Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta described his side’s 6-0 thrashing of Sheffield United as “a great night” as they climbed to within two points of leaders Liverpool.
The Gunners dominated from start to finish against a Blades team who looked well beaten after Martin Odegaard, Jayden Bogle’s own goal and Gabriel Martinelli had put them 3-0 behind inside 13 minutes.
Kai Havertz and Declan Rice put the irrepressible Londoners 5-0 ahead at half-time and Ben White crashed home their sixth before the hour mark.
Arteta, whose side’s seventh straight league victory saw them become the first English league side to win three consecutive away games by five or more goals, said: “It was a great night.
“The way we started made a difference. We were really aggressive and positive and we showed real quality in the final third to take the game into a great position for us.
“Then we maintained the rhythm, maintained the hunger and I love that about the team.”
Arsenal struck their fifth goal in the 39th minute, the earliest an away side has had a five-goal margin in Premier League history.
But Arteta warned his side they cannot afford to drop any points between now and the end of the season if they are to pip Liverpool and Manchester City to the title.
“The fact that we’re scoring many goals and not conceding is a great sign, but it’s about winning every game now,” the Spaniard said.
“That’s the demands these two teams have set over the past few years and that’s the task ahead of us.”
Arteta confirmed Bukayo Saka was withdrawn at half-time due to illness, while Martinelli was replaced by Gabriel Jesus in the 64th minute after cutting his foot.
“We need to wait and see how it is,” added Arteta on Martinelli’s setback, which was the only downside to the evening.
The Russell Wilson era in Denver opened with such excitement and hope for the Broncos.
Just two years later, it's ending with considerable disappointment.
The Broncos announced on Monday that they will release Wilson after the start of the new league year, which begins on March 13.
"On behalf of the Broncos, we thank Russell for his contributions and dedication to our team and community while wishing him the best as he continues his career," Broncos GM George Paton and coach Sean Payton said in a statement released by the team.
"As we move forward, we are focused on building the strongest team possible for the 2024 season and beyond. We are excited to improve this offseason and will have the flexibility to get better through the draft and free agency.”
The decision to cut Wilson allows Denver to save an extra $37million in guaranteed money for 2025, though he is still guaranteed $39million for the 2024 season.
The Broncos paid a hefty price to acquire Wilson in March of 2022, in a deal that will go down as one of the biggest trade busts in NFL history.
Denver sent two first-round draft picks, two second-round draft picks, a third-round selection and three players to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for the nine-time Pro Bowler.
Then shortly before the start of the 2022 season - before he had even played a game for the Broncos - the team signed Wilson to a massive five-year extension worth more than $242million.
The trade looked to be doomed from the start as Wilson struggled mightily in his first season in Denver as the Broncos finished last in the AFC West with a 5-12 record in 2022.
After throwing 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and compiling a career-worst 84.4 QB rating in 2022, Wilson had 26 TDs and eight picks in 2023 for a 98.0 rating - eighth best in the NFL.
Although he played better this past season, Denver opted to bench Wilson for its final two games with a play-off berth nearly out of reach.
The Broncos split their final two contests and ended up missing the play-offs for the eighth year in a row.
Wilson, who led Seattle to a Super Bowl championship following the 2013 season, will turn 36 in November, and will likely be able to find another starting job after a nice bounce-back season in 2023.
Great Britain is in the running to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, according to UK Athletics chief executive Jack Buckner.
The last time the event was staged in the UK was in London in 2017, while Glasgow hosted the World Indoor Championships at the weekend.
Now Buckner has told BBC Sport that UK Sport and UK Athletics are conducting a feasibility study into launching a bid to stage the 2029 event.
“We’d love to have another crack at 2029 and a World Championships,” said Buckner.
“We just do a great job. Everyone talks about the atmosphere at every event we’ve done.
“We first of all have to do a feasibility study and look at what the various options are.”
Buckner indicated that London would be the favoured venue for the event, in light of the successful staging of both the 2017 event and the 2012 Olympics.
“We can’t definitely say it’ll be London, but it would be in our mind given the success of it before,” Buckner added.
