Tag: Arsenal

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PSG stuns Barcelona in Champions League; Man City held by Monaco

Title-holders Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to beat Barcelona 2-1 with a last-minute goal in the Champions League on Wednesday, while Manchester City had to settle for a draw in Monaco despite Erling Haaland’s double.

Elsewhere there were comfortable wins for Arsenal and Newcastle United, as Napoli and Borussia Dortmund were among the other teams to claim victories on the second matchday of the league phase.

The meeting at Montjuic of the Spanish champions and the reigning French and European champions was one of the most eagerly anticipated of the opening stages of this season’s competition.

It lived up to its billing, despite Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele missing out injured for an understrength PSG, with Lamine Yamal showing flashes of his brilliance for the hosts.

Barcelona went ahead in the 19th minute as a well-worked move ended with Marcus Rashford setting up Ferran Torres to score.

Senny Mayulu equalised late in the first half for PSG, and Achraf Hakimi set up substitute Goncalo Ramos to net a 90th-minute winner as PSG made it two victories from two outings in this season’s Champions League.

“It was a great game between two really good sides,” PSG coach Luis Enrique told Canal Plus. “It shows the strength and mentality of our side that whoever is on the field we play like a real team.”

Haaland scored twice in the first half to move to 52 career Champions League goals from 50 appearances, but 2023 tournament winners City were held 2-2 in Monaco.

Jordan Teze’s stunning hit in between Haaland’s strikes kept Monaco in the game until they won a late penalty as Nico Gonzalez was penalised following a VAR review for a high boot on Eric Dier.

Dier got up to convert from the spot and give Monaco their first point in the competition, denying City a second win from as many outings.

“I don’t know if it was a penalty but it was given. So that’s that,” City coach Pep Guardiola told TNT Sports. “It is what it is. We have a point and we will take it.”

Arsenal maintained their 100 percent record with a 2-0 defeat of Olympiakos in London, with Gabriel Martinelli following in to score a 12th-minute opener after a Viktor Gyokeres attempt hit the post.

The Gunners sealed the points in stoppage time as substitute Bukayo Saka scored with a shot that squirmed under Greek goalkeeper Kostas Tzolakis.

“Winning in the Champions League is always very complicated. It is yet another clean sheet for the boys in the competition, which is remarkable,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.

Earlier, Newcastle got their campaign up and running by cruising to a 4-0 victory over Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels.

Nick Woltemade diverted a Sandro Tonali shot into the net for the opener, his third goal in four starts for the club.

Anthony Gordon then scored two penalties, either side of half-time, before substitute Harvey Barnes wrapped up the success late on.

Dortmund were also impressive winners, as the beaten 2024 finalists tore into Athletic Bilbao, winning 4-1.

Daniel Svensson put them ahead in the first half and Carney Chukwuemeka made it two soon after the interval.

Gorka Guruzeta got one back for Athletic, but Serhou Guirassy and Julian Brandt sealed a fine win for the German club.

In southern Italy, Rasmus Hojlund bagged a brace as Napoli claimed their maiden European victory this season, beating Sporting 2-1. Luis Suarez had equalised for the Portuguese champions at one point in the second half with a penalty.

Juventus, who drew 4-4 with Dortmund in a thriller in their opening game, played out a 2-2 stalemate with Villarreal in Spain.

Georges Mikautadze gave the hosts the lead, only for Federico Gatti to equalise with an overhead kick before Chico Conceicao gave the Italians the advantage.

But Renato Veiga, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Juventus from Chelsea, headed in to earn Villarreal a draw.

Bayer Leverkusen and PSV Eindhoven drew 1-1 in Germany, with Christian Kofane giving the hosts the lead only for Ismael Saibari to equalise for the Dutch side.

