Mikel Arteta said Mauricio Pochettino was “like a father” to him in his early playing days ahead of their meeting in Arsenal’s clash against Chelsea in the Premier League.

Arteta played alongside the Chelsea boss at Paris St Germain before their rise as coaches in Europe’s top divisions.

The Arsenal manager talked up the influence Pochettino had on him as a player, admitting he was inspired by the Argentinian as a teenager.

The pair will face off at the Emirates on Tuesday.

When asked how influential Pochettino was for Arteta as a player, he said: “He’s one of the most.

“I was 17 or 18 in Paris with no experience in professional football. He doesn’t like me saying it but to me he was like a father, he took me under his arm, he gave me incredible advice and protected me, he inspired me and I learned so much in our two years together.”

Arteta’s top-of-the-table Gunners have come a long way since he took over in 2019.

They sit one point ahead of Manchester City, who have a game in hand, and lead Liverpool on goal difference as they continue their bid for Premier League glory with five games remaining.

Arteta sought the opinion of Pochettino before leaving Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s assistant to become manager of the north London side.

“When I had to make a decision I asked him and explained the situation and he gave me some advice and he was needed,” Arteta added.

“I admire what he’s done in his career and he’s someone I’ve looked to because he was impactful to me in the most important stage of my career. As a role model I can’t pick anyone better.

“He doesn’t need to help me about tactics. The best influence he has had on me is the way he speaks about his life, his professionalism, his family and who he was as a figure in the dressing room and the passion and love he has for the game.

“That for me is the most important things which I learnt from him.”

A league title will be Arsenal’s first since 2003-04.

Arteta, whose side were dumped out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich last week, noted that there are further steps he wants his team to make in their development.

He said: “We need to see how we can make another step or two forward because that’s what this team is demanding to keep moving forward in a ruthless way because we’re not satisfied.

“You can see the team really wants it. We will try to be as fresh as possible but I think we can cope with that.”

Mauricio Pochettino believes it is unfair to compare the impact of Enzo Fernandez at Chelsea to that of Arsenal’s Declan Rice, as the teams prepare to face each other at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

England international Rice joined Mikel Arteta’s side from West Ham last summer for £100million, less than the £107m it cost to take World Cup winner Fernandez from Benfica to Stamford Bridge in January 2023.

The fee for the Argentinian was a British record at the time, though the club have since surpassed it in signing fellow midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton for £115m.

Rice has won plaudits for his transformational effect on Arsenal’s midfield, helping to forge a sturdier, more cohesive side than the one that fell away in the final weeks of last season’s Premier League title race.

By contrast, Chelsea’s league position has not markedly improved in the 15 months since Fernandez arrived in west London, and despite clear flashes of his obvious talent and range of passing, question marks have remained over whether the club got value for money.

However, his countryman Pochettino called for perspective on the obstacles that his player has had to contend with since arriving in England.

“Declan Rice was playing for West Ham, an English guy who knows the Premier League, knows the language,” said the 52-year-old.

“For Enzo, after the World Cup to arrive here, in a team that was inconsistent, difficult to get positive results, always it was really difficult.

“In summer he was involved in too many games and he arrived late in pre-season, hasn’t had a holiday in the last two years.

“Too many negative things happened. (It was) difficult for him to adapt, his family. It’s not easy to adapt and perform so quick.”

Fernandez was responsible for creating Chelsea’s best chance of Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City, hitting an incisive, raking pass from deep that sent Nicolas Jackson through on goal, but the striker could not finish.

He has scored three Premier League goals and made four assists since moving from Portugal in the immediate aftermath of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup triumph, but Pochettino insisted the best is yet to come from the 23-year-old.

“For sure he is going to be much better next season, after the experience of the whole season in this squad and this team,” he said.

“He’s more experienced, he gets better feelings. The whole season is good for him to learn. Even if he is a world champion, he needs to adapt to the Premier League and to this club. For me, there is no doubt that he is going to be much better.”

