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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta suggests the Gunners could be without a key player until 2026 after a pre-Chelsea injury update.

Arsenal set for Premier League six-pointer against Chelsea

The Gunners face a brief period of assessment ahead of Sunday’s Premier League blockbuster at Stamford Bridge, with Arteta sweating over the fitness of a few key players following Wednesday’s triumphant Champions League win over Bayern Munich.

Their commanding 3-1 victory over the German champions came at a cost, with Leandro Trossard forced off in the first half through injury.

The Belgian’s withdrawal was a fairly worrying sight given his excellent form this season, though substitute Noni Madueke stepped up brilliantly in Trossard’s stead to score his first goal for the club.

Arteta played down fears surrounding Trossard’s injury in his post-match press conference, suggesting the decision to withdraw him was precautionary rather than enforced by serious damage.

Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest

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Arsenal 1-1 Man City

Port Vale 0-2 Arsenal

Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

Fulham 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal 4-0 Atlético Madrid

Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace

Arsenal 2-0 Brighton

Burnley 0-2 Arsenal

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Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham

Arsenal 3-1 Bayern Munich

However, the manager’s cautious approach means Trossard’s participation against Chelsea remains uncertain, with Arsenal’s medical staff set to analyse his condition ahead of Sunday.

Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres are also doubts for this weekend, with Arteta refusing to confirm their involvement against Chelsea following their spells out through injury.

Havertz has been nursing a knee problem which required surgery, keeping him out since the very start of 2025/2026, while Mikel Merino has deputised well in place of Gyokeres, who hasn’t featured since their 2-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor.

Arsenal hold 'initial talks' to sign Real Madrid target who Arteta thinks is 'ideal'

The Gunners are moving in ahead of January.

ByEmilio Galantini Nov 28, 2025

Gabriel Jesus continues to work his way back to full fitness after 11 months out with an ACL injury, with the Brazilian participating in a behind-closed-doors friendly this week.

Jesus is actually set for an ‘earlier than expected’ return from injury, but uncertainty continues to surround his compatriot Gabriel Magalhaes.

The star defender injured his thigh on international duty with Brazil and is set to miss the trip to Chelsea, with Arteta also asked if he’ll return before the end of 2025.

Mikel Arteta suggests Arsenal star Gabriel could be out until 2026

When asked by reporters if Gabriel would make a return to the field this year, Arteta’s answer cast doubt.

This suggests that the £100 million defender may not be back until 2026, thrusting summer signings Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera right into the spotlight.

Hincapie was given the nod for Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Spurs last weekend, and the Ecuadorian performed very well alongside William Saliba at the heart of Arteta’s backline.

Mosquera was then chosen to partner Saliba against Bayern, and again earned plaudits for his display, so Arsenal’s boss has a key selection decision to make against Enzo Maresca’s side.

England batter believes striving to be the very best will help her keep improving

Valkerie Baynes11-Jul-2025Alice Capsey’s development as an international cricketer mirrors the evolution of her England team as a work in progress.Capsey burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old with a Player-of-the-Match-winning 59 for Oval Invincibles in just her second appearance in the Women’s Hundred. Another half-century in just her third T20I innings before her 18th birthday fuelled the excitement around her talent.Almost three years on, much has changed for Capsey and England, particularly over the past 12 months.Related

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“For me it’s been a year of a lot of learning,” Capsey said. “Last year, I’ll be the first one to say it, I didn’t perform how I would have liked. Getting dropped from that T20 squad in South Africa was the best thing for me. To reflect, to take that step back and go, ‘okay, well, I know I want to be in that T20 team, what do I need to do to get there?'”Capsey became a casualty of England’s failed T20 World Cup campaign when she was dropped for the tour of South Africa in December. Having held her place in the ODI squad for that trip, she was ultimately called up as injury cover for the T20s but didn’t play a game.After England’s dire showing at the Women’s Ashes in January – where Capsey played one T20I, scoring 6 and taking 1 for 25 with her offbreaks, and three ODIs yielding 18 runs and three wickets – she returned to Australia as part of the England A tour. There, she was England A’s second-highest run-scorer across formats with 207 runs at 41.41, including a hundred and a half-century in the four-day match.”A lot of work went on during the winter and, along with a lot of communication with the ECB, decided to play in that A-series and that was probably one of the best things for me, to still be playing highly competitive games but it also not be in the complete spotlight of an international game of cricket,” Capsey said.

