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Arsenal are poised to announce the signing of another player after Kepa Arrizabalaga and Martin Zubimendi, who both sealed switches to north London recently after what seemed like an eternity of speculation.

Related Super agent in talks for £30m star to join Arsenal, it could be done in days

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Posts 1 ByEmilio Galantini Jul 8, 2025

Kepa was Andrea Berta’s first official arrival, joining in a £5 million move from Chelsea, and Arsenal swiftly followed that up by confirming Zubimendi’s £60 million transfer from Real Sociedad following months of talks.

“We are so happy to bring Martin to Arsenal and have a lot of pride in finalising this transfer,” said Berta in an official club statement.

Arsenal transfer spending under Arteta (via Sky Sports)

Money on new signings

19/20 – winter

£0

20/21 – summer

£81.5m

20/21 – winter

£900k

21/22 – summer

£156.8m

21/22 – winter

£1.8m

22/23 – summer

£121.5m

22/23 – winter

£59m

23/24 – summer

£208m

23/24 – winter

£0

24/25 – summer

£101.5m

24/25 – winter

£0

25/26 – summer

£65m

“Martin was a key target for us and we all know that he is a perfect fit for our squad with the high quality he has. We welcome Martin and his family to the club. We look forward to him settling in with his teammates and are very excited to see him playing in an Arsenal shirt.”

Now, attention is turning to who could follow the Spanish international duo, and Berta has many plates spinning right now.

Arsenal are believed to be closing in on a deal for Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, and if completed, the 27-year-old’s arrival would signal the long-awaited end of Berta’s search for a prolific number nine.

Elsewhere, Arsenal have agreed personal terms with Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, and are believed to be chasing Crystal Palace forward Eberechi Eze in an entirely separate deal (ESPN).

Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera also remains in talks over an Arsenal move, with the Spaniard likely to come in as a like-for-like replacement for Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was released late last week.

However, before any of the aforementioned deals come to a conclusion, Mikel Arteta’s side are set to announce the arrival of midfielder Christian Norgaard from Brentford.

Arsenal complete Christian Norgaard signing with medical "done"

That is according to reliable journalist David Ornstein, who now reports that Norgaard has completed his medical at Arsenal and the club will make it official at some point this week.

The 31-year-old brings a wealth of Premier League experience and top-level know-how to Arteta’s squad, which could be crucial to the dressing room as Arsenal seek to end their two-decade-long-plus wait for a league title.

Former Tottenham director, Frank Arnesen, certainly thinks they’ve done great business here.

“Every dressing room would be thrilled to have him. He has the right mentality, is a team player and has the attitude,” said Arnsen to Tipsbladet.

“Mikel Arteta was fantastic as a player, I think, and as a coach he has done absolutely superbly, both as an assistant at Manchester City and afterwards at Arsenal with the way he plays football.

“He doesn’t just take a player in without knowing exactly what he’s going to use him for. Maybe he won’t play 50 games, you don’t know, maybe it’ll only be 30, but it’s about the whole package. He gets the whole package with Christian.”

يستعد منتخب ألمانيا، بقيادة المدرب يوليان ناجيلسمان، لخوض مباراة في إطار تصفيات قارة أوروبا المؤهلة إلى كأس العالم نسخة 2026، مساء الأحد ضد نظيره أيرلندا الشمالية.

ويستضيف ملعب “راين إنرجي” مباراة ألمانيا وأيرلندا الشمالية، في خضم تصفيات القارة العجوز المؤهلة إلى المونديال، الجولة الثانية من المجموعة الأولى.

وتعرض منتخب ألمانيا لصدمة كبرى بعدما بدأ التصفيات بخسارة مفاجئة أمام سلوفاكيا بهدفين دون رد، في حين أن أيرلندا الشمالية فازت على لوكسمبورج بثلاثة أهداف مقابل هدف. موعد مباراة ألمانيا وأيرلندا الشمالية اليوم في تصفيات كأس العالم 2026

تنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة 9:45 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة والسعودية. القناة الناقلة لمباراة ألمانيا وأيرلندا الشمالية اليوم في تصفيات كأس العالم 2026

تُذاع المباراة عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 2. معلق مباراة ألمانيا وأيرلندا الشمالية اليوم في تصفيات كأس العالم 2026

سيعلق حفيظ دراجي على أحداث مباراة اليوم.

ويمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة عبر مركز المباريات من هنا. 

Foxes edged out of qualification spots in 72-run defeat

ECB Reporters Network19-Jul-2024

Birmingham Bears sealed top spot in the Vitality Blast North Group final table with a 72-run victory over Leicestershire Foxes at sultry Edgbaston.The Bears booked a home quarter-final with Gloucestershire while the Foxes, who knew that a win would take them into the last eight, suffered the angst of being edged out of the qualification spots on the last day.Moeen Ali’s third T20 century – 103 (59 balls, nine sixes, seven fours) – lifted the Bears to 194 for 5, a tall total but less than appeared likely when they were at 99 without loss in the ninth over. The Foxes then reined in the scoring impressively led by the excellent Scott Currie (2 for 26) and Josh Hull (2 for 34).The Foxes batters could not carry on the comeback, though, folding feebly to 122 all out in 16.4 overs. Only Lewis Goldsworthy offered any resistance as Craig Miles (2 for 12) struck important early blows before Danny Briggs (3 for 30) took his haul in this season’s competition to 27 wickets at 12.81 apiece.After choosing to bat, the Bears raced to 69 without loss after six overs. Moeen pulled the last two balls of the powerplay, from James Neesham, for six, passed 50 in 28 balls and celebrated with successive sixes off Goldsworthy.The opening stand was worth 99 in 53 balls when Alex Davies was well held by Ben Mike at long on off Rehan Ahmed.The Foxes’ impressive fightback then took hold as three overs from Hull, Currie and Louis Kimber cost just 11 runs and brought the wickets of Dan Mousley, lbw trying to sweep a Hull yorker, and Chris Benjamin, caught at deep mid-wicket off Currie.The innings was reignited by two sixes for Moeen off Rehan. He survived a missed stumping off Kimber on 92 to reach a 54-ball century but the Foxes dug deep as Mike conceded just four runs from the 18th over. Moeen holed out to Hull in the last over and after the first ten overs brought 109 runs the last ten yielded just 85.The Foxes were still under some scoreboard pressure though and their chase was torpedoed by early wickets. Sol Budinger edged a slog at Zak Foulkes and Miles struck with his third and sixth balls when Rishi Patel and Rehan Ahmed chipped catches into the off-side infield. When Peter Handscomb sent a return catch to Briggs, the top four had all sunk in single figures.Briggs removed Neesham with the assistance of Mousley at long off. If that catch was impressive, even more so was Ed Barnard’s take, running back from extra cover, to oust Kimber off Jake Lintott. The insatiable Briggs collected his 281st T20 wicket when he knocked out Goldsworthy’s off-stump and the Bears’ romped through to the knockouts while the Foxes’ decent campaign ended with a whimper.

It must be difficult not to get carried away if you’re a Birmingham City fan at present.

After all, £10m was recently splurged out on Kyogo Furuhashi to boost an already potent forward line, on top of the fact that pre-season action kicked into gear with a bang as the new-look Blues confidently beat Spanish titans Sevilla 3-1.

Any naysayers doubting Birmingham ahead of the upcoming Championship campaign might well have been silenced after this impressive victory, with more new signings now being tipped to join the exciting St. Andrew’s rollercoaster before pre-season is up.

Birmingham now targeting move for Premier League star

Despite a barrage of fresh signings entering the building, only Phil Neumann out of all the summer buys would be unleashed from the get-go against Sevilla, as Davies dripfeeds minutes to his whole camp before the second tier comes into view.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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Taichi Hara could soon be another option the Blues boss tests out across the remaining pre-season fixtures, with reports suggesting that Birmingham have added the Japanese gem to their shortlist after he has impressed out in the J1 League with Kyoto Sanga.

Alongside him, Birmingham could tap into the Asian market even more by snapping up Wolverhampton Wanderers attacker Hwang Hee-Chan.

Indeed, a development from South Korean journalist Han June has suggested that the newly promoted side views the Old Gold number 11 as a main target due to his top-flight experience in England.

