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Also, teams have won more games chasing. Here’s what the stats say after 50 matches of each season

S Rajesh02-May-2025At the start of the 2025 season, it seemed there would be new highs in terms of scoring rates and totals this year, as 119 sixes were struck in the first five games (compared to 87 after five matches last year), and 200 was breached six times, including three totals of over 240.

Seamer Bray finished with four wickets after Dunkley’s 43 helped Sixers to 142

AAP15-Nov-2025

Caoimhe Bray became the seventh player to pick up a WBBL hat-trick•Getty Images

Sydney Sixers rising star Caoimhe Bray needed to be told she’d taken a hat-trick as the 16-year-old added another WBBL highlight in a thumping derby defeat of Sydney Thunder.Bray took a wicket on the last ball of her second over and the first two of her next over in Sydney on Saturday, the third thanks to a fantastic diving catch at point from Erin Burns. The excitement of that wicket may have been to blame for Bray and her team-mates’ poor maths, who were all shocked to hear of the feat when the ground announcer informed them over the speakers.Bray is also the Junior Matildas goalkeeper and hit the winning runs as a 15-year-old in her WBBL debut last year. She took a classic catch earlier in this tournament and on Saturday finished with 4 for 15 from her four overs and Thunder were restricted to 118 for 8 chasing Sixers’ 142 for 9.”It’s pretty crazy. I didn’t realise; one of those weird ones that was at the end of the over,” Bray said. “I want to play sport professionally for as long as I can (but) oh yeah, it’ll definitely have to come [to a decision between football and cricket].”Women’s sport is getting more and more professional. If you want to go to the highest level, you can’t be doing that forever.”Maitlan Brown was also effective on a night that favoured the bowlers but Sixers will wait on scans for New Zealand allrounder Amelia Kerr, who injured her quad in the warm-up and was forced out of the game.Sixers had Sophia Dunkley (43 off 35) and Mady Villiers (24 not out) to thank for scraping together their total, while Alyssa Healy (26 off 15) threatened to explode.But Thunder’s star-studded batting order failed to fire in reply, with 18-year-old debutant Lucy Finn (49 not out off 34 balls) valiant in a losing cause after they had slipped to 49 for 7.Finn (1 for 27) also picked up Ashleigh Gardner’s wicket but Thunder joined Brisbane Heat at three defeats in three outings.

Prices in phase one of the ticket sales start at INR 100 and LKR 1000

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2025Tickets for the 2026 T20 World Cup will go on sale at 18.45 IST and Sri Lanka time (13.15 GMT) on December 11, with the tournament slated to begin on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.Prices for phase one of the ticket sales start at INR 100 (USD 1.1) at some venues in India and LRK 1000 (USD 3.2), the ICC said on Thursday. The dates for phase two of the ticket sales will be announced soon. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.cricketworldcup.com.”Phase I of ticket sales is an important milestone in our journey towards delivering the most accessible and global ICC event ever staged,” ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta said. “Our vision for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 is clear: every fan, regardless of background, geography or financial means, should have the chance to access an in-stadia experience of world-class marquee cricket.”With tickets starting from just INR 100 and LKR1000, we are putting affordability at the centre of our strategy. This is about opening the gates wide and inviting millions to be part of a global celebration of cricket, not as spectators from afar, but as active participants in the energy, emotion and magic that only a stadium can offer.”The 2026 T20 World Cup will be contested by 20 teams and comprises 55 matches. The games start at 11am (0530 GMT), 3pm (0930 GMT) and 7pm IST (1330 GMT). The format for the tournament is the same as the previous edition in 2024, where the teams were divided into five groups of four each.The first-round groups are as follows:
Group A: India, Pakistan, USA, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B: Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman
Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, Italy
Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE
The top two teams from each of the groups progress to a Super Eight phase, where they will be further divided into two groups of four each.The Super Eight groups are as follows, assuming these teams qualify from the first round; if another team qualifies, they will take the place of the team from their group that failed to make it:
Super Eight Group 1: X1 (India), X2 (Australia), X3 (West Indies), X4 (South Africa)
Super Eight Group 2: Y1 (England), Y2 (New Zealand), Y3 (Pakistan), Y4 (Sri Lanka)
Each team will play the other three in their Super Eight group, with the top two from each group qualifying for the semi-finals. The two semi-finals are in Kolkata – or Colombo if Pakistan qualify – on March 4, and Mumbai on March 5. The final of the tournament will be played in Ahmedabad on March 8 – if Pakistan qualify, it will be held in Colombo..

