Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has completed his controversial move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq.
The 33-year-old, who posted a farewell message to Reds fans on Wednesday, brought to an end a 12-year stay at Anfield in which he won every major trophy by finalising a deal with reported wages of up to £700,000-a-week.
Liverpool are due to receive an initial £12million from the Saudi Pro League club, who posted on social media: “A leader. A warrior. We’re simply thrilled to have him. Henderson is ETTIFAQI.”
Henderson was seen training with his new team-mates at a camp in Croatia in a fan video posted on social media, which will have caused Liverpool some embarrassment even though it was hastily deleted.
In their own statement Liverpool said: “We can confirm @JHenderson has completed a transfer to Al-Ettifaq.
“As his Anfield chapter now comes to a close, everyone at the club wishes to place on record their thanks and gratitude for everything Jordan did for us during his 12 years as a Red.”
The England international will be reunited with former team-mate Steven Gerrard who is Al-Ettifaq manager.
However, his move had attracted criticism due to his long-time support of LGBT+ issues and the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign.
Homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, while the state stands accused of a host of other abuses including placing harsh restrictions on women’s rights and the right to political protest.
“Jordan Henderson is of course free to play for whoever he chooses, but we would urge him to examine Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and be prepared to speak out about human rights violations in the country,” Amnesty’s UK economic affairs director Peter Frankental told the PA news agency last week.
Pride in Football, a network of LGBT+ fan groups, said in a statement: “When you see someone who has been an ally so publicly transfer to a club in a country where LGBT+ people are attacked and imprisoned, it is disappointing.
“Good luck in Saudi Arabia Jordan, but you have lost the respect of so many people who valued you and trusted you.”
Manchester United are confident of bringing in a new attacker soon as talks to sign Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund continue, the PA news agency understands.
The Red Devils have signed Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount and Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana this summer as they look to build on a promising first season under Erik ten Hag.
United have made no secret of the need to bolster their attack ahead of the new campaign, with their manager saying at the start of the week they are making “progress” on that front.
Atalanta striker Hojlund is a target and reports emerged on Wednesday that the club have made a verbal 50million euros (£42.8m) offer, rising to 60m euros (£51.4m), for the Denmark international.
The 20-year-old is seen by the Old Trafford giants as a rough diamond who can be polished by Ten Hag, who made no secret of the need for attacking help after the 2-0 friendly loss to Real Madrid.
The Dutchman’s side failed to score from any of their 14 attempts under the NRG Stadium roof, an all too familiar tale given their problems taking opportunities last season.
Asked if the attacking display in Houston emphasised why they are looking to sign a new striker, Ten Hag said: “Absolutely.
“There were two things – the pressing can be better from the start and scoring goals.
“I think we need more players who are capable to be in the one-on-ones and we had the situations of one-on-ones.
“It was (Marcus) Rashford, it was, I thought, Scott McTominay in one-on-one situations. (Alejandro) Garnacho, a one-on-one situation. From the situations, you have to score.”
PA understands United are hopeful of having a new attacker through the door before their Premier League opener against Wolves on August 14.
Should that player be Hojlund, then he is seen as having the required drive and desire to develop at a club willing to be patient with the relatively inexperienced striker.
There are back-up options if a deal cannot be agreed, though, with Eintracht Frankfurt frontman Randal Kolo Muani among them. Mohammed Kudus of Ajax is also admired.
Despite their desire for goals, United sources have continued to dismiss talk of a move for Tottenham’s Harry Kane. The club have also distanced themselves from any suggestion they could bid for Paris St Germain’s Kylian Mbappe.
British billionaire Joe Lewis – whose family trust owns Tottenham – has been bailed by a judge in New York after pleading not guilty to charges of giving insider trading tips.
The 86-year-old, who faces 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy, appeared at an arraignment hearing at Manhattan Federal Court on Wednesday.
After entering a not guilty plea Lewis was released on a bail of 300 million US dollars (£230m), reportedly secured by a yacht and private aircraft equivalent to that amount.
Lewis, and two of his pilots who are also facing charges, must remain in the United States.
Prosecutors say Lewis, who was arrested on Wednesday morning, is alleged to have used his access to confidential information to provide stock tips to individuals close to him, with the indictment referring to one girlfriend having made 849,000 US dollars (£657,000) on one of those tip-offs.
