Arsenal’s attack in 2025/26 has been nothing short of exceptional, with such performances playing a massive part in the club sitting top of the Premier League table.

Mikel Arteta’s side have already netted 30 goals in their first 16 league outings this campaign, with only Manchester City currently scoring more at this stage.

However, no player has yet scored five goals or more, subsequently showcasing the importance of having countless players who can chip in within the final third.

Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Leandro Trossard and Viktor Gyokeres all currently sit top of the goalscoring charts with four strikes – highlighting the strength in depth available to the manager.

Such numbers may be impressive to many, but the Gunners’ hierarchy appear to be wanting to inject further quality into such a department during the upcoming window.

Arsenal actively pursuing move for £62m superstar this January

Over the last couple of weeks, a new winger has seemingly become the priority for Arsenal and Andrea Berta ahead of the January transfer window.

As a result, Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo has become just one player touted with a switch to the Emirates, with his £65m release clause set to become active on the first day of the new year.

They aren’t alone in the pursuit of the 25-year-old attacker, with Manchester United and Liverpool just two other clubs who could pull the trigger and land him this winter.

However, Semenyo isn’t the only winger in the sights of the Gunners hierarchy, with Athletic Club star Nico Williams once again appearing firmly in their sights.

According to one Spanish outlet, Berta and Co are actively pursuing the 23-year-old, who’s already racked up five combined goals and assists in the 2025/26 campaign.

The report also states that the Spaniard could be available for a reported £62m this window, but it’s unclear if the Gunners would match such a price after their summer spending spree.

Why Williams joining would be bad news for Martinelli

Back in the 2022/23 campaign, Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli cemented himself as one of Arsenal’s most important players due to his impact in the final third.

The 24-year-old ended such a season with 15 goals and six assists across all competitions, but he’s been unable to get anywhere near close to such numbers in the last two years.

He’s only registered 16 goals in his last two seasons combined, whilst subsequently coming under fire for his lack of clinical nature when bearing down on the opposition goal.

As a result, Martinelli has only started a total of five league games out of a possible 16 this season, with Arteta often preferring the likes of Trossard in such a position.

However, it could be about to get a whole lot worse for the attacker should Williams join, with the Spaniard no doubt pushing him further down the pecking order.

The £62m fee would certainly suggest that he’d be a regular starter, with the comparison of their respective stats from the ongoing campaign, undoubtedly showcasing that the Athletic star is a bigger talent.

Williams, who’s been dubbed “electric” by one analyst, has achieved more goal contributions, whilst also achieving a better shot on target accuracy rate.

How Williams & Martinelli compared in 2025/26

Statistics (per 90)

Williams

Martinelli

Games played

13

12

Goals & assists

5

1

Shot on target accuracy

38%

26%

Pass accuracy

71%

67%

Progressive passes

2.8

2.2

Key passes

1.9

0.6

Take-on success

42%

33%

Progressive carries

5.7

2.7

Crosses completed

2.9

1.8

Stats via FBref

Such numbers in LaLiga showcase that the 23-year-old is certainly more of a clinical option in the final third, which could bolster Arsenal’s already impressive goalscoring record.

Subscribe for expert Arsenal transfer and lineup insights Explore deeper with our newsletter: stat-driven analysis, tactical breakdowns and squad-impact coverage that clarify how potential signings like Nico Williams could reshape Arsenal’s left flank, rotation options and scoring dynamics. Subscribe Subscribe for expert Arsenal transfer and lineup insights Explore deeper with our newsletter: stat-driven analysis, tactical breakdowns and squad-impact coverage that clarify how potential signings like Nico Williams could reshape Arsenal’s left flank, rotation options and scoring dynamics.

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He’s also completed more progressive passes and key passes per 90, subsequently having the creative nature which could allow the other attackers around him to bolster their own tallies.

Williams’ dominance with the ball at his feet over Martinelli is further demonstrated in his hierarchy tallies of take-ons and progressive carries completed per 90.

However, he’s also been able to offer the end product to his mazy runs this campaign, as seen by his tally of 2.9 crosses completed per 90 – a tally nearly double than that of the Brazilian.

