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تأهل فريق إنبي إلى دور الـ16 من بطولة كأس مصر للموسم الحالي 2025-2026، بعدما حقق فوزًا في الدقائق الأخيرة أمام المقاولون العرب، اليوم الأحد.

وتواجه فريقا إنبي والمقاولون العرب، على ملعب استاد بتروسبورت، في إطار مواجهات دور الـ 32 من منافسات بطولة كأس مصر.

طالع.. فيديو | هاتريك سعيدو سيمبوري يقود البنك الأهلي لسحق بور فؤاد في كأس مصر

وفاز فريق إنبي بهدف دون رد، سجله لاعبه زياد كمال في الدقيقة 90+4 من عمر اللقاء، ليخطف بطاقة التأهل إلى دور ثمن النهائي في الثواني الأخيرة من المباراة. هدف فوز إنبي القاتل أمام المقاولون العرب في كأس مصر

ومن المقرر أن يلتقي إنبي مع البنك الأهلي في دور الـ16 من بطولة كأس مصر، في موعد سيحدده اتحاد الكرة المصري في وقت لاحق.

وتأهل حتى الآن إلى دور الـ16 من بطولة كأس مصر، كل من سموحة والبنك الأهلي وبتروجيت وكهرباء الإسماعيلية وفاركو.

The New Zealand spinner achieved an extraordinary feat in his home city three years ago. What can he do this time around?

Ashish Pant30-Oct-2024Mumbai holds a special place in Ajaz Patel’s heart. It was where he was born and grew up for a while before emigrating to New Zealand with his parents as an eight-year-old. His wife is from the city, and he still has plenty of extended family there, whom he often visits. Three years ago, the Wankhede Stadium was the scene of one of the rarest bowling feats in Test cricket, when Ajaz became only the third bowler in the history of the format to bag all ten wickets in an innings.That was his first time playing international cricket in India and he finished the two-Test series as the highest wicket-taker, with 17 wickets – 14 of which came in that Mumbai Test, to date the best figures by any visiting bowler in the country. While it was an effort that catapulted him to global recognition, it was also bittersweet with New Zealand going down in the Test and losing the series 2-0.Now, almost three years later, New Zealand make their way to the final Test of the series having taken a 2-0 lead and broken a slew of records on the way. There is some pressure on them to sweep the series, but as Ajaz makes his way back to his “second home”, he is likely to take a quiet moment to himself in the place where it all began.Related

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“Yeah, it will be pretty cool. It’ll be pretty nostalgic for me, obviously, going back there,” he says. “My roots are deeply connected to Mumbai. For me, it’s just special being there and being available and having the opportunity to play at Wankhede. Yeah, it’s surreal. Even when I went there the first time, it was really special even before everything kicked off. It was just special to be in Mumbai and be able to have the opportunity to play there.”It was on the second day of the Mumbai Test in 2021 that the stars aligned for Ajaz. He had bagged four wickets on the opening day and was eyeing the honours board, but there was a lot more than that in store. He got his fifth and sixth off consecutive deliveries, and while the seventh took another 28 overs to come, he wrapped up the final three wickets quickly to claim a place in history.Of the ten, Virat Kohli’s wicket was the one Ajaz cherished the most. “He’s a great of batting around the world and comes out with an aura and confidence, and to be able to get him out was special,” he says. But more than the wickets, he remembers most fondly a feeling that came over him earlier in the match.”In a funny way, the glaring moment of that game for me was being out there on the morning of day one and kind of absorbing the fact that you’re out there in Mumbai,” he says. “The place that you’re born… you’re not living in India anymore, you’re playing for another country, which is your new home, but you’re back here against India. And all those things in combination were quite crazy to comprehend, and obviously, a lot of things have to line up to get that opportunity.Ajaz joined Jim Laker and Anil Kumble in taking ten in an innings in the Mumbai Test in 2021•BCCI”It’s almost like I was destined to come there and play, but then the way that it unfolded was obviously quite special. At the end of day two I was just kind of sitting back and appreciating what I’d achieved and what had just happened, and also accepting the fact that there’s a lot of destiny about it, and there’s a lot of grace from high up above to be able to achieve something like that, because we all appreciate that cricket requires a little bit of luck as well, and to take ten, you need a lot of things to go your way. So that was pretty special.”

