Category Uncategorized

Plays of the Day from the first day of the Cardiff Test between England and Australia

Andrew Miller and Peter English08-Jul-2009Meltdown of the day
Kevin Pietersen had an eventful day with the bat. He began manically, pumped to the gunwales with Ashes adrenalin, before settling into a more measured approach, aided in a peculiar way by the Achilles-related calf injury that forced him to chill out and play each ball on its merit. Alas, that sanity couldn’t hold sway forever, and on 69, he climbed into perhaps the most atrocious sweep-shot he has yet unfurled in his career. His feet did not move as Nathan Hauritz tossed the ball out wide, and Simon Katich back-pedalled gleefully from short leg to cling onto what might yet prove a match-turning dismissal.Escape of the day
Pietersen is carrying an aching Achilles and calf in his right leg, and after the first day he must have a sore left shin and foot as well. He was the target of a couple of strong lbw decisions at the start of his innings, but both were shown to be heading over the stumps. After tea, with the batsman on 61, Ben Hilfenhaus swung one in instead of taking it away and Pietersen was struck right in front on the shoe. Hilfenhaus is new on the scene and his appeal did not carry the power of Brett Lee or Glenn McGrath. There was only quiet support from the slips and Billy Doctrove was not convinced. Five runs later Hilfenhaus was upset further when Michael Clarke dropped a sharp chance at cover.Catch of the day
The morning was drifting along until Michael Hussey sparked the contest with a leaping take to his right at gully to remove Alastair Cook. It wasn’t quite Andrew Strauss flying to grab Adam Gilchrist’s nick at Trent Bridge in 2005, but Hussey was mid-air for a special catch that spurred the Australians to another two breakthroughs before lunch. Hussey has been standing in the gully since Matthew Hayden moved to first slip after Shane Warne’s exit at the end of the previous Ashes contest. Michael Clarke now plants himself next to the keeper, and his collection of Andrew Strauss was much simpler.Welcome of the day
With his bustle and aggression from an apparently innocuous set-up, Peter Siddle is Australia’s modern-day answer to Merv Hughes, and the second-ball bouncer with which he introduced Ravi Bopara to Ashes cricket was merely a moustache short of an exact replica of Hughes’ huff-and-puff at Old Trafford in 1993. The ball was short and angry, like a disenchanted midget, and carried on climbing and climbing until a flat-footed Bopara had no place to hide. With his defences breached, he dropped his gloves and took his licks, as the ball cannoned off his breastbone, and up into his Adam’s apple.Anthem of the day
It is common knowledge that the Welsh love a good sing-song, and on the opening morning of their long-anticipated Test debut, their collective lungs were bursting with pride. As the teams lined up in front of the Really Welsh Pavilion (topped off, incongruously, by a gently fluttering St. George’s Cross), the mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins – more commonly spotted down the road at the Millennium Stadium – belted out Land of our Fathers, before some random reality TV winner led the charge through Advance Australia Fair and God Save the Queen. Still the musical montage wasn’t finished, however. With minutes to go until the start, Jenkins returned to belt out Jerusalem. And then finally the Ashes could begin.Miscue of the day
Paul Collingwood deceived everyone, including himself, when he climbed into a Mitchell Johnson bouncer in the final over of the morning session. The ball skidded onto him, as is Johnson’s wont, and zipped, pelota-style, down the blade and away through midwicket for four. Collingwood’s head and body motion gave the impression, however, that he had just slapped his shot uppishly to fine leg, where Ben Hilfenhaus was waiting, hands at the ready, for the catch that never came.Medal of the day
Not content with introducing a new venue to the Ashes annals, the ECB decided to revamp the all-important coin toss as well. Instead of the traditional nugget of currency, a specially minted gold “medal” was rolled out, one of a limited edition of 150 apparently, with a defending batsmen on one side, and a swooshing npower logo on the other. In the circumstances, it was hard to know exactly what to call at the toss – although Ricky Ponting eventually settled, incorrectly as it turned out, for “heads”. Mike Atherton, overseeing the event for Sky Sports, had to wait for the match referee to confirm which side was which before broadcasting the result to the nation.

