The World Series goes through the National League. At least if you go by the top of the betting odds.
The top three teams in the MLB World Series betting odds currently reside in the NL, starting with the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers at +230 on FanDuel Sportsbook. The NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets are next on the odds at +850 each. Both teams made big swings at the deadline, adding bullpen help and, for the Phillies, Harrison Bader as well.
The New York Yankees are fourth on the oddsboard at +900. They added Pirates closer David Bednar at the deadline, but are waiting on MVP/All-Star/heart-and-soul-of-the-team Aaron Judge to come off the 10-day IL. They are also four games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East and only 2.5 games ahead in the wild card standings.
The Detroit Tigers (+950), Houston Astros (+1200) and Blue Jays (+1400) are next on the oddsboard. All three are at least four games ahead in their respective division races and the Blue Jays made some moves at the deadline that suggest they’re all in on this season. They’re currently battling the Tigers for the best record in the NL while the Astros remain the Astros in a solid AL West.
The Padres are currently the hottest team in baseball, having won five straight, including a sweep of the visiting Mets. They also went all-in at the deadline, shoring up what is already the best bullpen in the league.
Here are the odds for every MLB team to win the World Series with odds coming from FanDuel.
2025 MLB World Series OddsLos Angeles Dodgers +230Philadelphia Phillies +850New York Mets +850New York Yankees +900Detroit Tigers +950Houston Astros +1200Toronto Blue Jays +1400Chicago Cubs +1400Seattle Mariners +1600Milwaukee Brewers +1600San Diego Padres +2500Boston Red Sox +2700Texas Rangers +3000Tampa Bay Rays +9000Cincinnati Reds +10000San Francisco Giants +13000Kansas City Royals +15000Cleveland Guardians +20000St. Louis Cardinals +25000Minnesota Twins +32000Arizona Diamondbacks +55000Los Angeles Angels +75000Washington Nationals +100000Atlanta Braves +100000Pittsburgh Pirates +100000Baltimore Orioles +100000Chicago White Sox +100000Miami Marlins +100000Athletics +100000
The South Australia batter, who is captaining Australia A, plundered the England Lions attack
AAP06-Dec-2025Nathan McSweeney threw up his hand to be the man to replace Usman Khawaja, with a superb double century for Australia A against the England Lions.As David Warner urged selectors to return Travis Head to No. 5 and put a specialist opener alongside Jake Weatherald, McSweeney made his case on Saturday.Related
Kellaway enhances his credentials with top score for Prime Minister's XI
Richardson stands out with four wickets as England Lions collapse
The 26-year-old finished unbeaten on 222 in Brisbane, posting his maiden double-century as Australia A went to stumps on day two at 554 for 7 in reply to the Lions’ 166.This match is now effectively over as a contest, with the hosts leading by 388 at Allan Border Field against a Lions side fielding three frontline bowlers with Test experience.But it has come at a perfect time for McSweeney, who also hit 63 for the Prime Minister’s XI against a more experience English attack last weekend.McSweeney is a natural No. 3 or No. 4, but was given the chance to open for Australia in three Tests last year against India. He was ultimately worked over by the world’s best bowler Jasprit Bumrah, before being dropped after averaging 14.4 across six innings.But he bounced back to form with a century for South Australia in late October, and now has scores of 103, 68, 63 and 222 not out in the past six weeks.Khawaja is hopeful of being fit for the third Ashes Test in Adelaide on December 17, but it remains to be seen whether the 38-year-old will be brought back in.Head hit 33 for Australia in the first innings at the Gabba after his Perth second innings heroics as opener, but the likes of Warner believe he is still better placed at No. 5 as a rear-guard option.”I think they need a genuine opener to compliment Jake Weatherald,” Warner said on Kayo. “Because the way Jake plays you’re probably going to be hit or miss at the top of the order with two guys who like to go after the ball. That’s Australia’s problem.”If they have a couple of innings where that does happen and they lose early wickets, that’s going to come under the microscope.”Beyond Khawaja, Matt Renshaw has hit three Sheffield Shield centuries for Queensland this year but missed out for Australia A on Friday, scoring 8.Young Victorian Campbell Kellaway has also made a sound case this summer, with his 71 against the Lions on Friday following a century for the Prime Minister’s XI last week.But Saturday was McSweeney’s time to shine, routinely pulling England’s quicks and spinners to the boundary. Batting at No.3, some 11 of his 27 boundaries came in that fashion, while he also used his feet to hit spinner Jacob Bethell for a big six down the ground.Beau Webster also cover-drove well and hit 44 for Australia A after losing out in a selection battle for the Gabba Test, while Cooper Connolly struck 88.
