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And what is the largest difference between a team’s first-innings and second-innings scores in all first-class cricket?

Steven Lynch23-May-2023I read that Brian Booth, who died last week, also played hockey for Australia at the Olympics. Are there any other Test cricketers who have done this? asked Craig Franklin from Australia
Brian Booth, who sadly died last week aged 89, seems to have been one of those rare cricketers who was universally admired. “A truly great human,” said his former team-mate Kerry O’Keeffe. “Strong claims to captain Aust ‘best blokes’ Test eleven.” Booth played the first of his 29 Tests in England in 1961, and led Australia twice during his final series, the 1965-66 Ashes. He scored five Test hundreds (and a 98). Before his international cricket career started, he had been part of the Australian field hockey squad for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, and played in some of the later matches.Booth is one of six Test cricketers who also competed at the Olympics. The first was the Essex fast bowler Claude Buckenham, who was part of the Great Britain football team that won the gold medal in Paris in 1900; he played four Tests in South Africa in 1909-10, taking seven wickets in the first in Johannesburg.Another Essex player, Johnny Douglas, won the middleweight boxing gold medal at the 1908 Olympics in London. He went on to play 23 Tests for England between 1911-12 and 1924-25, captaining in most of them. At around the same time, the Somerset batter Jack MacBryan played one Test against South Africa in 1924 (famously not batting or bowling at Old Trafford) after being part of the gold-medal-winning British hockey team in Antwerp in 1920. The New Zealander Keith Thomson had a very busy time in 1968: after playing two Tests against India, he was part of the national hockey squad for the Mexico Olympics. Like Booth, he died in 2023.Coming more up to date, Sunette Viljoen played one Test and 17 ODIs for the South African women’s team, before concentrating on athletics: she competed in all four Olympic Games between 2004 and 2016, winning the silver medal in the javelin in the last, in Rio de Janeiro. Suzie Bates was part of the New Zealand basketball team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and also appeared in 291 white-ball cricket internationals, many as captain – but she never played a Test match.At the weekend Glamorgan made 737 in their second innings, having been skittled for 123 in the first. Is the difference between the innings a record? asked Joe Jervis from England
In a remarkable turnaround, Glamorgan scored 614 more runs in the second innings of their recent County Championship match against Sussex in Hove than in the first. This is indeed a record difference between two completed innings by one side in a first-class match, beating 591 by Karachi Blues (111 and 702 for 7) against United Bank in Karachi in 2016-17.The Test record is 551, by Pakistan (106 and 657 for 8 declared) against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1957-58, in the match in which Hanif Mohammad scored 337 in 970 minutes. There are two other cases of 551 in first-class cricket, by Barbados (175 and 726 for 7 declared) against Trinidad in Bridgetown in 1926-27, and Middlesex (83 and 634 for 7 declared) against Essex in Chelmsford in 1983.Glamorgan’s 737 was their second-highest total, exceeded only by last year’s 795 for 5 declared in Leicester. There have been just four higher second-innings totals in all first-class cricket, the highest being New South Wales’s 770 against South Australia in Adelaide in 1920-21.I was intrigued by last week’s question regarding England players with an X in their surname. How many Pakistan cricketers have names containing a Q? asked Sanjeev Kulkarni from India
There are rather more than the five England Xs when we investigate Pakistan Qs. There are 37 Test players from Pakistan whose names are usually rendered on scorecards with a Q; there are at least four others whose full names also include a Q (for example, the full name of the recent Test batter Yasir Hameed is Yasir Hameed Qureshi).I won’t list all the Q players, but a reasonable Test team can be fielded: for starters, try Sadiq Mohammad, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Mushtaq Mohammad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Asif Iqbal, Abdul Qadir, Zulqarnain, Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis and Aqib Javed. Their match would have to be reported by Pakistan’s most durable cricket journalist, Qamar Ahmed. Pride of place, however, should perhaps go to the 1980s seamer Tahir Naqqash, who has two Qs in his name.Chris Martin collected 36 ducks and had a high score of 12 in his Test batting career•William West/AFPChris Martin took 233 wickets and scored 123 runs in his Test career. Is this negative difference of 110 the largest for a Test career? asked Elamaran Perumal from the United States
The New Zealand seamer (and hapless batter) Chris Martin collected 36 ducks in a 71-Test career that brought him just 123 runs to go with those 233 wickets. You’re right in thinking that 110 is the biggest negative difference between runs and wickets in a Test career: next comes the Indian legspin genius Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, with 242 wickets and 167 runs (a difference of -75). Old-time bowlers Jack Saunders of Australia (79 wickets, 39 runs) and England’s Bill Bowes (68 and 28) both had a difference of minus 40.The recent Pakistan seamer Aizaz Cheema had a big negative ratio: 20 wickets, but just one run. The 1930s England legspinner Charles “Father” Marriott and the recent South African seamer Mfuneko “Chewing” Ngam both took 11 Test wickets, but scored no runs at all.Regarding last week’s question about someone spending ten balls on nought in an IPL game, didn’t Dwayne Smith once get off the mark from his 12th ball? asked Rajesh Verma from India
You’re right that the normally attacking West Indian Dwayne Smith spent 11 balls on nought (eight of them, including a first-over maiden, sent down by slow left-armer Shahbaz Nadeem) for Chennai Super Kings against Delhi Daredevils in Raipur in 2015. However, last week’s question specifically asked about IPL chases, so the answers given were correct for teams batting second.Smith’s 11 balls is the most taken to get off the mark in either innings of an IPL match, but someone else has spent even longer on nought: Nayan Doshi faced 13 balls for Rajasthan Royals against Kochi Tuskers in Indore in 2011, being dismissed for a duck by the 13th.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Risking an early end to his career, the fast bowler declined knee surgery to play through the 1993 Ashes series