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Ajaz made his first-class debut in 2012 and had to wait for close to six years to break into the New Zealand team. The 2021 Mumbai Test was only the 11th of his career. One would assume that after taking ten in an innings, opportunities might have been fairly regular for Ajaz, for a while at least. As it turns out, he wasn’t even part of the squad for the next Test series that New Zealand played, against Bangladesh at home less than a month later. In fact, of his 20 Tests, only three have been at home, the last of them in February 2020.New Zealand’s bowling requirements are such that they have opted for a seam-heavy combination at home, with the likes of Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips doing the spin-bowling duties if required. Since his record feat, Ajaz has been part of only ten of the 23 Tests New Zealand have played. All but one of those ten were in Asia. Before the Sri Lanka tour just preceding the ongoing one of India, he went through a period where he played only four Tests in close to two years, between late December 2022 and September 2024.While there is a tinge of frustration at the lack of opportunities, Ajaz admits it “breeds hunger” and the will to “continue to improve”.”If you’re honest, as an international cricketer and a professional cricketer, you want to be playing every game and work towards putting yourself in a position to be able to do that and play in all conditions and play everywhere around the world,” he says. “But sometimes in New Zealand, that’s a little bit difficult. You look around the world and you see spinners playing in all conditions. They play in their home conditions, they play in away conditions, where I guess our team balance and what we’ve been looking to achieve for a while now has been so seam-dominated that it’s been difficult to find a space in that team as a spinner.Ajaz’s new, slightly longer, run-up has helped him expand the range of speeds he can bowl at•AFP/Getty Images”But also, in saying that, if we look at the last five to eight years of New Zealand cricket, we’ve probably had the best seam attack we’ve ever had. So it’s kind of going well.”Yeah, it’s difficult and you want to play and you want to be available and push yourself for every opportunity, and realistically, sometimes that’s not a possibility.”But I think you still have to aim for it, you still have to work towards it because that’s the best way to prepare yourself when the opportunity does arise. I know that I don’t get as many opportunities, So when I do, I’m really hungry for them and I’m really excited for them. And I always work towards my game to be available everywhere, whether it be at home or whether it be in the subcontinent.”Obviously then it’s up to selectors whether I get picked or not. And then if I don’t get picked, that’s fine. I continue to grow my game, so that I can still keep pushing for that opportunity.”He can take comfort in the fact that since his debut, he has been part of the New Zealand playing XI in every Test in Asia. On the flip side, there is obvious expectation from him to rock up almost cold and succeed in spin-favouring conditions almost every time. After all, since his debut, only five bowlers have more wickets in Asia than his 70 in 15 Tests at 30.57 Over the last few years, he has made a change in his bowling stride and load-up, lengthening his run-up to help vary his pace so as to better adapt to surfaces in the subcontinent. It has yielded results. Ajaz was the second-highest wicket-taker when New Zealand visited Bangladesh for a two-Test series late last year. He also picked up eight wickets in the first Test against Sri Lanka in September.”If I’m honest there, about two years ago, I felt like my bowling wasn’t quite up to where I wanted it to be. And it’s funny to say that, because it was literally after I took ten wickets in India,” he says. “But my drive has always been to continue to improve and continue to get better. And one of the big things for me was being able to hit a higher range [of speed].”With my old action and my old run-up, I was able to hit 90s [kph], but not quite consistently. I would range between the mid-80s and the early 80s to the early 90s. With the addition of the run-up, now I can go up to mid-90s and still [also] hit the early 80s. So that range becomes a lot bigger, and that gives you more opportunities and also, it allows you to challenge batters on different surfaces.”If it’s slow, you can adapt and get quicker, or if it’s quick, you can adapt and get slower. After that Mumbai Test, there were probably games where I wasn’t quite satisfied with how it was coming out and what I was able to produce. It was then [about] going on a little discovery and figuring out what that looks like and where I wanted to take my bowling next.”During the two Tests in India in this series, Ajaz has seen the fast bowlers run riot in Bengaluru, and then Mitchell Santner take 13 in Pune. With match hauls of 2 for 100 and 2 for 97, his own performances have been lukewarm. Now, though, on (second) home territory, he will hope for another special show as New Zealand eye a rare series sweep. He will have plenty of support in the form of his parents, wife, daughter and extended family in attendance in the crowd. Is another ten-for too much to ask for?

