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Arsenal fans are revelling in an 11-game win streak and certainly saw the benefit of Alex Iwobi against Leicester City on Monday night.

The forward Arsene Wenger handed a debut to always appeared inconsistent and missing direction under the Frenchman, but the leadership of Unai Emery has brought out a new side to the Nigerian.

Often finding pockets of space amongst the Leicester defence, Iwobi proved pivotal in helping his Gunners side overturn Ben Chilwell’s opener after 37 minutes when a deflection from Hector Bellerin wrong footed Bernd Leno in goal.

When Emery felt substitutes were needed in the second half to usurp the Foxes’ momentum, the exit of Henrik Mkhitaryan for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was another indication of how much faith the manager has in the adaptable forward, who shifted over from the left flank to right with ease.

With the 46-year-old Spanish coach favouring a rolling front line with his forwards interchanging, Iwobi’s adaptability is likely one of the many reasons 76% of Arsenal fans hailed the Nigerian in a recent Football FanCast poll as more valuable to his manager than the experienced legs of Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey.

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Newcastle United announced on Monday that they had completed the signing of Salomon Rondon on a season-long loan from West Bromwich Albion.

Rondon has been strongly linked with a move the Magpies throughout the summer, and the deal has now gone through ahead of the start of the 2018-19 Premier League campaign.

It is not quite what the Newcastle fans had in mind, however, with 6ft 1in Rondon joining on loan whilst Dwight Gayle has moved in the opposite direction.

Rondon, who has become Newcastle’s sixth arrival of the summer, will wear the number nine shirt for his new club.

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The 28-year-old could not prevent West Brom from being relegated from the Premier League last season, but he ended the campaign with a respectable 10 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions.

The Newcastle fans have been airing their views on the news on social media, and it would be fair to say that a number are not entirely happy with this deal.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

It looked for so long like Chelsea were in the perfect position this summer.They started the transfer window as champions, but more importantly, they knew exactly what they had to do in order to strengthen their squad. They knew that Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic could have been upgraded upon, and they knew that Victor Moses wasn’t the perfect first-choice right-back. And so straight off the bat they had the chance to inject a title-winning squad with fresh impetus and extra quality – something that would have seen them look like the first team since Manchester United under Alex Ferguson to retain the title.But their performance in the transfer market didn’t really live up to expectations. Instead of upgrading the squad, Chelsea simply replaced like-for-like players, ending up starting the season amid suggestions that their squad simply wasn’t big enough to cope with the demands of a whole season at the top, especially not when you add Champions League football, something that didn’t bother the Blues last season.But although Antonio Conte dealt with those issues by showing off his coaching prowess to keep the wheels on the Chelsea wagon – something that didn’t happen at the start of Jose Mourinho’s final season in charge at Stamford Bridge – things started to fall apart in the transfer market.Despite reported interest in Romelu Lukaku, Manchester United swooped in at pace to steal the Belgian forward away and bring him to Old Trafford. And since then, it’s looked like the same story repeated more than once, as top six rivals beat Conte’s side to the punch.It’s been reported, with only a few hours to go before the deadline, that Fernando Llorente looks close to joining Tottenham Hotspur over Chelsea. And whilst that may not represent the worst transfer defeat in history – Llorente would hardly be first choice at the Bridge, nor would he provide anything different to Morata apart from slightly better aerial prowess – it does show that Chelsea aren’t as dominant off the pitch as they were on it last season. Llorente would be a quality signing in the sense that Conte knows and trusts him, and if Diego Costa is leaving for Atletico Madrid – or just sitting in his underwear in Brazil – then another striker in the ranks is no bad thing.But even if you do consider Llorente to Spurs rumours a kick in the teeth for Chelsea, the news that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has indeed signed for Liverpool is much worse.

The reason it looks bad for Chelsea isn’t so much that Chamberlain is a fabulous player they’re missing out on. It’s more that the rumours were genuinely convincing that he’d sign for the west London club over a move far away from the city he’s called home since his move from Southampton to Arsenal back in 2011. And it seemed as though Chelsea themselves were convinced that the deal was going to happen.

