Gabriel Martinelli says Arsenal’s inherent belief will only be boosted by beating champions Manchester City as Mikel Arteta’s men look to go one step further than last season.

The Gunners captured the imagination during a strong 2022-23 campaign, only to ultimately finish second as Pep Guardiola’s side scooped a third straight title in a storming end to the season.

Arsenal’s inability to take a point off them was key in them finishing second and Sunday saw them finally beat City in the league for the first time since 2015, building on their Community Shield shoot-out triumph against the treble winners.

The matchwinner

Shot on Pixel

— Arsenal (@Arsenal)

The half-time introduction of Martinelli after three weeks out with a ham…

Various stories popping up these days suggest former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is a wanted man. It s hardly surprising, given the status of the German tactician as one of the best in the world at what he does.

Known for his energetic, attacking approach to the game, Klopp achieved great success during his Anfield spell, winning at least one trophy in every competition his team competed, apart from the Europa League. Liverpool remain the only team not called Manchester City to have won a Premier League title, under his guidance, back in 2019/20.

According to the Independent, the USA have made him their primary target to replace Gregg Berhalter at the head of their national side, while TeamTalk claim his native Germany want him to take over from Julian Nagelsmann. Ho…

Spain will be eager to preserve their perfect record in the Euro 2012 qualifiers when they meet the Czech Republic in Granada on Friday.

The defending world and European champions sit atop Group I with three wins from as many games, while their opponents lie in second place, having recorded two victories and a loss.Spain will be without Carles Puyol, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez for the Friday s qualifier, with Andoni Iraola, Javi Mart?nez (both of Athletic Bilbao) and Valencia s Juan Mata being drafted into the squad in their place.Puyol s absence is likely to see Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos move into the centre of defence to partner Gerard Pique.Spain playmaker Xavi will make his 100th appearance for the national team against the Czechs, while David Villa, who has …

Cole Palmer has been hailed as one of the best in the world by team-mate Reece James after playing his part in Chelsea s thrilling 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest.

England international Palmer superbly assisted Mykhailo Mudryk s early opener in Saturday s Premier League contest, before Willy Boly s swift leveller and Callum Hudson-Odoi s second-half curler put Forest in front.

Chelsea pulled off a remarkable late turnaround, however, as Raheem Sterling levelled up on 80 minutes and fellow substitute James assisted Nicolas Jackson s winner two minutes later at City Ground.

Palmer s assist means he has directly contributed to 31 goals in the Premier League this season, which is the joint-most in the division alongside Aston Villa s Ollie Watkins.

Speaking to S…

Chelsea are interested in signing Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon in the January transfer window, according to . The report, though, has claimed that Gyokeres does not want to leave Sporting in the middle of the season and plans to stay at the Portuguese giants until next summer at least.

Gyokeres has been on the books of Sporting since 2023 and has established himself as one of the best strikers in the Portuguese league. The 26-year-old Sweden international striker has scored seven goals and given one assist in four Liga Portugal so far this season. In 2023-24, the striker scored 29 goals and provided 10 assists in the league and scored five goals and provided two assists in eight UEFA Europa League games.

Chelsea are aiming to finish in the top four of the Premie…

The 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers have not ended yet, as there are several spots to be determined through the European and intercontinental playoff rounds. But we already know most of the teams that will qualify for the tournament. And as there are surprises every four years, there are also disappointing teams that fail to qualify. Even if they have star-studded squads at their disposal.

Here are the three biggest disappointments of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers so far.

Chile

There is no question that Chile have been one of the most consistent teams in the CONMEBOL region over the past decade. They qualified for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, finished third in the 2007 U20 World Cup, and won both the 2015 and 2016 Copa America. As if that was not enough, they also…

Toni Kroos urged Germany to embrace the special pressure of hosting Euro 2024, as Julian Nagelsmann s side prepare to launch the tournament on Friday.

DFB will host their first major international tournament since the 2006 World Cup, where they finished third after losing to eventual champions Italy in the semi-finals.

Germany launch their campaign against Scotland at Munich Football Arena on Friday, while also facing Hungary and Switzerland in Group A.

And Kroos, who will retire from football after the tournament, wants his team-mates to enjoy the great honour of playing in their home event.

At every tournament on home soil [there is pressure]. It is even more special, the midfielder told reporters during a press conference.

We know the pressu…

Coach Caleb Porter will treat the New England Revolution s next eight games as a mini season , as the MLS strugglers prepare to welcome Inter Miami to Gillette Stadium on Saturday.

The Revs sit last in the Eastern Conference standings with just four points from their first eight games of 2024, having lost their last two against New York City (0-2) and Toronto FC (0-1).

Miami, meanwhile, are setting the pace in the East with 18 points from 10 matches, Lionel Messi scoring twice to help Gerardo Martino s team to a 3-1 win over Nashville SC last time out.

Having started to come under pressure just five months into his reign, Porter says the Revs should approach Saturday s match with a clean slate.

The first eight games weren t good enough in terms of our r…

Thomas Muller has retired from international football following the end of Euro 2024, having represented Germany 131 times in 14 years.

Muller played a minor role at Germany s home tournament, coming off the bench for a total of 58 minutes in their group-stage win over Scotland and their quarter-final defeat to Spain.

The Bayern Munich legend, who turns 35 in September, scored 45 times for his country, winning the Golden Boot at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Four years later, Muller netted five times as Germany won the 2014 World Cup, including a group-stage hat-trick versus Portugal and a goal in Die Nationalelf s memorable 7-1 semi-final rout of hosts Brazil.

One day after Spain s final victory over England brought the curtain down on Euro 2024, M…

Man-of-the-match Pepe told his Portugal team-mates to win Euro 2016 for injured captain Cristiano Ronaldo and they delivered.

It was an historic result as Portugal claimed their first major title via a 1-0 win over hosts France after extra time in Paris on Sunday.

Eder came off the bench and scored the 109th-minute winner, but Portugal faced an uphill battle from the outset, following a knee injury to Ronaldo, who left the field in tears in the first half.

However, Portugal used Ronaldo s injury as motivation as they were finally crowned champions of Europe, having lost the Euro 2004 final on home soil against Greece.

This was tough as we lost our main man and we had all our hopes on him because he can score a goal at any moment, said Pepe, who lifted…