This might well result in Birmingham pulling off another ambitious swoop like the Kyogo deal, with both players in question hailing from Asia, but both well-known and exciting entities when plying their trade in some demanding divisions up and down the United Kingdom.

Why Hwang could be Kyogo 2.0

Whilst Hwang has fallen down the Molineux pecking order since Vitor Pereira’s arrival on the scene, his goalscoring record at the very top for Wolves at his prime will be enough to convince Blues fans that this is a worthwhile capture to chase after.

22 Premier League goals have come his way since he moved to the West Midlands for £14m, with 12 of those being fired home across the 23/24 season, leading to then Old Gold boss Gary O’Neil hailing the South Korean marksman as “excellent” for his clinical nature in front of goal.

On top of that, his goalscoring expertise also stretches out to a standout spell leading the line for Austrian side RB Salzburg, with a bumper 45 strikes collected, with three of those goals even coming in the illustrious Champions League.

Kyogo is well-versed in what it takes to be a goalscoring menace at this intimidating level, too, with three of his mammoth 151 career strikes falling on Europe’s grandest stage.

Hwang’s career numbers by position vs Kyogo’s

Hwang

CF

168

61

35

LW

45

9

4

RW

32

5

3

AM

8

0

0

Kyogo

CF

177

105

29

LW

99

31

22

SS

11

2

1

RW

11

3

1

Sourced by Transfermarkt.

But, as can be seen looking at the table above, they both won’t just be vying to steal the striker limelight off Jay Stansfield or Alfie May, with Hwang and Kyogo more than comfortable sneaking out to the left wing if needed, alongside also slotting nicely into Davies’ 4-2-3-1 system as a presence just behind by the main striker.

Hwang wasn’t just labelled as a talent who has “got everything” by ex-Arsenal great Ian Wright by fluke, with the 29-year-old a real standout purchase for the Blues if it goes through.

There are some hurdles for Birmingham to overcome in terms of fee and wage costs, but if Birmingham wants to accelerate to that next level quickly, it might well be worth throwing the necessary cash at Hwang, much like they did when forking out £10m for Kyogo.

Related Birmingham City could sign "special" star who'd be Kyogo's dream winger

Birmingham City could soon win a dream attacking partner for Kyogo Furuhashi by securing a deal for this special forward.

Posts ByKelan Sarson Jul 13, 2025

With T20I and ODI World Cups looming, her ODI bowling workload will be carefully managed, but she remains confident of playing full all-round role in T20s

Andrew McGlashan13-Aug-2024

Marizanne Kapp has revealed that she had decided to retire from international cricket earlier this year, but was talked out of it and is now grateful she didn’t go through with it as she feels at the peak of her powers.The toll of balancing franchise cricket with being a vital all-round cog in a rebuilding South Africa side, alongside the fitness controversy around her wife Dane van Niekerk, had become almost too much.But CSA director of cricket Enoch Nkwe urged Kapp not to rush into a decision. They have since worked together to look at her workload, and Kapp is now committed to South Africa for the foreseeable future, which includes T20I and ODI World Cups over the next 12 months.Related

Goswami: 'Franchise leagues are the future of women's cricket'

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“I did retire earlier this year – or asked to retire – and luckily I didn’t,” Kapp told ESPNcricinfo. “I spoke to the director of cricket, and he actually asked me to just hang on, think it through, [and] don’t make decisions too quickly, and I’m glad that I didn’t go through with it because I feel like I’m at the peak of my career.”The older I get, I’m getting better. So it would be a shame to have worked for all those years, and now [when] I’m at my peak, I retire from international cricket. I’ve loved playing in all these leagues, but playing for your country and at World Cups is a different level. CSA have been so good to me in helping manage my workload. Now I’ll play for as long as I can contribute.”Had Kapp, who had produced an all-round display in South Africa’s first ODI win over Australia in February, retired, it would have continued a significant loss of big names from South Africa in recent years, including van Niekerk, Mignon du Preez, Lizelle Lee and Shabnim Ismail.Kapp’s ODI bowling workload will be carefully managed, but she remains confident of playing a full all-round role in T20s for both – her franchise sides and her country. She has committed to playing all ODIs which are part of the Women’s Championship and count towards World Cup qualification, but will miss some T20Is including November’s series against England, which overlaps with the end of the WBBL, where she has signed a three-year deal with Melbourne Stars.Marizanne Kapp on her Test hundred in 2022: “When I had that big knock, it was like, ‘I can do this, I don’t have to prove myself'”•Getty Images