Lewis’ legal counsel David Zornow, from the Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom firm, said: “The government has made an egregious error in judgment in charging Mr Lewis, an 86-year-old man of impeccable integrity and prodigious accomplishment.
“Mr Lewis has come to the US voluntarily to answer these ill-conceived charges, and we will defend him vigorously in court.”
Each of the first 13 counts of securities fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, Manhattan prosecutors said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, announced on Tuesday that Lewis had been indicted over a “brazen insider trading scheme”.
Prosecutors said Lewis, by virtue of his investments in certain companies, received material and non-public information about these companies.
A release from prosecutors on Wednesday alleged Lewis had “misused and misappropriated this confidential information to provide stock tips to various individuals in his life, including his employees, romantic partners, and friends, as a way to provide them with compensation and gifts”.
It added: “These individuals, in turn, traded on the tips provided by Lewis for vast personal gain.”
Lewis bought a controlling stake in Spurs in 2001 for £22million.
He officially ceded control of the club last year, with Bahamian lawyer Bryan A Glinton replacing him as a director according to Companies House.
His stake in the club – which he held through the ENIC Group alongside Daniel Levy – was formally handed to a family trust last year.
Family members of Lewis remain beneficiaries of the trust.
PA understands the Premier League does not consider Lewis as a person with control at Tottenham, and is therefore not subject to its owners’ and directors’ test.
A Tottenham spokesperson said: “This is a legal matter unconnected with the club and as such we have no comment.”
US prosecutors said Lewis is also alleged to have falsely disclosed the extent of his ownership shares in a pharmaceutical company, Mirati, “through an elaborate array of shell companies and other entities, including an offshore trust purportedly for the benefit of his granddaughter”.
As a result of this alleged false disclosure, prosecutors said he was able to exercise warrants in Mirati that he would otherwise not have been able to exercise, “at vast financial gain”.
Also charged were Patrick O’Connor and Bryan Waugh, two pilots employed by Lewis to fly his private aircraft. In one instance, it is alleged Lewis loaned each of them 500,000 US dollars (more than £387,000) to buy shares in a company before it publicly announced favourable information about some clinical results.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) acting assistant director in charge Christie M Curtis said: “As alleged, Mr Lewis treated material, non-public information at his disposal as though it was something he could give his friends and associates for their benefit.
“This type of behaviour – blatant disregard for the law – is not only illegal but undermines the integrity of our financial markets.
“The FBI is determined to ensure that anyone willing to perpetrate insider trading schemes is held accountable in the United States criminal justice system.”
Chelsea gave the most playing time of any Premier League club to players developed in their own academy last season, research from the PA news agency has revealed.
Despite the focus on their extraordinary spending in both the summer and winter transfer windows under new owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, the Blues fielded seven players developed in-house for a combined 9,473 minutes.
That was one more player and nearly 2,000 minutes more than any other Premier League academy and here, PA looks at the figures in detail.
Cobham producing the goods
Five Chelsea academy products have been a regular feature of the club’s line-up in recent years and played over 1,000 minutes apiece last season, with Conor Gallagher leading the way at 1,812, narrowly ahead of Trevoh Chalobah, Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
While the latter pair have left the club this summer, Reece James’ playing time is likely to increase from the 1,381 minutes he managed in an injury-hit season. Lewis Hall played 700 minutes and Armando Broja also featured before a long-term injury of his own.
Levi Colwill could also return from his loan at Brighton to help keep up the club’s homegrown quota, after starring for England’s Under-21 European champions.
Chelsea’s targets for their academy under their ‘Vision 2030’ banner include having Cobham graduates make up 25 per cent of their first-team squad and 15 per cent of playing time, and to have more in the professional game than any other academy.
Seven of last season’s 32 players were developed in-house and accounted for almost 23 per cent of their playing time, while leading the field for Premier League players indicates they are on track for the latter aim as well.
Three other clubs – Tottenham, Southampton and Liverpool – used six each of their own graduates but the closest club to Chelsea in terms of playing time were Nottingham Forest, with 7,619 minutes from four players.
Brennan Johnson played over 3,000 minutes, captain Joe Worrall almost 2,500 and Ryan Yates just short of 2,000, while Alex Mighten made one brief appearance before going out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday.
Crystal Palace were just 38 minutes behind in third, with Leicester and Brighton completing the top five ahead of Spurs.
Bees no-show
At the other end of the scale, Brentford were the only Premier League club not to give any playing time to graduates of their own academy.