Daniel Brettig02-Feb-2021Imagine a fast bowler in 2020, halfway through an Ashes tour, facing the fact that a degenerative knee problem was likely to contribute to an early end to their career unless they went home to face surgery. In this day and age of sports science and data-driven decisions, it would barely be a debate – off to Heathrow.Twenty-seven years ago, Merv Hughes faced just such a dilemma in the midst of an Ashes campaign where he was the manful spearhead of an Australian attack that, while blessed with the abundant talents of a young Shane Warne, was also down to its final four bowlers for long stretches of a tour that began in April and stretched into early September. Fortunately for Australia, but damagingly for the remainder of Hughes’ playing days, he says now that never considered accepting the offer of an early flight home and the attendant career-lengthening rehab.At the end of the third Test, Hughes had knee trouble as well as a groin strain, and spent nine days on his own in London with the team physio Errol Alcott, working assiduously to improve his fitness in order to play the final three Tests. When the knee began playing up again over the final two Tests, putting Hughes in agony when he climbed stairs and forcing him into a limp whenever he wasn’t actually bowling, team-mates began to realise the cost. Hughes had, in the words of his biographer Patrick Keane, “given more than anyone had a right to expect.”It was not as though Hughes’ early exit from the series could not be covered: the likes of Jo Angel, Damien Fleming and Joe Scuderi were all in England at the time to play league cricket, and Mike Whitney was working as both a commentator for Channel Nine and a more-than-occasional net bowler to the tourists. Hughes, though, was committed to leading the bowling attack and paying back his captain Allan Border for the faith he had shown in him over the years before.Perhaps only Ryan Harris since then has come close to the extremes Hughes went through in carrying his troublesome knee through the six Tests, scooping 31 wickets and playing a huge hand in a 4-1 series victory. Undoubtedly, Hughes paid a personal price for his commitment to the team and the tour, playing only two more Tests thereafter, in South Africa the following year. This selflessness was key to why Hughes was an integral part of the Australian side of the Border era, and a worthy inductee to the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.”I had a bit of knee trouble, I think it was made out to be a lot worse than it actually was,” Hughes said, self-effacingly, on Tuesday. “Errol Alcott was the team physio and I trusted every word he said, he was one of my best mates when I played to be honest, but when he said you’re going to have a little bit of pain but it’s not going to get any worse, that’s where it was. I had the option to go home, yes, halfway through it, and if I had to make the same decision again I wouldn’t change it. To be on that tour from start to finish was very rewarding.Bowling with a bad knee, Merv Hughes took 31 wickets to help Australia claim a 4-1 Ashes victory in 1993•Getty Images”I think ’94 in South Africa was reward for contribution to Australian cricket. I thank the Australian selectors for that. But I’d come off an injury, there were some young guys coming through and I was very fortunate to get on that tour and by the end of that tour you had blokes like Glenn McGrath and Paul Reiffel coming through, and when they’re 10 years younger, the writing’s on the wall. Ultimately I don’t think things would’ve changed – probably the only thing that may have changed is I may have played a few more years of first-class cricket, but that didn’t eventuate.”The guys coming through were putting pressure on the old fella in the team and the old fella in the team couldn’t cope that well.”Repeatedly over his time in the Australian side, Hughes came through with big performances and big wickets, particularly in Ashes series and over several increasingly competitive bouts with the great West Indies teams of the period. After an initial phase when Hughes’ qualities were doubted by some, his quirky hat-trick over three overs at the WACA in 1988, and then heroic match figures of 13 for 217 either side of Geoff Lawson having his jaw broken by Curtly Ambrose, dispelled all reservations about whether there was real substance beneath his caricature moustache and beer belly.The crowds loved Hughes’ caricature moustache