Arsenal are looking to establish themselves as the dominant force in English football and could now be set to accelerate their pursuit of a star who has an intriguing link with a key member of their squad.

Mikel Arteta is into his sixth year at the Gunners and will hope his side can seize the opportunity that lies ahead in the Premier League title race, given they have managed to amass a four-point lead at this point.

Ultimately, their frustrating draw away to Sunderland before the international break will be a source of inconvenience. However, no team is going to win every match across a whole campaign, so they will put it behind them ahead of stiff tests against Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

Looking at their central priorities, lifting the Premier League title has to be the main focus. Nevertheless, Pete O’Rourke confirmed on Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast that Arteta could be set to engage in talks over a contract extension later next year.

He said: “Yeah, I think for certain it’s something that they will get to, as you said, it’s probably not the priority right now. Arteta’s contract will take care of itself. I’ve got no doubts about that. Arteta’s happy at Arsenal. Arsenal are obviously very happy with him.

“I think for Arteta himself probably his focus and priority right now is on success for Arsenal this season. I’m sure later in 2026, I’m sure there’ll be talks held between Arteta and Arsenal to see if they can sort out his future and extend his stay at the Emirates as well.”

Planning for the future is also firmly part of his remit at the Emirates, and he could now be set to complete a surprising deal for a star who has a familiar family name.

Arsenal could seal Quinten Timber free transfer

According to CaughtOffside, Arsenal are plotting a move for Feyenoord midfielder Quinten Timber, who is set to see his contract expire in Rotterdam come the summer of 2026.

Of course, he is the brother of Gunners fan favourite Jurrien, and this could hand them an edge in the race given their obvious tie to the player.

Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United and West Ham United are also alert to his situation as he represents a lucrative option to strengthen ahead of next season without having to pay a transfer fee.

On the flipside, Dortmund may be willing to bid for the Utrecht-born midfielder in January, in case Feyenoord opt to take what they can get for his services rather than allow his deal to run down.

Scoring twice and laying on a solitary assist in 14 matches this campaign, 24-year-old Timber has been on the Gunners’ radar for an extended period of time, something that won’t come as a surprise due to his brother’s presence in North London.

Now, they could complete a rare scenario where twins are on board at the same club. However, Dortmund are deemed to be leading the race at this point.

Arsenal are also eyeing an explosive winger to compete with Noni Madueke

Arsenal are now open to January offers for one Gunners star, with it being revealed Mikel Arteta will need to offload players and free up space in the squad.

The Gunners are well-stocked in the striker department, with Viktor Gyokeres adapting to life in the Premier League very well since making the move from Sporting CP in the summer transfer window, receiving high praise from Arteta after bagging a brace against Atletico Madrid.

The Spaniard said: “All of us [appreciate Gyokeres] because he makes us a much better team. I think we’ve become much more unpredictable,”

“He’s so physical, opens the spaces for everyone. The way he presses the ball, holds the ball, it’s just phenomenal.”

The 27-year-old, who bagged his fourth Premier League goal of the season against Burnley earlier this month, has certainly started well, while Kai Havertz is now closing in on a return from injury, having not been involved since the 1-0 win against Manchester United back in August.

Consequently, there may be little game time available for Arteta’s other striker, Garbiel Jesus, and there has now been a major update on his future at the Emirates Stadium…

Arsenal now open to January offers for Gabriel Jesus

According to a report from Spain, Arsenal are now open to offers for Jesus in the January transfer window, as they need to offload players and free up space in the squad, and the Brazilian is no longer a part of Arteta’s plans.

Persistent injuries have meant the 28-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium, and a return to Palmeiras could now be on the cards, with the Brazilian club willing to bring him back, potentially on a loan-to-buy deal.

The 64-time Brazil international has received high praise from Arteta in the past, with the manager saying back in September 2023: “He is a tremendous player, a really important player for us. He changed our world last season. You could all see that.”

That said, it is probably the correct decision to offload the centre-forward, given that he has been unable to put his injury problem in the rearview mirror, missing a number of games for club and country over the past few seasons.

Gabriel Jesus’ injury record by season	Games missed
2022-23	17
2023-24	17
2024-25 onwards	56

It has recently emerged that the £13.7m-a-year striker has returned to training after an extended period of time on the sidelines, which could be a boost for Arteta, given that the manager has been left light on options at times this season, with Gyokeres and Havertz suffering setbacks.

With Arsenal looking to compete on all fronts, faring well in the Champions League and through to the EFL Cup quarter-final, Jesus may still have a role to play in the short-term, but it would not be the end of the world if Arsenal sanction a January departure.

Gabriel Jesus makes admission on Arsenal's future

Arsenal star makes transfer admission and says club "want" to sign him

He’s responded to the speculation around his future.