Rajat Bhatia was canny and deadly at the death, taking four wickets for four runs as Deccan Chargers choked to lose once again to Delhi Daredevils

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga13-May-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outRajat Bhatia cleaned up the middle and lower order•Associated Press

Rajat Bhatia, arguably the best allrounder in India’s domestic cricket, announced himself on the world stage tonight. Everything about Bhatia, his pace, his demeanour, his run-up, suggest an innocuous medium-pacer, but he was canny and deadly at the death, taking four wickets for four runs as Deccan Chargers choked to lose once again to Delhi Daredevils. Chasing 174 Deccan needed 25 in three overs, with six wickets in hand, but lost them all for just 12 runs.When Bhatia came to bowl his final spell, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds had almost hit Delhi Daredevils into submission. After Gilchrist’s powerful 33-ball 64, Symonds had chased smartly, mixing the big sixes with chipped couples. Twenty-five from 18 looked as innocuous as Bhatia is reputed to be, but when Symonds was tricked by a slower one from Bhatia things became interesting.Dwayne Smith was fooled by a slow legcutter two balls later, and the game had turned. A big choke followed as Venugopal Rao gloved an Ashish Nehra bouncer next over, and RP Singh ran himself out after failing to get bat to another bouncer. Soon Deccan found themselves needing 14 off the last over, and Bhatia was accurate with his slower balls again, removing Pragyan Ojha and Shoaib Maqsusi.It was a night when Delhi’s domestic bowlers undid two Australian heavyweights. That Delhi could entertain hopes of winning the match despite the amazing hitting was thanks to the 18-year-old Pradeep Sangwan. When Sangwan came on to bowl, Deccan had raced to 30 in two overs. Sangwan removed T Suman in his first over, and claimed Rohit Sharma in his second, which was a maiden as well. Deccan scored 50 in the Powerplays, despite only three runs off two Sangwan overs.If Sangwan seemed to be playing a different game from his colleagues, Gilchrist wasn’t too far off that either. Unlike Delhi’s domestic players, Deccan were hampered by their domestic batsmen who seemed to be caught in the headlights. By the strategy break, Gilchrist had peppered the leg-side boundary with five sixes between long-on and square-leg, scoring 63 from 31. Others – Suman, Rohit, Ravi Teja and extras – contributed 20.It was Sangwan again who struck after that time-out, getting rid of Gilchrist with a yorker outside off, which the batsman played on. Still Gilchrist left the chase in able hands, Symonds, who came in at a surprisingly low No. 5. Right from the off, Symonds showed he was in great touch, hammering sixes and finding gaps in the field nonchalantly. With Delhi’s main bowlers bowled out, the chase seemed in the firm control of Symonds, until Bhatia struck out of the blue.Prime Numbers126 Number of dot-balls bowled by RP Singh, highest in the tournament52 Runs conceded by Chaminda Vaas, the most expensive spell of the tournament21 Number of sixes hit by Adam Gilchrist in the tournament24 Number of runs conceded by Shoaib Maqsusi in his first over, equaling the costliest over of the tournamentDinesh Karthik’s blitz earlier in the day was not so out of the blue, yet it was surprising that he should provide Delhi the impetus. With Virender Sehwag back, the batting line-up looked imposing, and Gilchrist chose to take the bull by the horns by sending Delhi in.His bowlers answered the call, his fielders didn’t, dropping three of their destructive batsmen. Chaminda Vaas got David Warner in his first over (Sehwag batted at No. 5) with a slower offcutter. RP should have extended his lead as the holder of the purple cap when he got Tillakaratne Dilshan to lob one straight to Rohit at gully. Straight out it came, and Dilshan punished Deccan after that.Two more catches were dropped: AB de Villiers’ by Teja when he was seven, and a first-baller from Sehwag by Symonds. Although Sehwag didn’t hurt Deccan enough, Dilshan did severe damage and de Villiers capitalised as well.de Villiers went on to score 44, but got out just before he could cut loose towards the final few overs. Dilshan, however, punished Shoaib Maqsusi. Inside the Powerplays, Dilshan scooped him for a four and a six in consecutive deliveries, and managed two more boundaries down the ground in what was tied with the most expensive over of the tournament, at 24 runs.Vaas came pretty close of ridding his team-mate of the dubious honour, when he went for 23 in the last over of the innings. Karthik, who smote an unbeaten 23-ball 44, hit him for two huge sixes into the on side and a pleasing four over extra cover. Vaas added five wides from his side.