and his on-field antics, but there was genuine cricketing substance to go with it•Patrick Eagar/Getty Images”That’s where you really get measured, isn’t it, you don’t get measured by doing well against weaker teams,” Hughes said. “So to come up against that West Indies team having lost the first Test match … it was a great personal achievement but I think we lost that Test match by about 200 runs [169 runs], so the disappointment of the loss of the Test match overrode the emotion of a great personal achievement.”But the hat-trick, you try to explain to people that you didn’t know you were on a hat-trick, and people look you and go ‘mate, a hat-trick’s three wickets in three balls’, I know that, but when it’s over three overs, over two days and two innings and Tim May takes a wicket in between your first and second wicket, you tend to lose it. Plus with the emotion about Geoff Lawson being hit late on the day when we went back into bowling on the third day, to bowl for 20 minutes, I think you’re going to get fired up as a fast bowler anyway.”When you’ve seen one of your team-mates being hit, there’s just a little bit of extra spice to it. The eight-for was against a very good side, but ultimately if Geoff Lawson hadn’t been injured, I probably would’ve bowled half the overs and if you bowl half the overs you take half the wickets.”A spray of invective at the third of his hat-trick victims, Gordon Greenidge, was an example of the aggressive and often ugly way in which Hughes expressed himself on the field, the archetypal angry fast bowler who would use the short ball and his vocabulary to get under an opponent’s skin. Between these tendencies and constant battles with his waistline – at one point he infamously stomped on and shattered a new set of scales when asked to weigh himself – Hughes was a cricketer of his time, but with determination and courage to stand up in any era.Hughes, Dean Jones and David Boon were among the core group of players who revived Australia’s fortunes under Allan Border•Graham Chadwick/PA PhotosHughes drew immense personal satisfaction from the fact that the Australian team was constantly improving during his time in it, from the depths of the mid-1980s when the rebel tours of Apartheid South Africa had stripped the national cricket system of many of its established players, to the time when Hughes played his last Test in 1994 as part of an XI about to finally topple the West Indies and become the world’s best the following year. Later a national selector, Hughes has remained a consistent presence whether through tour groups or occasional commentary.”It was a tough time and people talk about that ’85 rebel tour to South Africa, and that came on top of just rebuilding from World Series Cricket in the late ’70s, so as Australia started to get back on their feet, that rebel tour came along,” Hughes said. “Fortunately for Australia Allan Border was appointed captain, Bob Simpson look over as coach and Laurie Sawle was appointed chairman of selectors. Those three blokes deserve a lot of credit for where Australian cricket got to.”They had a game plan and it was short-term pain for long-term gain and they picked a heap of young blokes and identified some young talent, picked a couple of guys who had the reputation of being tough and uncompromising and they had that senior core of players that led the way. The thing I look back on most satisfied with is that I played in an ever-improving Australian team. We didn’t quite get to the top of the tree when I was playing, but I look back at it with great satisfaction that we pushed the West Indies.”We pushed them in ’91 and the thing I probably hold closest is I think we were the first team to beat the West Indies in Antigua. They hadn’t lost in Antigua, it was Viv Richards’ last Test match on his home ground, and we got up and had a win there. I firmly believe at that stage was when we as a collective group of Australian players started to think we could match it with the West Indies.”As for what team-mates thought of Hughes, the following words from Steve Waugh of his efforts in England in 1993 are a fitting summary of both admiration and occasional exasperation. “He didn’t use his brain at all because it was all heart and that cost him in the long run,” Waugh told Keane in . “It put an end to his career in my opinion. I think he thought that ‘every Test I miss is one I can never play again’ and we were on a huge winning roll and he wanted to be part of it.”