The Bees have benefitted from their innovative link-up with Danish club Midtjylland, importing a number of talented players from Scandinavia and finishing 13th and ninth in their two seasons since promotion to the top flight.
They have barely developed any homegrown talent, though, with Ryan Trevitt and Nathan Young-Coombes making matchday squads but yet to take to the pitch in the Premier League.
Leeds fared little better last season in terms of player development, their 73 minutes coming in a solitary early-season appearance for Cody Drameh before his successful loan at Luton.
Fulham managed just 339 minutes, mostly from Marek Rodak and Jay Stansfield, while Hugo Bueno accounted for the vast majority of Wolves’ 1,742 minutes.
One extreme or the other
There were 83 players in last season’s top flight tagged as academy graduates of the same club they played for.
While those included several club captains such as James Ward-Prowse, Declan Rice and Lewis Dunk and stalwart players like Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford, many others were on the periphery.
Thirty played less than 90 minutes while 23 made just one appearance each, ranging from one minute and 40 seconds for West Ham midfielder Conor Coventry against Manchester City to a full 90 minutes plus nine of stoppage time for Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher in the 4-4 draw with Southampton.
Nine players cleared the 3,000-minute mark and a further eight played over 2,000 minutes, with 34 in all playing 1,000 minutes or more for the club that developed them.
Manchester United announced they had agreed a deal to sign centre-half Raphael Varane, on this day in 2021.
The French international arrived at Old Trafford on a four-year deal from Real Madrid, ending a 10-year stay at the Bernabeu.
A statement from United read: “Manchester United is delighted to announce the club has reached agreement with Real Madrid for the transfer of French international defender and World Cup winner, Raphael Varane, subject to a medical and to player terms being finalised.”
During his time with Madrid Varane won three LaLiga titles, one Copa del Rey, four UEFA Champions League crowns and four FIFA Club World Cups.
The 2018 World Cup winner’s transfer to United was officially completed on August 14 following a delay due to the need for a visa, isolation and medical.
“Manchester United is one of the most iconic clubs in world football and the chance to come here and play in the Premier League is something I couldn’t turn down,” Varane said.
“There is a lot more that I want to achieve in my career and I know I’m joining a squad full of great players who will all have the same determination to win matches and trophies.”
Varane won his first piece of silverware with United in February 2023, lifting the Carabao Cup after beating Newcastle 2-0.
British billionaire Joe Lewis – whose family trust owns Tottenham – has been bailed by a judge in New York after pleading not guilty to charges of giving insider trading tips, according to reports.
The 86-year-old, who faces 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy, appeared at an arraignment hearing at Manhattan Federal Court on Wednesday.
After entering a not guilty plea Lewis was released on a bail of 300 million US dollars (£230m), reportedly secured by a yacht and private aircraft equivalent to that amount.
Lewis, and two of his pilots who are also facing charges, must remain in the United States.
Prosecutors say Lewis, who was arrested on Wednesday morning, is alleged to have used his access to confidential information to provide stock tips to individuals close to him, with the indictment referring to one girlfriend having made 849,000 US dollars (£657,000) on one of those tip-offs.
Lewis’ legal counsel David Zornow, from the Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom firm, said: “The government has made an egregious error in judgment in charging Mr Lewis, an 86-year-old man of impeccable integrity and prodigious accomplishment.
“Mr Lewis has come to the US voluntarily to answer these ill-conceived charges, and we will defend him vigorously in court.”
Each of the first 13 counts of securities fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, Manhattan prosecutors said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, announced on Tuesday that Lewis had been indicted over a “brazen insider trading scheme”.
Prosecutors said Lewis, by virtue of his investments in certain companies, received material and non-public information about these companies.
A release from prosecutors on Wednesday alleged Lewis had “misused and misappropriated this confidential information to provide stock tips to various individuals in his life, including his employees, romantic partners, and friends, as a way to provide them with compensation and gifts”.
It added: “These individuals, in turn, traded on the tips provided by Lewis for vast personal gain.”
Lewis bought a controlling stake in Spurs in 2001 for £22million.
He officially ceded control of the club last year, with Bahamian lawyer Bryan A Glinton replacing him as a director according to Companies House.
His stake in the club – which he held through the ENIC Group alongside Daniel Levy – was formally handed to a family trust last year.
Family members of Lewis remain beneficiaries of the trust.
