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Two men stood head and shoulders above everyone else on an attritional day as Zimbabwe compiled 228 for 6 in Mirpur.

The Report by Liam Brickhill22-Feb-2020On an attritional first day’s play in Mirpur, two men stood head and shoulders above everyone else on the field as Zimbabwe compiled 228 for 6. Craig Ervine was the glue in Zimbabwe’s middle order, compiling the fourth hundred by a visiting captain at this ground,
and one that mixed studied defence with some exotic strokeplay. For Bangladesh, Nayeem Hasan twirled tirelessly through 36 overs to take 4 for 68, repeatedly pegging Zimbabwe back whenever they threatened to take control.Both men were somewhat fortunate to find themselves in their respective positions: Ervine is captaining Zimbabwe for the first time in this game only because regular skipper Sean Williams stayed at home to be present for the birth of his daughter, while an out-of-sorts
Mehidy Hasan’s absence from the playing XI opened the door for Nayeem to seize his opportunity.Mehidy has been off-colour since taking 15 wickets against West Indies at home in 2018, after which he took six wickets in four Tests last year. He missed the Rawalpindi Test earlier this month due to an injury, and was subsequently dropped for the first time in a
home Test since he made his debut against England in 2016. This gave, Nayeem, who took 13 wickets last week in a first-class match, his chance. His second delivery dipped and gripped to beat a groping Ervine’s outside edge, and he troubled everyone in Zimbabwe’s top order with fizz, bounce and an unerring line almost throughout.It was a sharp piece of fielding from Nayeem that brought Ervine to the crease this morning, Abu Jayed finding reward during a disciplined opening spell with the dismissal of opener Kevin Kasuza in the eighth over after Zimbabwe had won the toss. Three overs later,
Nayeem started a spell that would stretch on for a full 36 overs through the day, and an absorbing battle between the offspinner and the left hander began to unfold.Ervine certainly didn’t have it all his own way, Nayeem teasing his outside edge on several occasions early on, with leading edges flying through – and over – cover and point. Between times, however, Ervine held firm and his response to the sight of significant turn
and bounce even from a fresh, uncharacteristically grassy track was to unfurl a succession of sweeps both orthodox and reverse.Taijul Islam bore the brunt of his early strokeplay, leaking 43 runs from his first seven overs, and Zimbabwe surged ahead as Bangladesh turned ragged in the field, missing three chances – one of them very tough, but two clear drops – in the space of three overs.
With Prince Masvaure well set at the other end, having compiled a competent half-century, Ervine sensed an opportunity to go on the offensive, slashing Abu Jayed for three boundaries, some more convincing and deliberate than others, in the space of an over.The quick runs pushed Ervine and Masvaure’s partnership beyond 100, but Nayeem struck back with the vital dismissal of Masvaure, bending low to hold a drive slammed firmly back at him. Yet another sweep off Taijul took Ervine to fifty at the other end, but Nayeem
once again put the brakes on Zimbabwe by dismissing Brendan Taylor via a slightly fortuitous inside-edged reverse sweep.At 134 for 3, the innings was in the balance, and Nayeem kept threatening further breakthroughs, with iffy strokes aplenty against his probing bowling. While Taijul continued to mix tight deliveries with freebies, failing to bowl a single maiden throughout the
day, Nayeem changed his line of attack to a settled Sikandar Raza. Coming around the stumps, he had Raza playing for turn as the ball rushed on with the arm, a thin edge being safely snaffled by Liton Das behind the stumps.With Timycen Maruma focused on survival, Ervine continued to take the attack to the bowlers, stepping out to crunch Nayeem back over his head and cruising through the 80s with a pair of bruising thumps through the covers off Jayed. After a brief rest, Nayeem
resumed his battle with Zimbabwe’s captain, drawing some fidgety pokes outside off as he entered the 90s.Having used one review to good effect, Maruma wasted another when he was trapped plumb infront by Jayed shortly before Bangladesh took the second new ball. Ervine, meanwhile, was equally at home against the new pill as he was the old, flaying Abu Jayed once again through the covers and then moving to 99 with a pair of sweeps off Nayeem.A glance off Ebadot Hossain took Ervine to three figures, but it was Nayeem – who else? – who finally won the battle. In the penultimate over of the day, he followed up a loopy floater with a zippy quicker one that rushed through Ervine’s tired defence, castling him for 107.While the teams had stayed pretty much neck and neck throughout the day, with the advantage shifting back and forth, Nayeem’s late strike tilted the balance in Bangladesh’s favour. Just one frontline batsman, Regis Chakabva, remains for the visitors. Bangladesh will
go into day two fancying their chances of quickly rolling the tail over, while Nayeem while have his eye on a five-wicket haul and a milestone of his own to match Ervine’s.