Pochettino said there have been no discussions over the future of striker Romelu Lukaku, currently on a season-long loan at Roma, but appeared to hint that the door could be open for a return.

The 30-year-old has scored 18 goals for the Serie A side this campaign after telling Chelsea last summer that he wanted to leave.

“He’s a Chelsea player, so for sure we will pay attention,” said Pochettino. “It’s an option. But still we did not take any decision.”

Jude Bellingham has targeted a trophy treble on the pitch after picking up silverware at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid.

Bellingham won the World Breakthrough of the Year prize after a stunning start to life at Real Madrid.

The 20-year-old has scored 21 goals since his summer move from Borussia Dortmund, his latest effort being a stunning winner in Sunday’s El Clasico against Barcelona.

Bellingham now hopes to end the season with a LaLiga and Champions League double at Real before heading to Euro 2024 in Germany where England are among the favourites to win the trophy.

Asked what would mean success, Bellingham said: “I think just more trophies really.

“We’re still in with a chance of two with Madrid and obviously the Euros with England. So I think success would be all three.

“It’s been a bit of a crazy week, really. I’m so tired, to be honest. So excuse me if I look it.

“But I’m really proud to win this award and hopefully keep making more memories with Real Madrid and with England in the future.”

Novak Djokovic was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record-equalling fifth time after winning the Australian Open, French Open and US Open to lead the way with 24 grand slam men’s singles titles.

“I am incredibly honoured to have won my fifth Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award,” said Djokovic.

“I think back to 2012, when I won it for the first time as a 24-year-old. I am very proud to be here 12 years later, reflecting on a year that brought me and my fans a lot of excitement and success.

“It was thrilling to return to Australia last January and win my 10th title. It is a tournament that is so dear to my heart and set me up for an incredible 12 months.

“I could not have achieved so much success without an incredible team behind me, and inspirational rivals who have always pushed me to be the best version of myself.”

Aitana Bonmati took to the stage twice to collect two awards – the first footballer to win the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year trophy, and also represent the Spain team which won the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

She said: “It is humbling to see the list of previous winners of this award.

“From Serena Williams to Simone Biles, Lindsey Vonn, Naomi Osaka and last year’s winner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, they are all incredible athletes who have not only excelled in their chosen sports, but been incredible role models for younger generations of young women and girls.

“As the first women’s team to win the Laureus, we are proud of our status as pioneers and as a group we are as committed to equality and representation as we are to what we do on the football pitch.”

American gymnast Biles, a three-time winner of Sportswoman of the Year, won the World Comeback of the Year Award.

Biles collected four gold medals at the World Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, her first global event since leaving the Tokyo Olympics due to mental health issues and entering a near two-year break from the sport she had dominated.

Other award winners were Rafael Nadal (Sport for Good), Diede de Groot (World Sportsperson of the Year with a disability) and Arisa Trew (World Action Sportsperson of the Year).

:: The 25th Laureus World Sports Awards took place on Monday 22 April in Madrid, celebrating the leading names in sport from across the globe. To find out more, visit www.laureus.com.

Zach Wilson has a chance to restart his career in a new setting after the Denver Broncos reportedly traded for the former starting quarterback from the New York Jets on Monday, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.

The Broncos are also acquiring a seventh-round pick in this year's NFL draft, and the Jets will receive a sixth-rounder.

New York will also pay part of Wilson's $5.5million salary next season.

Wilson arrives in Denver after never living up to expectations with the Jets after the franchise selected him second overall in the 2021 draft.

He went 3-10 as a rookie in 2021, and things didn't improve in 2022, leading to his benching.

The Jets had seen enough and decided to move on from Wilson, trading for Aaron Rodgers prior to the 2023 season. Wilson, though, got another chance to start after Rodgers tore his Achilles on his first drive with New York in the season opener.