Overlooked in selection but unplayable on the field, his left-arm spin upstaged the pacers and put Central Zone in command of the final

Ashish Pant11-Sep-2025When Central Zone captain Rajat Patidar won the toss in the Duleep Trophy final, he was clear in his decision to bowl first. “Very simple,” he said at the toss. “There are overcast conditions, it is a fresh wicket and has a good grass cover on it.”It had rained relentlessly in and around Bengaluru for most of Wednesday evening, which kept the surface at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence under covers. There was a thick band of cloud overhead on the morning of the final and the pitch had a greenish tinge to it.But despite the favourable conditions, none of the three Central Zone fast bowlers, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen and Aditya Thakare were incisive enough. There was lateral movement both off the surface and in the air. They got the occasional plays-and-misses and lbw appeals, but the consistency was missing. The South Zone openers, Tanmay Agarwal and Mohit Kale, also to their credit, left the ball reasonably well.Related

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The run rate was under two an over but with the three quicks going wicketless in their opening spells, Patidar switched to spin, bringing on left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya in the 16th over.Kale, on 9 off 49 balls at the time, thought this was his chance to score. Kartikeya’s final ball of his first over was a gentle tossed-up delivery at 87.3kph, pitching on middle and going on with the arm. Kale’s T20 instincts took over as he eyed a cross-batted swipe. But he missed and saw his middle stump pegged back. A few overs later, Kartikeya sent back left-hander R Smaran with a similar ball. A flighted delivery on middle, which Smaran tried to hoick across the line, managed a top-edge and square leg took an easy catch.Kartikeya then delivered what was arguably the ball of the day. From around the wicket, he pitched a flighted delivery on leg stump, got it to dip and then spun it sharply past South Zone captain Mohammed Azharuddeen, turning him into an S and rattling his stumps.On the opening morning of the Duleep Trophy final, where the fast bowlers were expected to do the damage, South Zone’s top-order had been wrecked by Kartikeya. And he did so by just bowling orthodox left-arm spin and landing the ball in the right areas. By lunch on the opening day, South Zone had been reduced to 64 to 4.”When I saw the wicket, I thought I might not get any help in the beginning because it was the first day,” Kartikeya said after the first day’s play. “I just wanted to land the ball in the right areas and not leak any easy runs.”I realised that keeping a tight economy rate should be my top priority, so that the batter comes under pressure and makes mistakes. I just wanted to do my basics right and not try too much. My main aim was to bowl with patience, because that will eventually benefit us.”With his Madhya Pradesh team-mate Saransh Jain also joining in on the wicket-taking fun, Central Zone ran through the South Zone batting unit. Kartikeya picked one more wicket, trapping Gurjapneet Singh lbw, to finish with 4 for 53 in 21 overs. By tea on the opening day, South Zone had been bowled out for 149.Kumar Kartikeya struck thrice in the first session of the final•PTI Two years ago, Kartikeya was the architect of MP’s maiden Ranji Trophy title win, finishing as their leading wicket-taker with 32 wickets. He followed it up with another 30-plus wicket season in 2022-23 and finished the 2023-24 season with 41 wickets.His 2024-25 Ranji Trophy numbers were also decent: 28 wickets in six matches, but with the emergence of Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar, two left-arm spin allrounders, Kartikeya was pushed down the pecking order. He didn’t make it to the original Central Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy and only got a chance in the final with Dubey and Suthar leaving for India A’s series against Australia A.But instead of sulking at not being picked in the initial squad, Kartikeya is “taking this as an opportunity”.”I have no control over the selection of the team, but I have control over my bowling, and I want to do that well,” Kartikeya said. “I was waiting for this chance for a long time. My mindset was clear that whenever I bowl, be it at the start, middle or end, I have to pick wickets.”A traditional left-arm fingerspinner, Kartikeya added legspin to his bowling arsenal around three years back. He initially used it only in white-ball cricket, but in the last two years, he has started to bowl the legbreak in red-ball cricket. He bowled a few legbreaks on Thursday as well, and while he didn’t get a wicket, he knows “if nothing is working, I also have the legspin in my armoury.””Legspin is a useful tool to have on any surface,” Kartikeya says. “I get a lot of benefit from that. Earlier, I used to bowl legspin only in white-ball cricket, but in the last two years, I have started bowling legspin in red ball cricket. Whenever I get a flat track, where left-arm spin is not that useful, I bowl legspin.”Central Zone have won the Duleep Trophy just once, in 2014 against South Zone. Incidentally, it was a left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza, who fashioned their title win with seven wickets. Eleven years later, another left-arm spinner has helped Central Zone gain the upper hand on the first day. Can he lead them to a second Duleep Trophy title?