“It is difficult at some points. Every time you go onto the cricket pitch, for the last three or four years, there’s always been eyes on. But at the same time, that’s an amazing place to be”Alice Capsey

“Over the past three or four years, other than domestic games where you’re still that international, you need to stand up, I probably haven’t played in any games where I can just go out and bat and work on a few different things.”Capsey played just one match for Delhi Capitals during this year’s WPL but said training with the franchise in Indian conditions “was a really great experience” and she saw the benefits of facing bowlers in the nets for hours on end there when she returned for the start of the domestic season.By that time, Charlotte Edwards had replaced Jon Lewis as England Women’s head coach and mandated that all centrally contracted players be available for the first seven rounds of the one-day cup. Capsey scored 317 runs across seven innings at 45.28 with a highest score of 125 and two fifties.During Edwards’ first international series in charge, England swept both white-ball legs of West Indies’ visit but they have been comprehensively outplayed by India in three of their four T20Is so far with one to play before a three-match ODI series.Capsey was only required to bat once in the T20s against West Indies (she scored 4). She scored 60 runs and took four wickets across the three ODIs, where the first two matches were dominated by England’s openers, Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones.Against India, she is averaging 7.50 from four innings with a highest sore of 18 batting at No. 3 having played at No. 6 in the first two games.”Deep down I know how much I’ve still got to learn, I’m nowhere near where I want to be,” Capsey said. “I want to be the best batter in the world, no doubt about it. Every player who plays international cricket will want to strive to be the best.Alice Capsey scored 317 runs from seven innings in the One-day Cup•Getty Images for Surrey CCC”If you don’t have a goal to strive for, it makes putting in the work a little bit harder. Whether it’s realistic or unrealistic, at this point it probably doesn’t really matter because if you’re striving to get better, more often than not, you’re going to get better.”With the 50-over World Cup in India just two-and-a-half months away, England have plenty of work to do. The fielding woes which let them down when West Indies knocked them out in the group stage of the T20 World Cup appeared to be improving earlier in the summer but have let them down again against India.They have one match to put that right, on Saturday at Edgbaston with India having already clinched the series, before starting afresh in the ODIs, where captain Nat Sciver-Brunt is expected to return from injury.”Our fielding has been a big talking point and we haven’t been good enough over the last 12 months and we haven’t been good enough again this series,” Capsey said. “But we are working so hard on it and no one means to drop a catch, no one means to miss a run out.”There’s no hiding away from the fact that it’s been a really tough 12 months for us and our fielding hasn’t been up to standard. We all know that. Stats don’t lie. We’ve dropped a lot of catches in really pivotal points in important games.”England are still learning how to perform on the biggest stages, but Capsey has no qualms about having grown up in the spotlight.”That’s just what I’ve known,” she said. “It’s not like I can compare. It is difficult at some points. Every time you go onto the cricket pitch, for the last three or four years, there’s always been eyes on. But at the same time, that’s an amazing place to be.””For me, it is about, being a young player, how do I manage myself through that? And how do I continue to improve? How do I continue to manage that noise? That’s half of the battle with not just being an international cricketer, but you speak to any international athlete, I think that is half the battle. It’s something that I’m learning.”If the spotlight isn’t already burning brightly on England, it will amp up in October when they face South Africa in their World Cup opener and, come this time next year at a home T20 World Cup, it will be positively blazing. They’d best get used to the heat now, and play like they don’t know any different.

Jose Mourinho was far from happy with his Benfica side, as they scraped through the fourth round of the Taca de Portugal with a 2-0 win over minnows Atletico CP. The Special One unleashed an explosive post-match rant against his starting eleven, claiming he would have made nine substitutions at half time, if allowed. He went on to call some of his players' attitudes "unacceptable".

• Benfica labour to cup win

  The fourth round tie pitted one of Portugal's most vaunted clubs against relative minnows; Atletico are currently plying their trade in the third tier of the country's league pyramid. Despite the gulf in stature, the minnows frustrated a lacklustre Benfica side for the opening 45 minutes, keeping the game scoreless going into the break. 

