Kai Havertz is Arsenal’s hero, but under-pressure Aaron Ramsdale fails to impress
Kai Havertz stole the headlines with a late winner to lift Arsenal to the summit of the Premier League, but Aaron Ramsdale will be left relieved to walk away with a clean sheet after an unconvincing performance at Brentford. Brentford remained determined in their tactics and press, forcing the game to almost grind to a halt at times. It looked to be heading for a goalless draw before Havertz headed into the back of the net from close range to secure all three points for the Gunners in the 89th minute and ensure they finish the weekend top of the table for the first time this season. Lengthy stoppages accompanied every set piece and neither side imposed themselves on the match until the inspired decision to swap Gabriel Martinelli with Havertz paid off in the final minutes. Before the winner, much of the focus surrounded Ramsdale who had not started in goal since 7 September, but with David Raya ineligible to face his parent club, was handed a rare opportunity to impress. However, it was clear throughout the game that the pressure has been mounting on the shot-stopper, especially after Gareth Southgate’s statement saying that should he not establish himself for the Gunners, he may find himself out of the Euro 2024 squad. With less than 15 minutes on the clock, Ramsdale almost gifted Brentford their opening goal. He paused taking a goal kick, tried to let Gabriel Magalhaes take his place, but the defender fed it back to the goalkeeper who made an error. With Yoane Wissa closing him down and blocking the clearance it was only Declan Rice’s quick-thinking to race to the line and make a crucial block that kept the score level. Arguably Brentford should have pounced, but Bryan Mbeumo took slightly too much time setting up his curled effort and the follow-up from Wissa was wide of the target. Ramsdale had already been under pressure since the start of the match and made a slightly risky clearance early on that only spurred on the fans, who taunted him from the outset, comparing him unfavourably to Raya. That only increased pressure on the goalkeeper, who looked nervous every time he was called on to do something as straightforward as clear the ball. He made another error inside the first half, when he failed to release a throw, hurling the ball down at his toes and having to track backwards immediately as Brentford looked to capitalise. They consistently put up to six players surrounding Ramsdale any chance there was a corner which only put more stress on the 25 year old. Arsenal thought they had released the pressure on their goalkeeper when Leandro Trossard was on hand to nod the ball over the line, only for it to be ruled offside following a lengthy VAR debate. Trossard had squandered a couple of opportunities already but was in the right spot when Gabriel Jesus’s header was palmed upwards rather than away by Mark Flekken, but the fourth official ruled the Belgian offside and the scores were level at the break. In the second half, it was clear even Mikel Arteta was at least slightly concerned when his former number one was called upon, like making hand gestures for Ramsdale to calm down when he had to take a goal kick. But he looked to have settled down, at least slightly, while the game meandered along without any significant chances for either side, coming off his line to clear the ball in a decisive manner. Ramsdale’s opposite number almost repeated his first-half error, when he was almost caught in possession by Eddie Nketiah, but was just able to play a risky pass across the face of goal and the score remained goalless. The game which had been a drab affair, sparked into life in the final 15 minutes. Oleksandr Zinchenko had to repeat Rice’s first half effort, making a key block to deny substitute Neal Maupay’s header from crossing the line before Havertz’s winner. Arsenal will walk away at the top of the Premier League, but it was far from a complete performance. Read More Jurgen Klopp happy Liverpool ‘passed a test’ with comeback point at Man City Mauricio Pochettino angry as ‘soft’ Chelsea fall apart at Newcastle Brighton boss explains ‘big, big celebration’ and says no disrespect was meant Erik ten Hag: Schedule has already crossed limits of what players can handle Mikel Arteta hails Aaron Ramsdale despite errors in Arsenal’s win over Brentford Mauricio Pochettino angry as ‘soft’ Chelsea fall apart at Newcastle
2023-11-26 09:48
Tottenham release statement after Destiny Udogie racially abused on social media following Liverpool win
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Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve gets married at Las Vegas Grand Prix paddock
Former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve married his partner in the Las Vegas Grand Prix paddock on Thursday night (16 November). The official F1 Las Vegas X/Twitter account confirmed the news on 17 November, sharing photos of the couple, with the caption: “Married in Vegas: F1 style.” A few days before the wedding, F1 also released a short clip of the chapel created inside the circuit featuring the slogan “Race to the Altar”. Couples and race fans can now say “I do” at the chapel through a special wedding package. The space is embellished with racing-themed decorations and the couples that do get a chance to get married there will be presented with a bouquet of roses inspired by racing cars. “Love in the fast lane. Introducing the first-ever #F1 wedding chapel.” the caption in the post said. In another post featured on F1 Las Vegas’s Instagram stories, Villeneuve’s partner Giulia is seen dazzling her guests wearing a classic white gown as she walks down the aisle. The short video also shows the happy couple posing for photos with friends and family members. Former Williams engineer, Jock Clear, was reportedly Villeneuve’s best man for the occasion and the newlyweds enjoyed their moment together as an Elvis impersonator sang ‘Here Comes The Bride.’ Villeneuve won the Formula One World Championship with Williams in 1997. According to Planet F1, the champion made his comeback earlier this year - 17 years on from his final race. Speaking to Planet F1 in an exclusive interview back in February, the champion said: “I’ve never been retired!” “So it’s not even semi-retirement. I know a lot of people think that I haven’t been racing. After F1, I moved to North America to focus on that. “Ever since, I’ve been doing just piecemeal races – never full championships. Ice racing in France, V8 Supercars in Australia, Nascar, I did some Formula E, EuroNascar, the Indy 500… so I actually never retired, it was just very complicated to get full-time race seats, mostly because I was busy building up a family,” he added. Villeneuve’s wedding came hours before a chaotic first practice session was abandoned and the second session delayed due to Carlos Sainz striking a manhole cover which destroyed the bottom of his car - and resulted in him getting a ten-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race. Detailing what had gone wrong an FIA spokesman said: “Following inspection, it was the concrete frame around a manhole cover that has failed. We now need to check all of the other manhole covers which will take some time – we will be discussing with the local circuit engineering team about the length of time it will take to resolve.” The on-track action eventually resumed two-and-a-half hours late and finished up at 4am local time - after fans had been told to leave at 1:30am in what was an all-round disaster of an opening night. Read More F1 enters new Las Vegas dawn with disaster on opening night Watch: Sparks fly as Sainz’s Ferrari hits drain cover on Las Vegas F1 circuit Empty grandstands at Las Vegas GP as chaotic practice session takes place at 3am Carlos Sainz handed ‘ridiculous’ penalty after drain cover crash at Las Vegas GP Las Vegas GP resumes in front of empty stands as fans sent home at 1:30am Ferrari team boss fumes over damage to Sainz car: ‘Just unacceptable’
2023-11-17 23:23
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is stepping down, effective August
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A month after Prigozhin’s suspicious death, the Kremlin is silent on his plane crash and legacy
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