He was unable to take advantage of that opportunity, however, throwing for eight touchdowns and seven interceptions in 12 games in 2023. His 77.2 passer rating ranked 30th out of 32 qualifying QBs last season.

In 34 career games, he has completed 57.0 per cent of his passes for 6,293 yards with 23 TDs and 25 picks.

Among the 30 quarterbacks with a minimum of 700 pass attempts since 2021, Wilson ranks last in completion percentage and QB rating (73.2), and 29th in both touchdown passes and yards per attempt (6.34).

In Denver, he'll likely get a chance to compete for the starting QB job after the Broncos released Russell Wilson in early March.

The only other quarterbacks on Denver's roster are Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci, but the team could also decide to select one in Thursday's draft.

Mark Selby has vowed to consider retirement after crashing out of the World Snooker Championship in a “pathetic” 10-6 defeat to qualifier Joe O’Connor.

The four-time former champion finished a dismal season by his own standards on a low note as he failed to claw back a 7-2 overnight deficit against the only debutant in this year’s draw.

Having first questioned his future after a Tour Championship defeat to Gary Wilson earlier this month, Selby admitted something will have to change if he is to continue on the tour next season.

Selby, who has reached a solitary ranking final this season, said: “I will take a long time to think about it over the summer. Away from snooker I’m happy, then when I come to snooker it’s the opposite. It was pathetic from start to finish.”

O’Connor, who grew up idolising Selby and cheered him to three of those previous successes, held his nerve as his opponent – aided by breaks of 112 and 91 – slowly reduced the deficit to 8-5 at the mid-session interval.

Selby threatened to move within two frames when he went 39 points up in the 15th but he left himself too much to do and O’Connor built on a nerveless red down the rail to complete the biggest win of his career.

It marked the first time since 2018 that Selby has lost in the first round, and prompted ‘The Jester from Leicester’ to concede he will not be able to continue without some serious help.

He told the BBC: “I’ll sit down with (my wife) Vicky and see what the options are.

“Obviously it will be a big decision but if I do carry on playing I need help, probably on the mental side of it a little bit more just to go out there and enjoy the game.

“That’s all I want to do, go out there and enjoy it and for me, it’s always sort of life or death; I’ve always been that kind of character, putting too much pressure on myself and trying too hard.”

Shaun Murphy avoided the same fate as he turned a 6-3 overnight advantage into a comfortable 10-5 win over China’s Lyu Haotian.

Murphy punished Lyu from 38 points behind to pinch the opening frame, and was never in danger of surrendering his advantage in the tie, which he eventually polished off with a break of 81.

The 2005 champion told the BBC: “It’s such a relief, it’s so rewarding and pleasing, I haven’t won a match here for a few seasons. I’m delighted to have got that win and (be) in the second round of the tournament.”

Triple world champion Mark Williams edged in front of last year’s surprise semi-finalist Si Jiahui in a high-quality opening session of their first round match.

Williams started the match with a brilliant 142 clearance but Si hit back, and the Welshman had to dig deep to win the final two frames of the session to establish a 5-4 lead ahead of Tuesday’s conclusion.

Stuart Bingham stormed into an impressive three-frame lead to give him a healthy advantage at the end of the first session, leading Gary Wilson 6-3.

Bingham started in tremendous fashion, falling just two points short of an opening-frame century break and he rattled off the next three before Wilson made his mark on the scoreboard.

Bingham responded with a 117 break to go 5-1 up and put daylight between himself and his opponent, who many expected to challenge for the title.

Staring down the barrel of an early exit, Wilson’s session-high 60 break came in the final frame but a missed black helped Bingham swoop and almost clear the table until he himself missed a routine black, which his opponent sunk to reduce the deficit to three.

Owner Ahmad Al Shaik is again dreaming of Derby glory after Deira Mile broke his duck in routine fashion at Windsor.

Dubai Mile was ninth in the Epsom Classic last year carrying the Green Team Racing colours and hopes are high of an improved placing this term.