Perhaps, as may be the case with Llorente too, Chamberlain was simply promised a better role in the squad at Liverpool than he was at Chelsea. Perhaps Llorente saw himself as second choice to Harry Kane at Spurs with the possibility of getting onto the pitch more often as a sort of Pochettino plan B, whereas at Chelsea, he’d be stuck behind Morata and Michy Batshuayi.

It could be a similar story with Chamberlain, who may have been promised the central midfield role he wanted at Liverpool, whereas Chelsea may have wanted to use him more as a wing-back.

Neither of these things represents as big a transfer snub as they might have seemed at first glance. But they should still be worrying.

If Chelsea want players in before the deadline, both to bolster the thin squad and to strengthen a winning side, they’ve left it very late. Too late, in fact, if they’re going to start losing out to other clubs.

It looked as though Chelsea were in a commanding position this summer, to strengthen a side who swept away all before them last season. Most of that team will still take to the starting XI most weeks this year, too, of course. But it’s clear that Conte’s side aren’t as strong after their summer business as they could have been.

And even though it’s certainly not yet a crisis, it’s starting to look like a missed opportunity.

Sheffield Wednesday defender Jack Hunt has urged his teammates to bounce back after dropping points in midweek.The Owls were restricted to a 1-1 draw by Burton Albion after failing to hold on to their early lead at Hillsborough on Tuesday night.Ross Wallace opened the scoring for Carlos Carvalhal’s side inside the first quarter of an hour of the match, but Jackson Irvine responded with a goal of his own eight minutes later.The Owls had an opportunity to strengthen their position in the playoff places, but it was not to be as they were forced to share a point.The club were fortunate that fellow playoff challengers Leeds United and Reading also dropped points on the night, with third-placed Huddersfield the only one in the pack to claim victory.Hunt has taken some time to analyse the game and now his attention has turned to Saturday’s clash away to Aston Villa.

The Owls currently reside sixth in the table and are relatively comfortable given that seventh-placed Fulham are five points adrift.

Just six points separate third from sixth, but the top two – Newcastle United and Brighton – are favourites to secure automatic promotion given that they have a six-point advantage over the closest challengers.

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The form of West Ham United forward Andy Carroll in recent weeks has prompted suggestions the towering striker could be on course for a shock inclusion in the England squad for Euro 2016.

In every single way imaginable, the former Liverpool man represents almost the complete opposite to what captured the imagination of the nation when the Three Lions beat Germany recently.

The emergence of Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy on the international stage, two men who plied their trade lower down the leagues and have to earn a right in the squad, sent us into raptures as both scored excellent goals on that great night in Berlin.

That is not say Carroll does not work hard, clearly he does, but the 26-year old had fame and recognition thrust on him as a relative novice.

Having played 11 games for Newcastle United in the Premier League, he was a £35m signing for Liverpool as they looked to replace Fernando Torres.

Unlike the aforementioned pair, he was suddenly forced into the spotlight when he wasn’t ready and the attention proved to weigh heavily upon his broad shoulders.

In terms of playing style too, he doesn’t posses the pace of Vardy or the all-action dynamism of Kane.

However, perhaps the fact he such an opposite to the other forwards likely to travel with Roy Hodgson to France could serve him well.

Exceptional in the air, he’s a traditional centre-forward in the old fashioned mode. When pitted against a more continental style defence, as he did against Arsenal and scored a scintillating hat-trick, he is almost certain to get on the end of crosses.

Would that not be a useful option against teams or don’t often deal with players like that? What’s the point in taking off Danny Welbeck for Daniel Sturidge late on if the former wasn’t being effectively dealt with?

Hodgson may as well change systems entirely in order to change games late on.

For that, there are few better options than Andy Carroll.

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Al-Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly been punished by the Saudi FA after making an obscene gesture to fans chanting Lionel Messi's name.

