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Arsenal secured their first piece of silverware of the season yesterday, but had to do so without their main marksman once again…

Is Gabriel Jesus injured?

With Gabriel Jesus having undergone knee surgery just last week, the Brazilian limped about Wembley Stadium as he watched his side battle from a goal down to defeat Manchester City on penalties.

Whilst the initial synopsis suggested his absence would only stretch to "a few weeks", when he suffered the same fate in December 2022, he did not play again until mid-March.

Therefore, the recent report by TEAMtalk makes perfect sense, as it notes that the Gunners have enquired about the possibility of signing Montpellier forward Elye Wahi.

Read the latest Arsenal transfer news HERE…

With the persisting ailments plaguing the 26-year-old, perhaps such an acquisition could prove instrumental in ensuring there is little to no drop in quality when Jesus inevitably gets injured again during the campaign. However, it is noted that the French outfit will demand a lofty fee of €40m (£34m) for his services.

How good is Elye Wahi?

When fit, few forwards suit Mikel Arteta's system as perfectly as Jesus. He is tricky, deceptively strong, creative and clinical, with the athleticism and intelligence to lead a press too.

Last campaign also saw him post 11 goals and assist a further seven across just 26 Premier League appearances, outlining how their offensive threat skyrockets when he is in the team.

However, peering back through his entire injury history, it is clear to see that the recent bout of trauma is not merely misfortune. He has a record of struggling with his fitness, and therefore it could be argued that he alone cannot be trusted to lead the line for a full campaign.

That suggests that the potential swoop for Wahi could prove incredibly profitable, to offer a fine alternative for when Jesus is absent, and potentially one day usurp him.

After all, he does show steady signs of improvement with each passing year, thriving in his homeland with pace, power and prolific finishing.

Last season saw the 20-year-old post 19 goals and assist a further six in Ligue 1 alone, building upon his ten-goal haul from the term prior. Given his natural goalscoring progression, the 2023/24 season could see the Frenchman shatter records.

However, Wahi offers far more than just a focal point, as his speed and link-up play is mightily impressive for someone so young. Whilst he might offer a wildly different style to Jesus, he could prove just as effective in leading that press that makes the Brazilian so invaluable.

The young forward posted 0.7 key passes per game last campaign in the French top-flight, alongside an admirable 71% pass accuracy to emphasise his ability to bring others into the game, via Sofascore.

Ex-Caen academy director Francis de Taddeo has also emphasised his physical assets in the past, stating: "He is a powerful, athletic and fast player with a range of dribbling skills where only he knows what he is going to do next."

After that fine showing against their title rivals, Arteta seemingly has little to worry about going into the new Premier League season. However, the fitness of Jesus remains a sole issue that could be solved with one final foray into the market.

The midfielder has swelled his medal collection but has barely featured for the team in a miserable 18 months at the Etihad Stadium

Kalvin Phillips' transfer to Manchester City made perfect sense in the summer of 2022. The midfielder had honed his playing style under Marcelo Bielsa, one of Pep Guardiola's coaching mentors, at Leeds United, and become an England regular after playing a key role in the Three Lions' success at the European Championship.

The £42 million ($53m) transfer fee was not small but not wildly expensive either for an England international who already had plenty of Premier League experience, and it was expected that Phillips would have a short adaptation period before locking down a regular place in Guardiola's winning machine.

But instead, Phillips' time at City has been a huge ordeal for everyone involved. The 28-year-old has made just six starts in all competitions in 18 months, averaging out at £7m per appearance in Guardiola's line-up. And he has not shone in any of them, with City losing half of the matches he has started. The player's stock has taken an almighty tumble, although he is still a member of Gareth Southgate's squad and expected to go to Euro 2024, to the chagrin of many fans.

The move has also been difficult to digest for City. The club pride themselves on their transfer activity, only making a signing to address an urgent need in the squad and when it suits them long-term. Phillips has simply not fit within Guardiola's vision for his team and, as he leaves to join West Ham on loan, he will go down as one of the worst signings the serial-winning coach has ever made.