Newcastle United supporters are frustrated at the moment, and justifiably so.

Only last weekend, Eddie Howe’s side put in a herculean performance, a display of great resilience and strength, to see off Manchester City in the Premier League.

But that was at St. James’ Park, and the Magpies’ issues on the road deepened against Marseille in the Champions League, going ahead through the in-form Harvey Barnes but succumbing to defeat after two second-half strikes from Roberto De Zerbi’s side.

11

Games

8

8

Wins

1

0

Draws

3

3

Losses

4

16

Goals scored

8

8

Goals conceded

10

2.18

PPG

0.75

As Barnes goes from strength to strength, with three goals from his past two Premier League matches too, Anthony Gordon’s struggles on Tyneside have been accentuated.

The England international is among the most talented players in Howe’s squad, but he’s not been at the races this season.

Anthony Gordon's form for Newcastle

Gordon took some time to get going at Newcastle after joining from Everton for £45m in January 2023, but he thrived across the 2023/24 campaign, winning the club’s Player of the Year after recording 11 goals and ten assists in the Premier League.

Last season was a testing one for the 24-year-old on an individual level, though, and he’s sunk deeper into his struggles this season, yet to score or assist in the Premier League.

Though Gordon is impressing in front of goal on the continent, he’s been out of sorts as a whole this season, with Newcastle blogger Thomas Hammond saying “a summer sale is looking more and more favourable” given clubs like Liverpool have been interested in the £100m-rated winger in the past.

Matches (starts)

7 (7)

5 (5)

Goals

0

4

Assists

0

1

Touches*

35.4

39.2

Shots (on target)*

2.0 (0.7)

2.2 (1.0)

Accurate passes*

14.7 (80%)

16.4 (77%)

Chances created*

1.0

0.4

Dribbles*

1.4

1.4

Ball recoveries*

2.6

3.2

Tackles + interceptions*

0.7

1.4

Duels (won)*

4.7 (49%)

4.0 (41%)

There’s a tenacity and will to win embedded in Gordon’s footballing brain, but this has led to some questionable decision-making, with the £150k-per-week talent sent off three times across 120 appearances as a Magpie.

And with Barnes getting better and better, it could be that PIF look to cash in on their profitable asset going forward. After all, if he continues to struggle, his market value will only depreciate.

Against Marseille, Howe opted to field Gordon as his central striker. This is nothing new, but the versatile forward toiled away. Considering the different variables, there might be cause for Gordon to be sold, especially when considering another Newcastle star’s form this season.

The Newcastle star who could end Gordon's stay

Since arriving on Tyneside at the end of August, Nick Woltemade has been a revelation for Newcastle.

The 23-year-old completed a club-record move from Stuttgart to St. James’ Park after establishing himself as one of German football’s most exciting up-and-coming strikers, and while Howe’s side have problems, six goals from his first 16 games for the club suggest the jackpot has been struck.

The 6 foot 6 star is far more than just a goalscorer, of course, and his ability to drop deep and influence across different areas of the pitch suggests that Woltemade could play alongside Yoane Wissa when the DR Congo star returns to fitness.

And he’s thriving for Germany too. Woltemade is nailing down his claim for the number nine spot ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North America, having posted four goals from his past three matches for his nation.

