• IN: Lyon are expected to sell Houssem Aouar this summer, according to L'Equipe, with Arsenal reported to be front of the queue for the French schemer's services. Arsenal sports director Edu is said to have had several meetings with his Lyon counterpart Juninho Pernambucano about lowering the French club's €60 million asking price, with the Gunners prepared to throw Matteo Guendouzi in as part of the deal. Reuters
    IN: Lyon are expected to sell Houssem Aouar this summer, according to L'Equipe, with Arsenal reported to be front of the queue for the French schemer's services. Arsenal sports director Edu is said to have had several meetings with his Lyon counterpart Juninho Pernambucano about lowering the French club's €60 million asking price, with the Gunners prepared to throw Matteo Guendouzi in as part of the deal. Reuters
  • OUT: An ugly confrontation with Neal Maupay following defeat to Brighton saw Matteo Guendouzi banished from the squad by manager Mikel Arteta for the run in. French giants Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon have been linked with the midfielder but are thought to be put off by Arsenal's £40 million asking price. Reuters
    OUT: An ugly confrontation with Neal Maupay following defeat to Brighton saw Matteo Guendouzi banished from the squad by manager Mikel Arteta for the run in. French giants Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon have been linked with the midfielder but are thought to be put off by Arsenal's £40 million asking price. Reuters
  • IN: Unwanted by Barcelona, unlikely to be retained by Bayern Munich, Philippe Coutinho is a player in search of a new home for 2020/21. The Brazilian midfielder emerged as one of the finest attacking talents in Europe during a four-year stint at Liverpool and is well-suited to the Premier League. Reuters
    IN: Unwanted by Barcelona, unlikely to be retained by Bayern Munich, Philippe Coutinho is a player in search of a new home for 2020/21. The Brazilian midfielder emerged as one of the finest attacking talents in Europe during a four-year stint at Liverpool and is well-suited to the Premier League. Reuters
  • OUT: Mesut Ozil failed to make Arsenal’s match day 20 for any of their last 10 games. Despite his manager decrying a lack of creativity in his side, it seems the German World Cup winner does not feature in the Spaniard's plans. But Ozil, 31, is prepared to dig his heels in. The remainder of his contract is worth upwards of £14 million, and he can rightly argue he is within his rights to honour it after all parties entered into the new deal in good faith. Getting him off the wage bill would open up plenty of possibilities for the Gunners, but getting Ozil to budge will be no easy task. AFP
    OUT: Mesut Ozil failed to make Arsenal’s match day 20 for any of their last 10 games. Despite his manager decrying a lack of creativity in his side, it seems the German World Cup winner does not feature in the Spaniard's plans. But Ozil, 31, is prepared to dig his heels in. The remainder of his contract is worth upwards of £14 million, and he can rightly argue he is within his rights to honour it after all parties entered into the new deal in good faith. Getting him off the wage bill would open up plenty of possibilities for the Gunners, but getting Ozil to budge will be no easy task. AFP
  • IN: Played like a player schooled at Real Madrid after lockdown, rather than the one plucked from Lincoln reserves before it. Real are reported to have turned down the Gunners' opening gambit to take midfielder Dani Ceballos back to London on loan for next season, but Arteta will be keen to add the Spaniard's spark to a midfield that lacked it too often last term. AFP
    IN: Played like a player schooled at Real Madrid after lockdown, rather than the one plucked from Lincoln reserves before it. Real are reported to have turned down the Gunners' opening gambit to take midfielder Dani Ceballos back to London on loan for next season, but Arteta will be keen to add the Spaniard's spark to a midfield that lacked it too often last term. AFP
  • OUT: Arsenal ended the season playing with a back three with the experienced Shkodran Mustafi deployed on the right hand side. Failed to dispel the belief that over the course of 90 minutes a multitude of mistakes can be drawn out of the Germany international. Reuters
    OUT: Arsenal ended the season playing with a back three with the experienced Shkodran Mustafi deployed on the right hand side. Failed to dispel the belief that over the course of 90 minutes a multitude of mistakes can be drawn out of the Germany international. Reuters
  • IN: Abdoulaye Doucoure fell well short of his true form as Watford were relegated from the Premier League. The Frenchman is a powerhouse on his day though, and his ability to get box-to-box would add a fresh dimension to Arsenal's engine room. Reuters
    IN: Abdoulaye Doucoure fell well short of his true form as Watford were relegated from the Premier League. The Frenchman is a powerhouse on his day though, and his ability to get box-to-box would add a fresh dimension to Arsenal's engine room. Reuters
  • OUT: A successful loan spell at Besiktas could pave the way for Mohamed Elneny to end his unhappy spell at the club with the Turkish side reportedly ready to meet Arsenal's €10 million asking price for the Egypt midfielder. Getty Images
    OUT: A successful loan spell at Besiktas could pave the way for Mohamed Elneny to end his unhappy spell at the club with the Turkish side reportedly ready to meet Arsenal's €10 million asking price for the Egypt midfielder. Getty Images
  • IN: The London club have been linked with a move for Kalidou Koulibaly since the last days of Arsene Wenger. Liverpool and others have shown that breaking the bank for top talent is a risk worth taking when identifying centre-backs, and Arsenal should be brave in meeting Napoli's €70 million asking price. EPA
    IN: The London club have been linked with a move for Kalidou Koulibaly since the last days of Arsene Wenger. Liverpool and others have shown that breaking the bank for top talent is a risk worth taking when identifying centre-backs, and Arsenal should be brave in meeting Napoli's €70 million asking price. EPA
  • OUT: Sokratis Papastathopoulos has failed to live up to the hype surrounding his move from Borussia Dortmund and was mostly used as a substitute to eat up time during the run in. Reuters
    OUT: Sokratis Papastathopoulos has failed to live up to the hype surrounding his move from Borussia Dortmund and was mostly used as a substitute to eat up time during the run in. Reuters