Aston Villa have been linked with a move for Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Michael Cooper in recent days.

And a number of Villa supporters have been sharing their thoughts on the transfer news on social media.

According to Football League World on Thursday, Villa are one of numerous Premier League and Championship clubs keeping tabs on the 21-year-old.

Top-flight sides Brentford and Southampton, along with Championship outfits Birmingham City, Coventry City, Sheffield United and West Brom are the sides who could rival Villa for the shot-stopper.

Cooper has impressed at Home Park in League One this season, keeping five clean sheets in nine appearances in all competitions.

Plymouth boss Ryan Lowe has previously stated that he feels Cooper is ‘going to the top’, and it appears as if he is catching the eye of a number of teams in the top two divisions.

Villa fans react

The AVFC Faithful shared the links to Cooper on Twitter on Thursday, this is what these Villa fans had to say in reply, with one labelling the ‘keeper as ‘decent’.

“Can’t be worse than Steer bring him in”

Credit: @AlexAV1982

“He’s very good”

Credit: @hannabotprime

“We were definitely after an ‘understudy’ keeper earlier in the summer with a bid for Oxford United’s Jack Stevens turned down. Cooper is a very similar profile, young but with lots of games under his belt at League One level.”

Credit: @AVFCWiki

“From what I’ve seen at Plymouth he’s a decent keeper”

Credit: @AssonRichard

“Plymouth conceded 6 in 8 this season, currently in top 10 for saves made”

Credit: @Jannetts_

“Very good young keeper”

Credit: @AvfcU

In other news: ‘Worst player at our football club’ – Many AVFC fans slam ‘mess’ who lost the ball 13x v Chelsea. 

Celtic head into their match this weekend needing an immediate response from what occurred in the Old Firm derby.

The Hoops were beaten by their biggest rivals and, all of a sudden, Ange Postecoglou’s men look as though they lack a bit of confidence again.

However, as the Bhoys get ready to face Ross County on Saturday afternoon, they will do so boosted by three deadline day signings.

Will any of those new faces start today? Here’s our predicted XI…

We anticipate Celtic to make four changes to the side which lost to Rangers two weeks ago.

The first change comes in the centre of defence, where Carl Starfelt – a man with an error in his system – is axed in favour of Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The Tottenham defender was a surprise late arrival on deadline day as Postecoglou managed to secure him on loan.

With Greg Taylor’s fitness unknown after pulling out of the Scotland squad, Josip Juranovic starts again on the left, with Anthony Ralston on the right.

The biggest change is in attack, where Kyogo Furuhashi is forced to drop out. The forward picked up a knee injury on international duty which will rule him for a month at least.

That means there is also a Hoops debut for Giorgos Giakoumakis, who is likely to be charged with leading the line.

There is no Odsonne Edouard anymore either, so he is replaced in the starting XI by Jota, who penned temporary terms from Benfica and could be the third of the Celtic debutants today.

The final change is behind the striker, where Ryan Christie is replaced by Tom Rogic. The former sealed a late move to Bournemouth and is no longer on the wage bill at Parkhead.

David Turnbull is likely to feature in midfield alongside the in-form skipper Callum McGregor.

Celtic have played some excellent attacking football this season, so it will be interesting to see how they fare with a huge change in personnel.

AND in other news, Forget Soro: Celtic must unleash rarely-seen 20 y/o with a “wand of a left foot”…

After seeing the transfer window shut on Tuesday night, Aston Villa boss Dean Smith will be quickly turning his attentions towards his side’s next Premier League game against Chelsea.

While they may not have got the midfield signing they seemed to want – Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse was of course one of their main transfer targets – they will be getting Morgan Sanson when he returns from injury.

But while the January signing will be hoping to finally make his mark on the first-team after seeing his first few months interrupted, Smith should instead look to unleash Carney Chukwuemeka.

The 17-year-old has already been pictured in Aston Villa’s first-team colours this season, appearing in both the Premier League and Carabao Cup.

Question remarks remain about whether he will be a permanent member of the starting line-up when Villa get all their players back from various issues, but Chukwuemeka certainly has the natural talent and ability to keep his place.