Hailed as a “world-class talent” by content creator Adam Pearson, Woltemade cannot be expected to haul all this weight by himself each week. He needs players like Gordon to step up.

But with Barnes establishing himself as United’s clear-cut left winger and Wissa soon to enter the equation as he nears the end of the recovery from a knee injury that has kept him out since signing for the club from Brentford last year, there’s a sense that Gordon may find regular minutes from the outset hard to come by down the line.

Woltemade is not a winger, of course, but he does bring many dynamic qualities to the table that emphasise his protean attacking ability. As per data-led site FBref, the German ranks among the top 9% of strikers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons and the top 6% for shot-creating actions per 90.

His knack at finding space to shoot and then doing so clinically is the staple of his skillset, but Woltemade is also a menace in that he has different creative and athletic attributes that help him transcend his striking role.

Could we see a scenario in which Woltemade plays alongside Wissa, flanked by Barnes and Anthony Elanga? It might be the case, and with Newcastle eager to strengthen across the park next summer – notably with a deal for academy product Elliot Anderson in the pipeline – there’s a case to be made that Gordon’s days on Tyneside could be numbered.

He has, of course, proven himself at Newcastle before, but time is running out for Gordon to reestablish himself as one of Howe’s talismanic forwards, and while Barnes appears the most direct threat to his place in the starting line-up, Woltemade’s continual growth adds another chapter to the story.

PIF have signed an "explosive" talent who can end Gordon's Newcastle career

Newcastle United already have an exciting attacker up their sleeve who can end Anthony Gordon’s stalling Magpies career.

ByKelan Sarson Nov 27, 2025

INEOS are now reportedly prepared to spend more than £100m to sign Raphinha from Barcelona under one circumstance at Manchester United in 2026.

The Red Devils owners have not been afraid to spend big on transfer fees in the last six months, despite their cost-saving measures off the pitch. Sir Jim Ratcliffe continues to back Ruben Amorim, who has shown signs that he could yet turn things around at Old Trafford, and that could yet result in further much-needed reinforcements.

INEOS have already seen the majority of their summer signings settle into life at Old Trafford, with Bryan Mbeumo even picking up the Premier League’s Player of the Month award for October to match Amorim’s Manager of the Month achievement. The former Brentford forward scored three goals and assisted one other to earn the award.

After watching Mbeumo pick up the award and claiming the Manager of the Month prize himself, Amorim told reporters: “The credit is not mine, the credit is for my players. They did really well, and our goal is to win the next one because it means we win football matches.”

The former Sporting CP boss, more than anyone, will be well aware that there’s still a long way to go, however, and INEOS must still back the Red Devils in the transfer market.

Forget Mbeumo: "Phenomenal" Man Utd star was the real player of the month

Bryan Mbeumo has won the Premier League Player of the Month, but one other Manchester United star may feel hard done by.

ByEthan Lamb Nov 7, 2025

On that front, those at Old Trafford have already been linked with 2026 moves for the likes of Elliot Anderson and Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic. Anderson would be a particularly impressive signing, given how he’s starred in a struggling Nottingham Forest side as of late, whilst Vlahovic would undoubtedly add depth to Amorim’s frontline.

Neither of those players would be as impressive as Raphinha though, who has scored twice against Man United throughout his career.

Man Utd prepared to spend over £100m on Raphinha

According to reports in Spain, INEOS are now prepared to spend €120m (£105m) to sign Raphinha if Man United qualify for the Champions League this season. Qualification for the competition would hand the Red Devils further financial freedom and the ability to attract stars such as the Barcelona winger.

The Brazilian would instantly become Man United’s record signing at £105m, finally dethroning the £89m fee that they paid to sign eventual flop Paul Pogba in 2016.

Unlike the Frenchman, Raphinha may well prove to be worth every penny after becoming one of the best wingers in the world at Barcelona and finishing fifth in the 2025 Ballon d’Or.

