The mood around Arsenal is a lot more nervous than it was a few weeks ago.

Sure, Mikel Arteta’s side are still top of the Champions League and Premier League, but their recent performances have left a lot to be desired.

Moreover, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, in particular Phil Foden, appear to be getting back to the very best.

However, while the atmosphere around the club is a little down at the moment, there is still a lot to be optimistic about for Arsenal, and there could be even more should Arteta opt hand his own version of Foden more minutes in place of Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze.

Odegaard & Eze's seasons so far

Now, it should be said that neither Odegaard nor Eze have had a bad season for Arsenal so far.

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In fact, both players have had some really impressive moments in red and white, but it’s also true that they’ve been somewhat disappointing at times.

Starting with the former Crystal Palace star, it would be fair to say that few signings in the Emirates era have been met with such excitement from the fans.

However, while he scored the incredible hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur and that acrobatic effort against his own side, there have been more than a few games in which he’s totally ghosted.

For example, away to Aston Villa, he was removed at half-time, and then at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers, he created practically nothing and again had to be removed from the game.

With that said, Eze’s talent is still incredibly evident, and with more time, he’ll surely become more and more effective for the North Londoners.

Moving on to the club captain, the most disappointing aspect of his campaign so far this year is that he hasn’t been available enough.

The Norwegian is never going to be as flash as the Englishman, but his ability to move the ball up the pitch, instigate the press and keep hold of the ball has been instrumental for the team over the last few years.

So, the fact that he’s played just 620 minutes of action across 13 matches and already missed 66 days of action through injury this year is far from ideal.

Moreover, this has unsurprisingly led him to look a little rusty at times when he has come on or started games.

In all, Eze and Odegaard are hugely talented footballers, but Arteta doesn’t have to, nor should he, rely solely on them, especially when he has someone in the squad who could become Arsenal’s answer to Foden.

Arsenal's answer to Foden

Arsenal have plenty of seriously talented players in their squad, but when it comes down to someone who could be their answer to Foden, only one player comes to mind: Ethan Nwaneri.

Now, this isn’t to say that the Hale Ender is as good as the City star at the moment.

However, there is every chance that the youngster could become as much of a game-changer as his compatriot, especially as there are already several parallels between them.

For example, both players have come through the academies of a ‘big six’ side; they are both English and, more crucially, share some similarities in how they play the game.

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Like the City star, the 18-year-old is primarily an attacking midfielder, but has plenty of experience playing out wide and has proven himself capable of playing there at a high level.

Nwaneri in 25/26

Appearances

10

Minutes

427′

Goals

1

Assists

0

Goal Involvements per Match

0.1

Minutes per Goal Involvement

427′

All Stats via Transfermarkt

For example, the often “unplayable” dynamo, as dubbed by Jack Wilshere, scored nine goals and provided two assists in 37 appearances, totalling 1378 minutes.

That means the teen phenom averaged a goal involvement every 3.36 games, or, more crucially, one every 125.27 minutes, which helps justify Joe Cole’s claim that “he’s the most exciting footballer in England and maybe Europe.”

This highlights another trait both players share: a desire to get the ball forward and either take a shot themselves or create a chance for their teammates at every opportunity.

In other words, while someone like Odegaard might be happier to keep hold of the ball and carefully work an angle, the two Englishmen are more explosive, more direct.

Ultimately, with all that in mind, so long as he starts to get more game time, then one analyst’s claim that “Ethan Nwaneri will be Arsenal’s version of Phil Foden” seems like an entirely reasonable one.

Related Arsenal flop is fast becoming their worst signing since Mustafi

Things are not looking great for the Arsenal star this season.

Posts 3 ByJack Salveson Holmes

Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool are all chasing Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote, according to TuttoMercatoWeb.

The Ivorian ace last week revealed that he’s ready to leave St James’ Park after just over four years in the North East, with a fresh challenge his new aim.

With plenty of Premier League experience and a good track record in English football, interest in the enforcer is thought to be high.

WANT MORE? >> Liverpool transfer news | Arsenal transfer news

And now reports suggest that Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs are all in the running.

The Gunners have been the side most strongly linked with the 28-year-old, with the player himself having revealed that talks between his representatives and the London club took place during the last transfer window.

Arsene Wenger is rumoured to be on the lookout for a holding midfielder, which has opened the door for a January raid.

