jude Bellingham impressing again.

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Real Madrid win 4-2 over NapoliBellingham first Madrid player to score four in four CL gamesAncelotti praises Englishman's workrateGetty WHAT HAPPENED?

Fourteen-time champions Madrid defeated the visiting Italian champions in a thrilling match to claim first place after they had already qualified for the knockout stages on the previous matchday. Bellingham gave Madrid the lead after 22 minutes with a fantastic header that went over Alex Meret and in the net after David Alaba found him with a lovely cross. Bellingham is now the team's top scorer with four Champions League goals in just four games for Madrid, and a total of 15 goals in 16 appearances this season.

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After the game, the veteran Italian manager was all praises for the English midfielder as he talked about his ability to arrive in the box from deep spaces.

"He's spectacular in getting into the box, he comes into the box like a motorbike," he told Movistar Plus [via The Athletic]. "It's surprising because nobody could have imagined such fast adaptation here, to this club and the football he is showing. He surprises the fans, teammates and even rivals."

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On the night, Bellingham also became the first Real Madrid player to score four goals in his first four games for the club in the Champions League. He also managed to register an assist from the game as Joselu grabbed Madrid's fourth of the night to secure their win and top spot.

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Getty Images WHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?

After confirming their presence in the first pot of the Round of 16 draw, Madrid can now completely shift their focus to La Liga as they currently lead the standings, level on points with Girona.

The final super squad has been released for FIFA 18, with players from Europe's big five leagues included after impressing for their clubs in 2017-18

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EA Sports4Luis Suarez – BarcelonaST, 97

Preston Mommsen has said he expects Bangladesh to field a spin-heavy attack before adding that Scotland had worked hard to improve that area of their game over the past few months

Devashish Fuloria in Nelson04-Mar-2015Plan for Bangladesh, plan for spin. Preston Mommsen has said he expects Bangladesh to field a spin-heavy attack before adding that Scotland had worked hard to improve that area of their game over the past few months.Bangladesh have not hinted at any changes, but after the three-men pace attack leaked runs against Sri Lanka at the MCG, and with them now facing an opposition considered weak against spin, there might be a rethink. But Mommsen was not waiting for that.”We are expecting a full spin attack from the Bangladeshis or we’re preparing for that at least,” Mommsen said. “I think it’s important for us to play good strong shots during those middle overs, play good cricket to set us up for the back 10, 15 overs. If we can get to that 40th over with wickets in hand, hopefully we can expose some weaknesses in their death bowling and hopefully get a good total by playing good cricket in that way.”In the last 12 months we’ve spent a lot of time training in subcontinental conditions against spin,” he said. “We had a 10-day batting camp with Matthew Maynard in Dubai where the main focus was playing against spin. We’re fully prepared. We’ve ticked all the boxes we need to tick.”As the afternoon got busier, with organisers getting the ground ready for its final match this tournament, the Scotland batsmen took turns to perfect their sweep shots on the practice pitch on the main square. They also tried to use their feet, not to go for big hits, but to push the ball along the ground.It was a quick change in focus for a team that struggled against seam bowling in each their previous three matches. A loss in one of them had left them gutted, too.”That Afghanistan game was very difficult to get over,” Mommsen said. “Obviously there were times in that game we were going to win and then it slipped away from us and got back and then slipped away again.”To lose that game was very disappointing for all the 15 players, but we’ve had a good couple of days’ break, clean break from cricket, some of the boys have gone up north, seen some of the beautiful beaches in Nelson and just taken their minds off cricket. We came back to training yesterday nice and refreshed and the boys are ready to go for tomorrow.”That was in all probability Scotland’s best chance to register their first World Cup win. Now, with three games remaining, against Australia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the one on Thursday will possibly be their last opportunity as Bangladesh are the only Full Member who Scotland have beaten, albeit in a T20.”The only time I’ve played them was in the Twenty20 in the Netherlands, which we played good cricket on that day and things went our way and we came out on top,” Mommsen said. “We have good memories of playing against Bangladesh. However, we know they’re a quality international team. They’re a Full Member nation. There will be more pressure on them.”They’re expected to win this game. They want to get two points out of this game. But at the same time we know it’s a brilliant opportunity for Scotland as an Associate team to play against a Full Member and have the opportunity to beat a Full Member. We are right up for this game.”It was in Nelson that Ireland surprised West Indies to pull off the tournament most notable reversal to date. It is here that Scotland are hoping to repeat the same.”We love what Ireland do on the world stage, at World Cups, the way they’re able to beat Full Members on a consistent basis,” he said. “We do take inspiration from the way they performed here against West Indies. I think they’re very aggressive in the way they took on West Indies’ bowling attack, and we’ll try and represent the Associates tomorrow as best we can.”

Former Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan has been appointed Habib Bank Limited’s coach for Pakistan’s new domestic season

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2014Former Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan has been appointed Habib Bank Limited’s coach for Pakistan’s new domestic season. Kabir had recently resigned as Afghanistan’s coach stating that the job had taken a toll on his family life. He coached Afghanistan in two stints – from 2008 to 2010, and from December 2011 to 2014. He has now signed with HBL for a year.”We have offered him a contract and he has accepted,” Abdul Raqeeb, HBL sports head, told ESPNcricinfo. “Having observed his international career with Afghanistan we are excited to get his services. He is a coach with a caliber who worked hard with developing the Afghanistan team to get them recognised in the world. It’s good to have him in our circuit and I am sure he will spur a new spirit in the team.”HBL includes some prominent international players such as Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq and Abdur Rehman.Kabir, who played for HBL for nearly a decade, played four Tests and 10 ODIs for Pakistan.