Whether a club-record bid would be enough to lure Barcelona into a sale is the big question. Manager Hansi Flick should be desperate to keep hold of his winger, having told reporters last season: “He has good dynamics with the ball and he has had an extraordinary match. His offensive and defensive dynamics, and his good technique, are something special. I have never had a player like him and he helps us a lot.”

Forget Cunha & Mbeumo: "Explosive" Man Utd star is coded for the Fergie era

Liverpool have lost seven of their last ten matches in all competitions after they were hammered 3-0 by Manchester City at The Etihad in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Premier League champions have now lost five of their 11 matches in the division so far this season, per Sofascore, after losing four of their 38 games in the 2024/25 campaign.

After the match, as shown in the clip above, former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane suggested that the Reds should not be considered in the race for the title, and it is hard to argue with.

The current run of form, their position in the league, and their performance against Manchester City do not suggest that they are likely to retain their crown in the 2025/26 campaign.

Liverpool’s current situation is particularly frustrating for the club when you consider the significant money that they splashed on new signings during the summer transfer window in a bid to strengthen their squad.

Attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz was signed from Bayer Leverkusen for a club-record, at the time, fee of £116m, yet he failed to make an impact once again.

Why Liverpool should be worried about Florian Wirtz

It is fair to expect that a £116m signing would be able to make a fairly immediate impact for the club, but he has been anonymous far too often in his Liverpool career so far.

The Germany international produced 16 goals and 14 assists in all competitions for Leverkusen in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore, which led to the Reds splashing a gigantic fee on his services.

This shows that he has the technical ability to make an impact in the final third. That was further evidenced by his two assists against a Bundesliga team in Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League last month.

However, the physicality and intensity of the Premier League has proven a bit too much for Wirtz when it comes to making an impact with goals and assists at the top end of the pitch.

Per Sofascore, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder has no goals and no assists in 11 appearances in the division for Liverpool since his £116m transfer to Anfield in the summer.

Minutes

83

Pass accuracy

88%

Crosses completed

0/2

Key passes

0

Big chances created

0

Shots

2

Shots on target

0

Duels won

4/8

As you can see in the table above, Wirtz’s performance against Manchester City on Sunday lacked substance, with no shots on target, key passes, or ‘big chances’ created.

He was efficient in his passing and won half of his duels, to his credit, but his lack of physicality meant that he was unable to really threaten the Cityzens backline, marshalled brilliantly by Ruben Dias.

Liverpool should, therefore, be worried because his performances are not improving and his only goal contributions, outside of the Community Shield, came against a Bundesliga team.

Wirtz needs to adjust to the intensity of the English game, and quickly, to start proving why the Reds were right to spend so much money on his signature this year.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The Germany international is not the only player whose performances are concerning, though, as central defender Ibrahima Konate put in another disappointing display.

Why Ibrahima Konate should be dropped by Liverpool

The French centre-back must be ruthlessly ditched from the starting line-up by Arne Slot when the team returns to action after the international break, because he put in a dismal showing against City.

For the opening goal from Erling Haaland, Konate was unable to time his jump correctly and allowed the Norwegian giant to beat him to the header, which landed in the back of the net.

That was followed up by some passive defending in the second half for the third goal. Jeremy Doku seemed destined to cut onto his right foot to shoot from distance, but Konate did not shape his body to react to the situation and allowed the shot to come in almost uncontested.

The France international, who was called “horrific” by Liverpool supporter Lawrie on X, was even worse than Wirtz against Pep Guardiola’s side, as he made costly errors for two of the three goals, whilst the German midfielder simply did not do much of note.

Whilst Wirtz, at least, won half of his duels in the game, Konate struggled with the physical challenge posed by Haaland, which is not a surprise given the Norway international’s presence and style of play.

