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As Chelsea thrashed Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League, former Stamford Bridge star Pat Nevin was left in awe of Estevao Willian, who scored a stunning individual effort in a true breakout performance for the young Brazilian.

The Blues started as they meant to go on, almost inviting Hansi Flick’s high-line, baiting Barcelona in. The Spaniards were handed plenty of warning signs, too. Wesley Fofana’s hand spared their early blushes, before the linesman’s flag suggested that Flick had picked his tactic well for the trip to Stamford Bridge. But the inevitable was clear.

Come the 27th-minute, Barcelona and Jules Kounde completed the job that Enzo Fernandez believed he’d done twice prior by finding the back of the net to hand Chelsea the lead. The own goal opened the gate in a half of onslaught that simply did not rest after the break, when West London was treated to the Estevao show.

On a night centred around one of the early 2026 Ballon d’Or favourites Lamine Yamal, it was Chelsea’s youngster who shined brightest to score a wonderful goal in the 55th-minute. The 18-year-old is proving to be one of the best signings of the Todd Boehly era.

Aside from Ferran Torres’ wasted effort early on, Barcelona didn’t have a sniff against Enzo Maresca’s dominant side. This was no 2005 display from the Spanish club. Instead, it was excellency from the hosts in the Champions League as they secured their biggest-ever win against Barcelona.

The impressive victory has made it three wins from five in the Champions League and highlighted them as a potential dark horse. They’ve got plenty of history in European football these days and have just added another night to remember.

Pat Nevin blown away by "utterly brilliant" Estevao

When news emerged earlier this week that Cole Palmer has fractured his toe in a home accident, there may have been understandable concern around West London about where the Blues would continue to find their spark. But Estevao wouldn’t have shared that concern. He saw an opportunity – an opportunity that he’s taken with both hands against Barcelona, of all sides.

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He ended the evening with three chances created, one goal, eight touches inside the Barcelona box and deserved praise from Nevin. The former Chelsea man was blown away by the teenage sensation, telling BBC Sport: “You know what? Start believing the hype! Estevao Willian is EXTRA special!

“The way he goes past the first player, there is no space whatsoever and he leaves him for dead. He did it just by pure skill and fast feet. He still had a difficult angle to overcome to finish it but he leathered it into the net.

“He is going to be absolutely and utterly brilliant. It isn’t a question of if, it is a question of when and how good he is going to be.”

Chelsea now "crazy" about signing "wonderful" assist king

Manchester City are probing in the hunt for reinforcements and could now lodge a record bid for a star who is keen to work under Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.

Coming back from the international break, the Citizens would’ve been keen to continue their recent winning form in the Premier League as Arsenal and Chelsea continue to push for title glory, though a defeat away to Newcastle United probably wasn’t in the script.

Despite having their fair share of openings, Manchester City couldn’t make them count and were punished by Harvey Barnes, leaving Guardiola’s men third in the table and seven points behind Mikel Arteta’s Gunners.

Of course, there is a long way to go before any prizes are handed out. However, Ruben Dias believes the Citizens will recover swiftly after their frustrating defeat, citing Newcastle’s excellent home record as a factor behind the result.

He told BBC Sport: “It was difficult in all ways for both teams. It was a very intense game and chances both sides. We had loads of chances and didn’t score more and we have to do better there. They scored theirs and we have to do better.

“Everyone knows how strong they are at home. First game after internationals is a tricky one and we fought as well as we could. It’s always a period of adaptation. We simply have to do better.”

In the face of a frustrating evening, Manchester City face a swift turnaround before clashes against Bayer Leverkusen and Leeds United this week, offering two chances for redemption after a rude introduction to life after the international break.

With the Premier League title race hotting up, Guardiola may now have an ace up his sleeve as the Citizens look to make up ground with their competitors at the top of English football.

Man City willing to submit record Desire Doue offer

According to reports in Spain, Manchester City are willing to submit a record offer for Desire Doue worth over £158 million and they see him as an ideal solution to provide pace and creativity within their forward line.

Intriguingly, the France international is keen to work with Guardiola due to his ability when developing talent, and contact has already been made with his representatives to try and open lanes to complete a deal.

