Oleksandr Zinchenko was hailed as "an exceptional footballer" by Mikel Arteta as the Ukraine international prepares to complete his move from Manchester City to Arsenal.

The left-back, who can also play in midfield, has joined up with the Gunners on their United States tour.

His switch from Premier League champions City is yet to be finalised, but it would take something unusual to derail the transfer now.

Zinchenko watched on as Arsenal beat Orlando City 3-1 on Wednesday night, with Gabriel Martinelli's heavily deflected first-half effort followed by goals after the interval from Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson.

Manager Arteta must move on players to ensure Arsenal's squad for the new season is not overloaded, but he is delighted to have Zinchenko's arrival all but sealed.

"As you've seen, he is here," Arteta told a post-match news conference. "There are still a few formalities to get everything completed, but we're really happy to have him.

"I know the player really well; he's an exceptional footballer, and he is someone that is going to bring as well another competitive edge to that dressing room."

Arteta worked with Zinchenko at Manchester City before leaving Pep Guardiola's coaching staff to strike out on his own at Arsenal.

Given Arsenal already have Kieran Tierney as an established left-back, midfield seems likely to be Zinchenko's regular position.

"He was a natural number 10 early in his career and [at City] we converted him into a left-back which can do a lot of things that we want in our way of playing," Arteta said.

"That versatility is something that is going to be important for the team because we have players in that position who are more specific full-backs, so I'm really happy."

Zinchenko, thought to be costing around £30million, will become the second big recruit by Arsenal from City during the off-season, after Gabriel Jesus joined in a £45million deal.

Arteta said Arsenal, who have also spent over £30million on former Porto star Fabio Vieira, must look to push ahead with thinning out their squad now, 

"We have to," Arteta said. "We have a big squad and now we have to make things happen."

Thomas Tuchel says he cannot understand why Timo Werner would be unhappy at Chelsea and urged the forward to "show quality" in order to become a regular starter.

Werner has endured a frustrating two years with the Blues following his big-money move from RB Leipzig two years ago.

The Germany international has failed to establish himself in the starting line-up, having scored only 10 Premier League goals in two seasons for the London club.

Werner was on target in a 2-1 friendly win over Club America last weekend and suggested after that friendly that he could leave Stamford Bridge, as he needs regular first-team football ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.

The 26-year-old missed out due to a hamstring injury as Chelsea were beaten 5-3 on penalties by Charlotte FC on Wednesday after the two sides had been level at 1-1.

Blues boss Tuchel raised eyebrows over his compatriot Werner's comments following the midweek defeat.

He said: "I'm surprised, I would be very happy as a young guy having a contract at Chelsea Football Club. I would be one of the happiest people on the planet."

Asked how Werner can go about forcing his way into the team, Tuchel replied: "Show quality, take your place and defend your place.

"I would be one of the happiest people on the planet having a contract with Chelsea. If he said this, I do not understand."

Tuchel has no intention of allowing Werner to move on.

When asked if he will be a Chelsea player in the upcoming season, Tuchel said: "Sure, he is our player, sure."

Tuchel revealed that Cesar Azpilicueta, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Ross Barkley were unavailable to face Charlotte due to injury.

Julian Nagelsmann praised Matthijs de Ligt and Sadio Mane after they marked their Bayern Munich debuts by scoring in a 6-2 rout of DC United.

De Ligt scored with a sweet volley less than two minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute at Audi Field on Wednesday after Mane had opened the scoring from the penalty spot early on.

Netherlands defender De Ligt was only on the field for 25 minutes before he was withdrawn by Nagelsmann, but the Bayern head coach allayed concerns that his new recruit from Juventus may have sustained an injury.

Mane, signed from Liverpool last month, also set up a goal for Serge Gnabry before Nagelsmann sent out a totally different side for the second half.

Nagelsmann was pleased the impact his new signings made and allayed concerns over De Ligt's fitness ahead of a friendly against Manchester City in Green Bay on Saturday.

He said: "Both players have made a good start.

"Matthijs scored a brilliant goal with his left foot. I saw his impressive passing with his left foot in training today, and now this brilliant finish as well." 

Nagelsmann added of De Ligt's withdrawal: "He's not got an injury, nothing unusual happened. I think he'll be fit again tomorrow and will be able to play on Saturday."

Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui also caught the eye on their debuts, with the former providing an assist for Thomas Muller to complete the scoring.

Nagelsmann said: "Both have done really well, especially in training.

"The final ball from Ryan was brilliant. He's big but he's very quick on his feet. He played a great pass to Thomas."

