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A second source has now backed the possibility of West Ham United moving to sign a striker who they apparently failed with a summer bid for.

West Ham criticised for signing Fullkrug

Niclas Füllkrug remains out with an Achilles tendon injury that has kept him on the sidelines since early September, and West Ham have been questioned for their decision to bring the crocked Germany international to east London.

West Ham make approach for £12m striker who was offered to David Moyes

The tables have now turned.

By
Emilio Galantini

Nov 29, 2024

The 31-year-old, who is slowly approaching his twilight years, apparently has a bad fitness record overall – with former West Ham scout Mick Brown criticising the club’s decision to strike a £27 million deal for Fullkrug.

“He had a few issues during his time in Germany with his fitness,” he told Football Insider.

“That, I’ve heard, played a part in the reason Dortmund were keen to let him go. So if that was an issue, and it was known in Germany, you’ve got to ask serious questions about why it was overlooked by West Ham.

“Paying almost £30million for a 31-year-old is always risky, but spending that money on a player with fitness issues at that age is a huge problem. Of course, you can never predict that a player might pick up an injury. These things happen.

“But if he’s missing longer than expected because of his fitness, that’s something you should know. West Ham should have known about any issues with his fitness before they signed him.

“Then, you either don’t move forward with the deal or you take steps to help the situation, help him with his fitness and his recovery. If he’s having these types of fitness and recovery issues at 31, it’s not likely to get much better, but they gave him a four-year contract.”

Fullkrug’s absence has left Lopetegui bereft of a prolific striker who can help to solve West Ham’s goalscoring problems, with Michail Antonio and Danny Ings the sole No 9s at their disposal right now.

This has prompted West Ham to explore the January market for a new frontman who can consistently deliver the goods in an attacking sense.

Second source backs West Ham move for Lyon striker Georges Mikautadze

Earlier this week, reports out of Spain shared information that West Ham had reignited their interest in Georges Mikautadze.

Interestingly, Alexis Bernard and le10sport claimed that West Ham made a bid for Mikautadze in the summer, with another move for the Georgia international now gaining more traction ahead of January.

Massimo Pavan, writing in a piece for TuttoJuve, emerges as the second source in these last few days to claim that West Ham are emerging as a potential destination for Mikautadze – who dazzled at Euro 2024 and finished the tournament as the joint-top goalscorer with three.

The former Metz star scored in every group game, and the Irons could look to take advantage of Lyon’s financial situation by snapping him up in the winter.

It is also worth noting that the 24-year-old has 86 career club goals to his name at a pretty young age, and a further 16 for Georgia at international level – taking his overall tally to 102.

MatériaMais Notícias

Quando forem passados 14 dias sem jogos oficiais, o Internacional retornará ao ritmo de competição ao estrear na Sul-Americana frente ao 9 de Octubre-EQU, na próxima quarta-feira (6), no Estádio Jocay. Entretanto, apesar do período considerável apenas focado nos treinos, a equipe chega com seis desfalques na sua lista de relacionados.

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>Não deixe de conferir o aplicativo de resultados do LANCE!

O zagueiro Cuesta, o lateral-esquerdo Moisés, o meia D’Alessandro e os atacantes David, Gustavo Maia e Wanderson não puderam ser incluídos na viagem da delegação do Colorado para o Equador, estando a maioria deles com problemas de ordem médica.

A única excessão dentro das ausências é o atacante Estevão, cria das categorias de base e tendo de cumprir suspensão em uma das competições continentais organizadas pela Conmebol, já que foi expulso na última partida da fase de grupos da Libertadores Sub-20 onde o Inter empatou em 1 a 1 diante do Peñarol.

Com o saldo negativo de cair na semifinal do Gauchão, diante do Grêmio bem como já ter sido eliminado da Copa do Brasil contra o modesto Globo-RN, o técnico Alexander Medina parece ter a intenção de modificar o sistema tático da equipe.

Desta forma, a equipe que foi campeã da Sula em 2008 entraria em campo comDaniel; Bustos, Bruno Mendez, Kaique Rocha e Liziero; Gabriel, Johnny, Maurício, Edenílson e Taison; Wesley Moraes.

