LONDON: Mikel Arteta saluted “adorable” Kai Havertz after the German sent Arsenal to the top of the Premier League with the last-gasp goal that clinched a 1-0 win at Brentford on Saturday.
Havertz was a Champions League final hero for Chelsea in 2021, but he has endured a torrid time since crossing London to join Arsenal in the close-season.
The 24-year-old midfielder finally gave a glimpse of why Arteta splashed out £65 million ($80 million) to sign him when he headed home in the closing minutes.
Havertz’s second goal for Arsenal was his first in his last 10 appearances, moving his team one point clear of second placed Manchester City, who were held to a 1-1 draw by third placed Liverpool earlier in the day.
“That is the beautiful thing about life. When you have challenges and you have to overcome them, it makes these moments much better,” Arteta said.
“That is the reason the people reacted to him like that today. It is because he is adorable and he is a joy to work with. He fully deserves more than anybody to get that win.”
Arsenal’s third successive win in all competitions proved they have erased the bitter taste of their controversial VAR-aided defeat at Newcastle earlier in November.
Arteta’s men had already won at the Gtech Community Stadium in the League Cup in September and they left it late before making it another successful trip to west London.
“I love winning and we are top of the table. This is where we have to want to be,” Arteta said.
“When you have an opportunity to take a bite out of everybody you have to do it.
“I was really curious how the team was going to do. Winter has started, it was very cold and it is difficult coming to Brentford. I loved the way the team competed.”
With on-loan Arsenal keeper David Raya not eligible to play against his parent club, Aaron Ramsdale made his first league start since September 3.
Ramsdale’s father recently criticized Arteta’s handling of the Arsenal goalkeeping controversy, with the England international surprisingly losing his place to Raya despite recording the second most Premier League clean-sheets last season.
But Arteta’s faith in Raya received a boost when Ramsdale, his confidence clearly affected by his spell on the bench, almost gifted Brentford the lead with a horrendous mistake early in the first half.
Trying to play out from the six-yard box after Gabriel’s back-pass, Ramsdale panicked under pressure from Yoane Wissa.
Ramsdale missed his kick and the ball rolled to Bryan Mbeumo, whose shot was cleared off the line by Declan Rice before Wissa stabbed the rebound wide.
Arteta refused to be drawn on Ramsdale’s shaky performance, saying only: “I am really happy with the team and the way the team played and we kept the clean sheet.”
After a slow start from Arsenal, they finally showed signs of life when Trossard headed Oleksandr Zinchenko’s cross over before Gabriel nodded into the side-netting.
Arsenal thought they had taken the lead in the 42nd minute when Gabriel Jesus met Bukayo Saka’s cross with a header that was parried by Mark Flekken and Leandro Trossard nodded home from close-range.
But a VAR check decided Trossard was narrowly offside, giving Arteta another dose of frustration at the hands of the review system.
Brentford nearly made Arsenal pay for their lethargy as Neal Maupay’s header was brilliantly cleared off the line by the stretching Zinchenko before the French forward poked the rebound wastefully wide.
That proved a crucial moment as Havertz came off the bench to win it in the 89th minute.
Saka’s cross picked out Havertz’s run to the far post and the German guided his header past Flekken as Arteta jumped for joy on the touchline.
‘Adorable’ Havertz ends goal drought to fire Arsenal into top spot
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‘Adorable’ Havertz ends goal drought to fire Arsenal into top spot
- The 24-year-old midfielder finally gave a glimpse of why Arteta splashed out $80 million to sign him
- Havertz’s second goal for Arsenal was his first in his last 10 appearances
AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez joins Saudi side Al-Hilal
- The 27-year-old French defender joins Al-Hilal on a three-year deal
Paris: Saudi club Al-Hilal on Thursday signed AC Milan’s French full-back Theo Hernandez on a three-year contract.
The 27-year-old leaves the Serie A side in a deal worth 25 million euros ($29.2 million), Italian media report.
Hernandez has played 38 times for France with two goals, and figured in the last World Cup, including the defeat by Argentina on penalties in the 2022 final in Qatar.
Moving to the Saudi Pro League a year before the next World Cup could be considered a risk for his chances of getting called up again by coach Didier Deschamps.
But he can take encouragement that Deschamps selected N’Golo Kante for Euro 2024 whilst he was playing for another Saudi club, Al-Ittihad.
Theo is the younger brother of Paris Saint-Germain and France defender Lucas Hernandez.