Stubbs, who scored 49 from No. 3 on the opening day, says he prefers to bat there “more than anywhere else”

Firdose Moonda22-Nov-20252:42

Is extreme seam movement as difficult to face as extreme spin?

On a day when the shortest Ashes Test in more than a century was completed in Perth, we know that Test cricket can still be a slow burn. Guwahati showed us that.We also know now that the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, which is hosting its first Test, can prepare a pitch worthy of the occasion. Unlike Eden Gardens, where bounce was variable from the outset, this surface has something for everyone and, in particular, seems good for batting.And we know that South Africa did not take full advantage of that. For the first time in Test history, each of the top four scored at least 35 without anyone going on to make 50. Tristan Stubbs, back at No. 3, came closest with 49. Even though he didn’t manage a milestone, we know now that he is batting in the spot he “prefers more than anywhere else”, as he told the broadcasters afterwards. Of all the things we know from today, that could be South Africa’s most significant.Related

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Over his 14-match Test career, Stubbs has been shifted around South Africa’s line-up from No. 3 to No. 7, which he described as “not the easiest” situation to navigate. Even though he was officially given the No. 3 spot last August, he was only there for four and half Tests before it became something of a rotating door with the likes of Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder and Tony de Zorzi all batting there. We know that was necessitated by South Africa having strong top-order batters and that Stubbs’ reputation as a white-ball finisher means he could be moved around. What we didn’t know was how he felt about that. Now we do and we also know that he worked hard to try and make the spot his own.”It’s not the easiest moving around, but whatever the coach asks [I’ll do]. I’m just happy to be in the team,” he said at the post-match press conference. “I’ve worked a lot on my defence. I had to, coming in as a white-ball player and then being asked No. 3, so I grafted hard on the defence. I find that at No. 3 you can afford to be a little bit more defensive, whereas at No. 5 and 6, you have to come in and take the game on a bit earlier.”

