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LONDON — While Arsenal are still searching for a statement win to announce their Premier League title credentials, the wait for a UEFA Champions League equivalent is over.

For almost an hour Tuesday night, Atlético Madrid’s visit to Emirates Stadium was the combative, gritty contest many anticipated beforehand. And then, an explosion happened: The house that Atlético coach Diego Simeone has stoically built over almost 14 years was shattered by four goals in 14 minutes, and the Gunners won 4-0. The expanded, bloated format of this group stage dilutes the importance of early results on paper, but the effect this could have on Arsenal’s young group aiming to finally add trophies to years of progress might be profound.

Simeone’s side was beaten 4-0 at Benfica last season but is rarely handed a second-half drubbing like this. “We competed very well until the first Arsenal goal,” he said afterward. “After that we could have defended better. They did very well and they got their goals. And of course set pieces are so important in football, and it can be key in this competition, because it comes down to fine margins in terms of taking the game in your control or not.

“And it is not down to bad luck, but mistakes, so they made the most of our mistakes, took their chances and all their big chances turned into goals.”

With four goals in 14 minutes, Arsenal dismantled Diego Simeone’s best-laid defensive plans. David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Arsenal’s set-piece prowess is common knowledge. While the Premier League has been unable to find an answer — Arsenal’s 37 goals from corners since the start of the 2023-24 season is 16 more than anyone else — surely Simeone, the game’s finest defensive coach, could do so.

It appeared for a while that would be the case. And the answer was simple, if extremely difficult to execute: Don’t give them an opportunity. Arsenal had just one corner in the opening 45 minutes. Declan Rice‘s 57th-minute free kick that Gabriel Magalhães headed in was, as defined by Opta, Arsenal’s first chance from a set piece all night.

The goal opened the floodgates. Gabriel Martinelli curled in a sublime second seven minutes later before a brace from Viktor Gyökeres, who ended a 601-minute goal drought at club level, landed Arsenal the sort of scoreline that will make Europe sit up and take notice. Those four goals were more of a cold shower than anything Atlético experienced a day earlier when the hot water was briefly unavailable after their training session at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal’s summer spending spree led many to believe they now possess one of the best squads in Europe. But in grinding their way to the top of the table in England, they had not produced the performances to justify that hype. This will serve as a reference point for the future, a night when a couple of those new signings felt more at home. Martín Zubimendi patrolled the midfield with authority. Gyökeres got the goals his manager, Mikel Arteta, believed his display warranted, even if the first owed everything to a large deflection off Dávid Hancko and the second was an unmissable close-range finish off his thigh.

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“He deserved it because everything that we were seeing in terms of what he was bringing to the team and how much he was helping the team in many areas, apart from scoring goals in the last few weeks, there was no debate about that,” Arteta said. “It was about keeping that belief in himself, that emotional state that he can enjoy and play freely.

“I think we’ve become much more unpredictable. He’s so physical, open, his face is for everybody. The way he presses the ball, holds the ball, that’s phenomenal. And then there’s the icing on the cake and the biggest thing that we’re going to debate about him is goals. He’s scored two very different ones today, and hopefully he starts to get some momentum and a good run of goals.”

Bukayo Saka spoke last season of a desire to one day win the Ballon d’Or and be considered one of the world’s greatest wingers. His all-around performance merited that here; he was a constant menace down the right, but of equal importance to Arteta was Saka’s work off the ball. Martinelli was equally dynamic in this regard: His eight ball recoveries was three more than any player on either side.

Nothing is decided in October, but the baton may be passing from Simeone to Arteta as the most defensively resolute coach in Europe. Arsenal have conceded just one shot on target in their past three games. Moreover, they have conceded three goals in all competitions, putting them on track to break multiple records. That tally is the fewest Arsenal have conceded in their first 12 matches in their 138-year history.

Of course, they have broken various club records before under Arteta, only to end up empty-handed. All that matters this time is that they get over the line. Nights like this suggest they may be better placed than ever to do so.