Kalvin Phillips says there was "never any chance" he would sign for Manchester United out of loyalty to his former club Leeds United.

The England midfielder instead joined the Red Devils' rivals Manchester City earlier this month in a deal reportedly worth £42million.

Phillips was a man in demand, with United and City's interest said to have been piqued by his impressive performances in England's run to the final of Euro 2020 last year.

But the cross-Pennine rivalry between Leeds and the red side of Manchester meant a switch to Old Trafford was never an option for Phillips.

"No, there was never any chance of me going there. You know my loyalty to Leeds, my family as well, they're all Leeds fans," Phillips said in quotes reported by several British newspapers.

"I was honoured by United wanting me, such a big team – one of the biggest teams in the world. But no, I had to stay loyal to Leeds and choose to go to the other side of Manchester."

Phillips was asked if his loyal stance was an unusual one in the modern game, to which he replied: "I don't know, it's just the way I am, the way I think and the way I'll always be.

"I want to be loyal to the people who've given me the biggest opportunity in the world. Leeds were the first team to sign me, I made sure that was one of the main things I'd do."

Phillips has gone from being the leading man at Elland Road to part of a star-studded cast at the Etihad Stadium.

At champions City, the likes of Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden are battling for midfield minutes, albeit the latter two can operate further forward, while the likes of Cole Palmer and James McAtee are also aiming to make their mark.

Making the switch may represent somewhat of a gamble, especially given he will want as much game time as possible with the World Cup in Qatar on the horizon.

But for Phillips the opportunity to test himself against the elite is what motivated him to make the move.

"It's a risk and reward thing. I want to come here and prove myself against the best players in the world," Phillips added.

"I know there will be times I'm pulling my hair out because it is so difficult but that is what I wanted. At Leeds I was the guy who needed to play every game, at City that isn't the case. I need to get my head around that."

Phillips has enjoyed a good grounding for his new challenge at City having excelled under the high-octane pressing game employed by former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa.

He spoke about the differences of working for Guardiola, a man he is excited to play for even if the City boss may only be at the club for one more season.

"At the Euros it was new to me but I did reasonably well," he said. "Everything Marcelo taught me was a lot of movement without the ball, creating space for yourself to get on the ball.

"With City, it is moving into spaces to help team-mates get on the ball or getting in position to turn on the ball and play forward all the time. 

"It was the opportunity to be coached by Pep. I couldn't turn it down. Even if Pep's only here for one more year it will hopefully be a good year."

The NBA has fined Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob $500,000 for recent comments made on a podcast that violate the league’s rules on discussing collective bargaining, ESPN reported Wednesday.

While making an appearance on the Point Forward Podcast, hosted by Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner, Lacob called the NBA’s luxury tax structure "very unfair", lamenting the extra costs of having the league’s highest payroll.

This past season, the Warriors paid Stephen Curry $48million, Klay Thompson $40m, Andrew Wiggins $33m, Draymond Green $25m, and former second overall pick James Wiseman $9m, totalling $155m from just five of their 15 roster spots. The NBA's 'soft cap' – meaning the salary cap that can be exceeded to re-sign a team's current players – was set at $112m for 2021-22, and will rise to $122m for the upcoming season.

"The truth is, we're only $40 million more than the luxury tax. Now, that's not small but it's not a massive number," Lacob said. "We're $200 million over in total because most of that is this incredible penal luxury tax. And what I consider to be unfair and I'm going to say it on this podcast, and I hope it gets back to whoever is listening.

"Obviously, it's self-serving for me to say this, but I think it's a very unfair system because our team is built by... all [of our] top eight players are all drafted by this team."

Lacob said that some have classified the Warriors’ 2022 championship a "checkbook win."

According to ESPN, the Warriors paid $69 million in luxury tax in 2020-21, $170 million in 2021-22 and are projected to pay $181 million in 2022-23.

Debutants Sadio Mane and Matthijs de Ligt both scored in their first friendly appearance for their new club as Bayern Munich defeated DC United 6-2 on Wednesday.

Mane, fresh off his move away from Liverpool, did not have to wait long to open his account, stepping up to the penalty spot after Lucas Copado was brought down less than five minutes into the action.

He made no mistake from the spot, hammering his penalty into the left side of the goal to give Bayern a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute.

Marcel Sabitzer doubled the advantage in the 12th minute with a strike from the top of the box that wrong-footed the DC goalkeeper, and Serge Gnabry made it 3-0 at the break when he got on the end of a Mane assist in the 44th minute.

