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At age 33, Aaron Judge is elevating himself above the highest standard of hitting in the game today: himself. He is better than ever. He is redefining his legacy. So good has Judge been this month that we must begin talking about him not just as an all-time-great slugger but as an all-time-great pure hitter.

The New York Yankees right fielder is slashing .406/.500/.717. He has reached base 63 times in 28 games. Only Mookie Betts (72 in 2024), Cody Bellinger (67 in 2019), Albert Pujols (67 in 2008) and Barry Bonds (64 in 2004) reached base more times in March/April.

He is just the 20th player in his team’s first 28 games to reach base 63 times and drive in 27 runs, only the second in the past 23 years (Bryce Harper in 2017).

Judge is well known as the single season American League home run record holder and the fastest player to 300 home runs. But more and more, the best ways to define Judge as a hitter go beyond home runs. His chase rate, his strikeout rate and his two-strike batting average are all at career-best levels. 

Judge is not having a “hot” month. He is continuing an amazing evolution that has been going on for years that is catapulting him from slugger into the best pure hitter in baseball. This snapshot tells his story better than his March/April slash line:

Judge by Age

Age	G	Avg.	OBP	SLG	KRate	Contact Rate
20s	572	.276	.386	.554	28.7%	65.7%
30s	449	.311	.437	.677	25.3%	68.3%

Such growth charts may have been common in the Steroid Era, but they are much more unusual in the Testing Era. So why is this happening? Judge always has had the foundation of very good plate discipline. At 6' 7" and 282 pounds, he is a physical outlier with no real historical comps. Like taller, long-levered pitchers, he has needed time to hone his swing and approach, starting with famously overhauling his swing after hitting .179 in his first year in the big leagues.

Judge was once vulnerable to spin (.226 through 2020) but closed that hole (.261 since). When teams watched him rip fastballs into the short porch of Yankee Stadium, they began to pound him in with power sinkers. He responded by pulling the ball more.

What we’re witnessing now is the result of years of craftsmanship combined with the wisdom learned from knowing how pitchers attack him—while losing nothing from his extraordinary physical tools. Judge is the oldest of the only three players in MLB who have top-10 bat speed while also having one of the 10 longest swings. The others are Shohei Ohtani, 30, and Junior Caminero, 21.

This season Judge has closed the last obvious hole in his hitting game, small though it may be. It’s that tiny imaginary rectangle that is down and away, one-ninth of the strike zone. For someone of Judge’s height, that rectangle measures 5.66 inches by 6.98 inches. It is a bit smaller than one of those tablets in the dugout.

Until this year, if pitchers could slip a pitch into that small box, they would A) force Judge to make a swing decision and B) turn him into a .206 career hitter with almost no power. But now look how Judge has closed that hole: Pitchers are going to that spot more than ever and Judge is beating them there more than ever.

Judge vs. Down and Away Strikes

Year	Pct.	Avg.	SLG
2016–24	8.1%	.206	.329
2025	10.7%*	.381*	.524*
			*Career high

Judge’s evolution into closing the last hole in his offensive game deserves a closer look. Below you see four down and away fastballs to Judge, one from each year between 2022 and 2025. The first three are all swings and misses. The one this year is a single. All are at the moment of ball release.

The main difference is where he hovers that front foot as he reads the ball out of the pitcher’s hand. I’ve added a line from his toes to the ground to highlight the gradual adjustment. His foot has moved from well inside the inner chalk of the batter’s box to over the line (closer to the plate). You can see how as he loads on his back hip the front hip stays more closed.

Now let’s look at the moment the barrel meets the ball (2025) or misses it (2022–23). Pay attention to his spine angle. You can see how it becomes less severe over the years. Why? Look at his front foot. The open position years ago causes him to reach with his hands for the ball away, a weakened position. By maintaining a neutral stride, he is more upright and more balanced, eliminating the need to reach with his hands.

Judge has long been among the two or three best hitters against elevated pitches. That has prompted pitchers to keep the ball down against him. Almost half the pitches Judge sees are no higher than 27 inches off the ground—the bottom six inches of his strike zone and below.

Until this year, Judge hit .181 on all pitches that low. This year he has improved to .250. You still want to pitch Judge down in order to reduce his power. He does not have an extra-base hit this year on such low pitches. He has not hit a home run off a low fastball since September 2023. But Judge is better equipped than ever to get his hits when pitchers stay low against him.

