Are Bayern Munich the strongest side in Europe right now? They're certainly not far off it. The Germans maintained their flawless start to the 2025-26 season with a 3-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend. Unsurprisingly, Harry Kane was among the goals again, as the free-scoring striker maintained his record-breaking start to the campaign.
Over in Italy, defending Napoli returned to winning ways after last week's loss at San Siro to reclaim top spot in Serie A from Massimiliano Allegri's resurgent AC Milan, who were held to a 0-0 draw by Juventus – primarily because of a missed penalty from Christian Pulisic.
In France, Roberto De Zerbi's wonderfully exciting Marseille moved to within a point of Paris Saint-Germain, meaning we might actually have something resembling a title race this season, while Real Madrid are back on top of LaLiga thanks to a hard-fought win over Villarreal – and Barcelona's shocking loss at Sevilla.
As for Portugal, the big game of the weekend between Jose Mourinho's Benfica and his former club, Porto, ended in a perhaps unsurprisingly dour 0-0 draw.
Below, GOAL runs through all the big winners and losers of the latest round of action across Europe's top leagues…
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WINNER: Vinicius Junior
Vinicius Junior threw a pathetic hissy-fit after missing out on the 2024 Ballon d'Or and immediately vowed to win this year's award. He didn't get remotely close, of course, the Brazilian finishing 16th after an underwhelming campaign.
However, Vinicius has made a fine start to the new Liga season and his double in Real Madrid's 3-1 win over Villarreal means he now has nine direct goal involvements in eight matches.
"I like it when I see him smiling and enjoying himself," Blancos boss Xabi Alonso told his club's official website. "He came close to scoring a hat-trick and rounding off his game.
"He also had a great game against Levante (on September 23). He's a very important player for the team and the club because of his ability to create mismatches, what he generates and the difficulty he poses for the opposition."
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LOSER: Barcelona
Pedri claimed ahead of last week's Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain that Barcelona were the best team in Europe. It wasn't true then and it's certainly not true now.
The Blaugrana are a wonderfully entertaining team, but primarily because they're almost as vulnerable defensively as they are outstanding offensively. Basically, their games guarantee goals because they have such an open style of play, as the past week has underlined.
After being beaten 2-1 at home by an under-strength PSG on Wednesday night, Barca were hammered 4-1 on Sunday afternoon by Sevilla in La Liga – a defeat that saw the Catalans displaced at the top of the table by hated rivals Real Madrid.
Robert Lewandowski missed a second-half penalty at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan that would have drawn the visitors level but midfielder Pedri admitted, "We shouldn't pin the defeat on that alone. Throughout the match, we weren't good enough."
It was a similar story against PSG, which is why Flick's high-risk tactics are now coming under serious scrutiny in Catalonia for the first time.
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WINNER: Ange-Yoan Bonny
Marcus Thuram has been outstanding for Inter this season, winning man of the match in both of their Champions League matches so far, against Ajax and Slavia Prague.
So, the Frenchman's injury-enforced absence from Sunday's Serie A clash with Cremonese looked like a bit of a problem for Christian Chivu. However, Ange-Yoan Bonny did an absolutely sensational job filling in for Thuram.
As well as scoring his first goal for Inter following his summer switch from Parma, the 21-year-old attacker also racked up a hat-trick of assists, making new coach Chivu look like a bit of genius for bringing Bonny with him from Parma during the summer.
"The 'mister' gives me confidence every day," Bonny told reporters after the Nerazzurri's 4-1 win at San Siro. "I know he'll give me my chances if I deserve them: it's always been like this, even at Parma, and I thank him for that and I just want to continue on this path."
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WINNER: Igor Paixao
It was a little surprising that none of Europe's richest clubs made a move for Igor Paixao during the summer. The Brazilian was the best player in the Netherlands last season, scoring 16 goals and creating a further 10 for Feyenoord.
Credit to Marseille, then, for deciding to pay a club-record €35 million (£30m/$41m) for Paixao, who, after an injury-hindered start to his spell at the Stade Velodrome, struck twice in the 4-0 Champions League rout of Ajax in midweek before opening the scoring – and his Ligue 1 account – in the 3-0 win at Metz on Saturday afternoon.