Qarabag are the sensation of the competition so far, the club from Azerbaijan following a win over Benfica two weeks ago by beating FC Copenhagen 2-0 in Baku.Abdellah Zoubir and Emmanuel Addai got their goals and Qarabag are one of six teams on six points, along with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG, Inter Milan and Arsenal. (JapanToday)

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EPL: Arsenal snatch late 2-1 win against Newcastle

Arsenal staged a late comeback to beat Newcastle 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time header from Gabriel Magalhães at St James’ Park, on Sunday.

The game looked to be slipping away from the visitors after Nick Woltemade scored one for Newcastle in the 34th minute.

Arsenal had dominated the opening half but failed to find the net despite good chances from Eberechi Eze and Leandro Trossard.

The London club were left frustrated when a penalty awarded for a foul on Viktor Gyökeres was overturned following a VAR review.

Newcastle had weathered the storm with the help of goalkeeper Nick Pope.

Mikel Merino rose to nod home from close range in the 84th minute to level, setting up a frantic finish.

Arsenal pushed with everything they had and were ultimately rewarded deep in stoppage time when Martin Ødegaard’s corner found Gabriel, who rose highest to head the winner in the sixth minute of added time.

Arsenal’s late victory will feel like a statement of character for Mikel Arteta’s side, who move on with a precious away win after dominating long spells of the match but having to fight until the final whistle to secure the three points.

Newcastle will take encouragement from a dogged defensive display.

Arsenal now have four wins, one draw, and one loss in six Premier League games. They sit in the second position on the table, while Newcastle is in 15th. (Punch)

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Arsenal snatches 1-1 draw with Man City with Martinelli’s stoppage-time goal

A goal by Erling Haaland was perhaps to be expected. What Manchester City did next certainly wasn’t.

With an ultra-defensive performance so unlike a team coached by Pep Guardiola, City came close to holding out against Arsenal for the most unusual of wins in a Premier League match between two title contenders on Sunday.

Then, in the third minute of stoppage time, Eberechi Eze played a ball over City’s packed defense and substitute Gabriel Martinelli latched onto it before lobbing goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma for Arsenal’s dramatic equalizer in a 1-1 draw.

“We’ve obviously gained the respect of the opposition,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said, “… we probably haven’t dominated a game against Man City as we did today.”

No one has.

The 32.8% average possession by City is the lowest by a Guardiola team in a top-flight match, according to statistic supplier Opta.

Rice noted City went to a 5-4-1, adding: “I’ve never seen them do that.”

Back to his prolific best, Haaland made it 13 goals in eight appearances for club and country this season by sprinting upfield and collecting a return pass from Tijjani Reijnders to slot home a finish in the ninth minute.

The Emirates Stadium was then treated to a defensive master class from the visitors as Guardiola, who is famed for cherishing possess, set up City to let Arsenal have plenty of the ball and to defend deep. He kept putting on defenders to protect the lead.

It almost worked, except for the late twist by Martinelli — who has become something of a supersub for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta this season.

The result left Liverpool, the defending champion, with a five-point lead after just five games, with Arsenal in second place on goal difference over Tottenham and Bournemouth.

“They win every match,” Arteta said of Liverpool. “It’s going to be very difficult but if we play at this level, like we did against Manchester City, we will be fine.”

City is already eight points off the pace and showing it is willing to shake up the team’s tactics deep into Guardiola’s tenure.

Guardiola made no apologies for eschewing his long-held soccer principles and adjusting for a match that came three days after a 2-0 win over Napoli in the Champions League. Arsenal had two extra days to prepare, having played — and beaten — Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday.

In Haaland, Guardiola also has one of the most dangerous players in the world on the counterattack and it was from that source that City took the lead with the Norway striker’s sixth league goal this season.

“We don’t try to come and be like this,” Guardiola said. “But when the opponent is better and we defend deeper and we have Erling and Tijjani, we can use the counterattack, yes. But our intention is not like this.

“I would prefer to not do it but you cannot expect at this level to not do it. It’s impossible.”

City defender Ruben Dias said it was nice to have such “safety” in numbers in defense and to have a goalkeeper behind with the presence of Donnarumma.