There may have been concern inside Aston Villa as soon as it emerged that Thomas Tuchel would be leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the season. Alongside Liverpool and Barcelona, another top European club was entering the manager market, and Unai Emery was bound to be hot property.

Sure enough, there were subsequently reports from Germany that Bayern are watching Emery, having seen his abilities first-hand when he knocked them out of the Champions League at the quarterfinal stage as the manager of Villarreal in 2021/22.

The reigning Bundesliga champions would love to appoint Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso, the man who looks set to dethrone them this season, but Liverpool are already in "advanced discussions" ahead of the departure of Jurgen Klopp. Emery is a potential plan-b, alongside former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane and Stuttgart's Sebastian Hoeness. A return for Hansi Flick could also be on the cards.

Emery remains committed to Villa for now

In his daily briefing for Caught Offside, journalist Fabrizio Romano has given his take on the rumours linking Emery to Bayern. The good news for Villa is that the Spaniard remains "100% focused" on the club and isn't currently in talks over any other roles.

He said: “Some reports have suggested that Unai Emery could be considered as the next Bayern Munich boss. This would mean leaving Aston Villa managerless after two seasons in charge of the Premier League club.

“Honestly, I’ve zero on this at the moment, Bayern as well as Barça will be linked with many managers. I already saw many names around, but no decision has been made at all. Unai Emery is a fantastic manager, I think he has improved a lot in recent years but he’s now 100% focused on the Aston Villa project and he’s not speaking to other clubs right now.”

Losing Emery is unthinkable for Villa

It's vital that Villa keep Emery because, quite simply, he's the best thing to happen to the club in years. They have a chance to win their first major silverware since 1996 after reaching the Europa Conference League round of 16, where they'll face Ajax, and they could also qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 1983.

As you can see in the table above, Emery has overseen a massive improvement from last season after replacing Steven Gerrard in the autumn of 2022. Villa have been in elite-level form since he arrived – they amassed a whopping 82 points from his first 40 league games in charge – but it simply went under the radar last season because they weren't close to the top of the table.

Aston Villa hit the jackpot by selling “fantastic” ace for £14m

The young prospect left Aston Villa in the summer.

By
Tom Lever

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Emery has led Villa into the top four with an attractive brand of football that has delivered 56 goals so far – an average of 2.15 goals per game. It's on course to be their best season in that regard since 1959/60.

With famous wins against Manchester City and Arsenal under their belt, Villa fans have been enjoying a dream season so far, and they won't want to entertain any thought of the project coming to a premature halt.

Erling Haaland has accused Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez of stamping on him during Manchester City’s win at Stamford Bridge.

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• Reigning champions off to a winning start
• Norwegian striker on target at Stamford Bridge
• Golden Boot winner used to rough treatment

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The reigning Premier League champions got their title defence off to the best possible start when collecting a 2-0 victory in west London. Two-time Golden Boot winner Haaland was on target in that contest, as he opened his account for 2024-25 with a clinical first-half finish.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The Norwegian striker has found the target on 91 occasions through 100 appearances for City in all competitions. That stunning strike rate makes him an obvious target for opponents that want to try to knock him out of his stride with some rough treatment.

• WHAT HAALAND SAID

  Haaland has grown accustomed to that, telling of his running battle with World Cup winner Fernandez in a game that saw City take their first step towards a record-enhancing fifth successive Premier League title: “All the time he stamps on me, he pushes me and everything, not only him. I don't know what he wants but that's what they do I guess.