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has already suggested “Chukwuemeka will have a big role” to play, while former Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has previously urged Smith to throw Chukwuemeka into the deep end with the first-team.

He exclusively told FFC: “I kind of go off the fans’ views – I know he’s been scoring goals in the Under-18s. When someone is scoring goals, they’ve showed they’re a massive threat, it does attract football clubs and when you’re getting Manchester City and United hovering around the vicinity and are trying to take the young players away.

“This is where I feel if he’s that good we need to see him filtered through to the first team especially at this stage of the season. We’ve seen the likes of Louie Barry, who I felt would have had more of a chance this season, and I would put him in that category. I’d like to see more of him playing, because if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.”

The 6 foot 1 starlet is beginning to fill out in his physical frame, and that only bodes well for his chances of acclimatising to the rigours of the Premier League.

He’s already got a taster of football at the highest level. Now it’s time for Smith to unleash him, even despite the impending return of Sanson.

Meanwhile, Villa had a howler on transfer deadline day…

Andrew Strauss has been appointed as England’s captain for the entire tour of the West Indies, 24 hours after being unveiled as the new Test skipper. He will work alongside the current coaching set-up, headed by Andy Flower, although according to an ECB statement, his one-day captaincy will be reviewed at the end of the tour, leaving open the possibility that England could yet seek their fourth captain in 12 months should results not go to plan.”The selectors feel that it is important to have stability and continuity on the Caribbean tour given the events of the last few days,” said England’s national selector, Geoff Miller. “Andrew and I have also agreed that we will review the one-day captaincy at the end of the tour. Andrew is extremely comfortable with that.”Strauss was the stand-out choice to succeed Kevin Pietersen in the longer form of the game, but admitted that the situation regarding the one-day job remained “in a state of flux”. He has not been a part of England’s ODI set-up since being dropped during their ill-fated World Cup campaign in the Caribbean two years ago.In 78 ODIs to date, Strauss averages 31.98 with a strike-rate of 75.82 runs per hundred balls, which compares favourably to the record of his former captain, Michael Vaughan, who averaged 27.15 from 86 matches, with a strike-rate of 68.39.His efforts also compare favourably to the current ODI opener, Ian Bell, whose average (35.47) is higher, but whose strike rate (72.36) is lower. One of England’s current top-order will have to make way to accommodate the new captain, and that man could be Bell, whose form fell away badly on the recent tour of India. Strauss has two ODI centuries to his name, with a highest score of 152 against Bangladesh in 2005.”I am delighted to lead the team in the one-day Internationals and Twenty20. I know I haven’t played an ODI since the end of the World Cup in 2007 but I do feel that I have something to offer in that form of the game,” Strauss said. “Now this situation has been resolved we can now all unite and get about the business of winning cricket matches for England and winning them consistently.”Should the West Indies series, which comprises five ODIs and a Twenty20 international, not go to plan, the other alternative would be to revert to the split captaincy format, with Paul Collingwood the likeliest choice to resume the role he relinquished in favour of Pietersen back in August.Strauss will be supported in the Caribbean by Flower, England assistant coach, and Phil Neale, England team operations manager as well as England’s other specialist coaches and support staff. Although no official interim appointment has been made, Cricinfo understands that Flower will be the senior man in the coaching hierarchy, and has been named, along with Strauss, as one of the three selectors on tour.The ECB refused to comment on reports in The Guardian that Pietersen had wanted Flower removed from his post along with Peter Moores, though Cricinfo understands that Flower has since sought assurances from the ECB about his long-term future in the England set-up, and remains in the frame to take over the role on a full-time basis.Hugh Morris, England cricket’s managing director, said: “We have a backroom team with a proven track record. They will all work very closely with Andrew Strauss during this tour with the sole aim of securing success in the Test, ODI and T20 matches.”A successful tour will enhance Flower’s prospects of securing the full-time role, although competition could yet come from the Western Australia coach, Tom Moody, who did not rule out his candidature while speaking to reporters in Perth.”You’d look at anything,” said Moody. “This day and age, you’re not going to turn your back on any opportunity, [but] I’m very happy here in Perth, [the] family is settled, I’ve got a great job, enjoying what I’m doing. I’ve got no reason to be looking further afield.”Meanwhile Moores has spoken for the first time since losing his job. In a brief interview with Sky Sports News, Moores described the events of the past week as “interesting” and said that a full statement would be coming out shortly. On the subject of Pietersen, Moores buried any animosity saying: “Kevin’s got to go on, hopefully, and I want to see a successful England team.”