"Sometimes, with certain players," OM coach Roberto De Zerbi said in his post-match press conference, "you have to invest in their physical and mental condition beforehand.
"I try to play Paixao all the time, and when his performance drops, I replace him, but he is getting back to the level we know he's capable of."
كشف وليد صلاح، مدير الكرة بالنادي الأهلي، عن كواليس جديدة للمارد الأحمر، قبل مواجهة الزمالك، والتي انتهت بالفوز بهدفين مقابل هدف، ضمن منافسات الدوري المصري.
وقال وليد صلاح الدين، عبر قناة “الأهلي”: “أصعب قرار منذ دخولي الأهلي، كان يخص أحمد سيد زيزو ومحمد مجدي أفشة، هما اثنان مؤثران جدًا في الفريق ولاعبان مهمان للغاية، كنا في موقف صعب جدًا قبل مباراة الزمالك، وكنا جهازًا فنيًا جديدًا”.
وتابع: “أحب أن أشكر الكابتن عماد النحاس والكابتن محمد نجيب والكابتن عادل مصطفى، وكل المجموعة العاملة، كنا جميعًا في ظهر بعضنا وتخطينا مرحلة صعبة”.
طالع.. الأهلي يكشف تطورات حالة إمام عاشور.. وموقف رضا وداري وكريم فؤاد
وأضاف: “زيزو وأفشة عادا قبل مباراة الزمالك بيومين تقريبًا، ومع الدكتور أحمد جاب الله، لم يكونا كافيين لدخول أجواء المباراة بشكل سليم، هنا كان القرار مهمًا ومؤثرًا، تحدثت مع الكابتن عماد النحاس واتفقنا مع الدكتور على أن مشاركتهما ستكون مخاطرة عالية جدًا لتجدد الإصابة”.
وواصل: “اتخذنا القرار، رغم حاجتنا الماسة في ظل غيابات مؤثرة جدًا، مثل أشرف داري وكريم فؤاد ومجموعة أخرى، زيزو وأفشة لعبا المباراة السابقة للزمالك، وبذلا جهدًا مع منتخب مصر الأول والثاني، وبالتالي كان من المهم الحفاظ عليهما”.
واسترسل: “هذا كان أحد القرارات المهمة جدًا، والحمد لله، ربنا كرمنا وفزنا بمباراة الزمالك، واستفدنا من اللاعبين في المباراة التالية”.
وأردف: “هناك قرارات كثيرة من هذا النوع، سواء بشأن ياسر إبراهيم، تريزيجيه، أو غيرهما من اللاعبين، الجماهير كلها جزء من هذه القرارات، وكل ثلاث دقائق يُتخذ قرار جديد”.
وأتم: “الكابتن الخطيب، بصراحة، كلما أقوم بشيء يقول لي افعل ما تريد، هناك دعم ومساندة، والحمد لله، كلها كانت موفقة”.
كشفت تقارير صحفية تفاصيل مشادة وقعت بين نجم فريق ريال مدريد، فينيسيوس جونيور، وأحد لاعبي أتلتيكو مدريد خلال مباراة ديربي يوم السبت الماضي في بطولة الدوري الإسباني.
وحل ريال مدريد ضيفًا على أتلتيكو مدريد في الجولة السابعة من الدوري الإسباني، حيث خسر الفريق الملكي بخمسة أهداف مقابل هدفين.
وذكرت شبكة “سبورت” الإسبانية، نقلًا عن “موفيستار” أن مشادة كلامية وقعت بين فينيسيوس جونيور ولاعب أتلتيكو مدريد، كوكي، في مباراة الديربي يوم السبت الماضي.
وبدأ الجدال عندما وصف فينيسيوس كوكي بـ”الطفل الباكي اللعين”، ليضحك لاعب أتلتيكو مدريد حيث واصل اللعب، ولكن يبدو أن الأمر لم ينتهِ عند ذلك الحد.