The Owen Burrows-trained Deira Mile remained a maiden following four runs as a juvenile, mainly due to fluffing his lines when sent off as a 1-5 favourite at Chelmsford.

However, he showed his potential when beaten less than three lengths in fourth behind Ancient Wisdom in the Group One Futurity at Doncaster and built on that by justifying short odds of 4-9 at Windsor under Jim Crowley.

Asked about Derby aspirations, his owner told Sky Sports Racing: “It is in my blood and my sons’ blood, not just me. We need to go to the Derby and one day we will win – if not me, one of my sons.

“He is still green but Jim Crowley said the further he goes, the better he will be.

“We have only 40 days now until Epsom, I don’t think we have time to run him again, so I will discuss with the trainer about going straight to Epsom and I think he will be fine.”

Burrows added: “He’s a big lad and mentally, he’s still quite immature. He had the four runs last year, but he is still a big baby.

“The plan was to try and find as easy a race as we could and it worked out perfectly. He’s ended up hitting the front a little sooner than ideal, as he gets to the front and just thinks ‘right, what do I do now?’ But he’s had a race.”

Crowley pulled alongside main market rival Castle In The Sand between the final two furlongs of the 10-furlong contest and Deira Mile responded to his urgings to prevail by four lengths.

The jockey said: “It’s the first time I’ve ridden him, but I saw him at Chelmsford last year and I think when he hits the front, he just loses concentration a little bit and he did it there, hence why I gave him a smack, because I just don’t want him to get in the habit of doing it.

“The race sort of fell apart at the two-furlong pole and I could have quite easily stayed upsides on the bridle, but he probably wouldn’t have learnt an awful lot.

“But he is learning, he’s going to progress and he stays well – he’s a lovely type of horse and he was entitled to win that race.

“His two-year-old form was very good at the back-end and I suggested to Owen we could possibly put a set of cheekpieces on him, especially in a better race where horses take him further.

“Like I said, he stays very well and there will be some lovely races for him through the summer.”

Nottingham Forest face the threat of Football Association and Premier League charges over their extraordinary attack on the officiating of their match against Everton on Sunday.

Three Forest members of staff – head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, referee analyst Mark Clattenburg and full-back Neco Williams – have been asked by the FA to explain comments they made about the refereeing at Goodison Park, while the Premier League is also examining the club’s social media post which appeared to question the integrity of VAR Stuart Attwell.

The statements from the authorities came within hours of Forest demanding the release of VAR audio related to the rejection of three penalty appeals during their 2-0 defeat.

Forest first issued a club statement on X on Sunday, minutes after the final whistle, in which they said they had “warned” referees’ chief Howard Webb that Attwell “is a Luton fan” but that no change was made to the match appointment.

The club went further on Monday evening and called on Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to change its rules on officials’ allegiances to account for “contextual rivalries in the league table”, not just local rivalries.

The Premier League said it was “extremely disappointed” by the statement issued on Sunday and added: “It is never appropriate to improperly question the integrity of match officials, and the nature of these comments means the Premier League will also be investigating the matter in relation to the league’s rules.”

Sources have since told PA that Clattenburg did contact Webb on Friday to share that he thought Nuno might be asked about Attwell by the media, but that Forest did not raise Attwell’s appointment as a concern or make a request to change the appointment.

Qualifier Joe O’Connor held his nerve to sink four-time champion Mark Selby and book his place in the second round of the World Championship in Sheffield.

O’Connor, who grew up idolising Selby and cheered him to three of those previous successes, scrambled to a 10-6 victory after resuming 7-2 in front from Sunday’s dominant first session.

Selby, who has struggled on and off the table this season and said he was considering retirement after his Tour Championship loss to Gary Wilson earlier this month, looked sluggish and far from his best throughout.

But he still managed to draw on his famous fighting qualities as he opened with a break of 112 and also fired a 91 to reduce the deficit to 8-5 at the mid-session interval.