“They [CSA] have been so good to allow me to play in the leagues where I can,” she said. “With T20, it’s not too hard to manage [the workload]. But in ODI cricket, I’m not 20 anymore, and my workload has been so high with the bat that it makes it impossible to continue to bowl ten overs [in every game].”If you look at the make-up of the South African team, we are a bit light on the batting front. So I am needed more with the bat. So the bowling will probably take a bit of a backseat just in ODIs.”A major factor in Kapp’s three-year deal with Stars was working with coach Jonathan Batty and playing alongside Meg Lanning – all three are part of Delhi Capitals in the WPL. The long-term offer was also key for her to have a chance to settle with one team. Last WBBL season, she was picked up by Sydney Thunder as the No. 1 draft pick, after Perth Scorchers opted to retain Sophie Devine ahead of her, but endured a torrid campaign, averaging 9.40 with the bat and taking ten wickets at 37.40.”I’m a player that’s actually very insecure, to be honest,” Kapp said. “Moving [is hard] because I always feel like you now have to prove yourself. Then you try too hard, and things get worse and worse. Unfortunately, last year when I got to Thunder, I was ill, [and] missed a lot of training. And am the type of player that if my preparation is good, then I have more confidence.”So I was low on confidence. Then you are in a new team, so it was nothing on the club or coaching staff; they were amazing to me. It’s probably not my strongest attribute, but I’m just happy I know I’m going to Stars, and they are people I’ve worked with before.”Overall, though, Kapp’s belief that she is at the peak of her career is backed up by numbers, particularly with the bat: in all T20s this year, her average is 33.06 and her strike rate at 142.97, both considerably up on her career figures, with Kapp saying strike rate had been a particular focus for her.Meanwhile, in ODIs since 2023, she is averaging 62.63. She traces the success back to the Test century against England in 2022, but admitted it had been a difficult journey.”It’s probably been my toughest couple of years; it’s not been easy,” she said. “I’ve always enjoyed my batting… but [I used to] feel like the world was always so focused on my bowling and wouldn’t speak about my batting, and that makes you lose confidence. When I had that big knock, it was like, ‘I can do this, I don’t have to prove myself’, and from there on, I’ve had a different confidence in my own ability.”My faith has been a massive part of it as well, having struggled with off-field matters, everything that happened with Dane, and with Covid. I spent so much time in my room reconnecting with the Lord.”

خرج روبن أموريم مدرب مانشستر يونايتد في مؤتمر صحفي ليتحدث عن لقاء مانشستر سيتي في ديربي العاصمة يوم الأحد على ملعب الاتحاد في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وقال أموريم عن جاهزية كونيا وماونت ودالوت في تصريحات نشرتها “مانشستر إيفنينج نيوز” :”إنهم خارج المباراة ولا أعرف كم سيستغرق الأمر، نحتاج لهؤلاء اللاعبين لنكون فريقا تنافسيا، لدينا لاعبين ممتازين جداً، متحمسين للعب”.

وسئل أموريم عن مدة غياب الثلاثي ليرد: “لا أريد أن أقول، إذا تحدثت مع كونيا سيقول إنه قادر على لعب المباراة، إنهم يبذلون مجهودات كبيرة”.

وأشاد أموريم بفريق مانشستر سيتي: “هم فريق من الطراز الرفيع بقيادة أفضل مدرب في الدوري، فريق يصعب تخيل أدائه، نحن مستعدون ونثق بفريقنا، ستكون مباراة رائعة ونعرف ما يجب فعله وتدربنا بشكل أفضل وترتيب الدوري الحالي لا يهم”.

أقرأ أيضاً.. جوارديولا يستفز ليفربول بعد تعاقده مع إيزاك ويوجه رسائل للراحلين عن مانشستر سيتي

وحول إذا كان مانشستر يونايتد تحسن أدائه منذ فوزه على ملعب الاتحاد، قال: “أصبحنا أفضل بالنظر للبيانات، نحن مستعدون وعلينا إظهار ذلك”.