“I’ve worked a lot on my defence. I had to, coming in as a white-ball player and then being asked No. 3, so I grafted hard on the defence”

Stubbs described the adjustment he had to make as “not so much technical, but more mental” and said he looked at “tightening my game plan, especially if it’s doing a bit up front and reining in your scoring options.”That explains why Stubbs has been ultra-cautious in the way he has played. Against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, for example, he scored 13 runs off the first 60 balls before going on to finish with 76 off 205. Here, against a more challenging attack, he was 13 off 37 before he trusted his footwork enough to take on Kuldeep Yadav and hit him down the ground for six. That was one of six attacking shots he played in an innings that was characterised by conservativeness.Stubbs spent a lot of time getting on the front foot to block Kuldeep and later on Jasprit Bumrah, whom he kept at bay successfully. In total, 25 of the 32 balls Stubbs faced from Bumrah were dots and only one of them actually beat him. Stubbs was compact, left no gap between bat and pad, and used his feet well. What he didn’t do as much as he might have liked was look for more run-scoring opportunities, partly because India made it too difficult but also because he is still learning about the tempo of a Test innings and he knows that.”You can bat time, but you look up and the scoreboard’s sort of gone nowhere,” Stubbs said. “They bowled quite well, their seamers especially, just kept bowling a straight line to attack the stumps.”Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs added 84 together•AFP/Getty ImagesStill, his 84-run stand with Temba Bavuma is the highest of the series, albeit the slowest of the match, with a run rate of 2.77. But it showed the kind of guidance Stubbs can thrive under if he can bat more with the top order. Bavuma was more proactive than usual, was scoring quicker than Stubbs, and pushed him for singles. At one point, Bavuma called Stubbs through and ran to the danger end himself as he tried to inject energy into the innings. Stubbs has only played 30 first-class matches, almost half of them Tests, so he has not had many opportunities to build big partnerships with someone of the experience of Bavuma, who has 178 first-class caps to his name.Though Stubbs was ultimately frustrated because neither he nor Bavuma could kick on, what he would have learnt in their time together in this match could be both valuable for his development and instructional for South Africa in how they use him going forward. It’s worth saying that South Africa didn’t play another Test for almost 11 months after this and it also can’t be known if Stubbs will still feel the same way about where he wants to bat. So plans could change but this innings feels important for what it showed about Stubbs’ ability.For now, what’s more pressing is what South Africa do with the four days they have left in this series, given that they ceded some of the early advantage. With five of the top six dismissed by a build-up pressure leading to poor shots, Stubbs owned their errors. “All of us had opportunities and no one kicked on, so we can take that on ourselves,” he said. “When you get in, you don’t want to give it away ever and four or five guys got starts. Ideally, you want one, maybe two, to go on to make big hundreds and then at the end of play, we would maybe have been three down. If you ask any of the batters, they’ll take that on themselves. It’s not nice to score 30 or 40.”All South Africa’s specialist batters have been dismissed, all of the XI can contribute with the bat and the current pair, Senuran Muthusamy and Kyle Verreynne, have had success in the subcontinent. Muthusamy has a career-best 89 not out in Pakistan and Verreynne a century in Bangladesh, and Stubbs suspects South Africa will need something significant from them because on a pitch that is expected to deteriorate, as he said, “first innings runs are gold”.

Lionel Messi was asked for a selfie by his own team-mate during Argentina's latest camp, while he swapped shirts with a rival that he nutmegged on two occasions while helping to deliver a 2-0 victory over Angola. The eight-time Ballon d’Or showed once again before and after that contest why he remains a star attraction, with everybody wanting a piece of him.

• Will Messi play at the 2026 World Cup? No decision made as yet

  Messi, much like eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo, is aware that he cannot go on forever. He has signed a new three-year contract at MLS side Inter Miami, taking him through 2028, but has hinted at international retirement being close.

  He has earned 196 caps, scoring 115 goals, but is yet to decide whether he will form part of a World Cup title defence next summer when FIFA’s flagship event heads to the United States, Canada and Mexico. The expectation is that he will grace that tournament.

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• Getty
  

  Starstruck! Panichelli asks for selfie with Messi

  Coaches and colleagues are, however, looking to make the most of every opportunity that they get to work with the all-time great. For Argentina new boy Joaquin Panichelli – who made his senior debut against Angola – that means getting a picture with the GOAT when the chance presents itself.