PA understands the Premier League does not consider Lewis as a person with control at Tottenham, and is therefore not subject to its owners’ and directors’ test.
A Tottenham spokesperson said: “This is a legal matter unconnected with the club and as such we have no comment.”
US prosecutors said Lewis is also alleged to have falsely disclosed the extent of his ownership shares in a pharmaceutical company, Mirati, “through an elaborate array of shell companies and other entities, including an offshore trust purportedly for the benefit of his granddaughter”.
As a result of this alleged false disclosure, prosecutors said he was able to exercise warrants in Mirati that he would otherwise not have been able to exercise, “at vast financial gain”.
Also charged were Patrick O’Connor and Bryan Waugh, two pilots employed by Lewis to fly his private aircraft. In one instance, it is alleged Lewis loaned each of them 500,000 US dollars (more than £387,000) to buy shares in a company before it publicly announced favourable information about some clinical results.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) acting assistant director in charge Christie M Curtis said: “As alleged, Mr Lewis treated material, non-public information at his disposal as though it was something he could give his friends and associates for their benefit.
“This type of behaviour – blatant disregard for the law – is not only illegal but undermines the integrity of our financial markets.
“The FBI is determined to ensure that anyone willing to perpetrate insider trading schemes is held accountable in the United States criminal justice system.”
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has bid farewell to the club as he closes in on a move to Al-Ettifaq.
The 33-year-old will bring to an end a 12-year spell at Anfield, in which he won every single major club honour, when his move to the Saudi Pro League club is confirmed.
“It’s hard to put these last 12 years into words and it’s even harder to say goodbye. I will always be a Red. Until the day I die,” he posted on Instagram.
“Thank you for everything. You’ll never walk alone.”
View this post on Instagram
He added in a video accompanying his post: “I’m in the (Liverpool) dressing room for the last time so, as you can imagine, it is very emotional.
“I need to somehow explain what these last 12 years have meant for me and my family.
“Being made the captain of Liverpool Football Club was one the greatest honours of my life.
“From the day the armband was passed to me I did everything I could to behave like a Liverpool captain should.
“Thank you for allowing me to be part of your club, thank you for your support in good time and bad.”
Henderson’s move to the Middle East – where he will be reunited with former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard as manager – has been in the pipeline for several weeks but on Wednesday a fan posted a video on social media of him training with his new club in Croatia.
Despite the very public interest in the England international he flew out to Liverpool’s training camp in Germany 11 days ago, although he did not play in either of their friendlies out there after an offer of an initial £12million was accepted.
In contrast, fellow midfielder Fabinho was left at home as a £40m bid from Al-Ittihad arrived hours before they were due to travel.
The Brazil international is still awaiting the conclusion of the deal but that is expected to go through this week.
Scotland international Jack Hendry’s arrival at Al-Ettifaq from Club Brugge has already been confirmed, while former Celtic forward Moussa Dembele appears set to join him.
Tottenham owner Joe Lewis has been arrested and will appear in court in the United States on Wednesday charged with giving insider trading tips to friends, lovers and even his personal pilots.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has charged the 86-year-old with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy.
Prosecutors say Lewis is alleged to have used his access to confidential information to provide stock tips to individuals close to him, with the indictment referring to one girlfriend having made 849,000 US dollars (£657,000) on one of those tip-offs.
Lewis was arrested on Wednesday morning, prosecutors said, and will be presented later.
Lewis’ legal counsel David Zornow, from the Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom firm, said: “The government has made an egregious error in judgment in charging Mr Lewis, an 86-year-old man of impeccable integrity and prodigious accomplishment.
“Mr Lewis has come to the US voluntarily to answer these ill-conceived charges, and we will defend him vigorously in court.”
Each of the first 13 counts of securities fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, Manhattan prosecutors said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, had announced on Tuesday that Lewis had been indicted over a “brazen insider trading scheme”.
Prosecutors said Lewis, by virtue of his investments in certain companies, received material and non-public information about these companies.
A release from prosecutors on Wednesday alleged Lewis had “misused and misappropriated this confidential information to provide stock tips to various individuals in his life, including his employees, romantic partners, and friends, as a way to provide them with compensation and gifts”.
It added: “These individuals, in turn, traded on the tips provided by Lewis for vast personal gain.”
Lewis bought a controlling stake in Spurs in 2001 for £22million.