وعبر أموريم عن سعادته بضم لامينز: “نحن سعداء للغاية، هو حارس مرمى يتمتع بإمكانيات هائلة، نحن في مرحلة تتطلب من حارس المرمى أن يكون قوي جداً وذو خبرة واسعة ولكن علينا النظر للحاضر بتركيز على المستقبل، لذا هو مزيج وسيكون جاهزاً”.

وأجاب أموريم عن سبب التعاقد مع لامينز: “أحياناً كنادي نحاول البحث عن خيارات مختلفة، لدينا خيار يمكننا من تحقيق نتائج مختلفة في الوقت الحالي ولكنه يملك إمكانيات كبيرة ليكون حارس مرمى الفريق لسنوات عديدة”.

وحول إذا كان بايندير سيبدأ في مركز حراسة مرمى مانشستر يونايتد ضد مانشستر سيتي أكد: “نعم، أفعل الشئ نفسه مع مراكز مختلفة لكنه سيستمر، إنه دوري وبلد وتدريب وكرة قدم مختلفة لذا سيتنافسون على المركز”.

وعن ثقته بحارسه بايندير أتم أموريم: “أفكر أحياناً في التواصل مع أونانا الذي قدم موسم رائع مع إنتر، الجودة موجودة لكن في النادي تزداد الأمور صعوبة يوماً بعد يوم، لكن في هذا النادي الضغط شديد في كل التفاصيل وأحياناً نحتاج للتغيير وأؤمن بأن بايندير جاهز للعب”.

وختم في رسالة لحارسه السابق أونانا الذي انتقل لطرابزون سبور: “كان من الممكن التفكير في بقائه، لكني أعتقد أننا كنادي، فهمنا حاجته للتغيير، أحياناً يصعب تحديد السبب، الأداء واللحظة وسوء الحظ في بعض المواقف كنا قاسيين للغاية عليه، كنا نفكر في التغيير لكني اتمنى التوفيق له، لقد كان بارع جداً في العمل ومساعدة زملائه”.

Manchester City are now readying a £147 million bid to sign a “special” star who is rated highly by Pep Guardiola, according to a recent report.

Man City chasing two goalkeepers as Ederson’s future is in doubt

The Blues have already been very active in this transfer window, with Sverre Nypan being their latest capture. But things could soon be about to heat up even more at the Etihad, as focus switches to the goalkeeper department and the future of Ederson.

Related Bye bye: £330k-per-week stars want out of Man City to join the same club

Both are legendary figures at the Etihad.

Posts 1 ByHenry Jackson Jul 18, 2025

The Brazilian was linked with a move to Saudi Arabia even before the summer transfer window opened, but talk of that move has now gone quiet. But that doesn’t mean the goalkeeper is not going to leave City, as it’s emerged that Ederson wants to leave the Etihad to join Galatasaray this summer.

The Turkish giants are looking to sign Ederson and İlkay Gündoğan from the Premier League side, meaning the Blues are in the market for a new goalkeeper.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, City have already contacted Burnley about signing James Trafford. The Blues have a buyback price of £40 million, but they are trying to negotiate with the Clarets about lowering that fee.

As well as Trafford, City are willing to make a £52 million bid to sign Andriy Lunin from Real Madrid. The 26-year-old is said to be open to the idea of joining City, as he continues to be behind Thibaut Courtois in the pecking order. However, Real Madrid continue to see Lunin as a key part of their team, and they don’t want to lose the Ukraine star without a fight.

Man City plot £147m bid for Cole Palmer

As the Premier League side chase a new goalkeeper, according to a report from Spain, Man City are now set to submit a 170 million euros (£147 million) bid to sign Cole Palmer from Chelsea.

The Blues sold Palmer to Chelsea back in 2023 for a fee of £40 million, but now they are keen to reunite with the player, who Pep Guardiola admires and has praised for his “special quality” in front of goal.

Pep is said to be pushing City to bring Palmer back to the Etihad, and that is why the Premier League side are willing to spend nearly three times the amount they sold him for to get a deal done.

City are aware Palmer can make a huge difference to their attack, as the England international did at the Club World Cup this summer, but Chelsea do hold all the cards in this potential transfer tussle, as Palmer is under contract at Stamford Bridge until 2033.

