Looking for Soccer News?

Mikel Arteta deserves to be shown the trust once afforded to Arsene Wenger says Martin Keown, who says the Spaniard requires time and the backing of his board in order to deliver on expectations.

Uncomfortable questions are starting to be asked of the man calling the shots at Emirates Stadium.

With the Gunners enduring their worst start to a Premier League season, as they look anxiously over their shoulder towards the drop zone, inevitable criticism has been aimed in the direction of those on and off the field in north London.

Keown can appreciate why pressure is building at Arsenal, but he believes patience should be shown with the rookie coach.

The former Gunners defender said: “I think it is not a time for panic, Arteta has shown he can win. People would always say: 'Trust in Wenger'. Now we need to do that with Arteta.

“He wants to make changes and sometimes, when you make changes, you go backward first before you can go forward.

“The confidence has been massively dented by results, so it is a difficult time now. I think it came as a bit of a shock to the manager how they were dismantled by Aston Villa and they haven't really recovered.

“He needs to be backed. I am really pleased Edu is speaking now in support of the manager - he should have spoken far sooner.

“I think if the fans were all allowed back in by some miracle next week, they would be behind the manager.”

Keown is also looking for Arteta to be given more money to spend in the transfer market, saying Arsenal are still in need of strengthening down their spine.

He added: “The long-term vision [Arteta] has for the team in terms of how they want to play was affecting the short-term results. They needed to go back to a back five but then you can't be as creative.

“I do feel that the transfer window can't come soon enough for him. The midfield area is still a problem. He needs Thomas Partey back and he also needs another top-class midfielder to play along him.

“You look at [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg at Spurs and you think: 'Why were Spurs the only team going after him?’ He is a good player who has made a difference. Until he can control the midfield, he is not going to be able to play the back-four system he wants.”

Arsenal, who sit 15th in the table as things stand, will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Everton.

Martin Keown, McDonald’s Fun Football ambassador, was speaking at the opening of a new playground made from 1 million recycled Happy Meal toys at RMHC Oxford, the first of at least 15 to be built over the next year. To find out more visit mcdonalds.co.uk/family.

Thiago Alcantara is still wary of setting a date for his return to action at Liverpool, with the Spain international having been out of action since October with a knee injury.

Alongside centre-half Virgil van Dijk, the  playmaker picked up an injury during the Merseyside derby with arch-rivals Everton.

He has not been seen in action since the 2-2 draw at Goodison Park on October 17, with just two appearances for the Reds on the back of a high-profile summer transfer from Bayern Munich.

Liverpool had high hopes for Thiago and were encouraged by his early showings in England. Jurgen Klopp is eager to welcome the 29-year-old back into his plans, but no unnecessary risks will be taken on his fitness.

That means the former Barcelona star continues to take his recovery “step by step”, with no need to rush with Liverpool back at the top of the Premier League table.

The plan is for Thiago to step back in at some point in the near future, but no definitive fixture is being lined up.

Pressed by the Reds’ official website on whether he has a date in mind, Thiago said: “No, just taking it step by step.

“We always try to [do it] like we have a wall in front of us, saying ‘OK, you have to make a step back before you can advance.’ Now we think we are in a right mood and looking forward to the end of the year to try to train another time with the team.”

Thiago has been watching on as Liverpool have overcome a wretched run of luck on the injury front to force their into another Premier League title race and through to the last-16 of the Champions League where they will face RB Leipzig.

Progress by Klopp’s side has been impressive, but not all that surprising given the success they have enjoyed during a trophy-laden couple of seasons on Merseyside.

Thiago added: “The team were doing good the last years, it’s not just about this season, it’s about the last years – they were doing an amazing performance not just in the Premier League but also in the Champions League.

“The positive part is [the opportunity] to learn more about the club and to learn more about the players from outside the pitch.”

Liverpool will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Crystal Palace.

Former Singida United player Simbarashe Nhivi has warned FC Platinum to step up their game when they come up against Simba SC in the first round of the Caf Champions League on Wednesday.

The two sides will square off in the first meeting in Harare and Nhivi, who played in the Tanzania Mainland Premier League in 2017, believes Simba have grown in status and will present a stern challenge for the hosts.

“Simba is the biggest team in Tanzania if not Yanga [Young Africans] and they are a very competitive side with foreigners almost in every position who can score if given an opportunity,” Nhivi said as quoted by Daily News.

“You cannot underestimate the team at all. They have quality and can be a threat if not handled well. You need to be professional in your approach when playing such teams.

“Simba have a strong technical department as well and have been regulars in the Champions League now. FC Platinum are playing a good side, but they [FC Platinum] also have quality on their side.

“They can beat any team if they believe in themselves and have more desire to win this game.”

Platinum are currently led by former Chippa United coach Norman Mapeza, and Nhivi believes he can make the difference during the two-legged affair.

“Mapeza, who has returned to Platinum has energised the team and he is a very qualified and professional who is not new to these kinds of games,” Nhivi continued.

