Mikel Arteta hailed Gabriel Jesus's "chaotic" nature after the forward continued his impressive start for new side Arsenal in Saturday's pre-season win over Everton.
The Brazil international, recently signed from Manchester City in a reported £45million deal, made it three goals in two outings as Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners in Baltimore.
Jesus, who scored his first two goals for Arsenal in last week's 5-3 win over Nurnberg, also assisted Bukayo Saka for the Gunners' second goal against Everton.
Arteta has been impressed by the 25-year-old's instant impact and in particular his ability to disrupt opposition defences.
"He creates chaos, he creates uncertainty and he's always on your shoulder," Arteta said.
"He's always there to nick the ball off you, he's always in front of the goal. He's a real threat and this is what we need.
"The moment we give the ball away he is straight away active and putting pressure and getting his team behind him.
"He has a lot of leadership skills. I can see straight away what he's doing with the boys and he's the type of guy that we want.
"He looks really sharp, really dynamic. He's got a really good understanding with his team-mates straight away.
"They are looking for him, he's generating chances, good connections around specific spaces we want to exploit with him especially, and yeah, we're really happy."
Excluding penalties, former Palmeiras ace Jesus averaged 0.81 goal involvements per 90 minutes between signing for City in 2016 and his departure this month.
Of players to have played at least 5,000 minutes over that period, only former City colleague Sergio Aguero (0.91) and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (0.88) boast a better return.
Jesus was often used in a wide position at City, but Arteta has so far used the versatile forward through the middle.
"He's very versatile, but obviously, the way we would like to develop him is in that position," Arteta said when asked if he sees Jesus as a number nine.
"In relation to what the opponent does in certain games, we are going to have to use him in different positions. He's open to that and he knows it's part of his strength as well."
William Saliba was given his first run-out of the close season against Everton, the centre-back featuring for 71 minutes before being replaced by Pablo Mari.
He completed more passes (53) than any other player on the field and Arteta confirmed the 21-year-old – who has spent three seasons out on loan – is part of his plans.
"He is in the plans, yes," Arteta said. "We cannot guarantee first-team football to anybody in this team – you can ask that question to anybody.
"What we guarantee is that the ones we really see and think are going to take us to the next level, they're going to be playing a lot of minutes.
"He's a proper talent and he's shown in the last year what he can do. But in football it's about what you do the next day.
"What everybody did three months ago or a month ago, it doesn't really matter. It's about what you do tomorrow and he's going to have the chance to play."
Chile pulled off an upset by overcoming the United States 31-29 in Colorado on Saturday to qualify for the Rugby World Cup for the first time ever.
The South American nation lost last week's first leg 22-21 in Santiago, but pulled off a huge result away from home to advance by a single point on aggregate.
Not until the 75th minute of the second leg, when Santiago Videla kicked over a penalty, did Chile take the lead for the first time.
Pablo Lemoine's side, who were 19-0 down at one stage in the second leg, will now join England, Argentina, Japan and Samoa in Pool D at next year's tournament in France.
USA will have a second chance to advance when they compete in a final qualification tournament in November, where Portugal, Kenya and the loser of the Asia/Pacific play-off await.
Speaking on the back of an historic win for his side, Chile captain Martin Sigren said: "It really means so much... the sacrifices that this team has made.
"There were times when it seemed like it was uphill. I want to thank all the family who came here. They were the ones who kept us pushing."
Fred Kerley is hopeful of achieving more historic feats after leading a clean sweep for the United States in the men's 100 metres at the World Athletics Championships.
The 27-year-old, who dropped down from 400m to 100m last year, powered past Marvin Bracy-Williams and Trayvon Bromell late on to claim gold in a time of 9.86 seconds.
With Bracy-Williams and Bromell taking silver and bronze respectively, it is the first time any nation has won all three medals in the world 100m since USA themselves in 1991.
After adding to the 100m Olympic silver won in Tokyo last year and the 400m world bronze from 2019, Kerley believes there is still more to come.
"I know today opened up many doors for me," he said. "The future is bright for me.
"It's amazing to be among the greats. They did it in 1991, we did in 2022. It's history. To be part of something that has only happened three times just means the world to me."
Bracy-Williams and Bromell clocked a time of 9.88 in Oregon to finish just behind Kerley in front of a full crowd in the first World Championships held in the USA.
"It's a wonderful blessing to get a clean sweep," Kerley added. "I feel we can dominate again at next year's World Championships [in Budapest].