Liverpool are also in the battle, amid talk that Brendan Rodgers is keen to address issues surrounding Steven Gerrard’s future.

The Reds skipper has been criticised for a lack of mobility in his defensive midfield role, leading to talk he may be moved back up the pitch.

With a lack of options to sit in front of the backline, Tiote is seen as a viable target an Anfield.

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Spurs meanwhile are another side watching, with the club’s pursuit of Morgan Schneiderlin stalling as Southampton play hardball to keep the Frenchman.

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Leeds fans are expecting great things from Tyler Roberts, as the young striker updated fans on his eventual return from injury.

There were a fair few problems for Leeds last season. The injury to Luke Ayling left a disorganised defence leaking goals, the arrival of Paul Heckingbottom had the opposite effect it was supposed to, and the team just sort of coasted to an underwhelming mid-table finish.

Undoubtedly the biggest issue for the club in recent years though has been their poor business in the transfer market, and no one epitomises the club’s bizarre transfer moves quite like Roberts.

That’s not a knock on the 19 year-old as a player, but he joined in January while carrying an injury and has yet to kick a ball for the first team.

To bring in a striker to save your season only for him to make it to his third manager before making an appearance is right up there as one of the worst transfers in recent memory, but fans are hoping he can make up for lost time.

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The youngster left West Brom having made only one senior appearance, but successful loan spells at Shrewsbury and Walsall have fans feeling there may be something special to come from the speedy striker.

Marcelo Bielsa desperately needs a proven goalscorer this summer, and while that is more likely to be Matej Vydra than Roberts, getting the youngster playing at full fitness and confidence would be a massive bonus for the new manager.

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You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where fans are heaping praise on Roberts, even if a few couldn’t resist a little joke…

The Haryana Under-19 team completed an emphatic ten wicket win over Jammu and Kashmir in the North Zone Cooch Behar Trophy match at the MA stadium in Jammu on Tuesday. By virtue of this outright win Haryana collected eight points.Needing just 15 runs for a win on the final day, Haryana openers Manvinder Singh (9) and Bhuvnesh Sharma (6) needed just 1.5 overs to help Haryana canter home.Earlier, resuming at the overnight score of 31 for 2, J & K’s second innings folded up at 232. Opener A Jalani (73) and Imraz Thakur (52) took the score to 71 when Thakur was caught by Ishan off Amit Mishra. S Salaria (38) and Jalani then put on 54 runs for the fourth wicket in 18.3 overs. This was followed by a 69-run fifth wicket stand between Jalani and Sathyajit Singh (57) before the former was out leg before to Sumeet.Sathyajit Singh and Anoop Mangotra (9) took the score to 221 when Anoop was held by Bisla off Joginder Singh. Thereafter, Joginder ran through the J&K lower order to finish with figures of 3 for 28. Amit Mishra was the other successful bowler with figures of 3 for 61.

Match facts

Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Start time 1430 local (0900 GMT)Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik seem to have plugged the holes in the Pakistan batting lineup•Associated Press

Big picture

Some time in the past year, tables have turned, boots have switched feet, and these teams have exchanged personalities. So far in the series, Pakistan have been defined by consistency. Someone in the top three has found a way to make runs, the men in the middle have contributed, and Shoaib Malik has tapped into his experience to prove a canny finisher. Sri Lanka meanwhile, have relied on the spectacular performances – like Kusal Perera’s in Pallekele – to remain competitive.With Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez and Malik all in form, and Sarfraz Ahmed having turned in a substantial innings as well, the visitors will feel they have Sri Lanka’s bowling well covered – particularly as the hosts’ attack has been toothless. This situation, Sri Lanka fans have felt, is not helped by their refusal to play more than two specialist bowlers. Angelo Mathews has responded by saying they have considered the likes of Sachith Pathirana and Thisara Perera as front-line bowling options.Pakistan’s bowlers do not seem have such a pronounced edge over Sri Lanka’s batsmen, despite Yasir Shah’s rich haul on Sunday evening. Lahiru Thirimanne stroked his way to a significant score for the first time in the series, and in the Sri Lanka top seven, there is a mix of talent and experience that suggests the team can compete in one department at least. Any hope of Sri Lanka levelling this series lies in that batting order.Security has been substantially beefed up for this match, after violence broke out in the stands then spread to the surrounding neighbourhood on Sunday evening. The players were never in great danger that evening, but Sri Lanka’s authorities have made plans to deploy Special Task Force personnel through the venue.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: LWLLW (last five matches, most recent first)Pakistan: WLWWW