He officially ceded control of the club last year, with Bahamian lawyer Bryan A Glinton replacing him as a director according to Companies House.
His stake in the club – which he held through the ENIC Group alongside Daniel Levy – was formally handed to a family trust last year.
Family members of Lewis remain beneficiaries of the trust.
PA understands the Premier League does not consider Lewis as a person with control at Tottenham, and is therefore not subject to its owners’ and directors’ test.
A Tottenham spokesperson said: “This is a legal matter unconnected with the club and as such we have no comment.”
US prosecutors said Lewis is also alleged to have falsely disclosed the extent of his ownership shares in a pharmaceutical company, Mirati, “through an elaborate array of shell companies and other entities, including an offshore trust purportedly for the benefit of his granddaughter”.
As a result of this alleged false disclosure, prosecutors said he was able to exercise warrants in Mirati that he would otherwise not have been able to exercise, “at vast financial gain”.
Also charged were Patrick O’Connor and Bryan Waugh, two pilots employed by Lewis to fly his private aircraft. In one instance, it is alleged Lewis loaned each of them 500,000 US dollars (more than £387,000) to buy shares in a company before it publicly announced favourable information about some clinical results.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) acting assistant director in charge Christie M Curtis said: “As alleged, Mr Lewis treated material, non-public information at his disposal as though it was something he could give his friends and associates for their benefit.
“This type of behaviour – blatant disregard for the law – is not only illegal but undermines the integrity of our financial markets.
“The FBI is determined to ensure that anyone willing to perpetrate insider trading schemes is held accountable in the United States criminal justice system.”
Boss Julen Lopetegui has revealed his frustration at Wolves’ transfer woes and admitted the club are struggling to sign players.
The head coach feels the problems spell “bad news” for him as he tries to rebuild after Premier League survival last season.
Wolves have signed just Matt Doherty on a free transfer, with the defender returning to Molineux three years after leaving for Tottenham.
They are interested in Bristol City’s Alex Scott and West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell but have sold Ruben Neves, Conor Coady, Nathan Collins and Raul Jimenez to raise around £84million.
Lopetegui needed assurances at the end of last season that Wolves, who need to comply with financial fair play rules, could invest and compete after he guided them to Premier League safety but remains unhappy.
“I came here with a project and idea that, if we were able to save the team, we would be able to improve,” he told Guillem Balague’s Pure Football podcast.
“It was bad news for me. I tried in the summer. This was plan A. We went to a plan B, trying to think about cost-effective players, but it’s true at the moment we can’t develop this plan, too.
“We lost a lot of players and we think the club want to sell more players. In this situation, we need players to balance the squad and be competitive in the Premier League.
“I know the sporting director, Matt Hobbs, and the recruitment, all this team, have worked very hard to have a plan A and plan B, but unfortunately we can’t develop this plan.
“It’s a pity because you are thinking at any moment key players can come and, in the end, they don’t for different reasons. We were excited by this new plan, but now we don’t have this plan because we don’t have any new players.
“We had a lot of players out and now we have only incorporated one new free player (Doherty). It is not just for me, but for the sporting director, a big disappointment.”
The manager also confirmed forward Daniel Podence is likely to be sold after he did not join the squad for their pre-season trip to Portugal, with Jimenez having already moved to Fulham this week.
“Daniel Podence is not here because the club want to sell him,” said Lopetegui.
“If you asked me yesterday morning about Raul, I think Raul is going to stay here and now he leaves. So I don’t know what else will happen, we will see.”
Joe Lewis’ journey from leaving school at 15 to having an estimated worth of £5billion has included currency trading, property development, Toby Carvery, the Nolan Sisters and – most notably – Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
The 86-year-old is rarely in attendance when Spurs – the club in which he has majority ownership – host Premier League rivals at their state-of-the-art stadium.
The 62,850-seater venue opened in 2019 just six miles up the road from Bow, where Lewis was born in 1937. He went on to purchase Spurs from fellow east-end businessman Lord Sugar in 2001 for £22million.
Unlike Sugar, however, he seldom watches the team he owns, with chairman Daniel Levy the more recognised senior figure at the club, with Lewis based in the Bahamas or aboard his superyacht, Aviva.
His varied business ventures have previously seen Lewis launch the singing career of the Nolans in his London club, hand Robert Earl – the founder of Planet Hollywood – his first job and host the Tavistock Cup golf tournament, in which the likes of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Sir Nick Faldo and Sergio Garcia have all played.
