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It’s been a bruising and rather dismal season for the Arsenal faithful this year, but last night’s game is one that’ll live in the memory for years, if not decades, to come.

Mikel Arteta’s side went into the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid in the knowledge that they needed at least a one-goal lead heading to the Bernabéu but did far better than that.

Two utterly sublime free-kicks from Declan Rice and yet another striker’s finish from Mikel Merino mean the hosts will travel to Spain with a genuine chance of making the semi-finals for the first time since the 2008/09 season.

There were outstanding performances from Arteta’s men across the pitch, including from one starter who could well be the club’s own Jude Bellingham.

Bellingham's performance vs Arsenal

Going into last night’s game, the significant threats Arsenal had to be aware of were Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Junior, Rodrygo and Bellingham.

The latter, alongside Rice, is arguably one of England’s best players, but unlike the former West Ham United star, he did not have a particularly good game.

Granted, he made a few incisive passes that perhaps would have led to a goal on another night, but apart from that, he was practically a passenger and just watched the game pass him by, which is not something you can usually say about the UCL winner.

We aren’t the only ones to hold this opinion either, as the Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick gave him a 5/10 match rating at full-time, writing that he ‘drifted in and out of the game.’

It’s also backed up by his statistics, as in his 96 minutes of action, he amassed a combined expected goal and assists figure of just 0.25, had just one shot on target, didn’t make a single cross or play a single long ball, lost ten of 14 duels, lost the ball nine times, committed one foul and was dribbled past twice.

It was a bad day at the office for the world-class international, and to his credit, he admitted as much afterward and even accepted that the Gunners could have won by more.

However, he’s still a brilliant player, so it’s exciting for Arsenal that they could already have their own version of him in the squad.

Arsenal's own Bellingham

So, there are a few players in Arsenal’s squad who are arguably at a world-class level, such as Bukayo Saka and Rice, but one who seems destined to get there and become the team’s own Bellingham, especially after last night, is Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Now, before the pitchforks come out, we are not saying the teenager is at the level of the Real star, and they aren’t even playing the same position at the moment, but there are some undeniable similarities.

The first is that both players burst onto the scene when incredibly young, with the former Borussia Dortmund ace debuting for Birmingham City at just 16 years old, while the Gunners’ young phenom was just 17 when he made his first competitive appearance earlier this season.

Moreover, despite being so young and inexperienced, both played with such an extraordinary level of self-belief, boarding on arrogance from the word go, which translates into their playstyle, with the Islington-born gem bursting past some of Real’s most prominent stars last night.

We aren’t the only ones to think this either, as in his analysis after the game, Jamie Carragher claimed that the Hale Ender “reminds me a little bit of [Jude] Bellingham at that age.”

Lastly, while the “unplayable” 18-year-old, as Jack Wilshere dubbed him, is playing at left-back at the moment, he’s a midfielder by trade, and due to his strength, awareness and technical ability, we would not be surprised to see him move into the middle of the park as time progresses, potentially alongside Bellingham for the Three Lions.

Ultimately, Arsenal are blessed with several incredible players, but Lewis-Skelly looks like he could develop into a genuinely world-class talent.

Not just Rice: 9/10 Arsenal star just proved he could start for Madrid

Declan Rice put in a magical display as Arsenal beat Real Madrid 3-0.

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By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Apr 9, 2025

Manchester United will be aiming to improve vastly upon the return to the domestic calendar next week as they have endured a dismal start to the season.

It has placed Erik ten Hag under some pressure and unless results – and performances – improve, the Dutchman may be looking for another role if the board decide to go in another direction

In fairness, he is being let down by several senior players in the first team who just have not performed well this term.

Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial, Antony, and Rasmus Hojlund have just four Premier League goals between them this season, and that is not good enough to mount a title charge as they have not delivered goals on a regular basis.

Could Ten Hag perhaps unleash a young talent in the starting XI who could link up well with Hojlund? Mateo Mejia has shone in the academy this term and he could be an exciting partner for the Danish ace.

Mateo Mejia’s youth statistics

The 20-year-old arrived in Manchester back in 2019 from Real Zaragoza as a promising young winger, and he was even dubbed as a “wonderkid” by broadcaster Bolarinwa Olajide upon his arrival.