“I think London (2017) was transformational and it built off 2012 (the Olympic Games). It was transformational in all sorts of ways.”
Raddesh Roman has added another milestone to his career by signing with TruShake as their latest brand ambassador.
Roman is the fourth jockey in less than two years to join the TruShake family.
He placed fifth in the 2023 standings and is currently in second place behind Tevin Foster, another TruShake Ambassador.
Lauren Mahfood, Marketing Manager, Trade Winds Citrus Limited, says she is elated to add another brand ambassador to their sporting family.
She noted that, “Horseracing in Jamaica is very popular and as a Jamaican brand it is amazing to be a part of sport that Jamaicans are so passionate about and support our talented jockeys.”
Mahfood went on to say that "TruSHAKE is a great fit for the jockeys who are very mindful of their weight. As a nutrition shake, TruSHAKE can act as a meal replacement or as a snack to complement the jockey’s diet depending on their goal weight."
Roman is pleased to be associated with the company and has set his sights firmly on taking the 2024 championship. He said, "I will do all I can to make this relationship work and will perform at my best at all times."
Roman joined the big leagues when he rode Blue Vinyl to victory in the 2000 Guineas and St Leger Classic races in 2022 and added an elite win on his resume last August (2023) when he rode Runaway Algo for his 100th career winner.
Roman joins the other jockeys 2023 winner, Reyan Lewis, Tevin Foster and Javaneil Patterson; while the other athletes are Olympic bronze medalist in women's hurdles, Megan Tapper and race car driver, Fraser McConnell.
Roman had three wins on Saturday for the SVREL 7th Anniversary.
Denver Broncos have announced their decision to release quarterback Russell Wilson, bringing an end to a hugely disappointing two-year stint.
Wilson was acquired in a high-profile trade from Seattle Seahawks but the Broncos won just 11 of the 30 games he started, and he was benched for the last two games of the 2023 campaign.
Wilson will be released after the new league season begins on March 13.
The Broncos said in a statement: “We spoke with Russell Wilson today to inform him of his release after the start of the league year.
“On behalf of the Broncos, we thank Russell for his contributions and dedication to our team and community while wishing him the best as he continues his career.
“As we move forward, we are focused on building the strongest team possible for the 2024 season and beyond.
“We are excited to improve this off-season and will have the flexibility to get better through the draft and free agency.”
Inter Milan stretched their lead at the top of Serie A to 15 points after they earned a 2-1 win over Genoa at San Siro.
After a slow opening spell, the home side soon clicked into gear and established a two-goal lead by the 38th minute through Kristjan Asllani’s strike and Alexis Sanchez’s penalty.
Inter looked like they would go on to cruise to victory but they were soon forced to increase their concentration levels when Johan Vasquez pulled a goal back for the away team nine minutes after half-time.
Vitinha then thought he levelled things up for Genoa but the offside flag saved Inter, who held on to stretch their winning run in Serie A to nine games.
Inter were frustrated through the opening quarter with the hosts coming closest when Nicolo Barella pounced on Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s long ball but guided over the crossbar.
Genoa came close to breaking the deadlock after Stefano Sabelli’s cross was powerfully headed towards goal by Mateo Retegui but Yann Sommer saved. The rebound fell into the path of Albert Gudmundsson who diverted wide.
Inter had the breakthrough on the half-hour mark when Sanchez’s through ball found Asllani, who smashed emphatically into the roof of the net to make it 1-0.
The hosts had a chance to double their lead when Lautaro Martinez picked out Barella, who was adjudged to have been fouled inside the area by Morten Frendrup and a spot-kick was awarded.
Sanchez stepped up for the penalty and powered into the right side of the net, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Inter were smelling blood and could have had three when Mkhitaryan raced through on goal and let fly only to see his goalbound shot blocked by Johan Vasquez.
Genoa had a route back into the game nine minutes after the break after Stefan de Vrij’s defensive header looped straight into the path of Vasquez who arrowed a volley into the bottom right corner.
The visitors thought they had an equaliser when Vitinha cut inside and picked out the bottom corner but the assistant referee’s offside flag cut celebrations short with 20 minutes to go.