Eight matches into his Rangers tenure, is Danny Röhl any closer to figuring out which players he can trust and who he cannot?
On Thursday night, the Gers were held to a 1-1 draw by ten-man Braga at Ibrox, despite taking the lead through James Tavernier’s spot-kick in first half stoppage time; the fact that only 38,014 spectators were in attendance encapsulates the mood.
So, with just one point on the board after five games, a frankly pitiful effort, unless they somehow manage to beat Ferencváros, Ludogorets Razgrad and then Porto, which seems unlikely if we’re being honest, the Gers’ Europa League adventure will be coming to a premature end in January, having got all the way to last season’s quarter-finals.
This will allow them to concentrate on domestic matters, which may be a good thing, given that they’ve slipped down to fifth in the Premiership table, despite having won all four league matches since Röhl’s arrival in Glasgow.
So, ahead of a visit from Falkirk, who would actually leapfrog their hosts with a shock victory at Ibrox on Sunday, what changes should the German head coach make?
Youssef Chermiti's uninspiring form
Back on Monday, it was announced that both chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell had been sacked, after overseeing a chaotic summer of recruitment, with the £8m, potentially rising to £10m, paid to sign Youssef Chermiti among the more egregious and baffling of their decisions.
So far, he has scored just one goal for the club, on target against Kilmarnock last month, already surpassing his tally of zero goals during two seasons at Everton, also brought to Merseyside by Thelwell for £14m when he was working at Goodison.
Aside from his lack of goals, the striker simply isn’t offering enough, often allowing matches to pass him by and putting in anonymous performances.
Following this week’s draw with Braga, Mark Atkinson of the Scotsman asserted that he is driving supporters ‘demented’, adding that he ‘spurned a couple of presentable’ opportunities and is so far proving to be a mere baffling expensive purchase.
So, ahead of a sequence of three Premiership matches in seven days, facing Falkirk, Dundee United and then Kilmarnock, Chermiti should be stood down and Röhl must instead deploy the “best player in the league” up front.
Rangers' superior Chermiti alternative
Of the 13 players Rangers signed in the summer, many are young and inexperienced, hoping to grow and improve in the coming years, but Bojan Miovski was supposed to be a ready-made starter, brought in to produce right away.
The 26-year-old, returning to Scottish football after a season at Girona, is a proven goalscorer at both club and international level, bagging his ninth goal for North Macedonia against Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium earlier this month.
Meantime, at club level, prior to his season in Catalonia, he had been outstanding during two years at Aberdeen, as the table below documents.
Bojan Miovski’s stats for Aberdeen
Stats
Miovski
Appearances
98
Goals
44
European goals
4
Goals vs Rangers
4
Goals vs Celtic
3
Shots on target per 90
1.1
Big chances missed
31
Average rating
6.9
Stats via Transfermarkt & SofaScore
As the table makes clear, Miovski was an elite-level finisher during his time at Pittodrie, scoring 32 Premiership goals, while his strike rate in Europe as well as against the two Glasgow giants underlines his quality.
Then-teammate Nicky Devlin asserted that Miovski was “the best player in the league in his position”, firing the Dons to a third place finish in 2022/23, before being sold for £6.8m, the Dons’ record outgoing transfer.
However, we are yet to see very much of that from Miovski in a Rangers jersey, scoring his first goal for the club against Hibs in the League Cup, while his only Premiership goal came at Falkirk Stadium in October, the day Russell Martin was sacked.
Since the appointment of Röhl, the North Macedonian has featured in all eight matches but has started just once, this coming at Dens Park before the international break, substituted at half time with the Light Blues leading Dundee 2-0.
So, for whatever reason, the German head coach appears to favour Chermiti and Danilo, despite the fact that Miovski is a proven goalscorer at both Premiership and European level, something this team desperately needs given that, 26 matches into this campaign, Tavernier and Djeidi Gassama are the only squad members who have four or more goals to their name.