Five similar players to Desire Doue (FBRef)

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

Paris Saint-Germain

Michael Olise

Bayern Munich

Bradley Barcola

Paris Saint-Germain

Jamal Musiala

Bayern Munich

Leroy Sane

Galatasaray

Making a solid start to the campaign, Doue has registered three goals and three assists in eight appearances across all competitions, though his contract in Paris is set to run until 2029, meaning his current employers hold the cards in negotiations.

Man City are brewing their own homegrown Erling Haaland

Manchester City appear willing to smash their transfer record to land the man in question and are said to be in an encouraging position, though it remains to be seen whether they can edge themselves past Luis Enrique’s hardball stance to bring in another premium option in the wide areas.

Former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has lavished praise on teen sensation Max Dowman and revealed his stunning ability while playing against opponents who were five years older than him when he was just 13 years old. Dowman has enjoyed a record-breaking season for the Gunners and Wilshere has identified the moment he knew that Arsenal had a very special player coming through their junior ranks.

• Breakthrough season for youngster

  Dowman's headline-grabbing season began when he was promoted to the first-team squad for pre-season training. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has integrated the 15-year-old carefully, and Dowman has seized his chances by delivering fearless, impactful performances despite receiving limited minutes. His notable achievements include becoming the second-youngest Premier League player, the youngest ever Arsenal starter (in the EFL Cup), and the youngest player in Champions League history. He has showcased a direct attacking style, impressing Gunners’ fans with maturity beyond his years. This strategic integration highlights his rapid progression from the youth academy to the senior level.

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  Wilshere: 'He is better than me'

  Wilshere told : "It’s hard because I don’t want to be the guy who says: 'he will be this, or that.' But every challenge he’s had at the moment, I remember playing him for the 18s and he was 13 and we were playing Southampton, a good academy. We were 2-0 up and I remember saying to my assistant: 'Let’s get Max on the pitch.' I stood next to him and he was already taller than me! I remember saying to him: 'Max, remember you are playing against players who are five years older than you which is fine but don’t get into duels, just pop it round and have one or two touches.' He came on and the first thing he did, he ran around three players, squared it and we scored. I looked at my assistant and I’d never seen this before. 

  "But the most important thing with Max is he’s a top kid. He’s got a good family. He’s got a mum who is amazing, a dad who would do anything for him and wants the best for his son. It was only six or seven weeks ago before I was here, I went to watch an Arsenal Under 19s Champions League game and Max was playing. His dad was shooting off afterwards and he asked me if I could take him home. I drove him home and it’s hard to remember he’s only 15, he was trying to play Uno with me and I’m so happy for him because he’s a top kid. People say: 'Is he better than you?' He is better than me. But what I do see in similarities is his love of the game. I worked with some kids who wouldn’t even watch games but he loves it. He loves the Arsenal, he loves playing for Arsenal."

• Strong leadership group

  Wilshere made his debut for Arsenal aged 16 years and 256 days, against Blackburn in 2008 and is now managing at Luton. He predicts a bright future for Dowman, but also believes the quality of the senior players around him will help shape his formative years as a professional footballer. 

  Wilshere said: "What better role model for him to be with every day than Dec. I was at West Ham when Dec was coming through and I know how important Mark Noble was at West Ham and I can see him moulding into that role. It was Cesc for me. It was different then because we didn’t have an older leader. I went to England and John Terry was amazing for me, coaching me through every minute of the game. Cesc led by example, have little chats and helped me because he was a role model for me with the way he played, behaved and he was 16, I was 12 and he was in the first team. I looked and thought: 'That’s what I need to do.' One of my biggest regrets was that he left because we only played a year together and I wish we had longer."

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  North London's talent production line

  It's the big NLD showdown on Sunday and, of Dowman makes it onto the pitch, he will become the youngest player to feature in the match. Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri and Tottenham's Mikey Moore are the youngest players to feature in a north London derby for their respective clubs in the Premier League era. Nwaneri made a substitute appearance in September 2024 at just 17 years old. He had previously become the youngest-ever Premier League player overall at 15 years and 181 days. Cesc Fabregas holds the record for the youngest player to start a derby for Arsenal in the Premier League, at 17. For Tottenham, Moore became their youngest-ever player when he debuted against Manchester City in May 2024. He featured in the derby last season at 17 years old. Both young players emerged from their clubs' academies and represent a new wave of youth talent in the fierce rivalry.