Javagal Srinath says the surface didn’t offer an even contest between bat and ball

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2022The pitch for the second India-Sri Lanka Test in Bengaluru, which finished inside three days, has been rated as “below average” by ICC match referee Javagal Srinath.An office bearer of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) in the past, Srinath felt “the pitch offered a lot of turn on the first day itself and though it improved with every session, in my view, it was not an even contest between bat and ball,” as per an ICC media release.Twenty-six of the 39 wickets in the Test fell to spin. The first day accounted for 16 wickets, while days two and three produced 14 and nine, respectively.Related

Rawalpindi pitch gets 'below average' rating

Shreyas Iyer, who was named Man of the Match for his twin half-centuries, felt the pitch was “not that great” during a press conference after his counterattacking 92 gave India a strong first-innings total.”You saw the players who defended the ball, there was a lot of chance of nicking, and there was variable bounce on that wicket,” Iyer said after the opening day.”You can’t just play very negatively on that wicket and just keep defending the ball. You’ve got to have that positive intent when you step out on the field. The wicket is not that great. It’s obviously bowler-friendly.”Srinath, the former India fast bowler, has submitted a report that has been forwarded to the BCCI. The venue, meanwhile, has received one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring process.Demerit points remain active for a rolling five-year period. If a venue accumulates five demerit points, it will be suspended from hosting international cricket for a 12-month period.Bengaluru became the second venue in two weeks to receive a “below average” rating. Rawalpindi, which kickstarted Australia’s first tour to Pakistan in 24 years, also received a similar rating from match referee Ranjan Madugalle after the Test produced 1187 runs for the loss of just 14 wickets over five days.While the Chinnaswamy surface offered variable bounce from day one, the Rawalpindi track “hardly changed over the course of five days” and that there had been “no deterioration apart from the bounce getting slightly lower.”For the record, India claimed the series 2-0, with Dimuth Karunaratne’s fighting century in the fourth innings merely delaying the inevitable. The Test marked the first time Jasprit Bumrah picked up a five-for in a home Test.

أوضح محمد الدماطي، عضو مجلس إدارة النادي الأهلي، حقيقة تصريحاته الأخيرة ضد نادي الزمالك، بشأن توجيه بطولة الدوري موسم 2021 للقلعة البيضاء.

وكان محمد الدماطي قال خلال تصريحات سابقة، إن تتويج الزمالك ببطولة الدوري في موسم 2021 كان موجهًا بنسبة 100% بسبب الأخطاء التحكيمية.

وقرر مجلس إدارة الزمالك، على إثر تلك التصريحات، التقدم بشكوي ضد عضو مجلس إدارة الأهلي محمد الدماطي إلى المجلس الأعلى للإعلام ولجنة الانضباط بالاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم.

طالع.. خاص | الزمالك يشكو عضو مجلس إدارة الأهلي بشأن تصريحاته عن فوز الأبيض بالدوري

وقال الدماطي عبر صفحته الخاصة على موقع التواصل الاجتماعي “فيس بوك”: “كلمتين منعًا للقيل والقال، أنا لا أحب جو التقطيع وسوء النية”.

وأضاف: “قلت في حديثي الذي لم يقال من زمان في علاقة الأهلي بالزمالك، وقلت إنه لا يوجد شيء اسمه عداوة”.

وتابع: “هذا جو خيالي، وطالما الكشافات تترفع في الدقيقة ٢٠ من جمهور الأهلي والدقيقة ٧٤ من جمهور الزمالك إذا لا يوجد شيء اسمه عداوة”.

وأكمل: “قلت إن لو حشجع ضد الزمالك في ماتش لكن لو عندي اختيار أحب دايما الزمالك يبقى موجود وكل بيت وشركة ومدرسة عبارة عن جمهور أهلي وزمالك، حتى دوري ٢٠٢١ قلت أن لو الأهلي كان مكان الزمالك وقتها كان حصل نفس الموضوع”.

وأتم: “أنا أكتب هذا الكلام ليس خوفًا من شكاوى وأي غيره، لكن أنا لا أحب أبقي سبب جدل أو تعصب”.

