The San Francisco 49ers' selection woes show no signs of easing with defensive tackle Javon Hargrave suffering a potentially season-ending injury and Christian McCaffrey needing specialist treatment on an Achilles issue.

The 49ers have made a 1-2 start to the 2024 season after winning the NFC championship for the eighth time last campaign, with injuries hampering them early on.

McCaffrey, the NFL's reigning Offensive Player of the Year, was placed on injured reserve last week after missing the entirety of preseason with what was later diagnosed as Achilles tendonitis.

Wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle also missed Sunday's 27-24 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, during which Hargrave partially tore his right triceps.

That injury will require surgery and will likely bring his 2024 season to a premature end.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said: "It's a big loss. I thought he had his best game. I thought he was a huge factor, really affected the quarterback in that game. 

"He's one of our better players. He was definitely going in the right direction and was going to have a big year."

McCaffrey, meanwhile, has flown to Germany to see a specialist regarding his Achilles issue.

He must miss four games after being placed on IR. Having missed two thus far, he cannot return until after the 49ers' October 6 meeting with the Arizona Cardinals at the earliest. 

Shanahan also revealed quarterback Brock Purdy had complained of back soreness after the Rams game and would be evaluated daily, though an MRI scan came back all-clear.

Mikel Arteta joked he has told Arsenal's players to "play without the ball" after seeing Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard sent off for delaying restarts in recent weeks.

Arsenal were moments away from a famous win over Premier League title rivals Manchester City on Sunday despite playing over half the game with 10 men, after Trossard received a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.

However, John Stones' 98th-minute equaliser broke their resistance as they drew for the second time this term, having also drawn 1-1 with Brighton when Declan Rice saw red over a similar incident.

Arsenal's use of the "dark arts" has come in for criticism in the last few days, but Arteta has not warned his players against employing similar tactics in the future.

Asked if he had taken steps to avoid seeing another player dismissed for kicking the ball away, he said: "For passing the ball, you mean? 

"Just leave the ball. Don't touch the ball. We will play without the ball."

Asked if he had any new thoughts on Trossard's sending off, he said: "I reflected post-match, it's the same reflection today. It's the same answer. I was very clear about it."

Arsenal spent a total of nine minutes and four seconds on their goal-kicks in Sunday's match – the most by any team in a Premier League game this season. 

Meanwhile, the average delay at Arsenal restarts (goal-kicks, throw-ins and free-kicks) was 42.7 seconds, with only Aston Villa versus Wolves (47.3) taking longer this term. The Gunners' average delay time of 41.1 seconds against Brighton is third on that list.

Arteta, though, insists his team had no choice but to play that way when a man down, rejecting assertions that Arsenal push the limits more than any other side.

"I always prefer facts rather than words, so let's see who's available tomorrow and then we can talk about dark arts or these things," he said.

"We had to play the game that we had to play. In the first 10 or 15 minutes, we couldn't, then we got much better. 

"We were thrown into a very different context. Every team does it. They played 30 seconds with 10 men, you look at what they did. We had to do it in a different way.

"We learned from the past as well because unfortunately we've been in that situation with them three times very recently. I would be very thick if we didn't learn from it."

Arsenal host Bolton Wanderers in the third round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday, before taking on Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday.

Red Bull would be "foolish" not to consider an approach for George Russell when his Mercedes contract expires next year, says team principal Christian Horner.

While three-time world champion Max Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until 2028, the poor form of team-mate Sergio Perez has cast doubt on their lineup.

Perez started 2024 with four podium finishes in his first five races, but he has since endured a run of 13 outings without a top-three finish to slip to eighth in the drivers' championship.

Russell is set to become Mercedes' lead driver for 2025 when Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari, but with the Silver Arrows' team principal Toto Wolff repeatedly talking up the possibility of moving for Verstappen, his long-term future is in doubt.

With Russell's contract expiring after next season, Horner says Red Bull could swoop for him to fill a "gap" between their current drivers and those coming through their academy.

