A.J. Brown Spotlight: Player Props for the NFC Conference Championship

Mikel Arteta said Arsenal s squad requires an overhaul in the transfer market and the under-fire manager believes he will be afforded the time and funds to reverse their alarming slide.

Arsenal are set to be without European football for the first time since 1995-96 as they languish 10th in the Premier League this season.

The Gunners were sensationally upstaged by Unai Emery s Villarreal in the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday as pressure mounts on Arteta, who replaced the former in 2019.

But Arteta expects to be backed by the Kroenkes in London, where Arsenal are preparing to host second-bottom West Brom on Sunday.

The squad needs changing, Arteta said. There were already a lot of changes in December, something that has not been done in years, but …

Liam Delap gave Manchester City a tantalising glimpse of their future before the EFL Cup holders were forced to scrap for a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth in round three.

Delap, the 17-year-old son of former Stoke City favourite Rory, has sparked plenty of excitable talk through his explosive performances for City s youth teams and he wasted little time when it came to making an impression on his senior debut.

Pace, power and a dead-eyed finish in the 18th minute had Pep Guardiola celebrating with delight, but the City boss soon had a furrowed brow as Sam Surridge brought the Championship side level.

Flimsy defending and a failure to create regular clear chances saw Guardiola send for the cavalry in Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, with the winner arriving in f…

Sergio Ramos became Spain s joint most-capped player on Sunday, moving level with former Real Madrid team-mate Iker Casillas.

Captain Ramos lined up for his national team for the 167th time, as they played a Euro 2020 qualifier against the Faroe Islands.

The appearance also moved him into the top 10 for the most-capped internationals ever in a list that includes only three other Europeans Italian Gianluigi Buffon, Latvian Vitalijs Astafjevs and Casillas.

Here we profile Spain s five most-capped players.

Sergio Ramos 167 caps

Ramos, 33, made his debut back as an 18-year-old against Chile in 2005, becoming the youngest player to debut for Spain in over half a century.

¡Equipo campeon!
Listos para un partido especial para …

Few coaches have received quite as much scrutiny as Joachim Low in the elongated run-up to Euro 2020.

Castigated after Germany s stunning group-stage exit at the 2018 World Cup, Low kept his job on the proviso of him starting a new phase for Die Mannschaft, with many of the old guard who helped inspire them to glory four years earlier in Brazil cast aside and their next generation of stars pushed to the fore.

Transitions, though, are rarely straightforward and Germany s bumps on the road to the European Championship were severe. They would have been relegated from League A of the Nations League if not for a restructuring following the inaugural edition and a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Spain in the same competition last November prompted an inquest that eventually led…

Real Madrid must return to the scene of one of their greatest embarrassments in modern times after being drawn to face Alcoyano again at the last-32 stage of the Copa del Rey.

For a second successive year, Madrid must travel to the tiny Estadio El Collao in Alcoy in their opening match in the competition.

They will be looking to avoid the fate that befell them in January of this year, when then-coach Zinedine Zidane and his players were humiliated after losing 2-1 to the third-tier team, who snatched an extra-time winner while down to 10 men.

Alcoyano booked their place in the last-32 stage this season with a penalty shoot-out win over Levante, and Friday s draw for the next round saw them handed another plum home clash with Madrid.

Now being led by Car…

Watford s Javi Gracia confessed he is not entirely sure what the term Sarriball means but believes Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri is one of the best around.

The Hornets face Chelsea on Sunday and need a win to keep their hopes of a top-seven finish alive – albeit their chances will already be over should Wolves beat Fulham on Saturday.

Chelsea also need the three points, as the race for the top four and Champions League qualification via Premier League placing heads down to the wire.

Sarri s possession-based style of play drew plaudits at the start of the campaign, though pressure reportedly remains on the Italian s position.

And while acknowledging his ignorance of the phrase coined to describe Sarri s philosophy, Gracia stressed his respect for his…

It was well after the final whistle on deadline day but, eventually, Antoine Griezmann s return to Atletico Madrid was officially confirmed.

Two years after leaving, Griezmann has joined on a season-long loan from Barcelona, with the deal including an option to extend for a further year and a compulsory permanent transfer clause.

Earlier this month, Barca – in a straw-clutching move following Lionel Messi s departure for Paris Saint-Germain – made a rather big deal of Griezmann making his 100th club appearance. Not even two weeks later, he is gone.

On that landmark appearance, Griezmann hit the crossbar in a 4-2 win over his former club Real Sociedad, where he had developed into one of LaLiga s brightest attackers before joining Atleti in 2014. 

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After the 2018 World Cup final, when highlights of France s thrilling 4-2 win were played back at Luzhniki Stadium, one man in particular was enraptured.

Antoine Griezmann stood on the pitch, ignoring the celebrations that surrounded him, his gaze fixed upwards at the big screen beneath the storm-laden sky.

His hands to his mouth, eyes watering, smile beaming, the face of the man bore an expression of boyish disbelief: I was just man of the match in the World Cup final. And we won.

It s unlikely anything in Griezmann s career will ever top that victory over Croatia in the Russian capital. Win or lose, Sunday s Nations League final against Spain almost certainly won t. Still, it will be another special occasion for the Atletico Madrid forward, who is set to win…

Atletico Madrid consolidated their Champions League qualification hopes with a 2-0 win at Elche in Diego Simeone s 400th LaLiga game in charge of the club.

Simeone s side battled to a 1-0 victory over rivals Real Madrid on Sunday, and were soon ahead at Estadio Martinez Valero when Matheus Cunha opened the scoring in the first half.

Rodrigo de Paul added a second after the interval and Elche rarely threatened Jan Oblak s goal in response, failing to have a shot on target all game.

It mattered little for the boisterous home crowd as Real Mallorca s stalemate at Sevilla on Wednesday confirmed safety for Elche, while Atletico climbed into third – six points clear of fifth-placed Real Betis with two games to go.

14 There were 14 passes in the build up to A…

England trio Alessia Russo, Keira Walsh and Lauren James were among the winners as the inaugural Women’s Football Awards took place in London on Thursday.

Manchester United forward Russo was named player of the year, while midfielder Walsh, her fellow Euro 2022 winner who joined Barcelona from Manchester City last summer for a world-record fee, took the international player of the year award.

Chelsea forward James and Liverpool midfielder Missy Bo Kearns, both 21, were winners in the young player of the year category.

There were also gongs for two members of the England men’s team, with captain Harry Kane and Declan Rice receiving ally awards, and former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright was named women’s football champion of the year.

The cere…