As Phillips' stay with City ends – at least temporarily – GOAL charts the midfielder's nightmare 18 months at the Etihad Stadium…

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  Injured on his full debut

  Following his arrival from Elland Road, Phillips was an unused substitute in City's 2022 Community Shield defeat to Liverpool and came on for just a few minutes in their Premier League opener against West Ham, making his first start for his new side in a friendly against Barcelona.

  But after making a positive first impression at Camp Nou, disaster struck when he was forced off with a shoulder injury.

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  Under the knife

  He played no further games for a month after the injury, but returned to action in the Champions League away to Sevilla as a substitute and also came off the bench at home to Borussia Dortmund a week later.

  But shortly afterwards, it was decided that Phillips needed surgery to treat his shoulder problem, which put him out of action for just under two months, only returning in early November for the Carabao Cup win over Chelsea.

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  'Overweight' accusations after the World Cup

  Despite his long period out, Phillips was selected by Southgate for the World Cup in Qatar, coming on against Wales and Senegal although playing no part in England's quarter-final defeat by France. But Guardiola was not happy with Phillips and he was strangely absent from the City squad when the season resumed.

  When asked about Phillips, the coach made a surprise revelation. He said: "He's not injured. He arrived overweight. He didn't arrive in the condition to do training sessions and to play." Phillips has since claimed he was not overweight, and admitted he found the criticism "hard to take".

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  Another rebuke from Guardiola

  He quickly set about returning to full fitness and was on the bench for City's next game at Leeds, although he was not brought on. It became a familiar story throughout the campaign, even as Guardiola began to make more use of his squad players in the Premier League run-in as the games came thick and fast in the team's quest to win the treble.

  Phillips instead received another rebuke from Guardiola, with the coach urging him to provide more competition for Rodri, who had become an indisputable starter despite the Englishman's arrival. “He has to fight with Rodri, for the benefit of all of us," the City coach said in January. "Rodri cannot sleep and must have the feeling there is someone close to him to do it. He has to."

Kraigg Brathwaite has been reported for a suspect bowling action following the first Test against England at Edgbaston

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2017Kraigg Brathwaite has been reported for a suspect bowling action following the first Test against England at Edgbaston.Brathwaite, the opening batsman who bowls part-time offspin, sent down six overs for six runs in England’s innings. He will now be required to undergo testing within 14 days but is allowed to continue to bowl in international cricket until the results are known.He has 12 wickets in Test cricket including a haul of 6 for 29 against Sri Lanka in Colombo although he is far more important to West Indies for his adhesiveness with the bat – he is the only member of the current squad with more than 2000 Test runs. He made a duck in the first innings at Edgbaston but scored 40 in the second before being trapped lbw by Moeen Ali.

Joe Denly and Daniel Bell-Drummond took Essex’s attack for 207 to leave Kent scenting a quarter-final place courtesy of a last-night victory

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Aug-2017Joe Denly shared a record opening stand•Getty Images