  He has told of working with Messi: “I grew up watching him, for so long. To be here, to see him in person. Not only him but all the superstars here, it's really great. It's still a football team, it's football, and I tried to be prepared and do my best. I asked him for a photo; it was really nice to be able to share these moments with him.”

  Panichelli added on making his bow against Angola, with the nine goals that he has scored in France for Strasbourg this season earning the 23-year-old his big break: “It's a dream come true to be here, and today I got to play some minutes. It's an incredible joy to be here and get some playing time. I consider myself more of a centre-forward. I feel I have the qualities and I can do it well. I'm tenacious; I like to fight and tackle.”

• Getty
  

  Shirt swap: Which Angole star landed Messi's jersey?

  Panichelli was one of several debutants in a friendly clash with Angola, as Kevin Mac Allister – the brother of World Cup-winning Liverpool star Alexis – Maximo Perrone and Gianluca Prestianni also earned their first caps.

  They got the opportunity to rub shoulders with Messi prior to seeing the Inter Miami superstar replaced as Lionel Scaloni rang the changes. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was on the pitch long enough for one lucky opponent to claim a notable memento.

  Angola captain Fredy Ribeiro made sure to land Messi’s fabled No.10 jersey, with a shirt swap taking place after they had exchanged nutmegs during the opening 45 minutes of a contest that took place at the Novembro Stadium.

  Ribeiro told : “I swapped jerseys with him at half-time. I'll keep it for my kids. It's something they'll cherish. They asked for a photo, and I brought them a jersey! He nutmegged me twice, but then I nutmegged him. Two against one.”

  He went on to say of the game itself, which saw Messi and Lautaro Martinez find the target: “Very difficult. They have a lot of quality, you can see it in their starting eleven . We tried to do good things and I think we had some positives. I believe we showed a good image to the world, but Argentina's quality is very different.”

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• International retirement: When will Messi bow out with Argentina?

  Argentina have wrapped up qualification for the 2026 World Cup, with the defending champions expected to go well again regardless of whether Messi is involved or not. They would prefer to have their talismanic captain on board, with one last dance against Ronaldo being mooted.

  Messi will likely bow out of international football after that competition, with more historic achievements having been achieved when representing his country. He has already taken in a final outing on home soil, with his wife and children in attendance, and is assured of a place among the sporting immortals.

Karima Gore struck an unbeaten half-century to see a 134-run chase through

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Aug-2025

Shakib Al Hasan made history on Sunday, becoming the fifth man in the world to take 500 wickets in T20 cricket. He bowled only two overs against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots but picked up 3 for 11 in a match-winning effort for Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, who consolidated their place at the top of the CPL 2025 points table.Shakib needed six balls to get the record out of the way, deceiving Mohammad Rizwan in flight and securing a caught and bowled. Two more wickets came his way as he quadrupled his tally for the season and limited the former champions to a meagre 133 for 9 in North Sound. Patriots had a tough go of it after being put in to bat with only Rizwan (30 off 26) and Evin Lewis (32 off 31) scoring more than 18 runs. There were four single-digit scores and three run-outs, epitomising an innings that never went quite right.With a target in front of them, Falcons were able to negotiate the difficult batting conditions better but even they had the odd hiccup. Afghanistan wristspinner Waqar Salamkheil continued his outstanding form as this season’s top wicket-taker with figures of 1 for 16. Patriots needed more than one man to pull off this defence though. They ran into Shakib again, this time with the bat as the Bangladesh allrounder showed off his other skill. Four other men have 500 wickets in T20 cricket but none of them have nearly as much as his 7574 runs. Shakib was 3 off seven balls before he hit Ashmead Nedd for a six down the ground and reverse-swept the next ball for four to hasten Falcons’ march to the finish line.Falcons needed 28 from 30 balls when Shakib fell. Karima Gore, who was playing the anchor’s role until then, found a couple of boundaries to ease off the pressure. He also hit the winning boundary, thus seeing off the chase with two balls to spare and bringing up his fifty as well.