"We all put the work in, come back home and return again next year. This win means I can do 100m, 200m and 400m. I've got a medal in 400m and 100m."
Justin Verlander was in impressive form as he reached his MLB-leading 12th win of the season, leading the Houston Astros to a 5-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.
Verlander put in a solid shift on the mount, striking out 10 while allowing just six hits and a walk over 106 pitches in six innings, lowering his ERA to 1.89, third in the major leagues.
The 39-year-old moved past Curt Schilling (3,116) and Bob Gibson (3,117) to 3,121 career Ks with his 10 on the night, moving to a 15th-ranked 108 for the season.
Martin Maldonado also hit a grand slam in the second inning, blasting A's rookie Jared Koenig over his head past centre-field for the third four-run shot of his career.
Moving to 59-31 for the yeat, the Astros extended their lead atop the American League West to 10 games over the Seattle Mariners, while the A's hold the AL's worst record on 31-61.
Yankees smash Red Sox to build momentum
Aaron Judge and Matt Carpenter led the way for the New York Yankees as they gave the Boston Red Sox 14-1 belting in the Bronx.
The team with the MLB's best record lost five of the previous six games and it threatened to be another glum night, at home to their fierce rivals, after Rafael Devers' home run off Jameson Taillon in the first inning.
Judge and Carpenter more than steadied the ship, however. Judge scored two home runs while also Carpenter went long twice, driving in seven runs on the night as the Yankees moved to 63-28 for the year.
Dodgers beat city rivals
Julio Urias and Trea Turner propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers to their 60th win of the season, routing the Los Angeles Angels 7-1.
Trea Turner hit two home runs on the night, including a two-run shot to set up a five-run third inning for the Dodgers, who had the same amount of hits as the Angels with seven.
Julio Urias gave up five of those, but struck out eight Angels batters over 91 pitches in seven innings, moving his ERA to 2.89 for the season.
Freddie Freeman also recorded his 1,000th career RBI as the Dodgers moved to 60-30 for the year, extending their lead over the New York Mets atop the National League to three games.
Defending 100m world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has expressed satisfaction with a seemingly effortless first-round trot to the line, at the Oregon World Championships, on Saturday.
The Jamaican looked in superb form as she stopped the clocked at 10.87, easily covering the field before shutting down comfortably ahead of Britain’s Daryll Neita and Germany’s
Gina Lückenkemper who also qualified.
In fact, overall, as expected, there was no drama in the opening round as Fraser-Pryce compatriots Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah also won their heats, while the fourth Jamaican Kemba Nelson also advanced to the semi-finals after being third in Heat 4.
“I was trying to qualify as easy as possible and I hope I was able to do that and just look forward to the next round,” Fraser-Pryce said after the race.
“I couldn’t see the start from where I was so I’m not sure how that was executed but I’m sure when I go around the coach will have it and I’ll be able to look at it and see if I was able to execute. First rounds are usually hit and miss because there are so many things happening.”
Fraser-Pryce, who will be looking for a 5th world title, has come into the event with the fastest time in the world this year, 10.67, recorded in Nairobi, Kenya.
Jamaica’s Oblique Seville narrowly missed out on a podium spot in the men’s 100 finals an event that was entirely swept by the United States at the Oregon World Championships on Saturday.
Pre-race favourite Fred Kerley recovered late on to just edge out compatriot Marvin Bracey who seemed destined for gold after getting off to a brilliant start. A third American Trayvon Brommel was just behind. Timewise Kerley never quite lived up to the explosive promise of a 9.79 clocking in the first round, but still took the event in a respectable 9.86. Just ahead of Bracey who clocked 9.88 for second place. Brommel stopped the clock in an identical time.
Just behind Brommel was Seville who was fourth in 9.97. Despite missing out on the podium the result capped off a strong season for the 21-year-old who broke 10 seconds for the first time earlier this year and clocked a personal best of 9.86 in May of this year. Seville is coached by Glen Mills at the Racers Track Club the same place sprint legend Usain Bolt was conditioned.
Earlier the country’s 100m national champion Yohan Blake failed to make it to the final after finishing 6th in the semi-finals.
Ryan Jones says he feels like his "world is falling apart" after the former Wales captain was diagnosed with early-onset dementia at the age of 41.
Jones revealed he was given a diagnosis of probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) last December.
The back row won 75 caps for Wales and three for the British and Irish Lions on the 2005 tour of New Zealand in an illustrious career.