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Armando Alejandro Montalvo, the man once shot outside WWEâ€s Performance Center after repeated incidents in 2015, has issued yet another bizarre claim—this time directed at Liv Morgan.

After Ringside News covered his most recent antics, Montalvo took to Ringside News†Facebook Page with a statement that flipped the narrative. Instead of acknowledging his fixation on WWE talent, he suggested she was the one pursuing him.

“I was kind of hoping that you would have been able to provide a better quality picture of Liv Morgan, considering how hot she really is, so. But considering the fact she was actually stalking me and following me around, thereâ€s not much more that I could really do. Because if she has a crush on me, thereâ€s not much more I could really do yet. Believe in Jesus.â€

His response came on the heels of an earlier Facebook video where he once again directed bizarre commentary toward Liv Morgan. In that upload, he appeared with the DARE logo in the corner of the screen while attaching a cryptic caption, writing: “Liv Morgan what winds your clock [watch emoji] working with Liv at Walgreens you only life to Liv Drive safely.â€

The clip then shifted into toilet humor before closing with religious imagery. On-screen, he displayed a yellow road sign with a black T-intersection marked by the words “THANK YOU JESUS†in capital letters. Beneath it, a pointing-up emoji hand appeared over a Bible verse: “WHAT WILL IT PROFIT A MAN IF HE GAINS THE WHOLE WORLD YET FORFEITS HIS SOUL MATTHEW 16:26.â€

Thereâ€s no reality to his claim—Liv Morgan was the victim of a separate stalking case earlier this year, when an individual was arrested outside the WWE Performance Center during a live NXT broadcast. Montalvo, on the other hand, has a long history of erratic behavior connected to WWE and has previously directed strange videos and letters toward talent.

His latest comments only add to his record of unpredictable statements, but WWEâ€s past experiences with him show the situation is never taken lightly.

Do you think WWE and authorities need to intervene again after this strange claim, or should his latest comments just be ignored? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Newcastle United have agreed a move for a hugely promising teenager, as manager Eddie Howe adds exciting talent to his squad.

The Magpies infamously lost Alexander Isak over the summer but managed to improve the depth available, bringing in the likes of Anthony Elanga, Aaron Ramsdale, Jacob Ramsey and two strikers in the form of Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa.

With Howe looking to compete on four fronts this season, there is clearly a focus on raising the floor of the Toon squad – and now the club have agreed a deal for another wonderkid.

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Newcastle have had a keen focus on bringing through younger talents since the club’s takeover in 2021 – such as Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall – but unfortunately, many of the youngsters either signed or promoted from the academy haven’t been given integrated at St. James’ Park.

Yankuba Minteh was sold to Brighton & Hove Albion and Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest, as the Magpies looked to comply with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), with Eddie Howe even admitting his regret in having to let the latter leave.

Elliot Anderson was regrettably sold (Image credit: Getty Images)

According to Keith Downie of Sky Sports, Newcastle have now agreed to pay £350,000 for Josh Kenchington of Barnsley in a massive statement for the club.

At just 15 years old, 2010-born Kenchington is a two-footed centre-back who already stands at over 6ft tall, and having come through at Oakwell, there are obvious comparisons with John Stones.

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Downie claims in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that Newcastle beat the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur to the signing of the wonderkid, who will move to the northeast and complete his education in Newcastle upon completion of the transfer.

FourFourTwo understands that Kenchington is not in immediate contention for a first-team position, with the club looking to develop him before pushing him into senior football.

Newcastle have agreed to pay £350,000 plus significant bonuses for wonder-kid Josh Kenchington. #NUFC second bid to Barnsley was accepted, after a £275,000 first offer was turned down. Compared to John Stones, Kenchington was playing under 18 football aged just 14.… pic.twitter.com/uQqro1mDMHOctober 17, 2025

The teenager has already played in age groups above his own, however, and represented England’s youth sides.

Newcastle travel to Brighton this afternoon as Premier League action returns.