Lewis himself emerged from humble backgrounds, taking over – and eventually selling – the family catering company which gave him his first pay-cheque after leaving school.
Currency trading saw Lewis amass the majority of his early fortune and he benefited hugely on the events of ‘Black Wednesday’ – the sterling crisis in September 1992 which was caused by the British government withdrawing currency from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism – which Lewis had backed would occur.
It is through Tavistock Group – in which he is the primary investor – that Lewis owns Spurs, the ENIC Group purchasing the club 22 years ago.
Investments – largely in the United States – in finance, restaurants (including British chains Toby Carvery and All Bar One), resorts, energy, manufacturing and agriculture also form parts of the Tavistock Group, founded in 1975 and named after the Tavistock Catering firm in which Lewis had worked alongside his father.
ENIC’s ownership of Tottenham has led to an increasingly fraught relationship with fans who believe not enough money is being invested into the team to allow them to challenge for major honours.
The 2008 League Cup remains the only trophy won since Lewis took ownership of the club and, while Levy, in a more high-profile role, has been criticised for some time, the last few seasons have seen ENIC also come under increasing pressure.
The news of Lewis’ charges over alleged insider trading will do nothing to help build that bridge with supporters.
New head coach Ange Postecoglou will no doubt have to answer questions on the subject, while the uncertain future of Harry Kane, the club’s all-time record goalscorer, only adds to the unrest.
Declan Rice is aiming for Premier League and Champions League glory at Arsenal, insisting he will take his £105million price tag in his stride.
The England midfielder joined from London rivals West Ham earlier this month after the two clubs negotiated how the record payment for a British player in the Premier League would be broken down.
Now Rice is in the United States, having joined his new team-mates to prepare for the upcoming campaign, with the Gunners aiming to go one better than their second-placed finish last season.
Mikel Arteta’s side will also return to the top table of European football for the first time since 2017 and Rice is hungry for success, having lifted the Europa Conference League trophy in his final game as West Ham skipper.
“I think it’s time now. You know Arsenal under Mikel have won Community Shields, FA Cups, but I think now, this is a massive club, it’s constant pressure of delivering titles and it’s been such a long time now since Arsenal won the Premier League,” Rice told Sky Sports News.
“Last year was so close, I feel like we’re better off now this year, learning from that experience. I think that’s definitely a target and of course you’re in the Champions League, you go into the Champions League to win, you don’t go into (it) just to take part.
“There’s always a narrative around Arsenal that they’re not going to win the Premier League or they haven’t been good enough.
“But I didn’t see it in that way at all. I see it in a way that he (Arteta) has improved the squad every year. The players have improved individually. Everyone’s gone up another level and when I spoke to Mikel about the way he wanted me to play, where he sees me playing and the vision he has for Arsenal.
“For me it is really exciting now to be a part of this project that Arsenal can get back to the big time and win some trophies.”
Rice’s arrival at the Emirates Stadium has eclipsed Arsenal’s previous transfer record – the signing of Nicolas Pepe from Lille for £72m – and will see West Ham receive a guaranteed £100m, with a potential £5m in add-ons.
The 24-year-old believes it is unfair he will carry increased expectations because of his price tag but insists he will not be weighed down by it.
“I just try to take everything in my stride. I can’t control what I’ve been bought for, that’s obviously been determined on how well I’ve played consistently over the last couple years,” he added.
“West Ham have obviously set that price, I tried to take it all of my stride, I’ve not really thought about the price tag once. I’ve been brought to Arsenal for a reason and that is to perform, to play football. To try and add to the squad, to try and win trophies.
“I’m not going to get involved in price tags. Of course people have always got opinions, you can’t please everybody. Someone’s always got something to say, but what’s important is that the manager, you know you’ve got his support, you’ve got family support, people that are close to you, that’s all that matters.
“I won’t try to think about that too much and to be honest with you, I haven’t. It’s football. A lot of players have been bought for £80, £90, £100million. It’s our profession. It’s just down to us to perform. So over the six years (of his contract), hopefully I can repay that price tag.”
Chelsea and Arsenal were the leading producers of Premier League players in the 2022-23 season, research by the PA news agency has found.
The two clubs’ academy products each racked up just over 21,000 minutes of playing time but remarkably were separated by just 37 seconds, with Chelsea edging top spot.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the main stories to come out of the data.