Genoa came close once again but Tottenham loanee Djed Spence’s cross was glanced wide by Retegui and Inter held their nerve to edge closer to the Serie A title.
Rampant Arsenal made history with a 6-0 win away to shambolic Sheffield United as Mikel Arteta’s side moved back to within two points of the Premier League summit.
Having seen title rivals Liverpool edge past Nottingham Forest and Manchester City defeat Manchester United, Mikel Arteta’s men knew they had to respond at the Championship-bound Blades.
Arsenal did so in style and could easily have struck more than the five first-half goals they managed at Bramall Lane, where the Monday evening mauling was completed by a Ben White thunderbolt.
This was the Gunners’ seventh straight Premier League win and saw them become the first English league side to win three consecutive away games by five or more goals.
By contrast, the Blades have now conceded five or more in four successive home games in all competitions – not exactly the fight boss Chris Wilder promised from his rock-bottom side.
Instead, United fans watched one the most humiliating first halves in Premier League history, with a Jayden Bogle own goal coming between efforts from Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli in the opening 15 minutes.
Kai Havertz and Declan Rice made it five by the half-time, which was greeted by boos from the Blades fans who had not already headed for a pint or an early exit.
White brilliantly fizzed home Arsenal’s sixth – the 10,000th goal in club history – as Arteta rung the changes, including taking off injured Martinelli after withdrawing Bukayo Saka at the break.
Anthony Joshua has dismissed suggestions that his fight against Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Friday should not be taken seriously and says his opponent fully deserves his shot.
Joshua takes on the MMA star in his first ring appearance since his five-round triumph over Otto Wallin in December as he looks to move closer to linking up a heavyweight title clash with Tyson Fury.
Ngannou gave Fury all the trouble he could handle in October when he knocked the favourite down in the third round and dropped a contentious split decision, and Joshua expects another tough test on Friday.
Joshua told Sky Sports: “It’s not a gimmick, it’s not something that benefits the broadcasters, it’s not just a fight for entertainment purposes.
“This is a serious fight with someone who is prepared and understands the dynamic of boxing and he’s putting up a good fight against the apparently generational great. So, I look at it now as something completely different.
“To be classified as a world-class heavyweight I would say that you have to stay there for a period of time. But I think that he’s an athlete with a lot of potential.”
Joshua admitted that watching Ngannou’s clash with Fury changed his opinion of MMA fighters coming into boxing, which effectively began with Conor McGregor’s defeat to Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas in 2017.
“The whole MMA crossing over into boxing I looked at it as a gimmick, but now I can see that there are certain fighters in the MMA world that can box, and he (Ngannou) is one of them,” added Joshua.
“It’s good news for us fighters and good news for broadcasters because they’ve got me and Ngannou going at it in a few days.”
The Jamaica Squash Association (JSA) and KPMG joined forces recently to launch the 24th KPMG League which will feature sixteen teams. The launch was held at the association's home base at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston.
There was a mood of heightened excitement for this year's staging of the league after last year's successful post Covid-19 return. AGI was the dominant team then but there is one change to their line-up which could make the difference this year.
Karen Anderson, president of the JSA said "we can expect exciting matches. We see some really strong teams that have registered for the event and I think we will see an upset or two and so we are extremely excited to see how the matches will play out over the two months of the event."
The league will run on a handicap system which is used to level the playing field so that everybody will have a chance to play and do well.
The teams will play round robin matches in the first round of four teams per group. The top two teams will go to the quarterfinals where all matches going forward will be played on a knockout basis. The other two teams in the group will play in a plate final or final for the losing teams.
Anderson announced that the association will introduce new software to run the league fully for the first time.
"The association will be running it using the software that we have, the SportyHQ software, which will help us to be a bit more efficient in getting our results out and in the efficiency of the play because now people can follow live. We are trying to be innovative in how we bring new and different to a league that has been running for 24 years."
Additionally, Anderson welcomed new sponsor Wata to provide hydration throughout the league. She thanked title sponsor for this year's sponsorship of five hundred and fifty thousand dollars. This will allow for the association to take up the cost of staging all the matches while relieving the teams of the cost of hosting matches.