  That prompted Mourinho into a change of formation and four changes at the break. Benfica's superiority eventually told, with the record 26-time cup winners taking the spoils thanks to a 73rd minute header from Ricard Rios and a Vangelis Pavlidis penalty a few minutes later. 

  Despite their progress in the competition, Mourinho gave his players both barrels in his post-match interview, lambasting their first half performance and questioning their commitment. 

  The two-time Champions League winning manager, who started his second spell as the Lisbon club's boss in September 2025, was frank in his response when questioned if his message was getting through to his players. While he did not shirk his responsibility in getting a tune out of the squad, he suggested his players were falling short in their duty towards him and the club's fanbase. 

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  Mourinho's sensational rant against his Benfica squad

  Mourinho said: "Atlético did an extraordinary job. I saw them play in Mafra in a league game, they played an extraordinary game and I realized they had the qualities to make the game difficult for us. But our first half was poor. And it was poor in the sense that it hurts me the most, which is the attitude. The attitude was poor. 

  "There were many players who weren't serious and didn't approach things as they should have. At halftime I made four substitutions, but I wanted to make nine. With the players at halftime, I told the two who were taking the game seriously that I wanted to keep on the field. The other nine weren't. 

  "In the second half we improved a lot, Atlético couldn't get out with the same quality anymore and it was only a matter of time before we scored. I was pleased with the second half because the attitude improved." 

  When asked how he changed things tactically to accomodate the switch in personnel, he commented: "One thing has nothing to do with the other. What didn't work was the players who were on the field. I didn't want to single anyone out because that's something that should be done internally, but to remove some of the players I wanted to remove, it was necessary to change the system. And we had players who, from the first minute, weren't there. And that, to me, is unacceptable. I've already told some of them not to come knocking on my door asking why they aren't playing."

  In response to questions about his message failing to reach his new charges, the ex-Chelsea coach said: "I think the message isn't just mine, it's a general one. From Benfica fans. In my case, I'm the coach and the one responsible. The players have a responsibility to me and to Benfica fans. And there are things regarding their attitude that are unacceptable." 

• Mourinho's difficult start to life with Benfica

  Mourinho took over at the Portuguese giants after the sacking of Bruno Lage. While Benfica have yet to lose a league game this season, a spate of draws, including three under Mourinho, have left them six points adrift of Porto in the Liga Portugal. 

  Lage's dismissal came after they opened their Champions League campaign with a chastening 3-2 home defeat to Azerbaijani outfit Qarabag. Mouinrho has failed to engender a turnaround in European competition, with Benfica losing all three of their league phase games, most recently falling to a 1-0 defeat to Leverkusen at the Estadio da Luz.

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  Crucial fixtures wait for Mourinho's Benfica

  Th ex-Real Madrid and Inter manager will hope his players react positively to his post-match comments, as they prepare for a crucial run of fixtures over the coming fortnight. Next Tuesday, the Eagles face off against Ajax in the Champions League. A Lisbon derby against Sporting on December 5 could determine who will mount a title challenge against Porto, while the arrival of Antonio Conte's Napoli on December 10 will present another stiff challenge in Europe. 

CEO Todd Greenberg stressed Australia’s traditional Boxing Day Test and New Year’s Test would remain untouched

Alex Malcolm06-Aug-2025Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg says an investigation into allowing private investment into the BBL is “unashamedly” with a view to making it the second best T20 league in the world behind the IPL, but stressed it would not go ahead if it came at the cost of Australia’s traditional New Year’s Test at the SCG.CA released a statement last week regarding the next evolution of the BBL after Boston Consulting Group (BCG) had been commissioned by the CA Board earlier this year to assess the current model and future structure of the BBL, with a series of recommendations presented to the board earlier last week.A “recommendation of alternative forms of investment and ownership to realise the potential for growth, including consideration of private investment” was one of the key points presented by BCG.Related