£62m would certainly be yet another huge investment for the Gunners board, but it’s one that could allow for an immediate and long-term option off the left-hand side.

As for Martinelli, any move this winter could be catastrophic for his career in North London, which could even lead to a departure away from the Emirates as a result.

Related Bad news for Nwaneri: Arsenal have already agreed to sign their next Dowman

Nwaneri could have some serious competition for game time at Arsenal in the future.

Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes

West Ham United are considering making a move for RB Leipzig forward Yussuf Poulsen, according to Calciomercato.

What’s the word?

The report claims that Newcastle United and Everton are also tracking the Denmark international, who scored once in three of the nation’s matches at the World Cup.

West Ham are said to have switched attention to attacking targets, with Poulsen on their radar.

The 24-year-old has developed his game at Leipzig after joining the club in 2013.

Last season, the forward scored just four goals in 30 Bundesliga outings, but he only started 18 of those fixtures.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”262679″ player=”12034″ title=”Chattin’ Shirt 3 Teams at Russia 2018″]

Why should West Ham steer clear?

The Hammers have had their fair share of lacklustre strikers, and it is important that they do not put faith in another one who may not deliver.

What do you think of the World Cup so far? Let us know and win any World Cup shirt of your choice.

Andy Carroll has disappointed the East London outfit numerous times due to his constant injury woes.

Javier Hernandez also struggled to make an impression last season, but one could argue that was because he was being played out of position.

If West Ham want a striker that can be reliable, then Poulsen may not be the answer due to his inconsistency.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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Perhaps it’s best for Manuel Pellegrini to go back to the drawing board.

Rain affected more than half a day’s play as Tamil Nadu and Hyderabadsettled for a tame draw in their KSCA Coca Cola Under-25 Tournamentmatch at the Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodayar Sports Complex inBangalore on Saturday.Play started only at 14.15 hours on the third and final day due to acontinuous drizzle in the morning. Resuming at the overnight score of262 for 8, Hyderabad’s first innings folded up at 290. Ravichandra(104), who was stranded at 97 overnight, completed his century in notime. However he was the first to go when he was caught at square legby K Velmurugan off DS Doss. Then Fatima Reddy (17 notout) andMallikarjun (6) took the score on to 290 when Mallikarjun foundhimself stranded out of his crease.Tamil Nadu in reply made a disasterous start to their second inningslosing opener Ravindra John (0) off the fifth ball of the innings whenhe offered a catch to Saberwal off Ghouse Baba. Then the other openerS Badrinath (3) and N Lokesh (19) took the score upto 26. Badrinathwas the next to be dismissed when he gave a chance to Fatima Reddy atmidwicket off the bowling of Ghouse Baba. Ghouse Baba claimed histhird wicket of the innings, that of Lokesh, when he shattered thebatsman’s defences.C Hemanth Kumar (11) and R Satish (10) then took the score on to 49for 3 when play was called off for the day. Tamil Nadu got 5 pointswhile Hyderabad had to be content with three. Tamil Nadu now take onKarnataka in the finals which is to be played at M Chinnaswamy Stadiumin Bangalore from October 9 to 11.

Vinay Kumar strikes centuryHitting an unbeaten hundred, D Vinay Kumar took Hyderabad to a strong position at the end of Day Two of their Ranji Trophy league match against Tamil Nadu at Chennai.Unbeaten overnight on 56, Vinay Kumar proceeded to compile runs slowly, batting primarily with Venkatapathy Raju (35). He completed his century and was not out on 103, made off 317 balls. He hit 11 fours and a six. For Tamil Nadu, Lakshmipathy Balaji and MR Shrinivas took three and four wickets respectively.The home side opener, Sadagopan Ramesh, fell having made 16, but S Sriram and C Hemanth Kumar batted well before the former fell for 33. Hemanth Kumar was unbeaten on 42 off 84 balls at stumps, and he was accompanied by Hemang Badani, who was not out on 7.Renjith Menon stars for KeralaKerala’s bowlers, spearheaded by Renjith Menon, brought their side strongly back into their Ranji Trophy league match against Goa at Panaji on Tuesday.Comfortably placed at 22/0 overnight, Goa collapsed to 197 all out on Day Two. Barring Tanveer Jabbar, who made 51 off 112 balls, none of the other batsmen could make a significant score. The last seven wickets fell for 37 runs as Menon did an admirable job in cleaning up the tail and returning figures of 5-48.Goa did manage to get in two blows before the close of play, with Narayan Kambli dismissing both openers with the score on 5. At stumps, VB Kamaruddin and C Prashanth Menon were unbeaten on 0 and 1 respectively.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Nazimuddin was declared the Man of the Match for his 43 © TigerCricket.com