Jones said in an interview with The Sunday Times: "I feel like my world is falling apart.
"I am really scared. I lived 15 years of my life like a superhero and I'm not. I don't know what the future holds.
"I am a product of an environment that is all about process and human performance. I'm not able to perform like I could. I just want to lead a happy, healthy, normal life.
"I feel that's been taken away and there is nothing I can do."
The ex-Ospreys skipper says he was initially diagnosed with depression after retiring seven years ago and started to have short-term memory issues, while also becoming forgetful.
He added: "I've got three children and three step-children and I want to be a fantastic dad. I can't train harder, I can't play the referee. I don't know what the rules of the game are anymore.
"We don't know where to go, where to find support. We haven't got any friends in this space. It terrifies me. That's the fear. That's the bit that never leaves. That’s the bit I can’t shake off."
Jones says more must be done to prevent an increasing number of players from suffering.
"It [rugby union] is walking headlong with its eyes closed into a catastrophic situation," he added.
Maxime Cressy will face Alexander Bublik in the final of the Hall of Fame Open after beating four-time champion John Isner on Saturday.
Cressy will play his third championship match of the year on Sunday following a 6-2 4-6 6-3 defeat of his fellow American in Newport.
The 25-year-old fired down 22 aces and won 82 per cent of points behind his first serve, breaking three times to move into the final.
Cressy had a stroke of luck for the only break of the deciding set, when he lobbed a shot just over the net and it bounced back onto his side to leave Isner 5-3 down. He then served out the match to end Isner's 10-match winning run in this event.
Bublik sealed his place in the final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Jason Kubler.
Third seed Bublik did not face a break point and broke the Australian three times, sealing his victory in an hour and nine minutes.
There will be an all-Argentinian final at the Swedish Open between Francisco Cerundolo and Sebastian Baez.
Baez produced an upset, securing his first win against a top-10 opponent with a 6-2 6-4 defeat of second seed Andrey Rublev in Bastad.
Cerundolo got the better of Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 6-2, ensuring he will face his compatriot for the first time at tour-level.
2020 Olympic Champion Hansle Parchment ran 13.17 to advance to the semi-finals of the 110m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene on Saturday.
Parchment’s time was second fastest in qualifying behind American defending World Champion Grant Holloway’s 13.14.
Also advancing to the semi-finals were Jamaicans Rasheed Broadbell (13.36) and Orlando Bennett (13.55) as well as Barbados’ Shane Brathwaite (13.47).
The Men’s 400m hurdles saw four Caribbean athletes progress to the semi-finals.
Jamaica’s Kemar Mowatt ran 49.44 to finish second in his heat behind Olympic bronze medallist and 2022 world leader Alison Dos Santos of Brazil (49.41).
Mowatt’s Jamaican teammate Jaheel Hyde finished third in his heat in 50.03 behind Norewgian Olympic Champion and world record holder Karsten Warholm (49.34) and Belgium’s Julien Watrin (49.83).
Jamaica's Shawn Rowe finished sixth in heat four but his time of 49.51 was good enough to see him advance.
Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands also advanced safely after a 49.98 effort for fourth in his heat behind the USA’s Khalifah Rosser (48.62), Ramsey Angela of the Netherlands (49.62) and Sweden’s Carl Bengstrom (49.64). American Olympic silver medallist Rai Benjamin ran 49.06 to in his heat and also safely advance.
In the field, Shanieka Ricketts, Kimberley Williams and Ackelia Smith all advanced to the final of the Women’s triple jump.
Ricketts jumped 14.45m to advance with the fifth furthest jump in qualifying while Smith was eighth furthest with a personal best 14.36m. Williams was the 12th furthest jumper in qualifying with 14.27m.
Ana Lucia Jose Tima of the Dominican Republic had the third farthest jump in qualifying with a new national record 14.52m while Dominica’s Thea Lafond (14.39m) and Cuba’s Leyanis Perez Hernandez (14.30m) will also be in Monday’s final. Venezuelan world record holder Yulimar Rojas led all qualifiers with 14.73m.
Jamaicans Lamara Distin and Kimberly Williamson both jumped 1.90m to advance to the final of the Women’s high jump.
Rory McIlroy said he and co-leader Viktor Hovland "fed off each other" in a thrilling third-round pairing at the Open Championship.
The duo each carded 66s on moving day at St Andrews to share the 54-hole lead on 16 under par, four shots ahead of nearest rivals Cameron Smith and Cameron Young.
