اعترف آشلي كول، أسطورة نادي آرسنال وتشيلسي، أنه كان قاب قوسين أو أدنى من التوقيع لصالح ريال مدريد، موضحًا أن هناك سببًا واحدًا منع إتمام الصفقة.
كول كان قد تألق وبشدة مع آرسنال في مسيرته وحقق معهم لقب الدوري الإنجليزي في مناسبتين، وذلك قبل الرحيل إلى تشيلسي مقابل 7 ملايين يورو.
وتعثرت مفاوضات تجديد عقد كول مع آرسنال، ليوقع الظهير الأيسر مع تشيلسي ويصنع التاريخ مع البلوز.
لكن كول اعترف في تصريحات نقلها ”triballfootball.com”، أن ظروف زواجه حالت دون انتقاله إلى ريال مدريد، موضحًا أن برشلونة رغب في ضمه.
اقرأ أيضًا.. “أصبحنا متحدين”.. رد قاطع من نجم ريال مدريد على شائعات الخلاف مع ألونسو
وقال كول: “شعرت بقليل من عدم الراحة بشأن تجديد عقدي مع آرسنال، لذلك كان هذا هو ما يشغل عقلي وقلبي، كنت أقول لنفسي لقد سلبتموني الأشياء التي أحبها ولم يكن الأمر يستحق ذلك”.
وأضاف: ”مما قيل لي وسمعته كنت سأنتقل إلى ريال مدريد، كنت أجري محادثات مع وكلاء أعمال لأنه في تلك المرحلة كان بإمكاني التوقيع مسبقًا لفريق خارج إنجلترا، لذا كان الخيار هو ريال مدريد وربما برشلونة، لا أعرف مدى عمق هذا الخيار لكن التطورات الشخصية غيرت أولوياتي”.
واختتم كول: “تغيرت الأمور، تزوجت وفي النهاية لم أرد مغادرة البلاد، ثم بعد حوالي عام ونصف، أتذكر أنني جلست في مكتبي مع وكيل أعمالي، ونادى علي قائلاً لن تصدق من هذا، إنه تشيلسي، فقلت حسنًا”.
The Philadelphia Phillies were enjoying a 6-0 lead over the Chicago White Sox in the sixth inning on Tuesday night when announcers Tom McCarthy and John Kruk took a bit of a detour. McCarthy offered an on-air birthday shoutout to his former high school basketball teammate, who apparently was a force on the offensive glass.
"He was a heck of a basketball player," McCarthy said. "Played at Rider and Monmouth. It's all because I missed a lot of shots and he cleaned them up."
"I don't want to say anything, but there's someone here in Chicago that does that a lot," Kruk chimed in.
This was an obvious reference to Chicago Sky star Angel Reese, who routinely has her game diminished by accusations that she has inflated rebound figures because she cleans up a lot of her misses. McCarthy predicted that they'd be getting some tweets about this particular exchange.
Liverpool thought they were back, two goals to the good, but these new habits have seeped into the fabric of Arne Slot’s project, and they are proving tough stains to wipe out.
Still jubilant from their win against Chelsea in midweek, Daniel Farke’s Whites met Liverpool with the expected passion and combativeness, fuelled by a raucous home support, and while the champions weathered that early storm and struck twice through Hugo Ekitike, back in the starting line-up, they succumbed to more defensive disaster, drawing the game 3-3.
The Frenchman has been a shining light throughout a dreary campaign for the Redmen, overshadowing record signing Alexander Isak, but Liverpool’s frontline still lacks balance and connectivity, and that’s why FSG are gearing up for a winter raid on Bournemouth for Antoine Semenyo.
The latest on Semenyo to Liverpool
It has emerged that Semenyo, who has been Bournemouth’s talisman this season, has a £65m release clause in his contract that becomes active during the winter transfer window.
Cue the circling sharks.
Liverpool are joined by Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in their vested interest, but the Reds have been reported to be leading the race for a player earmarked as the perfect successor to Luis Diaz, who joined Bayern Munich in August.
A big-game player with so much dynamism, the Ghana international, 26, has been declared the “best winger in the country” by Chris Waddle, and you would sense that he would only go from strength to strength in a leading role on Merseyside.
Ibrahima Konate’s latest blunder illustrated the desperate need for new defenders, but Slot will feel that Semenyo’s signature is equally important for the Anfield side, whose balance is all wrong in the final third.
And there’s one man in particular who is flattering to deceive.
Liverpool star must be replaced by Semenyo
Liverpool have been in a rut this season, and Cody Gakpo has been carried along in the stream, popping up with some moments in front of goal but lacking the multifacetedness that a winger like Semenyo would bring to the table.