"We've got a gap now but we just want to take time to consider what those options look like for the future," Horner told Sky Sports F1.

"And we're not afraid to go out of the pool. You know, George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year. It would be foolish not to take that into consideration.

"There are other talented drivers that could well be out of contract as well."

Russell claimed his second F1 race win in Austria earlier this year and currently sits seventh in the drivers' standings, 11 points ahead of Perez.

Horner's comments on Russell were put to Mercedes boss Wolff, who accused his counterpart of "stirring".

"He is always stirring s*** up on his part," Wolff said. "It's part of the game.

"George is a Mercedes driver, has been forever and hopefully will be forever. He has a long contract with the team."

The Silver Arrows endured a frustrating outing at last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, Hamilton finishing fourth and Russell sixth after early difficulties with the team's split strategy. 

Josh Allen had a historic performance as the Buffalo Bills crushed the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday, but he said stats were not important to a team where "everybody eats".

The Bills rolled to a 3-0 start by routing the winless Jaguars 47-10 in New York, with Allen maintaining his best start to an NFL season with a brilliant display.

Allen became the first quarterback in NFL history to complete 75% of his passes (23-of-30), throw four touchdown passes, have no turnovers or sacks and lead his team in rushing yards (44) in the same game.

It is the first time he has not thrown a pick through three games of a season, while he also has the highest total QBR (92.6), completion rate (75%) and yards per dropback (8.2) through three games in his NFL career.

However, Allen says he and his team-mates are not focused on individual stats, with the collective being the most important thing.

"I think it's paying dividends from what we've worked on throughout the entire offseason and through training camp, the 'everybody eats' mentality," Allen said. 

"It could be your play this play, you never know when it's going to happen, and that's the beauty of it, when guys get to buy into this.

"It's a fun and wonderful thing when you've got a bunch of guys that don't care about the stats, they don't care about the touchdowns.

"I think throughout practice we just had this mindset of, 'let's just do things the right way and find ways to win football games'. That's what we're doing right now."

The Jaguars, meanwhile, are 0-3 for the season and have lost eight of their last nine games in a run dating back to last year, having made a flying 8-3 start to the 2023 campaign.

Their offense has toiled since the first half of their 20-17 defeat to the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, scoring just 23 points and converting five of 27 third-down attempts in their last 10 quarters.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence – who signed a huge $275million contract extension during the offseason – has completed just 47.5% of his passes in that time, being sacked 10 times.

The Bills defense got to him four times on Monday as he suffered his eighth straight loss as a starter, leading coach Doug Pederson to give a non-committal answer when asked whether Lawrence's place in the lineup could be at risk.

"You say everything is on the table, we've got to take a look at injuries," Pederson said. 

"Tonight, we had some guys injured. Things could be moved that way, it could be performance. They're all things we have to evaluate as we move forward.

"This is who we are right now and it's not very good. We have to be honest with ourselves and I've got to be honest with myself and just keep plugging away."

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said making the NFL Playoffs was the "furthest thing" from his mind after the Washington Commanders dropped them to 0-3 on Monday.

Despite Burrow returning to fitness after a wrist injury ended his 2023 season prematurely, the Bengals have endured a dismal start to 2024.

Defeats to the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs were followed by Monday's 38-33 loss to Washington, as visiting rookie quarterback Jaylen Daniels took centre-stage.

Daniels completed 21 of 23 attempts for 254 yards and threw the first two touchdown passes of his NFL career as Washington improved to 2-1.

Burrow, meanwhile, finished with 324 yards on 29-of-38 passing and threw two touchdowns to Ja'Marr Chase, but a porous Cincinnati defense was unable to keep Washington quiet.

This is Cincinnati's worst start to a campaign since before Burrows' arrival in 2019, leading him to push thoughts of a playoff charge to the back of his mind.