Small margins
On August 6, 2022, Chelsea sent on Conor Gallagher to replace Jorginho in the ninth added minute of their season-opening 1-0 win over Everton.
It may have been a mere game management move by then-manager Thomas Tuchel but Gallagher’s two-and-a-half-minute appearance – Chelsea’s shortest all season – ended up deciding top spot in the academy study.
PA’s data includes minutes and seconds played by each player in every match, including stoppage time, and the total of 21,031 minutes and 44 seconds for Chelsea graduates put them fractionally ahead of their Arsenal counterparts’ 21,031 minutes, seven seconds.
The other headline news is that Manchester United – leaders in every previous edition of the academy study, most recently after the 2018-19 season – drop to fourth place and have been overtaken by rivals Manchester City, whose total of almost 19,458 minutes is over 1,500 behind the leading pair.
United graduates managed just under 18,533 minutes and they gave playing time to five products of their own academy – Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay, Alejandro Garnacho, Anthony Elanga and Kobbie Mainoo.
Relegated Southampton completed the top five with almost 16,570 minutes.
What they said
Former AFC Wimbledon manager Mark Robinson is now Chelsea’s development squad head coach.
He recently told The Athletic: “If the (youth-team) trophies come, that’s great. But it’s more about ‘who is the next one we can produce for the first team?’.
“It’s also given the other lads an incentive — the ones who have trained with the first team but haven’t played yet, plus the ones who haven’t had the opportunity. It drives them on, thinking ‘am I going to be next?’.”
Arsenal’s habit of handing key roles to their recent players, with manager Mikel Arteta working alongside technical director Edu, extends to the youth set-up with Per Mertesacker and Jack Wilshere as academy manager and under-18 coach respectively.
Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah lead the homegrown contingent in the first team and Mertesacker told the club’s website: “It feels really positive. It sends a message that we need to be developing strong, young individuals who can cope with pressure. I like that, setting standards at the highest level.
“We have always been at the forefront of giving young players a chance. This is something that has been part of Arsenal DNA forever.
“You have to look at a 10-year cycle in the academy. I’m looking at the next three years thinking ‘this is when the real work starts’.”
Global giants
It is not just Premier League clubs represented in the study, with many players’ English Football League beginnings and the top flight’s global reach also captured.
In fact Dutch club Ajax rank sixth, just ahead of domestic heavyweights Liverpool and Tottenham.
Sven Botman, Kenny Tete, Pascal Struijk, Joel Veltman and Christian Eriksen each played over 2,000 minutes as Donny van de Beek and Jairo Riedewald rounded out a group of seven Ajax graduates.
Benfica were 10th behind Nottingham Forest and produced as many players in Manchester City’s treble-winning squad – four – as City’s own academy.
Fellow Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon are 11th with Anderlecht, Genk, Nice and St Etienne also in the top 20.
Sheffield United were the top EFL side in 17th as they secured their return to the Premier League, while League One Charlton were 20th.
Far and wide
There were 277 academies represented in the study, with playing time ranging from Chelsea and Arsenal’s totals all the way down to Lagans AIK’s three minutes and 22 seconds in a solitary appearance for Newcastle full-back Emil Krafth.
Lagan were one of 190 academies represented by just a single player each, Blackburn ranking highest among them thanks to David Raya’s 3,765 minutes for Brentford.
The Bees themselves produced only Bournemouth defender Chris Mepham, whose 2,408 minutes placed them 132nd in the rankings and last among the 20 top-flight clubs.
Only seven clubs hit double figures for players – Chelsea in front again with 16, one more than Manchester United. City produced 14, Arsenal and Southampton 13 apiece, Liverpool 11 and Tottenham 10.
Tottenham owner Joe Lewis has been indicted in New York for “orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme”, a US attorney said.
Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a video released by his office: “Today I’m announcing that my office, the Southern District of New York, has indicted Joe Lewis, the British billionaire, for orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme.
“We allege that for years Joe Lewis abused his access to corporate boardrooms and repeatedly provided inside information to his romantic partners, his personal assistants, his private pilots and his friends.
“Those folks then traded on that inside information and made millions of dollars in the stock market, because thanks to Lewis those bets were a sure thing.”
Mr Williams described Lewis’s behaviour as “classic corporate corruption”.
He said: “Now, none of this was necessary. Joe Lewis is a wealthy man. But as we allege, he used inside information as a way to compensate his employees or to shower gifts on his friends and lovers.