By
Emilio Galantini

Nov 14, 2025

England icon Wayne Rooney has revealed the eye-watering details behind his biggest Manchester United contract – leaving the Stick To Football pundits stunned. The forward will go down as one of the greatest players this country has ever produced and many will argue he deserved to get paid as well as he did. But the disparity between his salary and that of his peers left some in shock.

• Rooney puts together glittering career

  While Rooney has not had much success in management, following his dismissals at Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle, few can argue about what he achieved as a player. He won five Premier League titles and a Champions League, along with a host of other silverware. The 40-year-old picked up a hatful of individual accolades, scored 53 goals in 120 games for England, and found the net on 313 occasions in 763 appearances. Across his career, greats of the game waxed lyrical about him.

  For instance, former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo said: "He was the kid of England, everyone loved him. He was so powerful, I was calling him ‘Pitbull.’ The power of Wayne Rooney is his mentality and strength, and he never stops. He’s a fantastic team player, and he scores. He’s a fantastic boy, and he helped me a lot when he came to join us in Manchester."

  Ronaldo's greatest of all time rival, Lionel Messi, believed that what Rooney could do on a football pitch was "very special".

  The Argentine admitted: "There has always been a great deal of respect between myself and Wayne Rooney. For me, he is the great English player of the generation. What he is capable of doing on the field is very special, and he is one of the few players that would improve any squad in Europe."

  And Arsenal great Thierry Henry said the consistently high level Rooney produced in his career was "extraordinary".

  He added: "To play well for six months or a season in football is nothing. To do so for over a decade like Rooney is extraordinary. I know what it takes, and it isn’t easy. Trust me, people talk about him outside of this country. In Spain and France, he is appreciated as a top, top player."

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  Rooney's enormous salary revealed

  In an enlightening chat about how players brokered deals in their playing days, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright, and Roy Keane were lost for words when Rooney talked about the biggest contract he signed at United. In 2014, when Rooney was 28 going on 29, the ex-Everton ace signed a five-year deal with reported wages of around £300,000. And on Stick to Football, Rooney said he got £17 million ($22m) a year after that bit of business. With the ex-footballers blown away by this figure, Neville quipped that he wished he had used an agent during his contract negotiations with the Red Devils. The right-back said he earned a basic salary of £1.75m that rose to £2.25m.

  He added: "[Money] was never a focus for me. I never once worried about the money side of it. I just thought that if I can get to the end of my career at 35 or 36 at United then I know I'll be alright. When they offered me seven years on less money, it was better for me than signing for four years on higher money. I always thought in a more cautious way."

  Carragher piped up that his biggest deal was around £3m and Keane said he earned around £5m at his peak. 

• Rooney 'did it all'

  Rooney retired from playing in the 2020/21 season with Championship side Derby County, with the veteran then taking up the role of Rams manager. Ergo, many football fans growing up now will not have seen him in his pomp. But the plaudits that came his way give some indication as to how good a player he was. 

  Former England and United team-mate Rio Ferdinand once said: "I laid eyes on him when he was 16 or 17 years old, and I remember after an England game as well, I said to his mum and dad in the players’ lounge ‘make sure he signs for Manchester United'. They looked at me and laughed and thought, ‘we have already done that’. What a player. He did it all, he scored a ridiculous amount of goals, scored absolute bangers from anywhere on the pitch, great passer, aggressive, passion, desire, work rate."

  Rooney's former manager, David Moyes, got to see him make the grade at the Toffees, and knew he had something very special on his hands.

  "There was a day when we had him in training. He was only a young boy and we had to set up a small-sided game and Wayne chipped a goalkeeper from near the byline. It was a moment when we all looked at each other and said, ‘Did he really do that? Did that happen?’. We knew it before, but when we saw that happen we all thought ‘there is a real special talent here," he said.

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  What comes next for Rooney?

  For the time being, Rooney has put his managerial career on hold and is giving punditry a go once again. He has a podcast with the BBC and is a Match of the Day pundit, along with other gigs. But another foray in the dugout may be at the back of his mind, too.

Their 358 stand beats Derbyshire’s third-wicket record as Reece makes 211 and Madsen 198