Kent’s opening pair of Joe Denly and Daniel Bell-Drummond compiled a world-record T20 opening partnership of 207 on a night when records tumbled and Kent moved closer to qualifying for the NatWest Blast knockout stages.Denly led the carnage with 127 from 66 balls, including 11 fours and seven sixes, beating his own Kent record score of 116. The stand with Bell-Drummond, who was unbeaten at the end on 80, was the third highest for any wicket in the history of the competition.It also beat the 163, a Kent record for any wicket at the time, the same two batsmen put on earlier in the season against Surrey at the Oval.However, they were run close by Essex, for whom Varun Chopra hit a career-best T20 114, his second of the season. His 58-ball innings included nine sixes and six fours. When he was out in the 18th over, Essex were 29 runs short with two overs to go, and they finished 11 runs adrift.Kent now know that a third victory in a row on Friday night against Surrey at Canterbury will take them through to the last eight. Essex also require a win at Hove against Sussex to stand any chance of making the top four in the ultra-tight south group.For Essex, only Mohammad Amir, who finally removed Denly in the penultimate over, returned decent bowling figures – his four overs cost a comparatively parsimonious 20. Of Essex’s seven bowlers, only Ravi Bopara went for less than 10 an over. Calum Haggett conceded just 18 in his four overs in Essex’s reply, crucial in keeping Kent competitive in the field.The start of play was delayed for 20 minutes while the air ambulance landed on the outfield to attend to a steward who had suffered a suspected heart attack.Put in, Denly started as he meant to go on, contributing 37 of Kent’s first fifty runs including sixes over cow and long-leg off Jamie Porter and Paul Walter respectively. The former Middlesex opener reached the 23rd T20 half-century of his career from the 27th ball he faced.Denly’s third six came from a free hit after an inadvertent beamer from Walter, the ball being lost as it sailed out of the ground over midwicket. A fourth cleared the ropes in the same vicinity in an over that went for 22 runs and took Kent into three figures in 12 overs.Bell-Drummond had played second fiddle to his older partner, but a six off Simon Harmer took him to 37 and past the previous first-wicket partnership record of 119 for Kent against Essex in the format.A swept four off Ryan ten Doeschate took Bell-Drummond to his fifty from 35 balls, and he had a second six to his name in the same over for good measure.Denly reached his second century of the campaign with a boundary past mid-off. It had taken him 54 balls and contained 10 fours and a fifth six the ball before, hit straight off Zaidi. Another six took Denly to the highest of his three T20 centuries.There was drama when the world record was broken: it looked at first as if Denly had gone on 119 to a catch on the long-leg boundary by Callum Taylor. But the fielder admitted he trod on the rope and Denly was not only reprieved, but credited with his seventh six.He was finally out in the 19th over when he went for another big hit against Amir and was caught behind by James Foster. Kent lost a second wicket in the final over when Sam Billings was caught behind to give Walter his 15th wicket of the season, but at a personal cost of 65 runs on the night.Essex went off like an express train in reply. By the end of the Powerplay overs, they were 94 without loss and Chopra had reached his half-century from 19 balls. Mitchell Claydon felt the force in the sixth over when Chopra hit him for three successive sixes followed by three fours to move Essex from 64 to 94 in six balls.Chopra had already hammered two sixes before that in the previous over from Claydon, whose first two overs went for 46. Sixes number six and seven came off successive balls from Imran Qayyum over long leg and then straighter.Having put on 118 for the first wicket in nine overs, Dan Lawrence departed for a 22-ball 41, with one six, bowled by Calum Haggett. But at the halfway point, Essex needed 95 from 10 overs; incredibly, they were 34 runs ahead of the Kent total at the same stage of their innings.They lost Bopara on 138, caught sweeping at Qayyum at short fine leg, as the brakes were applied to the Essex charge. Only 37 runs were scored in the six middle overs from the ninth to 14th and the pressure got to Zaidi who holed out to deep square leg in Darren Stevens’s first over.A straight six off Neesham, his eighth, took Chopra to his century from 52 balls with six fours. With 39 needed off 18 balls, Chopra carted Neesham for six over midwicket before exiting two balls later, caught in the covers.Ten Doeschate chipped a six over square leg off the last ball of the 19th over to leave Essex needing 16 from the last six balls. The captain went to the second ball, caught at deep cover by Qayyum, and Adam Milne tied up Paul Walter and James Foster in the final four balls..