اقرأ أيضًا | موعد والقناة الناقلة لمباراة ريال مدريد وكيرات اليوم في دوري أبطال أوروبا.. والمعلق
وظهر فينيسيوس وهو يتبادل نقاشًا حادًا مع كوكي بعد ذلك، حيث أشار البرازيلي بـ”الفم” تجاه لاعب أتلتيكو مدريد، واتهمه قائلًا: “أنت تتحدث دائمًا مع الصحافة، كل ما أقوله لك، تقوله للصحافة”.
وأوضحت أن المشكلة قد تصاعدت بين الثنائي لدرجة أن كيليان مبابي ولاعب أتلتيكو مدريد روبن لو نورماند قد اضطرا إلى التدخل من أجل منع تفاقم المشادة، حيث حاولا الفصل بينهما.
واستغل كوكي ذلك الأمر حيث أشار إلى مبابي وقال لـ فينيسيوس جونيور إنه الأفضل، ليرد الأخير قائلًا: “نعم، نعم، ولكنه يلعب معي، سنفوز بكل شيء”.
ورغم ذلك، لم يتوقف كوكي عن إثارة غضب فينيسيوس، حيث أشار إلى مبابي ووضع يده على فمه كما لو كان يأكل، وقال للبرازيلي: “سيأكل خبزك المحمص!”.
وتلك العبارة المذكورة دارجة في اللغة الإسبانية، حيث تُستخدم للإشارة إلى كون شخص يسرق الأضواء من آخر أو يحل محله، وهو ما يقصده كوكي عندما قالها لـ فينيسيوس، حيث يقصد أن كيليان مبابي أخذ مكانه وتفوق عليه.
A whirlwind century from hometown hero Travis Head blew India’s attack away and thrilled the Adelaide crowd on day two of the pink-ball Test. Head’s 140 off 141 balls swelled Australia’s first-innings lead to 157, leaving India facing a challenging final two hours under the floodlights. The visitors fell further behind when they lost half their side during that period when the pink ball was at its most potent. At stumps, India were 128 for 5, still 29 runs behind.Head had walked out to generous applause from his home crowd and into a bit of trouble in the middle after Jasprit Bumrah had taken out both Nathan McSweeney and Steven Smith in a space of 13 balls. While McSweeney nicked a Bumrah special behind to Rishabh Pant, after managing to add just one to his overnight tally of 38, Steven Smith was caught down the leg side for 2.After the floodlights had blacked out twice on the opening day, Australia’s batting threatened to black out on the second afternoon. Head, however, had other ideas and torched the innings with his no-holds-barred approach. He played and missed four of his first nine balls, but that certainly didn’t stop him from playing his shots. He stayed true to his method of staying leg-side of the ball and cracking it away into the shorter pockets of the ground square on the off side.He also cleared the longer straight boundary when he crashed R Ashwin over mid-off and then over his head for sixes, including a 110-metre monster hit over the sightscreen.Head scored his first fifty off 63 balls and took only 48 more balls to convert it into a hundred. He celebrated the landmark by rocking his bat like a baby in tribute to his family’s new arrival, with his wife and newborn among a 51,642-strong home crowd. A hug from fellow South Australian Alex Carey was also part of the revelry.Indian fans would be sick of the sight of Head by now. Since 2023, he has hit 1052 runs in 19 innings against India across formats at an average of 61.9 with three centuries, including tons in the previous cycle of the WTC final and 2023 ODI World Cup final.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Head had set to work on Saturday by adding 65 with Marnus Labuschagne and then 74 with Carey. Labuschagne’s innings was as fluent as Head’s but it was one that he needed to work his way back into form after having managed just 123 runs in his last ten Test innings, of which 90 came in one knock against New Zealand, before the Adelaide Test. Having been afforded some fairly comfortable leaves on the first evening, India’s seamers made Labuschagne play a lot more on the second afternoon. Whenever they erred too straight or into his pads, Labuschagne picked them away with compact drives and flicks.Labuschagne got to his fifty off 114 balls and celebrated it by taking the erratic Harshit Rana for three fours in four balls. After having late-cut the taller, quicker Rana with ease, Labuschagne was caught at gully when he tried a similar shot off the shorter, slower pace of Nitish Kumar Reddy.Head was more brutal on Rana, hitting him for 41 off 29 balls. It didn’t really matter what came down at Head. Short. Full. On the stumps. Outside off stump. Everything was dispatched.Mohammed Siraj, though, gave India some control and backed Bumrah up. He picked up his first wicket in the game when he extracted extra bounce and coaxed an outside edge from Carey.R Ashwin’s only wicket was Mitchell Marsh but that was down to some good