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Fans again taunt Ronaldo with Messi's namePortuguese responds with obscene gestureAl-Nassr star reportedly hit with fine and banWHAT HAPPENED?

Ronaldo was subject to more customary chants of his Argentine rival from opposition supporters on Sunday night. Al-Shabab fans sang for Messi throughout the Saudi Pro League clash which saw Ronaldo score in an eventual 3-2 win. However, a goal and three points were clearly not enough to soothe the Portugal star, who responded to such chants by gesturing towards his crotch in the direction of the home crowd. Ronaldo came in for immediate criticism and has now reportedly been punished.

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According to Saudi media, via the , Ronaldo has been hit with a two-match suspension for making the X-rated gesture, along with an undisclosed fine. While the monetary punishment will be of no worry to Ronaldo given his £175 million ($222m)-per-year salary, the ban will be a blow to him and his side. The Portuguese will now miss Thursday's league fixture against Al-Hazm and could also be absent for Al-Nassr's AFC Champions League quarter-final clash in a week's time.

DID YOU KNOW?

Ronaldo's reaction on Sunday was certainly surprising, not only because players tend to ignore abuse from rival fans but because Messi chants have become commonplace throughout his 14 months in the Middle East. It is also not the first time Ronaldo has faced backlash over an X-rated gesture, as he avoided punishment for grabbing his crotch back in April 2023.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO?

While the details of the ban are yet to be finalised, Ronaldo is likely set for a spell on the sidelines. If reports from Saudi Arabia are correct, the Portuguese forward won't be back in action until March 7, when Al-Nassr host Al-Raed in the league.

Christian Pulisic is the USMNT’s version of Neymar as he remains undroppable, with injury issues preventing Gio Reyna from reaching that level.

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United States building towards home World CupGoing to need strength in depthSuperstar performers have guaranteed spotsWHAT HAPPENED?

That is the opinion of former United States international Stuart Holden, who has been discussing selection posers heading down a long road to the 2026 World Cup finals that will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

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Pulisic – who swapped life at Chelsea for that at AC Milan over the summer – will be integral to future plans as arguably the finest talent available to national coach Gregg Berhalter. The USMNT need much more than just him, though, with Holden telling the : “I think one of the best things you can have now in today’s game, you’re going to go into a World Cup, let’s say you’re the US in 26, you’re not expecting to play three games. In fact, you want to play at least five when you’re thinking about that tournament. So you’re never going to play the exact same lineup for 11 games. If you say that’s my best 11. Ideally for the biggest game you want to have this what I feel is my strongest team. But you’re going to rotate players, you’re going to rotate lineups. You’re going to need depth. And I think to be successful at a World Cup you don’t just need 13-14 good players, you need 16, 17, 18.”

WHAT THEY SAID

When it was put to Holden that Brazil would never consider rotating out their talismanic all-time leading goal scorer, Holden added on why Pulisic occupies the same talent bracket and why Borussia Dortmund playmaker Reyna does not: “No not Neymar. Pulisic is going to play. We’re not talking about getting Pulisic. Reyna hasn’t shown that he could even stay healthy.”

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Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Reyna is back in the USMNT squad for friendly dates with Germany and Ghana, with his infamous feud with Berhalter being swept under the carpet for now. Getting him into a team that boasts competition for places throughout will not be easy, with Holden adding on the system that he would favour: “If it’s a World Cup game, I play [Reyna] right wing. I’d play [Tim] Weah potentially as a right-back. And, yeah, I think [Sergino] Dest is potentially more of a liability.”

Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi were among the goals as Paris Saint-Germain turned in a counter-attacking clinic to beat Marseille.

PSG spent most of Sunday proving that it helps to have two of the best players in the world. The Parisians weren't always good, but they relied on their stars, who took over in the big moments to inspire a 3-0 victory that takes them eight points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 standings.

After being pinned back for the first 20 minutes, PSG exploded. Mbappe was first, darting behind the Marseille backline, latching on to Messi's pass, and finding the bottom corner.