Em Arlott and Emma Lamb awarded skills contracts for the first time

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2025Linsey Smith has earned her maiden full central contract with England Women, seven years after making her international debut, while Em Arlott and Emma Lamb have been awarded skills contracts for the first time.On the list of 17 full contracts for 2025-26 announced by the ECB, a total of 10 players received one-year deals with a further seven entering the second year of their current two-year terms.Joining Smith on one-year deals are Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Sophia Dunkley, Lauren Filer, Mahika Gaur, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn and Freya Kemp.Entering their second year of existing contracts are Lauren Bell, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Heather Knight, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt-Hodge.Related

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Kate Cross questions future after losing England contract

Headless chickens come home to roost in England's terminal batting failure

There were no surprises on the list with Kate Cross, England’s long-serving seam bowler, left out, having revealed in September that she was told her contract would not be renewed after an international career spanning nearly 12 years.In commenting on Cross’s omission on Wednesday, Clare Connor, managing director of England Women, said “the door to selection is never closed on any domestic cricketer” although Cross is yet to make any announcement on her overall playing future.Smith played nine T20Is up to the middle of 2019 before spending nearly five years on the outer before her recall for England’s tour of New Zealand in March 2024. She took a five-wicket haul on ODI debut against West Indies in May.Arlott made her international debut at the age of 27 during that home series against West Indies.Lamb, meanwhile, made her first appearance for England in a sole T20I against New Zealand in 2021 before establishing herself more firmly the following year. She represented her country just twice in 2023 and underwent back surgery last year before returning to favour under new head coach Charlotte Edwards.She and Arlott join Ryana Macdonald-Gay and Issy Wong on skills contracts, a rebrand of the development contracts traditionally given to players that the management feel can play a pivotal role for England in the future. Macdonald-Gay and Wong were both on development contracts for 2024-25.Connor said the contracts reflected “our confidence in this group of players” as Engalnd turns its focus to emulating India’s recent 50-over World Cup victory on home soil at next year’s Women’s T20 World Cup, with the final to be staged at Lord’s on July 5.”Linsey Smith, Emma Lamb and Em Arlott have all made important contributions for England across the last year and these contracts are both a reward for what they have achieved and an opportunity to develop their skills further,” Connor said.”Kate Cross misses out on a central contract after years of extraordinary service to England Women’s cricket. The door to selection is never closed on any domestic cricketer. Consistency in scoring runs and taking wickets in county cricket will always put players in a strong position to be picked in England squads.”We’re all excited about what 2025-26 brings. Witnessing India win the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in their own country in front of their own fans is a powerful reminder of the impact that winning major events on home soil can have.”

O’Neill took 5 for 26 while Boland claimed three as Victoria claimed a sizeable lead, but Liam Hatcher continued his fine game

Alex Malcolm16-Oct-2025

Fergus O’Neill continued to push his case to be part of an extended Ashes squad with yet another five-wicket haul while Scott Boland bagged three to hand Victoria an important lead in their Sheffield Shield clash with New South Wales at the Junction Oval.After the pair had scythed through the NSW top-order on the opening night, including Boland bagging Sam Konstas for a duck, O’Neill continued the carnage on the second day picking up 5 for 26 while Boland claimed 3 for 59 as NSW were bowled out for just 163.Related