Tottenham boss Nuno Santo has dropped a frustrating injury update ahead of the club’s Premier League clash with Wolves today.

Joe Rodon is yet to feature for Spurs in a competitive match this season due to injury and Santo has now confirmed that he will be unavailable for selection against Bruno Lage’s team on Sunday.

The Portuguese head coach has admitted that it is a disappointing blow as the defender needs to get minutes under his belt.

He told Tottenham’s official website:

“Joe missed the game (at Pacos de Ferreira), and that was disappointing for us because he’s one of the players who needs to play, who needs to get real competition time. He’s better, but not well enough to join us on Sunday.”

As Santo says himself, Rodon is in need of regular game time and Spurs fans will surely be annoyed that he continues to watch on from the sidelines.

Instead of getting the vital experience that he needs, he continues to sit in the stands with an injury watching others get their chance.

The Welsh international has shown signs of having the potential to be a very good player at Premier League level, but his opportunities have been few and far between since arriving from Championship side Swansea.

Ex-Chelsea forward Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink hailed Rodon as a ‘proper Spurs player’ after a performance against the Blues in the Premier League last season. He told Sky Sports, via Wales Online:

“He looks like a proper Spurs player, a centre-half, nothing fazes him, he put his head in when needed. You have to be comfortable on the ball because you want to control the game.

“I like that he gets up straight away and gets on with it because that tells me he is hard enough.”

He only made 12 appearances (eight starts) in the league for Spurs last season, averaging an impressive SofaScore rating of 6.97. The 23-year-old won 73% of his duels and was only dribbled past once in 12 games, whilst making 1.8 interceptions per match.

This shows that he has the potential to be a reliable performer at the top level, but that is of no use to Spurs if he is not getting out on the pitch because of injuries.

Fans will be hoping that his issues clear up in the weeks to come and that he is able to get himself into a position where he can challenge for the starting XI.

AND in other news, “Spend it on..” – Exclusive: Graham Roberts drops bold verdict on Tottenham’s striker search…

Manchester United are one of several Premier League clubs to have held talks with the representatives of Barcelona midfielder Ilaix Moriba, according to reports.

What’s the story?

90min claim a host of English sides have been in dialogue over a possible summer transfer, with all of the traditional ‘Big Six’ being offered the highly-rated 18-year-old’s services.

Moriba has entered the final 12 months of his current contract at Camp Nou and has so far been unable to agree terms on a fresh deal with his boyhood club.

As a result, the teenager has been banished to the reserves this year, leaving Barca searching for a potential buyer so he doesn’t leave for free next summer.

Solskjaer would love him

Moriba only made his senior debut for the Blaugrana in January 2021 but quickly established himself as one of La Liga’s most exciting, young talents following a string of impressive performances.

His talents had been well-known within the club for many years, though, and former Barcelona B manager Garcia Pimienta showered him and Konrad de la Fuente in praise last summer.

“Both Ilaix and Konrad have been decisive. Ilaix has a lot of merit because he is a first-year youth, but Konrad is third, and in such an important match they have shown that they have an incredible future,” said Pimienta.

“Today, they have given a brutal performance. They have made a very complete match. This shows that they are competitive, winners, with Barca DNA and with a future to be in this club. Hopefully, in the future, they will be first-team players.”

However, financial difficulties and off-field issues have seen De la Fuente leave the Catalan giants for Marseille already in the current window, and now the £22.5m-rated Moriba could be set to follow him out of the exit door.

During his time at United, Solskjaer has returned to the club’s traditional premise of placing faith in young stars rising through the ranks.

The likes of Mason Greenwood, Brandon Williams and Dean Henderson have been rewarded with extended runs in the first-team setup under the Norwegian tactician over the last two-and-a-half years, and he would surely love to have another talented prodigy on his hands.

Whether United can get this deal over the line remains to be seen, but the supporters and Solskjaer alike will surely be hoping that an agreement can be met between the appropriate parties.

Given his age and potential, he appears to be a perfect fit for the United boss’ apparent desire to fill his team with promising young talents.

