Footybite

LONDON: Martin Odegaard is about to return to action with Arsenal after being sidelined since last September due to an ankle injury.

Odegaard, who suffered the injury while on duty with the Norwegian national team, has been seen training again in recent weeks.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed the matter by stating that the 25-year-old has entered the final phase of his recovery.

“He’s been training on the pitch for the past few weeks, but he still has a lot to do,” Arteta said.

“As far as we can do in this last stage of recovery, we will have to answer once we have players around him and he starts competing with the team. He is still doing it again.”

It is understood that the Arsenal captain is working hard to be listed on the visit to Newcastle tomorrow. However, what is clear is that he may be back in the squad for next week’s clash against Inter Milan.

In addition, Arsenal also received positive news regarding Gabriel’s fitness level. The player from Brazil was injured during the team’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool last Sunday, but Arteta confirmed that the issue facing the player was not very serious.

Riccardo Calafiori will be ruled out until the international break after picking up a knee injury during the team’s 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk.

Kieran Tierney is also close to returning to action while Takehiro Tomiyasu is also on the injury list in the Gunners squad.

LONDON: Liverpool head coach Arne Slot continued to raise questions about his team’s expectations when they drew 2-2 at Arsenal early this morning, although he praised the Reds’ fighting spirit after falling behind twice.

After a record-breaking start to his Anfield career, winning 10 of Slott’s first 11 games in all competitions, Liverpool recorded their first draw of the season in a thrilling clash at the Emirates Stadium.

Slott, who has repeatedly said it is too early in the campaign to judge his team, returned to his familiar theme after they grabbed a late point.

“I know you (the media) like to talk about the title contenders and where we actually are in the league – and that’s part of your job too,” he said.

“The only thing I see: can you get a result in a tough match on the opponent’s court like this?

“The way we did it pleased me… to see that we can compete with a strong team like Arsenal in their stadium, it’s very pleasing.

“But where exactly it will take us at the end of the season, I can’t tell you yet.”

Mohamed Salah’s late equaliser put Liverpool second, one point behind champions Manchester City with Arsenal five points adrift in third.

Liverpool made the title race a three-way tie for most of last season before collapsing at the bottom of the competition and impressive performances of late have raised the prospect that they could challenge for the Premier League title for a second time.

“To go down twice against a very strong and good Arsenal team, then to get a point is nice to see, especially because we have to play away in Europe this week, we have one less day to recover and prepare,” Slot said. .

The Dutchman picked up his second yellow card of the season leaving him just two yellow cards away from serving a sideline suspension.

LONDON: The supercomputer predicts Manchester United will end the season in such an embarrassing position after Erik ten Hag’s coached squad is predicted to finish 10th.

Not only that, the problem of dullness in the attack also saw them close this season with the achievement of seven goal difference even though Andre Onana currently holds the record without conceding the most.

Arsenal, on the other hand, are expected to ‘cry’ when they miss out on the English Premier League (EPL) title again this season with supercomputers predicting Arsenal to be just one point behind Manchester City who retained their title.

Liverpool also finished third, four points behind City, while Maresca’s Chelsea are predicted to complete the top four with 73 points.

Tottenham is predicted to be in fifth place to overcome Newcastle United who also confirmed their return to the European football competition.

Brighton secured the final slot in European competition when they edged out Aston Villa on goal difference.

Brentford are predicted to get the best finish for Thomas Frank who lost Ivan Toney in ninth place.

The three teams predicted to be eliminated are Wolves, Ipswich and Southampton.

At the moment, the three EPL teams are Crystal Palace, Southampton and Wolves.

MANCHESTER: Manchester United are ready to accept a lower offer for Harry Maguire ahead of the January transfer window.

The 31-year-old former United captain is nine months into his contract at Old Trafford.

United have the option to extend the England defender’s contract by another year, but will try to sell the player first.

The squad managed by Erik ten Hag is reported to be ready to consider an offer as low as 10 million pounds for Maguire.

In the summer of 2023, the England star attracted the interest of several teams, among them West Ham.

Despite losing his place in the starting line-up under Ten Hag, Maguire opted to stay at Old Trafford and began to regain the trust of the Dutch manager.

This season he started three of Man United’s first seven games in the English Premier League.

If sold at the reported price, it would be a huge loss for United who paid 85 million pounds to sign him in 2019.

In the summer of 2023, Maguire will be worth at least 30 million pounds.

Man Utd signed Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich, putting Maguire’s position under further threat.

However, based on statistics, Maguire’s achievements this season surpass De Ligt and Lisandro Martinez.

Before the international break, Maguire scored a last-minute equalizer in a 3-3 draw against Porto in the Europa League.