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CA said in the statement that BCG’s report “will now be subject to a thorough exploratory process before any decisions are made about the potential implementation of recommendations, and any associated timelines.”Speaking on on Wednesday in Melbourne, Greenberg said that BCG’s entire report would not be published due to it containing sensitive commercial information but reiterated that CA were merely investigating the possibility of private investment into the BBL and what it would mean for cricket as a whole in Australia.He did admit that part of the vision CA had for the league was for it to be second only to the IPL in terms of it’s global standing.”Well that’s certainly the vision of everyone in cricket here in this country is to make sure that we run a league and we run a T20 tournament that is sitting just beside or behind or adjacent to the IPL,” Greenberg said. “It’s going to be very hard to chase the IPL, given the scale of cricket in India, but unashamedly, we want to run a league that comes second. And to do that we’re going to need to make sure that player availability and player salaries are commensurate with everything else that goes on around the world, and there’s one thing you need for that, you need money, you need investment. We’d be naive if we weren’t asking ourselves these questions and making sure we’ve got an eye on what’s next.BBL clubs are currently fully owned by CA and operated by the state associations•Getty Images

“Nothing has been decided at this point in time. The report does tell us that the BBL is in a very healthy position, but one thing we’re sure of is we don’t want to take that for granted. So it’s incumbent on us, as leaders of the sport, to look at what the future might hold for us.”Private investment has been a discussion point around the BBL ever since it’s creation as a rebrand of the state-based Big Bash in 2011. But CA has long resisted the idea to maintain 100 per cent control of the tournament and the clubs in order to create a summer schedule for broadcasters where it sits underneath the key Test matches in Melbourne on Boxing Day and in Sydney at the start of each New Year.Another recommendation from BCG was the the BBL started later than it’s current start date of mid-December. News Limited reported that the New Year’s Test in Sydney may be under threat as a result as private investors, if they were to hold majority stakes in BBL clubs, would demand Australia’s Test players be fully available for the tournament as is the case in the IPL and now the Hundred in England.But Greenberg was firm in his belief that the Sydney Test would not be moved to a different date in the calendar.”I hail from Sydney so I’d like to return back there at one point in time,” Greenberg said. “So, no, it’s certainly not on the agenda.”CA has kept a very close eye on how the ECB has handled the sale of the Hundred franchises in England and is continuing to watch closely as the competition enters a transition year with three teams set to be renamed and rebranded next season by the new private owners.Greenberg rejected a notion which has been raised in some quarters in Australia that allowing private investment into the BBL would be akin to “selling the farm” to the highest bidder.”It couldn’t be anything further from the truth,” Greenberg said. “We’re looking at ways to put money into cricket so that all parts of cricket can continue to flourish. So for me, this is much less about selling something. It’s more about what the future looks like and trying to ensure that we can continue to put money and resources into grassroots and performance pathways, and so we can be secure, and we can be the sport of choice, and we can continue to be the country’s national sport. None of that will happen if we sit still on our hands and think that everything tomorrow will be like yesterday. We’re living in a world that’s moving at speed.”What this report’s looking at is certainly not looking at putting any private capital into the league. It’s rather the clubs themselves. So that’s the first point. So retaining control of Australian cricket, I think, is fundamental.”Greenberg said he had already received emails from private investors that he “hadn’t heard of” who were interested in having a conversation about either investing in or owning BBL clubs. But he reiterated that CA were a long way from reaching a point where the conversations with investors could actually take place.He admitted there was apprehension from a large number of current stakeholders in Australian cricket following last week’s release but wanted to allay any fears.”The Chairman (Mike Baird) and I are at pains to point out that this process, this project will only work if it benefits everyone, and when I say everyone, I mean the total circumference of Australian cricket,” Greenberg said. “I mean players. I mean all of our states and territories, and I mean grassroots and the future of cricket too. If there’s opportunities for everyone to thrive and grow from a project like this, then I think it will solve the problems itself. But if clearly we can’t answer that question, then I think the project fails. So we will be very collaborative, as we have been from the start.”