Across 32 matches in the youth teams at the club, he scored six goals and registered eight assists, but his performances this season have elevated him to another level.

In 11 matches so far, Mejia has three goals and four assists, and the right-winger is even outperforming senior player Antony for goal contributions this season, as the Brazilian has a grand total of zero.

The Colombian youngster is clearly a huge, and exciting, threat on the right wing and this could give Ten Hag the licence to utilise him in the first team in the coming months, as his academy form has been particularly eye-catching in comparison to the underperforming experienced options.

Mateo Mejia could form a wonderful duo with Rasmus Hojlund

The Dane has sprung to life in the Champions League, scoring five goals in just four matches, yet his form in the Premier League has been far from impressive.

Indeed, he has yet to score in the competition, missing eight big chances in the process across nine matches, and it is evident that he needs better support domestically.

Mejia has shown that he can provide his teammates with plenty of assists, and he could be able to work well with Hojlund by feeding him passes on a regular basis, whilst also being able to produce goals of his own.

The Spaniard has played three EFL Trophy games during the current season, and he averaged 1.3 key passes per game while also succeeding with 50% of his attempted dribbles per game along with being successful with 50% of his attempted crosses.

These statistics prove that, although he has a lot to learn, the early indications are that he can mix it with the professionals when given the chance.

Mejia may not be the finished article, but he has more goals and assists than Antony this season and has proven that he can create chances for his teammates, which could provide the former Atalanta centre-forward with more opportunities to finally hit his stride at first-team level in front of goal.

With Ten Hag under pressure, it could be a gamble turning to youngsters at this moment in time, but in the near future, Mejia must be unleashed as he and Hojlund could cause chaos at the top end of the pitch.

How he fits into a team that already contains both Rabada and Ngidi is one of the conundrums facing South Africa as they brace for the World Cup next year