Messi followed shortly after, this time turning home a cross from Mbappe to give the Ligue 1 leaders a 2-0 lead. The 35-year-old's simple finish was his 700th goal at club level, and he is now just one goal away from matching Cristiano Ronaldo's all-time European record.

The duo hit on the break again shortly after half time. Messi provided the pass, with a lovely curled chip into the path of Mbappe. The forward buried it with aplomb, guiding the ball into the far corner with an outside-of-the-foot volley for his 200th goal in a PSG shirt – level with Edinson Cavani as the club's all-time record scorer.

Marseille had some chances as the half wore on, but Gianluigi Donnarumma made a series of neat saves, while PSG's backline produced a handful of important clearances.

For all of the criticism levelled at PSG and head coach Christophe Galtier, the Ligue 1 leaders still have Mbappe and Messi. That, as it turns out, is a good thing.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the Stade Velodrome…

GettyWINNER: Lionel Messi

This was a modern Messi classic. He doesn't run much anymore, nor does he affect play as he did in his Barcelona heyday. But he can still produce game-defining moments.

And that was the case against Marseille, as the forward was deadly when required. He assisted PSG's first, threading a perfectly-weighted pass into the stride of Mbappe. He scored the second shortly after, buzzing into the penalty area before finishing from inside the six-yard box for his 700th club career goal.

And then, the third. Messi curved a ball over the back four, which Mbappe turned in with an outside-of-the-foot volley to establish an unassailable lead.

It was one of those performances where Messi makes everything look so easy. He seldom sprinted; he never really seemed to . Still, he lifted his team to a win nonetheless.

AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Neymar

Was this the game that suggested that Neymar is surplus to requirements?

PSG were far more dangerous in the absence of the Brazilian attacker, who has been sidelined due to ankle ligament damage, and are now arguably better overall without him. Neymar, brilliant as he is, slows the game down. He constricts the spaces, allows opponents to recover, and can be detrimental to the flow of an attack. For all of the brilliant, eye-catching moments, he is something of an awkward fit in this side.

And Sunday was perfect proof. Mbappe and Messi were devastating on the break and worked well in tandem with a more aggressive midfield trio backing them up. There are certainly benefits to having Neymar in the side, especially when PSG play against teams that will sit back a bit more. But in these open contests, the Brazilian is no longer a necessity.

GettyWINNER: Kylian Mbappe

Turns out the other guy isn't too bad at football either.

Mbappe was radically different to Messi on Sunday. He was all energy, a blur of legs and tricks. And it was just too much for Marseille. The winger started deep, but eventually pushed higher up the pitch, tasked with running in behind a worryingly open Marseille back line.

And he was devastating once he got into the right positions. Mbappe scored the opener with a dash into space and finish. He grabbed the third with a curved run and volley. He added an assist for good measure, nutmegging a defender with a probing cross that Messi turned in from short range.

There could have been one or two more, had Pau Lopez not made two big stops. Still, Mbappe will take the brace. He is now PSG's joint all-time leading goalscorer with 200 goals. If he sticks around, there will be a lot more to come.

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LOSER: The title race

Well, that was fun while it (maybe) lasted.

There has been a new competitor to PSG's title hopes every week. First, it was Lorient. Then it was Lens' turn. And going into Sunday, Marseille were the newly anointed challengers. And it makes sense. Marseille are direct, intense and dynamic. They have pace on the break and are solid enough defensively to make some noise atop the table.

But their hopes crumbled over 90 commanding Parisian minutes. PSG battered their league rivals without having to dominate play, simply relying on their two-star men to brush aside the second-placed team.

Marseille weren't at their best on the day, and committed a series of mistakes that led to two of PSG's goals. But near-perfection is required to compete with the reigning champs. Marseille, for all of their strengths, can't reach the same level every single week.

It's not over yet, but it's difficult to see which team can push PSG next.