“We are proud of what we have done,” Dias said, “and how we behaved on the pitch.”

Aston Villa ended its goal drought but still couldn’t beat 10-man Sunderland in a 1-1 draw.

Matty Cash blasted a swerving shot from 25 meters that Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs could only parry into his own net in the 67th, giving Villa its first goal after five games in the league.

However, Sunderland — playing with 10 men from the 33rd minute after Reinildo’s red card for kicking out at Cash — equalized in the 75th through Wilson Isidor to leave Villa without a victory and in third-to-last place.

Newcastle rotated its team after a Champions League loss to Barcelona on Thursday and struggled to create many clear-cut chances in a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.

It meant Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, who used to coach Bournemouth, has now not beaten his former side in seven attempts.

Bournemouth was seeking a fourth straight win after an opening-round loss at Liverpool and was unable to take advantage of Newcastle making seven changes to the team which was defeated 2-1 by Barcelona. (JapanToday)

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Ballon d’Or 2025: Ousmane Dembele and Aitana Bonmati win top prizes as Sarina Wiegman lands award for best coach

Ousmane Dembele and Aitana Bonmati were crowned the best men’s and women’s player in the world at the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris.

Dembele, the Paris Saint-Germain and France forward, took the men’s prize after leading his club to a treble-winning season and their first Champions League success. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal,18, was runner-up after being voted the best young player.

A tearful Dembele collected the prize in Paris in front of a partisan crowd that chanted his name. If not for injury, he would have been playing for PSG in Marseille in a rearranged league fixture.

Barcelona and Spain midfielder Bonmati becomes the first woman to win the Ballon d’Or for three consecutive years. Lionel Messi and Michel Platini are the only men to have achieved that feat.

“It’s incredible this feeling. I never thought when I was a kid that I could achieve this because I didn’t think women’s football can exist,” Bonmati said.

“I had idols like Andres Iniesta and Xavi and when I was a kid I only saw them on TV. It’s incredible to be here and make history.

“But all of these trophies are because of collective work. We had a difficult season because we won some trophies, but we also lost some to amazing footballers.”

Arsenal and England’s Alessia Russo got the better of Bonmati in the Champions League and Euros finals, but finished third in the women’s rankings. Her club-mate, Mariona Caldentey of Spain, came second.

Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman was named best women’s coach after England’s triumph over Spain in Switzerland, while PSG boss Luis Enrique picked up the men’s Johan Cruyff award.

England and Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton won the inaugural award for best women’s goalkeeper, with Man City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma picking up the seventh edition of the men’s prize for his season with PSG.

Former Lionesses keeper Mary Earps was on stage presenting the award to Hampton, who took her spot as England’s No 1 ahead of the Euros, prompting her to retire from international football five weeks before the tournament.

Arsenal and PSG won the awards for women’s and men’s club of the year after their Champions League successes.

Viktor Gyokeres’ 63 goals for Sporting and Sweden last season earned him the men’s Gerd Muller Trophy. Barcelona and Poland’s Ewa Pajor, scorer of 48 goals, scooped the women’s award. (SkySports)

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Arsenal, Real Madrid win Champions League openers; Juve snatches dramatic draw

Arsenal won 2-0 away to Athletic Bilbao as the league phase of this season’s Champions League kicked off on Tuesday, with two Kylian Mbappe penalties giving Real Madrid a narrow win over Marseille while Juventus and Borussia Dortmund drew an eight-goal thriller.

Tottenham Hotspur also won on the tournament’s opening night which saw outsiders Union Saint-Gilloise and Qarabag claim first ever victories in the Champions League proper.

Arsenal are eager to make a big impression again in Europe’s elite club competition, following their defeat by eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals last season.

They got off to an ideal start in the Basque Country, with Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard scoring late goals to settle the game.

The Brazilian had only just come on when he ran through to open the scoring in the 72nd minute at San Mames. Arsenal then went on to seal the victory late on as Trossard — another substitute — scored with the aid of a deflection.