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It handed Victoria a first innings lead of 77 which they pushed to 149 for the loss of only one wicket into the evening session but then suffered a late collapse under gloomy skies, losing 4 for 21 before bad light stopped play with 45 minutes left. Liam Hatcher claimed another three wickets to go with his five on day one.At the start of the day Matthew Gilkes and nightwatcher Ryan Hadley provided stubborn resistance in the first hour but when O’Neill replaced Boland from the northern end he showcased why he is the reigning Sheffield Shield player of the year. After a close shout for caught behind he pinned Hadley lbw for 5 off 54 balls with a delivery that jagged sharply in off the seam.O’Neill could have had Ollie Davies out three times after he was dropped twice at cover by Harry Dixon. But he did not survive his third chance in 15 balls when he edged another probing delivery to Peter Handscomb at second slip.Gilkes had fought harder than any other NSW batter to reach 41 off 98 deliveries before becoming O’Neill’s fifth scalp. O’Neill angled in from around the wicket with the keeper up to the stumps to prevent Gilkes from batting outside his crease to negate the impeccable length. Gilkes edged to Will Sutherland at first slip to hand O’Neill his eighth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket and bring his bowling average back under 21.Boland was more expensive than usual when he returned for his second spell of the day with Will Salzmann and Jack Edwards playing positively. After coming together at 96 for 6 they raced to a near run-a-ball 62-run stand. Boland looked visibly frustrated as they drove him on the up without much fear on a surface that had offered plenty of sideways movement.Salzmann finally paid a price on 33 when he didn’t offer a shot, trying to leave a good length delivery from Boland that nipped back sharply to clip the off bail.Edwards then ran out of partners to be left stranded on 33, as the last three batters, including injury substitute Charlie Stobo, fell for ducks with Boland claiming one of them while Mitchell Perry picked up the other two.Victoria were then cruising at 72 for 1, with a lead of 149, as Campbell Kellaway and Marcus Harris took control after the early loss of Dixon despite dark clouds lingering over Junction Oval for most of the afternoon.Kellaway played impressively to reach 47 while Harris rode his luck having been dropped by Gilkes off Nathan Lyon before tea. But his luck ran out on 20 off 80 balls when he cut Hatcher straight to backward point. Kellaway chopped Hatcher on not long after, three shy of a deserved fifty, before Ollie Peake was cleaned bowled through the gate two balls later attempting a loose flat-footed drive on the up.The umpires checked the light but allowed play to continue in the gloom. Handscomb then gloved Hadley to Gilkes attempting a pull shot. Three balls later the umpires sent the players off for bad light with Victoria only 170 in front with just five wickets in hand.

Australia A chased down rain-reduced target of 160 in 16.4 overs after Tilak Varma’s 94 guided India A

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2025Mackenzie Harvey and Cooper Connolly added 103 runs in just 59 deliveries for the second wicket to blow India A away in the second one-dayer in Kanpur. As a result, Australia A levelled the three-match series 1-1.After opting to bat first, India A were bowled out for 246, with Tilak Varma top-scoring with 94. But rain arrived 5.5 overs into Australia A’s chase, and caused a lengthy delay. The chase resumed after a long wait, with their target reduced to 160 in 25 overs. Australia A achieved that in just 16.4 overs as Harvey cracked 70 not out off 49 balls while Connolly bashed 50 not out off 31.But the tone had been set by Harvey’s opening partner Jake Fraser-McGurk, who smashed 36 in 20 balls in an opening stand of 57. Nishant Sindhu ended Fraser-McGurk’s stay by having him caught in the seventh over, but Harvey and Connolly ensured Australia A didn’t lose momentum.In all, the three thumped 22 fours and six sixes, a performance which was in complete contrast to that of India A. Halfway into the sixth over, Jack Edwards had removed Abhishek Sharma for a duck and Shreyas Iyer for 8, while Will Sutherland had got Prabhsimran Singh for 1.From 17 for 3, India A were rescued by Tilak and Riyan Parag. They added 101 at almost a run a ball in a stand that was dominated by Parag. He hit 58 in 54 balls, but when Sutherland had him caught, it started another collapse which saw India A lose 3 for 18.From 136 for 6, it was time for a rebuild again, and this time Tilak had the lower order for company. While Tilak took his time, Harshit Rana played a cameo of 21 in 13 balls in a stand of 33. Yudhvir Singh fell for 4 soon after, before Ravi Bishnoi gave Tilak good company. Bishnoi scored 26 while No. 11 Arshdeep Singh contributed 10.All this while, Tilak patiently kept ticking over. He was the last man out as Edwards got his fourth wicket, and India A were bowled out with more than four overs to spare. Harvey, Connolly and Fraser-McGurk then stole the show for the rest of the game.The series decider, on Sunday, will also be played in Kanpur.

Swansea City aren’t just looking at Kim Hellberg as their new manager, with an “insanely talented” boss also on the Jacks’ radar.

Swansea City in talks with Hellberg to replace Sheehan

The Swans took the decision to part ways with Alan Sheehan following the 4-1 Championship defeat to Ipswich Town prior to the international break.