United are back in action on Saturday, hosting Brentford at Old Trafford.

LONDON: Antony reportedly wants to play on loan outside Manchester United as he looks to reignite his career.

The 24-year-old Brazilian winger has endured a difficult time at Old Trafford since moving from Ajax for £86 million in 2022.

He has only played one minute in the Premier League so far this season and has looked out of touch under Erik ten Hag.

The player has been linked with a move throughout the summer, with several clubs already expressing an interest.

According to The Sun newspaper , Fenerbahce – managed by former United boss Jose Mourinho – emerged as the leading club to secure Antony’s services.

The report says Antony has told United he wants to move with the club willing to work on a loan deal.

The winger is also said to be attracting interest from his former club Ajax, alongside teams in Spain, France and Saudi Arabia.

WOLFSBURG, Germany: Harry Kane helped Bayern Munich come from behind to win 3-2 at Wolfsburg on Wednesday as new manager Vincent Kompany made his Bundesliga debut.

Jamal Musiala put Bayern 1-0 ahead after 19 minutes but Wolfsburg took the lead through Lovro Majer’s brace in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Bayern struggled with Ralph Hasenhuettl’s men punishing some of the visitors’ defensive mistakes.

Kane’s header forced Wolfsburg’s Jakub Kaminski into an own goal after 65 minutes and the England captain set up Bayern’s third, producing a fine pass that allowed Serge Gnabry to fire home the winner in the 82nd minute.

“It’s not perfect yet,” Kane told Bayern TV after the match, noting his side were “punished a bit” in the second half.

“We are obviously still adjusting to some of the coach’s ideas.

“Obviously, this team is stronger than this. I’m glad we have a week to work now, to practice the ideas the coach wants.”

Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich agreed with Kane’s statement on DAZN channel, saying “we lost control of the game because of too many mistakes”, adding they “acted well” when trailing 2-1.

LONDON: Pep Guardiola praised Manchester City’s attitude in starting their mission to defend the Premier League title by beating Chelsea 2-0 even without perfect pre-season training.

Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic goals handed Enzo Maresca his first defeat as Blues boss.

City started the game without their four Euro 2024 finalists – Rodri, Kyle Walker, John Stones and Phil Foden – as Guardiola wanted to give them a longer break after the match.

Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji played for 90 minutes despite returning late for training after progressing to the Euro knockout stages.

But the reigning champions were still able to dominate play against an opponent they failed to overcome in last season’s league campaign.

“I didn’t expect it. I know what these players are capable of, but the first day and lack of practice.

“We only had two or three days to prepare, but we overcame it with our commitment.

“You can’t imagine how lucky I am to be able to experience this situation with a group of great players,” said Guardiola.

Maresca also faces the difficult task of building a team from a squad that has 43 players and more than 50 on the list including those on loan.

This included the decision to drop Raheem Sterling which was criticized by the player’s camp. Ben Chilwell, Conor Gallagher and Romelu Lukaku are also not on Chelsea’s squad list.

None of Chelsea’s nine new players are in Maresca’s starting line-up.

It was even more surprising that Enzo Fernandez was given the captaincy after the player was involved in controversy on social media following Argentina’s victory in the Copa America last month.

Haaland, who was not involved in the Euros, needed just 18 minutes to open the scoring after a move by Jeremy Doku and Bernardo Silva.

Kovacic sealed the win with a solo move that split Chelsea’s fortress before turning the ball past goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

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LONDON: Chelsea ended a disappointing pre-season with a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge.

Enzo Maresca’s squad finished the campaign with three defeats in six matches and Lesley Ugochukwu’s late goal saved Chelsea from another defeat.

The Italian manager fielded his best squad against the Serie A champions ahead of the opening match of the English Premier League next weekend.

Cole Palmer, who was given additional leave after reaching the Euro 2024 final with England, was named for the first time along with Marc Cucurella and Nicholas Jackson.

Chelsea fell behind after 26 minutes thanks to Marcus Thuram’s goal from outside the penalty box.

Maresca’s men controlled the game and had several attempts but none were able to threaten Inter’s goal.

After the break, the home fans were introduced to new player, Pedro Neto, whose transfer from Wolves had just been confirmed.

Christopher Nkunku’s attempt was saved by Yan Sommer in the second half and the post denied Levi Colwill’s shot.

The Blues secured a draw in the final moments thanks to Ugochukwu’s solid shot after Inter failed to clear a corner kick.

Chelsea have only won once throughout the pre-season campaign, with a 3-0 victory over Mexican club Club America.

They lost to Real Madrid, Manchester City and Celtic, as well as drawing in the United States against League One club Wrexham.

Chelsea will begin their league campaign against defending champions, Manchester City this Sunday.