Significant financial blow to USA Cricket as historic series fails to take off

Peter Della Penna28-Dec-2021A fresh Covid-19 outbreak within the managed environment has forced the three-match ODI series between USA and Ireland to be called off. The two boards have not put out an official statement as of Tuesday at noon, but the two teams did not show up for their training sessions as stadium ground staff and workers began disassembling hospitality and advertising signage at Broward County Stadium throughout the morning and early afternoon. Multiple sources have confirmed that the ODI series has been scrapped due to a number of positive Covid-19 tests in the traveling parties, and USA’s players have been notified that their tickets are being booked to fly home today.Related

Leadership vacuum at USA Cricket as chairman Paraag Marathe resigns

'Playing with Covid more challenging off the pitch than on it' – Balbirnie

USA-Ireland ODI series pushed back again by a day

Test match continues despite four cases in England touring party

First ODI cancelled after match official tests positive

After canceling the first ODI due to a positive test among the ICC officiating crew, the second of the matches was initially postponed 24 hours after a string of positive tests on both sides – a member of Ireland’s support staff as well as a number of USA’s playing team – though the majority of them turned out to be false positives.Both teams were due to train on Tuesday at the Broward County Stadium ahead of the delayed first match of the series on December 29. However, neither squad arrived at the stadium. Multiple sources told ESPNcricinfo that even though no Ireland players tested positive in a fresh round of PCR tests, multiple members of the Ireland support staff, as well as partners and family members of Ireland players tested positive, meaning that a large number of Ireland players were deemed to be close contacts.The situation is similar in some ways to the incident that took place in Melbourne this week when four members of the England touring party – two staff members and two family members – tested positive for Covid. However, unlike the fate of the ODI series between USA and Ireland, the Ashes Test match went ahead anyway when all players returned negative Tests.After numerous waves of retests following the false positives that came out of the USA squad camp, only one new player returned a positive PCR test, according to sources. But the fact that it was a player meant that the entire USA team was also deemed to be close contacts of the positive player.The off-field discipline of the traveling parties is also a cause for scrutiny. The majority of the USA players were kept to their hotel rooms throughout the staging of the series as a consequence of a number of early positive Covid-19 tests ahead of the first T20I that was held on December 22.However, the Ireland squad members are understood to have been allowed to leave the team hotel periodically throughout the past week, including on Christmas Day, and were allowed to mix and mingle with traveling family members and partners. It was only after the first Ireland support staff member tested positive on December 27 that their players went into full isolation mode in their hotel rooms.The cancellation of the ODI series is expected to deal a significant financial blow to USA Cricket, who had gone all out by investing resources to make the historic series happen at short notice. The initial announcement came on November 9 that USA Cricket would be hosting a Full Member for a bilateral series for the first time, giving them six weeks to organize the event. Though the two-match T20I series was completed on December 23 with a total ticketed attendance of just over 1,000 fans (a USA Cricket official stated that attendance for the first match was 328 followed by 744 for the 2nd T20I*) across the two games, the ODIs never got off the ground.As of Tuesday, the Ireland squad is still scheduled to depart on December 31 for Jamaica to take part in three ODIs and one T20I against West Indies. According to a Cricket Ireland official, “The positives on the staff will have to stay back, but with another PCR pre-travel pending, the main group will still travel as planned.”