Arsenal have built an outrageously talented squad over the last five years or so, one capable of winning the Premier League and Champions League.

However, for all the incredible stars Mikel Arteta has signed over the seasons, from Declan Rice to David Raya, it would be fair to say his most important player remains Bukayo Saka.

The Hale Ender has transformed from an academy prospect into a world-class forward, and the fact that he produced his 100th league goal involvement on his 200th appearance at the weekend is a testament to that.

So, it’s incredibly exciting to see that the club are producing another academy talent who looks destined to become someone of Saka-level importance in the years to come.

Saka's academy career

Saka joined Arsenal in the Arsenal academy set-up at seven years old, after spending some time with Watford.

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The youngster’s first game for the Gunners’ U18 side came in a 4-1 loss to Fulham’s U18s in August 2017, and while he failed to make much of an impact in that game, he did end that season with eight goals and four assists in 22 games.

The following season started with the “future legend,” as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, continuing to play for the U18s while also making appearances for the U23s.

However, while he was used in the FA Youth Cup at the turn of the year, and the final of the U18s Premier League, it was increasingly clear that the young dynamo was too good to stay in that age group, and so the U21s became where he spent most of his time.

In all, the Ealing-born gem made 24 appearances for the U23s across 18/19, in which he scored six goals and provided nine assists, but something else happened that season: he made his first-team debut.

Former manager Unai Emery gave him a chance off the bench in a Europa League clash with Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava in November, and then started him at home against Qarabağ FK a month later.

Saka’s youth record
Team	U18s	U23s
Appearances	28	25
Goals	16	6
Assists	6	9
All Stats via Transfermarkt

With him now featuring for the senior side, he would make his final appearances in junior football the following season, playing a single game against Everton in late August for the U23s.

In all, Saka produced 37 goal involvements in 53 appearances for the junior sides before establishing himself as Arsenal’s most important player over the following years, and now it looks like Hale End has produced someone else capable of doing the same.

Arsenal's future Saka

While last season saw Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly make it into the first-team, the Hale Ender set to become as crucial as Saka is someone even younger: Max Dowman.

It feels like the 15-year-old is the most talked-about youth prospect Arsenal have had in a generation or more, and it’s not just coming from supporters.

For example, at the start of last season, respected talent scout Jacek Kulig went as far as to claim the teenager was the “most exciting prospect” he had seen “since Lamine Yamal”, and considering the Spaniard’s absurd ability, that is an astounding thing to say.

As if that wasn’t enough, you also had senior professionals waxing lyrical about the youngster, with Rice labelling him “the best 15-year-old in the country.”

Finally, away from players and scouts, Hale End expert Will Balsam probably had the boldest opinion of the lot, arguing that the Chelmsford-born gem is “one of the greatest footballing brains that’s ever come through Hale End.”

Dowman in 24/25
Appearances	23
Minutes	1945′
Goals	19
Assists	5
Goal Involvements per Match	1.04
Minutes per Goal Involvement	81.04′
All Stats via Transfermarkt

As if that wasn’t enough, he also claimed that he’s “the biggest talent in England,” a statement supported by his statistics for the youth sides last season.

For example, in just 23 appearances, totalling 1945 minutes, he scored 19 times and provided five assists, which comes out to an average of 1.04 goal involvements per match, or one every 81.04 minutes.

Finally, what makes it really feel like he could become as big a star for the first team as Saka has is that in his few senior appearances, he has looked incredible, most notably against Leeds United at home and Newcastle United in pre-season.

Ultimately, there is still a long way to go for Dowman, but as things stand, he looks destined to become a world-beater for Arsenal.

Arsenal can fix Odegaard blow by starting their "best attacker" in new role

The exceptional Arsenal star can help solve Mikel Arteta’s Martin Odegaard problem by playing in a new position.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Oct 9, 2025

Newcastle United could be boosted by the unexpected return of a sidelined star sooner than first thought, according to reports.

Howe: "individual errors" hurt Newcastle

It’s not often that Eddie Howe is publicly critical of his Newcastle side, but even he couldn’t hide his frustration after the Magpies saw their lead wiped away by Tottenham Hotspur at the death. It was yet another late goal and yet more points dropped from a winning position for those in Tyneside, who rarely do things the easy way these days.

Howe admitted that “individual errors” hurt Newcastle against Spurs just when they thought they did enough to secure all three points against Thomas Frank’s side.

Related Fewer passes than Ramsdale: Howe must drop 6/10 Newcastle star after Spurs

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The former Bournemouth boss told reporters: “I think it’s definitely a failing, you can’t sit here and go, I can’t sit here and go, everything’s okay in that respect, it’s happened too many times this season, that doesn’t mean we can’t figure it out and put it right very quickly.