Thus, when Falkirk visit Ibrox this weekend, surely Röhl has to bring Miovski back into his XI, ditching the ineffective Chermiti, with the former looking to net as he did against the Bairns once again, just as he did in Stirlingshire just last month.
Not just Djiga: Thelwell flop who lost ball 17x looks finished at Rangers
Rangers’ wait for a first Europa League victory goes on, held to a 1-1 draw by Braga at Ibrox, and a summer signing was just as bad as Nasser Djiga.
She hopes for a good start to the tournament, but SL’s first five games are against India, Australia, England, NZ and SA
Andrew Fidel Fernando26-Sep-2025
Chamari Attapaththu looks at and dreams about lifting the World Cup trophy•AFP/Getty Images
Chamari Athapaththu would do anything to get Sri Lanka to the semi-final of this Women’s ODI World Cup. No Sri Lanka team has managed this over 11 years, at an ICC event, and the women’s team has never got there. Athapaththu has long been the talisman of this side, but feels she has the young players in her side now, who can excel in their own right.”More than in the other tournaments, I’m pretty relaxed in this one,” Athapaththu said in Colombo. “The youngsters have been performing – Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, and Kavisha Dilhari, are all batting well. So more than other times, I’m able to relax a bit.”Gunaratne, Dilhari, and Samarawickrama had all played important roles in Sri Lanka’s chart to an Asia Cup victory at home, though that was in the T20 format. Still, that was enough to inspire more trust from Athapaththu, who suggested she would be more fearless in the first 10 overs.Related
Harmanpreet: 'This time we will cross the line'
All you need to know about Women's ODI World Cup 2025
Memories and moments: Five of the best from the WWC
Young ones to watch
“I’m going to be playing the game I play in the powerplay,” Athapaththu said. “Then, after that, the challenge is to figure out how I can change gears and do more damage. My one aim is to get Sri Lanka into the semi finals. Before I retire, what I want is to take Sri Lanka to a semi-final. If we can get there, we can figure out the next steps. But even getting there is big.”On paper, Sri Lanka have no easy games, especially at the start of their campaign. Their World Cup begins against India on September 30 in the tournament opener in Guwahati before matches in Colombo against Australia on October 4, England on October 11, New Zealand on October 14 and South Africa on October 18. They then play Bangladesh in Navi Mumbai on October 20 before flying back to Colombo for their final league-stage match against Pakistan on October 24.But the motivation is high, since Sri Lanka are returning to the ODI World Cup after eight years. They did not feature in the ODI World Cup in 2022, owing partially to Sri Lanka not having played a single international between March 2020 and January 2022.”We haven’t been able to play a World Cup since 2017. We lost the chance to play in the last World Cup, because with Covid we couldn’t play the qualifying rounds, and that’s where our rankings were. It’s after eight years we’re playing a World Cup.”We’ve sacrificed a lot and worked really hard to get here. We’ve played really well in the last cycle. We’re in a good mental space. I’m hoping we can get a good start to the tournament.”