Sheehan was appointed as the permanent Swansea boss following a successful spell as interim manager last season, however, he could only guide the club to four wins from their opening 15 league games in 2025/26.

Bristol City vs Swansea City

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Swansea City vs Derby County

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West Brom vs Swansea City

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Swansea City vs Oxford United

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Swansea City vs Portsmouth

9th December

Swansea owners Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen told the club website after announcing their decision: “Alan has been instrumental in helping improve the club through two periods of time. Alan has a tireless work ethic, an honest approach and a positive attitude.

“He has put his full effort into the job on behalf of the club. The club would like to place on record its thanks to Alan for all of his hard work during his time at Swansea City. We wish Alan and his family all the best for the future.”

CEO Tom Gorringe and head of recruitment Adam Worth are leading the search for Swansea’s next manager, with Hellberg emerging as the frontrunner.

It was revealed shortly after Sheehan’s exit that Swansea had opened initial talks with Hellberg, with the 37-year-old currently in charge of Hammarby in Sweden.

However, another potential candidate has emerged in south Wales.

Swansea City admirers of Michael Carrick

According to the BBC, former Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick has ‘admirers’ at Swansea.

It is stated that a return for Russell Martin is looking unlikely at this stage, whereas another former manager in Brendan Rodgers returning is slim.

Carrick is described as ‘one of the more attractive British options available at present’ whereas former Boro player Lukas Engel hailed Carrick as an “insanely talented coach”.

The 44-year-old has been out of work since the summer when he left the Riverside, and his time with Boro included four wins against Swansea.

Swansea 1-3 Middlesbrough

March 2023

Swansea 1-2 Middlesbrough

December 2023

Middlesbrough 2-0 Swansea

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Middlesbrough 1-0 Swansea

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Swansea 1-0 Middlesbrough

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His near three-year stay at Middlesbrough is Carrick’s first and only permanent managerial position to date, so could Swansea be his second?

Manager who called Swansea City fans "fantastic" open to replacing Sheehan

Arsenal have made a blistering start to this season, and the theme of their success continues to be squad depth.

On Wednesday night, it was substitutes that made all the difference, as the Gunners beat Bayern Munich 3-1 in the Champions League.

Riccardo Calafiori set up Noni Madueke to score the go-ahead goal, before Gabriel Martinelli raced around Manuel Neuer to stroke home the clincher soon after, all three doing so off the bench.

In recent seasons, most notably last year, Arsenal’s title hopes have been derailed by injuries, simply not possession-requisite deputies, in terms of quality, quantity and sometimes both, to cope with key absentees.

Well, this time round, numerous key figures have been or are currently still sidelined, and this has not hampered the Gunners one bit, so do Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta now have their eyes set on further new recruits in January?

Arsenal target a new attacker

Those who thought Mikel Merino up front had been confined to the past were very much mistaken, the Spaniard forced back into the emergency centre-forward role because, well, in recent weeks there haven’t been any other options.

Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Viktor Gyökeres remain sidelined, Martin Ødegaard, Madueke and Martinelli have all made their returns this week, but Leandro Trossard is a doubt for Sunday’s trip to Stamford Bridge after suffering a knock against Bayern, the severity of which is not yet known.

So, could Arteta request the arrival of a new attacker in January?

Well, according to reports in Spain, Arsenal are interested in signing Karim Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund, with Manchester United also in the race to secure his signature.

They add that die Schwarzgelben value the German international at £75m, but could be under pressure to sell, considering that his contract expires in 2027, hence why there is ‘intensifying’ interest from the two Premier League giants.

So, could he become the 13th German to feature for Arsenal, following in the footsteps of Jens Lehmann, Per Mertesacker, Mesut Özil, Bernd Leno, Lukas Podolski and others?

What Karim Adeyemi​​​​​​​ would bring to Arsenal

After beginning his senior career at RB Salzburg, Adeyemi joined Dortmund in the summer of 2022 for €38m (around £33m), scoring 31 goals and registering 22 assists for the club to date.

Analyst Ben Mattinson praises his “electric pace” and labels him a “transitional monster”, which is possibly best demonstrated by this goal he scored in the Champions League against Graham Potter’s Chelsea at the Westfalenstadion​​​​​​​.