Judge vs. Low Pitches (2.25 inches and below)

Year	Pct.	Avg.	SLG
2016–24	49.8%	.181	.293
2025	48.0%	.250	.250

Judge saw a career high 47.9% pitches in the strike zone last year, when Juan Soto seemed to be on base all the time in front of him. Judge took 350 plate appearances with a runner on, a career high by 30. His rate of turns at bat with traffic has gone down this season, but incredibly, Judge is seeing even more pitches in the zone (50.2%). It makes you wonder when managers will start being more careful with Judge.

It’s only April. Judge is not going to hit .400 this year, so there is an inevitable correction over the grind of a season. His OPS+ is 246, a place where only the hitting gods live. Only three players ever posted an OPS+ of 225 or better over at least 502 plate appearances: Ted Williams (twice), Barry Bonds (four times; all the bigger, enhanced version of Bonds) and Babe Ruth (five times). The record for any right-handed hitter already belongs to Judge (222 last year) and Rogers Hornsby (222 in 1924).

Factor in his age and steroid testing, and Judge may be heading toward more history. Only Ruth, Willliams and Honus Wagner have exceeded 200 OPS+ at age 33 or older without a connection to steroids. Those are long-dead relics of the ancient past. This kind of head-and-shoulders above one’s peers is not supposed to happen in modern times with the depth of talent and wide access to training.

But here is Judge, continuing to get better, and making it possible, hitting .400 when the major league average is .240. He looks so polished and pure at the plate it’s time to regard him in a new light.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are currently looking for their next head coach after Vitor Pereira was removed from his post after no wins from the first ten matches of the Premier League season.

John Percy reports that Gary O’Neil, sacked by the club in the 2024/25 campaign, is now in advanced talks to take the job for a second time.

Gary O’Neil (Premier League)	23/24	24/25
Matches	38	16
Wins	13	2
Draws	7	3
Losses	18	11
Points	46	9
Points per game	1.21	0.56
Stats via Transfermarkt

The English tactician was sacked by Wolves after losing 11 of the opening 16 games of last season, but may now be brought in to save the Old Gold from their current position.

Instead of going back to O’Neil, who had the team in relegation form before he left last term, the club should look to another manager on their shortlist.

Wolves identify former Championship manager as target

The former Bournemouth boss is not the only head coach who has been linked with a move to Molineux since Pereira was moved on from his position.

Manager Focus

Who are the greatest coaches in the land? Football FanCast’s Manager Focus series aims to reveal all.

According to The Athletic, O’Neil is one of three managers in the frame to land the permanent job, alongside Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards and Michael Carrick.

The report claims that all three of them are under consideration, as part of the club’s shortlist, but it did add that they would have to pay compensation to land Edwards.

Carrick is, therefore, the most interesting option on the list as an alternative to O’Neil, because he could be a dream option for Wolves for several reasons.

Why Wolves should appoint Carrick

The English boss, who was hailed as an “insanely talented coach” by former Boro player Lukas Engel, has stepped in to turn a poor start to a season around before.

He arrived at Boro in October 2022 after they won two of their first 11 Championship matches and led them to a fourth-place finish with 18 wins in 30 games, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he can inspire a group to turn their form around.

That suggests that he has a chance of being the source of inspiration that Wolves need to have any chance of avoiding relegation, with the team currently rock bottom of the division.

On top of that, Carrick, who was coy when asked about the Wolves vacancy on Match of the Day, is a proven Championship manager who can coach his side to play exciting football.

As much as supporters will not want to hear it at this stage of the season, it is worth thinking about how the next managerial appointment will fare if they take the team down, given the situation that they are going to inherit.

Michael Carrick’s two full seasons at Middlesbrough
Championship	23/24	24/25
League finish	8th	10th
xPTS (Expected league finish)	73 (5th)	71 (6th)
xG	69.5	67.4
xGA	55.0	56.4
xGD	+14.5	+11.3
Stats via FotMob

As you can see in the table above, Carrick’s coaching essentially delivered successive play-off level performances in the Championship, on top of actually finishing in the play-offs in his first season, but it was not rewarded by the output from his players.

The xGD numbers show that his Boro team consistently created more high-quality chances than the opposition, which tends to be a sign of a well-coached side.