Only 64 overs were possible on the day as England’s lack of discipline even in helpful conditions kept India afloat
Alagappan Muthu31-Jul-20252:37
‘England would be a little disappointed with the score’
Stumps After four Tests on flat pitches that took bowlers from both teams to the brink and counted among its casualties Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah, The Oval, which has been profoundly seam-friendly in recent times, provided margin for error. England played like they needed it; there were 30 extras but also six wickets and just 204 runs.India came to the ground facing humongous odds. But they beat them. The probability of losing a 15th toss in a row was 32728 to 1. There’s a chance unicorns are easier to find than a coin that will fall the way Shubman Gill wants it to.England got first use of a pitch with 8mm of grass on it and their fast bowlers benefited from the weather in more than one way. Rain through most of the afternoon helped keep their legs fresh and the threat of it, hanging over the entire day, created overhead conditions that were perfect for swing and seam. Only 64 overs were possible but there was enough help to bowl a team out. England’s lack of discipline is the reason why India are still standing. That and Karun Nair scoring a Test fifty after 3149 days dreaming of it. His hopes of becoming a permanent fixture in this batting line-up are still alive, with his opponents lending him a helping hand.Josh Tongue could only create 13 false shots in 13 overs. Watching him bowl raised the suspicion that the stumps aren’t inanimate; that they can get up and move wherever they please. Otherwise why would a Test match bowler stray so far and so often. His first over produced 11 runs in wides. And yet this was the same man who eventually made England feel comfortable about their decision to bowl first when he found his radar – briefly – to dismiss B Sai Sudharsan and Ravindra Jadeja in the space of four overs. India went from a respectable 101 for 3 to a shaky 123 for 5 and it was because Tongue wasn’t bowling line and length. He was bowling filth and jaffas.Karun Nair celebrates his fifty•Getty ImagesGill will take a portion of the blame as well. He was looking good in testing conditions, rendering England’s most experienced bowler – Chris Woakes – toothless by batting a foot and a half in front of his crease and exploiting the mistakes from the rest of the attack – who have 18 caps between them – by cutting and pulling handsomely. In doing so, he went past Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of 732, against West Indies in 1978-79, to become the India captain with the most runs in a Test series.No batter who reaps such a big bounty does so without something special about him. In Gill’s case, it is the sound of bat hitting ball. Often times, it is deafening, a sign of shots well-chosen and perfectly executed. Ironically, though, his dismissal here was the result of a ball he middled. He thought he could get a run off a front-foot block but he hadn’t placed it wide enough of the bowler. Gus Atkinson had a head start thanks to his follow through; he picked the ball up comfortably, took aim at the keeper’s end, and broke the stumps. Gill wasn’t even in the frame. Five minutes later, rain swept the players off the field. It was as untimely as a wicket could be.Sai Sudharsan enhanced his reputation while he was out there on the ground he calls home in county cricket. He didn’t look quite so susceptible to being caught down the leg side, even though England kept targeting him there. There was a moment where a pigeon flew right across the pitch just as Atkinson let go of the ball. It was an inswinger. Nicely pitched up. Searching for lbw and bowled. But Sai Sudharsan, on instinct, prevented his front leg from going too far across and was able to bring down a lovely straight bat.That was the kind of delivery that was taking him out early on in the series. It raised the question that maybe this is the real him and that in Leeds and Manchester, he was just a mess of nerves because he was playing his first few Tests. It took an unplayable delivery from an unlikely source – Tongue – to dislodge him for 38 off 108.1:48
What will be a good score for India?
Nair took over from there, playing some gorgeous drives, particularly through the covers. He still appears vulnerable to the ball in the channel because his bat comes down in an angle and his front foot doesn’t move too far, but England didn’t test him there enough.Atkinson was their most reliable bowler. He only had a second XIs game to prove his readiness for Test cricket again after a hamstring injury and apparently that’s enough of a testing ground. His first spell was pristine 6-1-7-1, where he took down Yashasvi Jaiswal early and caused problems throughout. But the rest of the attack only got their act together in the final session.Tongue and Jamie Overton did point to some extenuating circumstances for their rhythm being awry. They kept slipping as they powered their weight through their bowling action because the landing spot for their front foot kept giving way. Sawdust came to the rescue but it still wasn’t ideal. When you’re running in worried you could twist your leg, you run in less hard.Nair and Washington Sundar saw India through to the close of a strange day’s play. Neither team will be disappointed with their efforts, though England will be mulling the injury that Woakes sustained. His efforts to stop a boundary late in the day might have led to a suspected dislocated left shoulder.
Com o retorno de empréstimo de Diego Hernández e o fim de contrato de Gonzalo Mastriani, o Botafogo continua com 12 jogadores estrangeiros no elenco, maior marca do Brasileirão ao lado do Grêmio. E o número deve aumentar: o provável primeiro reforço da janela é o uruguaio Lucas Villalba.
continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasBotafogoBotafogo volta a apostar em promessa uruguaia; compare númerosBotafogo10/12/2025BotafogoBotafogo é condenado a pagar dívida milionária pela compra de Almada e corre risco de transfer banBotafogo09/12/2025BotafogoBotafogo inscreve Montoro, Barrera, Nathan e Kadir na Copinha 2026Botafogo09/12/2025
O limite de atletas de fora do Brasil relacionados para jogos do campeonato nacional é de nove por clube — a demanda dos times nos últimos anos fez a Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF) aumentar de cinco para sete e depois novamente. Em meio a lesões, suspensões e escolhas técnicas, a regra não foi um empecilho para Davide Ancelotti ao longo do ano. O máximo de estrangeiros titulares em jogo do Brasileiro foram cinco — contra o Mirassol na 12ª rodada.