India’s impressive batting line-up made a collective statement of intent, not least their 20-year-old prodigy Smriti Mandhana, as England, the hosts, were overwhelmed by a display of power and finesse

The Report by Andrew Miller24-Jun-2017

India’s impressive batting line-up made a collective statement of intent, not least their 20-year-old prodigy Smriti Mandhana, as England, the hosts, were overwhelmed by a display of power and finesse in the opening match of the Women’s World Cup at Derby.After winning the toss and bowling first under overcast skies, England’s captain Heather Knight had anticipated an opportunity for her side to lay down a marker of their own as they embark on their first home World Cup campaign since 1993, and the first ICC event on home soil since their victory in the world T20 in 2009.But they had reckoned with the silken skills of Mandhana, who capitalised on a nervy opening gambit from England’s bowlers, not least the veteran Katherine Brunt, to lead the charge with an innings of 90 from 72 balls.Despite the insistence from India’s captain, Mithali Raj, that women’s cricketers should not be judged against their male counterparts, it does Mandhana no disservice to say there were shades of Sourav Ganguly in her strokeplay, particularly her powerful driving on the up and through the covers. She also swung hard through the line for two big sixes over long-on, as she and Punam Raut left England with no place to hide in an enterprising 144-run stand for the first wicket.Raut was the sheet anchor as Mandhana went for her shots at the other end, seeing off a restrictive opening burst from Anya Shrubsole en route to an 86-ball fifty before lifting her tempo as her innings progressed. She benefited from a brace of drops from Tammy Beaumont at long-on and Shrubsole at midwicket, but was looking good for a century until she picked out Danielle Wyatt with a slog-sweep to deep midwicket in the 43rd over.Mandhana, by this stage, had also perished, holing out to Danielle Hazell at midwicket as she climbed into a short ball from Knight and trooped off, proud but disconsolate for 90 from 72 balls. It was a stunning performance from a young player who is on the comeback from cruciate ligament tear sustained at the WBBL this winter. There were concerns of a relapse when she limped from the field midway through the England innings, but she later confirmed it had been a hamstring twinge, and she is confident of being ready for the rest of India’s tournament.Her departure paved the way for the entrance of Raj, who in her 15th year of international cricket is in the midst of a golden vein of form. She charmed her way to a women’s record seventh consecutive ODI half-century before holing out for 71 from 73 balls from the final delivery of the innings. Harmanpreet Kaur, India’s aggressive allrounder, showed glimpses of her strength with a big six over midwicket off Hazell, and finished unbeaten on 24 from 22.In reply, England opened with a notable returnee, as Sarah Taylor stepped in for the absent Lauren Winfield in her first full international appearance for more than a year. It was an achievement in itself to complete her comeback after her much-publicised battle with anxiety, but she found India’s bowlers hard to dominate in a 31-ball 22, which ended with a mistimed slap to mid-on.Beaumont was dropped off a top-edged sweep early in her innings but failed to capitalise as Mandhana clung on to a sharp edge to slip for 14, whereupon England’s middle-order was becalmed by India’s slow bowlers, who dropped the ball on a good length and gave the batsman nothing to work with. England relied on a diet of sweeps to keep the score moving before Knight stepped up the pace with a pair of sweetly struck sixes down the ground. But, after Nat Sciver had been caught down the leg side via the first DRS review of the tournament, Knight fell victim to a sharp pick-up-and-throw from Kaur, to be run out for 46.At 134 for 4, England seemed in peril, although Fran Wilson wasn’t done yet. Her hard-hitting 81 from 75 balls gave her side genuine hope going into the final eight overs. But a spate of run-outs – three in four overs, including Wilson herself and the dangerous Brunt – wrecked their fightback. Victory was duly sealed with 15 balls to spare, as Shrubsole slogged to deep midwicket, moments after a defiant six had been caught in the stands by the father of her team-mate, Jenny Gunn. For India, it was their 18th victory in their last 19 matches, and a very impressive show of force at the outset of the tournament.

Wrexham star Ollie Palmer showed Charlie Day no mercy when the Always Sunny star visited the Welsh club back in April.

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• Day took part in Wrexham warm-down
• Palmer showed actor no mercy
• Clip emerged in Welcome to Wrexham

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's Always Sunny co-star attended Wrexham's 3-0 win against Yeovil Town in April. After the match, Day was invited to take part in the players' warm-down. Now, new footage has emerged showing Wrexham striker Palmer leaving him for dust without even breaking sweat.