Cole Palmer’s Chelsea stats

Apps

97

Goals

43

Assists

29

However, Palmer is represented by the agency CAA Base Limited, the same agency that looks after City defender Rico Lewis, and the Blues may see this as a good opportunity for them to use their contacts to tempt Palmer back to Manchester.

قام المغربي يوسف شيبو نجم كرة القدم السابق، بتحليل مواجهة نادي برشلونة أمام نظيره نيوكاسل يونايتد، في بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا بالدور المعروف بمرحلة الدوري.

وانطلقت للتو مواجهة نيوكاسل أمام برشلونة على ملعب سانت جيمس بارك في إنجلترا، ضمن الجولة الأولى من مرحلة الدوري في بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.

ويسعى برشلونة للفوز على نيوكاسل من أجل بداية دوري الأبطال بشكل مميز، بحثًا عن تحقيق اللقب السادس، حيث لم يفز البرسا باللقب منذ أكثر من عشر سنوات.

طالع .. مباشر بالفيديو | مباراة برشلونة ونيوكاسل في دوري أبطال أوروبا.. الشوط الأول

وأكد شيبو في تصريحات عبر إستوديو بي إن سبورتس، أن خط دفاع برشلونة يمثل نقطة ضعف واضحة في لقاء اليوم قد يستغلها نيوكاسل.

ويعتقد شيبو أن غياب أليخاندرو بالدي بالإضافة إلى تواجد رونالد أراوخو بشكل أساسي يعتبر نقطة ضعف لبرشلونة اليوم.

وعول مدرب برشلونة هانز فليك، على خدمات جيرارد مارتن في مركز الظهير الأيسر بشكل أساسي، من أجل تعويض غياب بالدي للإصابة.

وقال شيبو: ”رونالد أراوخو نقطة ضعف كبيرة في دفاع برشلونة الليلة، غياب بالدي مؤثر على برشلونة، جيرارد مارتن لاعب بطيء وضعيف الأداء، هو لا يجيد الدفاع ولا الهجوم، ولا يقدم حلولًا واضحة”.

Coad claims three of six wickets to fall, handing hosts two of maximum 10 points needed to secure second place

ECB Reporters Network27-Sep-2024

Yorkshire will be promoted to Division One of the Vitality County Championship if they draw their final round clash with Northamptonshire at Headingley after Ben Coad claimed three of six wickets to fall when play finally got underway after tea on day two.Coad’s 3 for 29 from 12 overs, including his 300th first-class wicket, left Northamptonshire in trouble at 117 for 6 from 40 overs, handing Yorkshire two of the maximum 10 points they require to secure second place behind Sussex.The start of play was delayed until 3.30pm following first day rain and a wet outfield on day two.Northamptonshire, with nothing to play for but holding onto fourth place in Division Two, were inserted. George Hill also struck twice with his seamers and Jordan Thompson once.Visiting debutant Krish Patel, aged 18, impressed with 26 and George Bartlett top-scored with an unbeaten 41.Yorkshire are aiming to hold off the challenge of third-placed Middlesex, who have seen the opening two days of their clash with leaders Sussex abandoned at Hove.Northamptonshire have handed first-class debuts to both Patel and on-loan Nottinghamshire spinner Fateh Singh, the latter signed only for this game.Patel was the first to make an impact, and impressively too during an eye-catching 41-ball innings with five fours.He came through the Surrey age-groups, played one Metro Bank One-Day Cup game for his home county last season and then signed a two-year rookie professional contract at Wantage Road at the end of last month.Patel came to the crease late in the third over after Coad had removed opener Gus Miller, caught at first slip by Hill.The diminutive right-hander was strong through the covers off both front foot and back. One square drive off England fringe Test fast bowler Matthew Fisher was particularly memorable.He shared 42 with the more doughty Luke Procter before edging Thompson’s seam to second slip as the visitors fell to 44 for 2 in the 15th over.Only 20 more runs had been added when Hill bowled Procter, for 25, with his fifth ball, securing Yorkshire’s first point of the fixture.Hill had been capped by Yorkshire as the rain fell on day one and was again presented with his cap before play started to give Yorkshire’s supporters a chance to acclaim their 23-year-old allrounder.He added a second wicket when James Sales was bowled for 17 shouldering arms as Northamptonshire fell to 79 for 4 in the 30th over.Conditions were ever-changing through a competitive evening; sun, cloud and even a bit of rain.When Coad struck again – for wicket number 300 – the floodlights were on, with Saif Zaib edging to Hill at first slip. Northamptonshire were 106 for 5 in the 37th over.He also had nightwatcher Singh caught at short mid-off in his next over, securing Yorkshire’s second bowling bonus point. That, added to eight points for the draw, would be enough for a Division One return for the first time since 2022.Coad, aged 30, is playing his 76th first-class match and his 301 wickets have come at a mighty impressive 19.42 apiece.Northamptonshire’s Bartlett hit nine fours in his 52 balls.For Yorkshire, while promotion was not decided in this short burst of a session, they moved themselves to within touching distance.

