Arsenal’s Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhaes has committed his future to the club by agreeing a new long-term contract. The 27-year-old had two years to run on his current deal and his contract extension will be viewed a major boost for the Gunners ahead of what is due to be a pivotal summer in the transfer market. Gabriel played 42 matches for Arsenal last season before a hamstring tear sustained in his side’s 2-1 win over Fulham on April 1 required surgery and brought his campaign to a premature end.
Arsenal announced earlier this week that midfielder Jorginho and defender Kieran Tierney will officially leave the club when their deals expire at the end of the month.Jorginho is due to sign for the Brazilian side Flamengo, while Tierney is returning to Celtic, his boyhood club. The contract of midfielder Thomas Partey is also due to expire but talks over an extension are ongoing.
Scotland v Iceland:Hampden Park is the venue for Scotland’s first match since being relegated to the second tier of the Nations League afterlosing 3-0 against Greecein March. In yesterday’s pre-match press conference, much of the talk centred around the Italian adventures of Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour and Lewis Ferguson, who between them bagged two Serie A winners’ medals and hoisted the Coppa Italia. Ewan Murray reports …
The Rumour Mill:Yara El-Shaboury is here with your daily dose of tittle-tattle and tell-all that includes talk of a potential Arsenal move for Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers, the latest news of the chase to secure the services of Sporting striker Viktor Gyökeres, and much, much more.
World Cup qualifying:Wales host Liechtenstein at the Cardiff City Stadium tonight, with Craig Bellamy’s side second in Group J behind North Macedonia on goal difference having played two games. It’s worth noting that Belgium are also in Group J but have yet to play to a game; Rudi Garcia’s side travel to North Macedonia this evening before hosting Wales in a crunch match on Monday.
Bellamy took as many of his players as were available on a nine-day training camp split between Cardiff and Alicante last month to keep those from the English Football League ticking over after their season had ended and has said he will not be taking his team’s game against the minnows of Liechtenstein in any way lightly.
“I honestly believe if you disrespect the game, it will catch you out,” he told reporters. “The same messages have been fed to the players as well. We have to be us. Fight for every ball. Recovery runs. Reactions. We have to be consistent no matter who we’re playing against. The top teams are the ones that are consistent.”
On the flip side, it could be argued that the bottom sides are also consistent – Liechtenstein have only won one of their past 46 games and despite what Bellamy says, anything other than an emphatic win for Wales tonight would constitute a seismic shock. There, I’ve jinxed them.
Women’s Euro 2025:A glitzy, celeb-speckled Euro squad launch helped the feelgood factor around England’s Lionesses a month ahead of this summer’s Euros but there are still questions over squad harmony, strength in depth and player welfare. Words: Suzanne Wrack.
Nations League semi-final:Down 5-1 after 67 minutes at the Stuttgart Arena, France scored three goals to reduce their deficit but it was Spain who advanced to Sunday’s final against Portugal. Sid Lowe reports …
The season may be over but the Big Wheel O’Football keeps on turning. And how! Last night, Spain and France served up a delightful goalfest that wasn’t nearly as tight as the 5-4 scoreline suggests in theirNations League semi-final, with Lamine Yamal putting on another masterclass as he and his chums survived a late French comeback to book their place against Portugal in Sunday’s all-Iberian final.
There’s plenty more international action to look forward to over the coming weekend, with all four of the home nations and the Republic of Ireland due to play assorted World Cup qualifiers and friendlies. We’re here to bring you build-up to those games, transfer news and any other stories of note that break throughout the day, sodon’t dare touch that dialplease stay tuned, but only if you want to.