"We're by no means out of it, but playoffs and winning the division is the furthest thing from my mind," Burrow said.

"That'll be some critical thinking that I'll have to do. See what kind of leader I want to be going forward, what I feel like the team needs from me going forward."

Daniels, meanwhile, was hailed by his Washington team-mates after setting a new NFL single-game record for pass completion by a rookie quarterback (91.3%).

Defensive tackle Jon Allen said of Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick of this year's draft: "He is the answer."

Washington scored on 14 consecutive drives, excluding taking a knee at the end of each half, and receiver Terry McLaurin – the recipient of Daniels' second touchdown pass while he was being hit by a rushing defender – praised his maturity.

"I think he grew up tonight," McLaurin said. "I'm so excited for him because now as a rookie, once you see those throws, you get more confidence. 

"His confidence is just going through the roof right now. When we needed it most, Jayden did a great job of taking a hit. Those are big-time throws for a rookie to make."

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said making the NFL Playoffs was the "furthest thing" from his mind after the Washington Commanders dropped them to 0-3 on Monday.

Despite Burrow returning to fitness after a wrist injury ended his 2023 season prematurely, the Bengals have endured a dismal start to 2024.

Defeats to the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs were followed by Monday's 38-33 loss to Washington, as visiting rookie quarterback Jaylen Daniels took centre-stage.

Daniels completed 21 of 23 attempts for 254 yards and threw the first two touchdown passes of his NFL career as Washington improved to 2-1.

Burrow, meanwhile, finished with 324 yards on 29-of-38 passing and threw two touchdowns to Ja'Marr Chase, but a porous Cincinnati defense was unable to keep Washington quiet.

This is Cincinnati's worst start to a campaign since before Burrows' arrival in 2019, leading him to push thoughts of a playoff charge to the back of his mind.

"We're by no means out of it, but playoffs and winning the division is the furthest thing from my mind," Burrow said.

"That'll be some critical thinking that I'll have to do. See what kind of leader I want to be going forward, what I feel like the team needs from me going forward."

Daniels, meanwhile, was hailed by his Washington team-mates after setting a new NFL single-game record for pass completion by a rookie quarterback (91.3%).

Defensive tackle Jon Allen said of Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick of this year's draft: "He is the answer."

Washington scored on 14 consecutive drives, excluding taking a knee at the end of each half, and receiver Terry McLaurin – the recipient of Daniels' second touchdown pass while he was being hit by a rushing defender – praised his maturity.

"I think he grew up tonight," McLaurin said. "I'm so excited for him because now as a rookie, once you see those throws, you get more confidence. 

"His confidence is just going through the roof right now. When we needed it most, Jayden did a great job of taking a hit. Those are big-time throws for a rookie to make."

Home runs from J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber backed six solid innings from Aaron Nola as the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their first National League East title since 2011 with Monday's 6-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.

The Phillies also received a run-scoring single from Nick Castellanos to enhance their chances of earning one of the NL's top two seeds and a first-round bye for the upcoming playoffs. Philadelphia (93-64) now trails the Los Angeles Dodgers by a half-game for the majors' best record with less than a week remaining in the regular season.

Nola (13-8) scattered seven hits and struck out seven while allowing just two runs. The steady veteran pitcher held the Cubs scoreless through the first six innings of play as the Phillies gradually built a 6-0 lead.

Realmuto opened the scoring with his 14th homer of the season, a two-run shot off Caleb Kilian in the second inning. Schwarber made it 3-0 an inning later with a lead-off homer that gave him 100 runs batted in for a second straight season.

The Phillies added another run off Kilian in the third when Trea Turner followed Schwarber's blast with a double and later scored on Castellanos' single.

Bryce Harper led off the bottom of the fifth with a double and eventually crossed the plate on an error by Chicago second baseman Nico Hoerner to increase the margin to 5-0. The Phillies scored again in the sixth when Brandon Marsh drew a walk, advanced to third on Johan Rojas' single and came home on a double-play grounder off the bat of Schwarber.