MatériaMais Notícias

Após ter dois gols de Alexandre Pato anulados de forma incorreta e ter dois pênaltis a seu favor não marcado, o São Paulo saiu perdendo, mas arrancou o empate em 1 a 1 com o Novorizontino, na noite desta segunda-feira, no Morumbi, pela quarta rodada do Campeonato Paulista. Higor Leite fez o gol dos visitantes, enquanto Brenner amenizou o estrago do Tricolor.

Ainda invicto, o São Paulo lidera o Grupo C, com oito pontos. Já o Novorizontino, que atuou com apenas cinco titulares — Oliveira, Adilson Goiano, Cleo Silva, Higor Leite eFelipe Marques — ultrapassou o Palmeiras e, também invicto, assumiu a segunda colocação do Grupo B, com oito pontos.

Confira a classificação do Campeonato Paulista

O Tricolor só volta a campo no próximo domingo, quando visitará o Santo André, às 18 horas. Já o Novorizontino, antes de receber o Ituano, também no domingo, às 19 horas, receberá o Figueirense, na próxima quinta-feira, às 16h30, pela primeira fase da Copa do Brasil. Foi exatamente por isso que o técnicoRoberto Fonseca poupou jogadores no Morumbi.

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Erros de arbitragem

Alexandre Pato mostrou disposição logo no início e balançou a rede com um minuto de jogo. O atacante estava em posição legal, mas o assistente de arbitragem Vitor Carmona Metestaine levantou a bandeira, e o árbitro Flávio Roberto Mineiro Ribeiro, de apenas 24 anos, acatou a decisão e marcou de forma equivocada o impedimento. O Novorizontino, por sua vez, passou a pressionar e levou perigo em dois chutes de Danielzinho. Tiago Volpi foi bem ao defender o primeiro, e Hernanes foi fundamental quando interceptou o segundo. Pato faria um belo gol, aos 12 minutos. Recebeu a bola em posição legal novamente, driblou o goleiro e empurrou a pelota para o fundo da rede. Mais uma vez, a dupla Vitor Metestaine & Flávio Ribeiro errou ao marcar outro impedimento. Além disso, o árbitro ainda deixou de marcar um pênalti de Felipe Rodrigues em Vitor Bueno.

Apagão

Quando o relógio marcava 36 minutos, ainda no primeiro tempo, uma queda de energia no bairro do Morumbi causou um apagão geral no estádio. O gerador, entretanto, foi rapidamente ativado e a partida ficou paralisada por apenas três minutos. Após o retorno, o São Paulo teve uma ótima chance de gol. Reinaldo fez uma cobrança rasteira de escanteio e achou Hernanes na área. O volante limpou a marcação e chutou. A bola passou do goleiro Oliveira, mas Felipe Rodrigues apareceu para salvar o Novorizontino em cima da linha. O gerador de energia iluminou a visão de Flávio Ribeiro também. Aos 46, o árbitro acertou ao não marcar o pênalti no lance em que a bola bateu na barriga de Adriano Mina após Pato chutar. Além disso, acertou ao encerrar a etapa inicial, sem deixar o Tricolor cobrar escanteio, assim que Oliveira fez grande defesa após Pablo chutar. O relógio marcava 48 minutos, e ele precisou dar, de acréscimos, apenas os três minutos em que o jogo ficou parado pelo Apagão.

Garfo afiado

A boa fase de Flávio Ribeiro, no entanto, foi momentânea. No segundo tempo, logo aos seis minutos, o árbitro ignorou outro pênalti a favor do São Paulo. Arboleda girou, na pequena área, e Felipe Rodrigues interceptou a bola com o braço. O São Paulo seguia pressionando. Aos 19, uma sequência impressionante no ataque levantou os torcedores na arquibancada. Após cruzamento da direita, Pablo cabeceou, e Oliveira fez grande defesa, mas soltou a bola. Em seguida, Hernanes bateu e foi travado por Edson Silva. A defesa do Na sequência, o Novorizontino saiu jogando errado e cedeu a bola para Reinaldo, que bateu de fora da área e acertou o travessão.