  “We just won the Premier League so let's take it game by game. It's 37 games left, let's not forget we won the Premier League and now we have won the first game of this season. It's amazing to have everyone back. We go from there. It's ridiculous how quick it actually goes, it's my third season now. I'm happy, especially now after the win. It's the first game back and we're not in perfect shape, but we did a really solid performance. We just stayed calm and played, it's amazing to see.”

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Former Chelsea star Mateo Kovacic netted City’s second to wrap up the points at Stamford Bridge. Pep Guardiola's side have already picked up the Community Shield this season and intend to compete for every trophy available to them in what could be their manager's final campaign at the helm – as the final year of his contract runs down.

Aston Villa’s recruitment over the last few seasons has tended to be spot on, as highlighted by the fact that they’re pushing for Champions League football this season.

Ollie Watkins, Boubacar Kamara, and Douglas Luiz are all prime examples of exceptional scouting.

None of the above were household names before developing at Villa, and it is very rare to find the club overpaying for talent.

However, among all the hits, there is bound to be a miss or two, with one particular player failing to live up to his price tag.

Emiliano Buendia before moving to Villa

Emiliano Buendia spent his youth career and early years as a professional at Getafe in Spain, before having a loan spell at Liga 2 side Cultural Leonesa, where he made a name for himself.

The club were ultimately relegated that season, but it didn’t stop the Argentine from shining, as he netted six goals and provided 13 assists. His performances caught the eye of Norwich City, the club he went on to join straight from his loan for just over £1m.

During his first season at the Canaries, Buendia helped the side earn promotion to the Premier League, thanks to his eight goals and 12 assists over the campaign. The 27-year-old continued to be a creator in the top flight, picking up seven assists in 28 games.

However, Norwich were sent straight back to the Championship, and in the 2020/21 season, the attacking star proved that he was far too good for the league, picking up 15 goals and 16 assists.

Buendia’s time at Villa Park

Following his outstanding campaign, plenty of Premier League clubs were interested in signing the magician, but it was Villa who ultimately beat Arsenal to his signature for £35m.

However, the Argentine’s start to life at Villa Park didn’t begin with a bang, despite scoring against Brentford on his third start for the club. During his first campaign, Buendia would go on to play 35 matches, scoring four goals and registering six assists in the league, while only playing 55 minutes per game on average.

Despite this, the versatile attacker pretty much held his estimated market value from when he signed, only dropping around £3m.

His importance to the Villa team continued to grow in his second season, as he played every single game in the Premier League, however, his output in the final third actually decreased, with a record of five goals and just two assists. Nonetheless, Buendia still didn’t see a drastic drop in value in June 2023, as you can see from the table above.

During pre-season in the summer, the 5 foot 8 maestro was described as “unrecognisable” by football creator Ty Bracey, after his performance against Newcastle saw him score twice and provide another.

However, a cruciate ligament tear at the start of August hasn’t seen the number ten play all season, missing 35 matches. This is one of the main reasons why his estimated worth is now just £8.5m according to CIES Football Observatory.

The numbers he once displayed at Norwich are yet to be replicated at Villa, and considering the club forked out a rather hefty fee for the attacker, it is fair to say that the move has been unsuccessful so far.

But who knows? He could revive his career under Unai Emery once he’s recovered from his lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The opener showered praises on the NZ batsmen for handling Jasprit Bumrah well

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-20202:04

We played Bumrah, spinners very well in first ODI – Guptill

Opener Martin Guptill believes the way the New Zealand batsmen handled the Indian spinners in the first ODI in Hamilton was some of the best they have done in a long time.In their four-wicket win, New Zealand hammered Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav for a total of 148 runs from 20 overs to chase down their highest ODI total of 348. Guptill said they will have to be “little more attacking” during the second ODI in Auckland on Saturday, given the short boundaries at Eden Park.”It’s completely different conditions, isn’t it? You have to be a little bit more attacking here I guess and have the confidence that the ball probably will not spin past your edge as much. You know the odd one might as it did the other night,” Guptill said on Friday.

