This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
Although it was only against Nottingham Forest, Unai Emery will have been happy about the way his Arsenal side put the Championship team to the sword in the League Cup on Tuesday night.
The Gunners were ruthless with their performance against Sabri Lamouchi’s side, and ended up winning 5-0.
English trio Rob Holding, Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson were all on the scoresheet, while Brazilian 18-year-old Gabriel Martinelli bagged himself a brace.
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The former Ituano man was one of several youngsters who were brought into the side for the game and he took full advantage of the chance that he was gifted.
Despite having just 29 touches throughout the game, he hit the back of the net twice.
Those weren’t his only shots – he had six overall as the Emirates outfit dominated proceedings from start to finish, showing that he was not afraid to take aim.
He was also good with his feet, completing two dribbles, whilst he won the most fouls for his side, with two.
His performance will have been particularly pleasing for Unai Emery.
Other than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the former Sevilla boss has no other natural striker currently available with Alexandre Lacazette out injured. Martinelli showed against Forest that, should he need to be called upon to lead the line, he is capable of doing so.
With Arsenal next in action at Old Trafford against Manchester United on Monday, Aubameyang will surely be restored to the side as the Gunners go in search of another victory.
The young Guarulhos native, though, has given his boss a valuable alternative moving forward.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Injury News series, which considers the impact of the latest updates on players’ fitness.
Speaking to London News Online, Lee Bowyer confirmed that he will have three key players back fit for this weekend’s game against Derby.
Ben Purrington, Tomer Hemed and Beram Kayal have all seemingly recovered from their respective issues, and Bowyer is expecting them to be back available.
The 42-year-old specifically spoke about Purrington’s return, saying: “It’s really important that Ben is back because that left-back position is where we are short.”
His return might be even more important, as Derby have a real danger-man lining up on Purrington’s side…
Who is it?
Martyn Waghorn.
The Derby forward is the Rams’ top scorer in the Championship this season with four goals to his name in ten starts, and has lined up on the right flank five times already this season – his last league start came on the right wing against Barnsley.
Waghorn is hardly the quickest player in the Championship, but what Purrington must be aware of is his knack of arriving in the box and taking up good goalscoring positions – the 23-year-old must be aware of the No.9’s whereabouts at all times.
Significance of Purrington’s return
Behind Purrington, Bowyer has just one other option at left-back in Lewis Page.
Unfortunately for Charlton and Page himself, the 23-year-old is yet to make an appearance this season as he struggles to stay fit.
When Purrington was out against Fulham, Bowyer opted for midfielder Jake Forster-Caskey at left wing-back, where he allowed Ivan Cavaleiro to cut in from the right flank and rifle home to find a second-half equaliser for the Cottagers – the ease with which the on-loan Wolves forward waltzed inside his man was concerning.
As a result, it is key for Charlton to have Purrington back fit and ready to perform, as Waghorn will certainly be a man to keep an eye on if his form so far this season is anything to go by.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
According to The Daily Mail, youngster Bobby Duncan wants to leave Liverpool with a possible loan move to Fiorentina on the cards.
What’s the word?
The British transfer window may now be closed but that isn’t stopping players from potentially leaving as clubs around the continent eye up people to bolster their ranks with the European market still open.
Considering Liverpool’s Champions League win, it would take a brave man to leave the club given their current exploits but Duncan is someone who doesn’t seem too bothered by that.
According to The Daily Mail, he is frustrated with his lack of first-team opportunities and wants to move away from the Reds as a result.
Per the report, Fiorentina could be willing to take the 18-year-old on loan.
Something Liverpool may have to get used to
It doesn’t matter how young and good you are, for the time being, it will take a colossal effort to break into this Liverpool side, especially if you’re a striker.
Rhian Brewster, a golden boot winner at the U17 World Cup is also struggling for opportunities but there haven’t been any hints that he’s frustrated.
Considering Brewster’s inability to work his way into the side, it’s not a great shock to see Duncan isn’t getting chances either.
The teenager has 23 goals in 26 matches for the club’s U18 side but individuals like him wanting to move on is something Liverpool may have to get used to.
The fact is that because of how well the senior team is doing, chances for their young players will become even more limited, thus adding to the frustration at youth level. In some ways, this will be negative if their best young players want to leave
If you’re a footballer you’re going to want to actually play and despite Duncan’s impatience in this situation, it wouldn’t be surprising if more players were found in this scenario.
Liverpool finished last season second in the Premier League whilst the fact they’ve reached two European finals in a row shows how good they’ve been.
