The Athletic FC ⚽ is The Athletic’s daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox.
Hello! Stay humble today or karma might catch up with you.
On the way:
🧌 Arsenal troll Haaland
⏰ Rashford beats deal deadline
🪄 Yamal’s Maradona wizardry
🔢 12 players on the pitch?!
Salty beef: Haaland’s humbling loss: How Arsenal-City rivalry gained an edge
Let’s start with a flashback to late September and that frantic 2-2 draw between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad. We’ll call it the ‘Stay Humble’ showdown.
John Stones, you’ll recall, equalised in the 98th minute, at which point Erling Haaland took centre stage. In a flush of euphoria, he trolled Gabriel by smacking the ball off his head. He needled Mikel Arteta by telling the Arsenal boss to show more humility. Confronted by Miles Lewis-Skelly, Haaland asked him: “Who the f*** are you?”
Safe to say, Arsenal kept receipts. They smoked City 5-1 at the Emirates yesterday and evened the score ruthlessly. Gabriel laughed in Haaland’s face when the first goal went in (above). Lewis-Skelly scored Arsenal’s third and adopted the Norwegian’s ‘Zen’ celebration (below). Someone with their finger on the pulse chose Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Humble’ as the soundtrack at the final whistle; salt with extra salt.
The Premier League has seen some enduring beef over the years, and City-Arsenal has grown into an era-defining rivalry. For a long time, Arsenal were in the habit of coming off worse, but the sands have shifted.
Pressing concern
City falling 4-1 behind — via a counter-attack which sliced them up — led our correspondent, Sam Lee, to tweet: “If that’s not the last three months summed up in one goal, I don’t know what is.” He’s spot on.
Rather than being a Pep Guardiola side, City look like a team trying to imitate a Guardiola side — badly. It’s no newsflash because they’ve been like this for a while but their passing out from the back is horrific, and they’re pressing with the enthusiasm of teenagers getting out of bed. Taking Rodri out of the equation has been the equivalent of cutting Samson’s hair.
Arsenal’s satisfaction must be brimming over but irrespective of the scoreline, a win was essential after Liverpool skilfully halted the Bournemouth Express. Kai Havertz scored, assisted and missed a sitter. The debate about Arteta’s need for a new No 9 rages on, but there’s no sign of one arriving before today’s transfer deadline — and as James McNicholas asks, would Arteta be inclined to drop Havertz anyway? Common sense says no.
Transfer talk
One forward who has found new pastures ahead of this evening’s 11pm UK deadline (6pm ET) is Marcus Rashford. It’s said time and again that transfers act like dominos, and Jhon Duran’s exit from Aston Villa for Saudi Arabia in turn gave Rashford a route out of Manchester United.
The 27-year-old has joined Villa on loan, with a £40m ($49m) option to sign permanently in the summer. It’s one of those deals that works for all sides, and I don’t see Rashford playing for United again (not that anyone should predict the future there after yet another soft home defeat).
More broadly, Rashford is a perfect example of the market’s unpredictability. At the start of January, he was firmly linked to Borussia Dortmund. Subsequently, his agents spoke to Milan. In the end, it’s been a short hop down the road to Villa, reminding us that if you’re a gun for hire, you have to be on your toes, ready for anything.
Adam Leventhal has written today about the anatomy of a transfer, speaking to those who’ve seen the inner workings of them. From the CEO who says windows rarely go to plan to those who conduct last-minute medicals, you’ll appreciate the stress involved. We’re not expecting anything huge tonight (nothing like the stunning NBA trade involving the LA Lakers and Luka Doncic in the States) — but there will be action. Of that you can be sure.
🎙️ The Athletic FC Podcast has also gone inside the machinations of finalising a transfer. Listen on Apple and Spotify.
📲 Our LIVE transfer blog is here, and look out for a live streamed Deadline Day show at midday ET/5pm UK with transfer expert David Ornstein.
Deadline day news
- Guardiola might get that new midfielder he craves, in the nick of time. City are working on a deal for Porto’s Nico Gonzalez.
- Nothing much is working out for United. Kobbie Mainoo as a false nine failed in a 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace yesterday, Lisandro Martinez suffered a bad injury and their bid to take Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich isn’t looking good. At least their approach for left-back Patrick Dorgu crossed the line.
- West Ham United’s interest in USMNT forward Ricardo Pepi was short-lived. He’s called a halt to the pursuit by signing a new contract with PSV, to 2030. Good shout, in my opinion.
- The Hammers, however, have secured Evan Ferguson from Brighton, so vacancy filled.
- This is textbook window drama: Kevin Danso on the verge of joining Wolverhampton Wanderers from Lens, only to leave Wolves in the lurch by about-turning and signing for Tottenham Hotspur instead. Spurs, though, have fallen short with an offer for Palace’s Marc Guehi.
- A few more transfer lines: Marco Asensio is leaving Paris Saint-Germain for Villa. Milan have allowed Alvaro Morata to depart to Galatasaray. Ben Chilwell has escaped Chelsea by hopping south to Palace. And Everton are lining up the talented Carlos Alcaraz (no, not that one) from Flamengo.
14 seconds of genius
Put aside a portion of your coffee break to watch 14 seconds of Lamine Yamal owning Alaves’ entire midfield (TAFC has given you a flavour of it, above). Just when we thought we’d run out of things to say about him, he inspires a cool 1,200 words from Pol Ballus.
This must have been what it was like for players attempting to nick possession from Diego Maradona, and while Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick tried not to draw comparisons, we’re looking at the heir to the peak Messi-Ronaldo years. A curse on Raphinha’s house for failing to finish Yamal’s dribble off.
Around The Athletic FC
- Luis Rubiales, the ex-president of the Spanish Football Federation, goes on trial today accused of sexual assault and coercion relating to him infamously kissing Spain international Jenni Hermoso. We’ve got a backgrounder here. He denies wrongdoing.
- The Athletic’s Rob Tanner spent time at the inquest into the helicopter crash which killed former Leicester City chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others in 2018. His sensitive coverage is worth a read.
- Milan were this close to turning over Inter in the city derby last night, only to concede in the 93rd minute. That’s their season in a nutshell.
- What next for Steven Gerrard’s managerial career after a soulless stint in Saudi Arabia?
- Most clicked in Friday’s TAFC: the latest on City’s Premier League charges.
- Catch a match (selected games, times ET/UK): Premier League — Chelsea vs West Ham, 3pm/8pm — USA Network, Fubo/Sky Sports; Serie A: Cagliari vs Lazio, 2.45pm/7.45pm — Paramount+/OneFootball.
Quiz answer
From Friday’s conundrum, the correct Champions League order was: B) two clubs from the same country contesting the final; C) Barca last failing to qualify; E) Cristiano Ronaldo’s first goal; A) Gianluigi Buffon making his final appearance; and D) a player scoring the Champions League’s first hat-trick of penalties.
And finally…
Fun and games in the Dutch Eredivisie on Saturday, where Fortuna Sittard somehow ended up with 12 players on the pitch in the closing minutes of their 2-2 draw with Heerenveen. You can see them above, with goalkeeper Luuk Koopmans out of shot.
The oversight (caused by a double substitution) was spotted eventually — a few seconds before Fortuna Sittard equalised and earned a point. Heerenveen boss Robin van Persie was seething. I’m guessing we’ve not heard the last of it.
(Photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