“The Champions League is a tough competition because it’s played by respective league champions. Whoever wants it more on the day and who is better prepared mentally physically and tactically will win.”

Platinum eliminated Costa Do Sol of Mozambique after a 4-1 aggregate win while Simba progressed after knocking out Plateau United of Nigeria 1-0 on aggregate.

Simba squad; Goalkeeper: Aishi Manula, Ally Salim, Beno Kakolanya.

Defenders: Shomari Kapombe, Gadiel Michael, Mohamed Hussein, Erasto Nyoni, Ibrahim Ame, Joash Onyango, and Pascal Wawa.

Midfielders: Jonas Mkude, Mzamiru Yassin, Said Ndemla, Taddeo Lwanga, Larry Bwalya, Hassan Dilunga, Francis Kahata, and Clatous Chama.

Strikers: Meddie Kagere, John Bocco, Chris Mugalu, Miraji Athumani, Luis Miquissone, and Ibrahim Ajibu.

The criticism being aimed at Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane this season has been “unfair”, says Iker Casillas, with the Blancos considered to have “a very good coach” doing a “great job”.

The legendary Frenchman delivered another La Liga title to Santiago Bernabeu in 2019-20, with a domestic crown and three Champions League triumphs delivered during a previous stint in the Spanish capital.

Building on those successes has proved tricky in 2020-21, with Madrid struggling for consistency alongside arch-rivals Barcelona.

Questions have been asked of Zidane’s ability to keep Real in contention for major honours at home and abroad.

A positive response has been offered by the Blancos over recent weeks, with encouraging results collected in La Liga and the Champions League, and Casillas believes they still have the right man at their helm.

He told The National of Zidane: “Let’s start from the point that Real Madrid is always a target for criticism. Right now, this is a bit out of place because it’s not a catastrophe; it’s not until May that competitions are decided.

“The criticism Zidane has been receiving has also been unfair because he’s been a very good coach and he’s earned his right to lose. He’s won three Champions Leagues, two leagues in Spain and he’s doing a great job. So I don’t think we can demand a lot more from him.

“He’s giving that continuity that's really important for the team. We cannot forget that, while Real Madrid is a club that has many big names - Ramos, [Luka] Modric, [Toni] Kroos, [Karim] Benzema - it has a very young pool of players that also need to find their place and come through.”

Casillas claims Zidane will have turned a deaf ear to his detractors and the World Cup winner is not about to change his ways for anyone.

“The reason is his style is very suited to the intensity of the situation,” Casillas added on his former team-mate.“Also, he is able to surround himself with the right staff. Besides that, given his career as a football player himself, he can read and understand the life of the players, and realises the mentality that going from competition and from game-to-game requires.

“He has won many titles; he has lived through it all, both personally as a player and as part of a team. He’s been able to take this experience onto the pitch as a coach as well. Other than that, besides a coach, he’s also a great manager, because it’s a very difficult skill to be able to manage a club and a team.”

Asante Kotoko have parted ways with head coach Maxwell Konadu, the club have announced.

The development comes a day after the Porcupine Warriors suffered a 1-0 defeat to Great Olympics in the Ghana Premier League (GPL).

So far in the top flight this term, the Kumasi-based outfit have won only one of four matches played, drawing two and losing one - the Olympics disappointment being their first defeat of the season.

"Management of Asante Kotoko Sporting Club wishes to inform the general public that it has decided to part ways with coach Maxwell Konadu as its head coach with immediate effect," Kotoko posted on Twitter on Friday.

"[Assistant] coach Johnson Smith has been appointed to lead the team in the interim."

Kotoko opened their GPL season with a 1-1 home draw with Eleven Wonders before holding Berekum Chelsea to a 1-1 statement on matchday two.

Last week, the Porcupine Warriors registered their first win of the season in a 1-0 result over Legon Cities. Thursday's 1-0 loss to Olympics owing to Michael Yeboah's 54th-minute goal for the away side proved the coach's last straw.

"It was a difficult game. The first half we didn’t look good but we came into the second half and started doing the basic things," Konadu said at the post-match press conference.

“We have taken lessons from this and will work on them.

“Some of the new players are only beginning to settle in. They will get better because they know the demands of the supporters and will respond accordingly.”

Kotoko appointed Konadu as head coach in December 2019 following the dismissal of Norwegian trainer Kjetil Zachariassen.

It was the Ghanaian's second stint in charge of the Porcupine Warriors, having led the side to the Premier League title in 2011-12.

He has previously worked as an assistant coach of Ghana's national team as well as head coach of Ghana's home-based national team, whom he guided to the final of the 2019 Wafu Cup of Nations in Senegal.

Interim coach Johnson Smith will lead Kotoko into Sunday’s Premier League away encounter with Dreams FC and next week’s Caf Champions League first-round showdown with Al Hilal of Sudan.