“That’s classic corporate corruption. It’s cheating, and it’s against the law. Laws that apply to everyone, no matter who you are.
“That’s why Joe Lewis has been indicted and will face justice here in the Southern District of New York.”
Lewis, 86, is the founder and primary investor of Bahamas-based investment firm Tavistock Group.
He bought a controlling stake in the Premier League club from Lord Sugar in 2001 for £22million.
Manchester City star Rodri says Pep Guardiola remains desperate to achieve even more success with the club.
Rodri scored the winner in June as City beat Inter 1-0 to win the Champions League for the first time in their history.
That victory in Istanbul secured a treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, making City only the second team – after the Manchester United side of the 1998-99 season – to achieve that feat.
City have now won five Premier League titles under Guardiola, having been champions for the last three campaigns, while they have won the FA Cup twice and the EFL Cup on four occasions.
Yet the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach remains hungry for more, so says Rodri.
When asked if Guardiola was the 'GOAT' manager, Rodri said: "I don't know. Of course, that's a question you have to ask people, what do you think about that?
"What we know is, he's been one of the greatest, for sure, and he's shown [that] everywhere he's been. And he has the hunger to go again.
"That's what can I say about him. He wants to win more things in the next year.
"So it's very, very good for us because this hunger is important for us to win again."
Indeed, City expect to reach a similar level of success next term, which for them starts on August 6, when they take on Arsenal in the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium.
"To repeat it," Rodri said when asked what City's aims were for the coming season.
"When you start a season, we always want to win everything. It was one of the most iconic successes of the club in its history. We are very, very proud of what we did.
"But we know that a new season is coming with new goals. We expect to do it again, even though we know it's going to be very, very difficult.
"We start from the pre-season, from the first game to make the team go again and to reach the best level."
Arsenal led the way for long swathes of last season, but Guardiola's juggernaut picked up pace in the run-in and eventually finished five points clear of the Gunners.
"The last part of the season is when you fight for all the titles so that is when you have to show the best football you've got inside and it's something we know from the past," explained Rodri.
"We have the experience and know how to win the trophies in the last part and we know that you have to be the best of yourself. So that's the key.
"Arrive to this moment with options to fight and then give the best and to step forward and I think it's something that the team has understood.
"It's one of the things that identifies the mentality of the team all these years."
Erling Haaland's incredible form was crucial to City's success. The Norway striker netted a Premier League-record 36 goals, and added a further 16 across other competitions, including 12 in the Champions League.
Indeed, one of the only single-season records left for Haaland to break in English football is Dixie Dean's incredible haul of 63 goals, which has stood since the 1927-28 campaign.
"I want [him] to [break more records], of course," Rodri said of the 23-year-old.
"I hope he can break the record every year, even though I know what he did last season was unbelievable.
"He's become such an important player for us and he's growing a lot. I hope that he can be even better."
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has pledged to fight to keep the “irreplaceable” Kyle Walker after an approach from Bayern Munich.
Walker’s place in the side became less secure in last season’s treble-winning campaign as a new system was introduced which often involved fielding four centre-backs with one stepping into a midfield role in possession.
He still made 39 appearances but did not start the Champions League final win against Inter Milan and speculation soon began about a potential move to the Bundesliga champions.
Guardiola insists he wants to retain the 33-year-old, whose contract expires next summer, saying: “He’s an incredibly important player for us. He has specific qualities, so difficult to find worldwide. His specific qualities are irreplaceable.
“We want him, yes. In the end, I don’t know what will happen. I know we’re in contact, both clubs, we will fight for him like I’m sure Bayern will do it. I don’t know how it will finish.”
By coincidence the two sides will meet each other in a pre-season friendly in Tokyo on Wednesday.
At a pre-match press conference Guardiola was asked whether Walker would play in the game and he added: “He’s our player. We need to play against Bayern, we need the best players, why should he not play?”
After last season’s success there has been a significant change behind the scenes with Guardiola’s two assistant managers Rodolfo Borrell and Enzo Maresca departing.
Long-term lieutenant Borrell joined MLS side Austin FC as sporting director while Maresca has taken over as manager of relegated Leicester.
“We are looking to have some people to help us but I have enough quality in the (backroom) team and so far it is okay,” said Guardiola.
“I have in mind a few people but I cannot say more.”
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