Scarlets add ex-Wales lock Davies to coaching team
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The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
Mikel Arteta: Martin Odegaard deserves to be Arsenal captain ‘by a mile'
Mikel Arteta insists there is 'no question' Martin Odegaard still deserves to captain Arsenal after former skipper Tony Adams called for the Norwegian to be stripped of the armband. Adams, speaking at an Irish Independent Sport event in Dublin, demanded the Gunners boss make the change ahead of the new campaign, arguing 'proper player' Declan Rice was the man for the job. Arteta vehemently disagreed with that assessment, confirming Odegaard has the backing of everyone at the club. 'My opinion is clear,' said Arteta, 'and it's not just my opinion. It's all the staff and especially the players. 'I asked them to vote (for) the captain and I got the results yesterday. By a mile, by a big, big, by 100 miles, everybody chose the same person, Martin Odegaard, which is the most clear sign that you can have. 'It's how they feel about who has to be their captain, to defend, to improve, and win the matches that we want to win, so I think there is no question about that.' Adams, quoted in the Irish Independent, said: 'Every now and again as a manager, you have to put someone who reflects you, who reflects the football club, that you think can actually take you to the next level. 'You've got someone in there who's going to play every game all season, that's going to encourage people to come in and lay the foundations of a title-winning team. 'Declan Rice can do that, Odegaard can't. Come on Arteta, make him captain. I think he is better than Arteta. I think he's a winner. As a man, he is a proper player.' Arteta said he could talk about leadership 'for hours', but asked to summarise Odegaard's qualifications, replied: 'What matters the most is how these guys feel about who needs to lead them, how they feel comfortable, who is going to push them, who is going to give them support when it's happening.' Arsenal kick off their Premier League campaign with a trip to Manchester United, then host newly promoted Leeds before a difficult stretch that will see them play Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle. That run, agreed Arteta, could be the ideal litmus test for their capacity for winning the title this season. He said: 'Yes, especially (with) the consistency that we showed in the last three years, and now the margins, we know how small they are. We know that the competition has increased the level with recruitment, with another year together.' Arteta confirmed summer signings Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi will be fit to play on Sunday, and is optimistic Leandro Trossard will also be available. And while Arteta joked 'too many' Premier League teams have a legitimate shot at lifting the trophy, some he even suspects will 'surprise everybody', he remains more determined than ever to claim the silverware that has so far eluded him. He added: 'You keep digging, digging, digging, and you have to be digging because one day the gold is going to be there. 'You have the consistency, but now we have to do it in a season, to end with more points than any other team. That's the objective.'
BBC News
20 minutes ago
- BBC News
Guardiola on player exit rumours, Rodri and Grealish
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Saturday's opening Premier League game against Wolves at Molineux (kick-off 17:30 BST).Here are the key lines from his news conference:Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic are not available for the opening game but Rodri and Phil Foden will travel with the confirmed Savinho is injured and will miss "a few weeks" while goalkeeper Ederson is "apparently" injured Savinho's future at the club: "I don't know. The only thing I'm concerned about today is that Savinho will be with us all season, and hopefully for many, many years."He said Ederson has not gone to him saying he wants to leave this on Savinho and Ederson: "If they want to leave then they will knock my door. All the players that are here are our players and I will work with them. Nobody knows what is going to happen over the next two weeks."He said they "are ready to bounce back" and that judging by pre-season "the signs are that are we will be better" than last midfielder James McAtee, who is close to joining Nottingham Forest: "I would love to have Macca with me but we have too many players and he wanted more minutes. I understand completely."Rodri is very close to returning as "his knee is perfect" but they "don't want him to come back and then step back because it's not dynamic when you can't get rhythm."On a potential timeframe for the Ballon d'Or winner's full return: "He's made good training sessions. He will travel [to Wolves] and we will decide whether he gets a few minutes. Hopefully, he can over the next three games and then after the international break, he can help us."Guardiola also wished Jack Grealish "all the best at the traditional club that is Everton", adding: "Hopefully he can play, play and play. This is the reason that we decided [the loan move] was best for him."Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football newsListen to live commentary of Wolves v Man City on BBC Radio 5 Live from 17:30 BST on Saturday
BBC News
20 minutes ago
- BBC News
Diogo Jota mural near Molineux revealed
A mural to remember footballer Diogo Jota is being completed near Wolves' former Wolves and Liverpool player died in a car crash in northern Spain on 3 July alongside his brother, Andre Silva, and huge portraits of Jota have been painted on a wall facing The Leaping Wolf pub on Waterloo Road. Graffiti artist Joe Miles has said on the venue's Facebook page that he had been at the site since Monday and the mural would be completed on Friday.A BBQ event will be held to mark its completion from 17:00 BST. A fundraiser has helped pay for the artwork near Miles said: "Hopefully... the Liverpool fans, they can all come and enjoy it, 'cos it is so close to the ground."Not even [just] football fans, just people that are sort of interested in art as well, they can come and have a look."It's pretty accessible and you can see it from the road as well, so it's not hard to find." A moment of silence in memory of Jota, who died aged 28, and his brother will be held at all Premier League matches this will also wear black armbands, while messages and images will be shown on the big screens in joined Wolves on loan in the 2017-18 season before making a permanent switch in then left the club to join Liverpool in 2020. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