Whereas, as shown in the post above from when he was linked to Norwich, O’Neil’s Bournemouth and Wolves teams, albeit at Premier League level, consistently conceded more chances than they created.

Therefore, Carrick, who is currently a free agent, would be a dream alternative to O’Neil because of the short and long-term impact that he could have.

Laura Harvey, who has coached the Seattle Reign since 2021, revealed that she used ChatGPT to help form her tactics this season. The English manager admitted that the AI system helped her lay out a defensive system, which she then put into place for her playoff-bound Reign ahead of the campaign. They are currently fourth in the NWSL after finishing 13th last season.

• Using AI for soccer

  Harvey conceded that AI was instrumental in her team's success this season – and in a very direct way, too. In an appearance on the , Harvey admitted that she asked ChatGPT to help her form her team ahead of the season. 

  She typed in “What formation should you play to beat NWSL teams?” and it yielded suggestions for how to play against every other NWSL side. The technology recommended she play five at the back against two of them, she said, which served as the base for her tactics throughout the year. 

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• Imagn
  

  A new formation

  Harvey pointed out that the technology was instrumental in helping her think about her tactical setup in new ways. Despite being in managerial roles for nearly 20 years, she admitted hadn't played a five-at-the-back system before, but the analysis from ChatGPT gave her a nudge towards a different way of playing – one that has proved immensely successful this year. 

  "I'd never really done a lot of research on it," she said. "I'd never really, like, invested into how it could be played in the women's game. I'd only ever really seen it from afar, you know, watching men's games really."

  She found, for example, that a five-back system could be applied throughout a game, rather than to just hold onto late leads:

  "It was always sort of talked about as a way to see games out. You know, [you go ahead] and get into a back five and stop people from scoring, was sort of how, like, a back five had been talked about for me," she said.

• IMAGN
  

  A template, not a recommendation

  Harvey was quick to emphasize, though, that she didn't derive her exact system from the technology. The recommendation sparked an idea, which she then encouraged her coaching staff to study, which yielded a new system altogether.

  "We researched it, we did a deep dive on it, we thought about how we could play it,” she continued. “And we went for it, and we liked it. It worked. We won the game."

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• Getty Images
  

  An improvement this season

  Whatever changes AI recommended have certainly worked. The Reign were among the worst teams in the league last season, and finished 13th out of 14 teams. This year, they are fourth, have won 10 out of their 25 games, and, depending on results elsewhere, could secure home field advantage for at least one round of the playoffs.

Newcastle United still have just one win to their name in the early Premier League standings.

Yet, that doesn’t tell the full tale of the Magpies’ wobbly start to the season, with Eddie Howe’s men also only losing one game, as the Toon had to settle for another draw on the road against AFC Bournemouth.

In truth, with just four shots registered on the South Coast, the visitors to the South Coast were somewhat lucky to come away from the drab affair with a 0-0 draw still intact, as several of Howe’s first team struggled to get going against the Cherries.

The main Newcastle underperformers vs Bournemouth

While Arsenal and Manchester City would offer up plenty of entertainment on Sunday, it’s fair to say the encounter between Bournemouth and Newcastle was a little lacking on the action front, on the contrary.

Indeed, Nick Woltemade didn’t exactly boost the Toon as they attempted to play on the front foot, with the 6-foot-6 attacker failing to register a single on-target effort at the home side’s goal, before he was hauled off the Vitality Stadium turf with just six minutes remaining.

Another of Newcastle’s new signings, Malick Thiaw, also failed to put in a convincing display, as seen in the German centre-back winning just 50% of his duels, alongside being a very fortunate individual that he wasn’t dismissed with ten minutes left on the clock when clashing with a Cherries shirt, after already picking up a yellow card.

Lewis Miley also failed to grasp his first-team opportunity as Howe made many changes from Newcastle’s Thursday night defeat to Barcelona, but one of Miley’s teammates in the middle put in an even more uninspiring display than the promising 19-year-old, to now find himself on borrowed time under his manager.

The Newcastle flop who is on borrowed time

At least with both Miley and Thiaw, they should have plenty more to give to the Newcastle cause going forward, with the teenage sensation previously showing he belongs in the senior picture, while Thiaw did register four interceptions (per Sofascore) against Andoni Iraola’s men when not finding himself tangled in contentious moments on the pitch.

The same level of patience won’t be extended to Joe Willock, however, with the 26-year-old’s below-par showing on Sunday only strengthening why Howe hasn’t been picking him for some time now.

