It reminds me a bit of being back home in Cork. People are just so friendly and they want you to settle in quickly, so the transition has been seamless, People in Ireland were absolutely buzzing that I was signing for a club like Liverpool and I think my family was just as excited. I am close to home now - it's only a 40-minute flight - so they can come and watch me play whenever.
In the Gunners' past six league games, Eze has played a total of 23 minutes. He was an unused substitute in four of those matches. The England international was signed from Crystal Palace in August for 67m to add creativity to Arsenal's attack - he shoots freely, while his ability to open a defence in a flash means he adds an element of flair to the forward line that not many others in the squad have.
Arsenal are seven points clear at the top as they prepare for the visit of Manchester United on Sunday; they have by far the meanest defence in the division and have shown their strength in many other areas, including set pieces. Pep Guardiola, whose Manchester City are second, described Arsenal as the best team in the world on Friday and Arteta has heard the line about how it is their title to lose.
Well, based on points-per-game averages, leaders Heart of Midlothian are currently projected to finish the campaign on a total of 86 points. That potential haul is lower than each of the five previous champions - and 10 fewer than the title-winning average of 96 across those five seasons. In fact, the 2.27 points-per-game average that Derek McInnes' men are posting at present is lower than the last seven winners, including Celtic's title win in the Covid-curtailed 2019-20 campaign and the triumph that came a year prior.
The 19-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough season in Spain and is attracting growing attention across Europe, with Arsenal among several clubs tracking his rapid development. Valdepenas is viewed with immense admiration by both clubs' data and scouting departments. Long recognised within La Fabrica as one of Real Madrid's brightest prospects, he made his senior debut earlier this season, playing 78 minutes at Mendizorroza in a composed and confident showing that impressed coaches and analysts alike.
Everything indicates that Max Eberl's contract at FC Bayern will be extended beyond 2027. The supervisory board is happy with Eberl's work overall, despite some slight points of criticism such as the expensive contract extensions. There will be two supervisory board meetings later this year, one in August and one in November - the final decision will be made by then. - Sport Bild's Tobi Altschaffl and Christian Falk as captured by X account @iMiaSanMia
Binning an unwritten law that was never worth the paper it wasn't written on, could be a game-changer Unwritten rules are hypocritical for obvious reasons. Nobody can see them. Verbal questions are different. Anyone can ask them.
Atletico are currently fourth in LaLiga on 41 points, eight behind leaders Barcelona after 20 games played. They are currently unbeaten in four matches in the league, but the off-the-field talk is all about Alvarez, who has been linked with a move to Arsenal and Barca and has struggled in front of goal. Without a LaLiga goal in nine games, more onus will be placed on Alvarez on Sunday as Antoine Griezmann is set to be sidelined through injury.
"I'm alive again. I see the injury as a big learning curve. You learn more about yourself and are tested the most. Rehab isn't fun. It's always something worse than the previous one. What you do is come back in the best shape and hopefully better than before," Musiala told FCBayern.com (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). "The way everything went, I couldn't have felt any better. I love being on the pitch so much."
2 mins: No Granit Xhaka in Sunderland's midfield could make this interesting. It does look like a straight 4-4-2, with Sadiki testing Areola early on with a sweet left-footed volley after a long throw was headed into no man's land. Share Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppp!! Share Broadcasters TNT Sports have Sunderland's formation down as a 4-2-3-1 with Hume in midfield and Mayenda out wide on the right. Guess we'll find out soon Share
Could Germany boycott the 2026 World Cup? Oke Gottlich, president of Bundesliga side St. Pauli and one of ten vice presidents of the German federation, told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper that the time has come to seriously consider and discuss this in terms of possibly boycotting the World Cup. What were the justifications for the boycotts of the Olympic Games in the 1980s? he said. By my reckoning the potential threat is greater now than it was then. We need to have this discussion.
Offers came in some were rejected by the club, some by me, others jointly, Mendieta recalls to FourFourTwo. The most famous was from Real Madrid. When they became interested in 2001, I knew Valencia wouldn't let me go for less than my release clause, which was 60 million, and Real weren't going to pay that for me. If they had triggered it, the debate would have shifted: would I have gone? But it never got to that point.
"After review, the ball hits the arm of the Wolves player, which is in a natural position so the on-field decision will remain," he announced over the tannoy. Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann said it was "without doubt the correct decision". "Hallam, officiating in his first Premier League match, made an excellent and courageous call to stick with his on-field decision of no handball," Cann told BBC Sport.
In an interview with the Hamburger Post (via welt.de), Göttlich was asked if he was calling for a boycott, after having previously questioned in a social media post whether European national teams should participate in a tournament hosted by a country "that is indirectly and possibly soon directly attacking Europe." To this, Göttlich aswered that it was time to "think about it and talk about it concretely."
I don't think it was a bad performance. It was maybe not the result we hoped for. I think the performance, if you look at it throughout the game, especially the first half, was good. The way we ended the game, good. Average second half, which you've seen many times. Then unfortunately it lacked with two moments where we didn't defend it well enough. That's what we are working very, very hard on, to try to get on top of.
The unfamiliar sensation coursing through West Ham is hope. Seemingly down and out after their devastating defeat to Nottingham Forest earlier this month, the prospect of Nuno Espirito Santo masterminding the unlikeliest of escapes feels far from outlandish after seeing his side treat the London Stadium to the rare sensation of a performance full of craft, desire and tactical intelligence. Sunderland were blown away by three goals inside the first 43 minutes. They looked stunned by West Ham's intensity and quality in attack. Jarrod Bowen was outstanding, Crysencio Summerville scored for the third time in as many games and the brilliance of Mateus Fernandes in midfield suggested that West Ham will be able to cope if they grant Lucas Paqueta his wish to join Flamengo.
SNS Livingston will contact the Scottish FA to report Aberdeen over an alleged racial comment made to striker Jeremy Bokila. Following Livingston's 6-2 defeat by Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Saturday, manager David Martindale said 37-year-old Bokila was in tears in the changing room after a comment made to him on the pitch. It is understood the alleged comment was of a racial nature and came amid a second-half melee that resulted in Bokila being sent off.
Real Madrid will aim to leapfrog Barcelona and at least temporarily go top of LaLiga with victory at Villarreal. Los Blancos turned on the style in midweek as they thrashed Monaco 6-1 in the Champions League. They will aim to maintain that momentum in LaLiga and pile the pressure on Barcelona, who surprisingly lost to Real Sociedad in their last league encounter.
Tottenham defender Ben Davies has undergone a second operation on a broken ankle and is a doubt for the World Cup should Wales qualify. The 32-year-old was given oxygen before being carried off on a stretcher after 19 minutes of last weekend's 2-1 Premier League defeat by West Ham United. Davies has undergone further surgery that is liable to rule him out of Wales' March World Cup play-off games and casts doubt on his Tottenham future.
"Every goal you score is great, but from that far out to get all three points is extra special," Wilson said. "I've had a really good run of form from the end of November until now and, as an attacker, you are judged on these numbers. "When you are helping the team with goals and assists, it is an amazing feeling."