Rajan Trehan, country managing partner of title sponsor KPMG credited the league for its continued high contribution to developing young players in the game of squash in the country.
"Over the period (of our sponsorship) it has developed into a very strong league and its one of the major events on the JSA calendar. We are proud because we believe in the development of youth as well as sports and we have adopted squash as one of the sports to make sure that we contribute in the development of squash in particular."
He also said that KPMG will be around for much longer than the 24 years they have been sponsoring the league.
One of Jamaica's best young player Sanjana Nallapati endorsed that league while saying that her game had improved because of her involvement in the league. "It (her game) was definitely better because we had a bunch of matches. Games are usually up to 11 but these were up to 21. Even though it was best of three, it tested our fitness quite a bit and the squash definitely improved quite a bit by the end of it."
Dave Morrison of defending champion AGI (Advantage General Insurance) was upbeat about the league. "Last year was really satisfying. We have never always done well because the nature of the tournament is to ensure that regardless of the quality of players you have, it’s all eliminated or equalized because of the handicap structure. But last year we really came out with a certain level of determination and yes, I had to one or two times, I had to save the team but I will remind them that that's what I did but yes, we had a very, very exciting tournament last year. I really enjoyed it."
The league will serve off on Tuersday evening at the Liguanea Club while it is scheduled to end on April 19 at the same venue.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is reportedly under investigation for allegedly interfering with the result of a Formula One race.
According to the BBC, a report by motorsport governing body’s compliance officer Paolo Basarri to the ethics committee says Ben Sulayem acted to overturn a penalty given to Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The PA news agency has contacted the FIA, but it is understood that because matters like this rest with the ethics committee, an independent body, the FIA is unlikely to offer any comment while any due process runs its course.
The BBC report claims a whistleblower alleged Ben Sulayem called Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa – FIA vice-president for sport for the Middle East and North Africa region, who was in Saudi Arabia for the race in an official capacity – and made it clear he thought Alonso’s penalty should be revoked.
The removal of Alonso’s 10-second penalty, imposed for work done on his car while he was serving a previous five-second penalty, returned him to the podium behind Red Bull duo Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, after the sanction had dropped him to fourth.
At the time there was no suggestion there was anything untoward with the decision after Aston Martin’s sporting director Andy Stevenson had put the team’s case to stewards in a right of review.
Christian Horner staged a face-to-face meeting with Max Verstappen’s representative in Dubai on Monday in a bid to iron out escalating tensions at Red Bull.
The summit was held 48 hours after Verstappen’s father, Jos, said Red Bull would “explode” if Horner remained in his role as team principal.
The PA news agency understands that neither Jos or his son, Max, were present, with Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen acting on the Dutch driver’s behalf.
A source told PA the talks “went well”. Senior Red Bull figures were also said to be present. The next grand prix takes place in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
Verstappen’s victory at the opening round of the season last weekend in Bahrain was overshadowed by continued controversy surrounding Horner.
Following the race Horner said he was “absolutely confident” he would stay on as Red Bull boss for the remainder of the season after overseeing Verstappen lead a one-two finish from team-mate Sergio Perez.
Horner has faced intense scrutiny in recent weeks following allegations made against him by a female colleague. Horner has always denied the claims.
But, speaking to the Daily Mail, Verstappen Snr added further fuel to the fire when he said: “There is tension here while he (Horner) remains in position.
“The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.”
Responding to Verstappen Snr’s comments, a Red Bull Racing spokesperson said: “There are no issues here. The team are united and we are focused on racing.”
Marine Nationale will miss next week’s My Pension Expert Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase due to a suspensory strain.
The seven-year-old won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham last year and had been a general 9-4 favourite to supplement his Festival haul in the Arkle.
However, trainer Barry Connell reports his star performer to be in need of a six-week rest, scuppering not only his Cheltenham run, but also any possible engagements at Aintree or Punchestown.
Connell said: “He basically needs six weeks off and he has got a minor suspensory strain.
“We did our final piece of work with him on Saturday and were thrilled with him – it was as good a piece of work he has done in the last year and a half.