Swiss move through to Euro 2025 quarterfinals with late Xhemaili goal
- Switzerland, who needed only a draw to advance based on goal difference, finished second in Group A behind Norway to go through to the knockout round for the first time
- The desolate Finland players collapsed to the pitch in tears at the final whistle, while the Swiss lingered after the game’s end to pose for pictures
GENEVA: Switzerland’s Riola Xhemaili scored a last-gasp goal to salvage a dramatic 1-1 draw with Finland on Thursday that sent the joyous hosts through to the quarterfinals at Euro 2025, and heartbroken Finland home.
Switzerland, who needed only a draw to advance based on goal difference, finished second in Group A behind Norway to go through to the knockout round for the first time, and will face the winners of Group B, which would be world champions Spain as things stand now.
“I think we set ourselves a goal on the pitch, to write history, to go into the knockout stages, which we’ve never done before,” Swiss captain Lia Walti said.
Finland looked to be heading for the knockout round after Natalia Kuikka scored a penalty in the 79th minute, awarded after Viola Calligaris’s foul on Emma Koivisto. Center-back Kuikka calmly slotted home a low shot as Swiss goalkeeper Livia Peng dived the wrong way.
But, roared on by the home crowd, the Swiss kept up the attack in the breathless dying moments and Xhemaili, a second-half substitute, scored in the 92nd minute when Geraldine Reuteler mis-hit her shot on goal and Xhemaili was there to tap it in, blowing the roof off at Stade de Geneve.
“I really have to say that I didn’t think that we’re going home because I really believed in this team, until the last second, and I knew we were going to score,” Xhemaili said.
“I knew that Geraldine Reuteler, she will hit the target, of course, because she’s one of our best players, so I was like, just stay on the right spot in the right moment and wait until the ball is coming and it did.”
The desolate Finland players collapsed to the pitch in tears at the final whistle, while the Swiss lingered after the game’s end to pose for pictures and their famed manager Pia Sundhage wrapped her assistants in huge hugs.
But for most of the nervy night, the game was far from a classic, with desperation showing in both sides with the stakes sky high.
Switzerland started brightly and put Finnish goalkeeper Anna Koivunen to work early with a couple of chances. But momentum shifted midway through the half to quiet the nervous crowd and Peng made a huge save on the goal-line seconds before the break to preserve the draw.
Intensity picked up over the second half and Sundhage threw virtually every attacker on her bench into the game in search of the equalizer, with the Swiss ending the night with 15 shots to Finland’s six.
“I am going to dance tonight,” a smiling Sundhage told SRF.
Kuikka said Switzerland were the better team on the night.
“They came to the game like they wanted to win and it kind of showed,” she said.
Wenger defends Club World Cup amid Klopp criticism
- Wenger: Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I don’t share Jurgen Klopp’s view at all. I feel that a Club World Cup, a REAL Club World Cup was needed
- Wenger also pointed to the unexpectedly high attendance figures as evidence of the competition’s success
NEW YORK: Arsene Wenger has dismissed Jurgen Klopp’s criticism of FIFA’s revamped 32-team Club World Cup, calling the tournament a “fantastic competition” and emphasizing the support it has received from participating teams, players, and managers.
Klopp, the former Liverpool manager, described the expanded summer competition as “the worst idea ever invented” in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt two weeks ago. Wenger, now FIFA’s chief of Global Football Development, countered these remarks on Thursday during a FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG) briefing in New York.
“Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I don’t share Jurgen Klopp’s view at all,” Wenger told reporters. “I feel that a Club World Cup, a REAL Club World Cup was needed. If you make an inquiry today with all the clubs who were here at this competition, I’m basically sure that we have 100 percent of answers of people who want to do this again. So that’s basically the best answer.”
Wenger also pointed to the unexpectedly high attendance figures as evidence of the competition’s success. “The decisive question is, do the fans like it? Attendance projections were low, but in reality, they were much higher. The answer is there,” he added.
The tournament has provided FIFA with a testing ground ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which will take place across North America. Wenger acknowledged that the summer heat in the US posed challenges but said FIFA has learned valuable lessons to address these issues.
“The heat in some games was a problem,” Wenger admitted. “We tried to combat that with cooling breaks and watering the pitches during breaks. We learned a lot on that front.”
He singled out Orlando as one of the venues where pitch conditions proved difficult, though he praised the quality of natural grass pitches overall. Philadelphia’s surface, he said, would serve as a benchmark for future competitions in the US.
