It feels as if Arsenal are on the precipice of something very special this season, and while much of the attention is on the incredible Premier League title race, European glory is a very real possibility.

Mikel Arteta's side are potentially just 90 minutes away from reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2010, but they'll have to beat Porto to do so.

The Gunners have looked unreal in recent weeks, and while there will be a temptation to leave the team as similar to the one that won on Saturday as possible, Arteta should make one key change in a bid to replicate a famous 5-0 win over the Portuguese outfit all the way back in March 2010.

GK – Manuel Almunia

RB – Bacary Sagna

CB – Sol Campbell

CB – Thomas Vermaelen

LB – Gael Clichy

CM – Abou Diaby

CM – Alex Song

CAM – Samir Nasri

RM – Tomas Rosicky

LM – Andrey Arshavin

ST – Nicklas Bendtner

Jakub Kiwior's game vs Brentford in numbers

The player who should be taken out of the team tonight is Poland international Jakub Kiwior.

Now, it might sound harsh given his recent performances in the league, and in all honesty, it is, but while he shone against the likes of Burnley, Newcastle United, and Sheffield United – registering a goal involvement in each match – he was underwhelming against the Bees.

This sentiment was shared by 90min's Sean Walsh, who awarded the 24-year-old a 6/10 on the night, writing that while the Tychy-born pro 'defended well enough,' he 'didn't provide enough in the final third when Arsenal needed more quality down the left.'

The former Spezia man's statistics backs up Walsh's assessment. In his 79 minutes of action, he registered an expected assists figure of just 0.04, lost possession 14 times, maintained a passing accuracy of only 77%, played one key pass, was accurate in one of his four long balls, and misplaced two of his three crosses.

Minutes

79'

Expected Assists

0.04

Lost Possession

49

Accurate Passes

37/48 (77%)

Key Passes

1

Long Balls (Accurate)

4 (1)

Crosses (Accurate)

3 (1)

However, perhaps the most telling moment was his substitution. In the 79th minute, with Arsenal still searching for a win, Arteta opted to bring on Oleksander Zinchenko in his place, which could serve as a hint of what's to come on Tuesday night.

Why Oleksandr Zinchenko should start

Yes, Kiwior's replacement on Saturday should be the man to start in his place at the Emirates against Porto.

Zinchenko hasn't started a game since the victory over Liverpool on February 4th. However, his substitute appearance against the Bees and Arteta's confirmation on Monday that he, among others, will be fit enough to start against Porto should reduce concerns about his fitness.

The main reason the former Manchester City ace should start over his inform teammate is his ability to influence the attacking phase of play, given Arsenal's need for two goals or more.

This superiority is exemplified by the pair's underlying numbers this season, as in most, if not all, attacking metrics, the "silky" Ukrainian, as journalist Sam Dean described him, comes out ahead.

Expected Assists

0.11

0.09

Progressive Passes

12.3

5.45

Progressive Carries

2.25

0.45

Progressive Passes Received

3.38

1.48

Passing Accuracy

87.8%

84.6%

Shot-Creating Actions

3.44

1.14

Tackles Won

1.69

1.36

Successful Take-Ons

0.44

0.11

Ball Recoveries

5.38

3.18

He produces far more progressive passes and carries, maintains better passing accuracy, produces far more shot-creating actions, is more successful in his dribbles, and even wins more tackles and recovers more balls, suggesting his defensive fragilities might not be as prevalent as some believe.

Ultimately, it is harsh on Kiwior to take him out of the team off the back of some great performances, but with the situation demanding Arsenal attack Porto, Arteta is better off starting the more offensive of the pair.

Chalkboard

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

تغير موقف نادي ريال مدريد الإسباني، تجاه لاعبه الفرنسي أوريلين تشواميني، وفقًا لتقارير صحفية إسبانية.

وسلطت “ريليفو” الإسبانية الضوء على تشواميني وموقف النادي والمدير الفني كارلو أنشيلوتي، تجاه اللاعب.

ويشير التقرير إلى أن ريال مدريد بدأ يستعد للاستماع للعروض المقدمة لبيع تشواميني حيث أن النادي فقد الثقة في لاعبه.

وأفادت أنه في وقت سابق كان ريال مدريد يرفض الاستماع إلى أي عروض مقدمة للاعب لكن تغير الوضع.

وأوضحت أن أنشيلوتي فقط لايزال مؤيداً لما يقدمه تشواميني هذا الموسم، لكن الشخصيات التي كانت مقتنعة به في المواسم القليلة الماضية الآن أصبحت تؤيد فكرة رحيله.