Bayern subbed on an entirely different 11 for the second half, including new arrival from Juventus De Ligt, and he made an emphatic entrance, firing home a left-foot volley from a corner to score 90 seconds later.

Joshua Zirkzee made it 5-0 in the 51st minute after an assist from Kingsley Coman, before DC finally answered back with a Skage Leland strike in the 54th.

Theodore Ku-Dipietro would give the American side something else to cheer for with his goal in the 83rd minute, before Bayern icon Thomas Muller completed the rout to make it 6-2 in the 92nd.

James Harden has officially finalised his deal to stay with the Philadelphia 76ers, agreeing to a two-year, $68.6million contract on Wednesday.

Harden will make $33m for the 2022-23 season and then has the player option for $35.6m in 2023-24. He can decline the option and become a free agent again ahead of the 2023-24 and sign a new deal. 

Harden had previously declined his $47.4m player option for this upcoming season from the 76ers, but was set to return to them all along while taking a pay-cut to help the team sign other players with the hopes of building a championship roster. 

Thanks in part to his pay-cut, the 76ers have been able to add P.J. Tucker and Danuel House this offseason, and are expected to contend amongst the best teams in the Eastern Conference with MVP runner-up Joel Embiid and Harden leading the way. 

Philadelphia acquired Harden from the Brooklyn Nets in February, and he averaged 21 points, 10.5 assists and 7.1 rebounds in 21 games with the Sixers, but the team suffered the same fate as three of the previous four seasons, again losing in the Eastern Conference semifinals. 

The 76ers have not been past the conference semis since losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals, and the 32-year-old Harden has never won a title, only reaching the NBA Finals once, in 2012 with the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

A 10-time All-Star and the 2017-18 NBA MVP, Harden averaged 22 points, 10.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds in 65 total regular-season games for the 76ers and Nets, missing time due to hamstring issues. 

Padraig Harrington did not mince his words when discussing Henrik Stenson's decision to forfeit his Ryder Cup captaincy by joining LIV Golf, insisting he has "no empathy" for the Swede. 

Stenson is the latest big name to join the controversial circuit, with LIV Golf announcing the 46-year-old former major champion as one of three new recruits on Wednesday along with Jason Kokrak and Charles Howell III.

Just four months ago Stenson was awarded Europe's Ryder Cup captaincy ahead of the 2023 edition beginning in Italy next September, taking over the role from Harrington.

But Stenson was removed from the position in anticipation of his choice to join LIV on Wednesday.

When asked how he felt about the Swede's move, Harrington argued Stenson should have honoured his Ryder Cup commitment, while saying he understands why the average professional golfer might make the jump.

"I certainly empathise with anybody that makes the decisions that they have made in terms of going to play a new tour; the financial incentives are quite impressive," he said.

"I do think it's different in Henrik's case, yes. He signed a contract not to do that and was specifically asked not to do that. I have no empathy there. 

"No, he took the Ryder Cup job when LIV was in doubt, and now that LIV is pretty much mainstream normalised, he's jumped ship."

Despite his disappointment, Harrington said Stenson's choice will have no real effect on Europe's Ryder Cup bid, with plenty of time remaining to select a new captain.

"It is 15 months, plenty of time," he said. "No issue as regards the actual team and, like, there's been nothing set in place about the selection processes or qualification processes. 

"Really doesn't affect the Ryder Cup in any shape or form. I'm sure we'll have a new captain installed pretty soon."

Niklas Sule has offered his support to Borussia Dortmund team-mate Sebastien Haller after he discovered a testicular tumour, insisting on-pitch matters are "one hundred per cent in the background" while he recovers.

Haller, a new signing at Dortmund, was forced to leave the club's pre-season training camp in Switzerland after feeling unwell on Monday, with subsequent tests revealing the tumour.

Dortmund boss Edin Terzic then revealed the striker had returned to Germany for further tests, describing the news as "brutally difficult".

Haller's former Ajax and Utrecht coach Erik ten Hag was among those to wish the Ivory Coast international a speedy recovery yesterday, sentiments which have now been echoed by fellow Dortmund new boy Sule.

"The sporting aspect is one hundred per cent in the background," the defender told Dortmund's media channels. "It is the man Sebastien Haller that we miss. 

"We wish him all the best, that he gets well again quickly and a lot of strength for the time that will come now. 

"How he handled the news was very positive. As a team, we wanted to give him a small sign that we were with him. I wish that he will get well very soon."