Fine batting performances by debutant Nazimuddin and Mohammad Ashraful followed an efficient display in the field as Bangladesh wrapped up a five-wicket win against Kenya in the second game of the Twenty20 Quadrangular tournament in Nairobi.Ashraful’s decision to put Kenya in to bat was justified as Kenya were restricted to 138 for 7, with Mashrafe Mortaza, Farhad Reza and Abdur Razzak picking two wickets apiece. Bangladesh, led by Nazimuddin’s 43 and Ashraful’s 20-ball 36, chased down the target with more than two overs to spare.The target wasn’t a daunting one, but Bangladesh lost Tamim Iqbal with only 22 on the board. Aftab Ahmed, coming in at No. 3, lasted only six balls but blasted two fours and a six, all off Lameck Onyango, who leaked 18 runs in his first over. Rajesh Bhudia came on in the sixth over, and was hit for two sixes – one over the sightscreen and the other over midwicket – by Nazimuddin.Onyango got his revenge when Aftab was caught at long-off for 17, but Ashraful joined Nazimuddin in another useful partnership which yielded 26 off 25 balls. Nazimuddin’s dismissal for 43 didn’t help Kenya much either as Ashraful continued the run-scoring. When he was dismissed by Ongondo in the 14th over for 36, Bangladesh needed only another 24 runs from 40 deliveries. A sedate unbeaten 19-ball 17 from Alok Kapali saw Bangladesh through to victory with 14 balls to spare.Kenya struggled to make an impression in the field, and their batting performance earlier in the day wasn’t much better. They got off to a good start when David Obuya hit three fours in the first over off Mortaza, but the bowler struck back in his next two overs, dismissing the debutant Jadavji Jesani for 1, followed by Obuya for 23, which came off 19 balls.Tanmay Mishra and Steve Tikolo, the Kenyan captain, then put on a 42-run stand for the third wicket, before Tikolo was caught at deep midwicket while trying to clear the boundary off Ashraful.Kenya were 85 for 3 off 14 overs, before Mishra picked up the momentum with a four and six in the 15th over, bowled by Reza. That over cost 13, while the next – bowled by Ashraful – went for 14, with Thomas Odoyo hitting a four and six.They were pegged back, though, by a double-strike in Reza’s final over – the 17th of the innings – as both Odoyo and Mishra lost their off stump attempting a slog. Two wickets also fell in the next over from Razzak – both stumpings – but 17 runs off the last two overs ensured Kenya reached a reasonably competitive total, though it wasn’t good enough to challenge Bangladesh.Kenya face Uganda while Bangladesh meet Pakistan on Sunday.