“We started to grow throughout the game. In the second half we were more fluent, dominant, and the finishers made the impact for us to win the game,” said Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta.

Real Madrid came from behind to beat Marseille 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, despite playing the closing stages of the game down to 10 men.

Marseille, winners of the inaugural Champions League in 1993, stunned the home crowd by taking the lead through Timothy Weah midway through the first half.

The record 15-time European champions grabbed an equaliser before the interval when Mbappe converted from the spot for the first time after Rodrygo was fouled in the area.

Xabi Alonso’s side lost Trent Alexander-Arnold to injury early on and were reduced to 10 men in the second half when his replacement, Dani Carvajal, was sent off following a VAR check for a head butt on Marseille goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.

But the home side still snatched all three points thanks to another Mbappe penalty late on after Facundo Medina was harshly penalised for handball.

“For me it’s a penalty, but I understand there are people who don’t (think so), we’re all lost with this rule,” Mbappe, who reached 50 goals for the club, told broadcaster Movistar.

Thomas Frank’s Spurs, who qualified for the Champions League after winning last season’s Europa League, edged Villarreal 1-0 in North London.

The match was decided by a farcical early own goal from Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior, who contrived to let Lucas Bergvall’s cross trickle into the net.

The victory maintained Tottenham’s impressive form under new boss Frank. “It was a very even game that we just edged,” he told broadcaster Amazon Prime.

Juventus against Dortmund in Turin was a repeat of the 1997 final won by the Germans, and the fixture more than lived up to its billing, finishing in a spectacular 4-4 draw.

Remarkably the first half ended goalless, with the breakthrough coming seven minutes after half-time when Karim Adeyemi put the visitors ahead from a fine low strike.

Kenan Yildiz equalised with a stunning effort high into the top corner just after the hour mark, only for Felix Nmecha to put Dortmund back in front in style.

Dusan Vlahovic made it 2-2, but Yan Couto restored the Bundesliga side’s advantage and they appeared to have sewn up the points when Ramy Bensebaini converted a penalty in the 86th minute.

However, Vlahovic pulled one back in the 94th minute and then crossed for Lloyd Kelly to head home in the sixth minute of stoppage time, rounding off an extraordinary evening.

There was similar drama in Lisbon, where Benfica seemed to be cruising at home to Qarabag after Enzo Barrenechea and Vangelis Pavlidis scored early goals.

However, Leandro Andrade pulled one back for the club from Azerbaijan before Camilo Duran equalised and Oleksiy Kashchuk turned and fired in from inside the area four minutes from time to make it 3-2.

It is the first time Qarabag have ever won a match in the Champions League proper.

Union Saint-Gilloise qualified after winning a first Belgian title in 90 years and they recorded a 3-1 victory away to PSV Eindhoven.

Promise David, Anouar Ait El Hadj and Kevin Mac Allister scored their goals in the Netherlands before Ruben van Bommel pulled one back. (JapanToday)

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Szoboszlai stunner secures Liverpool win over Arsenal as Man City collapses to another loss


Full time was approaching at Anfield and it was clear something special was needed to separate Liverpool and Arsenal as they slugged out an early-season heavyweight contest in the Premier League on Sunday.

Enter Dominik Szoboszlai.

With a long-range free kick that flew in off the post in the 83rd minute, Szoboszlai earned Liverpool a hard-fought 1-0 win over the opponent likely to be the biggest challenger to its title.

“The game needed a moment of magic for either team to win it,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot said, “and it was Dominik who did so.”

Many thought Manchester City would be back in the title race this season, but perhaps not.

Collapsing to a 2-1 loss at Brighton, for a second straight loss, was another sign that Pep Guardiola’s once-dominant team has lost its aura.

“This is the reality — we are not at the level from a long time (ago),” City midfielder Rodri said.