Arsenal’s worst fears on the injury front have been confirmed, with Mikel Arteta announcing that Cristhian Mosquera is set to spend “weeks” out of action. The full extent of his fitness setback has been revealed, with the Spanish defender joining fellow centre-halves William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes in the treatment room. The Gunners are having to get creative with their team selections.

Getty Images SportMosquera injury: Saliba and Gabriel already ruled out

Highly-rated Spaniard Mosquera, who moved to Emirates Stadium from Valencia over the summer, picked up his unfortunate knock during a Premier League clash with Brentford on December 3. He was among those providing cover from stricken defensive colleagues.

He is now taking in a rehabilitation programme of his own, with Arsenal set to be without the commanding 21-year-old for the remainder of 2025. It is being suggested that Mosquera could be sidelined for up to eight weeks.

Arteta has not put a timescale on his recovery, but has said when asked for an update on Mosquera’s condition – having seen him land awkwardly after competing for a high ball against the Bees: “He’s going to be out for weeks, unfortunately, it’s much more than what we expected. But the player was feeling it, so he’s going to be out for weeks.”

AdvertisementPack shuffle: Norgaard used as a makeshift centre-half

Arsenal opted to move Dutch full-back Jurrien Timber inside alongside Ecuador international Piero Hincapie against Aston Villa, but suffered a 2-1 defeat in that contest as their lead at the top of the Premier League table was cut to just two points.

Arteta shuffled his pack again in a Champions League clash with Club Brugge. Hincapie is still being asked to provide some form of leadership at the heart of Arsenal’s back four – as a recognised centre-half – but was joined in Belgium by Danish midfielder Christian Norgaard.

They helped to keep a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Brugge, with versatile Italian Riccardo Calafiori replacing Hincapie midway through the second half.

Arteta told reporters afterwards of the effort on show from his side: “It's a really positive evening and I think it's very difficult to win away from home in the Champions League. We've done it with a lot of absences, especially in the backline and even this morning we lost two players. I love the way the team reacted to that, collectively, individually, for example what Christian Norgaard has done just talks about how much better he makes all of us with his attitude, with his commitment in the manner that he prepares and is able to perform. So yeah, overall a really positive night.”

GettyHome-grown stars: 16-year-old Salmon handed debut

Arteta was also able to hand a debut to 16-year-old academy graduate Marli Salmon – with the youngster capable of operating at centre-half or right-back. Arsenal’s head coach said of that decision: “Well, the thought was as well from yesterday, the fact that we had to play Christian as well, we had to really consider it because we were playing a really good side that had some really good results in the Champions League at home as well, but we knew that at some point we had to use him. So, he was ready, he was prepared, he can play as a centre-back or as a full-back and I'm delighted. He's so young, 16 still, and he's playing in the Champions League. So yeah, what a great night for him as well.”

Arteta added on continuing to blood home-grown stars: “Well, that's great, that's what we want. That's why we put so much work and everybody in the academy puts so much enthusiasm and work. And for a long time, you have to prepare those talents. So, thanks to them, because when we need them, they are there, they are ready to perform. So that's great.”

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Arsenal fixtures: Next up for the Gunners

Arsenal may decide to stick with Norgaard when taking in a home date with rock-bottom Wolves on Saturday. They have five more fixtures – including a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Crystal Palace – to take them through to the end of the calendar year.

With the England looking to keep their Ashes hopes alive, Alan Gardner is joined by Andrews Miller and McGlashan to preview the second Test in Brisbane

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2025The dust has settled after the first Ashes Test but there’s still plenty of noises off as England and Australia prepare to meet again after a 12-day gap. On this week’s Switch, Alan Gardner is joined by Andrew Miller in the studio and Andrew McGlashan down the line from Brisbane, with plenty of questions to answer. How will England go against the pink ball? Why Will Jacks as the spinner and not Shoaib Bashir? And is it the end of the road for Usman Khawaja? Enjoy.