Nola was removed after surrendering back-to-back doubles by Isaac Paredes and Hoerner that got the Cubs on the board. Hoerner later scored on a groundout for the game's final run.

Kilian (0-1) allowed all six Philadelphia runs - five earned - and eight hits across 5 2/3 innings. 

Mariners put Astros' AL West title plans on hold

The Seattle Mariners got seven scoreless innings from Bryce Miller and two runs batted in from Julio Rodriguez to prevent the Houston Astros from clinching the American League West with Monday's 6-1 win.

Rodriguez went 3 for 5 to lead a 13-hit attack that closed Seattle within 1 1/2 games of the co-holders of the AL's final two wild-card spots, the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers.

The Mariners still have a faint chance of winning the AL West, though Houston needs to win just one of this series' two remaining games to claim its fourth straight division title.

Miller (12-8) continued a strong finish to his season by yielding just two hits and a pair of walks. The right-hander is now 2-0 with a 0.72 ERA over his last four starts.

Hunter Brown (11-9) allowed just one run while striking out eight over six innings for Houston, but issued two walks in the third inning that led to Seattle taking a 1-0 lead on Cal Raleigh's single that plated Victor Robles.

The Mariners added on in the seventh after loading the bases on singles by Justin Turner and J.P. Crawford and a walk to Dylan Moore. Two batters later, Rodriguez singled to center to drive in Turner for a 2-0 advantage.

Seattle loaded the bases again in the eighth on three consecutive singles before Turner brought in Raleigh with a sacrifice fly. Jorge Polanco followed with a run-scoring double to stretch the margin to 4-0.

Jason Heyward finally got Houston on the board with a solo home run in the eighth, but the Mariners scored twice more in the ninth to put the game out of reach. 

Back-to-back doubles by Robles and Rodriguez increased the lead to 5-1 before Rodriguez scored on Randy Arozarena's double.

Giants drop Diamondbacks back in NL wild card standings

The San Francisco Giants hit three home runs, including an inside-the-park shot from Matt Chapman, to come through with a 6-3 win over Arizona that knocked the Diamondbacks out of a tie for the NL's second wild card.

Casey Schmitt and Michael Conforto also homered to help the Giants to a fourth straight win. Chapman finished 2 for 3 and drove in three runs, while San Francisco starter Hayden Birdsong (5-5) struck out six while holding the Diamondbacks to two runs in five innings.

Arizona fell a half-game behind the New York Mets in the standings and now holds a 1 1/2-game lead on the Atlanta Braves for the final NL wild card. The Braves and Mets begin a pivotal three-game series in Atlanta on Tuesday.

The Diamondbacks had an early 1-0 lead after consecutive doubles by Geraldo Perdomo and Joc Pederson in the first inning, but the Giants went ahead with three runs in the third off Eduardo Rodriguez.

After Heliot Ramos singled and scored on Jerar Encarnacion's double, Chapman drove a pitch off the center field wall and sprinted around the bases for the first inside-the-park homer by a Giants' player since Denard Span in 2017.

Christian Walker drove in Corbin Carroll with a double in the bottom of the third to pull Arizona within 3-2, but Schmitt's solo homer in the fourth restored the Giants' two-run advantage.

Conforto went deep an inning later to increase the lead to 5-2, then doubled in the seventh before crossing the plate on a Chapman triple.

Arizona got a run back in its half of the seventh when Jose Herrera doubled and scored on Perdomo's single. The Diamondbacks failed to score thereafter, though, with Ryan Walker throwing a perfect ninth for San Francisco to record his 10th save.

Rodriguez (3-4) struck out eight in 4 2/3 innings but was tagged for five runs on seven hits. 

Jayden Daniels delivered a nearly perfect Monday Night Football debut that carried the upstart Washington Commanders to a 38-33 victory over the scuffling Cincinnati Bengals.