➡️Tudo sobre o Fogão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Botafogo
Sem contar o possível reforço, o elenco do Botafogo tem 12 estrangeiros de oito nacionalidades diferentes, muitos com potencial de eventual titularidade. Se as movimentações da janela fizerem o número crescer ainda mais, Ancelotti pode ter dor de cabeça em partidas de competições nacionais. Vale ressaltar, porém, que na Libertadores não há esse limite.
continua após a publicidadeOs estrangeiros do Botafogo
Cristhian Loor (Equador) Alexander Barboza (Argentina) Bastos (Angola) Mateo Ponte (Uruguai) Jefferson Savarino (Venezuela) Álvaro Montoro (Argentina) Santi Rodríguez (Uruguai) Jordan Barrera (Colômbia) Diego Hernández (Uruguai) Joaquín Correa (Argentina) Chris Ramos (Espanha) Kadir Barría (Panamá)
Estrangeiros por elenco do Brasileirão atualmente
Botafogo: 12 Grêmio: 12 Fluminense: 11 São Paulo: 11 Flamengo: 10 Athletico-PR: 10 – Abaixo do limite de relacionados por jogo – Santos: 9 Vasco: 9 Internacional: 9 Palmeiras: 8 Bragantino: 8 Corinthians: 8 Cruzeiro: 6 Atlético-MG: 6 Vitória: 6 Remo: 6 Bahia: 5 Coritiba: 4 Chapecoense: 2 Mirassol: nenhum
continua após a publicidade
➡️ Botafogo volta a apostar em promessa uruguaia; compare números
Mais um estrangeiro no Botafogo?
A oferta enviada pela SAF de John Textor ao Nacional para contratar Lucas Villalba foi aceita. Os clubes aguardavam um terceiro envolvido, o Montevideo City Torque, ex-time do atacante, que tinha prioridade para cobertura de propostas. O prazo de cinco dias para a equipe se posicionar sobre o interesse de igualar a oferta expirou nessa terça-feira (9), sem sinalização, deixando o caminho aberto para o Botafogo. O vínculo, caso o acordo seja firmado, será de quatro temporadas.
Longtime first baseman and designated hitter Eric Karros had the Rockies' number over the course of his 14-year career—slashing .320/.380/.619 with 37 home runs and 108 RBIs in just 129 games.
On Tuesday, Colorado began to return the favor for all the damage the Karros family has done to it over the years.
With two out in the bottom of the sixth inning of the Rockies' game against the Dodgers, Colorado third baseman Kyle Karros—Eric's son—launched his first big-league home run over Coors Field's left-field wall. Eric was in the stands to witness the blast.
Kyle, a rookie out of UCLA, entered Tuesday having played in 11 games with the Rockies. He's slashed .273/.400/.364 with three runs batted in.
Eric, on the other hand, slashed .268/.325/.454 in 1,755 games played with Los Angeles, the Cubs and the Athletics. His 284 home runs rank 189th in history.
Though more of a doubles hitter than a home run hitter, Kyle has swatted six dingers in the minor leagues this year—so it was only a matter of time before he began his pursit of his dad.
While they haven’t been perfect, Arsenal have been far and away the best team in the Premier League this season.
Mikel Arteta’s side are sitting four points clear of second place, and while the attack is yet to click fully, the rest of the team have been exceptional.
One of the standout stars, as was the case last year and the season before that, has been Declan Rice.
The England international has been a difference maker on more than one occasion so far, and so fans should be delighted about reports linking Arsenal to someone who could be another Rice-type signing.
Arsenal target another Declan Rice
There are a few stars in contention for Arsenal’s Player of the Season thus far, and Rice is undoubtedly one of them.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
On top of becoming even more of an attacking threat in that left-eight position he moved into last season, the former West Ham United captain has shown more of that defensive steel he was famous for, dropping into a double pivot on several occasions with Martin Zubimendi.