Guptill wants to be around for 2023 World Cup

Opener Martin Guptill has clarified that he wants to stick around for the next 50-over World Cup, to be played in India. Guptill will be nearly 36 by then but is confident that “pending body issues and form” he will be able to stay around for another three years.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Pending body issues and form and things like that, hopefully I can stick around and put enough numbers on the board to be in that squad.”
New Zealand are playing their first ODI series since losing in the World Cup final last year and will play another three in Australia next month, which Guptill wants to make the most of. “I don’t think one-day cricket is going anywhere, there’s still a World Cup to play for in three years’ time, and leading up to that there’s going to be a lot of ODI cricket. I enjoy the ODI format, so hopefully there’s plenty more to come.” Guptill has been part of the last three World Cups in which New Zealand have made it to the semi-final once and the final twice.

“I thought the way we handled the Indian spinners in Hamilton was some of the best we have done it in a long time. So we can take confidence from that going forward in the series.”Yadav’s figures of 2 for 84 were his most expensive in ODIs, and he was attacked particularly by the left-hand batsmen Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls on Wednesday. Latham struck him for 31 runs off 17 balls by using the sweep effectively, while Nicholls collected 18 runs off nine balls against the wristspinner. Nicholls and Latham weren’t as attacking against Jadeja, but Ross Taylor, who scored a century, made up for it by scoring 28 off 22 against the orthodox spinner.ALSO READ: New Zealand bounce back from sweep – with the sweepAnother threat New Zealand negated was of Jasprit Bumrah, who played a crucial role in India’s 5-0 sweep of the T20Is, by being more circumspect against him early on and not giving a single wicket in the game. Guptill said it was more about getting used to facing Bumrah than becoming “comfortable” facing him.”Don’t know [it ever gets] comfortable facing him,” he said. “But you certainly get used to him. He has got a unique action, he comes in and he is very good with his skills. I thought we played him well on the other night.ALSO READ: India must shake New Zealand off plan A to stay alive“He bowled very well with the new ball and when the time came to take boundaries off him I thought the guys in the middle did that really well and negated him and [did not allow him] to take early wickets.”Guptill also praised stand-in captain Latham for his 69 off 48 at No. 5. Returning from injury after sustaining a fractured finger during the SCG Test against Australia last month, Latham started slow by scoring only four runs off his first 14 balls before unleashing his sweeps against Yadav.”I thought Tom played brilliantly,” Guptill said. “He gave himself some time to get in and then flipped the switch when he needed to and took the pressure a little bit off Ross. It allowed Ross to settle into his own innings as well.”Then between 25 to 40 over mark, they just took the game away from India with that match-winning partnership.”Eden Park’s odd dimensions add a bit of uncertainty for the second ODI, Guptill said, where he and Nicholls would want to see through the first 10 overs to set a platform for the middle order.”This ground is different, isn’t it? You want to go out and start the way we can and stay as positive as possible. It could be 70 for no loss or it could be 40 for no loss. You just don’t know until we go out there and assess the conditions.”You want to go out there being positive. Unfortunately in the game of cricket if you lose couple of wickets early you have to rebuild. But if Henry and I can get across the 10-over mark then hopefully take it as deep as possible.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe will want to start his Manchester United rebuild off with a statement signing.

However, that doesn't mean that the Red Devils will overpay for players, as they have done over the last decade.

The first major signing of the INEOS era could be a right winger, with Erik ten Hag keen to improve the balance in attack.

3 dream signings Berrada could make at Man Utd including his next Haaland

Omar Berrada is to enter Manchester United as their new CEO.

By
Matt Dawson

Jan 23, 2024

Man United set their sights on new forward

This week, Fabrizio Romano revealed that Man United target Michael Olise can be acquired for less than his £60m release clause.

Speaking to The United Stand with Mark Goldbridge, the reputable transfer insider said: "I think it's less than this (£60m release clause). There are many clubs interested in this boy. Chelsea will still be there and for Man United, it's an opportunity they will consider.