And, in other news…Forget Bruno: £54m-rated monster who made 5 key passes was Man Utd’s unsung hero 

Delhi Giants beat Chandigarh Lions 2-0 in a bowl-out in a high-scoring ICL encounter in Panchkula where both teams scored 200

Cricinfo staff05-Nov-2008
Scorecard

Monish Mishra’s 44-ball 81 for Delhi earned him the Man-of-the-Match © ICL
Undoubtedly the best match of the tournament so far. It had all the makings – both teams scoring big, a last-ball tie and a nervy bowl-out. In the end, it was Delhi who emerged victorious, winning the bowl-out 2-0. It was a gutsy performance after Chandigarh looked to have the match wrapped up after posting 200, the second-highest score of the tournament.Delhi, however, miss out on semi-final spot, as they could climb as far up as fifth in the points table with the win in this, their last match. Chandigarh would be gutted after this performance but may still make the semis with a win against Ahmedabad and other results going their way.The Chandigarh openers justified captain Andrew Hall’s decision to bat first. Sarabjit Singh and TP Singh were in unforgiving mood as they launched into Shane Bond and TP Sudhindra early on. Sudhindra in particular came in for some punishment from TP, being hit for two and four boundaries in his second and third overs respectively.TP looked to be a man possessed as he raced to his fifty off 22 balls, while Sarabjit ably assisted him at the other end. Chandigarh were looking at a mammoth total at the half-way stage with the score on 95. But Benkenstein had TP caught by Mishra in the eleventh over.Newest recruit Graeme Hick walked in and it was in Benkenstein’s next over that he smashed four fours. Sarabjit brought up his fifty with a six off Abid Nabi as Chandigarh stepped on the accelerator with the score on 157 and four overs to go.But Bond, introduced back into the attack removed Hick and new man Lou Vincent in successive balls as Delhi looked to claw back. Murtaza’s twin strikes the next over pegged back Chandigarh further. Chetan Sharma became the first man in the tournament to be given out obstructing the field as Chandigarh finished on 200.Undaunted by the huge target, Monish Mishra gave Delhi the perfect start hitting Hall for three consecutive fours in the first over. Similar treatment was dished out for Ishan Malhotra in his first over. The bowler was then plundered for 24 in his next as Delhi raced to 68 in five overs. Mishra brought up his fifty with a four off Hall, while Avishka Gunawardene held up the other end well as Delhi reached 109 after 10 overs.But in the 11th over, Mishra was stumped off Rajesh Sharma for 81. His 44-ball innings comprised 10 fours and three sixes. Abhinav Bali and Gunawardene looked to reduce the runs required-balls remaining margin. However, a cameo from Abbas Ali edged Delhi closer after TP had accounted for Bali in the 17th over with the score on 167.But it was the last over from Hall which provided the heart-stopping moment. He bowled a fuller length, castling Gunawardene off the second ball, as the equation finally reduced to five off the last ball. Nixon turned it to fine leg to bring the scores level and set up a bowl-out.Chandigarh were disappointing in the bowl-out with Bipul Sharma, Chetan Sharma, Daryl Tuffey and Andrew Hall failing to hit the stumps. But hits from Ali Murtaza and Dhruv Mahajan were enough to hand Delhi victory.

Steve Howey doesn’t reckon that Arsenal would be a step down for James Maddison despite the difference in league positions between the Gunners and Leicester in recent seasons.

Maddison has become a key part of the Leicester side that have overtaken Arsenal in the top-six after two consecutive fifth-place finishes.

The two have won the last two FA Cups, but Mikel Arteta’s team came ninth last season, and failed to qualify for Europe for the first time for more than two decades.

In contrast, whilst Leicester squandered another chance to finish in the top-four, they at least secured Europa League football once again.

Despite the current gap between the two teams, the Guardian believe that the England midfielder would be open to moving to the Emirates this summer, with Arsenal themselves looking to bring in a creator after Martin Odegaard returned to Real Madrid.

Given the respective performances of the two clubs since Brendan Rodgers arrived, these links might come as a surprise, but Howey sees it otherwise.

He exclusively told Football FanCast:

“Players obviously want to play in Europe, but let’s be honest, Arsenal are a huge club. Arsenal are looked upon as a prestigious club, the bright lights of London.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s a step down.”