اقرأ أيضًا | بعد هزيمة الكلاسيكو.. بيريز يحدد “منقذ” ريال مدريد بعد رحيل أنشيلوتي

ويثير مستوى تشواميني حاليًا شكوكًا أكثر من اليقين، لقد تم إنفاق 80 مليون يورو على لاعب كان عليه السيطرة على خط الوسط، وخاصة هذا الموسم، وهو لا يفعل ذلك. 

وبعد عامين من التأقلم والأداء أكثر من مقبول، انخفض أداؤه هذا الموسم كلاعب خط وسط وقلب دفاع، وأظهر العديد من الثغرات، والتحليلات التكتيكية للمباريات الأخيرة تترك الكثير من الشكوك.

بالإضافة إلى ذلك، كان دور تشواميني في الكلاسيكو أمام برشلونة مقلقًا للغاية ولم يتألق أبدًا في مركزه.

ويذكر التقرير أنه هناك خلاف مع أنشيلوتي، فالنادي يحب كامافينجا أكثر من تشواميني، ويفضل مجلس الإدارة، بقيادة فلورنتينو بيريز، المراهنة على إدواردو في مركز مواطنه.

Everton have been brilliant defensively under boss Sean Dyche, with the Toffees having the joint-best defensive record of any side outside the Premier League's top four – tied with Manchester United on 29 goals conceded.

The club have also kept the joint second-most clean sheets in the division, with Arsenal the only side in England's top flight to register more this season.

The Toffees' six-point deduction earlier this campaign, has seen the club linger around the Premier League's relegation zone, with the defensive record a huge boost in the club's battle to avoid the drop.

However, it's the Toffees' attack that has prevented them from pulling further clear of any danger, with Dyche's side only scoring 29 times in 28 games this campaign, with only bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United scoring fewer.

The club could've benefitted from a former player who they sold back in 2019, with the forward currently enjoying a brilliant goalscoring campaign.

Henry Onyekuru's stats at Everton

After finding the net 22 times for KAS Eupen in 2016/17, Everton forked out £7m on attacker Henry Onyekuru, with the Nigerian having huge potential to be a star after his breakthrough campaign aged just 20.

The club wanted him to gain consistent first-team minutes to continue his development, with the Toffees loaning the youngster out to Anderlecht for the 2017/18 season.

Onyekuru excelled once more, scoring ten goals in his 27 appearances away from Goodison, but his form wasn't enough to warrant a first-team place, with the winger leaving the club on loan once more.

He spent the next campaign at Turkish outfit Galatasaray, continuing his excellent form in front of goal – contributing with 16 goals as he helped the Istanbul outfit claim the Süper Lig title in 2018/19.

Despite scoring 26 times over his two loan spells away from the club, Everton failed to receive a work permit for Onyekuru, with the club deciding to sell the then 22-year-old to Monaco for £12m – leaving Goodison without making a single appearance.

Henry Onyekuru's stats in 2023/24

Four years on from his Everton departure, Onyekuru is now plying his trade in Saudi Arabia, starring for Al-Fayha, who sit 8th in the Saudi Pro League.

He joined the Saudi side back in August 2023, with the 26-year-old impressing in his 24 league appearances this campaign.

His tally of ten goals this campaign, ranks him within the top ten goalscorers within the division – behind the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and former Newcastle United and Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Despite being a lower-quality division, the Nigerian attacker has outperformed current Toffees striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin with the 27-year-old scoring just three goals in the same number of appearances.

Appearances

24

24

Goals

10

3

Assists

3

1

Big chances missed

8

12

Average rating

7.33

6.60

Calvert-Lewin has failed to hit the heights he's achieved in recent seasons, with the striker's xG of 5.29 expected goals in the Premier League reflecting that he's missed multiple big chances, scoring two goals less than he should have based on the opportunities he's had in front of goal.

Onyekuru has proven himself to be a consistent goalscorer wherever he's been. It's a real shame that he couldn't receive a work permit during his time at Goodison, with the Nigerian's goalscoring record being of use to Dyche's side given their lack of goals this campaign.