Meantime, according to the Bundesliga, he is one of the fastest players in the division’s history, reaching a top speed of 22.77 miles per hour, which would result in an £80 fine if he ran that fast up Holloway Road parallel to the Emirates.

He is very much a key player at Dortmund, as the table below documents.

Goals

5

2nd

Assists

3

2nd

Shots

31

2nd

Key passes

12

3rd

Shot-creating actions

39

2nd

Goal-creating actions

7

2nd

Big chances created

4

2nd

Attempted take-ons

54

1st

Successful take-ons

24

1st

Progressive carries

35

1st

Top speed

32.2 km/h

1st

Touches in box

65

1st

Average rating

7.31

2nd

The table underlines Adeyemi’s importance to Dortmund.

Only Serhou Guirassy has scored more goals, with wing-back Julian Ryerson the only player boasting better creative numbers, but Adeyemi is currently combining the two.

The attacker also leads the way at die Schwarzgelben for all the dribbling statistics as well as top speed, registering the most touches of any Dortmund player in the opposition penalty area.

This emphasises how he is currently able to combine all the things that make both Madueke and Bukayo Saka elite – the two players noted as among the five most stylistically and statistically similar players to Adeyemi among those in their position across Europe’s top five leagues, as per FBref.

Madueke is a direct dribbler who is a major goal-threat, underlined by the fact that he ranked third in the Premier League last season for progressive carries and fifth when it came to touches in the attacking penalty box.

Saka meantime is the creator in chief, registering more shot-creating actions and big chances created than any other Arsenal player so far this season, despite a spell on the sidelines due to injury.

Well, right now, Adeyemi is able to combine all of these qualities into one, seemingly fulfilling his full potential at the age of 23, suggesting he would be an excellent addition to Arteta’s team and could be the man to fire them to that elusive first Premier League title since 2002.

Shades of Declan Rice: Arsenal expected to move for £80m "superstar"

Arsenal are ready to add the final flourishes on their high-flying squad.

ByAngus Sinclair Nov 29, 2025

We must just turn up and wait for what treat he throws at us

Sidharth Monga21-Jun-20252:33

Manjrekar: The world knows how special Pant is

Rishabh Pant would have been right at home in England in an era gone by. Imagine him as one of the schoolboys in Cambridge in the late 1950s and early 1960s, an eccentric inspired by the Beat Generation of America, walking around with little regard for rules and convention, rejecting materialism that came with the post-war relative prosperity, looking all hip and dandy, doing things for rhyme or reason not apparent to observers, offending and confounding anyone who thinks they are an authority figure.Pant is actually quite at home even now. Only Alec Stewart and Matt Prior have more hundreds as wicketkeeper in this country. No visiting wicketkeeper has more than one. He has scored more hundreds in this country than Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli.All he needs is long hair, a fisherman sweater, kohl in his eye, and he could somersault all over the streets. Rish the Beat, he could call himself, along the lines of the mad-genius singer-songwriter and guitarist of that era, Syd Barrett, who went by Syd the Beat for a while.Related