In the spotlight

Lasith Malinga continues to battle substantial injury concerns, but arguably he does not help himself out by allowing the kilograms to pile on. He has been a diminished international bowler in the past year, but appears to harbour hopes of defending the World T20 crown he was instrumental in achieving in 2014. Mathews said he had had a chat to his spearhead about three modest outings so far, and hopes a corner will be turned.He’s among the more non-descript Pakistan bowlers, but Rahat Ali has found the means to trouble Sri Lanka’s batsmen all through the tour, on every kind of surface. Sharp, with a natural length that invites the drive, Rahat has delivered incisive new-ball spells and posed a menace through the middle overs as well. He equals Hafeez as the highest wicket-taker with six scalps in the series so far.

Teams news

Has Sri Lanka lost patience with Thisara Perera? His place seems the shakiest in this XI. Mathews also suggested Ashan Priyanjan could be in line for a return to the team, probably at the expense of Milinda Siriwardana.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Lahiru Thirimanne, 4 Upul Tharanga, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 7 Ashan Priyanjan, 8 Sachith Pathirana, 9 Thisara Perera/ Suranga Lakmal, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Nuwan PradeepPakistan are unlikely to change a winning combination.Pakistan (probable): 1 Azhar Ali (capt.), 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Mohammad Rizwan, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Anwar Ali, 9 Yasir Shah, 10 Rahat Ali, 11 Mohammad Irfan

Pitch and conditions

There are thunderstorms forecast for Wednesday afternoon, so there is a chance the match will go into its reserve day, on Thursday. Angelo Mathews said he didn’t know what to make of the pitch, which both appeared dry, yet featured live grass.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka’s bowlers have taken 12 wickets in the series so far, to Pakistan’s 24 scalps (not including run outs).
• Kusal Perera needs 20 runs to bring up a 1000 runs in ODIs. He has played 44 innings.
• Sri Lanka have lost nine and won five matches against Full Member opposition this year.

Quotes

“You can’t have XI new players. I know that this is a transition period, but it has to be a smooth transition. Experience also matters. Younger players learn from the experienced guys. More often than not we think about injecting new blood into the system as well as the need to win. You need to have that correct combination when it comes to youth and experience. We’ve got a few experienced guys – TM Dilshan is one, Lasith Malinga is one, and Upul Tharanga has played quite a lot of one dayers. But all the others haven’t played that many games.”

On the day he was called up to his first England Test squad Zafar Ansari suffered an open dislocation of his left thumb against Lancashire at Old Trafford and was sent to hospital.Surrey confirmed the extent of Ansari’s injury in a tweet at 10pm on Tuesday, but the club had been fearing the worst throughout the second day of their division two title decider, with their director of cricket Alec Stewart admitting at the close of play that “it didn’t look good.”Fielding at cover point, Ansari dropped a very difficult catch off Lancashire’s Ashwell Prince and immediately gestured for assistance from the dressing room. He left the field holding a bandage to his left hand and soon went to hospital.”It didn’t look good. He’s gone off to hospital to see a hand specialist. It’s his left thumb and he was in quite a bit of pain,” Stewart said. “Fingers crossed for him but seeing him in the dressing room it’s certainly a concern.”Obviously with the announcement this morning he was in a great place. He’s earned that right, and he offers England something they haven’t got. If he gets in that environment I think England will be very impressed with him. Let’s not speculate now. Hopefully we’ll get some news sooner rather than later.”Ansari was one of three players uncapped at Test level included in England’s 16-man squad for the three Test series against Pakistan which starts on October 13. Alex Hales and Adil Rashid were also named while James Taylor was recalled.Surrey added that Ansari’s injury would be “reviewed over the next couple of days”. England depart for the UAE on September 30.