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Ishan Kishan (Image credit: X) NEW DELHI: Jharkhand captain Ishan Kishan played a commanding innings to rescue his team from a precarious position, scoring a statement century as the visitors reached 307 for six against Tamil Nadu on day one of the Ranji Trophy season on Wednesday. Kishan, who has lost his place in the Indian side across formats, remained unbeaten on 125 off 183 balls, sharing a crucial unbroken partnership of 150 runs for the seventh wicket with Sahil Raj, who was batting on 64 at stumps.Jharkhand had been struggling and looked in danger of being bowled out for under 200, but the Kishan-Raj stand steadied the innings. For Tamil Nadu, left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh took the early wicket and finished with three scalps, while left-arm spinner DT Chandrasekar, making his Ranji return after a decade, chipped in with two wickets.At the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, defending champions Vidarbha put up a solid total against Nagaland, closing day one at 302 for three. Opener Aman Mokhade anchored the innings with an unbeaten 148, while Dhruv Shorey made 64, and Yash Rathod was unbeaten on 66.In Kanpur, Andhra got off to a strong start against Uttar Pradesh, with opener and wicket-keeper batter KS Bharat scoring a patient 144 off 244 balls, including 13 fours. Number three Shaik Rasheed complemented Bharat with an unbeaten 94, giving Andhra a strong platform at stumps.

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They might be underdogs, but they possess two of the world’s best.

England were not favourites going into this World Cup, but if captain Nat Sciver-Brunt was fully fit and firing, and if spinner Sophie Ecclestone could exploit turning pitches at her disposal, there was a nagging sense of ‘what if?’.

Both hopes have come to fruition after their three opening games, with England sitting top of the table unbeaten and, though there was a near-miss against Bangladesh, it has mostly been smooth sailing.

Yes, the fixtures have been kind to Sciver-Brunt’s side, but they are doing all that is in their control, which is to simply keep winning.

Beat Pakistan on Wednesday, as they should, and they will be in a very promising position to seal a semi-final spot without having yet played favourites India or Australia.

Regarding the latter of those two teams, England have scars after the 16-0 Ashes thumping at the beginning of the year, but under coach Charlotte Edwards they are beginning to heal.

Sciver-Brunt is the quiet, composed captain who lets her cricket do the talking – exemplified by a sparkling 117 against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday. Her ability to bowl again after injury has also completely rejuvenated the balance of the side.

Her fifth World Cup century is a women’s cricket record, celebrated by honouring her baby boy Theo in the crowd – testament to a life-changing year that has seen her become a mum and England captain in the space of a few months.

Ecclestone, who took 4-17 in the Sri Lanka win, is the teenage prodigy who rapidly became world number one, still just 26 years old, but already fifth on the list of all-time wicket-takers in the women’s game.

A difficult Ashes for Ecclestone personally led her to consider quitting, but on the biggest stage she is shining again.

“To be able to hand the ball to her and bowl 10 overs straight without going for many runs and pick up four wickets, it is really special,” said Sciver-Brunt.

“From the time she was 16 and came into the team, we knew we had something special on our hands.

“She has really grown in the last couple of months as well – I suppose we challenged her to really improve herself and to really make a mark on this team, so I am very pleased with her.”

Though India and Australia pose the biggest tests, England’s masterful duo have sent a clear message.

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Will Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli play 2027 World Cup?While on the surface it may seem that both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are desperate to play—and win—the 2027 World Cup, chief selector Ajit Agarkar has dropped a massive statement on the senior duoâ€s ambitions for the marquee event in two years†time.

On Saturday in Ahmedabad, Agarkar attended the press conference as the BCCI announced Indiaâ€s squads for the ODI and T20I series in Australia to be played later this month.

The biggest revelation was that Rohit has been replaced as the ODI skipper by Shubman Gill, who is the Test captain and T20I vice-captain. Agarkar asserted that the selectors—along with head coach Gautam Gambhir and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia—agree to not have three different captains in the three formats.

With Gill being the vice-captain of the T20I side, his succession to Indiaâ€s all-format captain is expected to come to fruition next year after the home T20 World Cup, where the 35-year-old Suryakumar Yadav will lead the side.