Minutes played

62

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

32

Accurate passes

12/15 (80%)

Key passes

0

Total duels won

6/11

Last season saw the forgotten ex-Arsenal midfielder only make 11 Premier League starts, with Willock drafted into the XI against Bournemouth owing to some rusty legs after Champions League action.

Based on his passive display, though, Willock will be lucky to reach the same amount of starts he was afforded last season across the remainder of this campaign, with the one-time breath of fresh air at St James’ Park – who once managed eight league goals in just one season – struggling to even trump Nick Pope in terms of touches of the ball.

Indeed, Willock would only go on to amass a lacklustre 32 touches of the ball next to Pope’s weightier 42 (per Sofascore), while also only being able to accurately complete 12 passes all afternoon. In stark contrast, Sandro Tonali, who is a guaranteed starter week in week out centrally, would trudge off the pitch at the end with 49 accurate passes in tow.

It’s a no-brainer, therefore, for Howe to just reinstate both Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes to their usual positions next to Tonali when Arsenal come to town next in league action, with Willock no doubt looking out of his depth if he were handed a surprise second consecutive start against his former employers.

With Howe stating at the final whistle that his team were somewhat careless on the ball, it’s clear that the declining 26-year-old needs to be replaced instantly for the test of Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, having also been handed a low 4/10 rating post-match by journalist Lee Ryder, who noted that Willock looked “miles off it.”

There will be a tinge of sadness at the end of the Magpies right now, considering Willock does have a hefty 18 goals and eight assists up his sleeve on Tyneside from 148 total clashes.

But, it does appear as if the number 28 is staring the end of his Newcastle career straight in the face now, with Howe certainly less keen to hand him significant minutes moving forward after his no-show on the South Coast.

Newcastle now make early approach to sign £40m+ Real Madrid player on loan

The striker is of a similar profile to Wissa.

ByCallum Kemp Sep 21, 2025

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has described his fifth yellow card of the season as “mind boggling”.

The Everton midfielder will miss Sunday’s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace after reaching the threshold for a one-game suspension after only six Premier League matches.

Dewsbury-Hall’s latest yellow card came in Monday night’s 1-1 draw against West Ham for a challenge on Kyle Walker-Peters where he appeared to clearly get the ball. Writing on X, the 27-year-old said:

“Forgive me if I’m wrong, and I might be, but some of these decisions are so hard to take. Mind boggling.”

Everton 1-1 West Ham

6.43

Liverpool 2-1 Everton

6.86

Everton 0-0 Aston Villa

6.72

Everton 2-0 Brighton

6.75

Leeds 1-0 Everton

6.77

Dewsbury-Hall has impressed for the Toffees since making the move from Chelsea this summer, scoring his first goal against Wolves last month. Everton boss David Moyes agreed with the midfielder’s assessment, saying:

When it comes to producing exciting up-and-coming talents, few Premier League clubs have been as successful as Arsenal in recent years.

For example, even after adding plenty of international superstars to the team, Mikel Arteta’s most important player remains Bukayo Saka.

Moreover, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are already established first-teamers, and Max Dowman looks like he could be the club’s next world-class superstar.

However, for all those youngsters who’ve made their way into the team, Arsenal have lost several incredible gems to other sides, including one who could have potentially one day been a homegrown version of William Saliba.

Saliba's Arsenal career

While it has been on the cards for some time now, David Ornstein finally reported yesterday afternoon that Saliba has agreed to sign a new five-year contract with Arsenal.

According to the respected journalist, the Frenchman will put pen to paper in the “coming days”, and it is difficult to overstate how big a deal this is for the club.

After all, it’s been widely reported for several years now that Real Madrid are desperate to add the incredible centre-back to their squad, and it’s easy to see why.

The Bondy-born “monster,” as dubbed by content creator Connor Humm, has made 139 appearances for the North Londoners, scoring seven goals and providing three assists in that time.