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay25-Sep-2025

Wayne Madsen swings away a pull•Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Kent 117 for 2 (Dawkins 53*, Morley 2-45) trail Derbyshire 698 for 6 dec (Reece 211, Madsen 198, Andersson 85) by 581 runsDerbyshire plunged the knife deep into the Kentish ribcage on day two of their Rothesay County Championship match at Canterbury.They posted the second-highest score ever made at The Spitfire Ground when they declared on 698 for 6, before reducing Kent to 117 for 2 at stumps, a deficit of 581.Luis Reece and Wayne Madsen made a stand of 358 eclipsing the Derbyshire record for a third-wicket partnership in first-class cricket. Reece made 211, his highest first-class score, while Madsen fell for 198. Martin Andersson then blasted 85 from 75 balls and Anuj Dal was unbeaten on 52 when the declaration came.Kent’s openers initially responded well, reaching 111 without loss, before Jack Morley took two late wickets to finish with 2 for 45. He bowled Ben Compton for 46, then had nightwatcher Michael Cohen caught and bowled for four in the final over. Ben Dawkins was unbeaten on 53.Kent members have endured too many days like this in recent seasons, with the permanent injury crisis forcing the permanently makeshift bowling attack to toil for hours while the opposition batters tick away landmarks.Derbyshire were 389 for 2 overnight and while Reece and Madsen enjoyed the race to get to 200, home fans were reduced to applauding the occasional maiden or gallant bit of fielding.When the stand passed 292 Madsen had broken his own record, the previous mark for the third wicket being the partnership he’d shared with Shan Masood against Sussex in 2022.Reece was dropped on 196 by Ollie Curtiss, an admittedly violent drive off Joey Evison, but Matt Parkinson then broke through with a full toss that hit Madsen on the knee and got him lbw.That left them stranded, two runs short of the all-time record stand for any wicket, the 360 put on by Reece and Harry Came against Glamorgan in 2023.Reece nudged Parkinson for a single to bring up his double ton, then flicked Ekansh Singh for four to beat his previous high score of 201.Curtiss dropped Martin Andersson, off Parkinson, at first slip when he was on 14, but the bowler struck again in his next over when he had Reece caught by Ben Compton on the boundary, leaving the visitors on 550 for 4 at lunch.Brook Guest was the only batter not to fill his boots, run out by Ben Dawkins for 9, but Andersson blazed away until Curtiss had him caught at deep backward-square by sub Mo Rizvi.When the declaration came it was the second-highest first-class total by a team at Canterbury, behind only Northamptonshire’s 722 for 6, posted earlier this season.Home morale was partially restored by the way their openers responded. Kent were 42 without loss at tea, however and Dawkins hit Morley for two sixes off three balls before a delivery from the same bowler reared up and hit him on the grille.He was able to continue after a concussion check, but with the light deteriorating play was suspended at 5.22pm. Play resumed after a 28-minute delay, allowing Dawkins to reach his 50, before Morley turned one down the slope to bend back Compton’s off stump.Cohen then had a moment of madness, driving the penultimate ball of the day straight back to Morley.

Aston Villa are now reportedly racing to sign Oscar Mingueza alongside Premier League rivals West Ham United as those in the Midlands look to land a La Masia graduate.

The Villans turned on the style against Bournemouth, bouncing back from defeat at Anfield to head into the international break with a convincing victory under their belt. Emiliano Buendia’s free-kick was undoubtedly the pick of the four goals that Unai Emery’s side scored, as he continued his recent, much-welcomed resurgence.

After a tough start to their campaign, Villa now sit seventh and Emery admitted that his side “are recovering from a bad start”, telling reporters: “I am very happy with the win.

“We are recovering from a bad start to the season. The effort physically was huge and to manage the squad with different players, with the effort we needed, we can feel proud after the game.

“This is the level of the players. We are trying to set our standards in everything [we do], every day how we prepare for the game, and the quality of the players is important.”

Qualifying for European football, whether it’s the Europa League, Europa Conference League or in the best-case scenario, the Champions League, is more important than ever in the Midlands. Those at Villa Park can’t afford to miss out and run into more problems with PSR limitations as a result.

Their poor start to the season stemmed from a disappointing summer transfer window and the chaos of potential sales that never arrived. This time next year, they must be in a better position on that front.

Fixing their PSR problem would see Emery’s side reach another level entirely and could finally see long-term target Mingueza arrive.

Aston Villa racing to sign Mingueza

According to reports in Spain, as relayed by Sport Witness, Aston Villa are now battling to sign Oscar Mingueza from Celta Vigo alongside the likes of West Ham and Newcastle United. The Villans have been admirers of the La Masia graduate for some time, but have consistently failed to secure his signature.

Capped four times by Spain, the defender has also played twice for the national team of Catalonia, who are not recognised/affiliated with FIFA or UEFA due to their status as one of Spain’s regional football federations.

Aston Villa fighting to sign Samu Aghehowa amid interest from Tottenham and Arsenal

Recent reports have indicated that Aston Villa would be keen on signing Porto forward Samu Aghehowa.

ByJames O'Reilly Nov 5, 2025

Emery will be hoping that 2026 is finally the year that the right-back arrives, given that he’s on course to become a free agent next summer and any transfer complications will suddenly become far easier to navigate.