Coming to Rohit and Kohli, the duo will return to international cricket—both are retired from Tests and T20Is—for the first time since winning the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in March.

Will Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli play 2027 World Cup?

After announcing the squad for the ODI series against Australia, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said, “Both Rohit and Virat are non-committal about the 2027 World Cup.â€

Rohit and Kohli may continue to have ambitions of winning the ODI World Cup, but Agarkarâ€s comments indicate that they are uncertain for the 2027 World Cup, which will be hosted in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Rohit is currently 38 years old, and Kohli is 36.

While Kohli won the 2011 World Cup, he was a youngster; Rohit was not picked in the squad. The duo then suffered heartbreaks in three consecutive ODI World Cup knockout matches—losing the semi-finals in 2015 and 2019 and the final at home in 2023 after an unbeaten campaign until the title clash.

Rohit, indeed, has time and again reiterated about his dream of lifting the ODI World Cup trophy, which he missed by a whisker a couple of years ago.

Another interesting topic during Agarkarâ€s press conference was whether Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will make themselves available for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Indiaâ€s premier domestic 50-over tournament.

Will Rohit and Kohli play in Vijay Hazare Trophy?

While Agarkar didnâ€t confirm their availability or non-availability, the chief selector made it clear that the BCCI has asked all the players to make themselves available for domestic cricket when they are fit and not playing international cricket.

“We have made it clear that whenever the guys are available, they should be playing domestic cricket. If you are not playing international cricket, you are expected to play domestic cricket,†Agarkar said.

Some interesting few months await with regard to Indian cricket and its two biggest superstars, Rohit and Kohli.

Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for live updates on Facebook and Instagram.

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The big question at the start of this season – the same one that’s been asked over the last six WSL campaigns – is whether anyone can end Chelsea’s dominance.

The Blues won last term’s trophy by going 22 games unbeaten in Sonia Bompastor’s first season at the helm – part of a domestic treble as they lifted the Women’s FA Cup and League Cup too.

In fact, it’s been more than 500 days since Chelsea last lost a league game – a 4-3 defeat at Liverpool on 1 May, 2024.

Manchester United came close to ending that streak on Friday night in a top-two encounter and Skinner was proud of “the most brave performance” from his players.

“We’re building. You can see it, you can sense it,” he said.

“We are disappointed to not win the game. The chances we created, not many teams could create that against Chelsea. So for us to do that and in the way we did it was credit to them [the players].”

Since their promotion from the Women’s Championship in 2019, United have rapidly emerged as WSL title contenders, finishing just two points behind Chelsea in 2022-23.

The following season they won the FA Cup – their first major women’s trophy.

While a draw against the current league leaders may be deemed a missed opportunity for United, former England striker White believed it showed how far the club has come.

“You have to look at that consistency,” she said. “They’ve played 11 times against Chelsea now and only drawn once, now the second time, so I think it’s really good for their consistency and what they’re doing as a club and a team.

“It shows it’s working and they’re improving.”

Asked if Skinner deserved more credit for United’s rise to compete with more established clubs, White added: “What he’s done with these players, the philosophy, the DNA, how resolute they are.

“He hasn’t got the amount of money or been able to spend the amount of money the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal or [Manchester] City have done.”

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The win in Guwahati was set up by left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, who only made her ODI debut against West Indies this year after a couple of stints in and out of the T20 set-up.

An immediate impact saw opposing captain Laura Wolvaardt caught and bowled in the second over before Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp were bowled by beautiful drifting deliveries – making Smith the first player to remove the powerful top three in the format.

The 30-year-old found 2.2 degrees of drift on average, the most of any match in her England career, and was metronomic in her pursuit of targeting the stumps – which was also the case for the bowlers generally. They bowled 38 balls which would have gone on to hit the stumps, took six wickets with them and conceded just four runs.

When discussing what made Smith so unique and successful, fellow slow left-armer Hartley said: “She’s an in-swing bowler, really. She can spin it and she will spin a few, but in her action, she’s got a really low arm so the trajectory of the ball is constantly following you as a right-hander.