So with the Englishman thriving in all phases of play, it’s not a surprise to see Arsenal moving for another player of his ilk, an international star in the making: Adam Wharton.
At least that is according to a recent report from Spain, which claims the Gunners are one of several sides keen to sign the Crystal Palace star.
The report has revealed that, alongside the North Londoners, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United are racing to sign the 21-year-old, while Real Madrid are also keeping tabs on the situation.
However, on top of beating out the competition, the Gunners will have to stump up around £100m to tempt the Eagles into selling the jewel in their crown.
With all that said, Wharton’s immense ability and potential make him a player worth pushing the boat out for, particularly after an impressive first start for his country during November’s international break.
Why Wharton would be another Rice for Arsenal
Described as “the best U21 player in the Prem” by one analyst, if Arsenal were to bring Wharton to the Emirates in January, it would be another example of them poaching a highly rated central midfielder from another Premier League side.
Moreover, they would once again be taking a non-big six London-based outfit’s best English central midfielder.
Finally, it would be the second time within a three-year period that the North Londoners spend north of £100m to do so.
Now, beyond what would make the deals so similar, what makes the Palace ace analogous to the former West Ham star?
Well, like his older compatriot was at the time of his move, the 21-year-old ace is very highly rated, with former Sky Sports employee Matthew Stanger labelling him a “generational talent” and one CONCACAF B certified coach dubbing him “the best deep-lying English midfielder since Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick.”
While that is indeed supreme praise, it’s easy to see where it has come from, as much like the 72-capped England star, he is capable of doing more than just sitting deep and shielding the back four.
For example, FBref ranks him in the top 1% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for expected assisted goals, the top 4% for key passes, the top 5% for through balls, the top 10% for shot-creating actions, and more, all per 90 minutes.
Wharton’s Scout Report
Statistics
Per 90
Percentile
Key Passes
2.07
Top 4%
Through Balls
0.58
Top 5%
Expected Assists
0.22
Top 6%
Inswinging Corner Kicks
1.29
Top 7%
Shot-Creating Actions
3.75
Top 10%
Crosses into Penalty Area
0.26
Top 13%
Goal-Creating Actions
0.39
Top 17%
Crosses
2.78
Top 18%
All Stats via FBref
Additionally, he has already won three senior caps for the Three Lions, and played a pivotal role in the Eagles winning the FA Cup last season – the first major honour in their history.
Ultimately, it is still early in his career, but Wharton looks to be a superstar in the making, and under someone like Arteta, could develop into another Rice-type monster.
Arteta can fix Gabriel injury blow by unleashing Arsenal's £45m "beast"
After both Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori picked up injuries on international duty, Mikel Arteta must unleash Arsenal’s “physical” defender vs Spurs.
Last weekend Jamie Carrgher went as far as to suggest that Arsenal defender Gabriel could win the PFA Player of the Year award.
Only three defenders have done that before; John Terry, Virgil van Dijk and Paul McGrath. It’s an illustrious list and one that the Brazilian could well join.
This season he has been one of the best players in the Premier League and perhaps the best defender in Europe’s top five leagues.
While he is a warrior of a defender, it’s his record in the final third that has stuck out the most. He’s a menace from set-plays and proved as much again on Saturday when the Gunners defeated Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor.
How Arsenal beat Burnley
Gabriel may not have scored in Lancashire this weekend but it was still a mighty performance from the Brazilian who played a vital role in Mikel Arteta’s side opening the scoring.
How did the goal come about? From a set-piece, of course. Declan Rice’s inswinging delivery found Gabriel at the back post who nudged the ball across the face of the goal.
Viktor Gyokeres was ready and waiting to head the ball home from close range. It was his first league strike since early September when he scored against Nottingham Forest and his first away goal in Arsenal colours.
While the Swede was forced to sit out the second half with an injury, he enjoyed a fabulous game with Gunners reporter Charles Watts noting that it was his “best 45 minutes in an Arsenal shirt by a distance.”
Gabriel and Gyokeres were not the only ones to put in a superb performance. The aforementioned Rice was also exceptional, playing a hand in the first goal and then scoring the second, ghosting into the area to power a header into the back of the net.