Philippe Coutinho, Mesut Ozil, Matteo Guendouzi: 5 players Arsenal should sign, 5 they should offload this transfer window


Steve Luckings
  • English
  • Arabic

Arsenal should head into the new season with more optimism than they entered the 2019/20 campaign.

The writing was on the wall for Unai Emery pretty early on, while Freddie Ljungberg just about steadied the ship before Mikel Arteta's December appointment.

Performances remained patchy at best but there were several positives to end the season. Granit Xhaka was successfully reintegrated into the side, David Luiz stood tall when the Gunners needed him most and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang enhanced his reputation as arguably the finest centre forward in the division.

There was also silverware, with Arsenal 2-1 winners over Chelsea in the FA Cup final. But that can't gloss over an eighth-place Premier League finish, with a points tally only two better than Sheffield United and Burnley, and 10 points off fourth-placed Chelsea.

Arteta will know better than anyone the need for reinforcements, but the Spaniard could find himself hamstrung by finances.

Mesut Ozil's insistence on seeing out his contract - the German is the club's top earner on a reported £350,000 per week - means Arteta must decide whether to make use of the German's creative qualities or keep him as the world's most expensive outcast.

Take a look at the potential ins and out at Arsenal in the picture gallery above. To move on to the next image, swipe or click on the arrows.

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut

Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20myZoi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Syed%20Ali%2C%20Christian%20Buchholz%2C%20Shanawaz%20Rouf%2C%20Arsalan%20Siddiqui%2C%20Nabid%20Hassan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2037%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Initial%20undisclosed%20funding%20from%20SC%20Ventures%3B%20second%20round%20of%20funding%20totalling%20%2414%20million%20from%20a%20consortium%20of%20SBI%2C%20a%20Japanese%20VC%20firm%2C%20and%20SC%20Venture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal

Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.

School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.

“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.  

“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”

Grand Slam Los Angeles results

Men:
56kg – Jorge Nakamura
62kg – Joao Gabriel de Sousa
69kg – Gianni Grippo
77kg – Caio Soares
85kg – Manuel Ribamar
94kg – Gustavo Batista
110kg – Erberth Santos

Women:
49kg – Mayssa Bastos
55kg – Nathalie Ribeiro
62kg – Gabrielle McComb
70kg – Thamara Silva
90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha

Skoda Superb Specs

Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol

Power: 190hp

Torque: 320Nm

Price: From Dh147,000

Available: Now

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

Cricket World Cup League Two

Oman, UAE, Namibia

Al Amerat, Muscat

 

Results

Oman beat UAE by five wickets

UAE beat Namibia by eight runs

 

Fixtures

Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia

Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE

Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia

Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia

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%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%204-cylinder%202.5-litre%20%2F%202-litre%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20188hp%20%2F%20248hp%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20244Nm%20%2F%20370Nm%0D%3Cbr%3ETransmission%3A%207-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20now%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh110%2C000%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
STAGE 4 RESULTS

1 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 4:51:51

2 David Dekker (NED) Team Jumbo-Visma

3 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal 

4 Elia Viviani (ITA) Cofidis

5 Matteo Moschetti (ITA) Trek-Segafredo

General Classification

1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 12:50:21

2 Adam Yates (GBR) Teamn Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:43

3 Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:03

4 Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:43

5 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45

As it stands in Pool A

1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14

2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11

3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5

Remaining fixtures

Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am

Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm

Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm

ENGLAND SQUAD

Goalkeepers Pickford (Everton), Pope (Burnley), Henderson (Manchester United)

Defenders Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Chilwell (Chelsea), Coady (Wolves), Dier (Tottenham), Gomez (Liverpool), James (Chelsea), Keane (Everton), Maguire (Manchester United), Maitland-Niles (Arsenal), Mings (Aston Villa), Saka (Arsenal), Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Walker (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Foden (Manchester City), Henderson (Liverpool), Grealish (Aston Villa), Mount (Chelsea), Rice (West Ham), Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Winks (Tottenham)

Forwards: Abraham (Chelsea), Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Kane (Tottenham), Rashford (Manchester United), Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Sterling (Manchester City)

Results:

5pm: Baynunah Conditions (UAE bred) Dh80,000 1,400m.

Winner: Al Tiryaq, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Abdullah Al Hammadi (trainer).

5.30pm: Al Zahra Handicap (rated 0-45) Dh 80,000 1,400m:

Winner: Fahadd, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi.

6pm: Al Ras Al Akhdar Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m.

Winner: Jaahiz, Jesus Rosales, Eric Lemartinel.

6.30pm: Al Reem Island Handicap Dh90,000 1,600m.

Winner: AF Al Jahed, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel.

7pm: Al Khubairah Handicap (TB) 100,000 2,200m.

Winner: Empoli, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap Dh80,000 2,200m.

Winner: Shivan OA, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi.