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Arsenal are flying at the moment.

Mikel Arteta’s thumping 4-1 win in the North London Derby on Sunday has seen them go six points clear of second-place Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table and seven points clear of Manchester City.

It was an incredible team performance from the North Londoners, but even so, Eberechi Eze stood out, scoring the first hat-trick in the competition since Alan Sunderland in 1978.

The former Crystal Palace star has been an excellent signing for Arsenal, and now the club are being linked with someone who’d be a dream teammate for him.

Arsenal target dream teammate for Eze

Arsenal may have spent big in the summer, but perhaps due to them being in a great position domestically and in Europe, they are already being linked with some huge players ahead of the winter window.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Juventus’ sensationally talented Kenan Yıldız, for example, has been touted for an £88m move to the Emirates, as has the £120m Elliot Anderson.

However, the North Londoners are also looking at another goalscoring centre-forward, someone who’d be a dream signing for Eze.

At least, that is according to a recent report from Caught Offside, which claims Arsenal are one of several teams interested in Samu Aghehowa.

In fact, the report goes a step further, revealing that the Gunners are among the sides leading the race for his signature, even if Tottenham Hotspur are just marginally ahead.

However, on top of the competition, one of the hurdles the Premier League leaders will have to overcome to secure the Spaniard’s signature is the fact that it could take around €90m – £79m – to convince Porto to let him go.

Even so, given Samu’s ability, potential and goal record, this is a deal Arsenal should be fighting for, especially as he could be a dream signing for Eze.

Why Samu would be a dream signing for Eze

Now, while it is most certainly simplistic, it is also true that the primary reason Samu would be a dream signing for Eze, and by extension Arsenal, is the fact that he’s an output machine.

After all, whether he’s playing on the wing or in the ten, the former Crystal Palace star will want whoever is playing down the middle to be someone who can reliably score goals and even provide assists for him at times.

Fortunately, that sounds a lot like the Spaniard.

For example, in 44 appearances across all competitions last season, totalling 3,370 minutes, the 21-year-old racked up an impressive tally of 27 goals and three assists.

That comes out to a staggering average of a goal involvement every 1.46 games, or every 112.33 minutes.

Appearances

44

16

Minutes

3,370′

809′

Goals

27

6

Assists

3

1

Goal Involvements per Match

0.68

0.43

Minutes per Goal Involvement

112.33′

115.57′

He’s showing no signs of that being a hot streak either, as so far this season, the monstrous forward has chalked up six goals and one assist in 16 appearances, totalling 809 minutes.

In other words, he is currently averaging a goal involvement every 2.28 games, or more crucially, every 115.57 minutes.

On top of being a forward who’d be able to reliably finish the chances created for him, the former Atletico Madrid gem is also a battering ram of a player.

Standing at 6 foot 4, the four-capped international, whom journalist Zach Lowy described as “one of the best STs in Europe,” is not someone who’d struggle with the physical nature of the Premier League.

If anything, he’d thrive in it and be able to use his impressive stature to bully opposition defenders and create opportunities for himself and his teammates.

Finally, despite being such an imposing figure, he has demonstrated an impressive level of agility and movement through a few seriously impressive strikes.

Ultimately, while the fee is high, Samu is a goalscoring machine who would not only improve Arteta’s squad but also potentially help Eze’s goal and assist tallies explode.

Therefore, Arsenal should do what they can to sign him in January, before another side, like Spurs, gets to him first.

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A 2-2 draw in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy has boosted the 25-year-old’s belief in himself

Nagraj Gollapudi05-Aug-20253:23

Bangar: Gill, the leader, gained confidence through the series

As soon as Chris Woakes came out to bat on Monday morning, Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj had a quick chat and agreed to deny Gus Atkinson the single on the last ball of the 84th over which would allow Prasidh Krishna to have a crack from the Vauxhall end at the England allrounder who had walked out, broken arm in a sling, aiming to bat left-handed. Gill asked Siraj to bowl a wide yorker outside off stump to prevent Atkinson from getting bat on ball. The other key element of the plan was for Gill to ask wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel to take off his right glove and be alert for a throw at the stumps in case the batters attempted a bye.Siraj delivered his end of the bargain, Atkinson failed to connect, and both batters set off for the bye. Jurel, though, never took off his glove and his throw was too slow and wide off the stumps, which left India’s best fast bowler in this series highly annoyed. “”, [did you not tell him the plan?], Siraj asked Gill, staring wide-eyed, with a heaving chest. Siraj would continue staring in disbelief at Jurel, who sheepishly jogged to the other end.Gill would explain after the match why the plan did not take off, with Siraj now chuckling beside him: “He told me to tell Dhruv to take off his gloves to get the run out. By the time I told Dhruv, he (Siraj) was already running in to bowl. So Dhruv didn’t have enough time to drop his gloves and he missed. That’s why he said to me why did you not tell him.”Related

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In the subsequent overs, until he smashed Atkinson’s off stump, Siraj and Prasidh would stick to the same plan on the last ball even as Gill persisted with eight fielders on the boundary. Gill would go on to explain why he did not want to bring in the fielders in for the last ball to Atkinson.”We felt even in the second-last ball or last ball, we felt if we go wide yorker there’s a chance of him (Atkinson) missing, which he did in the first one – Dhruv missed the stumps, which happens. But that was the plan that they have to score. We wanted them to take on the fielders and score in boundaries rather than bringing the field inside and they hit a boundary. We didn’t want them to achieve it in one shot. We wanted them to hit maybe two or three shots to be able to achieve the runs because that, I felt, gave us the best probability to be able [to strike], for them to make a mistake and for us to win the match.”

****

Shubman Gill, as captain, has allowed his players to put their own plans in place•Associated PressThree overs prior to the end of an absorbing first hour on day four, the 25th of England’s innings, Siraj asked Gill to have Ravindra Jadeja at backward point. Gill, on second thought, placed Jadeja to deep point. Siraj was not impressed only because he didn’t want Joe Root to get off strike. Root had just walked in the previous over to replace Ben Duckett. England were 83 for 2 and Siraj’s plan was to shackle Root and not allow him the dab, one of his go-to shots. Root picked up two easy singles in that over, opening the face of the bat and guiding the ball behind square. Before the start of the final over before the first drinks break, Siraj, with both hands raised to his face, pleaded with Gill to bring Jadeja inside the circle. Gill acquiesced. Siraj bowled a maiden and nearly induced an outside edge.”I told him let’s keep the point fielder inside the circle,” Siraj said on Monday, “but he told me let him go for his strokes as that could result in a wicket and the match could turn in our favour. His thinking was also right because at that moment he was thinking like a batsman.”

****

While Gill has convinced everyone during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy that captaincy does not affect his run-scoring, there have been questions about other aspects of his leadership. Is he good at reading the situation? Is he a good tactician? Can he communicate clearly with his bowlers?The above incidents are just two examples that give us a slightly better understanding of Gill’s captaincy. They show Gill has his own thoughts but is equally receptive to what his players have to say. Siraj has played with Gill since their India A days and is a contemporary. Both of them also play for Gujarat Titans in the IPL where Gill has been captain since 2024, with Siraj joining in 2025. “There is a mutual understanding between us,” Siraj said. “Our communication is very clear. I’m very happy about his growth.”Shubman Gill’s batting improved with captaincy•AFP/Getty ImagesGiven this was his first Test series as captain, Gill acknowledges he has a lot to learn but at the same time he is happy with the way he has juggled his responsibilities: “There are some things that me and as a team we definitely need to work on. And I kind of have more clarity on the areas that we need to work on as a team. And I have more clarity where personally I need to work on as a captain. There would always be opinions, and, in hindsight I could have done this, could have done that, but what matters for me is whether I’m taking the best possible decision in that moment and as long as I’m able to do that, I think the probability [of a win] would be on us and that’s what I want to do.”What Gill is telling us is he is not going to be affected by outside chatter about his captaincy. He says he is bold enough to take the “shots” fired at him. There was noise about India selecting only three fast bowlers for a green pitch at The Oval where overcast conditions were predicted for all five days. Gill took that on board and explained why he went a different way.”Even in this match a lot of people were saying we could have played a fourth specialist bowler, but the guy who played instead of the fourth seamer – Karun Nair, his fifty in the first innings was equally important for us which helped us to get a decent total. You have to understand and weigh what is the most important. We thought on this wicket, three fast bowlers would be able to do the job for us and they delivered. When your decision goes well people praise you and when it doesn’t, I am aware that there are going to be shots taken at me which I am fine with because at the end of the day I know that I made a decision which is best for the team.”There were times in this series that Gill had let his emotions run away with him. Day three at Lord’s highlighted that. But day five at The Oval, when everything was on the line, he was ice-cold. And that is why members of the Indian team’s think tank chose him to succeed Rohit Sharma as Test captain. Gill spoke about the things that helped him deal with pressure in a series that was nothing but pressure. “If you are thinking about someone else then the pressure on you goes away,” he said. “Even in captaincy when I was batting in this series because I was always thinking what more can I do for the team and if a player is playing low, what can I do. That helps me to take away the pressure off myself.”For Gill and India, this series has been epoch-making. We don’t know whether he jots stuff down in his journal, but there are a lot of learnings he will be taking back home. But his core thought process remains intact, to stay balanced, and that, Gill said, will help him grow as a leader. “You should be able to navigate through the highs and lows of life and try to stay balanced throughout. That’s what at least I believe in, that I want to be able to stay balanced whether we have won the match, lost the match, I’ve done well or I have not done well. It’s difficult but it’s a process. That’s the real journey, to be able to stay balanced and I’m still learning but so far so good.”

Everton scouts have now reportedly been spotted watching Republic of Ireland international Troy Parrott over the break, as he scored twice to shock Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal side.

The Toffees very nearly enjoyed the perfect summer. They welcomed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Jack Grealish on loan from Manchester City and splashed out on one of their biggest-ever deals to sign Tyler Dibling from Southampton. In many ways, it was a statement from The Friedkin Group ahead of Everton’s move into the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

That statement came without one key part, however, and that was a clinical goalscorer. Those in Merseyside took a £27m gamble on Villarreal’s Thierno Barry, but he’s yet to score a goal for the club. Meanwhile, Beto hasn’t done much better – scoring just twice in 13 games in all competitions.

Minutes

386

609

Goals

0

1

Assists

0

0

Expected Goals

1.3

4.1

What’s most concerning about the form of Everton’s strikers is that they’ve both had the chances to record better records than they have done. Barry is without a goal with an XG of 1.3, whilst Beto has significantly underperformed with one goal from a 4.1 XG.

It’s a clear problem that Everton must address for David Moyes in 2026 and a number of targets have already emerged as a result. According to recent reports, the Toffees have so far set their sights on Celtic’s Daizen Maeda, who wants to leave the Scottish club, Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee and Al Ahli’s Ivan Toney.

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All three options make sense. Maeda wants to leave Celtic and is reportedly available for just £15m. Zirkzee could offer Everton a repeat of their Grealish revival, whilst Toney may need a Premier League return to boost his World Cup chances.

The list doesn’t end there, however. Joining those aforementioned names, Everton reportedly sent scouts to watch Parrot against Portugal earlier this week.

Everton send scouts to track Troy Parrott

According to Everton News, Everton sent scouts to watch Parrott in action for Ireland against Portugal on Thursday night, as he netted a brace to hand his country a major boost towards their World Cup hopes. In the same game, Ronaldo was handed the first red card of his international career to sum up a shocking night to forget.

On a stage which featured Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva and others, it was Parrot who stole the show to take his goal total to 13 in 14 games for the season. Quite simply, he has been in sensational form for AZ Alkmaar and Ireland.

Compared to Irish legend Robbie Keane by the man himself, Parrott has scored more goals than Beton and Barry combined so far this season and there’s still plenty more to come.

As Everton’s search for a striker goes on, they may hand the former Tottenham Hotspur gem the perfect chance to complete a return to English football.

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Without being guilty of stating the obvious, it’s not a great time to be a West Ham United fan at the moment.

The team looked terrible under Graham Potter at the start of the season, and apart from a brief moment against Everton, they’ve not looked much better under Nuno Espírito Santo.

The Portuguese coach has a tough job on his hands to get the Hammers out of the relegation zone, and things have only just got more complicated.

It now seems that Lucas Paqueta wants to leave the club, although his departure wouldn’t be ideal, West Ham appear to have a player who could step into his shoes.

Latest on Lucas Paqueta's West Ham future

As if Nuno’s task to keep West Ham in the Premier League wasn’t already challenging enough, it now seems that the incredibly talented Paqueta wants to jump ship in the winter window.

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At least, that is according to a recent report from the Times, which claims that, despite a move to Aston Villa not materialising in the summer, the Brazilian ace is still keen to leave the East Londoners as soon as possible.

It is unclear just how much money it would take for the Irons to sell, but given his desire to leave, underwhelming performances and the fact that there are less than two years left on his £150k-per-week contract, it seems unlikely they’ll make a profit on the £51m they paid Lyon for him in 2022.

However, while losing the Paquetá-born midfielder would be far from ideal, it might not be the nail in the club’s Premier League coffin that many might spin it as.

After all, even though his talent is undeniable, has the 28-year-old star actually been as effective for the club as fans hoped he would be when he first joined?