“Today’s really a set piece, it’s a moment and those moments happen in football, they’ve been on the other end of it at times and individual errors usually from set plays hurt you and that’s what happened.”

Tottenham will feel as though their late winner was justified, however, after Newcastle were controversially awarded a penalty, which Anthony Gordon converted in the second-half.

Jamie Redknapp demanded “consistency” from the referees at full-time and Howe has every right to demand the same from his players. In a packed December full of fixtures, the Newcastle boss will be relieved to hear the latest update on Yoane Wissa’s long-awaited return from injury.

Craig Hope shares unexpected Yoane Wissa return date

According to the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope, Wissa could now make a shock return for Newcastle this weekend and take a place on Howe’s bench against Burnley. The forward recently took part in a training ground game, but it remained uncertain when he would finally make his debut for the club.

The summer signing endured a disastrous start to life at St James’ Park when he was injured not long after arriving. Now, he could get the chance to finally make his mark just when Newcastle need him most.

Dubbed “remarkable” by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank last season, it will certainly be interesting to see how Wissa is used in Tyneside.

Record signing Nick Woltemade has enjoyed such an excellent start, but will undoubtedly have a fight to keep hold of his place now that his competition is nearing a return. Whether Howe sticks or twists, there’s no denying that Wissa’s return will be a major boost.

Howe must finally bin 5/10 Newcastle dud who was "very sloppy" vs Spurs

As the San Francisco Giants took the field in Los Angeles this afternoon, still reeling from the news that they had executed a blockbuster trade to bring Boston Red Sox DH Rafael Devers aboard, the man at the center of the deal stood at shortstop. 

The biggest transaction of the 2025 season was not really about the four players headed to the Red Sox—converted starting pitcher Jordan Hicks; swingman Kyle Harrison, who was pulled from the bullpen just minutes before his scheduled start against the Dodgers; outfield prospect James Tibbs; or pitching prospect José Bello—or even Devers himself, the top-10 hitter who has twice squabbled with team officials over his position. No, this deal was five years in the making, dating back to the last time the Red Sox made a major trade: the 2020 Mookie Betts trade. 

Back then, just a year removed from the best season in franchise history and the organization’s ninth World Series title, the Boston ownership group considered the most talented player its farm system had produced since Carl Yastrzemski and shrugged. Management, led by principal owner John Henry, decided not to offer Betts an extension; rather than let him walk in free agency for nothing but a draft pick, they ordered then–head of baseball operations Chaim Bloom to trade him.

Bloom scrounged around among an industry that knew he had to move Betts, tacked on the three years and $96 million remaining on lefty David Price’s deal, and ended up with a forgettable package from the Dodgers: outfielder Alex Verdugo and two prospects, shortstop Jeter Downs and catcher Connor Wong. (The Red Sox traded Verdugo to the Yankees before last season after he publicly feuded with manager Alex Cora, waived Downs after he played in 41 games and have received zero RBIs from Wong in 41 games this season.) 

Betts immediately signed a 12-year, $365 million extension with the Dodgers that will look like a bargain no matter how the last six years go: He has been an All-Star every season and finished No. 2 in MVP voting twice while slotting in easily in right field, at second base and at shortstop, and leading the team to two titles. (He reportedly told friends he would have signed the same deal in Boston.)

So naturally, two years later, Henry’s ownership group lowballed its next homegrown star, shortstop Xander Bogaerts, in extension talks, then watched him decamp to the San Diego Padres in free agency for 11 years and $280 million—some five years and $140 million more than Boston had offered. Amid a roar of fan fury so loud it all but drowned out the team’s Winter Weekend the next spring, Henry and Bloom tried to make amends by signing the final remaining young star, Devers, to a 10-year, $313.5 million deal. (Henry fired Bloom following the 2023 season.) Devers had always been a talented hitter, but even then, when he was 26, it was clear that he was the least fit of the three for that sort of commitment. He did not profile to spend the rest of his career at third base, and he had yet to show the kind of leadership you might ask of the face of your franchise. The whole deal felt a bit like when an umpire misses a pitch down the middle, then calls the next pitch a strike no matter where it ends up. 

This spring, the cracks began to show. The Red Sox upgraded at third base by signing Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million deal with two opt-outs, but apparently failed to inform Devers that he’d been unseated. At spring training, Devers told reporters, “Third base is my position.” Eventually, Cora convinced him that designated hitter was his new position, although Devers never seemed especially thrilled about it. 