Shahzad, Rajapaksa romp to victory after Bopara, Munaf star with ball

Aadam Patel29-Nov-2021

Chennai Braves 114 for 0 (Rajapaksa 55*, Shahzad 54*) beat Northern Warriors 108 (Bopara 2-6) by ten wicketsEleven days and 26 games later, the Chennai Braves finally got themselves their first win of the Abu Dhabi T10, at the ninth time of asking.”Better late than never,” as player of the match, Bhanuka Rajapaksa said post-match. They had the Sri Lankan to thank as he notched up his third half-century of the tournament with 55 not out off just 23 deliveries. Alongside the always-entertaining Mohammad Shahzad, who hit 54 not out off 29 balls, the pair ensured that the Braves got their first points on the board.Of course, it was all a little too late. After eight consecutive defeats, the Braves looked all but destined to end their first experience at the Abu Dhabi T10 without a win to their name. Without Nicholas Pooran – their icon player – throughout the tournament, the Braves have lacked match-winners and an injury to Yusuf Pathan certainly didn’t help.Angelo Perera, handed the captaincy midway through the tournament, praised two of their more experienced players in Ravi Bopara and Munaf Patel for orchestrating their win, as Northern Warriors were bowled out for 108. It was the first time that the Braves had managed to take more than five wickets in an innings.From the moment Curtis Campher trapped the devastating Kennar Lewis for a golden duck, the Braves looked like a team determined to end their hoodoo thus far. Campher had Moeen Ali caught at deep backward square leg, just as he was getting going and despite the tournament top scorer, Rovman Powell smashing young Englishman, Roman Walker, for three sixes in the seventh over, Shanaka got the West Indian in the next, Powell sending one straight to Campher in the deep.With the very next ball, Shanaka dismissed Umair Ali and after Bopara picked up two wickets in the penultimate over. It was left to Dhananjaya Lakshan to get rid of Imran Tahir, before Oshane Thomas was run out with a ball to spare.”A lot of credit goes to the bowling unit and also, we had a good outing in the field,” said Perera. “Yes, it was frustrating [to be winless], but today we had a different plan and Ravi and Munaf took the responsibility of talking to the bowlers and their experience has shown today. I think they executed the plan really well.”In their previous three matches, the Braves had managed totals of 107, 89 & 57, so chasing 109 was never going to be a walk in the park. However Rajapaksa and Shahzad got the job done in style. After a tight first over from Tahir, Shahzad let loose with five boundaries off Abhimanyu Mithun in the second. Together, the pair picked away at the total, sucking the energy out of the Warriors – who knew that they also had no chance of progressing to the play-offs.There was still 21 needed off three overs when Oshane Thomas was brought back into the attack. Thomas has had a fascinating tournament thus far, picking up the only hat-trick of the T10 in his first game, before returning the worst figures in T10 history with 0 for 50 in his two overs against Team Abu Dhabi. Yet, he came back from that, with three wickets the following night against the Deccan Gladiators.Related

Wahab Riaz: 'I am playing all around the world, but my country comes first'

Free from Test shackles, Moeen Ali finds his sweet spot in white-ball cricket

Phil Salt, Tom Banton show off their credentials at Abu Dhabi T10

Dominic Drakes: 'I don't want to look back and say I had a better 2021 than 2022. I don't want to be stagnant'

However, Rajapaksa ensured that this was another night to forget for the West Indian, who after getting run-out for a duck, was dispatched by the Sri Lankan for 20 in his second over. With a majestic drive over the sweeper cover, the 30-year-old brought up his fifty in style.And it was left for Shahzad to bring up his half-century too with a six, which also sealed the win. Between them, the pair hit 15 fours and six sixes and at long last, the Chennai outfit had some points on the table and something to shout about.”When I was batting with Shazy [Shahzad], I can’t really run so it’s really a case of see ball, hit ball,” said Rajapaksa. “I guess it worked tonight!”As the league stage of the tournament comes to a conclusion with just four games remaining, the four play-off spots have already been decided. Team Abu Dhabi, Deccan Gladiators, Bangla Tigers and Delhi Bulls will make up the sides ready to battle it out over two play-off days on Friday and Saturday. It remains to be seen which two sides will finish as the top two and thus have two bites of the cherry, as they look to make the final of the Abu Dhabi T10.In the earlier game, Liam Livingstone smashed a brutal 59 off 24 to help Team Abu Dhabi reclaim top spot, as they edged out Deccan Gladiators by eight runs.

“It’s something we’re going to continue because it’s something that we strongly believe in”

