All the action from the Emirates (1.30pm kick-off GMT)Join the discussion: email Daniel with your thoughts Arteta says this is a big game and the players are focused on that. They’re excited to face Real Madrid and the international break is coming next so they need to play well and hopefully get some players back afterwards. Where is the game? Arsenal will fancy Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard to run off James and Moises Caicedo, while their left flank of Lewis-Skelly and Leandro Trossard will surely target Jadon Sacnho, unrenowned for his physicality or relentlessness, and Wesley Fofana, a centre-back playing out of position. Continue reading...

The records may have slowed down as his goalscoring enters more human levels, but Erling Haaland reaches another landmark in Manchester City's 2-2 draw with Brighton.

Midfielder unhappy with his goal and assist returnCaptain hopes midweek double is a turning point Martin Ødegaard has admitted he has “not been good enough” this season, particularly in regards to his goals and assists output. The Arsenal captain has pulled no punches in his assessment of a campaign that was undermined by a two-month ankle injury layoff from early September. Ødegaard was back to his driving and creative best in Arsenal’s 7-1 win at PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday, scoring two and providing one assist. As he prepares for Sunday’s Premier League visit to Manchester United, he hopes it can mark a turning point. Continue reading...

The Trump administration’s tariffs have sparked tension with co-hosts Canada and Mexico. That’s bad news for a tournament that is supposed to unite nations The start of the run-up to a World Cup is traditionally an upbeat affair. New stadium launches, inclusion-friendly marketing and merch campaigns, the unveiling of a tournament song or quirky mascot: these are the traditional signals by which host nations announce that the big show is approaching. This time, pre-tournament preparations are taking shape a little differently. Thanks to Donald Trump and his determination to pursue economic armageddon against the US’s co-hosts, Canada and Mexico, the tone for the 2026 World Cup is being set not by Shakira or an anthropomorphic keffiyeh but by reciprocal tariffs, a flurry of cross-border insults, and crumbling diplomatic relations between the host nations. On Tuesday, Trump confirmed that the US will begin imposing levies on most imports from Canada and Mexico; Canada immediately retaliated, and Mexico looks set to follow. Welcome to the Trade War World Cup; please tip your host 25% of the entrance fee on your way in. If things continue on their current course, the 2026 tournament will be the first installment of the World Cup to be co-hosted by the antagonists of an active international economic conflict. Whether things do in fact continue as they are is, of course, difficult to predict: Trump’s approach to policy is famously erratic, and the protectionism that marked his first administration was leavened by various exemptions and carve-outs to the tariffs imposed on trading partners, a cycle of aggression and moderation that could be repeated this time round. With the first match still 15 months away, there’s plenty of time for the deterioration in diplomatic relations between the co-hosts to give way to reconciliation. But as things stand today, with Trump and his cabinet lackeys apparently hell bent on trashing the global economy and humiliating traditional allies, that hope seems pretty remote. The US – which is due to host 75% of the matches during the 2026 tournament, and every fixture from the quarter-finals onwards – looks set to steam into the approaching World Cup with a spirit of hospitality roughly equivalent to Roy Keane sizing up Alf-Inge Haaland’s knee. Continue reading...

Manager thrilled at 7-1 mauling of PSV EindhovenWin is club’s biggest away victory in Champions League Mikel Arteta paid tribute to Arsenal’s players for a “special night” as they thrashed PSV Eindhoven 7-1 to record their biggest away victory in the Champions League. Martin Ødegaard, the captain, was inspired as he scored twice with Riccardo Calafiori, on as a substitute, rounding off the rout with Arsenal’s seventh goal to surpassing the Gunners’ 5-1 victory at San Siro against Inter in 2003. Continue reading...

Graceful captain set the tone early on in thrashing of PSV and will need to be at his best when tougher tests arrive If there was a moment that epitomised how Arsenal were going to approach what had appeared to be an extremely tricky away assignment against PSV Eindhoven then it came in the 20th minute of this surprisingly one-sided first leg. Already leading through Jurriën Timber’s header, a cross from Leandro Trossard eluded everyone in the box but Martin Ødegaard had already set off in pursuit of the ball. His attempts to keep it in play eventually came to no avail despite a desperate slide, yet the Arsenal captain had set the tone. Two minutes later, Ethan Nwaneri had etched his name into the history books again as the third-youngest goalscorer in the Champions League knockout stages, and Arsenal were well on their way to a statement win that will live long in the memory of the 1,800 Gunners fans who witnessed it live. Continue reading...