“Everything was all ready for Cheltenham and he was all ready to go, but we obviously don’t ride out on Sunday and came in this morning and the horse was lame.
“He has never had a lame step in his life before, so we just put him to one side for the vets to look at him. They went through him in detail and it’s the best possible result we could have hoped for because it’s basically liked a pulled muscle in human terms.
“It is in the suspensory, not a tendon and it’s not a tear, it’s basically a little shadow.
“If we had not caught it and gone on with it, things could have been worse, so the vets say if he gets six weeks’ rest, he will be 100 per cent.”
Marine Nationale has run just twice this term, winning impressively on his fencing bow at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting before suffering a shock defeat at Leopardstown last month.
While his jumps season is over, Connell could yet look for a Flat target in the autumn once the gelding has fully recovered.
He added: “We have missed our spring campaign with him, he’s going to miss Cheltenham and Punchestown, but we’ll get him out early on grass and what I’ve kind of got in the back of my head with this horse is we could give him a go at a Flat campaign.
“That is something we could possibly look to do in the autumn, but the main aim will be to go back to Cheltenham for the Queen Mother Champion Chase next year.
“Given that he has had a truncated season, a Flat campaign is something that could come to fruition in the autumn. I’ve always felt he would be a great horse on the Flat and I don’t know how high he could go, but he could be a horse for maybe the Irish St Leger or something like that.
“One door closes and another opens and the main thing is we have a horse who is going to be 100 per cent in six weeks.
“It’s obviously very disappointing that we can’t go over and win the Arkle this year, but I don’t think there is any National Hunt horse who gets a complete clear run at things and if this is as bad a setback as we get, then we will definitely take it.
“He’s a fresh horse, he’s only had seven runs in his life and he will be as good as new for the Queen Mother next year and in the meantime, we might have a nice go at a few runs on the Flat in the autumn – that’s something we can look at when the dust settles.”
Willie Mullins says a “conversation will be had” as to whether connections reconsider Lossiemouth’s Cheltenham Festival target.
With Constitution Hill ruled out of a Unibet Champion Hurdle defence, Gordon Elliott has already indicated he could switch Irish Point from the Stayers’ Hurdle as a result of his absence.
Lossiemouth is currently the favourite for the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle, which connections stated would be her target after her superb win in the Unibet Hurdle at Cheltenham in January.
Mullins’ has the new favourite for the Champion in State Man but is yet to decide if there will be a change of plan for Lossiemouth, who is one of five remaining entries for the Closutton team.
“It’s tough on Nicky (Henderson) and Michael Buckley (owner),” Mullins said.
“We’ve a week to go and we’re not there yet either, anything can happen in this game.
“I haven’t really thought about whether we’d supplement anything else. We have plenty still in it.
“Lossiemouth is still in it and I suppose a conversation will be had.”
The Republic of Ireland appear to have ruled out interim boss John O’Shea from taking over as head coach permanently.
The Football Association of Ireland said last week it plans to name a permanent successor to Stephen Kenny in early April, with director of football Marc Canham revealing at a press conference on Monday that the preferred candidate was still in work.
“The process of the appointment of the permanent new head coach is very close to the end, nearing its end point, and we look forward to announcing that new permanent head coach in early April,” Canham said at a press conference alongside O’Shea.
“Existing contractual obligations mean that we are not in a position to announce any further details at this point but as we have committed to, we will announce that in early April.
“The process has been ongoing for a period of time, we have given a series of updates, but we are near the end. We are at a really advanced stage but for different practical reasons we can’t confirm that until early April.”
Former Manchester United and Ireland defender O’Shea was appointed interim boss last week for the home friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland later this month.
“Look, my focus is on these two games,” said the 42-year-old. “When I got the message from Mark just over a week ago it was an amazing feeling, I’m very proud.
“It’s an amazing feeling and I can’t wait for it to come round.
“(The future) takes care of itself, I’m focused on these two games and we’ll see what happens then.”
O’Shea will be assisted by Paddy McCarthy and Glenn Whelan, as well as former national team boss Brian Kerr as technical director.
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