Former Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman once predicted that the Spaniard would have a “great future” and that could yet arrive in the Midlands, where he’d compete for a place with Matty Cash, who is in excellent form.

Minutes

670

966

Assists

2

0

Tackles Won

4

10

Ball Recoveries

30

24

When compared, it’s clear that Mingueza and Cash have different qualities. Whilst the former is arguably better going forward, the Villa star has been a more well-rounded player so far this season – impressing in and out of possession.

What is clear is that Mingueza’s arrival would add vital depth to the right-back role for Emery, even if he’s forced to provide backup for Cash.

"Best in the league" – Media stunned by "aggressive" Aston Villa star vs Bournemouth

It’s the news Manchester United supporters were dreading, but boss Ruben Amorim has confirmed £74 million summer signing Benjamin Sesko will endure a lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury in the draw with Tottenham before the international break. And in a worrying update, Sesko is in a race to return before fellow United striker Bryan Mbeumo heads off to play at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Misfiring start to life at Old Trafford

The Slovenian striker joined Man Utd from RB Leipzig in August, opting for Old Trafford over other interested clubs like Newcastle. The 22-year-old is seen as a key part of the future project under manager Amorim, possessing a rare combination of pace and physical dominance, but has scored only twice in 12 appearances. 

However, his early impact was hampered when he sustained a knee injury during the 2-2 draw with Spurs earlier this month. Sesko came on as a second-half substitute but was forced off prematurely following a hefty challenge from Micky van de Ven, leaving United with 10 men as they had used all their substitutes. Initial fears of a serious, long-term injury, such as an ACL tear, were allayed by scans, but the injury ruled him out for several weeks. 

Amorim confirmed Sesko would be sidelined for "a few weeks" but expected him to return around the same time other forwards leave for the Africa Cup of Nations in December.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportAmorim: 'I don’t want to say for sure'

"He is going to be a few weeks out," the United boss said. "Not that serious, we have to be careful. He is feeling better." And on whether Sesko will be back before Mbeumo heads off to play at AFCON, he added: “It’s going to be more or less the same time – I don't want to say for sure but when they are going to the camp I expect to have Ben back." 

And Amorim provided an update on Harry Maguire and Kobbie Mainoo, saying: "Maguire is not ready. Kobbie didn’t train today but I think we could see Kobbie tomorrow so we’ll see. There is an opportunity for other players like the Under 21s. We will see it is not ideal. They are so important in our team."

'Cash in' on Fernandes

While Amorim remains desperate for his star striker to return, the club have been told that they should not ignore any "stupid" transfer offers from the Saudi Pro League for Bruno Fernandes. Interest from that part of the world was shown in the Portuguese midfielder over the summer, but the Portuguese decided to stay at Old Trafford. 

Former United defender Wes Brown said: "He’s getting to that age now where he still wants to be part of it, but you can’t just dismiss everything because that’s not how the world works. I don’t think anyone would take it too personally if that did happen. He’s done everything he can to try and help the team. At some point it will come to that crunch if someone comes in – probably talking Saudi with that money. If that happens again, whatever happens you can’t blame Bruno. You have to accept that he did right by what he needed to do and then move on again."

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Getty Images SportMonday showdown with Everton

United can extend their five-match unbeaten run when they host Everton on Monday. After a patchy start to the season, the Red Devils have found form under and sit seventh in the Premier League table, just a few points off the Champions League places and in-form forward Mbeumo, who has four goals in his last four league games, will be crucial to United's attack. Everton are winless away from home since August, and United are strong favourites to secure a vital home victory.

Pakistan only scored 80 in the back 10 despite being only one down at the halfway mark

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2025Pakistan got to their highest T20I score while batting first against India, 171 for 5. If India win, it will be the highest successful chase of Asia Cup 2025. Yet, the total looked insufficient after the start Pakistan had. They scored just 80 runs in the back 10 despite being just one down at the halfway mark.There was a period of 39 legal deliveries without a boundary leading up to the death overs, which completely derailed what looked like a promising innings that could finally give the tournament a game to remember. It would have frustated Pakistan even more that they had got the better of India’s spin threat, hitting three sixes in the first three middle overs, but succumbed to the sixth bowler, Shivam Dube.Dube ended up with figures of 4-0-33-2, taking the wickets of the two set batters, Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub, who put on 72 for the second wicket after the latter’s demotion to No. 3. Farhan, who reached 51 off just 34 balls, ended up with just 58 off 45. It was only Faheem Ashraf’s unbeaten 20 off 8 in the end that gave Pakistan respectability.Pakistan, the slowest side bar Oman and UAE in the middle overs during this Asia Cup, had looked set to correct those numbers, but Dube’s breakthrough and the quality of Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav proved to be too big a challenge. Varun went for just 25 in four overs, and Kuldeep returned figures of 4-0-31-1.