O’Connor, the only debutant in the tournament this year, showed few signs of nerves as he nudged 56 points from victory in the next to move one more frame from a famous victory.

Selby responded once more with a break of 67 then threatened to edge within two frames when he went 39 points up in the next before an ice-cool red down the rail by his opponent effectively confirmed his demise.

It marked the first time since 2018 that Selby has lost in the first round, and prompted ‘The Jester from Leicester’ to admit that he will give some serious thought to his future in the summer.

Selby told the BBC: “I’ll sit down with (my wife) Vicky and see what the options are.

“Obviously it will be a big decision but if I do carry on playing I need help, probably on the mental side of it a little bit more just to go out there and enjoy the game.

“That’s all I want to do, go out there and enjoy it and for me, it’s always sort of life or death; I’ve always been that kind of character, putting too much pressure on myself and trying too hard.”

Shaun Murphy avoided the same fate as he turned a 6-3 overnight advantage into a comfortable 10-5 win over China’s Lyu Haotian.

Murphy punished Lyu from 38 points behind to pinch the opening frame, and was never in danger of surrendering his advantage in the tie, which he eventually polished off with a break of 81.

The 2005 champion told the BBC: “It’s such a relief, it’s so rewarding and pleasing, I haven’t won a match here for a few seasons. I’m delighted to have got that win and (be) in the second round of the tournament.”

Stuart Bingham stormed into an impressive three-frame lead to give him a healthy advantage at the end of the first session, leading Gary Wilson 6-3.

Bingham started in tremendous fashion, falling just two points short of an opening-frame century break and he rattled off the next three before Wilson made his mark on the scoreboard.

Bingham responded with a 117 break to go 5-1 up and put daylight between himself and his opponent, who many expected to challenge for the title.

Staring down the barrel of an early exit, Wilson’s session-high 60 break came in the final frame but a missed black helped Bingham swoop and almost clear the table until he himself missed a routine black, which his opponent sunk to reduce the deficit to three.

Defending champions Surrey recorded their first win of the Vitality County Championship season as they knocked over Kent by an innings and 37 runs on the final day at Canterbury.

Resuming in search of five wickets for victory, the Brown Caps endured a pocket of resistance in the shape of Joey Evison’s 53 and Matt Parkinson’s career-best 39 before dismissing the hosts for 262 on the fourth afternoon.

Spinner Cameron Steel took two more to finish with three for 38, cementing his spot as the country’s leading wicket taker after three rounds with 20 scalps, and Dan Worrall returned four for 31.

After two rain-affected draws, Surrey took a maximum 24 points back the Kia Oval to move second in Division One behind Essex.

At Taunton, persistent showers prevented Nottinghamshire pair Joe Clarke and Will Young adding to a mammoth partnership of 392 in a draw against Somerset.

Just nine overs were possible before the washout was confirmed, leaving Clarke 213 not out and New Zealand’s Young 174no in their county’s record third-wicket stand. Play was abandoned after lunch, with the away side 440 for two in their second innings.

At the Utilita Bowl, Warwickshire and Hampshire put the finishing touches to another rain-ruined draw.

With no real prospect of a positive result, Bears opener Rob Yates took his chance to compile an unbeaten 84 that means he, partner Alex Davies and number three Will Rhodes all average more than 100 for the season.

Liam Dawson took two wickets to take his match haul to seven for Hampshire, who saw the visitors put up 205 for four before the handshakes.

In Division Two, Sussex got over the line against Gloucestershire as Cheteshwar Pujara withstood the best efforts of Pakistan’s Zafar Gohar.

The India Test star had the calmest head in Hove as he notched an undefeated 44 to see his side to a target of 144. Six of his team-mates did not survive the chase, left-arm spinner Gohar claiming five for 59 to keep the home team on their toes.

Pujara remained until the job was done, earning a four-wicket win, with West Indies quick Jayden Seales earlier finishing with four for 18 as Gloucestershire were rounded up for 205.