Matt Roller12-Oct-2021West Indies will continue to take a knee before their matches at the men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE in a stand against racism, their captain Kieron Pollard has said.West Indies’ players and support staff have kneeled and raised fists before the start of games since the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, showing their support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Speaking from the team’s training camp in Dubai on Tuesday, Pollard said that they would continue to do so during the tournament.”From my knowledge at this present time, I think it’s something we’re going to continue because it’s something that we strongly believe in, as a team,” Pollard said. “Hopefully we can just continue to show our support for something that I think is close to our hearts.”England, West Indies’ opponents in their opening fixture in Dubai on October 23, took a knee during series against West Indies and Ireland last year but were criticised by Michael Holding, the former fast bowler and broadcaster, for when they stopped doing so later in their home summer.Before Australia’s men took a knee for the first time during their white-ball tour to the Caribbean earlier this year, Pollard said he did not want opposition teams to kneel “because the West Indies are doing it” and that it was “not a matter of us just doing it and you supporting us and we’re looking for that sympathy”.”Everyone has their own opinions on racism and Black Lives Matter and all these things,” Pollard said, asked if he would encourage England to take a knee alongside West Indies. “So, I can’t tell them what to do or expect anything, because sometimes when you expect things from people, you tend to get disappointed.”Again, sometimes, you just have to look at the man in the mirror, and if we think it is something that is very, very important to us, we will do it. And if the opposition thinks that as well, it’s up to them. If they don’t, [it’s a matter of] personal choices.”The ICC has previously intervened and fined players when they have made gestures “for messages which relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes” or displayed “personal messages on their clothing, equipment or otherwise,” but last year pledged to use “common sense” when players took a knee.Chris Jordan, the fast bowler, said earlier on Tuesday that the England squad had not yet spoken about the possibility of taking at knee during their training camp in Oman.”Nothing has been discussed, really” Jordan said. “We’ll discuss it and if people feel strongly about it, we’ll definitely do it. On the flip side, if we don’t, then we won’t. We’ll have to discuss that internally and then take it from there.”

Roberto De Zerbi slammed media in France over poor refereeing decisions as he admitted to Mason Greenwood's problem.

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• De Zerbi slammed French media
• Called out poor refereeing against Marseille
• Marseille held to a 1-1 draw by Strasbourg

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Marseille manager backed the club president Pablo Longoria's claim of biased refereeing against the team as he also slammed the media in France for not taking a stand against poor refereeing calls. Longoria ranted against the match officials after Marseille's Ligue 1 clash against Strasbourg last Sunday as Mason Greenwood rescued a point for his team with a second-half penalty strike.

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• WHAT ROBERTO DE ZERBI SAID

  When asked if he agrees with the club chief, De Zerbi told : "Since I've been in France, I've seen things that I don't always understand and it doesn't only concern OM. Maybe because I'm Italian… I came to OM because it's the biggest French club. I respect everyone but the media should also take a stand sometimes."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  De Zerbi also revealed his star player Greenwood's problems as he added: "It's a shame to have had so many absentees. It's a shame that it's happening at such an important time of the season. We still have seven injured players, those who played did well, but there was fatigue. Neal, who is a player I love, played the last three games in a row.

  "Greenwood is not used to playing so many games in a row. Cornelius didn't play in his usual position because Lirola didn't feel like playing 90 minutes. Murillo, Kondogbia, Rongier, Wahi, Harit, that's a lot. We have to deal with it and not use it as excuses."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MARSEILLE?

  The Phoceans will be back in action in the Ligue 1 on January 26 as they take on Nice in an away fixture.

Barcelona star Jules Kounde has joked that he needs to “change the shape of my Preds” following the tightest of offside calls in Copa del Rey win.

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French defender netted versus BetisSecond effort ruled out by VARCan laugh off incident after big winFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱GettyWHAT HAPPENED?

France international defender Kounde was on target for the Blaugrana as they swept to a 5-1 victory over Real Betis. He was, however, denied a spectacular second strike of the night as VAR stepped in to rule a special effort out.

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The intervention of technology showed that Kounde’s toe was in an offside position when collecting the ball, meaning that his goal had to be chalked off. Said incident occurred in the 51st minute, with the Frenchman left scratching his head.

WHAT KOUNDE SAID

Fortunately, given the final outcome, Kounde was able to see the funny side afterwards. He posted on social media, in a jovial nod to boot suppliers adidas: “We may need to change the shape of my Preds”. One size smaller and the 26-year-old would have another goal to his name.

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WHAT NEXT?

Kounde will not be overly concerned at being denied an effort against Betis, as he has never been prolific. He has two goals to his name this season, with his best return being four when on the books at Sevilla, but continues to enhance his reputation as arguably the finest right-back in La Liga.

The Gunners are entering the fifth year of a trophy drought despite clearly coming on leaps and bounds under the Spaniard's stewardship

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With the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool now at six points and having already played a game more than the Reds, Arsenal have one hell of a mountain to climb if they're to topple Arne Slot's men and secure their first title in 21 years.