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Pant dances down the second ball he faces. Seemingly goes into his bunker. Occasionally tries to ramp-pull Josh Tongue, the bowler who troubled him the most. Plays proper dirty slogs off Chris Woakes, one of them in the last over of the day. Charges Brydon Carse early on the second morning.When the opposition wicketkeeper, Jamie Smith, tries to coax him into a reckless shot against Shoaib Bashir, Pant tells him the bowler is bowling well and the field is spread out so he can’t. And still goes ahead and slog-sweeps the next ball for the 79th six of his career, going past MS Dhoni and behind only Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma among Indians.He brings up his hundred with a one-handed six, having fallen in the 90s seven times, the same number as his centuries now. On three occasions, trying to hit a six. Once, he hit a six outside the ground, the ball was lost, and he got out to the replacement ball on 99.It’s like nothing really matters. What is a hundred? Just a material possession. The world is just random chaos we must embrace, we are but a minuscule part of what is just a pale blue dot, and the best we can do is live every moment to its fullest: cartwheel when we get a hundred, trudge back slower than Inzamam-ul-Haq when we miss it, sharing every expression of pain with the world. And then do the same all over again without a care for convention or hundreds or that pain of getting out to a creative shot.Rishabh Pant celebrates his century with a somersault•Getty ImagesOf course this is not the 1950s or 60s. Of course Pant is no shooting star. Since his debut, he is only the most consistent Test batter of the most high-profile and the most scrutinised Test team in the world. He just plays a high-pressure game with the lightness of a spiritually awakened person.There has to be some method to Pant’s batting. Until he himself talks about it someday – or he could choose to keep the mystery about it alive – we can only look to make educated guesses from some of the trends.He likes to go after seam bowlers early in the piece. He is more aggressive in more challenging conditions. He likes to hit balls where fielders aren’t, something ridiculously simple when spoken about but hard to execute.Pant is susceptible to balls bowled on good length and angling across or seaming away from him. It would seem all his creative shots are designed to avoid facing those deliveries as much as he can.After he charged down to Ben Stokes second ball, only one out of the next nine Stokes deliveries were pitched on that good length. In this innings, for example, he faced 108 balls of pace and played 22 false shots, a control percentage of a tick under 80. Only 35 of those 108 balls were on a good length of 6-8m from the stumps. He played 16 false shots to them.Pant had a wider range of interception points than other batters. He was likelier than anyone else to meet a quick delivery either more than 3m down the wicket or 0.5m from the wicket. And still his average interception point was further down than others.He thrives in this chaos where he has thrown the bowlers off their lengths. When he was playing just his second Test, having got off the mark with a six in his debut innings, he let Moeen Ali bowl good ball after good ball to him in Southampton. He tried to weather the storm in the traditional way. The storm didn’t subside. He ended up scoring a 29-ball duck, and said never again.There must be no rhythm or plan for bowlers when they come at Pant. The bowlers must be forced to protect as many areas on the field as possible, giving him more room for error when he attacks. Even his batting coach mustn’t know the gameplan. There must not be any yardstick to measure his processes by. We must just turn up and wait for what treat Beat Rish throws at us.

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane will be out for revenge again when he faces Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday. Kane was once part of the Gunners' youth academy, but was released from the setup due to concerns over his physique. Since then, it has been the former Tottenham star's mission to always perform against Arsenal.

• Kane's love-hate relationship with Arsenal

  An image of Kane wearing an Arsenal shirt and celebrating the club's Premier League win in 2004 has been on social media for quite some time now. In the famous photograph, Kane can be seen alongside a fellow academy player and even his head is painted in Arsenal's red. In another viral image, Kane posed for a team photo with the under-8 squad in a full Gunners kit. However, his journey with the club did not last long.

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  Why was Kane released by Arsenal?

  has spoken to some of the coaches who were present at Arsenal's Hale End Academy in 2004, regarding Kane's rejection. Apparently, the current England captain not only had what people might describe as 'puppy fat' at the time but was also not a great runner or athlete. 

  At that time, Kane competed with Benik Afobe, who was considered as a brighter prospect and better athlete. Afobe, though, never broke into the Arsenal first team and was instead sent out on multiple loan deals before he permanently joined Wolves.

  Kane also had his own struggles as he joined Spurs as an 11-year-old, and he initially did not have much impact as at the start of his career, as he spent several years out on loan at Leyton Orient, Norwich City, Leicester City and Millwall. 

• Kane seeks revenge against Arsenal

  Kane has always been on a mission to prove Arsenal wrong and he has quite successfully done that throughout his career, registering 15 goals in 21 appearances against the Gunners. He often delivered in the north London derby for Tottenham and also played a key role in Bayern's win over Arsenal in the 2023-24 Champions League quarter-finals. In September 2024, Kane had opened up on his motivation to play against his old club as he said: "Yeah, probably throughout my whole career, really. Starting from when I was eight years old being released from Arsenal. That might have built a bit of desire to prove to them when I was that age."

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  Kane wary of Arsenal's set-piece threat

  Ahead of the Champions League clash against Mikel Arteta's side on Wednesday, Kane admitted he is worried about Arsenal's set-piece threat and has urged his team-mates to defend carefully.

  Kane told reporters: "Of course I follow the Premier League. Arsenal have done well so far in that department. We've prepared for Arsenal as usual. The best thing will be to not give them any set pieces, to control the game – and we need to defend better than we have recently when we do concede set pieces."