Then, a month ago, first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury, and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow turned to Devers. “They can’t expect me to play every single position,” Devers lamented to reporters. He added, “They put me in this situation, and they told me that they didn’t want to allow me to play any other position. Now, I think they should do their jobs, essentially, and hit the market and look for another player. I’m not sure why they want me to be in-between the way they have been.” His frustration was so evident that Henry flew to Kansas City to meet the team and address the issue with Devers. 

Evidently he was not satisfied with how that conversation went. 

The Red Sox may yet win this trade—the Giants will pay the entire $250 million remaining on Devers’s contract, and Tibbs was their first-round draft pick last year—but this was certainly not the situation they envisioned when they sat at a dais in Boston two and a half years ago and anointed Devers the face of the franchise. In the end, though, perhaps this franchise got the face it deserved: a talented but mercurial player who didn’t always have his priorities straight and never quite lived up to his potential. 

قلص فريق شبيبة القبائل الجزائري، الفارق أمام الأهلي، في دور المجموعات من بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا. 

ويلتقي الأهلي مع نظيره شبيبة القبائل الجزائري، على ملعب القاهرة الدولي، في الجولة الأولى من دور المجموعات من بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا. 

طالع.. فيديو | في 3 دقائق.. تريزيجيه وشريف يسجلان هدفين لـ الأهلي أمام شبيبة القبائل

ويتواجد الأهلي في المجموعة الثانية من مجموعات دوري أبطال إفريقيا رفقة أندية شبيبة القبائل الجزائري والجيش الملكي المغربي ويانج أفريكانز التنزاني.

وأحرز فريق شبيبة القبائل هدف تقليص الفارق أمام الأهلي في الدقيقة 57 من عمر الشوط الثاني، بعد عرضية من لاعب شبيبة القبائل ليضعها ياسر إبراهيم بالخطأ في مرماه بالاشتراك مع زميله محمد الشناوي. 

وتشير النتيجة إلى تقدم الأهلي على فريق شبيبة القبائل الجزائري، بهدفين مقابل هدف، في المباراة التي تجمع بين الفريقين على ملعب استاد القاهرة.  هدف شبيبة القبائل في مرمى الأهلي 

 

 

ألقى جياني إنفانتينو رئيس الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم، كلمة خلال حفل جوائز الاتحاد الإفريقي للأفضل في عام 2025.

وأقيم حفل توزيع جوائز الاتحاد الإفريقي لكرة القدم للأفضل، اليوم الأربعاء، 19 نوفمبر بالعاصمة المغربية الرباط.

طالع|جوائز الأفضل في إفريقيا 2025.. حكيمي أفضل لاعب وبيراميدز أفضل ناد ومايلي الأفضل داخل القارة

وقال جياني إنفانتينو في تصريحات خلال الحفل: “أنا سعيد جدًا بتواجدي هنا في المغرب بإفريقيا، أنا هنا في منزلي وموطني، موطن أبطال العالم تحت 20 عامًا، تهانينا، يجب الاحتفال بذلك، هذا فخر حقيقة لشعب بأكمله وقارة بأكملها”.

وتابع: “نحن هنا في الرباط لكي نحتفل بكرة القدم الإفريقية والأفضل في كل الفئات، نحتفل بالأفضل ولدينا أساطير هذه اللعبة، بعض اللاعبين الشباب سيكونون أساطير في المستقبل”.

واختتم جياني إنفانتينو تصريحاته: “الأفضل في كرة القدم الإفريقية ينتمي إلى الأفضل في العالم”.

It is an excellent time to be an Arsenal fan at the moment.

Mikel Arteta’s side still have a long way to go, but after another practically perfect weekend, they remain atop the Premier League table, now six points clear of Manchester City and seven clear of Liverpool.

Moreover, while the North Londoners could still improve in some areas, such as scoring from open play, they currently look the best they have been in a very long time.

EPL

C. Palace

1-0 (W)

UCL

Atlético

4-0 (W)

EPL

Fulham

1-0 (W)

EPL

West Ham

2-0 (W)

UCL

Olympicacos

2-0 (W)

As if that isn’t enough, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to deny that more than a handful of Arteta’s players now rank among the very best in the league, including one who is becoming even more influential than Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice.

Arteta's Arsenal leaders

During the final years of Arsène Wenger’s reign, and even under Unai Emery and early in Arteta’s time at the club, it wasn’t uncommon to hear fans and pundits alike lambast Arsenal for a lack of leaders in the team.