Mohamed Salah was voted as the best player in the world in his position, beating out his strong oponents Lionel Messi and Riyad Mahrez becoming the next player to cement his position in the Goal's Top eleven powered by FIFA 21as we attempt to identify who you think are the best footballers around the world.

Salah led the table with 41% of the votes (17000) beating out the rest of the competition. Messi was close with 34% of the votes (14000) followed by Mahrez with 19% of the votes.

Gnabry and Sancho were fourth and fifth respectively.

Stay tuned to this space as we ask for your help to identify the best players in their respective positions globally.

Nigeria women's team alongside Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania moved up on the last Fifa women's ranking for 2020 released by Fifa on Friday, December 18.

The Super Falcons rose one spot to 37th on the new global rankings despite a 14-month hiatus since crashing out of the 2020 Olympic qualifiers after a 1-1 draw with Cote d'Ivoire in October 2019.

Cameroon are still occupying 51st position despite losing the coveted Caf Olympic Games ticket to Zambia on the away goal rule following a 3-3 draw on aggregate in the final qualifying stage in March.

South Africa also remained stagnant in 53rd place despite claiming a record fourth consecutive title following a 2-1 victory over Botswana in the final of the 2020 Cosafa Women's Cup in November.

While Ghana moved up two spots to 58th spot thanks for a runners-up finish at the 2020 Turkish Women's Cup in March before the convincing back-to-back triumphs over Morocco last month. 
 
Elsewhere, Kenya made a huge leap as Cecafa Women's Cup champions, climbing up 13 spots to 124th place, along with Tanzania (13 places up) to 126th, while Uganda were unranked due to prolonged inactivity.

In Africa, Nigeria are still ranked the best on the continent, with Cameroon, South Africa, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire (61st), Tunisia (71st), Morocco (77th), Mali (78th) and Algeria (79th) and Senegal (80th) occupying the top 10 spots.

Globally, the USA ended the year 2020 at the summit as reigning world champions followed by Germany, France, the Netherlands and Sweden in the top five of the rankings.

Botswana, Comoros, Mauritius, Eswatini and Madagascar were rewarded with rises of 17 spots following their activities in 2020, with only 28 of 56 nations in Africa ending the year on the rankings.

The next edition of the women's ranking will be released on March 26, 2021.

Mikel Arteta is adamant he still has the full backing of everyone at Arsenal and says stability is now key to turning the club’s fortunes around.

A run of just one win in his last nine Premier League games has seen the pressure increased on Arteta, who takes his struggling side to Everton on Saturday sitting 15th in the table.

But despite Arsenal’s current form, club bosses Vinai Venkatesham and Edu have both publicly come out in support of Arteta in the past week, reaffirming their belief that he is the right man for the job.

And ahead of this weekend trip to Goodison, Arteta says he appreciates that support and insists he feels the same level of backing from everyone else at the club.

“I said it from the start, that I felt really supported by the owners, by the board, by the technical director and then by everybody that is at the club,” said the Spaniard.

“Because at the end of the day it is a feeling that I feel with the staff, with the coaches, with the players - which is the most important one.

“What chemistry do you have with them? What understanding do you have? Do they follow you? Do they believe in what you are trying to do? And I always have to say 'thank you', because I haven’t seen anything that goes against what we are trying to do.”

Arteta added: “After a big shake-up, we need to find stability and in order to do that we need time.

“We all knew, at least the people that made the decision with me to start this new project, that this wasn’t a quick fix and it was going to take time.

“And when you are shaking things up, things can take a while.”

Saturday’s game at Everton will mark Arteta’s first year in charge of Arsenal.

Despite the huge challenges of working through a global pandemic, there were clear signs of progress when the FA Cup and Community Shield were won in August with victories against Chelsea and Liverpool.

The recent run of poor form in the Premier League has certainly taken the gloss off those successes at Wembley, but Arteta is convinced that significant progress has still been made.

“I think it has been one of the most challenging years of the club’s history for many, many different reasons,” he said.

“We have made a lot of progress and we have implemented a lot of positive things that have worked really, really well. We have gone through structural changes all across the club, that obviously has shaken the club big time.

“I would say the highlights of this year are the two trophies that we have won together. And the most disappointing thing is that we haven’t had our fans with us to take us through this difficult moment.

“I think it could have been a really, really positive year - but the recent form in the Premier League is taking the gloss off what we have done in a calendar year.

“But we have to accept that the Premier League form, in recent weeks, has not been good enough for this football club.”

Swansea City talisman Andre Ayew believes their dream of securing Premier League promotion remains alive despite Wednesday's Championship defeat to Derby County.

On their 19th game of the season, the Jack Army proved inadequate before the Rams as they succumbed to a 2-0 loss at Pride Park Stadium.

Ayew and his side, though, have a prompt chance to make amends as they welcome Barnsley for a showdown at Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

“We are always disappointed to lose. Overall, it’s been a decent start, but that’s all that it is so far,” Ayew said, as reported by his club's official website.