Minutes

90

Tackles

0

Interceptions

0

Ground duels won

2/5

Aerial duels won

1/3

Dribbles

0

Shots

0

As you can see in the table above, the former RB Leipzig man lost the majority of his duels on the ground and in the air, which shows that he was far too easy to beat in duels throughout the match.

On top of that, the central defender did not step in to make a single tackle or interception, and did not attempt any dribbles to get his team up the pitch to bypass the first line of City’s press.

Passive was the word of the day for Liverpool and Konate, as evidenced by both the result and his individual statistics, which is why Slot may want to shake things up with some changes to his starting line-up after the break.

The France international could find himself out of the team when the Reds next play, with Joe Gomez waiting in the wings for his chance to start at the heart of the defence next to Virgil van Dijk.

Man City fans' brutal chant sums up Florian Wirtz's time at Liverpool

The German struggled, yet again, for the Reds against Manchester City.

ByJames O'Reilly Nov 9, 2025

Whilst it is now down to Slot to decide whether or not that is the right call to make, Konate’s performance on Sunday has given the manager a decision to make.

Are Manchester City rediscovering the form that made them simply unstoppable not so long ago?

In the Champions League, the Sky Blues have now accumulated seven points from nine matches, following Tuesday night’s commanding 2-0 victory over Villarreal; Erling Braut Håland and Bernardo Silva on target during the first half at Estadio de la Cerámica.

​​​​​​

Meantime, in the Premier League, having collected 13 points from the last 15 available, the Citizens have climbed up to second, looking to continue their winning streak at Villa Park on Sunday.

Some may argue that Pep Guardiola’s team are over reliant on one player, although what a player to be reliant on, but could the return of an “extraordinary” talent make the goalbot himself truly unstoppable?

How Erling Haaland compares to Europe's best

We all already knew that Håland was a goal-scoring machine, but he may be taking this to a whole new level this season.

He has netted in each of his last nine international outings, scoring 17 times across these matches in total, while Tuesday’s opener in Spain took his tally to 15 club goals for the campaign already.

Håland is currently averaging a goal every 63 minutes in Manchester City colours this season and, at this current rate, he’ll bag 52 in the Premier League alone, annihilating his own single-season record of 36 set in 2022/23.

Across a top five European league and the Champions League, he is actually not the top scorer, level with Kylian Mbappé who also has 15, but both are being outshone by a certain Harry Kane, who is currently on 17.

Nevertheless, Håland’s importance to Manchester City is underlined by the fact he has scored 65% of their Premier and Champions League goals this season, while no other player at the club has scored more than a solitary goal across the two competitions.

So, one could certainly argue that Man City are overly reliant on Håland’s goal but, if you’ve got to be reliant on one player, he isn’t a bad choice.

So now, which forgotten sky blue star could make the Norwegian truly unstoppable?

Manchester City's new "extraordinary" talent

In 2025, Manchester City have spent around £385m on 11 new signings, the majority of whom have made little impact so far.

Omar Marmoush did impress after arriving in January, Gianluigi Donnarumma has instantaneously proved why he is considered to be a world-class goalkeeper, while Tijjani Reijnders has been a useful addition to midfield.

However, could Rayan Cherki, who joined from Olympique Lyonnais in June for £34m, prove to be the best of the bunch?

Since the start of this season, the Frenchman has seen just 80 minutes of action due to a thigh injury, but has come off the bench towards the end of the last two matches against Everton and Villarreal as he eases back to full fitness.

Having joined hometown club Lyon at the age of seven, Cherki has been touted as a talent to watch for many years, making 185 appearances for les Gones, scoring 29 goals and registering 45 assists, despite still only being 22 years old.

Last season was certainly his most productive in Ligue 1, as the table below documents.