“You see her start wider, and the ball swings into the pads. We saw a couple of occasions with the South Africa batters prodding forward and the ball going between the bat and pad so with somebody like Smith, the inside edge is the threat rather than the outside.

“She gets way more drift and movement through the air than most other spinners, it is the dream as a left-arm spinner. She is an incredibly tough bowler to face because you don’t have many options – you can’t sweep her either, because she’s skiddy and that will challenge the lbw.”

South Africa could have presented England with a difficult opener, one in which they could not really afford to slip up.

But now, with Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to come, they are in a fantastic position to head into their games against favourites India and Australia unbeaten.

“Nothing went wrong for England today, everything was in their favour, but one thing that everyone needs to do is stay grounded and not get too ahead of ourselves about where they’re at,” Hartley added.

“It’s very easy to say, oh they’ll go on and win the World Cup if they keep playing like that but the reality is, not every game will be like that. Yes, enjoy the moment and enjoy the game and the day, because you don’t have many days like that, but the back-end of the tournament is very tough for them.”

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A Tennessee Titans ticket representative may have been overly positive in describing how fans feel about the team’s 0-4 start to the 2025 NFL season.

The Titans issued a statement Wednesday in response to a screenshot shared by Paul Kuharsky, in which a ticket rep seemingly said the Titans said the team’s “fan base is very happy.”

“Thank you for flagging this. We missed the mark in a big way. These comments have been addressed and we will do better,” Titans vice president of communications and corporate affairs Kate Guerra told Kuharksy.

The text message shared by Kuharsky read, “We are 75% sold out of the new stadium. We just converted all of our current members over! So the fan base is very happy!”

The Titans are riding a 10-game losing streak dating back to December of last year. The franchise hasn’t won a game since Nov. 24, 2024, and hasn’t claimed a victory at home since Nov. 3, 2024.

Kuharsky’s screenshot was published three days after the Titans conceded their worst loss of the season in a 26-0 blowout by the Houston Texans.

Quarterback Cam Ward described his team as “ass” after the defeat, which marked the first time the Titans had been shut out since 2019.

The Titans are preparing to relocate to New Nissan Stadium ahead of the 2027 season. Titans CEO Burke Nihill said earlier this month that 70 percent of season ticket holders decided to carry over their existing commitments to the new venue, per Associated Press’ Teresa M. Walker.

But the Titans will likely need to do more than sell out the majority of seats in a new stadium in order to keep fans who haven’t seen their team win in 10 months happy.

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Last month, the Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar, made a shocking return to WWE at the SummerSlam Premium Live Event. He showed up and destroyed John Cena. This month, at the Wrestlepalooza PLE, Lesnar once again destroyed John Cena in a one-on-one match.

Recently, wrestling veteran Tommy Dreamer named the WWE Superstar who he thinks should be the one to defeat Lesnar and make a huge statement.

While speaking on the Busted Open Radio podcast, Tommy Dreamer shared his thoughts on the Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar. Dreamer mentioned that the former Universal Champion does not need any ‘rub†from anybody. Dreamer revealed that if the Ring General Gunther wrestles and defeats Brock Lesnar, that could be huge for his career. Dreamer is convinced that in 2026 the Ring General should wrestle Lesnar and if he defeats the Beast that could benefit him a lot.

“Brock doesnâ€t need the rub of anybody. If this is a statement for GUNTHER, obviously I look at the future of WWE 2026 … a main drawing person is no longer going to be with us and that personâ€s name is John Cena, where these big matches we have, what we can be doing will no longer be available. So if this is a match for GUNTHER and Brock, Iâ€m all in on it because if itâ€s somebody who could use that rub to beat the man who beat everybody, that is something that could definitely benefit a GUNTHER,†Tommy Dreamer said. [H/T Wrestling Inc.]

Read More: WWE Accidentally Spoils Current NXT Storyline

Do you agree with Tommy Dreamer?

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