“There are so many games to play, even within the space of a week the table can change so much, but that’s the nature of the Championship and it’s what we have to deal with given the congested fixture list due to Covid.

“We have things we need to build on and things we need to improve on, I think that is the same for every side.

“I hope to bring my experience to help the team because, even though you will lose games, it is about how you handle those things.

“I think we have been good at that this season, we have to keep that going and make sure there are more good things than bad.”

Swansea currently occupy the fourth position on the league table, having won nine, drawn six and lost four of matches played so far.

Last season, the Jack Army came close to securing a return to the Premier League but their quest ended in the play-off semi-final following a defeat to Brentford.

Ayew was Swansea's main man in last term's push and has remained the danger man this season too.

Last year, the attacker, who celebrated his 31st birthday on Thursday, netted 16 times in 46 appearances, ending the term as the club's top scorer and most valuable player.

In the current campaign, the Ghana star has scored seven times in 18 matches, sitting as the club's top scorer. His solo effort against Sheffield Wednesday in November was recently voted as Swansea’s Goal of the Month.

Only one stadium has been approved ready for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations as Cote d'Ivoire continue to build three new stadiums while two are under renovation.

Newly-built Ebimpe Olymic Stadium, which was opened in October, is the only stadium passed ready with a capacity of more than 60,000 seats.

Renovation works will start at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in January 2021 to install metal roofs while the Peace Stadium in Bouake is currently ongoing an overhaul to increase its capacity from 25,000 to 40,000 seats by the end of 2021.

The constructions of the Yamoussoukro Stadium, Poro Stadium and Stade San Pedro are still in progress, and they are expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

Earlier this month, a Caf inspection delegation led by Deputy General Secretary Anthony Baffoe visited Cote d'Ivoire to check the level of preparation for the tournament which will take place in June 2023.

Baffoe expressed satisfaction with the work done so far and he is confident the constructions will be completed before the deadline.

“Cote d'Ivoire is a country that I know very well. The visit was well orchestrated. We are very satisfied with the way the inspection visit went, and with the work done by the Local Organizing Committee (LOC),” Baffoe told the Caf website.

“For us, infrastructure and access routes are very important, and this is what interested us in each city. We first landed in Abidjan and in the next day we went to Korhogo. We drove from for three hours Korhogo to Bouaké without encountering any problem. From Bouaké, we continued to Yamoussoukro. After Yamoussoukro, we returned to Abidjan where we spent two days.

“In the capital we visited all the stadiums and hotels, and we also held a feedback meeting with the LOC. We also met the Minister of Sports. The delegation visited the family of Sidy Diallo (late President of the Ivorian Football Federation who died on 21 November) to show our respect for the illustrious deceased.

“This is how the inspection visit went. There are details to be perfected in various stages, but my message is clear: We are happy with what we saw. Meeting deadlines will also be important.”

Ivory Coast will host the continent event for a second time in history having previously staged the Afcon tournament in 1984.

Paul Pogba has been challenged to “make a difference for Manchester United in every game he plays”, with Rene Meulensteen looking for the World Cup winner to become more consistent.

Dips in form from the Frenchman have become all too familiar throughout a second spell at Old Trafford.

Flashes of brilliance have been delivered, but they have often been countered by forgettable displays and off-field antics that make the 27-year-old an easy target for critics.

Pogba was back to his creative best in a 3-2 victory over Sheffield United on Thursday, as United collected another comeback win on the road, and Meulensteen wants to see those standards maintained.

The former Red Devils coach told Stadium Astro: “I thought Paul did really well, he was positive and there were some nice pieces of skill on the ball. That is what you want to see from Paul Pogba week in, week out.

“He is the sort of player that needs to make a difference for Manchester United in every game he plays. He needs to play every game and be important in every game.

“Paul is a player, and there are many of them, that has world-class attributes and world-class moments. To be classed as a world-class player, when you talk about the players that spring to mind from past and present, they have performed time and time again, they have won championships and titles for their teams. Paul, in my opinion, has not done that often enough.

“This is the form you want to see. This is Paul Pogba - confident, great passing, getting his head up, great skills. If he can add a bit more of a goal threat then he is heading the right way.

“Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] has not always picked him to start games, which is difficult. When he’s come on he has had an impact at times and in other games he hasn’t had that. In other games he has been slow because the rest of the team has been slow.

“This is the Pogba that we want to see and the fans want to see.”

Having shown that he can operate alongside Portuguese playmaker Bruno Fernandes, with the pair starting together at Bramall Lane, Pogba will be looking to nail down a spot in Solskjaer’s plans for the hectic festive period – with a home date against arch-rivals Leeds next up for United.

Vipers head coach Fred Kajoba has insisted he will not be leaving the club despite their Caf Champions League elimination by Al-Hilal Omdurman of Sudan.

The Ugandan champions exited the continental stage at the preliminary round and thereafter rumours emerged the coach was to leave, but he has now stated the main objective that will keep him at the Premier League champions.