25/26

10

3

24/25

36

5

23/24

43

15

22/23

41

12

Well, across his 130 appearances for the Irons, the former Lyon ace has scored 21 goals and provided 14 assists, which works out to a decent but unspectacular average of a goal involvement every 3.71 games.

Moreover, last season saw him score just five goals in 35 games, of which two were penalties, meaning he averaged a non-penalty goal every 11.66 games, which isn’t good enough for someone meant to be a team’s talismanic number ten.

In short, while the best situation would be one in which Nuno could get the best back out of Paqueta, losing him in the winter might not be as bad as some would have you believe, as he’s barely contributed to the team for over a year now.

Moreover, West Ham already have a creative gem who could potentially prove to be a brilliant replacement in the long run.

West Ham's Paqueta replacement

While there are undoubtedly other ways in which Nuno and West Ham could approach a Paqueta-less side, perhaps the best would be to use Mateus Fernandes.

The former Southampton star joined the club for around £40m in the summer, and while he’s spent more time in central midfield since then, he’s no stranger to playing further up the pitch.

For example, during his time with the Saints, the “exceptional” Portuguese ace, as dubbed by analyst Mattinson, made 21 appearances in attacking midfield.

Moreover, despite playing for a team that were relegated and, for some time, looked in danger of breaking Derby County’s most unwanted record, the 21-year-old still produced six goal involvements in 36 league games.

For comparison’s sake, Paqueta scored just four goals in 34 league games.

Finally, on top of possessing the ability to play “those KDB-type passes,” as Mattinson puts it, the former Southampton ace is also happy to help out all over the pitch, as his underlying numbers show.

According to FBref, he ranked in the top 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League last season for percentage of aerial duels won, the top 5% for tackles and ball recoveries, the top 11% for long passes attempted and completed and the top 14% for passes into the final third, all per 90.

% of Aerials Won

62.5%

Top 2%

Tackles (Def 3rd)

1.39

Top 3%

Tackles

2.75

Top 5%

Ball Recoveries

5.54

Top 5%

Interceptions

0.87

Top 7%

Touches (Mid 3rd)

26.82

Top 9%

GCA (Defensive Action)

0.03

Top 10%

Passes Completed (Long)

3.40

Top 11%

Passes Attempted (Long)

6.06

Top 11%

Dribblers Tackled

1.02

Top 11%

Pass Completion % (Medium)

85.9%

Top 14%

Passes into Final Third

3.03

Top 14%

Shots Blocked

0.25

Top 14%

Total Passing Distance

569.45

Top 15%

Blocks

1.33

Top 15%

Ultimately, in an ideal world, West Ham would keep hold of Paqueta and help him get back to his best this season.

However, if he really is to leave in the winter, then fans should not worry too much, as Fernandes could step in and step up.

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The Victoria seamer has an outstanding domestic record and he believes his chances of higher honours don’t have to be all about pace

Alex Malcolm03-Oct-2025It is a question of when, not if, Australia’s Test attack will go through a significant transition and by every metric, Victoria’s Fergus O’Neill should be perfectly placed to be part of the next phase. Every metric that is, except one.The 24-year-old can lay claim to being the best seamer in Sheffield Shield cricket for the past two seasons. His first-class record is stunning – 134 wickets at 20.37 from 34 matches, striking at 48.4 and conceding just 2.52 runs per over. He’s twice been picked for Australia A, including on the recent tour of India which shows the national selectors’ respect for what he has accomplished with Victoria.But on the eve of the new Shield season, a week after England named an Ashes touring squad with potentially their fastest-ever battery of quicks, it is very clear what metric O’Neill is perceived to be missing.Related

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O’Neill is aware of it and he’s not trying to rail against it. He knows what his strengths are but he also has a great example to follow in Victoria team-mate Scott Boland, who has shown the path of how to go from a dominant domestic bowler to a high-class Test performer without the exceptional pace that some perceive is needed.”I think for me, the air speed thing is a little bit of a myth, not completely, but I feel like Scotty, whatever he is bowling on the gun, it feels 10kph faster,” O’Neill told ESPNcricinfo.”He’s obviously still certainly fast enough, but they speak about energy on the ball and how the ball hits the bat, and I feel like, for me, I need to make sure that I still have that, and I have that for my whole spell.”Then there’s little things you need to add in here, like a little up in speed ball I’ve been trying to work in or a surprise bouncer.”It’s probably something that I haven’t really done the last two or three years. I’ve just kind of come in and bowled the ball up at the stumps and tried to seam it around, and fortunately the wickets have been in my favour.