ScorecardHyderabad’s CV Milind claimed three wickets•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Shadab Jakati starred with the ball as Goa crushed Tripura by nine wickets inside three days in Porvorim to earn their first win of the season. They achieved the 50-run target for the loss of Swapnil Asnodkar, which meant they were denied a bonus point.Tripura, who still had to wipe out 56 runs to make Goa bat again, started the day at 140 for 6. Manisankar Murasingh, overnight on 36, completed his maiden first-class century to keep the Goa bowlers at bay in the first session. He found good support from Rana Dutta (29) as the duo shared an 87-run stand for the seventh wicket.Jakati, the left-arm spinner, broke the stand and then cleaned up the tail to finish with figures of 5 for 54 to take his match tally to seven wickets. Goa then took 25.1 overs to achieve their modest target, with Amogh Desai and Sagun Kamath crossing the finish line.
ScorecardAnkush Bains struck a career-best 161 to put Himachal Pradesh within touching distance of a first-innings lead against Hyderabad in Dharamsala. HP, who resumed on 84 for 0, ended the day at 402 for 5, trailing by only 32 runs.Bains was well complemented by Robin Bist (91* off 154 balls) during the course of their 132-run fourth-wicket stand. There were brought together by left-arm seamer CV Milind taking two wickets in two balls to take the score from 195 for 1 to 195 for 3.The see-saw nature of proceedings did not stop there. Hyderabad removed the well-set Bains and Nikhil Gangta in successive overs. But Rishi Dhawan, who needed 76 runs to achieve the double of 2000 runs and 200 first-class wickets, then resisted with an unbeaten 48 in the company of Bist to give HP a chance to press for three points.
ScorecardKerala were faced with a mountain to climb in order to secure their first win of the season, after Jharkhand set them an imposing target of 317. They ended the day at 71 for 1, with Akshay Kodoth and Rohan Prem at the crease.Kerala, who conceded a 54-run lead, hit back courtesy KS Monish, the left-arm spinner, who took 5 for 66 to trigger a lower order collapse. As a result, Jharkhand slipped from a comfortable 199 for 4 to 262 all out. Ishan Kishan, the 17-year old wicketkeeper-batsman, made 58 while Saurabh Tiwary and Kaushal Singh contributed 46 and 44 not out respectively.

A move to No. 3 may help end Lahiru Thirimanne’s lean trot, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has said ahead of the first Test against West Indies in Galle. Thirimanne has been groomed for that role over the past two years and is now free to come in at first drop, following the axing of Upul Tharanga from the Test squad, as well as the retirements of high-profile batsmen.He has continued to be effective in the limited-overs formats despite his Test-match woes. Thirimanne averages 47.81 at No. 3 in ODIs, and Mathews said the team trusts his Test returns will begin to improve as well.”Because of Kumar Sangakkara batting at No. 3 we couldn’t really accommodate Lahiru in the top three,” Mathews said. “Your best batter always has to bat at No. 3. Now that Sangakkara has gone, Lahiru is pretty much the candidate to bat at No. 3.”Thirimanne’s poor Test form has been particularly apparent in Sri Lanka’s recent home Tests. He averaged 21.09 across the six Tests against Pakistan and India, hitting only one fifty in that period.”Lahiru’s form was a bit of a concern in the recent past, but we continue to have faith in him,” Mathews said. “We know he’s a very good player. He’s played the game for quite a long time, so we’re pretty much sure he’ll come good and deliver for us in this series.”Thirimanne’s form had been only one of the several top-order problems Sri Lanka faced, against India in August. The hosts failed to cross 210 in half of their innings that tour, and found themselves battling a first-innings deficit in each of the three games. Mathews suggested a more positive approach with the bat could see his side to bigger totals.”We need to adjust the mindset with our batting,” Mathews said. “It’s all about trying to score runs – and that’s been the talking point for our batters over the last two months. It’s just that any given day you get a good ball and you tend to get out, and that’s the fate of the batsman. But I think you need to just try and score runs all the time and grab opportunities that the bowlers give you – try and score off the loose balls. Hopefully we can get everything right this series.”Sri Lanka’s bowlers have largely done well in the home series this year, but they have also been occasionally guilty of letting the opposition tail score cheap runs. In the most recent Test at the SSC, Amit Mishra and R Ashwin both hit fifties from No. 9. In the previous series, Zulfiqar Babar had hit a fifty in Galle from No. 10.”We’ve talked about getting lower-order wickets a lot in our meetings,” Mathews said. “It’s just that we have to bowl at them thinking they are batters. The batters play a lot different than the bowlers – the bowlers throw their bats around and get a few runs, and a few nicks. When that happens, in the next minute the whole scenario changes. Hopefully we can rectify that this series.”Mathews also all but confirmed that Tharindu Kaushal will play in Galle, ahead of Dilruwan Perera, despite Kaushal’s doosra having been recently banned by the ICC. “We trust that PHT Kaushal will be someone who serves Sri Lanka for a long time, given the way he’s bowled in the past. As a team, and as a captain, I can give him that trust and play him. I have no issues with playing him in this match.”