Cherki Ligue 1 stats 2024/25

Stats

Cherki

Ligue 1 rank

Goals

8

25th

Goals – xG

+3

7th

Assists

11

1st

Expected assists

11.7

1st

Key passes

75

2nd

Big chances created

22

1st

Passes into area

77

1st

Progressive passes

206

5th

Shot-creating actions

146

1st

Goal-creating actions

20

2nd

Progressive carries

106

10th

Carries into final third

91

2nd

Stats via FBref & SofaScore

As the table highlights, while he is a goal threat and a high-quality dribbler, Cherki is primarily a creator.

In Ligue 1 last season, he ranked first in all sorts of metrics to support this, namely assists, expected assists, big chances created, passes into the opposition penalty area and shot-creating actions, second only to Désiré Doué in terms of goal-creating actions.

Following his arrival in the summer, Gillian Kasirye of Total Football Analysis asserted that Cherki is the natural heir to Kevin De Bruyne’s throne as Manchester City’s primary chance creator, ahead of existing players, namely Phil Foden.

Meantime, after the Sky Blues’ 4-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on the opening day of the season, the Frenchman marking his Premier League debut with a goal, Guardiola asserted that his talent is “unbelievable”, adding that his “creativity in the final third [is] extraordinary”.

Well, if this rocket against Spain during June’s Nations League semi-finals in Stuttgart doesn’t underline what Cherki is capable of, nothing will!

Thus, following an injury-blighted start to life in Manchester, the Frenchman, on his way back to full fitness, will be looking to start making a serious impact.

For now, he’ll probably become a mere member of the fabled “Pep rotation” alongside Foden, Jérémy Doku, Oscar Bobb, Bernardo Silva, Savinho, Omar Marmoush and others.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

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Nevertheless, based on his talent, Cherki should be right at the front of the queue for starting minutes and, if he rediscovers last season’s creative numbers, Håland will become truly unstoppable, if he isn’t already.

Related 100% dribbles, 5 key passes: 8/10 Man City star showed he's "Sane-esque"

Manchester City beat Villarreal 2-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday night, and one of Pep Guardiola’s stars underlined that he is Leroy Sané-esque.

Posts ByBen Gray Oct 22, 2025

Newly-appointed West Ham manager Nuno Espírito Santo’s arrival is set to spark a significant shake-up of the Hammers squad, according to reports in the last few days.

West Ham planning to back new manager Nuno Espírito Santo in January

Vice-chairman Karren Brady was reportedly a key driving force in West Ham’s decision to hire Nuno, who swiftly jumped into Graham Potter’s shoes just hours after the east Londoners announced his departure.

Potter left Rush Green despite significant support from senior members of the West Ham squad (The Telegraph), and Nuno took West Ham training that same day as the Portuguese quickly got to work ahead of his debut clash in the dugout against Everton.

His first match ended in a 1-1 draw at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Jarrod Bowen’s excellently-taken equaliser cancelling out Michael Keane’s early opener — largely thanks to some impressive work down the left by summer signing El Hadji Malick Diouf.

Everton 1-1 West Ham – best players of the match	Match rating
Michael Keane	8.0
Max Kilman	7.3
Alphonse Areola	7.3
Jarrod Bowen	7.3
James Garner	7.1
via WhoScored

The latter is standing out as a shining light in an otherwise dismal season for West Ham so far, with members of the media already calling Malick Diouf one of the best finds of 2025/2026.

All signs suggest that the Senegal international could be a key player for Nuno, but West Ham are also prepared to bring in new January recruits to support the 51-year-old’s attempts to save the Irons’ season.

West Ham committed to a long-term deal with Nuno by agreeing a three-year contract, even if chairman David Sullivan was initially contemplating a reunion with former manager Slaven Bilic on an interim basis until the end of the season (Pete O’Rourke).

The club must go all in with their new manager, who guided Nottingham Forest back to Europe for the first time since 1995 last season, with West Ham apparently ready to make winter signings in the forward areas to back Nuno.

The ex-Tottenham and Wolves boss will already have a good idea of the players he wants out too.