Liam Brickhill26-Sep-2018Dale Steyn is set to play his first ODI since October 2016, and with the World Cup just over eight months away, South Africa coach Ottis Gibson has reckoned the quick will add value to his squad as a mentor.”With his experience, [he’s a natural mentor] anyway because that’s the kind of guy he is,” Gibson said four days before the start of the ODI series against Zimbabwe. “He’s talking to the guys around the group, and to have his experience there, whether he plays or not, [is great]. There’s nothing to say he’ll play every game, but to have him in and around the dressing room and the nets passing on his experience can only be a good thing for the guys.”Once Dale is fit, to me he’s still one of the best two bowlers in the country, other than KG [Kagiso Rabada]. And he’s gone away and he’s proven his fitness, so he comes back and we’ll see how he goes in the next couple of games.”He’s someone who’s still clearly very passionate about playing for his country, and we’ll make an assessment on Dale in this series and the next against Australia, the next six games, and we’ll see how we go forward from there.”How Steyn fits into a team that already contains both Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi is just one of the conundrums facing South Africa as they brace for the World Cup next year. Their ODI against Zimbabwe this weekend marks the first of 16 that South Africa will play before their World Cup opener against England at The Oval on May 30, 2019 and the upcoming games against Zimbabwe – and possibly those which follow against Pakistan – will likely be South Africa’s last chance to test new players and combinations before they settle on their World Cup hopefuls, Gibson hinted.”Every person that gets an opportunity now will know that there will be less and less opportunities going forward, so you have to make every opportunity you get count at this stage,” he said.”We’ve looked at some guys, and this series and the next one to my mind – and I’ve spoken to the selectors about it already – are probably the last sort of opportunities to see guys we’ve discussed but haven’t had the opportunity to see yet. I think by the time we get into the Pakistan and certainly the Sri Lanka series in the new year, that we’ll be looking to pick the team that we think is most likely to be the team that goes to the World Cup. So this is an opportunity to look at one or two other players.”With Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla injured and Quinton de Kock and David Miller rested, the most obvious positions South Africa might be looking to experiment in are in their top and middle order. Heinrich Klaasen and Dean Elgar have played just six ODIs each, while Christiaan Jonker has just a solitary T20I to his name. They are largely untested options, though Gibson sees plenty of potential in Jonker and a “like for like” replacement for Amla in Elgar.BCCI”When you look at this squad that we have right now, Faf is missing, Quinny is missing, Hash is missing, and there’s no real seniors,” Gibson said. “Dean is a like-for-like swap for Hash. Again you think about the World Cup, and this is thinking a little further ahead, and then you look at Dean’s record for almost every county he’s played for in England, then clearly he comes into the conversation. So, this gives us an opportunity to see Dean as a like-for-like replacement for Hash, and see how he goes. He’s always made it clear that he’s still keen on playing one-day international cricket, and this gives us an opportunity to see him in that position.”We wanted to see Klaasen a bit longer, and Christiaan Jonker came in and did quite well for us in the T20. His numbers in the franchise system are pretty good. What we’ve set out to do from the outset is to try have almost two players for every position. We know what David [Miller] can do. He’s not had a lot of runs recently, but this is a chance to see Christiaan in that position so we can then assess both of them and see which one we can take forward.”Jonker’s solitary T20I against India in February was the only time Gibson had seen him bat live up to that point, but he liked what he saw then, and said that Jonker had since worked hard to bring his fitness up to the required level.”I liked that he came in and he was just uncomplicated,” Gibson said. “He just watched the ball and hit it. And he obviously understood his game and his strengths really well. And he probably also understood that if you’re going to play international T20 cricket you need to be a little fitter, so he’s gone away and worked really hard on that and hopefully he can give a really good account of himself over the next series.”Gibson said that the likes of Temba Bavuma, Chris Morris and Vernon Philander, while not in the frame for the Zimbabwe series, were still part of the team’s thinking heading towards the World Cup. Philander is only expected to recover from an ankle injury in November, while Morris was sidelined after injuring his back during this year’s IPL. Morris is set to return to action with the Titans when South Africa’s domestic season kicks off this week, but Gibson made no secret over his concerns over Morris’ injury-prone past.”My problem with Morris …Okay, there’s a little bit of a cricket problem, but the bigger problem is fitness I think,” Gibson said. “Not in terms of general fitness, but in terms of staying on the park. Morris in the last three years has had a lot of injury issues, more so than cricket issues, and I think once he’s fit and strong then I think his real talent will come to the fore. That’s the message that I’ve given him already. We know what Morris can do, and we want him to be as fit as he can to allow himself to do what we know he’s capable of doing. Obviously, he’s back to fitness now and he’s playing for the Titans, which is fantastic, and if he can play the next month and a half, two months for the Titans and getting really hardened to cricket, then that’s obviously very good for us.”

Aston Villa are readying a bid to sign a new midfielder according to a fresh report, and should he join it's not the first time that he will have been coached by Unai Emery.

Who are Villa's new signings?

Over the summer, NSWE and Monchi recruited five fresh faces in the form of Moussa Diaby, Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans on a permanent basis, whilst Nicolo Zaniolo and Clement Lenglet both joined on loan for the remainder of the season.

In the Midlands, Cameron Archer, Ashley Young and Wesley Moraes were just a few of the big name players to leave for good, alongside the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Morgan Sanson, who were sent out on the road to increase their game time.

Looking ahead to January, Emery will now be thinking about who he’d like to sign in the upcoming window and he appears to have highlighted Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos as an ideal transfer target, having managed the central midfielder during his time at Arsenal.

In La Liga, Spain’s international has made zero starts this season and has been limited to just two substitute appearances, via WhoScored, so he has fallen significantly down the pecking order, though if the following update is to be believed, the 27-year-old may have been handed the perfect lifeline.

Are Aston Villa signing Dani Ceballos?

According to XCatalunya (via Sport Witness), Aston Villa are "preparing an offer" for Ceballos and are willing to spend up to €18m (£15m) to bring him back to the Premier League.

The Midlands outfit are "interested" in the talisman, and having seen how out of favour he's become at the Bernabeu Stadium, chiefs are "keen" to give him a new opportunity to kickstart his career. NSWE are also looking to bring his salary to €8m (£6m), with the idea being that he would put pen to paper in January.

How many trophies has Dani Ceballos won?