Yes, they may have lost to Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday afternoon, but this summer is shaping up rather nicely for Arsenal so far.

On top of Mikel Arteta’s side looking impressive on the pitch, for the most part, Andera Berta and Co have been incredibly busy wheeling and dealing off of it.

In unusual fashion for the North Londoners, they’ve already made six first-team additions, and with a month left until the window shuts, it looks like they’ll make more.

One of those players who could be moving to the Emirates is Eberechi Eze, although reports are now touting a potential alternative for a move to N5, someone who could be another Martin Odegaard.

Arsenal eyeing move for Odegaard 2.0

So, as things stand, it does still appear that one of Arsenal’s key targets for the rest of the summer window is the sensationally talented Eze.

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In fact, reports from earlier this week were still claiming that the Englishman was the club’s number one target now, and that the player was incredibly interested in making the move north of the river.

Moreover, with the 27-year-old release clause now gone, there is a chance the Gunners could negotiate a more favourable deal, or at least a better payment plan.

Yet, even with the club clearly very keen on the former QPR gem, it now looks like they may have a chance to sign an alternative, someone who could be Arteta’s new Odegaard.

At least that is according to a recent report from Football Espana, which has claimed that Arsenal are in the mix for Brahim Diaz.

The report has revealed that Real Madrid may be looking to cash in on the talented attacker this summer, and that while three clubs from Saudi Arabia are willing to spend €40m on him – £34m – the Gunners are one of a few teams from Europe keeping an eye on the situation.

He might not be the marquee signing some fans are after at the moment, but Diaz is a seriously talented player and someone who could be an Odegaard repeat and be a useful addition to Arsenal’s squad.

Why Diaz could be an Odegaard repeat

Now, Odegaard might have had a bit of a rough campaign last season, but fans shouldn’t forget just how important he’s been to Arsenal over the last few years.

After all, he’s the captain and won the Player of the Year award for two seasons on the bounce when the team were playing their best football.

So, it’s certainly encouraging that Diaz shares some key similarities with him, with the first being the fact that he could follow his move from underappreciated talented at Real Madrid to an important member of the squad at the Emirates.

On top of that, the Moroccan is also someone who does his best work in the middle of the pitch, but is more than capable of playing off the right when his side needs him to and just for good measure, he can play off the left as well.

However, while a lot of these similarities are admittedly somewhat surface-level, we can get a better understanding of how statistically similar the pair are thanks to FBref.

According to them, the Norwegian international is the fourth most similar midfielder to the “messi-esque” star, as dubbed by Owen Hargreaves, in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League.

We can get a better understanding of how this conclusion was reached by examining some of the underlying metrics in which they’ve ranked so closely, such as non-penalty goals plus assists, shots, goal-creating actions, interceptions, clearances and more, all per 90.

Diaz & Odegaard

Statistics per 90

Diaz

Odegaard

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.39

0.39

Shots

1.82

1.86

Goal-Creating Actions

0.78

0.70

Interceptions

0.26

0.23

Clearances

0.13

0.23

Ball Recoveries

3.51

3.76

All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Campaign

Ultimately, Diaz might not be the player everyone wants at the moment, but he’s a versatile and experienced international who’d be an excellent addition to the squad, and someone who could follow in Odegaard’s footsteps at Arsenal.

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Posts ByEmilio Galantini Aug 1, 2025