At the moment, this won’t be an easy squad of players to get your chance in if you’re only on the peripheral.
Back in the summer of 2018 when the now 24-year-old Clement Lenglet joined Barcelona, he was far from a sensational signing.
Lenglet arrived from Sevilla and it was mostly due to Samuel Umtiti’s recurring knee problems that the Frenchman actually got a proper chance in the starting lineup.
But he did and last season he accumulated a total of 45 appearances across all competitions, cementing his spot in Ernesto Valverde’s starting XI.
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And just the other day, he tallied his first goal for his national team in a Euro qualifier. It’s safe to say that life has been good for the 24-year-old of late.
The fans are also seemingly on his side. Shortly after his goal for France, many of them took to Twitter and social media to praise the defender and gush over a signing that turned out to be quite spectacular.
They called him “underrated”, “brilliant” and even “world-class”.
You can see some of their reactions and replies in the collection of tweets down below:
Leroy Sane definitely wished for a completely different start to the 2019/20 season.
The young Manchester City winger suffered a serious injury during the game against Liverpool in the Community Shield clash and had to be taken off the pitch.
Pep Guardiola has since confirmed he will be out for at least six months, since that’s how long it usually takes for ligament injuries to completely heal.
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That could ultimately leave Sane sidelined until February at best and he will miss at least half of the new campaign.
David Beckham, the Manchester United icon, shared a new
/B1Vm3X8B-hd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram snap with Sane and sent him a heartfelt message on social media.
Beckham emphasised how the Germany international is a brilliant player and assured him he’ll be back on the pitch in no time at all.
Coming from an ex-professional of Beckham’s prestige, these words will definitely give the 23-year-old a well needed morale boost during a dark period in his career.
Last season he was in exceptional form despite not being a regular starter, as he scored 16 goals and assisted 18 in a total of 47 games across all competitions.
Kagiso Rabada said he had spoken to South Africa team-mates about the suspension and was open to going in further detail if needed
Andrew Fidel Fernando31-May-2025Kagiso Rabada had admitted to testing positive for recreational drug use and served a one-month ban as punishment, and now he has to return to the highest levels of cricket, where he has to face further consequences. He must clear the air – if that is required – with national team-mates, endure whatever the opposition decides to throw at him, and face down various media as he prepares for South Africa’s World Test Championship (WTC) final.All of these were assignments he was taking seriously, Rabada said in his first media interaction since the incident, as he left for London. “I think I owe it to them [to talk about what happened] – they’re my team-mates,” Rabada said of speaking to the squad about his suspension. “We’ve come from so far, you know, and to my closest people I owe it to them.”Look, this is not an ideal situation. I don’t need too many pats on the back here. I’m going to be joining with them again. I’ve already spoken to them and I guess we can do so in more detail when we get together for an extended amount of time.”Related
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Rabada had flown home from IPL 2025 late in March for supposed “personal reasons”, before the facts of his misdemeanours were rolled out following his testing positive for a drug that was either cannabis, cocaine, heroin or ecstasy, as per the code of the South African Institute of Drug-Free Sport. He returned to India to play two further games for Gujarat Titans (GT) following the end of his suspension.Rabada did not disclose in public the circumstance that led to him taking the banned substance, but he had tested positive in January, during the SA20 league.”It led me to a bit of introspection about myself, and I took some time away from the game,” he said. “I think the biggest thing I took away from it is having gratitude for playing the game that we love. I’m just glad to be playing again… the process was handled really well.”Rabada admitting to the offence is understood to have led to him being handed a more lenient punishment.6:18
Was it right to term Rabada’s absence due to doping ban as ‘personal reasons’?
“The decision to come back early [from the IPL] was brilliant, and that’s a decision that I made,” Rabada said. “I could have tried to contest it and whatnot, but coming home was the best option, and I was in good hands. All the parties that were involved made the whole process smooth.”I think, as a player, and a man, people will have their different opinions. I can live with that.”Though he had issued a statement in which he’d apologised to fans, he said he was looking forward to just playing cricket for South Africa again.”As you would have seen in my statement there are some people who would have been disappointed. And to those people I’m deeply sorry,” Rabada said. “The people closest to me are the ones I felt I let down.”But life moves on. I’ll never be ‘Mr-I-Apologise’ too much. But I’ll never condone that action.”