He has also won 28 senior caps for the French national team and put up some seriously impressive underlying numbers last season.

npxG/Shot

0.38

Top %

Pass Completion %

94.3%

Top %

Pass Completion % (Long)

79.9%

Top %

Touches (Mid 3rd)

46.53

Top %

Live-ball Passes

74.27

Top %

Goals/Shot

0.33

Top %

Passes Completed

71.46

Top %

Passes Received

63.29

Top %

Passes Attempted

75.78

Top %

Total Passing Distance

1227.78

Top %

Passes Blocked

0.12

Top %

Touches

83.63

Top %

Touches (Live-Ball)

83.63

Top %

Carries

52.00

Top %

According to FBref, he ranked in the top 1% of centre-backs in the Premier League for pass completion, the top 4% for live passes, the top 6% for goals per shot, the top 7% for passes attempted and more, all per 90.

In short, Saliba is one of the best defenders in the world’s toughest league, so securing his services for another five years is a massive deal.

Unfortunately, Arsenal sold a former academy gem who could have potentially been a homegrown version of the Frenchman.

Arsenal's former homegrown Saliba

So, with Saliba signing a new deal, the incredible performances of Cristhian Mosquera and the other unreal options Arsenal have at centre-back, they are unlikely to be overly concerned about losing a young prospect.

Where Are They Now

However, it can also be true that they would’ve been better off keeping and loaning out Ayden Hevaen anyway.

Yes, the youngster in question is the 19-year-old Englishman, who, after making a name for himself in Hale End and earning a few cameos here and there, joined Manchester United for £1m in the winter window.

Described as a defensive “beast” by podcaster and Hale End expert Will Balsam, the teenage phenom made 47 appearances across the Gunners’ various youth sides and one senior competitive appearance against Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup.

However, since moving to the Red Devils, his game time has dramatically increased, with Ruben Amorim already playing him eight times, including twice this season.

There is still a long way to go before the youngster gets anywhere near his full potential, but it’s easy to see why so many were excited about his development in North London.

On top of his “remarkable” defensive qualities, as Arteta put it, the Englishman is, like Saliba, no slouch with the ball.

In fact, when explaining his qualities, Balsam was keen to point out that his “passing range is frankly insane”, and talent scout Jacek Kulig named Levi Colwill as another player he’s similar to, again because of his “passing” ability.

Ultimately, Arsenal probably have the best set of defenders in world football, but had they kept hold of Heaven, that set would be just that little bit stronger.

Agents tell Arsenal they can sign £36m France star who loves Saliba like a "brother"

He’s very close to the Gunners’ star centre-back who’s set to sign a new deal.

ByEmilio Galantini Sep 26, 2025

Tottenham Hotspur continued their impressive start to life under Thomas Frank with a 3-0 win over West Ham United at the London Stadium on Saturday.

Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergval, and Micky van de Ven scored the goals for the Lilywhites to claim all three points against their London rivals, taking them to three wins from four matches.

One thing Spurs have not had so far this season, though, is an academy graduate playing any minutes in the Premier League, as they are still looking for their next Harry Kane.

Why Spurs need to find their next Harry Kane

Not every supporter will feel this way, or as strongly as others do, but it can be a source of pride to have a player from the team’s academy shining week-in-week-out. One of their own.

Kane was the ultimate version of that. He burst through the academy and loan systems to emerge as an incredible performer, moving on from North London in 2023 with a club-record 280 goals in all competitions, per Transfermarkt.

As well as being one of their own, England’s all-time top scorer was also the king of derby day for Tottenham with an impressive goalscoring record against Arsenal.

Kane achieved all of this, though, after he scored two goals for Leicester City, five goals for Leyton Orient, nine goals for Millwall, and no goals for Norwich City on loan before his first-team breakthrough, per Transfermarkt.

With this in mind, Spurs may be brewing their next version of Kane in one of their current young talents who are struggling out on loan at the moment, Mikey Moore.

Why Mikey Moore is the next Harry Kane in the making for Spurs

The 18-year-old winger was sent out on loan to Glasgow Rangers during the summer transfer window, but has not had the best start to life north of the border.

In five appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants, Moore has yet to find the back of the net and his only assist came against Alloa Athletic, a lower league outfit in the League Cup, per Transfermarkt.

The England youth international has not hit the ground running for Russell Martin’s team at Ibrox, particularly in the Scottish Premiership, since completing his first loan move away from Spurs.

Appearances

3

Starts

2

Shots on target

0

Goals

0

Key passes

1

Big chances created

0

Assists

0

Dribble success rate

17%

As you can see in the table above, Moore has struggled in his first three league outings for Rangers, with no shots on target and no ‘big chances’ created for his team.