“I told you that I came here to stay, even Lawrence Mulindwa [Vipers chairman] knows it,” Kajoba told Sports Nation. Many thought that I was going to be fired after champions League games but Mulindwa called me and told me that he loves what I am doing.

“What brought me here is to win trophies and I don’t have to look at how others perform, I just need to win my games.”

Vipers drew the opening match of the league before they laboured past Kitara FC in the second game and the tactician has explained what could have led to the struggle.

“I am very happy with my players, I think Vipers are a big team, they play good football from the word go to the end and I am very happy with the boys,” Kajoba added.

“When we are coaching, you can’t know at what time the goal is going to come, and for that, there are goals missed, denied by posts and those that failed to cross the line and that’s the thing which saw us bundle out from Champions League because.”

He also spoke about Bobosi Byaruhanga, David Bagoole and Jamil Kalisa, who have not quite settled since their arrival.

“Byaruhanga is a very good player but I personally want him to learn from Siraje Sentamu,” Kajoba concluded.

“Bagole is really a good player but there are a lot of things we need to get out of him and if he improves on what he plays and that ‘spinning’, will be good to go.

“Kalisa is always substituted because that’s how football is, if you don’t deliver what you supposed to deliver on the pitch, you have to be substituted, so at Vipers if you don’t play well you have to be outside the pitch.”

The Venoms will face Busoga United on Sunday for their third match of the season.

Wakiso Giants will have to navigate their Ugandan Premier League (UPL) match against Bright Stars without defender Hassan Wasswa on Friday.

According to the club’s head coach Douglas Bamweyana, Wasswa will miss the league match owing to suspension.

“The defender has now accumulated three yellow cards [after another booking on Tuesday against Onduparaka FC] which has automatically suspended him for one game as per rules,” Bamweyana told the club’s official website.

“We have Dazo out after accumulating three yellow cards but we believe in the available lads in his position to do the job.”

Wasswa will join a list of absentees for the league match as Fahad Kawooya and Karim Ndugwa have been ruled out because of sickness.

On the team’s start to the season where they have only managed to secure four points, Bamweyana said: “It might look bad that we only have draws but the big picture is that everyone is going to drop points at some time.

“Probably we have had our bad patch at the beginning and we just need to get on the right side of winning.

“If we start posting good results, these four games could be easily forgotten and we will be back in the right places but we need to shape up first and tomorrow is the occasion on which we want to do that.”

Wakiso will be facing Bright Stars for the third time in history with the first two matches ending in draws.

During their last match against Onduparaka, it was Wasswa who scored for the Purple Sharks at the Green Light Stadium, Arua. The defender cancelled out Kabon Living’s goal in a game Wakiso goalkeeper Derrick Emukule saved a penalty.

In an interview after the game, Bamweyana explained his charges are growing in confidence and soon they will start winning matches.

“You saw how they fought to get a draw, that shows you the boys are gaining more confidence as they play in every match,” Bamweyana told reporters after the match.

“It is just a matter of time before you start seeing as winning matches and our next match against Bright Stars might be the turning point.”

It wasn’t what Arsenal completely wanted but there’s a feeling that’s where we are at with Mikel Arteta’s side; looking for positives like a needle in a haystack.

The Gunners played out a 1-1 draw with an in-form Southampton side, which ended a wretched run of four straight defeats on the spin. Losing five on the trot will have seen this current crop set the undesired record of suffering a quartet of losses on home turf for the first time in the club’s history (they’d initially lost four in succession 61 years ago).

Given the context of Wednesday, against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side that rocked up at the Emirates Stadium on a five-game unbeaten run away from home while averaging 2.2 goals per game in that time, many observers felt the North London side were there for the taking.

In truth, the opening half-hour seemed to validate their pre-match thoughts. The visitors utterly dominated their illustrious hosts who seemed to play with fear, according to old boy Theo Walcott, scorer of the away side’s 18th-minute goal on his old stomping ground.

The mere fact that Arsenal responded after starting slowly was a step in the right direction and not letting the game get away from them was equally important.

Be that as it may, the biggest cheer — from supporters watching at home — likely came when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finally ended his and the club’s miserable run in front of goal. For the Gunners, the skipper’s well-dispatched effort after 52 minutes was the side’s first from open play in 13 hours and 17 minutes, a truly remarkable statistic given the club’s stature.

It was Auba’s first strike since that penalty away at Manchester United and it ended an extended run without scoring from open play since September 12 at Fulham. Going three months without an open-play strike was astonishing for someone with the Gabon star’s quality, but the London giants will hope Wednesday’s effort opens the floodgates.

As cliche as the aforementioned may seem, it certainly is reasonable particularly knowing how much his teammates lean on his final-third output.

“Hopefully it's going to change everything dramatically and he's going to score every game because this is what we need at the moment,” Mikel Arteta reflected afterwards. “We need the points and in order to do that, we need to score many more goals and be more efficient when we have the chances. I think it's going to make him really good.