Pakistan batsman Younis Khan will bring the curtains down on his ODI career after the first match against England at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.Younis, 37, played 264 matches in an ODI career that spanned 15 years. With 7240 runs, Younis is currently sixth on the list of highest run-getters for Pakistan in ODIs. Earlier this month, he overtook Javed Miandad’s record to become Pakistan’s highest run-scorer in Tests.Overall, Younis scored seven hundreds and 48 fifties at an average of 31.34, but had been on the fringes of the limited-overs side in recent months; he managed just one century since 2008, against New Zealand last December.”I am really pleased to announce that today I am retiring from ODI cricket after deliberation with my family, wife, and close friends,” Younis said. “I feel satisfied and grateful to almighty for showering numerous blessings on me. It is one of the his great blessings that I, by my own will, have taken this decision to retire from ODI cricket after having retired from T20 cricket already.”Explaining his decision, Younis said that he had to be honest with himself while contemplating his ODI future. “During my 15-year long association with ODI cricket, I always tried my best to play positive cricket for my team both as captain and as a player. But now I feel that the time has come when I should call it a day from one-day cricket,” Younis, who captained Pakistan in two stints, first in 2005-06 and later in 2009, said. “I hope that our young players will exhibit the same passion with which I played my game with strict adherence to discipline and fitness.”I would like to thank the PCB, selection committee and my fellow players who always respected and encouraged me. It is difficult to bid adieu to one-day format, but I believe in being sincere and honest with myself as well as with my profession. Pakistan cricket has a bright future ahead. We have been the champions in this game once and I believe we have all necessary ingredients to become champions once again.”While Younis has been in fine form in Test cricket, scoring eight hundreds from his last 15 matches at an average of 68.68, his records in ODI were less impressive. Last year, after being dropped from the ODI squad for the home series against Australia, a hurt Younis lashed out at the PCB, challenging the board to build a team without him in the mix. Despite being out of favour in ODIs at the time, Younis eventually returned to the squad for the home series against New Zealand, and was also included in the team’s World Cup squad. He however had a tournament to forget, scoring just 43 runs from three matches and was eventually axed from the line-up.Younis’ ODI retirement leaves him as an active international cricketer in just Tests. He had retired from Twenty20 Internationals after leading Pakistan to the World T20 title in 2009 in England, their first trophy on the global stage since the 1992 World Cup win.

Ashley Giles Photo © AllSport

Ashley Giles’ all-round excellence could not have come at a better for jogging the England selectors’ minds. He followed his innings of 98 for Warwickshire in their championship match against Sussex at Edgbaston by taking 6-38. It has been quite a week for the left-arm spinner.The Sussex batsmen just fell away in losing their last six wickets for only 23runs, and at 158 gave Warwickshire a 94 runs lead. From Warwickshire’s point of view they had mixed feelings as they lost a total of 42 overs in the day following two interruptions due to rain. This time Sussex seemed to be intent on a battle of attrition as they tried to retrieve the fashionable position they had let slip when Warwickshire had once been 39-6 on the previous day and prevent the West Midlanders from building on their lead at the head of Division Two.This explained the caution applied by skipper Chris Adams in his fifth-wicketpartnership with Tony Cottey. By then Sussex had struggled to 82-4, most ofwhich was scored by opener Toby Peirce (41). By then Giles had taken three wickets already.Ominously it was Giles who took three of the wickets before Adams and Cotteyjoined forces. Rain prevented an early resumption after lunch (98-4) andwashed out any chance there might have been of batsman going fore their shots. Adams and Cottey scored only thirty runs in the thirteen overs they had before tea. After the interval Adams came back to something like his normal batting as he struck Giles for six, but the bowler had his revenge aide by Keith Piper’s stumping of Cottey (36).The wicketkeeper then caught Robin Martin-Jenkins from a skied pull. Captain Neil Smith ended his opposite number’s vigil with a caught-and-bowled – Adams had made 36 (149-7). Warwickshire reached 25-1 in their second innings by the close.