Rice was simply everywhere, amassing more touches (94) than any player on the field and registered the second-highest volume of passes behind William Saliba.
A £105m signing back in 2023, he has proven to be worth every penny, as has a certain Leandro Trossard.
Arsenal's bargain signing continues to fly under the radar
Back in 2020, Arsenal signed a certain Gabriel for just £27m. What a bargain that has turned out to be. The same can be said for another £27m acquisition in the form of Trossard.
The Belgian wasn’t at the top of the club’s shortlist but their hands were rather forced when they missed out on winger Mykhailo Mudryk. Arsenal were reportedly in the race to sign the Ukrainian but he eventually moved to Chelsea instead.
The result? The Gunners looked towards Trossard who had fallen out with the top brass at Brighton.
Since heading to the Emirates Stadium, he has become a scapegoat at times. When he starts, he struggles to have much of an impact but as a substitute, he is a true game-changer.
In the 2023/24 campaign, the forward netted six goals as a substitute in all competitions. No other player in Europe’s top five leagues scored more from the bench that term. That season he bagged 17 goals with only Bukayo Saka scoring more for the club.
2024/25 was a quieter one for the Belgium international, scoring only ten times, but this season he has looked somewhere near his best and his performance against Burnley proved exactly why he’s so underrated.
Heading into 2025/26, Trossard could quite easily have been moved aside. With Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze having signed, the former Brighton attacker looks expendable. Well, amid injuries to the likes of Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli, the Belgian has become an important member of Arteta’s side once again.
He has found the net on three occasions and registered a further three assists, the latest of which came on Saturday.
Minutes played
89
Touches
56
Accurate passes
21/31 (68%)
Big chances created
1
Key passes
2
Accurate crosses
1/3
Shots (on target)
2 (2)
Duels won
3/9
Fouled
2x
Played in behind by Gyokeres, Trossard raced onto a ball on the left, bided his time and then played an inch-perfect cross into the path of Rice.
It was a typical Trossard assist, truth be told. Perfectly crafted and weighted, it oozed class. He certainly isn’t the flashiest of players but he is always available, he’s reliable and fits Arteta’s system like a glove.
For £27m, what more do you want? On his 100th appearance for the club, he gave us a reminder of what an amazing piece of business he has proven to be.
تحدث حلمي طولان، المدير الفني لمنتخب مصر الثاني، عن التعادل مع الإمارات بهدف لكل فريق، ضمن منافسات بطولة كأس العرب.
وقال حلمي طولان، خلال المؤتمر الصحفي: “منتخب الإمارات قوي ويقدم كرة محترمة، الفرص كانت قليلة جدًا، والهدف الذي دخل مرمانا غريب جدًا من هجمة مرتدة، رغم تواجد 4 لاعبين”.
وواصل: “قدرنا أن نحرز التعادل بروح عالية جدًا، وقمنا بعمل بعض التبديلات في الملعب ودفعنا ببعض اللاعبين الذين يميلون للجانب الهجومي، وسجلنا هدفًا ولكن تم إلغاؤه بداعي التسلل”.
طالع.. عصام الحضري: مواجهة الأردن مصيرية.. وأستبعد الحارس في حالة واحدة
واستطرد: “تواجد منتخب مصر في أي محفل يجعله مطالبًا بتحقيق شيء مميز، نحن منتخب كبير جدًا مهما كان وضعه وعناصره، الكل يطالب بالبطولة لأن مصر كبيرة ولديها لاعبين على أعلى مستوى، وجديرة بأن تحتل مكانة مرموقة بين الأخوة العرب”.
وأكمل: “أثق في اللاعبين بشكل كبير جدًا وأعلم أنهم قادرون على التأهل للدور المقبل، ولا أريد الحديث فيما ما حدث قبل أن نأتي للبطولة، سيكون هناك حديث بشأنه لاحقًا، لأن التركيز الآن على المباراة المقبلة وسأترك هذا الكلام لوقته”.
وأتم: “بعض الأمور سأقوم بتأجيل الكلام عنها لكي لا أظهر أنني أتحجج، أثق في اللاعبين المتواجدين معي وأدائهم الرجولي وروحهم العالية جدًا، وهم قادرون على تخطي هذه المرحلة”.