Juventus new boy Gleison Bremer is drawing inspiration from Bianconeri legend Giorgio Chiellini after replacing Bayern Munich-bound Matthijs de Ligt at the Allianz Stadium. 

With Massimiliano Allegri's side losing De Ligt to the Bundesliga champions on Tuesday, they have swiftly gone about bolstering their backline with a move for Serie A's 2021-22 Defender of the Year.

Playing for Juve's local rivals Torino, Bremer led players across Europe's top five leagues for interceptions (105) last season, making 33 Serie A appearances and contributing to eight clean sheets.

Juventus have reportedly committed to paying €40million plus add-ons for the Brazilian, who will take Chiellini's number three shirt after the Euro 2020 winner left for Los Angeles FC.

And Bremer told the club's media channels he is seeking to emulate the 37-year-old, who he described as the finest defender Italy had to offer. 

"Juventus is a team that always wants to win, and I also have the ambition to win," Bremer said.

"I also talked a bit with Chiellini and I decided that Juventus were the best team.

"I also have a dog that is black and white! It was in my destiny.

"Chiellini is the best Italian defender, I've always said that. So I'm inspired a little by him, and I'll try to do what he did."

After winning nine consecutive league titles between 2011-12 and 2019-20, Juventus have since finished fourth in successive Serie A campaigns.

But Bremer believes the acquisitions of players such as Angel Di Maria and Paul Pogba served to convince him of Juve's chances winning of silverware next season.

The centre-back, who was also strongly linked with Inter, added: "When I saw that Pogba and Di Maria arrived, I had no doubts about who to choose. 

"We are a team built to win.

"I always want to win, the Scudetto, the Champions League. This is my goal."

Anett Kontaveit cruised into the quarter-finals of the Hamburg European Open with a straight-sets win over Rebecca Peterson, while third seed Zhang Shuai was forced out of the Palermo Ladies Open through injury.  

World number two Kontaveit recorded a 6-3 6-2 victory over Peterson on the clay in Germany, setting up a last-eight meeting with eighth seed Andrea Petkovic. 

The Estonian's win was her third over Peterson and maintained her 100 per cent career record against Swedish opponents, taking her to seven such successes. 

Kontaveit was joined in the quarter-finals by fellow seeds Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who beat Aleksandra Krunic 6-3 6-2, and Maryna Zanevska, who downed Alexandra Cadantu-Ignatik 6-4 6-1. 

They will face off for a semi-final spot on Thursday, while Anastasia Potapova will meet 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova after beating Maria Carle in straight sets. 

At the Palermo Ladies Open, meanwhile, third seed Zhang withdrew from her last-16 clash with home favourite Jasmine Paolini before taking to the court, citing an unspecified injury. 

Fellow seeds Sara Sorribes Tormo and Anna Bondar both reached the quarter-finals with straight-sets wins, however, with the pair set to face off for a semi-final berth on Friday.  

Pablo Carreno Busta saw his title defence at the Hamburg European Open come to an early end as he crashed out on Wednesday, while Andrey Rublev progressed with ease.

Carreno Busta fell to a 6-3 1-6 7-6 (7-5) second-round defeat against Slovakian Alex Molcan, who progressed to a fourth ATP Tour quarter-final this season.

World number 48 Molcan will next meet Borna Coric after the Croatian eased past Tallon Griekspoor 6-3 6-4, registering back-to-back tour-levels wins for the first time in 17 months.

Second seed Rublev coasted through his first-round clash with Ricardas Berankis, triumphing 6-3 6-4 as he improved his record at the ATP 500 clay-court event in Germany to 10-2.

"I am happy with my performance. Ricardas is a really tough player," said world number eight Rublev, who is aiming for his fourth title of the season after success in Marseille, Dubai and Belgrade.

"He hits the ball really hard and plays fast, so I had to bring intensity from the first game. I am really happy with how I was serving today and I hit some great shots from the baseline.

"The game he broke me in the second set he played really well. He returned really aggressively and I don’t think I made one first serve. But then I kept [my] focus and broke him straight away again."

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was another comfortable winner, easing past Jozef Kovalik 6-2 6-2 to set up a quarter-final contest with Lorenzo Musetti, who beat Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4 7-5.

Play was suspended early at the Swiss Open due to bad weather, with Spaniard Jaume Munar downing Alexander Ritschard 6-3 6-3 in the only match of the day to reach the last eight.

That meant top seed Casper Ruud will have to wait until Thursday to face Jiri Lehecka in Gstaad, with third favourite Roberto Bautista Agut also seeing his match with Juan Pablo Varillas pushed back a day.