Beaten in their first three games, Thunder remain seventh on the table but are now back in the hunt after a convincing win over Scorchers

AAP19-Nov-2025Sydney Thunder have breathed life back into their WBBL season, recording their first win of the summer with a convincing nine-wicket victory over Perth.Set 151 to win at Sydney’s Drummoyne Oval, Tahlia Wilson’s unbeaten 55 from 44 balls helped Thunder cruise to victory with ten balls to spare.Phoebe Litchfield then finished the game with a big six to bring up her 35-ball half-century, while Georgia Voll hit 43 from 31 at the top.Beaten in their first three games, Thunder remain seventh on the table but are now back in the hunt ahead of their clash with last-placed Brisbane on Friday.After being given a life early when Freya Kemp put down a sitter when on five, Thunder opener Wilson was clinical from there on.She sat at the other end while Voll was the main aggressor, before taking over the innings when the right-hander was caught behind.Leading run-scorer in the 50-over WNCL last summer, Wednesday’s knock marked only Wilson’s third half-century in 80 WBBL games.Earlier Katie Mack threatened to make the Thunder pay for a missed chance of their own, when the opener was dropped first ball at slip by Heather Knight before reaching 79.She hit Voll for three straight boundaries a few overs later, kicking off an innings where she drove through the covers at will and pulled the ball to the boundary regularly.Signed by Scorchers to offer more support to Beth Mooney, it was Mack that was the lead act on Wednesday night.But no other Scorcher passed 20, with the innings stagnating when Kemp was run out and Paige Schofield trapped lbw in the space of two balls in the 12th over.That ultimately proved decisive with the Scorchers’ 150 for 7 never looking like enough once Thunder got going.

Chelsea start a massive week with a win at Turf Moor, so is momentum starting to build?

On Saturday lunchtime, the Blues proved to be simply too strong for Burnley, prevailing 2-0, with Pedro Neto heading home Jamie Gittens’ cross on the cusp of half time, before Enzo Fernández lashed home the clinching second right at the end.

​​​​​The match was significantly more comfortable than the scoreline would suggest, with the Clarets creating only one big chance and accumulating a miserly 0.44 xG, rarely threatening Robert Sánchez’s goal.

This made it three successive Premier League victories for Enzo Maresca’s side, who’ve now won five of their last six in the league, ahead of a massive week, with both Barcelona and then Arsenal visiting Stamford Bridge over the next eight days.

Despite victory in Lancashire, a few Chelsea players came in for some criticism, one in particular compared to a player who departed for pastures new over the summer.

Why Chelsea sold Noni Madueke

In one of the surprise moves of last summer, albeit this is now a well-trodden path at this point, Noni Madueke departed Chelsea during the Club World Cup to sign for Arsenal for a reported fee of £52m.

Last season, the England international scored 11 goals across all competitions for the Blues, including seven in the Premier League, a tally only bettered by talisman Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson, another who was parachuted out.

Thus, it was certainly a surprise that Madueke was the one Chelsea decided to sell, but that has been the business model since Clearlake Capital’s takeover of the club and, having signed him from PSV Eindhoven for £28.5m in January 2023, Todd Boehly and the other owners simply view that as a quick profit.

Nevertheless, on the pitch, it could be argued that Maresca’s side have missed Madueke’s direct running and pace, even if he’s not featured for Arsenal since September due to a knee injury.

Having said all of that, a frequent criticism from Chelsea supporters of Madueke was that he was selfish, often going for goal when passing to a teammate would be the better option.

Well, to support this zeitgeist, Madueke attempted 80 shots in the Premier League last season, behind only Palmer, but had the lowest goals – xG figure of any player in the Blues’ squad, ending up with -2.6.

Meantime, he registered just three assists and created only six big chances, suggesting that perhaps the view of supporters – and Martin Keown – was not too inaccurate.

So now, which current member of the Chelsea forward line showed similar levels of selfishness at Turf Moor?

Chelsea's Madueke repeat at Turf Moor

Since the days of Didier Drogba, Chelsea feel as though they’ve found themselves in a never-ending search for a reliable centre-forward; they even twice signed Romelu Lukaku in an attempt to solve this issue.

This summer, after freezing out Jackson, as already mentioned, they put a lot of faith in Liam Delap, making it not ideal that he then missed six successive Premier League matches due to a hamstring injury, as well as another following a red card at Molineux in the EFL Cup on the day of his return.