At a ground with a low catch-conversion rate in the IPL, India’s fielders dropped at least five chances in the first T20I

Deivarayan Muthu in Hyderabad07-Dec-20191:45

Trying to make best use of chance at the top of the order – KL Rahul

Fielding at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium can be tricky in the evening because of the floodlights, which are lower than at most other grounds. In the IPL, this venue, home of Sunrisers Hyderabad, has seen a catch conversion rate of only 70%.India’s fielders also found it difficult in the T20I series opener against West Indies on Friday, dropping at least five chances. After misjudging one at short fine leg and not even getting a hand to the ball, Washington Sundar dropped Shimron Hetmyer on 54, having sprinted to his right from long-on. Then, Rohit Sharma dropped Kieron Pollard off successive balls at the long-on boundary before he redeemed himself in the next over by catching Hetmyer off Yuzvendra Chahal for 56 at deep backward square leg.In the final over of West Indies’ innings, Virat Kohli spilled Jason Holder at long-off and ended up deflecting the ball to the boundary. Holder made an unbeaten 24 off nine balls to push West Indies past 200.West Indies had their issues on the field too. Hetmyer, at deep midwicket, briefly fumbled when Rohit hit left-arm fingerspinner Khary Pierre towards him, but just about got his body behind the ball in time and clung onto the catch.Rohit Sharma puts in an acrobatic effort in the deep•BCCI

When asked if the lapses in the field were down to one side of this ground being much longer than the other, or because of the awkward floodlights, KL Rahul, who has been part of the Sunrisers team previously, pointed to the latter.”I don’t think it’s the dimensions – the bigger side or the smaller side – it’s just that the lights are pretty low and sometimes you lose the ball under the lights,” Rahul said. “And that’s what happened a couple of times and I mean we’ve played here before; we’ve played here for years. We know what to expect and yeah as a team we don’t complain about things like this.”Although India didn’t train under lights ahead of the first T20I, Rahul said his side was prepared for the challenge posed by the floodlights.”We tried to practise that even when we came here a couple of days ago,” he said. “We know we didn’t practice under lights but we know the lights are low and we tried to get our fielding practice done and try to give our best and sometimes you still lose the ball. That’s how it is.”

Next season’s County Championship will begin on Easter Sunday (April 12), and will feature fixtures in each of the six months of the season, while the inaugural season of the Hundred will be launched with a Friday-night fixture between Oval Invincibles and Welsh Fire at The Oval on July 17, as the ECB attempt to balance the demands of their oldest and newest formats in the unveiling of their domestic schedule for 2020.The announcement, widely anticipated following the introduction of a new fourth format in an already crowded schedule, sees the county champions Essex beginning their title defence with a home fixture against Yorkshire on April 19 – one of 12 consecutive rounds of the competition that will include at least one day’s play on a weekend.And, in a season when the priorities of the England men’s team will begin to switch back to Test cricket after their capturing of the 50-over World Cup in the 2019 season, the ECB have responded to criticism that the County Championship has been pushed to the margins in recent seasons by ensuring it will be played at regular intervals throughout the summer, with the longest gap coming between July 8 and August 23.Instead, it is the 50-over Royal London Cup that will be contested in that period of the season, to allow the Hundred to take precedence in the height of the summer.”Cricket has different formats that appeal to different people, and it’s always a challenge to give every type of cricket supporter what they want,” said Gordon Hollins, the ECB’s managing director of county cricket. “It’s a nice challenge to have.”We want to broaden the appeal of cricket through the Hundred, and at the same time make sure traditional cricket supporters are served with different formats that they can watch at different times. We’ve done the best we possibly can by having Championship cricket in every month.”Somerset will begin the defence of their 50-over title on July 20 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, in a competition that will feature the use of 18 outgrounds – including Scarborough, Radlett and Grantham – while the Test-hosting venues are prioritising the Hundred in a window that stretches from July 17 to the men’s final on August 15.The women’s Hundred will also take place in a similar timeframe, with Birmingham Phoenix and Manchester Originals opening the tournament at Worcester’s New Road on July 22, ahead of their Friday-evening final on August 14. The venues for both men’s and women’s finals are yet to be decided, with an announcement anticipated in the coming weeks.The initial availability of England’s international stars for the Hundred is also now known. England willl finish a three-match ODI series against Australia in Bristol on July 16, the eve of the first Hundred fixture at The Oval. This means that, fitness and form permitting, the likes of Invincibles’ Jason Roy and Fire’s Jonny Bairstow can expect to feature in both fixtures.England’s first Test against Pakistan gets underway at Lord’s on July 30, a fortnight into the tournament, meaning that England’s Test players – including Trent Rockets’ Joe Root and Northern Superchargers’ Ben Stokes, will be made available for the first three rounds of the Hundred before reporting for England duty at the close of play on July 25.Although the TV schedule for the Hundred is not yet known – and most specifically the split of fixtures between BBC and Sky – there will be consecutive Saturdays with back-to-back televised matches on July 18 and 25.Other tweaks to the schedule for 2020 will involve more Thursday, Friday and weekend fixtures for the Vitality Blast, which will be launched by a London derby between Surrey and Middlesex at The Oval on 28 May.And while the format for the 50-over competition is broadly unchanged, the two groups of nine teams has this year been randomly drawn instead of split into pre-determined North and South Groups.