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• WATCH THE CLIP

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Day was among a number of other stars from the hit TV show to attend the match. The footage has emerged as part of the latest series of 'Welcome to Wrexham', a docu-series that charts the journey of the club under the ownership of Hollywood stars Reynolds and McElhenney.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  FX has commissioned a third season of Welcome to Wrexham, and it promises to be a good one. The Red Dragons are currently flying high in second place in League Two after a 15-year exile from the Football League. Next up for Phil Parkinson's side is a trip to Accrington Stanley on Saturday.

Fans online have been left stunned after Manchester United ace Marcus Rashford pulled off a brilliant bit of skill for England in their most recent match.

What was the score in England v Malta?

On Friday night, the Three Lions travelled away from home to Malta looking to maintain their spot at the top of their Euro 2024 qualifying group.

And Gareth Southgate’s men we able to make it three wins from three as they cruised to a 4-0 victory thanks to a midfield masterclass from new No 10 Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Indeed, the Liverpool defender played a beautiful through-ball to open up the defence for England’s opener from an own goal before rifling in a fine effort to make it 2-0. Harry Kane won and scored a penalty to make it 3-0 before half-time, while Callum Wilson also scored from the spot later on in the match.

Rashford didn’t start the game, but did come on for Jordan Henderson on the hour mark and was able to make a positive contribution with one fine moment in particular.

Indeed, as shared in this footage on Twitter, he picked the ball up on the left flank and did a couple of sharp stepovers before leaving his man for dead with an elastico.

After seeing the replay of the 25-year-old, it’s safe to say a number of fans were left rather impressed and they soon flocked to social media to express their thoughts.

Here are some of the best Twitter reactions…

Supporters were seriously impressed.

The allrounder first paired up with Mehedi Hasan Miraz to limit Dhaka Dynamites to 138 and then eased Rajshahi Kings’ chase with a brisk unbeaten 44

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Samit Patel hit a flurry of boundaries to ease Rajshahi’s chase after they had lost quick wickets upfront•Getty ImagesA robust all-round show from Samit Patel gave Rajshahi Kings their first win of BPL 2016-17, as they trounced Dhaka Dynamites by six wickets. The England allrounder took two wickets to help keep Dhaka to a modest 138 before his flurry of boundaries eased the chase.Patel was unbeaten on 44 off 25 balls, having shared a 73-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Sabbir Rahman, who was dismissed for 31 after the scores were level. Mohammad Shahid bowled a wide to give Rajshahi the win with eleven balls to spare, symbolic of Dhaka’s indiscipline with the ball – they conceded 15 extras in the match.Rajshahi’s chase began with Rony Talukdar winning the all-Narayanganj battle when he hammered Shahid for a straight six and fours through mid-off and fine-leg. But Talukdar injured his back while hitting the second boundary and that cost Rajshahi two wickets – Mominul Haque was run out in the third over when he tried to get Talukdar off strike, and then Talukdar was stumped for 14 after charging at Shakib Al Hasan. Talukdar’s wicket was Shakib’s 50th in the BPL.Sabbir and Umar Akmal added 38 runs for the third wicket to calm the nerves in the dressing room and both picked up regular boundaries. Akmal fell in the tenth over for 27, but Patel took over the baton immediately.He struck his six fours through and over cover and extra cover, past point and through fine-leg. Patel’s only six was a blast over long-on, which got Rajshahi within 10 runs of the target.In Dhaka’s innings, after they were put in to bat, Mehedi Maruf once again gave them a bright start despite the loss of Kumar Sangakkara in the second over. Maruf slammed four boundaries and a swept six off Mohammad Sami in his 22-ball 25 but fell into the seven-ball hole that resulted in three Dhaka wickets. Samit Patel removed Mahela Jayawardene, on his BPL debut, before removing Maruf two balls later. In the first ball of the next over, Shakib was stumped off Mehedi Hasan and suddenly Dhaka were 43 for 4 in the eighth over.With three of their most senior batsmen back in the dugout, it was easy for Dhaka to slow down but Mosaddek Hossain’s confidence meant that they recovered quickly.During his 54-run fifth-wicket stand with Ravi Bopara, Mosaddek timed the ball well through the off side and found fours with pushes through point and cover. After Bopara fell for 20, Mosaddek carved Sami over point for his only six and soon raised his first half-century in BPL, sharing in a 41-run unbroken stand for the sixth wicket with Darren Bravo.Mehedi and Patel took two wickets each while Hasan, who mixed his pace well, picked up one wicket. Sami was unlucky as he had Bravo and Mosaddek dropped in his last over by the sweeper fielder on either side of the wicket.