[ad_pod ]After a distinguished 19 year playing career and several stints as an assistant coach, Dean Saunders took to management like a dead duck to water. He bombed at Doncaster and Chesterfield. Say his name in Wolverhampton and they will shudder long into the night after the Welshman managed to relegate a side that had been tipped for promotion in 2013.With Wolves facing the drop and on a losing streak Saunders said this: “And another thing that has pleased me is in Ladbrokes, we’re not one of the three favourites to get relegated and they don’t normally get it wrong.”In the same press conference, he also said this: “I have got self-belief. If you said to me ‘Do you want to open the batting for England. They are playing down the road’, I’d say ‘Go on then, give me a bat’. Then I’d get to the bottom step and see the fast bowler marking his run-up and realise I can’t do that. But my first reaction is ‘I will give it a go’.â€Inspiring stuff I’m sure you’ll agree.With his coaching credentials shredded Saunders then turned to punditry and would pop up from time to time on our tellies scatter-gunning his patented brand of pure gibberish. He got his big break in the autumn of 2016 when an anecdote he told on talkSPORT went viral. In a nutshell – because it is a long, meandering tale – it concerns Brian Clough’s attempts to sign him for Nottingham Forest in 1991. Saunders turned up for a meeting to find a heavily inebriated Clough staring close-up to a wall. At various subsequent points in the story, the great man crawls on his hands and knees along the carpet, rips up a bunch of flowers from a pot, and follows the striker back home to cuddle up to his mother-in-law on the family sofa.Charitably we can say that the details had been embellished over time on the after-dinner circuit. Or we could claim the tale is a compendium of untruths. Either way, a disgusted Daniel Taylor debunked the account in the Guardian soon after and it should be noted that Brian Clough at the time of the alleged farce was a seriously ill man ravaged by alcoholism.The hits and attention his imaginative retelling gained, however, saw him promoted into the TalkSport ranks and ever since the Joey Essex of football has become synonymous with uttering tripe.
This past month alone he has claimed that sacked Birmingham boss Garry Monk could be in the running for the West Brom hot-seat and this despite the fact that the seat in question was filled by Slaven Bilic only days earlier. Then there was his recent assertion that Aston Villa are a bigger club than Chelsea and don’t even get me started on his exasperation at neutrals not being completely smitten by Liverpool. Jealousy at the Reds’ history was his only possible reasoning.
A particular favourite of mine occurred in early 2017 with Arsenal set to take on a formidable Bayern Munich side. Espousing a somewhat idealistic blend of caution and gung-ho ambition Saunders advised Arsene Wenger to set his team up with three at the back and two wing-backs who ‘don’t go over the halfway line’. Ahead of them two midfielders sit thus allowing four attackers to roam free. Maybe this explains his failure in management: a refusal by the FA to allow Saunders to pick twelve players.
It would be extremely naïve not to acknowledge that talkSPORT purposely seek out pundits who divide opinion and certainly provoke strong reactions. The bland and the sensible need not apply. But surely there is a base level to this requirement: a need for logic to be the foundation to any argument put forward.
In short, we deserve better – infinitely better – than to be subjected to the professional idiot Dean Saunders on our airwaves. Football is dumbing down season on season, but we’re nowhere close to his pit of despair yet.
It was Delhi Capitals’ second over-rate offence in IPL 2025
ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-20258:27
‘Pant should look to play straight instead of going for outrageous shots’
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant has been fined after his team was found guilty of maintaining a slow over rate during their defeat against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede on Sunday.Pant was fined INR 24 lakhs because it was DC’s second over-rate offence in IPL 2025, while the rest of the playing XI including the Impact Player will be fined “either INR 6 lakhs or 25% of their respective match fees, whichever is lesser,” according to the tournament’s code of conduct.LSG had chosen to bowl first on a hot afternoon in Mumbai. They conceded 215 for 7 in 20 overs and lost the chase by 54 runs after being dismissed for 161. It was a tough game for Pant, who was dismissed for 4 of 2 balls, extending his poor run this season: he’s scored only 110 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 98.21.Related
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LSG remained on ten points after suffering their fifth defeat in ten games, while MI rose to second temporarily on 12 points after recording their fifth successive victory.Along with Pant, Shubman Gill (GT), Axar Patel (DC), Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals – RR), Rajat Patidar (Royal Challengers Bengaluru – RCB), Riyan Parag (RR) and Hardik Pandya (MI) have also been penalised for slow over-rate offences so far this season. Unlike last year, however, the IPL has done away with bans for captains for repeat over-rate offences and will only levy demerit points and fines, in addition to in-game penalties.LSG’s next three games are against Punjab Kings (May 4), RCB (May 9) and GT (May 14), while MI play RR (May 1), GT (May 6) and PBKS (May 11).