fortune. After shaping to defend a non-turning offbreak from Ashwin, Marsh walked off even before umpire Richard Illingworth raised his finger and didn’t even contemplate a review. There was nothing on Snicko, with replays also indicating that the ball had missed the outside edge.Head attacked the second new ball as well, whipping Bumrah for a brace of fours. He then picked Siraj up for an imperious six over square leg in the next over, but Siraj struck back the next ball to york Head. Siraj released his pent-up emotions and gave Head a send-off that didn’t go too well with him or his beloved Adelaide crowd.The boos rang out but Siraj proceeded to dismiss Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland soon after tea to wrap up Australia for 337. Bumrah, who had gone down with some discomfort, which prompted medical attention, four balls into his spell with the second new ball, recovered to knock Cummins over.Related
Siraj vs Head: The send-off that turned Adelaide Oval into the Colosseum
Travis Head and India's bowlers – the one-sided love story continues
As it happened – Cummins bags five to make it 1-1
Cummins then took centerstage with the ball and cramped KL Rahul with a lifter for 7 off 10 balls. Just before stumps, he hit the top of Rohit Sharma’s off stump with an absolute peach.Rohit had a shaky stay, having been struck on the helmet by his first ball from Starc. He was then bowled next ball, but a no-ball reprieved him. Cummins did Rohit in just before the close of play, with no error in the placing of his heel.It was Boland who had prised out Virat Kohli by pushing a length ball on a fourth-stump line and drawing an outside edge from him. Boland had earlier struck with his first ball to dislodge Yashasvi Jaiswal for 24 off 31 balls. He has seamlessly slotted into the bowling attack and could pose an interesting selection question for the Brisbane Test though Josh Hazlewood is hopeful of returning to action for that fixture.Starc not striking with the pink new ball in his first spell might be an aberration, but he came back with the older one to storm through the defences of Gill with a hooping inswinger that also seamed in late.Pant, however, continued to do Pant things. Despite the rush of wickets, he charged out of the crease and manufactured swinging room to smash his first ball over mid-off for four. He then unfurled the reverse pull and the falling scoop to counter Australia’s quicks briefly. He remained unbeaten on 28 off 25 balls.India will need more of this from Pant – and more support from Reddy – if they are to somehow pull off another heist in Australia.
Besides from picking up Anthony Elanga for a whopping £55m, Newcastle United has been quiet with incoming signings this summer transfer window so far.
Unfortunately, multiple advances, away from securing the ex-Manchester United winger’s services, have fallen to the wayside, with James Trafford looking more likely to move to Manchester City now over relocating to Tyneside, alongside long-term Magpies target Hugo Ekitike also favouring Liverpool over St James’ Park.
Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike
Thankfully, time is still on the Toon’s side as the early September deadline is a month and a bit away, with Newcastle now wanting to press on with securing some other new additions, away from cursing any failed captures.
Newcastle send scouts to watch £34m star
Clearly, the Magpies want to add another exciting striker to their ranks this summer – even if Alexander Isak does remain put – as the likes of Benjamin Sesko and Yoane Wissa appear on Eddie Howe’s ambitious shopping list.
Reports do suggest that Sesko would cost an extortionate £78m to obtain, on top of Wissa being valued around the £40m mark, with far cheaper targets on Newcastle’s radar when trying to bolster their personnel defensively.
Indeed, as per a development from NUFC Blog, Newcastle are now interested in a £34m deal to bring Inter Milan centre-back Yann Bisseck to England, having even sent scouts out to Italy to watch him in action.
The report also states that further Premier League interest has come Bisseck’s way from Aston Villa, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur, but the Magpies will hope they can land the 6-foot-5 titan’s signature at the expense of their rivals, as they bid to replicate their Sandro Tonali magic with another gem from Italy.