Since the start of his career, Ceballos has secured an outstanding 14 senior trophies, including titles like La Liga and the Champions League, which shows that he possesses the winning mentality required to compete and be successful at the highest level, meaning he could add a bit more top level pedigree and experience to the current squad at Villa Park.

The Utrera native has also posted 18 contributions (12 assists and six goals) in 122 appearances for Real Madrid which shows how prolific he can be in the final third, alongside ranking in the 98th percentile for successful take-ons past his marker.

Sponsored by Nike, Emery’s ex-star is additionally a versatile operator having been deployed in eight different positions over the pitch since the start of his career, including everywhere across the midfield and even three roles in the frontline.

Ceballos has been dubbed a “genius” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig and there’s no doubt that he could bring a wealth of experience to the Villans, therefore making this a no-brainer of a deal to complete should the opportunity present itself.

Kane Williamson took charge of Sunrisers Hyderabad a day after David Warner stepped down, and was later banned from playing IPL 2018

Nagraj Gollapudi29-Mar-20180:37

Quickinfo: Kane Williamson

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson took charge of Sunrisers Hyderabad a day after David Warner was banned from playing IPL 2018 in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal troubling Australian cricket. In accepting the role, Williamson made a point to mention he was “standing in as captain for this season.”On Wednesday, Cricket Australia had slapped one-year bans on Warner, and Steven Smith, for their role in using a foreign substance to change the nature of the ball to generate reverse swing. Soon after that news broke, the BCCI announced that both players would not be allowed to take part in the IPL season. Warner and Smith had already relinquished captaincy of Sunrisers and Rajasthan Royals respectively.Although there were other contenders, like Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sunrisers on Thursday chose to appoint Williamson as the interim captain. They had originally bought him in 2015 and regained his services at this year’s auction for USD 468,000. Bhuvneshwar has been appointed vice-captain of the team.BCCI

The franchise’s decision to pick Williamson is likely to raise a few eyebrows. In his previous three seasons with the Sunrisers, Williamson played only 15 matches with a modest record: 411 runs at a strike rate of 129.24 with three half centuries. Also, during a T20I tri-series between New Zealand, England and Australia, former fast bowler Simon Doull was concerned over Williamson’s role in the shortest format, suggesting he should give up T20Is in an effort to manage his workload better.Williamson responded to those comments on the field – scoring a match-winning 72 off 46 balls – and off the field insisting he wanted to play all forms of cricket.

Declan Rice has provided insight into how Arsenal view their title defeat from last year as they prepare for another run at the trophy this year.

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Rice talks about title chancesDiscusses Arsenal's title slip-up last seasonBelieves they will be better prepared this timeGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

Rice's summer acquisition has contributed to the Gunners' improved performances this time out. After leading the league for most of the previous season before faltering in the last two months of play. Rice now asserts that his team is better prepared to try and win a first championship since 2004 because they have learnt from the mistakes they made in the previous campaign.

AdvertisementWHAT RICE SAID

Speaking at the London Football Awards, Rice said [via The Mirror]: "I think last year, Arsenal were the best team in the league. They slipped up at the end and obviously, City always come on so strong. I think the word that they said now is that they can't believe they lost the league obviously eight points ahead."

He added: "This year, I feel everyone including the manager and the staff, everyone’s learned from their mistakes. Everyone’s stronger, they have more belief. If we go a goal down, there’s still that confidence and mental strength in us that we can push on and win games.

"Like I said, the league is so strong this year and anything can happen and there are 12 games to go. The main thing is, we’re right in it. Because at Christmas we had a little wobble, we lost two games on the bounce which wasn’t good."

(C)Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Mikel Arteta's team has been dominant in 2024, with the highest defence and goal differential in the league, despite a concerning decline in performance in December. With 12 games remaining, the Gunners are well-positioned in the title chase. Arteta's side are one point behind second-place Manchester City and two points behind league leaders Liverpool.

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WHAT NEXT FOR THE TITLE RACE?

With the Gunners visiting the Etihad, March may prove to be a pivotal month in the title fight. However, first, City must meet Liverpool at Anfield. Arsenal's two competitors for top spot also have local derbies to fight in; if Arteta's team wins, they might be leading the pack at the beginning of April.