Newcastle United have enjoyed another successful campaign in front of goal, with the club scoring the fourth-most goals in the Premier League so far this season.
However, it hasn't been enough to propel the Magpies back into the Champions League places for a second successive season, with injuries preventing the club from welcoming any of Europe's biggest clubs to St James' Park next term.
The defensive department has taken a battering during 2023/24, with Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles all missing large parts of the season, which has often resulted in a makeshift backline for Eddie Howe's side.
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe.
Newcastle's forward line has undoubtedly saved the Magpies from a disastrous campaign, with striker Alexander Isak single-handedly keeping the club within arm's length of a European spot.
The Swedish international has scored 20 times in 27 Premier League outings over the course of the season – a tally that has attracted interest from multiple sides across England's top division, namely Arsenal.
Howe certainly won't want to lose his talisman this summer, but if the club are forced to part ways with the 24-year-old, then PIF may well turn their attention to another Premier League forward, with the Magpies already keen on the attacker.
Newcastle enquire about 18-goal Premier League striker
According to GiveMeSport, the Magpies have already enquired about the availability of Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke ahead of the summer transfer window, after making contact with their fellow top-flight outfit.
Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke.
The 26-year-old has bagged 18 goals in the Premier League this season, in an unexpected season for Andoni Iraola's side, which sees them occupy a place in the top half of the division.
His most impressive display undoubtedly came in the 3-2 win away at Nottingham Forest in December, with the former Liverpool youngster grabbing his first career hat-trick.
He's also managed to find the back of the net on three occasions against Howe's side during the current campaign, including a double in the meeting at the Vitality Stadium back in November.
Solanke is currently enjoying the best Premier League campaign of his career, with the striker expected to cost any potential buyer a pretty penny in the summer.
Football Insider have reported that the Cherries are set to slap a £50m price tag on the forward's head, with Solanke the perfect replacement for Isak should he leave Tyneside in the coming months.
Why Solanke would be the perfect Isak replacement
Whilst no Newcastle fan would want to lose Isak this summer, they would be in safe hands should they replace him with Solanke during the off-season.
The pair have both excelled in the league, despite being utilised in slightly different ways by their respective managers.
Dominic Solanke scores in Bournemouth's away victory against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
The Magpies forward has been given a free role to create carnage in attacking areas, whilst the Cherries attacker has been more of an out-and-out striker who's scored most of his goals within the 18-yard box.
They both average a similar number of shots per 90, with the pair only separated by 0.1. They've also been nuisances in the opposition penalty area, with Solanke averaging 5.7 touches, compared to Isak's 5.4.
However, the Englishman has dominated in the air in comparison to the Swede, winning 2.6 per 90 – a tally that is over two more than the current Newcastle striker who could only muster 0.3.
Solanke v Isak in the PL (23/24)
Statistics
Isak
Solanke
Shots
2.9
2.8
Touches in penalty area
5.4
5.7
Goals per shot on target
0.5
0.5
Aerials won
0.3
2.6
Stats via FBref
Whilst they operate in different ways, Solanke could potentially be the perfect alternative with his poaching instincts seeing him operate in and around the box rather than roaming freely like Isak.
With Anthony Gordon contributing with 11 assists this season, he could take the 26-year-old to the next level with his creativity in the final third playing into the hands of the striker should he move to Tyneside.
Having already plucked Callum Wilson from the Cherries in 2020, the Magpies could be set to raid the Vitality Stadium once again under PIF's watch.
Newcastle eyeing "prolific" £17m striker who's outscored Isak this season
Ivan Toney was in generous mood ahead of his move to Saudi Arabia, with the England international telling friends and family “the flights are on me”.
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Striker has severed ties with Brentford
Embracing new challenge in the Middle East
Has committed to a lucrative deal
WHAT HAPPENED?
The 28-year-old striker has secured a £40 million ($53m) transfer from Premier League side Brentford to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ahli. He had been heavily linked with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea during the summer window, but is now embracing a new challenge in the Middle East.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Toney will be handsomely rewarded financially when linking up with Al-Ahli, as he has reportedly agreed a £400,000-a-week contract. That will leave him with plenty of spare change to invite his nearest and dearest out to experience his latest professional adventure.
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WHAT TONEY SAID
Toney told revellers at his farewell party: “It's a simple one, obviously love for coming. You know the love. You all got invited for your own reasons we've had some good memories everyone, more memories on our back I'm sure. Might be a bit older, but still get down with it, you know, like that. But, yeah, you're all welcome to come pull up anytime. Flights are on me. Don't worry I've got you. We will enjoy.”