Australia wicketkeeper Matthew Wade kept wickets for only two overs on the third day before returning to the team hotel with an illness

Brydon Coverdale in Sydney05-Jan-2017

Australia’s wicketkeeper Matthew Wade is expected to take no further part in the third day’s play against Pakistan in Sydney after returning to the team hotel due to illness.Rain delayed the start of play until 2.35pm and Wade took the field with the team when play finally began, but he was able to keep wicket for only two overs before he left the SCG.”Matthew felt ill this morning and has had nausea and diarrhoea,” Australia’s team doctor Peter Brukner said. “He’s received medication for his symptoms but is still feeling unwell. After taking the field he realised he was not well enough to continue, hence his decision to come off. He’s returning to the hotel to rest and will hopefully recover by tomorrow morning. We will monitor his condition.”Wade was replaced behind the stumps by Peter Handscomb, who has kept wickets in nearly 50 matches across first-class, List A and Twenty20 matches. Although he rarely keeps in Sheffield Shield matches these days, Handscomb performed the role in four Matador Cup games this summer and is expecting to do so in the BBL this month as well.”The gloves stay in the bag and the pads only come out for a bit of bat-pad work,” Handscomb said when asked about his wicketkeeping in the lead-up to this Test. “When I’m not keeping it’s pretty much full-time batting and fielding, because I need to be able to catch like a fielder.”Then as soon as I go back to Big Bash and put the gloves on I’ll do some work there and make sure that my skills are up to date … I think I’d be able to do it as a last call if no one else was around. I can chuck the gloves on, that would be fine.”

Timm van der Gugten and Michael Rippon led the demolition job as Netherlands crushed Nepal by seven wickets in their World Cricket League Championship match

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2016
ScorecardFile photo: Michael Rippon wrecked Nepal with 3 for 21 as Netherlands crushed Nepal by seven wickets in their WCL Championship clash•IDI/Getty

Pace bowler Timm van der Gugten and chinaman bowler Michael Rippon led a demolition job to help Netherlands crush Nepal by seven wickets in their World Cricket League Championship match on Saturday.Van der Gugten and Rippon returned identical figures of 3 for 21 as Netherlands shot Nepal out for 94 after electing to field at the VRA Ground in Amstelveen. Stephan Myburgh then guided Netherlands’ small chase with an unbeaten 33, and along with wicketkeeper Wesley Barresi, who slammed 37 off 33 balls, completed the win in 16.5 overs.Apart from Nepal’s top three – Gyanendra Malla, Anil Mandal and Sharad Vesawkar – only Sompal Kami managed to get into double figures. Malla and Mandal’s 23-run opening stand was the highest Nepal could manage as they were dismissed in 38.1 overs.Van der Gugten and Rippon found support from left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe, who took 2 for 12, while Mudassar Bukhari and Paul van Meekeren took a wicket apiece.Netherlands lost Rippon in the fourth over with just 13 on the board but Myburgh and Barresi then came together for a second-wicket stand worth 57 that shut out any early advantage Nepal may have hoped to attain. Both batsmen struck five boundaries each, before Basant Regmi had Barresi bowled with Netherlands 25 away from a win. Ben Cooper could not hang around for long, but van der Merwe and Myburgh saw the team through to the finish line.Both teams face off again on Monday at the same venue. Netherlands are perched on top of the table with 12 points, while Nepal are sixth with four points after seven games.