Leicestershire’s hopes of a victory push against Derbyshire were also frustrated by the weather, with no play possible on Monday. Derbyshire survived six down and 183 behind in the second innings, but took just one point to the Foxes’ eight.

It was a similar story for Northamptonshire, who were unable to turn their first-innings declaration on 605 for six into a win over Glamorgan at Wantage Road.

The teams hung around until 4pm awaiting a start time that never came, with the Welsh side closing 230 behind on 104 for three.

Former world champion Shaun Murphy has accused rival Hossein Vafaei of “sacrilege” after the Iranian launched a scathing attack on the conditions at the Crucible Theatre.

Vafaei described the venue as “smelly” and said the practice room was like a garage in the wake of his 10-5 World Championship first-round defeat to Judd Trump on Sunday.

But Murphy, who swept to victory over Lyu Haotian by the same score, jumped to the defence of the Crucible, which has hosted every World Championship since 1977.

Murphy said: “This is holy ground. It’s almost sacrilege for a professional snooker player to be so openly critical of our home.

“Hossein should educate himself on how our tour works in relationships with the WST and our broadcast partners, and what a special place this is.

“Does he think he is helping our sport grow by being so openly critical of one of our biggest partners? He has not helped the sport at all.”

Speculation is mounting over the future of the venue, with its current deal due to expire in 2027 and some stars including world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan openly calling for the sport’s power-brokers to pursue more lucrative options abroad.

Murphy, who is based in Sheffield and won the world title as a qualifier in 2005, conceded the Crucible has its problems but said he hoped it would find a way to extend its historic association with the sport.

“We’re coming up to the 50th anniversary of snooker being here and if the World Snooker Tour turned up tomorrow and did a site visit they would probably not come here because it’s not big enough, but there’s nothing we can do about that,” added Murphy.

“I don’t want the snooker to leave here. I don’t think anyone wants to leave apart from Hossein and Ronnie O’Sullivan. Everyone else wants to stay but it can’t stay as it is.”

Former semi-finalist Mark Allen admitted he is in two minds about the future of the sport’s showpiece event given the lure of those potentially lucrative alternatives elsewhere.

The WST recently signed a deal to step up promotion of the game in Saudi Arabia, and next year’s second World Masters of Snooker event will offer a stunning one million dollars (£810,000) jackpot for any player capable of potting a special golden ball after a maximum break.

“Sometimes money talks and it doesn’t look too good for the Crucible, but I wouldn’t be openly pushing to leave,” said Allen.

“I’m a traditionalist and I love the history that is attached to this venue. The sport needs to evolve and grow but I’m not sure about the direction it wants to go in.

“On the other hand you need money to provide for your family and if somewhere else is better placed to help with that then so be it. Perhaps the answer is to find a bigger venue in Sheffield to keep it here.”

Chelsea have threatened to bring criminal charges against anyone found to have racially abused Nicolas Jackson in the aftermath of Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester City.

The 22-year-old striker missed a number of chances at Wembley as his side bowed out of the cup with a 1-0 defeat and was subsequently the target of abuse on social media.

The racist comments were left on an Instagram post he had made following last week’s victory over Everton, in which he scored his 10th goal of the season.

In a statement, the club said: “Chelsea Football Club is disgusted by the racial abuse directed towards Nicolas Jackson via social media, following Saturday evening’s game.

“There is no place in society for any form of discrimination and we operate a zero-tolerance approach to any incident of this nature.

“The club will support any criminal prosecutions and take the strongest possible action, including bans, against any individual who is found to be a season ticket holder or member.”

Defending the Senegal international’s record during his debut season – since signing for Chelsea from Villarreal – manager Mauricio Pochettino said: “Jackson is doing fantastic and he will always have my support.

“He’s doing an amazing job for the team: running, scoring, assists.

“It’s not easy in the first season. Nicolas fights for the club and he will be better next season, no doubts.”