ScorecardRoss Whiteley, seen here against New Zealand, battled hard to set a testing target•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire edged towards their third win in four LV= County Championship games when set to make 232 after a battling third-day performance by Worcestershire at New Road.The relegation-threatened home side fought hard to post a second innings total of 292 and an upset was on the agenda when Charlie Morris and Joe Leach put Nottinghamshire in trouble at 37 for three.Nerves were only settled as James Taylor and Riki Wessels made up for their first innings disappointments by putting on an unbroken 120 and trimming the target to 75.Nottinghamshire will begin the last day at 157 for 3 with Taylor unbeaten on 49 from 82 balls and Wessels well set with 70 not out, having completed a half-century with seven fours from 122 deliveries.Even a sizeable partnership by two of their best players did not guarantee Nottinghamshire a comfortable ride. Jack Shantry made sure of that in a testing spell of 8-7-2-0, the only scoring shot a two by Wessels from the first ball of the left-arm seamer’s fourth over.However, Worcestershire were unable to stem the flow at the other end once Nottinghamshire had repaired the damage done at the start of their innings.Brendan Taylor was leg-before to Morris’s fifth ball and in his fourth over the new-ball bowler had Alex Hales snapped up at second slip.When Leach took his 50th championship wicket of the season, Steven Mullaney’s leading edge flying off to point after making 24, it seemed there could be another twist on top of Worcestershire’s recovery with the bat.Only 54 ahead with four wickets down at start of play, they prolonged their resistance for half of the day.Impressive teenager Joe Clarke made his fourth half-century in eight championship appearances and Ross Whiteley followed up a hundred in the last match against Yorkshire with another accomplished batting display.The former Derbyshire left hander reached 78 and extracted full value by putting on 68 with Clarke until his partner was bowled by Jake Ball for 61 and then 73 in 21 overs with wicketkeeper Ben Cox).For a while Nottinghamshire were struggling for an answer but a switch to spin paid off when Cox pushed forward to Imran Tahir and tickled a catch to slip, but as soon as Worcestershire met with a setback, they were up and running again.Leach came in to make a punishing 40 and even with Whiteley bowled by Samit Patel, after hitting 10 fours and a six, the innings still had some momentum as the last three wickets yielded 59 runs.Shantry was quickly caught at short mid-wicket off Tahir but Saeed Ajmal cheerfully made 19 before Ball (four for 67) took the last two wickets.

Sachin Tendulkar has picked legspinner Imran Tahir as one of the bowlers to watch during South Africa’s upcoming tour of India. Speaking at an event in Mumbai, Tendulkar said India’s batsmen would have to handle him well, and he was “looking forward” to the contest between two balanced teams.”AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla are strong players, and don’t forget Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel,” Tendulkar said. “Then when you talk about the googly, Imran Tahir is one of the good bowlers. We have to play against him properly. Possibly he can be one of the leading bowlers.”Tendulkar said he knew the Indian players would be fully committed to giving their best and that, coupled with South Africa’s consistent fine performances, made the Test series an exciting prospect.”I think the Indian team is fantastic. They are extremely talented and committed. A lot of things are said about the players but I know them very closely, and when it comes to cricket there are no shortcuts. The guys are committed.”It will be an exciting series. The Test series is something I am looking forward to. Great team balance, both sides of the fence. The visiting South African team is a quality side, I never played against a South Africa side which I can say is just an okay side. They are always a strong side and it is no different right now.”The tour’s international games begin on October 2, in Dharamsala, with the first of three Twenty20s. Five ODIs follow, before four Tests in Mohali, Bangalore, Nagpur and Dehli, ending on December 7.

ScorecardChris Rushworth has beaten Ottis Gibson’s Durham wickets record•Getty Images

Neil Dexter’s 13th first-class century helped Middlesex take command of their match against Durham at Chester-le-Street, although their victory march was delayed by Scott Borthwick.Needing 308 to win, Durham go into the final day on 134 for 5 with Borthwick unbeaten on 68. They are 16 points behind their second-placed visitors and, although unlikely, victory could take them ahead with Middlesex running the risk of a points deduction. Their over-rate was reading minus four when they finally turned to Ollie Rayner four overs from the close.Batting was easier under clear skies than on the first day and a half, but Middlesex persevered with seam as their trio of Tim Murtagh, Toby Roland-Jones and James Harris proved the more effective unit.Chris Rushworth recorded his seventh five-wicket haul of the season, so beating the county record of 80 first class wickets in a season by Ottis Gibson, reinstalled recently as England’s bowling coach, a record which he had equalled the previous day, but he had limited support as Middlesex totalled 280 in their second innings.Graham Onions added two wickets to his seven in the first innings, but John Hastings was clearly struggling after playing in every match this season and debut boy James Weighell remained wicketless.Durham had to turn to the spinners after the only wicket in the first 90 minutes came from a ball well wide of leg stump, which Dawid Malan was adjudged to have nicked to the wicketkeeper.Ryan Pringle conceded 19 in his first three overs, Dexter driving him over long-on for six to celebrate his century, in which his fluent driving saw his second 50 come off 55 balls.But when the off-spinner went round the wicket Dexter nibbled at one outside off stump and edged behind to depart for 112.Borthwick came on for the next over and struck with his first ball, a full toss which had John Simpson lbw when he missed an attempted sweep. Rayner failed to heed the lesson as he went the same way in the leg-spinner’s next over.Three wickets had gone down for one run and only nine more were added before Roland-Jones lofted Onions gently to mid-off.Reserve wicketkeeper Stuart Poynter, briefly substituting for Mark Stoneman, dropped it and a further 51 were added before Rushworth took the last two wickets with the new ball. It was the second costly miss of the innings as Malan was dropped first ball and made 63.Durham’s rookie opener Graham Clark bagged a pair when he edged the second ball he faced from Roland-Jones and the rest were all lbw.Only Paul Collingwood, who made 20, looked likely to give prolonged support to Borthwick, who rarely looked troubled in reaching his eighth championship 50 of the season off 95 balls.