The 18-year-old talent is still finding his way at first-team level, though, and these are negative experiences that will provide the harsh lessons that he will need to learn from to kick on and progress, as Kane did after struggling in his loan spells away from Tottenham.

Moore, who analyst Ben Mattinson claimed has “superstar potential”, caught the eye at academy level for Spurs with a return of 19 goals and 13 assists in 24 matches for the U19s, per Transfermarkt.

These statistics show that the English youngster has the potential to deliver goals and assists on a regular basis, but it is down to him to start to show that in the first-team when he returns from Rangers next summer.

Spurs will be hoping that Moore, who has scored one goal for Tottenham’s first-team, uses the 2025/26 campaign as a big learning experience to teach him what to and what not to do at senior level as a regular starter.

Kane used his time at Millwall, Norwich, Leyton Orient, and Leicester to propel him to glory in the first-team, and Moore may well be on his way to following the England captain’s footsteps.

He'll be Frank's own Bale: Spurs have hit gold on "phenomenal" £20m star

Tottenham Hotspur have unearthed themselves a new gem over the last couple of months.

ByEthan Lamb Sep 12, 2025

At the age of 18, the winger has so much time left ahead of him to grow and develop. Hopefully, he will eventually be able to star for Spurs as their first-choice left winger in the future.

Arsenal have now been tipped to drop a key member of the starting eleven for their looming opening day clash against Manchester United in the Premier League this weekend.

Mikel Arteta is poised to do battle with Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford on Sunday, with the north Londoners ending their pre-season preparations as they gear up for yet another title challenge.

Nothing but a perfect start will do for Arsenal, having watched a plethora of their nearest rivals in Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City all splash hundreds of millions on a plethora of summer signings to bolster their squads.

Gunners sporting director Andrea Berta has been a busy man too, investing north of £200 million on six major signings, with Kepa, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera and star striker Viktor Gyokeres all making the move to N5.

It is shaping up to be one of the most competitive Premier League campaigns in history, and especially near the top of the table, with many standout contenders already making themselves known after productive transfer windows.

“I think on the physical part we’re in a really good place,” said Arteta after Arsenal’s final pre-season game against Athletic Bilbao.

“I think we have competed against very different opponents in different contexts, in different countries, so it’s been a really complete pre-season. You constantly learn and evolve in the team, that’s not going to stop now because this is the last test of pre-season. On Monday we’ll continue to work on things, on things that we have to develop and improve from today, from the last few games, and other things that we want to still do. And especially the integration of the new players to make sure that we create such a bond and spirit in the team that we can compete against the opposition.”

Arteta has a few imperative decisions to make ahead of Arsenal’s face-off with United in Manchester, who are under a significant amount of pressure themselves to make a good start to 2025/2026.

Arsenal tipped to drop Myles Lewis-Skelly for Man United

Journalist Charles Watts, speaking to CaughtOffside, is convinced that Arteta could even drop star left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly for the clash.

The 18-year-old enjoyed a stellar breakthrough campaign last season, with his performances at full-back earning Lewis-Skelly both calls to the England squad and a brand-new long-term contract.

The rising star teenager played 23 Premier League games last year, starting 15 of them, and was handed the nod by Arteta in their blockbuster Champions League ties against Real Madrid and PSG.

Lewis-Skelly has been called “incredible” by the likes of Gary Neville after his rise to the first-team, and he’s now become a key player for them.

However, Watts believes that Lewis-Skelly will be axed for United in favour of Riccardo Calafiori.

“I think who starts at full-back this weekend will be interesting for Arsenal. There is a real competition in those positions,” said the reporter.

“When he’s been on the pitch Riccardo Calafiori has looked very good. I really enjoyed his performance last weekend and if he’s deemed fully fit I think he might get the nod at left-back over Myles Lewis-Skelly.

“It’s a tough call, but Lewis-Skelly hasn’t looked at his best yet this summer, so I would not be surprised if Arteta goes with the Italian to try and negate the threat of Bryan Mbeumo and also cause problems up the other end.”

Calafiori suffered various injury problems across 2024/2025, which hampered the Italian’s game time, but if he can stay fit, Arteta will have a seriously star-studded left-back rotation at his disposal.

يلتقي الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي بيراميدز، اليوم الأحد، مع نظيره الجيش الرواندي، ضمن منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

ويستضيف بيراميدز، الجيش الرواندي، ضمن منافسات إياب دور الـ64 من دوري أبطال إفريقيا على ملعب استاد الدفاع الجوي.