A low Manchester United offer for Matthijs de Ligt has reportedly been rejected by Bayern Munich.

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Man Utd make lowball De Ligt offerBayern reject first bid for the defenderBundesliga side need to make salesWHAT HAPPENED?

United have been after De Ligt's signature all summer long and, as per , they have had a reported lowball offer of €35 million (£29.4m/$38.1m) turned down by Bayern Munich, who want a fee north of €50m (£42.1m/$54.4m) according to multiple sources.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The Red Devils have already signed one centre-back in the form of Leny Yoro. However, they are still convinced to make at least one more centre-back acquisition after the departures of Willy Kambwala and Raphael Varane this summer.

DID YOU KNOW?

Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness has spoken in length about the need to make sales this summer before they can make any more signings, with the Bavarians having spent a total of €127.5 million (£107.3m/$138.8m) on Hiroki Ito, Michael Olise and Joao Palhinha.

He said [via ]: "No new players will come if no one goes first. Max [Eberl] and [sporting director] Christoph Freund know very well that new players can only come to FC Bayern if a few prominent players leave. If theoretically no one leaves, we have three more players. Money doesn't come out of anyone's ass at Bayern. It is possible that a defender will leave. De Ligt is Dutch, and the manager of Manchester United is Dutch. I would have no problem with him staying. Personally, I wouldn't sell Upamecano."

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD?

The Red Devils will likely increase their bid for De Ligt soon but if the transfer talks continue for too long, Bayern could be forced to decrease their asking price as they look to trim the squad.

تحدث خالد مرتجي عضو مجلس إدارة النادي الأهلي عن تفاصيل انضمام اللاعب محمود عبد المنعم كهربا للقلعة الحمراء، مؤكدًا على التضحيات التي قدمها اللاعب من أجل الارتداء القميص الأحمر.

وقال خالد مرتجي في تصريحات عبر “ملعب أون تايم”: “كهربا تنازل عن أشياء كثيرة جدًا لكي ينضم للأهلي، وانتقل في صفقة انتقال حر، وهذا ردًا على من يقول (إن كان في كوبري) هذا غير صحيح، واللاعب حصل على الاستغناء الخاص به بنفسه”.

وتابع: “الأهلي ساعد كهربا كثيرًا في أزمته رغم أنه ليس طرفًا، ولولا ذلك ما كان استطاع تسديد الغرامة، كثيرون ساعدوه لدفعها لأن اللاعب ضحى من أجل النادي”.

وأضاف: “حسام عاشور ابن من أبناء النادي الأهلي، وأكثر من توج ببطولات، وهو لو جاء إلى النادي سنفتح له ذراعنا، هناك لاعبين بقيمته لو جاءوا إلى النادي واعترفوا بخطأئهم ينتهي الأمر، لكن هذا الكلام لا ينطبق على عصام الحضري”.

طالع أيضًا | حسين الشحات: لا نشبع من البطولات في الأهلي.. وعوضنا السوبر الإفريقي بـ كأس نصف العالم

وواصل: “أنا كان لي دور في انضمام عصام الحضري للنادي الأهلي، وأحبه على المستوى الشخصي، لكن ما فعله مع النادي لم يكن يصح، أنا عشت قضيته في 2006 وكنت أعرف كل شيء عن هذا الملف”.

وبسؤاله، هل وارد نرى في المستقبل شريف إكرامي مسؤول في الأهلي؟ أجاب: “كنت أتمنى، لأنه كادر إداري محترم، لكن حاليًا صعب”.

واستكمل: “مانويل جوزيه صنع تاريخًا في النادي الأهلي، ومارسيل كولر يسير على خطاه، وكيل الأخير صديقي وكان يقول لي أنا لم أر كولر سعيد ومبتسم دائمًا هكذا إلا في النادي الأهلي”.

واختتم: “محمود الخطيب هو حائط الصد ويحمل الكثير، ودائمًا يظل رئيسنا، وإن شاء الله استاد النادي الأهلي يكون جاهزًا خلال 4 أو 5 سنوات بحد أقصى، وقريبًا هناك أنباء جيدة”.

ESPNcricinfo’s live updates on the IPL auction

Deivarayan Muthu and Varun Shetty19-Dec-2019