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Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

However, over the last few years, such accusations have become far less prevalent, so much so, in fact, that to say such a thing today would be considered by many to be patently incorrect.

Arteta has helped turn the Gunners from a soft side that opposition teams loved playing against into a monstrous side that few, if any, teams look forward to playing.

From front to back, there are now leaders and mentality monsters all over.

For example, while he had a poor season last year, Martin Odegaard has been the club captain since the summer of 2022 and has been Norway’s captain for even longer.

Often alongside him, Declan Rice was the captain of West Ham United before his move, has now captained England on occasion and is often seen as the most vocal and ‘old-school’ leader in the squad.

Even Saka, who is still just 24 years old, has become a real leader in recent years, wearing the armband in Odegaard’s absence and keeping the side’s attack competitive when his fellow forwards have underwhelmed.

With all that said, there is another star of this Arsenal team who is not just becoming one of the most influential players at the Emirates, but within the entire league.

Arsenal's most influential player

When it comes to other leaders in this Arsenal team, it is becoming increasingly difficult to overlook the utterly superb Gabriel Magalhaes.

The Brazilian international first joined the team in the summer of 2020 for a fee of around £27m, and for the first couple of years, was seen as something of a liability at times.

However, over the last few years, the former LOSC Lille gem has managed to rid his game of the silly mistakes that were holding him back and transformed into one of the very best centre-backs in the Premier League, if not the world.

That might sound somewhat hyperbolic, but the facts suggest otherwise: since the 23/24 season, the Gunners have had the best defence in the Premier League, and over those campaigns, the 27-year-old has made 36, 28, and nine appearances, respectively.

Moreover, as things stand, the North Londoners have conceded just three goals across all competitions this year, one of which was Dominik Szoboszlai’s outrageous free-kick at Anfield.

So, there is a very real chance that the Sao Paulo-born titan could play a crucial role in breaking Chelsea’s record of conceding just 15 goals in a Premier League season this year.

Finally, while the 6 foot 3 wall’s most important job is keeping other teams from scoring, he has also become a serious threat in the opposition’s box over the years, and has been a massive reason why the Gunners are now the best set-piece team in the world.

For example, since moving to the Emirates, the towering “colossus,” as dubbed by Arsenal writer Adam Keys, has scored 22 goals and provided seven assists in 223 games, and as things stand, is now the 100th top scorer in the club’s history.

Ultimately, when you take into account his incredible defending, outrageous goalscoring threat and sensational leadership qualities, it’s impossible to disagree with Jamie Carragher’s claim that he’s “the most influential player in the Premier League right now.”

Forget Eze: Arsenal's 8/10 star is becoming Arteta's most important player

Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League with a win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.

ByEthan Lamb Oct 27, 2025

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is reportedly a massive admirer of one France international star, who sporting director Andrea Berta has already led an approach to sign, according to a new report.

Arsenal make Premier League return away to Fulham

Arsenal return to Premier League action this weekend with a trip to Fulham, a fixture that offers the Gunners a golden chance to extend their impressive seven-game unbeaten run and solidify their position at the top of the table.

Since their narrow 1-0 defeat at Liverpool earlier in the season, Arsenal have been near-unstoppable, navigating all competitions without tasting defeat – a testament to their growing maturity under Arteta.

This unbeaten streak has been built on a foundation of solid defensive performances and a willingness to battle to the end, with Arsenal’s blend of youthful energy and experienced leadership helping to power them through tough fixtures.

Arsenal’s dramatic 2-1 win away to Newcastle was testament to this, with defender Gabriel clinching all three points through a last-minute header which silenced the boisterous St. James’ Park crowd.

Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Premier League

Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Arsenal

Champions League

Arsenal 1-1 Man City

Premier League

Port Vale 0-2 Arsenal

Carabao Cup

Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal

Premier League

Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos

Champions League

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

Premier League

Arteta’s side now sit pretty at the Premier League summit, taking advantage of big-spending Liverpool’s slip in momentum, but Marco Silva’s Fulham won’t be pushovers this weekend.

The West Londoners will be looking to spoil Arsenal’s rhythm on their home turf. Silva’s men have shown resilience this season, despite finishing last summer’s transfer window as the top flight’s lowest-spending team.