The No. 2 overall pick of this year's draft completed 21 of 23 attempts for 254 yards and threw the first two touchdown passes of his young career, leading Washington (2-1) to a second straight win following a season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that began first-year head coach Dan Quinn's tenure. Daniels' completion percentage of 91.3 set an NFL single-game record for a rookie.

Washington scored on every one of its possessions, save for kneel-downs to end the first half and the game, to overcome Joe Burrow's three touchdown passes and drop Cincinnati to 0-3.

Daniels added a rushing touchdown while Terry McLaurin recorded 100 yards and a touchdown on four catches for the Commanders.

Jayden Daniels was dealing. pic.twitter.com/h89iQbd7KF

Burrow finished with 324 yards on 29-of-38 passing and threw two touchdowns to Ja'Marr Chase as the star wide receiver totalled 118 yards on six catches.

The Bengals piled up 436 total yards for the game, but their defence never had an answer for Daniels as Washington matched every score Cincinnati offered while leading from the second quarter on.

Cincinnati started strong as Chase got behind the Washington secondary to haul in a 41-yard touchdown pass from Burrow on the game's opening drive. 

The Commanders responded by going 70 yards on 10 plays to tie the game at 7-7 on Brian Robinson's 1-yard touchdown run, a play set up by Daniels' 30-yard completion to Luke McCaffrey on 4th-and-2.

After Cincinnati's Evan McPherson missed a 48-yard field goal on the next possession, Washington marched back into Bengals' territory before Austin Ekeler broke loose for a 24-yard touchdown run and a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.

The Bengals moved inside Washington's 10-yard line on their next series, but settled for McPherson's 28-yard field goal that the Commanders countered with another touchdown.

Daniels hit McLaurin on a deep pass for a 55-yard gain to the Bengals' 4-yard line, then ran untouched into the end zone on the following play for a 21-10 advantage with 2:04 left before half-time.

McPherson's 31-yard field goal brought Cincinnati within 21-13 at the half, but Ekeler took the second-half kick-off 62 yards deep into Bengals' territory to quickly get Washington in scoring range again.

Daniels finished that drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to reserve offensive lineman Trent Scott on a trick play to extend the lead to 28-13.

Burrow kept the Bengals in it by hitting Andrei Iosivas for a 2-yard touchdown on the subsequent possession, and the defence was able to hold Washington to a field goal on its next drive as the Commanders went up 31-20 with 11:30 to go.

Cincinnati again answered, as Burrow completed all four of his passes on a 70-yard drive that Chase finished with a 31-yard touchdown grab with 9:42 left. Burrow's pass for Tee Higgins on the 2-point attempt was broken up, however, to keep Washington's lead at 31-26.

Daniels converted a 4th-and-4 with a 9-yard pass to Zach Ertz on the following possession, however, and McLaurin came down with a diving 27-yard touchdown catch shortly afterward to again give Washington a two-score lead with 2:10 remaining.

Burrow led the Bengals down the field once again in the waning moments as Cincinnati closed within 38-33 on Zack Moss' 1-yard run with 40 seconds left. Washington then recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.

Bills move to 3-0 with 47-10 rout of spiralling Jaguars

Josh Allen threw four first-half touchdown passes to lead a dominant performance by the Buffalo Bills, who remained unbeaten with a 47-10 thrashing of the still-winless Jacksonville Jaguars.

Buffalo scored touchdowns on all five of its first-half drives to build a commanding 34-3 half-time lead en route to its first 3-0 start since 2020. Allen finished with 263 yards while completing 23 of 30 passes before being removed early in the fourth quarter with the outcome already decided.

The Jaguars dropped to 0-3 and were never competitive as their free-fall continued. Jacksonville has now lost eight of nine games dating back to last season following an 8-3 start to the 2023 campaign.

