This was billed as a clash of two of the best teams in Europe and for most of a cold evening in north London it felt like it. An absorbing game which ebbed and flowed throughout saw Bayern Munich’s rising star Lennart Karl cancel out Jurriën Timber’s opening goal from a corner before Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli sealed a deserved win for Mikel Arteta’s side to maintain their 100% record in the Champions League so far and go top of the table. A place in the knockout stages now seems a mere formality. Harry Kane let it slip in the buildup to this match that scoring against Arsenal gives him “a bit more joy” than any other club. But the England striker barely had a sight of goal as a Bayern side that had also won their first four matches in the Champions League group stage were taught a lesson. Arteta resisted the temptation to make wholesale changes before Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. He opted to start Cristhian Mosquera in central defence rather than Piero Hincapié as Myles Lewis-Skelly came in at left-back, while there was a welcome return for the captain, Martin Ødegaard, on the bench. Continue reading...

Minute by minute updates on the north London derby Any notes or queries? You can email Daniel Arteta speaks, explaining that he went for Hincapie because he thinks this is the best partnership available to him in the absence of Gabriel. Odegaard and Gyokeres aren’t far off he says, and he expected to face a back three as Frank has done it against Arsenal before and they’ve planned for it. “It’s a massive and a beautiful day,” he concludes. “So many people you can make happy.” Continue reading...

Record scorer for Norway’s age-group sides discusses his World Cup hope, being frozen out at 15 and fake tickets heartbreak at Anfield Liverpool against Aston Villa on 18 January 2014. It was impossible to measure the excitement in an seven-year-old from Norway making his first pilgrimage to Anfield. Inside was the promise of watching his favourite player, Daniel Sturridge, and the rest of a freewheeling side throwing everything at a title push. But as Sindre Walle Egeli and his family reached the turnstiles, the cruelest of realities dawned. “It’s not a good memory,” Walle Egeli says. “We showed up, ready to go, and it turned out we’d got fake tickets. I don’t know what happened, maybe my parents bought from some shady people. It was heartbreaking.” Continue reading...

Defender ‘out for weeks’ and will now have further scan Ødegaard the only injured player set to return for Arsenal Mikel Arteta expects Gabriel Magalhães to be out for weeks with the thigh injury sustained on international duty and admitted losing “the leader of our backline” was a blow to Arsenal’s title aspirations. The Brazil defender was sent back to Arsenal for treatment after picking up the injury in a friendly against Senegal at the Emirates last weekend. Arteta revealed Gabriel was due to have further scans on Wednesday, the day Arsenal host Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Continue reading...

Which players have run the furthest, taken the most long throws and fouled the most without seeing a card? By Opta Analyst You know that Erling Haaland is the top scorer in the Premier League and that David Raya is great at keeping them out at the other end of the pitch, but what about the quirkier metrics? Who covers the pitch but sees the penalty area as their kryptonite? Which defender loves one-v-one battles? Who prefers to shoot without taking a touch to settle themselves? Continue reading...

With a tough away game at Newcastle for FPL top scorer Erling Haaland, gameweek 12 presents a chance to give the captain's armband to someone else - and that man is Mohamed Salah.

Generational goalgetter Erling Haaland will get a crack at his first major tournament next summer, after leading Norway to the World Cup.

Brentford were tipped to struggle this season but Thiago’s goals have helped them climb up the Premier League table By WhoScored On a crisp November afternoon in Brentford, Igor Thiago did what record signings are supposed to do: score twice. The Brazilian’s double against Newcastle took his goal tally this season to eight in 11 Premier League games, second only to Erling Haaland, and offered further proof that Brentford’s £30m gamble in the summer of 2024 was a wise one. Brentford fans must have had their doubts last season. After arriving from Club Brugge to replace Ivan Toney, Thiago’s first season was quiet, disjointed and frustrating. Two knee injuries restricted him to just eight appearances, 168 minutes and no goals. Continue reading...

It was all about which of these rivals could capitalise on Arsenal’s draw at Sunderland on Saturday, who could make a statement about their intention to chase down the Premier League leaders. It was Manchester City who cleared their throats and made it plain that they are in this race for the long-haul. Liverpool barely got a word out. The table looks a lot more appealing for Pep Guardiola and his players now, City just four points behind Arsenal and it was an occasion when they blew Liverpool away. They could shrug off the inconvenience of Erling Haaland missing a controversially awarded 13th minute penalty to put on a show of strength, particularly in the first-half. Continue reading...

Watch highlights as Erling Haaland scores twice for Manchester City in a 3-1 win against Bournemouth which lifts Pep Guardiola's side up to second in the Premier League.

On Friday Pep Guardiola suggested Erling Haaland’s teammates may wish to support the Norwegian in the goalscoring stakes. Cut to 48 hours later and guess who did the business yet again – twice – for Manchester City to take them into a 2-1 half-time lead that proved unassailable? Step forward the phenomenon who now has 13 Premier League goals and a seismic total of 98 in 107 appearances in England’s top flight. After him, this year, Burnley’s Maxime Estève – via two own goals – is City’s highest league contributor, followed by Phil Foden, Tijjani Reijnders, Matheus Nunes and Rayan Cherki, who have all scored once. Continue reading...

For so long, Manchester City were stifled by Swansea City’s defensive blockade. Then, in the 77th minute, Omar Marmoush took matters into his own hands, rolling his marker and blasting a shot high into the roof of the net from a tight angle, paving the way to the Carabao Cup quarter-final, where they will host Brentford. Rayan Cherki, who teed up Marmoush, secured the win in stoppage time. It was a timely moment for ­Marmoush’s first City goal of the season and he seized a rare window of opportunity. When the Egypt striker, filling in for Erling Haaland, received Cherki’s pass and swivelled on his heels, eluding the Chelsea loanee Ishe Samuels-Smith there was only one thing in his mind. For Pep Guardiola, the relief was ­palpable and punched the air as Cherki made sure of victory. Continue reading...

‘Do you remember the throws? Now more teams do that’ Haaland likely to be rested for Swansea Carabao Cup tie Pep Guardiola has suggested Tony Pulis’s Stoke side have inspired ­Premier League clubs to become more direct and place greater emphasis on set pieces. The ­Manchester City head coach says he will not change his ­principles but is open to ­turning Omar Marmoush and Erling ­Haaland into a more classical strike partnership. City travel to Swansea on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup fourth round, where they will face a Championship side eager to keep the ball. Long throw-ins and corners are becoming increasingly important in the ­Premier League. Pulis used them to his ­advantage during his Stoke ­tenure in the late-2000s, helping the side defy the odds in the top flight. Continue reading...

Mikel Arteta’s side have experience of being top of the table but have been unable to finish the job in previous seasons All the signs point to it finally being Arsenal’s season. But given that they have spent almost 800 days top of the table since last being champions in 2004, nothing will be taken for granted at this stage. After an outlay of more than £250m in the summer, Mikel Arteta has a formidable squad that has been able to cope with injuries to important players such as Kai Havertz and Martin Ødegaard – a problem that derailed them in three successive runner-up finishes. Continue reading...