Back now, Delap has started the last two Premier League matches either side of the international break, but is yet to score since netting against Espérance Sportive de Tunis during the Club World Cup, for what that is worth, and his display on Saturday did not earn rave reviews, with the numbers underlining why.

As the table documents, Delap did not have much impact on the afternoon’s proceedings at Turf Moor.

He attempted zero dribbles, completed just eight passes and won only two of the eight duels he contested, while, in 67 minutes on the pitch, he touched the ball only 20 times, which is 28 fewer than goalkeeper Robert Sánchez, while only one more than his replacement Malo Gusto.

Simon Johnson of The Athletic noted that it is obvious that “Delap is still not fully up to speed post hamstring injury” while, as noted by Taha Hashim of the Guardian, there were multiple occasions when Delap failed to play the ball to a teammate after an opening had presented itself.

Considering Chelsea’s array of attacking options, when Delap is the centre-forward, one of his key responsibilities has to be facilitating attacks and linking up with teammates, as well as score goals of course, neither of which he is doing at the moment.

Chalkboard

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

If he continues to be both ineffective and selfish, you can bet your bottom dollar that Delap won’t be in the team much longer, because Boehly will probably just buy three other players in his position in January.

Their next Caicedo: BlueCo have signed a "world-beater" for Chelsea

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Jack Salveson Holmes

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Ball dominated on the opening day in Hobart as late wickets kept Tasmania in the contest

AAP15-Oct-2025Fourteen wickets fell and Liam Haskett was the surprise spark for Western Australia as they finished day one on top in their Sheffield Shield clash against Tasmania in Hobart.Ashes batting contender Jake Weatherald missed a chance to push his case for a Test debut, before Tasmania unravelled when third-change WA left-arm quick Haskett was introduced.Related

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The paceman took 3 for 26 in 10 overs, having Tim Ward flashing an edge behind then spearing deliveries through Caleb Jewell and Nivethan Radhakrishnan.A bright, unbeaten 41 from Jake Doran that included three sixes salvaged things somewhat in an otherwise horror middle session for Tasmania. Australia white-ball allrounder Aaron Hardie also played a key role with three wickets.WA were 107 for 4 at stumps, having missed a chance to be in a more dominant position when the well-set Jayden Goodwin and Hilton Cartwright were late casualties.Riley Meredith found pace and bounce in his eight overs, while former Test quick Jackson Bird took the early scalp of Cameron Bancroft for just 3 when he edged to slip.

A new Southampton manager update has been shared from St Mary’s regarding a full-time move for interim boss Tonda Eckert.

Eckert responds to permanent Southampton job rumours

The Saints made the perfect start to life without Will Still in the week, defeating Queens Park Rangers 2-1 at Loftus Road.

Eckert was the man in charge of Southampton following Still’s exit, with second half goals from Jay Robinson and Leo Scienza lifting them above rivals Portsmouth.

The 3-4-2-1 caretaker is once again set to be on the touchline this weekend prior to the international break as St Mary’s play host to bottom side Sheffield Wednesday. Talking ahead of the game, Eckert was asked if he fancied the Southampton job on a permanent basis, to which he said:

“Look, the answer is very easy on this one. My job is to prepare the game today in the best way possible. My job is to prepare the game on Saturday (8th November) in the best way possible. That’s what all my focus is on. It’s going to be three very important days until Saturday. Then we can all take a breath.

“I think the only thing I can do is give energy and give a structure, and prepare them in the best way possible. We’re going to do the same thing for Saturday and hopefully confirm [the improvement] and then we’ll go into a break and go again.”

Now, a new update has emerged regarding Southampton’s position over Eckert.

How Southampton feel about full-time Tonda Eckert move

According to Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas, Southampton now “consider Eckert a potential candidate for the full-time job” following his winning start in temporary charge.

The 32-year-old’s coaching career has mainly been as an assistant, helping some iconic names such as Patrick Vieira at Genoa and Miroslav Klose at Bayern Munich’s U17 side.

His experience in England came during 18 months as an assistant at Barnsley, with Eckert taking charge of Southampton’s U21s in the summer.

1.FC Koln U17

Assistant manager

2013-2016

RB Salzburg YL

Assistant manager

2016-2017

RB Leipzig YL

Assistant manager

2017-2019

FC Bayern U17

Assistant manager

2019-2020

Barnsley

Assistant manager

2020-2022

Genoa

Assistant manager

2022-2025

Saints gem Moses Sesay has been impressed under Eckert, saying he is an “experienced” coach who “demands a lot” in training and is “big on detail”.

“I’ve enjoyed working with him. I took some time to get a good connection with him, because he was new, but I really like him. He’s a good coach. He’s very experienced. He demands a lot from us in training, but I like that as a player. He knows what he wants, which is good.

“Comparing Calum McFarlane (former under-21s boss) with Tonda, I think Cal was maybe a little bit more technical, but there hasn’t been much of a difference.

“Tonda is big on detail. He’s a very good coach. We’ve had good results since he came in and went a few games unbeaten. It’s been good under him.”

Positive words indeed, and if Eckert makes it two from two on Saturday, his stock could continue to rise.

Their own Lampard: "Very intelligent" coach now wants the Southampton job

Taskin starred with the ball, Litton led the way with the bat, and comeback man Saif contributed a fine all-round display

Abhimanyu Bose30-Aug-2025

Taskin Ahmed, Saif Hassan and captain Litton Das played starring roles as Bangladesh eased to an eight-wicket win over Netherlands in the first T20I in Sylhet.Taskin took four wickets and Saif, playing his first T20I since October 2023, bagged his first two T20I wickets as Bangladesh restricted the visitors to 136 after asking them to bat. Saif completed his comeback with a quickfire cameo to support Litton’s brisk half-century as Bangladesh won with 6.3 overs to spare.Taskin keeps Netherlands quietMax O’Dowd started well for Netherlands, driving and flicking Shoriful Islam for three fours in the second over. He then launched Mahedi Hasan, who opened the bowling, for a six down the ground in the third.But Taskin struck with his first ball, getting O’Dowd to spoon a catch to cover off a leading edge.Netherlands managed just nine more runs from the 2.5 remaining overs in the powerplay, with their only boundary coming through another leading edge from Teja Nidamanuru that just evaded a leaping cover fielder.Then, Taskin struck again with the first ball of his second over, the eighth of the innings. Vikramjit Singh looked to switch gears and go down the ground, but could only pick out long-on.Saif ends Netherlands counterattackNidamanuru counterattacked, pulling Taskin for a six later in that over before squeezing one past short third for four. That began a stretch that brought Netherlands 27 runs off just 11 balls, before Saif nipped the counterattack in the bud with his maiden international wicket.Netherlands captain Scott Edwards tried to sweep the offspinner but couldn’t get distance on his shot, and Jaker Ali ran to his right to take a brilliant diving catch at long leg. Two balls later, Saif had Nidamanuru holing out to deep midwicket.Mustafizur Rahman got on the board when a short ball drew a top edge from Shariz Ahmad’s attempted pull to leave Netherlands five wickets down in the 13th over.Taskin picked up two more wickets in his remaining two overs, and Netherlands added just 52 to their score over their last eight overs.Saif Hassan struck twice in an over•BCB

Emon starts strong, Litton continues the momentumParvez Hossain Emon got Bangladesh off to the perfect start with two fours and a six off the first three balls of the innings, from offspinner Aryan Dutt. He put away two shortish balls either side of point, and when Dutt went fuller, Emon slog-swept him over midwicket.Tanzid Hasan also started with a boundary, clipping Kyle Klein through backward square leg, but Dutt applied the brakes next over when he slid a quick one through Emon’s defences.Litton, however, ensured Bangladesh didn’t let the pressure build. In the fifth over, he drove Dutt through point before flicking him over midwicket next ball. In the last over of the powerplay, Litton crashed left-arm spinner Daniel Doram through the covers before launching him down the ground for his first six.Tanzid did a good job in a support role while Litton kept going after the bowling. He welcomed Shariz Ahmad with back-to-back boundaries in his first over, and punished Klein for straying onto his pads, whipping him fine on the leg side for another six.By the time Tanzid picked out long-on off a full toss in the tenth over, Bangladesh needed just 45 off 65 balls.Saif completes perfect comebackLitton brought up his 13th T20I half-century, off just 26 balls, in the 11th over. Then Saif, having got his eye in while scoring seven off nine balls, let loose, coming down the track to loft Tim Pringle over long-on.Saif then swung Paul van Meekeren into the leg side for a four before sealing the win with back-to-back sixes off Vikramjit in the 14th over.Litton contributed just 10 runs to an unbroken 46-run stand for the third wicket, with Saif finishing unbeaten on 36 off just 19 deliveries – a knock that will encourage the returning batter, whose career T20I strike rate jumped from 81.25 to 106.02after this match.

Lionesses star Chloe Kelly limped off with an injury in England's clash with Ghana on Tuesday night, casting doubt over her availability moving forward as Arsenal prepare to enter a very important part of their season. The Gunners have two huge Champions League games coming up this month, as the holders bid to qualify for the knockout stages, but they could well have to take on those challenges without Kelly.

Kelly injury concern: Lionesses star limps off in Ghana friendly

There were less than 20 minutes on the clock when Kelly reached down to grab her right knee, after an attempted cross off that wing was blocked. The 27-year-old tried to carry on but after playing a short pass a few seconds later, she went to ground and, once seen to by the Lionesses' medical staff, would gingerly walk off the pitch and be replaced by Arsenal team-mate Beth Mead, ending her night very prematurely.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesBad luck continues: Knee issue continues as Wiegman reacts to 'sad' Kelly injury

That it appeared to be Kelly's right knee troubling her will be of concern to many, and of frustration for the player herself. That's because after missing Arsenal's game against West Ham, their second Women's Super League fixture of the season, Kelly had visible strapping on that knee for around six weeks, until early November.

The disappearance of that support seemed to signal Kelly had come through the issue, as did her first Arsenal start for six weeks, handed to her by Gunners boss Renee Slegers just before this international break began in the win over Real Madrid. "She missed the West Ham game and a couple of training sessions but since then she's been building back, and some things take a little bit longer than others, but she's fully fit," her manager said the day before that game.

While the specifics of the issue Kelly was clearly nursing remain unclear, it will not have been encouraging for anyone to see her limp off on Tuesday because of what appeared to be a problem with that same knee she has sported noticeable support on for a large portion of this season, even if the injury itself on the night didn't come across as a bad one.

"She felt something with her knee that didn’t feel right," England boss Sarina Wiegman said, asked about Kelly after the 2-0 win over Ghana. "She could walk but it just didn’t feel right. For her it’s sad because she had a start and she was playing and then she had to go off. Of course you want to be available at all times and you don’t want to have those niggles but that’s just the way it is now and what she has to sort out is: What is it? And just assess that and try to get back as soon as possible and get consistency. That’s what she wants too, but you have to take it as it is."

Searching for rhythm: Kelly's start to the season disrupted again

To have to be subbed off will have been even more frustrating for Kelly because this felt like a potentially big night for her and her season. After an outstanding 2024-25 season saw her star in Arsenal's Champions League triumph before stealing the show as the Lionesses won the 2025 European Championships, that niggling injury has prevented Kelly from really getting going in the 2025-26 campaign, as she's only been able to make three starts so far.

To get the nod against Ghana in England's final game of 2025, then, felt like a good platform for the winger to be able to build on that start for the Gunners just before this camp and start to generate some form and rhythm. Unfortunately, she wasn't allowed to do so.

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Getty ImagesArsenal's next fixtures: Kelly now a doubt for big WSL and Champions League games

The good news is that Kelly's injury didn't appear to be particularly bad in the moment and Arsenal will hope that is a sign of it not being a knock that will keep her out for long, because the Gunners have some big games before the winter break. The reigning European champions are currently 10th in the Champions League table, six places and three points off the automatic qualification spots for the knockout stages with two games to go. Those two games come later this month, at home to Twente and away at Leuven.

There's also two WSL fixtures on the calendar before Christmas, with Arsenal needing to rack up wins to get back into the title race after a sloppy start, and a League Cup quarter-final clash with Crystal Palace. Given all that is on the line, the Gunners will desperately hope they have Kelly, and her knack for turning up in the big moments, available to them.