Arsenal had struggled for goals, three blanks in their previous four matches; out of the Carabao Cup, their Premier League title challenge grievously undermined. It was just too hard without all of their injured forwards, wasn’t it? Here, Mikel Arteta’s team gave their riposte. It was one-way traffic from the outset and when Leandro Trossard got his goal, ensuring that all three of Arteta’s makeshift frontline had scored, it was 5-1 and there were only 48 minutes on the clock. PSV Eindhoven were humiliated. Continue reading...

Atlético 1-0 Athletic Bilbao | Real Betis 2-1 Real MadridNapoli 1-1 Inter | Mourinho’s Turkish suspension halved Real Madrid stumbled in the three-way race for the La Liga title as Isco guided Real Betis to a 2-1 comeback win over the defending champions on Saturday, enabling Atlético Madrid to overtake their neighbours by winning the late kick-off against Real Betis. Atlético won thanks to a second-half strike from the substitute Julián Álvarez. Atletico came close to taking the lead in the first half through Alexander Sørloth, who missed a header from Antoine Griezmann’s pass. Álvarez, who came on for Sørloth just before the hour mark, gave Atlético the winner in the 66th minute with a precise left-foot shot after being played through by Marcos Llorente. Continue reading...

As he prepares to face Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday, the midfielder talks tactics, up and downs and being part of Norway’s ‘little golden generation’ As Fulham finalise their preparations for Sunday’s trip to Manchester United in the fifth round of the FA Cup, Sander Berge is thinking about how to handle adversity. “It taught me a lot about myself,” the midfielder says, recalling how spirits could have sagged when he was part of unsuccessful fights for survival with Burnley and Sheffield United. “When you’re struggling every day it’s difficult. That’s a time to show character more than ever. You demand the ball, you take pride in going out there and showing you have the ability to stay at that level. It’s about who you want to be.” Continue reading...

Ukraine defender on his parents enduring the war, the generosity of fans and facing Manchester City in the FA Cup Suddenly talking about celebrating tackles with gladiatorial grace and the prospect of swapping shirts with Erling Haaland feels rather insignificant. Maksym Talovierov, known as Maxi, is detailing the sobering reality of life since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “It’s really hard because for three years every morning I wake up and I see a lot of notifications about rockets and missiles in every city, including Kyiv, where my parents are,” the Plymouth defender says. “I text them immediately to see how they’re doing. ‘Are you in the [underground] car park? Are you in the metro?’ Because when they [Russia] are bombing and it’s dangerous, that’s where they go because they are the closest things to safe zones.” The 24-year-old has not seen his mother, Maryna, and father, Vadym, a former professional footballer, for three and a half years. “Sometimes they might not have a connection or wifi and then it’s stressful because they don’t respond and you don’t know what’s going on. On the news it might say: ‘In this area of Kyiv, five rockets.’ But you never know exactly where. Continue reading...

For 45 minutes, it was tempting to wonder where this version of Manchester City had been hiding? They were energetic and incisive, threatening to tear Tottenham apart. Erling Haaland was back in the line-up after a knee injury and his 20th goal of the Premier League season – and 28th overall – was scant reward for their control. City’s previous visit to this stadium had brought a Carabao Cup exit and it is remarkable to consider how they have fared since then. Before kick-off here and taking in that defeat, their record showed 14 losses in 27 matches in all competitions. They looked set to make a more coherent statement. Continue reading...

Liverpool meet Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League, while Arsenal could face Real Madrid in the quarter-final A video explains just how the draw works. I was confused eight seconds in. It’ll be done soon. Live scenes from Nyon show some men in suits watching football highlights. Giovane Elber, a former Champions League winner with Bayern, is the special guest. He looks particularly smart. Continue reading...

There is not much Erling Haaland has failed to do when it comes to scoring goals since he joined Manchester City, although none of his 11 hat-tricks have come quicker than Omar Marmoush's first for the club.

Mikel Merino came off the bench to score two late goals and keep Arsenal’s title hopes alive 9 min Odegaard teases a chip over the defence towards Trossard, who flicks a volley that is saved to his right by Hermansen. He was offside so it wouldn’t have counted. 7 min Arsenal are settling into their passing rhythm. Still no openings to speak of, never mind chances. Continue reading...