Trevor Lawrence's struggles were extended as well as the former No. 1 overall draft pick threw for just 178 yards and one touchdown on 21 of 38 passing. Jacksonville's expected franchise quarterback was also sacked four times and threw an interception to Damar Hamlin, the first pick of the inspirational safety's career.

Allen and the Bills set the tone from the get-go, as the star quarterback connected on 6 of 7 passes while orchestrating a 10-play, 70-yard opening drive capped by James Cook's 6-yard touchdown run less than 5 1/2 minutes in.

Tyler Bass' extra-point attempt was blocked, about the only thing that went wrong for Buffalo over the first two quarters.

Following a three-and-out from Jacksonville, the Bills marched 65 yards in 11 plays to take a 13-0 lead on Allen's 6-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Kincaid on 3rd-and-goal with 3:25 left in the first quarter.

The Jaguars answered with Cam Little's 41-yard field goal early in the second quarter, but Allen hit Keon Coleman for a 24-yard score on the following possession - the rookie's first career touchdown - to extend Buffalo's advantage to 20-3.

Hamlin then intercepted Lawrence's overthrown pass on the next drive to put the Bills back into Jacksonville territory. Five plays later, Khalil Shakir caught a short pass from Allen and broke a tackle before racing 27 yards for a touchdown that put the Jaguars in a further hole late in the first half.

The Bills got the ball back with 1:12 remaining before the half and needed just 53 seconds to find the end zone again, as Allen hit running back Ty Johnson for a 16-yard score for his fourth TD pass of the evening.

Jacksonville's offence did show some life to start the second half, as Lawrence went 4 for 5 for 53 yards on an 8-play drive that he finished with a 6-yard touchdown strike to Brenton Strange to cut the lead to 34-10.

The Jaguars faltered from there on, however. After two Bass field goals got the Bills to the 40-point mark, Jacksonville backup quarterback Mac Jones fumbled when sacked by Javon Solomon and Buffalo recovered at the Jaguars' 21-yard line with 6:21 left.

Four plays later, rookie Ray Davis scored his first NFL touchdown with a 3-yard run to finish off the rout.

Adil Rashid says he has no plans to retire "any time soon" after becoming the first English spinner to reach 200 ODI wickets. 

England are aiming to avoid a series defeat in their third ODI match against Australia after being consigned to a 68-run defeat at Headingley on Saturday to see the tourists take a 2-0 lead. 

Rashid along with Jofra Archer are the only survivors of England's 2019 World Cup-winning squad as England aim to rebuild their white-ball sides.

With captain Jos Buttler sitting out the ODI series against Australia through injury, 36-year-old Rashid is the oldest player in a fresh-faced squad by five years.

While newcomers Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox and John Turner are taking their first steps on the international stage, Rashid remains an integral part of England's future.

Tuesday's clash in Durham will be Rashid's 138th cap for England, but the spin bowler has no plans to follow fellow spinner Moeen Ali into retirement. 

"I have not thought about it [retirement] yet," Rashid told the BBC.

"Keep playing, enjoy it, stay fit, bowl well, contribute to wins, hopefully World Cups and Champions Trophies - that is my ultimate aim.

"I have not thought about retiring or calling it a day any time soon."

Having failed in the defence of both their white-ball world titles in the past year, England are rebuilding with a view to the Champions Trophy in February. 

Both Joe Root, who was rested before next month's Test tour of Pakistan, and injured captain Jos Buttler are expected to be in England's future plans. 

However, the Headingley defeat against Australia was England's 10th in their past 14 ODIs, but Rashid insisted that they have the talent coming through to improve. 

"There have been big changes, new batters, new bowlers," Rashid said. "It will take time. It will always take time when it is a rebuilding process.

"We have got every base covered in terms of bowling, batting, keeping.

"Everything is there for us. All we have to do now is play the game of cricket, enjoy it, string a few games together of winning and then off we go."

Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton endured a "frustrating" Singapore Grand Prix having failed to build on their impressive showing in qualifying.  