The downfall of Manchester City has given the world the impression this is a missed opportunity for the Gunners, but that is not necessarily the case. Though they have had more than their fair share of injury luck in recent years, that debt has come to be collected this time around, with Martin Odegaard already missing around two months and Bukayo Saka potentially out for a further three.

Not much else has gone Arsenal's way in this title race so far. You need to be good and you need to be lucky, yet unfortunately they haven't had enough in either department to keep appropriate pace.

Nevertheless, this is far from the time to call this season a write-off, even if their main goal seems a tad out of reach at this stage. Arteta's long-term plan can still benefit from creating winning habits in the three cup competitions Arsenal are fighting for.

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  One trophy, not three

  First things first, let's address the elephant in the room. Well, the two of them, actually. Arsenal won a trophy with Arteta in the dugout, taking home the 2020 FA Cup behind closed doors against Frank Lampard's Chelsea, brilliantly and unexpectedly eliminating Manchester City along the way.

  The problem is that was a completely different era for the club. That Arsenal is not the Arsenal of now, and Arteta as a coach has come a long way since hoisting that trophy aloft. The only starter remaining from that team is the outgoing Kieran Tierney, with unused substitute Saka – still only 18 at the time – the sole other member of both the 2019-20 and 2024-25 squads.

  And, despite Arteta's assertions, the Community Shield – which Arsenal have lifted twice under the Spaniard – is not a major, competitive trophy. It isn't. Stop trying to convince yourself it is. We scoffed at Jose Mourinho for thinking that way, the same principle should apply for Arteta.

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  'Like watching Netflix'

  Amid Arsenal's slide earlier this season, Manchester United legend Patrice Evra made a snide comment which went viral on social media. "Watching Arsenal is like watching Netflix, you always wait for the next season," he proclaimed. "And trust me, every season is going to be like that."

  We're not here to say that Gooners should take this criticism at valid, particularly at a time where anyone associated with United should be making sure their own house is on order first. To date, Arteta's Arsenal have had more than enough reason to believe they're on the right track, and their priority has understandably not lied in the fate of their cup exploits.

  That doesn't excuse such a fruitless run of underachievement in that regard though, despite the development of the team and the club in general.

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  No tournament pedigree

  This current iteration of Arsenal, the one which has been rebuilt brick by brick since the summer of 2021, has not only failed to deliver silverware when expectations are weighing heavy on them, but they've seldom come close either. They've reached two semi-finals – the 2020-21 Europa League versus Villarreal and 2021-22 Carabao Cup against Liverpool – across 11 cup runs in the four-and-a-half years since that Wembley triumph, and on both occasions were meekly eliminated with a whimper. What's more, Arsenal have failed to even advance beyond round four of the FA Cup in the four campaigns after taking the trophy back to north London.

  The European picture isn't much brighter, despite Arteta leading the Gunners to their first Champions League quarter-final in 14 years last season. That was, to their credit, a huge step forward to restoring their lost footprint on the continent, though they remain without a marquee victory in Europe and have largely scraped through any knockout battle with sides even remotely close to their reputation.

  Given how many fallen giants occupy spots in this season's Champions League and a new format mixing up how the knockout rounds could play out, Arsenal should still rank among the top five or six favourites for the European Cup, but this notable lack of nous is what's preventing them from breaking into the upper tier of that select list.

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  Progress made regardless

  Make no mistake, Arteta has completely transformed Arsenal back into a competitive club, one better than anyone had could have conceivably imagined when he first took the job. At times he's turned water into wine, and the fact we're even having these debates about the Gunners is proof of their intangible success. We only demand this much more from teams worth caring about.

  Losing out to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in back-to-back title races is nothing to be ashamed of in big-picture context, particularly last year having been within a Son Heung-min shot of finishing first. Their two-season rolling average of 86.5 points is their joint-highest by a considerable margin since wins started counting for three points, level with the 2003-04 Invincibles and following 2004-05 sides. Again, cup competitions aren't the only measure of success, and if anything league success is a better barometer of how consistently excellent a team is.

  This is now an Arsenal era in complete contrast to the very end of legendary manager Arsene Wenger's tenure, a time where they won three FA Cups in four years but their Premier League form floundered and they lost their everlasting grip on Champions League qualification, despite getting over the hurdles set by stadium debt repayments. Arteta's charges are much, much better than those outfits.