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Mesut Özil seems to have accepted his days at Arsenal are numbered, having made just a paltry two appearances for the club in all competitions this season. With his manager Unai Emery reported to be unimpressed with the playmaker’s attitude in training, a January move elsewhere looks increasingly likely even if his current employers are forced to heavily subsidise his £350,000 weekly stipend. Turkish newspaper Takvim, which your polyglot Rumour Mill has delivered daily, report that Fenerbahce have opened talks with Arsenal about a loan deal and say the “dream move can come true in January”. Not for the first time in recent months Manchester City are mulling over the possibility of trying to sign Nathan Aké, having identified the central defender as the man to help plug the conspicuous Aymeric Laporte-shaped hole in their beleaguered defence. Speculation linking Aké with City during the summer ultimately came to naught, but knowing how desperate … [Read more...] about Football transfer rumours: Mesut Özil to leave Arsenal for Fenerbahce?

It was telling that it was two substitutes combining to deliver Chelsea’s 2-1 humbling of the reigning Women’s Super League champions Arsenal on Sunday. The strategy of the Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, has always been to build a strong, deep squad, not just to have quality on the bench but also to provide as competitive an environment in training as possible. That paid off in 2017-18 as Chelsea won the double, Nick Cushing’s Manchester City struggling to keep up with the Londoners as they fought relatively comfortably on all fronts. At the end of that season Cushing pointed to the difficulties posed by the switch from a summer to winter season but also to the lack of depth in his squad. “Listen, people will always question the teams that don’t win because ultimately the standard is set by the teams that win, I get that,” he said. “Maybe we learnt a little bit about the season last year, changing to a winter season meant we played Champions … [Read more...] about Will Montemurro’s small squad come back to haunt Arsenal this season?

“I recently stumbled upon this article about Tony Hibbert signing for an unbeaten Sunday league team in 2017 and missing a penalty for them in a 1-0 defeat on his debut. Which other former professionals have extended their careers into Sunday league football after retiring,” asks George Jones. The smell of liniment oil and the thrill of almost being cut in two by a hungover centre-back would appear to be quite the draw for ex-pros as there have been a few turning out for Sunday teams over the years. “I remember Julio Arca, formerly of Sunderland and Middlesborough, playing for his local team Willow Pond FC in Sunderland for a period after he retired in 2013,” writes Robert Kelly. “He later played for South Shields at a higher standard.” Ali Tabari can go one better. He has a former Premier League player being managed by a former Premier League player in the pock-marked fields of Warwickshire. “My friend until recently played for a team near … [Read more...] about Which former pros have played Sunday league football after retiring?

On a Thursday morning in his Toronto hotel room, Elton John is in high spirits. He is 12 months into a three-year farewell tour that has sold out arenas and sports stadiums around the world, and earned some of the most rapturous reviews of his 50-year career. “The last time I had notices like this I had a full head of hair and the writer had to spend half the review explaining who I was,” is how he puts it. His musical biopic Rocketman has grossed nearly $200m at the box office. And he’s about to publish his autobiography, Me. Full disclosure: I spent three and half years working with John on the book. I was both delighted and impossibly flattered to be asked, but work on it got off to a deeply peculiar start. The first interviews took place on the set of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, in which he had a cameo role that involved wearing one of his old stage costumes. Thus, I enjoyed the disconcerting experience of interviewing Elton John while he was dressed as Elton … [Read more...] about ‘This is a very good question, Bob Dylan’: Elton John, interviewed by famous fans

Stunned Leicester City fans have gathered at the club's ground after its owner's helicopter crashed and exploded outside the stadium.Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was in the helicopter when it came down at about 20:30 BST on Saturday, a source close to the family has told the BBC.Witnesses said they saw it just clear the stadium before it spiralled out of control and crashed in a fireball.The BBC understands two crew members and three passengers were on board.Leicester had drawn 1-1 against West Ham United at the King Power Stadium, with the match finishing about one hour before the helicopter took off from the pitch.Under Mr Srivaddhanaprabha's ownership, the club won the Premier League in 2016, having started the season as 5,000/1 outsiders.Season ticket-holder Richard Jackson, 53, from Market Bosworth, Leicestershire, travelled to the stadium to join with other fans."I'm just devastated really, it is such a tragedy you don't expect to happen," he said."These owners have been absolutely … [Read more...] about Leicester City owner ‘on board crashed helicopter’