Hamilton started one place ahead of his team-mate in third, but the Silver Arrows' split strategy proved costly during the gruelling 62-lap race. 

The seven-time world champion gambled by starting on the soft tyres but was unable to get away with the runaway front two of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. 

Russell, however, elected to start on the favoured medium tyre, but Hamilton's decision arguably held up his Mercedes team-mate in the opening stint. 

The pair finished fourth and sixth respectively, with Hamilton overtaking the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc late on to move to 174 points in the drivers' championship. 

“After a very difficult Friday, we would have likely taken P4 in the Grand Prix,” Russell said.

“Our pace in qualifying, however, made us believe we could achieve more.

"Today was no doubt a difficult race for us, both challenging in terms of our pace but also physically.

“The McLarens were very impressive and in another league to us, whilst Max [Verstappen] had the legs on us.

We were able to hold off the Ferrari of Charles [Leclerc] in the closing stages, so it was very much an evening of damage limitation.

"Given the pace of the car, that was the very best we could have achieved.”

Hamilton further relayed his frustrations about the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit but is confident the Silver Arrows can bounce back in Austin next month. 

“It is hard to describe the range of emotions you feel when we have a difficult race like that,” Hamilton said.

“This year continues to be a testing one for everyone, but we are all pushing as hard as we can.

"We don’t always get things right and that was the case today with our strategy.

“We have lost some form to the leaders in the past few races and we’re working hard to figure out why that is.”

Mercedes had won three of the last four races before the summer break but have since managed just one podium since after Russell benefitted from Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez's crash on the penultimate lap of proceedings. 

But up next is a track Hamilton has relished over the years, with the Briton winning the American Grand Prix in Austin more times than anyone else (five), though he has not prevailed around the Texas circuit since 2017. 

Trent Alexander-Arnold has seemingly taken a swipe at former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp after labelling his short stint under Arne Slot as "refreshing". 

Alexander-Arnold burst onto the scene at Anfield in 2016, and it was under Klopp's guidance that the England international made his name in the Premier League. 

The 25-year-old won seven major honours under the German head coach, with only Roberto Firmino (355), Mohamed Salah (349) and James Milner (323) making more appearances than Alexander-Arnold (310) under Klopp in all competitions.

But following Klopp's departure at the end of last season, his successor Slot has adapted well to life on Merseyside, winning five of his first six games in all competitions. 

The latest came last weekend in a comfortable 3-0 win over Bournemouth, with Alexander-Arnold reaching 100 goal involvements (19 goals and 81 assists) for the Reds with his assist for Luis Diaz's second of the game. 

However, Alexander-Arnold has spoken highly of his time under Slot, while also outlining the pair's discussions about improving this season, especially the defensive side of his game. 

That has already seemingly transpired, with only Alexis Mac Allister (12) and Ryan Gravenberch (nine) winning more tackles than Alexander-Arnold (seven) in the Premier League this season for the Reds. 

The Liverpool right-back has not neglected his attacking responsibilities, though, creating a team-high 13 chances along with the most successful crosses (eight) this term.

But Alexander-Arnold feels as though he is already benefitting from his time under Slot, despite the Dutchman only being in the infancy of his tenure. 

"I said to him [Slot] that I would like to be the defender that no one wants to come up against in Europe. We agreed that he will be harsh on me," Alexander-Arnold said. 

If any time an attacker gets by me and gets past me, he will call it out in meetings, and individual meetings, and say this cannot happen.

"We go through every game together and he highlights where he wants me to improve.

"Even after the Milan game, we had about 20 clips going through what I could have done better and the good parts as well."

He added: "It is really refreshing to have a manager who will help and guide and teach me how to be better as a player.

"I am someone who wants to learn, someone who wants to be the best and someone who strives to be the best ever."

Rafael Nadal has been included in Spain's squad for the Davis Cup Final Eight in November, which could well be his farewell event. 