“I don't have to see it, I'm sure that it's going to take a lot of pressure off him and it's going to release him as well.”

Auba, looking more relieved than elated, appeared more concerned about the collective rather than focus on himself post-match.

“Tonight is not about my goal or me, it's about the team,” the 31-year-old forward said after the stalemate. “As I said, we need points so it doesn't matter if I scored. For the moment, the most important thing to do is win games and get points.”

The captain and talisman had the highest xG on the night and was involved in two Shot-Creating Actions (joint second). Crucially, he helped to progress the ball in possession and was integral to the home side’s pressing on the night.

As for the returning Nicolas Pepe; while the first half showed what the Ivory Coast winger brings to the side, the performance after half time demonstrated another side to the wide attacker’s game.

In that opening 45, the ex-Lille superstar could have netted his first league goal since October but had one goal-bound effort blocked by Jannik Vestergaard and the second saved by Alex McCarthy.

The desire exhibited for that 28th-minute attempt to break his neck to match Aubameyang’s run and recognise the space to run into to meet the talisman’s cut-back (admittedly intended for Bukayo Saka) highlighted his motivation and intelligence respectively.

He was also involved in the move that saw Dani Ceballos apparently brought down 10 minutes later. Pepe’s gentle one-time touch had played in the Spaniard and, on another day, he may have had the rub of the green as that Jan Bednarek clip on the Real Madrid loanee falls into the ‘seen them given’ category.

Gabriel’s exasperating second-half red card meant the hosts — for the second home game in a row — had the stuffing knocked out of them after bright starts following the interval, and the upshot of another sending off meant Arsenal had to retreat despite being on the front foot beforehand.

The remainder of Pepe’s game saw him more prominent in his own half and largely to good effect, with the principal error coming when he was caught ball-watching but Moussa Djenepo’s careless touch meant Southampton couldn’t capitalise.

The Ivorian made a stunning eight recoveries — only Rob Holding with nine had more — won eight of nine total duels on the night and drew a couple of fouls in the game. Furthermore, only Eddie Nketiah and Auba pressed the opponent in possession more times (16) than the returning 25-year-old (12).

It may not have been the most-accomplished showing for the Gunners, but baby steps need to be taken as the club looks to halt the tide of depressing results in what’s been their worst start to a top flight campaign since 1974.

Up next for Arteta’s troops are Everton away on Saturday, followed by Chelsea in the repeat of the FA Cup final on Boxing Day.

With the monkey now off Aubameyang’s back, who’s to say he won’t repeat last season’s heroics against the seemingly wobbling Blues in Arsenal’s next game at the Emirates?

After a troubled season, the North Londoners could do with some festive cheer and nobody will say they are not due a break after a torrent of poor performances and results.

Kaizer Chiefs football club have managed to buy the land upon which the club was originally founded, chairman Kaizer Motaung has announced.

The 1.3ha ground is in Phefeni, Soweto, across the road from the Motaung family home and where the club was founded 50-years ago.

On the land at the moment is a church as well as a football pitch. The football pitch is used by a nearby school as well as by members of the local community.

The community has for some time been battling to stop the land from being taken over by developers, which is why Chiefs' acquisition was so important.

“We are grateful about the acquisition of this important piece of land,” Motaung said in a statement, as quoted by the Daily Sun.

“It's our way of making a contribution in the community from which we come. It is a historic and proud moment for us to announce this milestone,” the Chiefs boss stated.

“This did not come easy, it took a long haul of observing the on-goings with the other attempted transactions to acquire this land. At the end of the day, we are happy to eventually secure this land as our way of giving back to the community of Phefeni.”

Motaung's daughter Jessica, the Amakhosi marketing director, underlined the efforts it took to acquire the land, and the importance of doing so in a historic year for the club.

“It has gone back and forth with exchanges of propositions,” she said.

“We are glad we never gave up and, eventually, after many attempts, we succeeded to reach finality.

“This is history in the making, above all because this is happening in the 50th anniversary of our club.

“We are looking forward to making further announcements about the plans we have to develop this into a community sports facility. We will announce all that in due course.”

Kaizer Chiefs were founded in January 1970 after Kaizer Motaung returned from the United States, where he had been playing for Atlanta Chiefs.

New signing Taddeo Lwanga is among three players left behind by Simba SC as they travelled for their Caf Champions League match against FC Platinum on December 22.

The Ugandan winger signed for the Wekundu wa Msimbazi on December 2 for an undisclosed fee after leaving Egyptian club Tanta SC but he is yet to feature for the team.

While many felt his arrival was to have him play in the Champions League, Goal can now reveal Lwanga is among the players left behind for the trip to Zimbabwe, others being Charles Ilanfya, who is Simba’s number four striker, and Larry Bwalya, who is attending to family matters in Zambia.

“We are leaving for Zimbabwe on Friday but three players [Lwanga, Ilanfya, and Bwalya] have already been left out of the travelling squad,” a source, who did not want to be named, told Goal on Friday.