طالع.. قائمة بيراميدز لمباراة الجيش الرواندي في دوري أبطال إفريقيا

واقترب بيراميدز من التأهل إلى دور الـ32 حيث يكفيه الفوز أو التعادل أو الخسارة بفارق هدف من أجل التأهل بعد الفوز بهدفين دون مقابل في كيجالي.

ويلاقي المتأهل من هذه المواجهة فريق التأمين الإثيوبي في دور الـ32 من البطولة، ما يمثّل محطة جديدة على طريق البحث عن مجد إفريقي جديد للفريق المصري. موعد مباراة بيراميدز والجيش الرواندي اليوم

وتنطلق المباراة بين بيراميدز والجيش الرواندي، في تمام الثامنة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة والسعودية، والتاسعة مساءً بتوقيت الإمارات العربية المتحدة. القناة الناقلة لمباراة بيراميدز والجيش الرواندي اليوم

ومن المقرر أن تنقل مباراة بيراميدز والجيش الرواندي، عبر قناة “أون سبورت”.

ويمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة عبر مركز المباريات من هنا.

SL head coach feels batters didn’t convert their scores and that their bowlers gave away too much to the SA lower-order batters

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-Dec-2024Sri Lanka arrived in South Africa dreaming of a World Test Championship final spot, but having now been crushed 2-0, that dream has almost certainly faded. There is special regret that Sri Lanka got to play on the two venues that would have best suited them – Durban and Gqeberha – and still could not seriously push the hosts, as they had done in 2019.Head coach Sanath Jayasuriya broke down the defeat, putting it largely down to the failure of batters to push on from starts to bigger scores. This was especially evident in the first innings at Gqeberha, when each of the top five got to at least 20, but only one passed 50. And Pathum Nissanka, who did make a half-century, did not push on to triple figures, though he had the chance to do so.”Batsmen have to convert their scores into hundreds – 30s and 40s aren’t enough,” Jayasuriya said. “It’s tough on these wickets, but at least two batters have to score hundreds on a tour like this. We didn’t get that. All we got were two 80s. I think the batters by now know the value of hundreds on the road, having played in a place like England recently as well. We missed that this time.Related

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“Although there was a lot of effort from the senior batters, I think if they assess themselves individually, they will realise it wasn’t enough.”This was also the first series in his Test career that Kamindu Mendis failed to make a score of substance. He made scores of 13, 10, 48, and 35 – his average plummeting from a Bradmanesque 91.27 before the series, to 74 by its end.”Kamindu Mendis is a key player,” Jayasuriya said. “In every Test match almost he was in the runs, aside from this series. If you saw the way he batted in this series, it was still with a lot of confidence. In his last innings especially, you saw that. You can’t expect a batter to hit 50 or 100 every innings – that’s why you have six or seven batters. As a player, he’s a quality player. If he’s got shortcomings, he works with the batting coach to figure those out.”I know that oppositions are quite concerned, and South Africa were as well. Now, he will have to work hard to counter that. But I love watching a player like him in the team – he scores at a run-a-ball, and plays positively. What I’ve told everyone is to play their natural game and play positive cricket.”Centurion Kyle Verreynne walks back after his century•Gallo Images/Getty ImagesOn the Gqeberha loss itself, he felt the match had been lost in key periods. The first of these was the second morning, on which South Africa had put on 89 runs via their last two partnerships.”In that first innings, after we got eight or nine wickets, we let them have roughly 40 runs too many.Another period was the third morning, on which Sri Lanka lost five wickets, having ended the previous day 116 runs behind, and with seven wickets in hand.”We couldn’t afford those wickets. We could have got a big first-innings lead, and we let the match slip a bit on that morning.”And then on the fourth day, there were a couple of instances in which Sri Lanka did not quite turn their momentum into a definitive advantage. They’d had South Africa 282 for 8 at lunch but allowed the No. 9, 10, and 11 batters to crash 35 further runs. Later that day, they’d also been 117 for 3 before losing two quick wickets.”That 25-30 extra runs from their tail also hurt us in the second innings. In the second innings, when we gave two extra wickets in the evening session. If we’d had the chance to come in today only three down, that would have made a big difference to our batting unit. It’s in those little places that it got away from us.”