Szoboszlai is popular among Liverpool fans for his work ethic and versatility, and the Hungary midfielder was filling in at right back — for so long the position of the now-departed Trent Alexander-Arnold — because of injuries to Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong.

Szoboszlai did his best impression of Alexander-Arnold with a top-quality dead-ball strike that was out of keeping with the rest of the game.

“Until now Trent was taking them,” Szoboszlai said of his former teammate who now plays for Real Madrid. “Now I could finally take one.”

It secured a third straight win for Liverpool, with the defending champions the only team on a maximum nine points after three rounds of the Premier League. They’ve already beaten two tough rivals in Newcastle and Arsenal, too.

As for Arsenal, it was a first loss this season — extending its winless record at Anfield dating back to 2012 — and a first league goal conceded by a defense that was without center back William Saliba from the fifth minute at Anfield because of a leg injury.

“When you play against this kind of team and at a high level where the margins are minimal, they can be decided by a magic moment,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “We needed that moment for us and we didn’t have it.”

The defeat at Brighton followed a 2-0 home loss to Tottenham last weekend for City, which is demonstrating the same vulnerabilities and brittleness it showed last season when surrendering the title to Liverpool after four consecutive years as champions.

Brajan Gruda surged through an open defense, rounded goalkeeper James Trafford and slotted into an empty net for the 89th-minute winner for Brighton, which trailed to Erling Haaland’s first-half strike — his 88th goal in 100 Premier League appearances since moving to England in 2022.

City, which gave a first start to Rodri — the Ballon d’Or winner — since September last year following a serious knee injury, conceded an equalizer in the 67th minute after Matheus Nunes raised his arm in the area to block a shot.

James Milner converted the penalty for Brighton to become — at age 39 years and 239 days — the second-oldest scorer in Premier League history. He is also the second youngest, having netted as a 16-year-old for Leeds.

With City noticeably fading, Brighton created a succession of chances before Gruda converted one to seal a repeat of his team’s come-from-behind 2-1 win over City last season.

“We forgot to play,” Guardiola said.

City’s only points so far this season have come from a 4-0 opening-round win at Wolverhampton, after which pundits were saying Guardiola’s team was back. Now, it has fewer points than Manchester United.

West Ham eased the pressure on manager Graham Potter with a 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest, secured by goals from the 84th minute by Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta — from the penalty spot — and Callum Wilson.

West Ham lost its first two games in the league, conceding eight goals in the process, and also was eliminated from the English League Cup in midweek.

Paqueta, the Brazil midfielder, celebrated his successful penalty kick by pretending to answer a call and throw away a phone before kissing the badge on his jersey — perhaps a nod to being linked over the past 24 hours with a move to Aston Villa.

World Cup-winning Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez was left out of Aston Villa’s team for the 3-0 home loss to Crystal Palace amid speculation about his future.

Reports have linked Martinez with a move to Manchester United ahead of the transfer window closing on Monday, and Villa manager Unai Emery chose to play Marco Bizot in goal instead.

Bizot gave away a penalty that was converted in the 21st minute by Jean-Philippe Mateta to give Palace the lead, before captain Marc Guehi — reportedly the subject of a bid from Liverpool — curled a second into the top corner in the 68th. Ismaila Sarr added a third before going off injured. (JapanToday)

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Gyokeres scores twice as Arsenal rout Leeds

Viktor Gyokeres scored his first two Arsenal goals as the Gunners gave Leeds a harsh lesson in the step up to the Premier League with a 5-0 win at the Emirates.

Victory came at a cost for Mikel Arteta as Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard hobbled off injured just eight days before Arsenal’s trip to Liverpool.

Arsenal edged ahead of north London rivals Tottenham at the top of the table on goal difference, as the only two sides so far with a 100 per cent record from their opening two games.

Saka fired in a blistering strike from a narrow angle to double the home side’s lead after Jurrien Timber opened the scoring.

Gyokeres was signed from Sporting Lisbon as the solution to Arsenal’s need for a killer number nine.