On signing Lwanga, Simba said in a statement: “He has been signed to replace Gerson Fraga who recently underwent knee surgery due to an injury he picked earlier this season. Fraga will be out of action for more than six months so he was allowed to return to Brazil to oversee his treatment.”

In a recent interview, Simba coach Sven Vandenbroeck explained why he signed Lwanga.

“As you know, Gerson [Fraga] was ruled out for six to eight months meaning we had only one holding midfielder Jonas [Mkude],” Vandenbroeck explained as quoted by Daily News.

“This means Fraga will be missed for the whole season hence, we had to get another player to fill his void.

"I would have loved to have him [Fraga] for the whole season but unfortunately, he will not be able to play any game this season. It is unlucky for Fraga to be out of action for eight months and his contract expires at the end of the season.”

Simba eliminated Nigerian side Plateau United on a 1-0 aggregate scoreline while Platinum made it to the next round on a 4-1 aggregate win after knocking out Costa De Sol of Mozambique.

The first leg of the Simba vs Platinum game will be played on December 22 in Zimbabwe with the return leg planned for Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on January 5 or 6, 2021.

AFC Leopards will welcome Western Stima at the Moi International Sports Complex on Friday, looking to extend the best start to a campaign they have enjoyed in 12 seasons.

Ingwe have registered three consecutive wins in the Football Kenya Federation Premier League which is a stark contrast to how they performed in the opening games from 2009 to 2020.

In the 2009 season, the local giants lost the two opening games before they drew in the third one while in the 2010 campaign, they lost the opener and won the next two, and the same sequence was recorded in the 2011 campaign.

In the 2012 season, AFC Leopards opened the campaign with a draw before winning the subsequent ties while in 2013 and in 2014 season, which were conquered by their great rivals Gor Mahia, they drew in the two opening ties before they lost the third games.

In the 2015 season, Ingwe drew the opener before winning the following two games and the same script was repeated in the 2016 season as Tusker went on to win the title.

AFC Leopards had a good run in the opening stage of the 2017 season where they recorded two consecutive wins before they dropped points with a draw in the third game.

There were mixed results in the 2018 campaign as a draw was registered in the opener before a win and a loss were subsequently registered in the following two games.

In 2019, Ingwe had what was described as one of the worst season starts as they drew in the opener, lost in the second game and drew in the third game, ending up with just two points from the three games.

Another loss marked the beginning of the 2019/20 season as a draw and a win followed in the second and third matches, respectively.

Tomas Trucha led them to a 2-1 win against Tusker in the opening game of the current campaign before other victories were registered against Bidco United (2-0) and Sofapaka (3-0).

In each of the three matches, Elvis Rupia has played key roles as he scored against all three rivals and is on top of the scorers’ charts with six goals.

Western Stima remain winless given that they drew 0-0 with Bidco United, lost to Sofapaka 3-1 before they were humbled 5-2 at home by Tusker in the last game.

Chennaiyin FC have scored just a single goal in their last four Indian Super League (ISL) outings and coach Csaba László has urged his players to start scoring more often in training as that would eventually translate to on field as well.

The Marina Machans have just a single win under their belt which came on matchday one against Jamshedpur FC. Of the three goals they have scored, one was a penalty.

“We want to use our strengths. We need to score goals. We must be more focused. We should not be aggressive but focused when we get chances to score. We also have to stay compact , organised and stop Goa and we can lead the team to a win. 

“If you don't score, you don't win .I think I don't want to push the responsibility on the players. This is also a little bit to do with your own confidence and may be because our preparation was not long. If you are out of football for six months and then come back and hit the ground running, it is not easy. So, I don't want to blame my players. But we must be focused and take confidence. I want us to start scoring more goals even in training. We need to do that more and that confidence will come,” explained László.

He however, hopes that his team will be amongst goals soon as it’s just a matter of time before they begin to convert their chances.

“In the game, of course, there is more pressure and responsibility. It is not easy to just come in after six months and start scoring. We have tried to resolve this and we are working on it. But sometimes, it takes time. Maybe sometimes, we will win with a lot of goals and the ice will be broken,” he said.

Chennaiyin FC have been without the services of Enes Sipovic as the centre-back picked up an injury during the game against Mumbai City FC. The good news is that Anirudh Thapa, who made a cameo appearance against NorthEast United, has recovered completely and is ready for a start on Saturday.

“Enes (Sipovic) is ready but I don't know if he will play from the beginning. Esma’s (Esmael Goncalves) injury is not serious. He should be back soon. Thapa is okay now and he is fully fit. We have some small, small injuries. We need players on the pitch and not in the doctor's room,” he shared an update on the status of the injured players.

They will face FC Goa, who suffered a 1-0 defeat to ATK Mohun Bagan in their last game on Wednesday. László believes that playing Goa, who play an expansive brand of football, will make a good viewing for the neutrals.