Against Leeds, Gakpo failed with all six of his attempted crosses and lost the ball 13 times. He created only one chance for his teammates (data via Sofascore).
There is a pointed lack of nuance to the Dutchman’s game. Oh, he’s talented, to be sure, and dynamic enough, but Semenyo far outstrips him in such areas, so powerful and athletic and clever with his movements and decisions.
Matches (starts)
14 (12)
14 (14)
Goals
4
6
Assists
3
3
Touches*
42.2
48.9
Shots (on target)*
2.4 (0.4)
2.4 (1.4)
Accurate passes*
19.1 (79%)
19.7 (78%)
Chances created*
1.8
1.3
Dribbles*
1.1
1.6
Recoveries*
2.7
5.0
Tackles + interceptions*
1.1
2.0
Duels won*
4.9
6.5
Gakpo knows where the back of the net is, and he is skilled in playmaking too, but Semenyo is the talk of the town and rightly so, standing out in a Bournemouth team that might have lost their way in regard to three-point hauls, but remain one of the most interesting attacking outfits in the country.
Conversely, Liverpool are a structural mess, and their Netherlands winger is failing to provide the width and energy and solutions that were presented with a regularity that led to the Premier League title last season.
As analyst Josh Williams put it, it was an “annoying” display from Gakpo, and the 26-year-old needs a contrasting profile down the left if Liverpool are to restore their presence as superstars.
Liverpool ace who's fallen off a cliff looks like "Fabinho in his final year"
Liverpool’s draw against Sunderland illustrated a litany of problems Slot is still dealing with.
Rishabh Pant broke a number of records during the course of his century at Headingley
Sampath Bandarupalli21-Jun-2025
Rishabh Pant hit six sixes in his century, the most by a visiting batter in a Test innings in England•Getty Images
7 – Hundreds for Rishabh Pant in Test cricket. He now holds the record for most Test hundreds as a wicketkeeper for India, going past MS Dhoni’s tally of six.3 – Test hundreds for Pant in England. No other visiting wicketkeeper has more than one hundred in the country. England’s Les Ames in the West Indies and Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower in India are the only visiting wicketkeepers to score three Test hundreds in a country apart from Pant.147 – Shubman Gill’s score at Headingley is the second-highest by an India batter on captaincy debut behind Vijay Hazare’s 164* against England in 1951.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 – Previous instances of three (or more) India batters scoring hundreds in a Test innings away from home. The last of those was back in 2007 against Bangladesh in Mirpur. This is the first time India had three (or more) centurions in a Test innings since 2018.2 – Yashasvi Jaiswal, Gill and Pant became only the second India trio to score hundreds in a Test innings in England. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were the first, and that was also at Headingley, in 2002.Related
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6 – Sixes hit by Pant, the most by a visiting batter in a Test innings in England. His six sixes are also the joint-second-highest by an India batter in a Test innings away from home, behind Hardik Pandya’s seven against Sri Lanka in 2017.134 – Pant’s score in this Test match is the second-highest by a wicketkeeper at Headingley, behind Jonny Bairstow’s 140 against Sri Lanka in 2016.3 – Instances of Pant bringing up his hundred with a six in Tests, all against England – against Adil Rashid at The Oval in 2018, Joe Root in Ahmedabad in 2021 and Shoaib Bashir in Leeds. Among Indians, only Sachin Tendulkar (six) and Rohit Sharma (three) have brought up centuries with sixes in Test cricket as many or more times than Pant.Since 2002, no batter has hit a six to complete his hundred more often than Pant. Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Kumar Sangakkara, Rohit and Kusal Mendis have also done it three times during this period.
Despite dropped points at the Stadium of Light, Arsenal supporters are rightly feeling generally pretty good about things.
On Saturday night, goals from Bukayo Saka and then Leandro Trossard turned the game around and had the Gunners on course for a precious three points on Wearside, only for Sunderland to snatch a 94th minute equaliser.
Prior to this, Mikel Arteta’s team had won ten successive matches across all competitions, keeping eight consecutive clean sheets too, equaling the club record set in 1903, so go into a huge week in which they’ll take on Tottenham, Bayern Munich and then Chelsea four points clear of a rather ominous-looking Manchester City.
Nevertheless, in hindsight, it was remarkable that Arsenal managed to string together so many victories considering they currently have six attackers sidelined.
Four of those sidelined forwards are forecast to be back in time for the North London derby, but which member of this sextet will be hoping to dislodge the Gunners’ most productive attacker?