Nuno caused a stir when he dropped midfielder James Ward-Prowse from the matchday squad against Everton.

The Englishman’s omission was solely Nuno’s tactical decision and not due to injury, with a report now shedding more light on his long-term future at the London Stadium.

James Ward-Prowse resigned to leaving West Ham after Nuno's arrival

According to GiveMeSport and reporter Andrew Dillon, Ward-Prowse is resigned to quitting West Ham in January after Nuno’s arrival, and the former Southampton star has already been told that he has no place in the new boss’ plans.

Nuno’s call to axe Ward-Prowse just two days after his appointment apparently sent “shockwaves” through the squad, but the 30-year-old has accepted his fate with professionalism with no behind-the-scenes bust-ups occurring.

Nuno briefly worked with the 11-cap England international at Forest, who signed on a season-long loan there at the start of 2024/2025, but they cut his temporary spell short midway through the season and sent him back to London.

Taking this into account, Nuno has clearly never fancied Ward-Prowse that much, with the player now poised to leave this winter in pursuit of a new club.

Ward-Prowse was a firm regular under Potter, and his threat from set-piece delivery was viewed as a prime reason why David Moyes brought him to Rush Green for £30 million in August 2023.

He’s just one free-kick goal away from equalling David Beckham’s Premier League record of 18, but that’s now unlikely to happen at West Ham.

Potter was always a fan of Ward-Prowse, even calling him a “quiet leader” in the team, but Nuno views the player very differently.

Arsenal will host Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, with Mikel Arteta's side facing an early test of their European credentials. The Gunners have already seen off Athletic Club and Olympiacos this season, but the visit of Diego Simeone and his troops will be their sternest challenge yet, particularly with the Spanish giants clicking into gear after a slow beginning to the season.

It will also see Arsenal's formidable defence try to keep someone who could have been a team-mate of theirs quiet. Former Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez is loving life again in Madrid, but he could have swapped the capital of Spain for that of England earlier this year.

Alvarez was one of several strikers tentatively linked with a move to Arsenal during the first half of 2025, with Arteta eventually settling on Viktor Gyokeres as his new No.9. Even despite their early-season success, some Gunners fans aren't totally convinced by the Swede and are wondering how much better they could be doing with a different forward up top.

Getty Images SportNeed for a No.9

Arsenal supporters had been crying out for a new No.9 since forever. When you grow up on a diet of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, how can you expect to be satisfied by helpings of Olivier Giroud and Alexandre Lacazette?

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's successful one-man mission to win the 2020 FA Cup was pretty much the last time Arsenal's striker was one of the most feared in the land. Gabriel Jesus did have a period where he looked like the second coming of Pele upon arrival in 2022, but he hasn't been the same since suffering a knee injury at that year's World Cup and is currently working his way back from an ACL tear.

When they needed a centre forward to carry the scoring load in the second half of 2023-24, Arsenal turned to Kai Havertz, who was very openly signed as a midfielder, though whose versatility was seen as a massive plus-point when paying Chelsea £65 million and immediately making him one of the club's highest earners. The Germany international has played well as a lone striker, though has rarely looked like one you could win the Premier League with.

Arsenal's over-reliance on Havertz and winger Bukayo Saka to provide goals and assists also led Arteta down the path of adding firepower to his squad. That was before you even factored in how stale their attack looked during an injury-blighted 2024-25 campaign.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWhy Gyokeres?

Heading into the summer window, there were two prominent names on Arsenal's shortlist. One was RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko, and the other was Gyokeres of Sporting CP. The profile of striker Arteta craved for was a brutish and prolific hit-man who could occupy defenders with their physicality.

Despite a summer spend of roughly £250m ($335m), Arsenal seemingly had a limit on how much they were willing to shell out on a striker. It's one of the primary reasons why they pivoted away from Sesko, per , despite the Slovenian being the preferred choice of the club's hierarchy prior to the window.

Sporting director Andrea Berta, who officially took post on March 30, balked at the demands of both Leipzig and Sesko's representatives, which effectively killed the hope of Arsenal agreeing a deal. Sporting, meanwhile, were still tough negotiators and an agreement over Gyokeres dragged on until late July over the structure of payment, but the price never really went back above £60m ($80.5m) all in once the Portuguese champions agreed to come down on their top scorer's £85m ($114m) release clause. The Sweden international, who scored 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting, became the priority target once Sesko was ruled out of the race for good, with Manchester United later stumping up an initial £66.3m plus £7.4m ($89m plus $9.9m) in add-ons to sign him from Leipzig.

While Sesko was still seen as a work in progress by Arsenal, the hope with Gyokeres was that he could hit the ground running as a ready-made striker capable of firing Arsenal to glory without too much of a settling in period, particularly as he had performed excellently in England with Championship side Coventry City from 2021 to 2023.

Getty Images SportEarly teething problems

Through 11 games of his Arsenal career thus far, Gyokeres has scored three goals. Two came on the second week of the season in a 5-0 hammering of Leeds, while the other came directly after the September international window during a 3-0 triumph over Nottingham Forest at the start of Ange Postecoglou's infamous 39-day spell as manager.

Gyokeres heads into Tuesday's battle with Atletico on a run of nine games without a goal, but this isn't of public concern to Arteta. Prior to Gyokeres drawing a blank in Saturday's 1-0 victory at Fulham, the Arsenal boss said: "I told [Gyokeres] before the first meeting, I said, 'the nine that I want is a nine that when he doesn't score for six or eight games, he can handle that. If not, you have to go somewhere else because the expectation is going to be there'.

"So, if you put on a nine shirt for Arsenal, you have to be able to say, 'OK, six games, if I don't score, I'm a different player? I start to act in a different way?'. No, I want much more of the same of what he's doing."

Speaking after that win at Craven Cottage, Arteta said: "He was very close today again, two or three times. We were all begging for him to score. The work rate he puts in for the team is phenomenal, so we try to give him support and love and it will come.

"He looks at you and doesn't move. He was on the screen like this and he just said: 'It's fine'. That's him. There's no emotion there, he just has a single-targeted mindset. That's what I love about him."

That Arteta has even had to whip out these lines is proof enough that Gyokeres hasn't quite had the totally desired impact to date. Beyond the raw numbers, he also looked lost in Arsenal's 1-0 defeat at Liverpool and their last-gasp 1-1 draw at home to Manchester City. Even against lesser opposition, he's still getting up to speed with the ruthless rigour of the Premier League and appears a step or two behind his team-mates. This is a natural step he needs to take, but one Arsenal can only afford since they're already top of the table.

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Getty ImagesBerta unconvinced

Though Gyokeres and Sesko were the two frontrunners for the Arsenal striker gig, Alvarez's name was one that appeared in many a gossip column when it came to the Emirates Stadium striking vacancy. He was prolific in his first season at Atletico, registering 29 goals and eight assists in 57 matches across all competitions, though was seldom cast as a happy figure at the Metropolitano.

Barcelona have long been linked with the Argentina international, while if Arsenal indeed held an interest, it would probably have been easier to try and get him out of Atletico rather than domestic rivals Manchester City. Alas, Sami Mokbel reported that a move failed to materialise due to financials involved regardless, and Berta, the sporting director at Atleti when they first bought Alvarez for up to £81.8m in 2024, cooled the Gunners' interest.

Alvarez isn't the same physical profile as Gyokeres or Sesko, standing somewhere between 5'7" and 5'9" depending on which database you believe. The point is he's on the diminutive side and wouldn't have been able to harass defenders in the same way, instead relying on his off-ball pressing and on-ball excellence. Playing with this sort of centre-forward may have made Arsenal an easier watch this season, such is Alvarez's elegance and ability to bring others into play.