“(We must) Stay compact and focus on ourselves. It's true that we have to concentrate on the opponent. But we also have to concentrate on ourselves. Goa, after losing, will want to comeback. They play good football, we also play football. It should be an interesting game for both sides,” he opined.

He also stressed that his team have to focus on their strengths and look to capitalise on it rather than turn their attention solely on how to stop Goa from building an attack.

“Goa have also their own style. Against Mumbai (City), we had to do that (press and stop them playing out). But we can't prepare a team to play against one particular opponent. We are building on our style. We have to be organised and be responsible for our own style than play according to them.

“It is not possible to stop the opponents always but we can be responsible for our game. We have to take our own responsibility. If we win the ball, we should know what we have to do. It is very different in each game. You need to have confidence to go forward and know what to do when you lose the ball. These are small puzzles I have to put together to form a picture,” said the former Dundee United coach.

“We can complain about the bubble, short time in pre-season and many other things. But we have to get results. I don't want to think about things that we can't change. Important thing is that my team should affect the game. No one should bring us out of a winning mentality,” he added.

The former Uganda national team coach elaborated that a style of play is formed on the basis of the players available. He also went on mention that the most important factor for his side is to be consistent and play to their strengths.

“You have a team, then players and their individual styles. We can talk about ball possession. To create a style of play, I don't think my team should play a tiki-taka style and I don't wish for it too. But we have our style. We have a lot of fast players and are aggressive on 1v1s. You have to think about tactics. Tactics is not like you see some style of play and think you need to copy it. Most important thing is to find out what fits your team and its strengths. We should've won against Mumbai, who play a possession game, 1-0 but two errors meant we lost 2-1. But a team can't just copy football style of another team, like tiki-taka. What we need is consistency and I'm starting to see it from my side.”

Marcel Desailly fears Olivier Giroud will struggle to maintain his position as Chelsea's leading striker over the course of the season but has praised Frank Lampard for his handling of the France international.

Having almost left Chelsea last January last year , Giroud was again considering leaving Stamford Bridge until his four-goal spree against Sevilla in the Champions League earlier in December saw him regain his starting spot.

The 34-year-old was growing concerned that he would lose his spot in the France team ahead of next summer's European Championship as he chases down Thierry Henry's all-time goalscoring record for Les Bleus.

But Desailly, who captained both Chelsea and France, has explained why he feels that Giroud finds himself in and out of the team in west London.

"He is not the future of Chelsea and he can never be the main man," Desailly told  Goal , as part of the  Nissan UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour.

"He can only be important at moments for the club because Lampard can be clever to study the opponents and use him in specific games against teams who don’t like facing a player with his strengths.

"I believe that Lampard has helped Giroud shine often by getting a lot out of him but he can’t be the first choice for Lampard. He has Tammy Abraham and Timo Werner to compete with, so he can’t maintain his first-choice status from the start until the end.

"It is just down to Lampard to use him at the right time, get runners around him to allow him to shine. He is 34 years old now so don’t ask him to be the main man but make sure that he is important when he is needed. With his age, and status as a world champion, then I think this is about how and when you use him."

Still, when it comes to his status in France, Giroud is well on his way to establishing himself as a legendary player. Having won the World Cup in 2018 as the main striker, Giroud is now targeting individual records after winning 105 caps and scoring 44 goals.

Seven more goals are needed to match Henry's all-time scoring record, while he also ranks in the top 10 most-capped players for his country. France coach Didier Deschamps has kept his faith in Giroud even amid difficult spells for his club and Desailly sees him differently in the shirt of Les Bleus.

"He is indispensable for the national team," he continued. "Giroud is the perfect team-mate and player for the France national team. He is the first choice in the national team. [Anthony] Martial doesn’t combine as well in the national team as Giroud.

"[Kylian] Mbappe can play down the middle but he is the world champion from being out wide. You have to pick Giroud, who is the second top scorer in France’s history, even if at club level he is on and off."

Desailly was a hero for the France national team himself after winning a host of club honours with Marseille, AC Milan and Chelsea during an illustrious career. He excelled in France's defence and won the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000.

Now the next generation are hoping to emulate Desailly and he picked out his favourite defenders from the impressive talent pool at Deschamps' disposal.

"Probably the best combination is [Clement] Lenglet and [Rafael] Varane," Desailly said about France's options at centre-half. "I love [Samuel] Umtiti but he is often injured and it depends on the moment.

"We know [Dayot] Upamecano at Leipzig is amazing. It looks like in the national team that he needs to acclimatise to the level, different team-mates and system. He has to get used to the stress of the new level."

Desailly won back-to-back tournaments with France but also saw his side finish bottom of their group in the 2002 World Cup. He offered his advice to the next generation on what it takes to keep at the top at the international level: "The adrenaline, the stress levels, the capacity to maintain your intensity makes it difficult.

"For us, we did it back to back but then we were almost the same players that failed badly in 2002. I hope for them that they can manage all their elements to perform again like we did the first time around."