Team

Spent

Received

Net Spend

Brentford

£85,000,000

£134,000,000

-£49,000,000

Brighton

£69,000,000

£133,000,000

-£64,000,000

Crystal Palace

£47,000,000

£63,000,000

-£16,000,000

Aston Villa

£37,500,000

£47,000,000

-£9,500,000

Fulham

£34,500,000

£9,000,000

£25,500,000

via Every Premier League Club’s Net Spend

In truth, Silva has worked wonders on a shoe-string budget during his time at Craven Cottage, and Arsenal have won just one of their last four meetings against Fulham — including a draw and a defeat the last two times they travelled to play them.

As Arteta prepares for a tough test, Berta is working on the club’s squad long-term.

The Italian has already tied down Gabriel and William Saliba to long-term contracts since his arrival in March, with talks held over extensions for Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.

Berta, despite a big-spending summer, could also enter the transfer market once again.

Arteta is a "huge" fan of Khephren Thuram with Arsenal approach made

According to journalist Graeme Bailey, as written in a piece for TBR Football, Arteta is personally a “huge” fan of Juventus star Khephren Thuram, who’s worked his way into the France national team squad after an excellent start to the season in Turin.

The 24-year-old is now deemed “untouchable” by Igor Tudor’s side alongside Kenan Yildiz, with Bailey reporting that Arsenal had a summer approach knocked back for Thuram as well.

The former Ligue 1 sensation racked up 10 goal contributions in 35 Serie A appearances for Juve over his debut season, leaving little wonder that the Old Lady are desperate not to lose him.

Even though Berta has already signed Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard to bolster Arsenal’s midfield, the latter will stay for a maximum of three years before potentially returning to Brondby in Denmark, as confirmed by the player himself.

Thuram would be an exceptional long-term replacement for Norgaard, and amid reports Arsenal are looking at signing another midfielder to challenge Zubimendi, perhaps Berta could test Juve’s resolve in 2026.

While the UK transfer market closed at 7pm on September 1, West Ham could still sign free agents, provided they have enough room in their squad.

Graham Potter facing vital few weeks at West Ham

It’s an increasingly toxic atmosphere around the London Stadium right now, as supporters organise pre-match protests against West Ham’s owners before their Premier League clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday, and every Saturday home matchday thereafter (The Telegraph).

David Sullivan and Karren Brady are under mounting pressure as fans voice their frustration over ‘broken promises’ (The Telegraph), with some reports suggesting that under-fire boss Graham Potter could even be sacked if West Ham lose to Palace (Hammers News).

Worst West Ham managers in the Premier League	Win percentage
9. Sam Allardyce	30.7%
10. Julen Lopetegui	30%
11. Gianfranco Zola	27.8%
12, Graham Potter	27.3%
13. Avram Grant	18.9%
via StatMuse

While this is yet to be backed up by reliable media sources, it is crystal clear that, if West Ham’s bad run of form continues, Potter could be handed his P45 as West Ham scour the market for potential replacements already.

It is believed that Slaven Bilic is a strong contender to replace Potter as the Hammers do their due-diligence on managerial candidates, with former Everton boss Sean Dyche and Nuno Espírito Santo also under consideration (Ben Jacobs).

It wasn’t exactly the summer window of dreams for Potter, either, which certainly hasn’t helped matters.

West Ham lost winger Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham in the summer, as well as Emerson Palmieri to Marseille, with their £38 million deal for Mateus Fernandes arguably standing out as their best signing of the window.

Having waved goodbye to Emerson and Aaron Cresswell, Sullivan brought in Senegal international El Hadji Malick Diouf to shore up Potter’s full-back options, but they’re still arguably light in that area.

Taking this into account, reports suggest that West Ham could now move for ex-Tottenham and Real Madrid full-back Sergio Reguilon — who is readily available on a free transfer after departing north London.

The 28-year-old boasts proven top-level experience, with the Irons apparently considering a move.

West Ham seriously interested in signing Sergio Reguilon on a free transfer

According to Spanish media sources, West Ham are seriously interested in signing Reguilon on a free transfer, even if he’s “sought-after” right now amid competition from Premier League rivals Everton.

The ex-Man United defender, who earned admirers at Old Trafford for some solid performances, is also wanted by Sevilla and Real Sociedad back in his homeland, with a quartet of sides considering the possibility of Reguilon at zero cost.

Despite spending the last few years attempting to establish himself as a key player, Reguilon has displayed flashes of quality, and at 28, he’s amassed well over 200 professional appearances.

He’s hardly past his prime, but carries the top-flight experience which could prove useful to West Ham as they look to avoid a relegation dogfight.