Coisas do futebol

A justiça do futebol, porém, mostrou-se controversa aos 25 minutos, quando Higor Leite recebeu na área, tocou na saída de Tiago Volpi, e fez o gol. O meia, que é titular da equipe do Novorizontino, tinha acabado de entrar em campo. Apesar do desânimo e das vaias que já ecoavam no Morumbi, o Tricolor resistiu e conseguiu empatar aos 41 minutos. Após cruzamento de Vitor Bueno, Oliveira falhou e Brenner, que entrou no lugar de Pato, empurrou a bola para o fundo da rede. O São Paulo batalhou até o fim. Aos 49, no quatro dos cinco minutos que o juiz deu de acréscimos, Pablo arrancou um escanteio. Na sequência, a bola sobrou dentro da área, mas o camisa 9 só conseguiu resvalar nela, que foi para fora. Antes, o árbitro voltou a errar ao não marcar uma falta de Arboleda emCléo Silva. O atacante do Novorizontino ia na cara do gol.

FICHA TÉCNICA
SÃO PAULO 1 X 1 NOVORIZONTINO

Local: Estádio do Morumbi, em São Paulo (SP)
Data-Hora: 3 de fevereiro de 2020, às 20h
Árbitro: Flávio Roberto Mineiro Ribeiro – Nota LANCE!: 2,0 – Prejudicou claramente o São Paulo na partida, o que foi decisivo para o resultado.
Assistentes: Vitor Carmona Metestaine e Enderson Emanoel Turbiani da Silva
Público/Renda: 14.006 presentes/R$ 378.987,42
Gramado: Ótimo.
Cartões amarelos: Tchê Tchê, Brenner e Fernando Diniz (São Paulo); Danielzinho e Léo Baiano (Novorizontino)
Cartão vermelho: Nenhum

Gol: Higor Leite, 25’\2ºT (1-0), Brenner, 41’/2ºT (1-1)

SÃO PAULO: Tiago Volpi; Juanfran (Everton, 28’/2ºT), Bruno Alves, Arboleda e Reinaldo; Tchê Tchê, Daniel Alves e Hernanes (Toró, 29’/2ºT); Pablo, Vitor Bueno e Alexandre Pato (Brenner, 23’/2ºT). Técnico: Fernando Diniz.

NOVORIZONTINO: Oliveira; Felipe Rodrigues, Adriano Mina, Edson Silva e Willian Formiga; Adilson Goiano, Léo Baiano e Danielzinho (Higor Leite, 24’/2ºT); Cléo Silva, Capixaba (Felipe Marques, 29’2ºT) e Jenison (Guilherme Queiroz, 32º/2T). Técnico: Roberto Fonseca.

Veteran James Hopes and rookie Jack Wildermuth combined to bowl Queensland to victory inside three days in a low-scoring Sheffield Shield match against Victoria

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Jack Wildermuth finished with seven wickets for the match•Getty ImagesVeteran James Hopes and rookie Jack Wildermuth combined to bowl Queensland to victory inside three days in a low-scoring Sheffield Shield match against Victoria. Set 228 for victory, the Bushrangers were skittled for 127 as Hopes collected four wickets and Wildermuth picked up three, with Rob Quiney’s 53 the only innings of note for Victoria.Batting was tough throughout the match at the Gabba, with Queensland’s first innings of 190 the highest total of the game. They resumed their second innings on 9 for 174 on the third morning and added only 10 runs for the loss of their last wicket, but they already had enough of a lead given the scoring trend of the match.Mark Steketee and Peter George picked up early wickets to leave Victoria at 2 for 15, but it was Hopes and Wildermuth who did most of the rest of the damage. Hopes picked up 4 for 43 and Wildermuth finished with 3 for 26, continuing his emergence after he made his first-class debut late last season.Wildermuth has a rookie contract with the Bulls and previously worked as a barista at the Allan Border Field. “It was only a couple of years ago he was making us coffees,” Hopes told reporters after play, “so he has come a long way in a short time.”