Looking ahead, Wenger said FIFA is considering using covered stadiums in cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Houston to host early matches in next year’s tournaments. He also revealed that FIFA analysts have studied the impact of heat on player performance, finding that temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) affect high-speed running and sprints more than overall distances covered.
“Certainly next year, there will be more roofed stadiums as we have to follow the TV schedule. We are learning to be better equipped to deal with these conditions,” Wenger said.
The inaugural 32-team Club World Cup concludes on Sunday, with Paris St. Germain taking on Chelsea in the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Messi brace sets up Miami’s 2-1 MLS victory over New England
- The 38-year-old Argentine star has scored two goals in each of his last four MLS games to become the first MLS player to score multiple goals in four straight games
- With the victory Miami climbed from sixth to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings
FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts: Lionel Messi scored twice in the first half of Inter Miami’s 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution on Wednesday, continuing a run of form unprecedented in Major League Soccer.
The 38-year-old Argentine star has scored two goals in each of his last four MLS games to become the first MLS player to score multiple goals in four straight games.
He launched the streak in late May with two goals in a 4-2 win over Montreal then had two in a 5-1 victory over Columbus.
Miami then paused their MLS campaign to compete in the Club World Cup — where Messi scored one goal in four matches and Miami were eliminated in the round of 16 by Paris Saint-Germain.
Javier Mascherano’s team returned to MLS action on Saturday with a 4-1 victory at Montreal — also fueled by a brace from eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi.
In all Messi has 14 goals in 15 MLS games, putting him two behind leading scorer Sam Surridge, who has appeared in six more games for Nashville than Messi has played this season.
Messi put Miami up 1-0 in the 27th minute at Gillette Stadium, taking advantage of a Revolution miscue and firing a left-footed shot from the heart of the area.
The Argentinian star doubled the score 11 minutes later, charging onto a long through ball from Sergio Busquets and curling a left-footed shot beyond the reach of Slovenian goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic.
Veteran goalkeeper Oscar Ustari also starred for Miami, coming up with six saves before Spaniard Carles Gil managed to put one by him, picking off Tadeo Allende in the 79th minute and rifling in a shot from outside the box.
With the victory Miami climbed from sixth to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings. On 35 points, they are seven points behind leaders FC Cincinnati but with three fewer matches played after their Club World Cup break.
Dominant France thrash Wales 4-1 at Euro 2025 to go top of group
- After that the Welsh wilted as the French dominated, with Grace Geyoro scoring their fourth in the 63rd minute, steering home a ball from the right following an extended period of possession to crown a convincing win
ST. GALLEN, Switzerland: France produced a dominant display to thrash Wales 4-1 and go top of Group D at Euro 2025 on Wednesday, outclassing their opponents who scored their first goal at a major championship.
After England beat the Netherlands 4-0 earlier in the day, France went top of the group on six points, followed by the English and the Dutch on three points each.
Wales, who face England in their final group game on Sunday, have yet to register a point but still have a mathematical chance of going through to the knockouts. France face the Netherlands in their last group game.
Clara Mateo was at the center of much of France’s attacking play and lashed them into an early lead, controlling a flick-on from a corner on her chest and firing a volley into the net in the eighth minute.
The moment thousands of Wales fans had been waiting for came five minutes later when Ceri Holland broke down the left and though her first attempt to find Jess Fishlock was blocked, she managed to steer the ball to the 38-year-old, who poked home Wales’ maiden goal at the women’s European Championship finals.
That was as good as it got for Wales, who looked set to go into the break level only for Holland to chop down Mateo in the box and Kadidiatou Diani’s spot kick crept over the line after striking the foot of keeper Safia Middleton-Patel.
Middleton-Patel was at fault just after the break as she lost control of the ball in the box, allowing Mateo to tee up Amel Majri, who thumped it into the net.
After that the Welsh wilted as the French dominated, with Grace Geyoro scoring their fourth in the 63rd minute, steering home a ball from the right following an extended period of possession to crown a convincing win.
“We’ve got six points after two matches and that’s what we need to remember. It won’t be an easy (next) game because the Netherlands will have no choice but to attack and score goals,” France coach Laurent Bonadei said.
Mateo was impressed with how her side bounced back from Fishlock’s equalising goal and how they went on to dominate.
“We had a bit of a scare at the start of the game but we had confidence in ourselves. It was a great evening, there are different strikers and that’s important for everyone’s confidence,” she said.