Nadal, who has not featured on court since the Paris Olympics, has previously suggested the current season could be the last of his glittering career. 

The Spaniard withdrew from the US Open in August and also pulled out of Bjorn Borg's Team World squad for the Laver Cup in Berlin last week. 

World number three Alcaraz is also in the Spain team named by captain David Ferrer, alongside Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno and Marcel Granollers.

Alcaraz starred for Team World at the Laver Cup, winning eight points for his team, which is the most any player has managed in the competition. 

Six-time champions Spain, whose most recent success came in 2019, face Netherlands in the quarter-finals, starting on November 19.

Defending champions Italy, led by world number one Jannik Sinner, take on Argentina, aiming to become the first team to retain the title since 2013. 

The United States, whose squad includes Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul, face Australia and Germany will meet Canada.

Arsenal cannot tone down their use of the dark arts after their fiery draw with Manchester City without losing the fight Mikel Arteta has instilled, believes David James.

The Gunners were moments away from a famous win at the home of their Premier League title rivals on Sunday, with Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes scoring to put them 2-1 up.

However, Leandro Trossard's first-half red card – the result of the Belgian kicking the ball away when already on a booking – allowed City to dominate the second period and John Stones broke Arsenal hearts with a 98th-minute equaliser.

City managed 28 shots to Arsenal's one after the interval, also recording an 87.6% possession share as the Gunners completed a mere 29 passes.

The home fans were infuriated with perceived time-wasting from Arsenal, who spent a total of nine minutes and four minutes over their goal-kicks in the match – the most by any team in a Premier League game this season.

The average delay at Arsenal restarts (goal-kicks, throw-ins and free-kicks) was 42.7 seconds, with only Aston Villa versus Wolves (47.3) taking longer this term.

Arsenal's antics have got them into trouble of late, though, with Trossard's red card coming after Declan Rice was sent off for a similar incident in a 1-1 draw with Brighton.

Speaking to Stats Perform, James conceded Arsenal's ploys were frustrating but said it was part of their DNA.

"Declan Rice got booked yesterday as well for time-wasting," James said. "He had a free-kick, it was probably the longest spell Arsenal had in City’s half in the second half, I think for about 30 seconds! 

"I don't know how long he was on the ball for, but it seemed a short period of time to get the booking considering David Raya taking goal-kicks seemed to take an age. 

"I timed one incident where it was 25 seconds by the time he got off the floor and kicked the ball. I thought the rules were sort of within a reasonable amount of time. 

"This was repeated time and again, taking time over goal-kicks, but there was not even an instruction or an indication from the referee for him to speed things up.

"With regards to Arteta and the Arsenal players, I think it's actually quite wonderful. As much as it frustrates me because it's against the rules, it is quite wonderful that he wants his team to push the limits. 

"I think with that, you're going to end up with a few points, Trossard kicking the ball away and getting sent off or Declan Rice getting sent off. 

"If they tone that bit down, then they have to tone everything else down. Then possibly we don't see as exciting an Arsenal side as we have for the last couple of years."

Referee Michael Oliver had his work cut out on Sunday, with controversy over both of Arsenal's goals. 

City were unhappy with Arsenal taking a quick free-kick when Kyle Walker had been called over to speak to Oliver in the build-up to their equaliser, while some have suggested Gabriel Martinelli fouled Ederson when Gabriel headed in the Gunners' second.

"I thought the referee on the field got everything right," James said. "Trossard was booked for the second yellow card for kicking the ball away, not for the foul.

"When you see the replay, he boots the ball away after the whistle has gone. That's the booking, and it was his second booking, so that's a sending off. That's fine.

"With regard to Martinelli, I don't think Oliver would have seen it, and therefore, he wouldn't have been able to call that decision. 

"He stopped Ederson from getting the ball, therefore it shouldn’t be allowed. So, this isn’t an on-field issue. I think this is more about VAR."