McIlroy's stunning hole-out eagle from the bunker on 10 was the highlight of his round, though he gave a shot back on 17th after clattering into the wall down the right side of the notoriously tricky Road Hole.
A pair of birdies at the last ensured McIlroy and Hovland will head out on Sunday level pegging in pursuit of the Claret Jug at the landmark 150th edition of golf's oldest major.
"I thought it was really good," the Northern Irishman, who was crowned Champion Golfer of the Year in 2014, said of his round.
"I missed some opportunities early and Viktor holed a couple of long ones early on.
"But I stayed really patient, got my first birdie of the day on five, and I feel like my patience was rewarded around the turn with a couple of birdies and that hole-out on 10.
"Overall, a really good day. We sort of fed off each other, and navigated the last few holes well. It was tricky coming in there.
"When you're a couple off the lead going into the third day of The Open and you go out and shoot a six under, you're always going to be pleased with that."
McIlroy had magnificent backing from huge crowds on a glorious day on the Fife coast and he was grateful for it, but keen not to get carried away.
"The support that I've gotten this week has been absolutely incredible," said the four-time major winner.
"I appreciate it and I feel it out there, but at the same time I'm trying my hardest just to stay in my own little world because that's the best way for me to get the best out of myself.
"I try to acknowledge as much as I can, but I'm just trying to stay in my process, stay in my own little bubble and I just have to do that for one more day.
"I just have to just stick to my game plan, stick to the process. The more people bring up the result, the more I'm just going to harp on about process and sticking to my game plan, because that's the only thing I can do, and I've done that well for the last three days.
"It's put me in this position. I just need to do it for one more day."
Viktor Hovland says it feels "pretty crazy" to be heading into the final round of The Open in a share of the lead with a golden opportunity to make history at St Andrews.
Hovland and Rory McIlroy will be in the last group on what promises to be a pulsating finale in Fife on Sunday after the Ryder Cup team-mates shot sublime third rounds of 66.
The 24-year-old could become the first Norwegian to win a major if he holds his nerve to lift the Claret Jug.
Hovland was living the dream as he and McIlroy put on a show in the penultimate pairing to go 16 under on Saturday, taking a four-shot advantage over Cameron Smith and Cameron Young.
The Oslo native said: "It's pretty crazy from where I grew up and so far away from playing the PGA Tour, European Tour, for that matter major championships.
"Just to be here is very special, but to have a chance to win one is - yeah, I have to pinch myself, but that doesn't mean I'm going to hold back tomorrow."
There is nowhere Hovland would rather win at first major than the home of golf.
He said: "I don't think there's any other place that would top it. Growing up in Norway and always watched The Open Championship for way longer than I ever did, for example, the Masters. To win a major that's closest to home, that would be really cool."
McIlroy is the crowd favourite at St Andrews, but Hovland fancies his chances if he rises to the occasion.
He added: "I don't mind [the support McIlroy gets]. It doesn't take the pressure off of anything, but I feel like I had some experience with that in the Ryder Cup last year.
"And at the end of the day, there's still some shouts there for me as well. So I appreciate those. I've just got to play my game and not worry about anything else."
Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland will form Sunday's final pairing as the 150th Open Championship heads for a thrilling conclusion.
The duo played together on Saturday and both shot third-round 66s to claim a share of the lead on 16 under at St Andrews.
However, it is not quite a two-horse race at the famous Fife links, with Cameron Young and overnight leader Cameron Smith four strokes behind, while Scottie Scheffler and Kim Si-woo are within five.
The highlight of McIlroy's round was a hole-out eagle from the bunker on 10, but he and Hovland were both wayward on their approach shots to 17 as signs of nerves started to show on the notoriously tricky Road Hole.
McIlroy was close up against the stone wall to the right of the green and ended up with a bogey five, while Hovland – whose shot came to rest on the gravel path – recovered to salvage par and restore parity at the summit of the leaderboard.
A pair of birdies at the last kept it that way, setting things up for what promises to be a memorable final day at the home of golf.
Elsewhere in the field on an exciting moving day, Shane Lowry carded back-to-back eagles on the ninth and 10th before the 2019 winner faded on the back nine to sign for a 69.
Patrick Cantlay threatened to join the fun at the sharp end of things when he got to 11 under through 12, but he dropped three shots in the remaining six holes to end up eight off the pace.
SHOT OF THE DAY
McIlroy turned a threat into an opportunity after putting his tee shot into the bunker at the 10th, with rival Hovland having landed safely short of the pin.