The Swede’s ability to succeed in the Premier League has been questioned despite his prolific record of 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting.

Gyokeres made his mark with a fine individual run and finish before Timber bundled in his second from another Declan Rice corner.

Gyokeres rounded off the scoring from the penalty spot with virtually the last kick of the game.

A day of celebration for the home fans began before kick-off when new £60 million ($81 million) signing Eberechi Eze was paraded after he turned down a move to Tottenham.

But the sight of captain Odegaard and talisman Saka leaving the field soured a routine win.

Arsenal had to rely on their threat from set-pieces to grind out a 1-0 win at Manchester United on the opening weekend of the season.

Despite a dominant start to the game, that was how the the Leeds defence was prized open.

Timber had scored just twice in 52 Arsenal appearances before Saturday.

The Dutch international doubled that tally as he firstly got his head to Rice’s inviting delivery on 34 minutes.

Odegaard then made his departure after appearing to injure his shoulder falling heavily to the turf.

Saka soon had the Emirates crowd back on their feet when he drilled Timber’s pass high past Lucas Perri with his supposedly weaker right foot.

Gyokeres had at one point been a target for Leeds during his days with Coventry in the Championship before making the move to Portugal.

Arsenal’s new £66 million signing showed the Yorkshire side what they missed as he scampered onto Riccardo Calafiori’s ball over the top and cut inside before firing in at the near post.

Saka missed nearly four months of last season with a hamstring injury.

Worryingly for Arteta, the England international was holding the back of his left leg when he was replaced on 53 minutes.

Arsenal added a fouth when Leeds failed to clear another Rice corner and Timber forced the ball over the line from close range.

Arteta could then afford the luxury of handing a Premier League debut to 15-year-old Max Dowman.

He became the second youngest ever player to play in the English top-flight after team-mate Ethan Nwaneri.

Dowman’s trickery won a penalty deep into stoppage time that Gyokeres gratefully dispatched. (Channels)

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Arsenal complete £48.5m signing of Madueke from Chelsea

Arsenal have completed the signing of England winger Noni Madueke from Chelsea for an initial fee of £48.5m.

The 23-year-old was part of Chelsea’s squad at the Club World Cup in the United States but left the camp before last Sunday’s 3-0 win against Paris St-Germain in the final to finalise his move to Mikel Arteta’s side.

Madueke has signed a five-year contract at Emirates Stadium, with his fee rising to just over £50m with add-ons.

“Humbled and blessed to be here. Thank you to everyone that made this possible,” he wrote on Instagram.

“I can’t wait to get on the pitch and start to repay the faith shown in me. It’s going to be so special.”

He made 92 appearances for Chelsea after joining from PSV Eindhoven for £30m in January 2023 and scored 20 goals, helping them win the Conference League last season.

He was part of Crystal Palace and then Tottenham’s academy before spending four-and-a-half years in the Netherlands, where he won the Dutch Cup.

Madueke made his England senior debut in August 2024 and set up Harry Kane’s winner as Thomas Tuchel’s side defeated Andorra 1-0 in World Cup qualification last month.

Arteta told Arsenal’s website, external: “Noni is an exciting and powerful young player, with his performances and numbers in recent seasons being of consistently high quality.

“He is one of the most talented wide forward players in the Premier League.

“At just 23, Noni already brings experience of club and international football, and he knows the Premier League very well.

“Having seen the quality of Noni’s performances up close in recent seasons, we’re really excited he is joining us. His arrival will really improve our squad.”

News of Arsenal’s interest in the Chelsea winger had prompted a backlash from a section of the Gunners supporters earlier this month.

A petition, titled #NoToMadueke, was signed more than 5,000 times and murals outside the club’s Emirates Stadium were vandalised with ‘Arteta out’.

Madueke becomes Arsenal’s fourth signing of the summer and second from Chelsea following the arrival of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Midfielders Christian Norgaard from Brentford and Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad have also joined while the club are also close to signing striker Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting and Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera. (BBC)