Inter Milan's YannBisseckin action with AC Milan's Theo Hernande
How Bisseck can be a Tonali repeat
Much like Bisseck has managed at the San Siro, Tonali would rise from being a promising starlet at Inter’s foes in AC Milan to becoming a dependable first teamer worthy of a pricey move to English shores.
Tonali would tally up a promising seven goals and 13 assists on the books of the Rossoneri before St James’ Park came calling, and the battling 25-year-old has never looked back since, with the Toon number eight only missing two Premier League clashes all of last season as one of Howe’s first, concrete names on the teamsheet.
Four goals and two assists would also come Tonali’s way across those 36 top-flight outings, with this wonderfully struck effort the pick of the bunch from the efforts that were cannoned home.
Bisseck will pray that if a move to Newcastle gets off the ground, he can make similar strides and become a key first-teamer under Howe’s wing, with his numbers in the Serie A this season just gone pointing in the direction that he could soon make these dreams a reality.
Games played
27
Goals scored
3
Assists
2
Touches*
55.4
Accurate passes*
43.0 (92%)
Ball recoveries*
2.4
Clearances*
2.3
Total duels won*
2.9
Clean sheets
3
Looking at the table above, there is plenty to be encouraged by if Newcastle were to land the £34m titan, with Bisseck putting his towering 6-foot-5 frame to effective use when chipping in with three goals last season in Serie A action, on top of also being assured with the ball at his feet as an imposing presence with 43 accurate passes averaged per league game.
He does have room to improve, too, but he has also shown flashes of his “commanding” excellence – as he was once labelled by football analyst Ben Mattinson – in the Champions League with eight duels won in total across two legs versus Barcelona last season, whilst also silencing Man City menace Erling Haaland in a 0-0 stalemate versus the Citizens during a group stage affair.
Inter Milan's Yann Bisseck
Newcastle will be competing on Europe’s grandest stage again next campaign, meaning Bisseck might well be just the buy to pursue to improve Howe’s options as the fixture list grows in size, with a golden Tonali-like repeat hopefully in the offing.
More clinical than Ekitike: Howe plotting Newcastle move to sign £75m+ star
Losing out on Ekitike could prove to be a blessing in disguise.
T20s will feature at the Olympics’ next edition, which will be in Los Angeles in 2028
PTI11-Aug-2024
Ricky Ponting: “I’m really excited about where the game’s headed”•Getty Images
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting feels that cricket’s return to the Olympics in Los Angeles in four years’ time [LA28] will be beneficial to the game.”It can only be a positive thing for our game. I’ve sat on various committees over the last 15 or 20 years, and it’s always been on the top of almost every agenda – how do we get the game back into the Olympics? And finally, it’s there,” Ponting said on . “It’s only four years away. I think it also gives cricket a chance to break into the grassroots level in the US.”Cricket is returning to the Games after 128 years, with the only time it featured previously being in 1900, with two teams – Great Britain and France – participating, and the former winning gold.”The thing about the Olympic Games, it’s not [about] the host nation. It’s about the audience that it opens up,” Ponting said. “The Olympic Games being viewed by so many people all around the world, it just opens up completely different audiences to our game that’s seemingly growing on a daily basis anyway. It can only be a real positive thing for the game.”Ponting said infrastructure and qualification pathways would still need to be appropriately figured out but, with its inclusion, the game is moving in the right direction overall. “Facilities and infrastructure and those things are going to be key, and how many [participating] teams they actually decide on. I think it’s only six or seven teams that they’re talking about, so qualification is going to be at a premium – how you actually qualify to get into the Olympic Games.”So all those are things to think about, [but] I’m really excited about where the game’s headed and the growth of different markets that we’re seeing emerge.”Cricket at LA28 will be played in the T20 format, with both men’s and women’s teams set to feature.The game had been in the spotlight in the USA earlier this year too, when the country co-hosted the men’s T20 World Cup with the West Indies.
Having already welcomed Carlton Morris from Luton Town, Derby County are now reportedly in talks to sign an experienced winger at a bargain price this summer.
Derby sign Carlton Morris
Leaving relegated Luton in favour of a move to Pride Park, Morris became the first signing of the summer at Derby earlier this week and will be hoping to ensure that they, unlike The Hatters, push beyond the Championship’s dropzone next season. At 29 years old, he’s now a player with plenty of experience and his versatility to play all across the frontline could prove pivotal for John Eustace.