A superb bunker shot pitched just shy of the cup and rolled in for an eagle two that piled the pressure on Hovland.
To his credit, the Norwegian got down in two for a birdie that ensured he stayed level with his playing partner.
PLAYER OF THE DAY
On moving day in Fife, it was crowd favourite McIlroy who really clicked into gear.
A pre-tournament favourite, the 33-year-old found his groove to chart a course for his fifth major and first since 2014.
On this form, he will take some stopping on Sunday, even with Hovland for company.
CHIPPING IN
Jordan Spieth: "What's difficult about it is a lot of the pin locations are in these tiny little tucked corners where, if you hit it more than five feet by, it goes 50 feet away."
Shane Lowry: "It wouldn't take Einstein to figure out what went wrong on the back nine. My putting was horrific."
Bryson DeChambeau: "I don't think you ever know how to play this golf course fully. Every day it's different. It showcases a unique golf course each time the wind pops up or doesn't pop up. It's just different."
A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME
- When McIlroy won The Open in 2014, he was 16 under after round three.
- The pairing of McIlroy and Hovland produced just one bogey between them on Saturday.
- Every winner of The Open at St Andrews has been within four shots of the lead heading into the final round.
Australia head coach Dave Rennie refused to use the Wallabies' lengthy injury list as an excuse for their series defeat to England.
Eddie Jones' side added to their tour triumph in 2016 by making it back-to-back series wins Down Under, beating Australia 21-17 in the deciding Test on Saturday.
The tourists fell behind in the series after going down 30-28 in Perth, but levelled up with a 25-17 win in Brisbane last weekend.
Australia started brightly on Saturday, moving 10-3 ahead after Tom Wright's try. England recovered as Freddie Steward and Marcus Smith went over to turn the contest firmly in their favour at 21-10, and stood firm after Folau Fainga'a powered over later on.
The hosts were without 11 players due to injury or suspension, but Rennie believes his side should still have had enough quality to overcome England.
"We had a good enough side on the field to win tonight," he told reporters. "What it highlights is we're creating really good depth and I think a lot of guys who've got an opportunity have really stood up.
"You've just got to find a way, don't you? Injury is part of the game and we did enough tonight, but you have to be clinical and take opportunities.
"We created a lot of opportunities. I think we went in with the right plan, we just weren't clinical enough.
"If we turn a couple of those opportunities early on in the game, we start applying pressure to them. It's disappointing because at this level you have you got to take your chances and we left a lot out there."
Australia captain Michael Hooper conceded the series loss hurts, and also called on his team-mates to become more clinical.
"Dave's talked about just being clinical in those situations, you want to be a team that can grind out a win," he said.
"They get to your end, they take points, pick up some scraps there, get more points, and then you have to start looking at the line, try to maul, we can't just do 3-6-9 walk on them.
"Their ability to stack points on was a credit to them across the series, and they just keep applying that pressure with their kick game.
"England did really well there. They had injuries too so they grinded out a series win.
"In terms of our learnings there's a heap for us. We've blooded some new players so that's a great thing. With injury comes opportunity.
"We were hurting last week, now we're going to be hurting even more. So it's going to be a long three weeks until we play again."
New Zealand head coach Ian Foster avoided questions over his future after the series defeat to Ireland, saying "I just want to talk about the test match."
The Irish had previously not won in 13 away games against New Zealand, but a 23-12 triumph last weekend gave them the opportunity to make even more history.
And a magnificent Ireland performance in a 32-22 victory in the decider condemned the All Blacks to their first home series defeat in 27 years.
The result also meant that New Zealand lost two games on home soil for the first time since a pair of defeats to South Africa in 1998.
In the post-match press conference Foster was quizzed about his future, to which he replied: "I just want to talk about the test match."
The 57-year-old was quick though to heap praise on Ireland, telling reporters: "New Zealanders have probably got to realise that this was a very good Irish team.
"Give them some credit. I think it would be disrespectful for us to not make that the number one item.
"They've come and achieved something pretty special here, and I think they deserve a bit of time in the sun for that."
Foster was also puzzled at New Zealand's lacklustre performance, with the 22-3 score they faced at half-time the largest 40-minute deficit in All Blacks history.
"For some reason we're just not as calm," Foster added.
"In the defence area we're getting a bit fidgety, there's a few holes.
"Ireland aren't a team you can let get behind because that is when they play an up-tempo game.”
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