Where Leandro Trossard ranks at Arsenal this season
During the summer, if reports are to be believed, numerous clubs were interested in signing Trossard, Aston Villa, Brentford and Fenerbahçe to name just a few, and many Gooners were of the opinion that an upgrade was required and now was the time to cash in on the 30-year-old.
Well, Arteta certainly did not agree, even rewarding the Belgian with a pay rise, and this decision has been vindicated, given that Trossard currently leads the way at Arsenal this season for combined goals and assists, as the table below documents.
Arsenal – goal & assists 25/26
Players
Goals
Assists
Viktor Gyökeres
6
0
Bukayo Saka
6
0
Leandro Trossard
4
4
Gabriel Martinelli
4
1
Mikel Merino
3
1
Declan Rice
2
5
Jurriën Timber
2
2
Gabriel
2
3
Martín Zubimendi
2
1
Eberechi Eze
2
3
Riccardo Calafiori
1
2
Ethan Nwaneri
1
0
Myles Lewis-Skelly
0
3
Martin Ødegaard
0
2
William Saliba
0
1
Max Dowman
0
1
Stats via Transfermarkt
As the table documents, Trossard ranks first at Arsenal in terms of combined goals and assists with eight.
To date, all four of his goals have come away from home, netting at Athletic Club, Port Vale and Fulham, (bet those three clubs have never been in a list together before!), before this rocket that fired his team in front at the Stadium of Light on Saturday night.
Thus, Trossard remains a key figure in this team, almost certainly set to start against Spurs after the international break, but, as the season progresses, he could once again find himself beginning matches as a substitute.
Equally, in the long-term, while he did receive a bumper wage increase, his contract length was not actually extended, ensuring his current deal will still expire in the summer of 2027 – placing doubt on whether he will still be on the books beyond next summer.
Set to turn 31 next month, the former Brighton star is almost certainly nearer the end than the start of his Emirates journey, with a potential replacement already in the building.
The Arsenal attacker aiming to take Trossard's spot
As already alluded to, the Gunners currently have six attackers sidelined, hence why Arteta has had to return to the well that is Mikel Merino up front in Prague and on Wearside last week.
There is optimism that Gabriel Martinelli, Viktor Gyökeres, Martin Ødegaard and Noni Madueke could all be involved in the North London derby, with the returns of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus likely to be another few weeks away.
However, it is Madueke who the majority of supporters are most looking forward to seeing in action once again.
The 22-year-old’s £52m move from Chelsea in the summer was controversial, albeit this was nothing to do with him personally, with a certain section of, how shall we put this diplomatically, vocal online supporters simply tired of signing Chelsea’s cast-offs.
Nevertheless, Madueke, who reportedly earns £150k-per-week, quickly proved his worth, starting the second Premier League game of the season against Leeds on the left-hand-side.
During that match however, Saka suffered an injury, meaning Madueke deputised on the right for the next four matches, before himself suffering a knee injury against Manchester City, the day Saka made a timely return.
Of course, with Man City leading 1-0 at half time, everyone was pleased to see Saka introduced, but there was general bewilderment that Madueke was the man replaced, given how sharp he had been both in the first 45 minutes but in general, fans in the stadium not yet aware that this was an enforced change due to injury.
In total, Madueke has only played 396 minutes for Arsenal, about the same as the flight time from London to Lagos, which is not very much at all, leading to the feeling that what we’ve seen so far is merely an amuse-bouche of what is to come.
When he arrived, Arteta asserted that the “exciting and powerful” 23-year-old is “one of the most talented wide forward players in the Premier League”, showing glimpses of this potential before his injury.
Meantime, back in September, former Manchester United defender Paul Parker exclaimed, “I actually think he’s better than Bukayo Saka”, after Madueke, also deputising for his club team mate at international level, scored his first goal for England during their 5-0 demolition of Serbia at Stadion Rajko Mitić.
That is obviously an bold assertion and, if there is one thing we’ve learned during Arteta’s six-year reign, it is that if Saka is fit and available, he is going to play.
Thus, it is unrealistic to suggest that Madueke can dislodge the Gunners’ joint-top scorer on the right, but the left flank is very much up for grabs.
Martinelli and Eberechi Eze have both started there at various points this season, with Trossard the current tenant, further underlining that the position is up for grabs.
With games against Spurs, Bayern Munich and then his former side Chelsea next on the agenda, Madueke’s electric dribbling and explosive pace will add an extra dimension to the Gunners attack and will prove invaluable assets, suggesting he could make the left-wing spot his own, permanently demoting Trossard to the role of super sub.
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