After putting pen to paper, Morris told Derby’s official website: “It’s a massive club that I’ve heard a lot of good things about. When they came in for me, it was a bit of a no-brainer, really.
“[The move is] a big change, especially with my family. You want to know about the football club, about the area, and I’ve heard nothing but good. I’ve heard it’s a great family club, so I’m excited to get going.
“I think I’m entering the prime stage of my career as a striker now. I spoke to Rob Edwards, who has told me how good Keith Downing is and that Matt Gardiner is exceptional to work with as well.
Derby face Blackburn in race to sign midfielder with same agent as Forsyth
Derby County are now in a race with fellow Championship teams to sign a versatile midfielder.
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“They’re only going to make me a better player which is crucial as I’m at a place where I’m probably the most coachable I’ve been in my career and ready to kick on.”
In their second season back in the Championship, Derby are seemingly ready to welcome more experience after Morris this summer and that includes one particular winger. As Eustace’s side aim to push on, they’ve reportedly opened talks in pursuit of a bargain deal.
Derby open talks to sign John Swift
As reported by Birmingham World, Derby are now in talks to sign John Swift alongside three other EFL clubs. The former West Bromwich Albion winger is now a free agent after leaving the Hawthorns and is believed to have already met with two managers regarding his future, one of them being Eustace.
Whilst he endured a mixed spell for the Baggies, Swift’s experience may prove invaluable for a side in Derby’s position. Meanwhile, at his best, Swift is someone who has often found himself at the centre of impressive praise.
That includes from former West Brom manager Tony Mowbray last season, who told reporters after Swift scored a free-kick against Burnley last season: “John Swift’s free-kick was a fantastic goal. He’s a wonderful player and he’s very talented. Certain games need certain types of players to give us the best chance to win.”
With three other EFL sides interested, there’s no doubt that signing Swift would represent an impressive coup for Derby, who have already made a statement by signing Luton’s Morris this summer.
It is practically indisputable that Arsenal are in the market for a new striker this summer, and Mikel Arteta’s side have now been handed the chance to get one over on arch rivals Tottenham by signing a key target of Thomas Frank’s side.
Arsenal make contact to sign trophy-laden £400k-per-week ex-Man City star
He’d be quite the addition to Arteta’s dressing room.
ByEmilio Galantini Jun 17, 2025
New sporting director Andrea Berta is currently busy attempting to negotiate agreeable terms on a deal for RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko, but find themselves some way off the Bundesliga side’s asking price of around £68-85 million, according to Sky Germany’s (Florian Plettenberg).
19/20 – winter
£0
20/21 – summer
£81.5m
20/21 – winter
£900k
21/22 – summer
£156.8m
21/22 – winter
£1.8m
22/23 – summer
£121.5m
22/23 – winter
£59m
23/24 – summer
£208m
23/24 – winter
£0
24/25 – summer
£101.5m
24/25 – winter
£0
Arsenal negotiations for Sesko have been ongoing since late May, but if a deal cannot be struck for the Slovenia international, Berta does have other reported striker targets on his shortlist.
Arsenal have also worked on a deal for Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres, who is currently keen on a move to north London and open to joining other high-profile Premier League suitors like Man United.
“Viktor Gyökeres prefers a move to the Premier League, and would welcome an Arsenal bid,” reported Ben Jacobs on X recently.
“Arsenal still deciding between Benjamin Sesko and Gyökeres. Andrea Berta simultaneously advancing both deals. Gyökeres would be open to Manchester United. There has been no formal rejection, but a deal to date has also never been at an advanced stage, despite suggestions.
“United have not made any formal approach to Sporting. Swedish striker one of several striker options discussed. Gyökeres believes he’ll still be allowed to leave Sporting for €70m. Arsenal have always been one to watch, but it will depend on Berta now because he is also in ongoing talks for Sesko at the same time, with a bid for one of the two targets expected soon.”
Either centre-forward would be an upgrade on Arteta’s current options. Sesko is fresh off a career-best Bundesliga campaign at Leipzig, while Gyokeres has just guided Sporting to their first domestic double in 20 years after scoring 54 goals in all competitions.
However, Arsenal now also have a new left-field option.
Arsenal offered Dynamo Kyiv striker Vladyslav Vanat
According to website Just Arsenal, Dynamo Kyiv striker Vladyslav Vanat has been put forward to Arteta’s side.
Vanat scored 21 goals in all competitions last season, helping Kyiv to lift the Ukranian Premier League title whilst ending the season unbeaten. He also finished 2024/2025 as the division’s top scorer with 17, and this has attracted some attention from England.
It is now believed that Arsenal have been offered the chance to sign Vanat, who has a reported £17 million release clause in his contract. Arteta doesn’t view the 23-year-old’s signing as an urgent need right now, but is fully aware of Vanat’s quality, so it’s apparently a situation they could revisit later in the window.
However, if they do decide they want him, Arsenal will need to be wary of rival interest. Manchester United, Leeds United, Everton, and Tottenham are all keen on Vanat, with the latter even viewing him as a “priority signing” for new manager Frank.
While the dream for many Arsenal fans this summer will be to see Alexander Isak arrive in a big-money deal, the fact of the matter is that he feels pretty untouchable.
A reported £150m asking price has been slapped on his head and despite Mikel Arteta’s need to strengthen in attack, it’s unlikely you’ll see the Gunners fork out that amount of money, particularly considering they need fresh faces in other areas of the pitch too.
Newcastle United's AlexanderIsakcelebrates scoring their first goal
It perhaps explains why they’re currently working on a deal to sign Viktor Gyokeres, then. Reports in recent days suggest that they are in talks and an agreement may well be close.
But, if that move doesn’t come to fruition, attention could be turned to Benjamin Sesko and one other alternative.
Arsenal could sign £59m Sesko upgrade
Last summer, it looked as though Arsenal were going to sign Slovenian centre-forward, Sesko.
The striker had a release clause at RB Leipzig and despite interest from the north Londoners, he penned a new contract in Germany and decided to stay another year.
RB Leipzig's BenjaminSeskocelebrates
Well, a year on, Arsenal are still interested in the 21-year-old, with The Athletic’s David Ornstein noting earlier in the week that they have done a lot of work to potentially sign the player.
The player still has a release clause with certain conditions, meaning it could see Arsenal pay in the region of £67m.
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If they are seeking a cheaper alternative, then they need to look no further than Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy.
England’s elite clubs have all been presented with the opportunity to sign the striker this summer as according to German publication, BILD, the player has a release clause of £59m, which can only be triggered by a certain set of teams.
Those clubs are Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Barcelona.
It’s a strange situation but due to the nature of the release clause, if any of the sides above submitted a bid of £59m, Dortmund would have no choice but to accept.
How Guirassy compares to Sesko
Sesko, described as “the new Haaland” by talent scout Jacek Kulig is clearly one of the most promising and exciting young strikers in the game right now.
In the Bundesliga, he’s scored 13 goals in 33 matches and registered a further eight across other competitions. It’s a solid tally considering his age, but Arsenal want to win now. Thus, signing Guirassy for a cheaper fee may well be the answer.
After all, when it comes to finding the net, he’s certainly more prolific. Aptly described as a “goal monster” by journalist Michael Adjei, also playing in Germany’s top-flight, Guirassy scored 21 in 30 league outings this season.
In all competitions, the 29-year-old has found the net on 34 occasions in 45 fixtures. While he was a menace domestically, it was in the Champions League where he racked up some astonishing numbers.
Guirassy most notably scored a hat-trick in the quarter-finals against Barcelona, which were three of 13 goals he scored in 14 European ties this season. He’s a man for the big occasion and being in his prime, he’s ready to help Arsenal now. Unlike Sesko, he’s not a project striker.
So, where else does he beat the Slovenian? We’ve crunched the numbers.
Guirassy vs Sesko in 2024/25 (league only)
Metric (per 90 mins)
Guirassy
Sesko
Goals
0.73
0.49
Assists
0.14
0.19
Shots
2.98
2.50
Pass success %
73%
68%
Key passes
0.87
0.72
Progressive passes
1.52
1.74
Successful take-ons
0.38
1.48
Aerial duels won
3.77
2.65
Stats via FBRef.
Analysing certain metrics, it’s no surprise to see that Guirassy is more dangerous in front of the goal considering he takes more shots. He’s also involved in the build-up play, registering more key passes every 90 minutes.
Sesko is certainly the more progressive and quicker of the two, certainly judging by the number of take-ons he achieves, but what’s crucial for the way Arteta uses his centre-forwards is that Guirassy trumps the Leipzig sensation for aerial duels won.
RB Leipzig's BenjaminSeskobefore taking a penalty
We’ve got two different profiles here, but at the end of the day, goals win you games of football and that’s what the Gunners have missed most this season.
The Dortmund star may well be 29 but he’s in his prime, he’s in the form of his life, and for £59m, you won’t find many better options.
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The next seven matches of Ipswich Town’s voyage this season in the Premier League rest on attempting to restore some pride, with survival looking a very distant possibility at this moment in time.
12 points is now the sizeable gap between Wolverhampton Wanderers sat in 17th spot and the Tractor Boys stuck in that last relegation spot in the division in 18th, meaning upcoming games against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle United this April are somewhat free hits.
Ipswich Town'sLiamDelapapplauds fans after the match
If the Suffolk underdogs stand any chance at picking up a shock result at Stamford Bridge later today, they will need Liam Delap to be firing on all cylinders, with the ex-Manchester City man also eager to keep up his rich vein of goalscoring form before a likely summer departure.
Delap's goalscoring heroics this season
Even as Ipswich sink closer and closer to the relegation drop, Delap continues to be a blistering goal machine.
Indeed, Delap would initially gift his side the lead against Wolves before Vitor Pereira’s men mounted a comeback, with the 22-year-old also on the scoresheet the match before when Kieran McKenna’s side surprised AFC Bournemouth on their own patch.
These two strikes in quick succession have bumped up the clinical number 19’s goal count in the Premier League to a high 12, with one of those goals even coming about in the reverse fixture when Delap and Co unsettled Enzo Maresca’s visitors in a 2-1 victory.
Even if Delap is at his free-flowing best, Ipswich will know a staunch defensive effort will still be necessary to secure a surprise result in West London, with this defender – who has now become as undroppable as the £30m striker – also needing to be at his imposing peak.
The Ipswich "warrior" now as undroppable as Delap
It has been a deeply frustrating campaign at Portman Road, with terrific attacking displays often let down by porous defensive offerings, seen in Ipswich conceding a steep 65 goals across their 31 games to date.
But, there have been some standout performers at the back regardless of error-strewn performances regularly seeping into their game defensively, with Dara O’Shea one figure that’s managed to cement himself as a first-team regular.
O’Shea’s PL performances in April
Stat
Bournemouth
Wolves
Minutes played
90
90
Goals scored
0
0
Assists
0
1
Touches
54
71
Accurate passes
17/28 (61%)
41/51 (80%)
Clearances
14
10
Blocked shots
5
2
Interceptions
1
1
Tackles
1
1
Total duels won
5/6
7/12
Stats by Sofascore
Looking at the table above, O’Shea has managed to show off his well-rounded game as a defender versus Andoni Iraola’s Cherries and the Old Gold, with the Irishman putting in a far more back-to-basics display on the South Coast when tallying up 14 clearances in the slim away win.
Only losing out on one of his duels from six attempted too, the ex-West Bromwich Albion colossus definitely lived up to his previous “warrior” billing from one of his former managers in Valerien Ismael.
But, he also showed off his composed game against Pereira’s side when assisting the only goal of the afternoon, with his concrete presence in McKenna’s starting XI only growing stronger off the back of these standout showings, even as relegation looms large.
Not missing a single minute of Premier League action that has been available to him this year, the 6 foot 1 powerhouse also has bags of Championship experience under his belt with 70 career games at the level managed, meaning his minutes won’t deplete whatsoever when second-tier football likely returns to Portman Road.
Ipswich Town managerKieranMcKenna
Before that eventuality beckons, however, Ipswich will want to add as many points to their low top-flight tally as they can, starting potentially with a bolt from the blue result at Stamford Bridge.
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