Match abandoned
ScorecardRain had the final say in Colombo, as the second youth ODI between Sri Lanka and Pakistan was abandoned after a number of interruptions.After rain reduced the match to a 36-over contest, Pakistan, opting to bat, failed to play out the full innings. Imran Rafiq, the captain and opener, top-scored with 50 in the team’s total of 175 in 34.3 overs. As many as six batsmen got off to starts, but the team’s next highest contribution after Rafiq came from the 23 extras conceded by Sri Lanka. Left-arm seamer Lahiru Kumara and offspinner Charith Asalanka picked up three wickets apiece. Sri Lanka lost their openers inside four overs of the chase and were 25 for 2 in six overs when play was called off.Sri Lanka currently lead the series 1-0. The third ODI is scheduled to be held on Wednesday at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

New Zealand’s bowling coach Dimitri Mascarenhas has declared the visitors put in an even worse performance than they had managed in Brisbane, estimating that the WACA display had been “85% poor” as David Warner and Usman Khawaja ran roughshod over Brendon McCullum’s team.”Doesn’t get much tougher than that does it,” Mascarenhas said. “For 85% of the time we were pretty poor. There are some positive signs, Doug Bracewell bowled well when he hit an area and tried to create some pressure, but the wicket’s pretty good at the moment, good toss to win, and Warner was pretty spectacular.”There were two factors today, Warner was exceptional and I don’t think we bowled as well today as we did at the Gabba. From our point of view we just need to better execute the plans we’ve talked about. If you look at it, we got hit both sides of the wicket for a lot of the game, and when we did actually string some dots together we created some chances. So it’s a matter of taking that, doing that a bit more often.”The generally poor performance of New Zealand’s bowling attack has been a surprise to many. Trent Boult and Mark Craig have gone for more than five runs an over, while Doug Bracewell and the ginger Tim Southee – in doubt ahead of this game due to a back complaint – have been scarcely less expensive. Matt Henry provided a brief injection of pace and energy into the attack, but his one wicket was scant reward.”I can’t put my finger on it at the moment, the boys have had enough bowling, not as if they haven’t bowled enough,” Mascarenhas said, denying the visitors were still underdone. “They’re just not executing at the standard we’d like at the moment for Test cricket, on some very good batting wickets against some very good players. You’ve got to be on the money from ball one against these players.”You look at Warner, his first two balls went four, four, so if you stray a little bit you’re going to get hurt, and we are getting hurt when we do miss. Especially Warner, he sees the ball and hits the ball, and when Trent’s missed a couple of times early, he has paid the price for it.”New Zealand were not helped by a WACA surface that lacked pace and bounce relative to earlier incarnations of the wicket, and it was notable when early edges from Joe Burns and Warner filed to carry to the slips cordon.However Mascarenhas said that in contrast to the words of the curator Matthew Page, the tourists had expected a flat and unforgiving strip based on recent results at the ground. This is to say that in reference to both the WACA and Warner, New Zealand knew what was coming but could do nothing about it.