"It's a big opportunity when a player like this has a release clause. Arsenal have been scouting the player many times so it could be quite an open race. It won't be decided now."

Despite Chelsea's interest in the winger, his preference according to prior reports in January would be a move to Old Trafford.

A move for the France gem would occur in the summer due to United's financial fair play restrictions.

All confirmed Premier League done deals: January transfer window 2024

With the January transfer window coming towards its conclusion, FFC has all the info for tracking your club’s winter transfer activity.

By
Luke Randall

Feb 1, 2024

How Michael Olise compares to Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Saka's rise to the top has been fantastic to witness, with the Arsenal academy graduate now being classified as the best winger in the world by ESPN for the 2022/23 campaign.

The 22-year-old is continuing to thrive this campaign under Mikel Arteta, with the forward netting ten goals and providing 13 assists in 29 games across all competitions.

Man United's interest in Olise means they could sign their own version of Saka, as the duo have plenty of similarities according to FBref's similar player model.

Just like the England star, the Palace dynamo has been excellent this season, scoring six goals and picking up three assists in just ten Premier League starts. However, his season has been heavily impacted by an injury picked up during the summer.

Nonetheless, let's look at a handful of statistics from this Premier League season that prove Olise would thrive at United, while also comparing him to Saka.

Olise has proven to be one of the most "dangerous" attackers in the Premier League, as per analyst Ben Mattinson, with his output being the main talking point of his game. As you can see, the French forward ranks extremely high for both goals and assists, with only the most elite being able to produce both, the Arsenal star being one of those.

Both left-footed, they can also shift the ball onto their right to find a teammate in the box. Olise has a deadly cross, and both players love to cut inside to shoot or provide balls to the back post. Another aspect of their game that makes them among the best is their relentless work off the ball for their team in the press or tracking back to make tackles.

Overall, Olise would stroll into the United starting XI and replace Antony, who scored his only goal of the season against Newport County last weekend. The Palace artist could just transform United's attack.

Raheem Sterling has revealed that he is taking his lead from Steven Gerrard as he attempts to guide Chelsea's next generation to stardom.

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• Sterling reveals Gerrard influence
• Liverpool icon took Sterling under his wing
• Chelsea ace aiming to do similar

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Sterling has revealed that Gerrard played a key role in helping him become the player he is now while he was making his breakthrough at Liverpool, and is out to replicate that role with Chelsea's youngsters this season and beyond. The former Manchester City star is 29, but only one player in the club's first-team squad is older than he is.

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  Chelsea have brought in a vast number of wonderkids as they attempt to future-proof their first-team squad. Sterling, as a result, feels it his responsibility to help the likes of Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke fulfil their potential.

• WHAT STERLING SAID

  Sterling told Chelsea's website: "I’m a person that just wants to see players do well and fulfil their potential,’ Sterling explains. ‘If there is something I feel I can help with..it’s not trying to tell them what to do, it's trying to be a positive influence. That’s what you need in football: positive influences.

  "Being a senior player and seeing a young player, there are two ways you can go about it. You can be negative and try to put them down or you can be positive and give them as much confidence in the group so they can perform on the pitch.

  "When I was coming through at Liverpool, Steven Gerrard literally put his arm around me when he had more than enough things on his plate. He showed me the right direction, gave me the right messaging, and led by example of how it is to be a professional."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Chelsea kick off their Premier League season against Manchester City on Sunday. Sterling will hope to make an impact against his old club.

Melbourne Stars make the most of their opponents’ error-strewn display on the field

Alex Malcolm22-Dec-2019The power of Marcus Stoinis and the pace of Haris Rauf helped the Melbourne Stars steamroll the Hobart Hurricanes by a whopping 52 runs in Moe.Stoinis made the most of some early fortune to make an unbeaten 81 that underpinned a solid total of 4 for 163 on a country pitch that was not easy to settle on. He shared an 81-run opening stand with Nic Maddinson, but both benefitted from mistakes by the Hurricanes, with Stoinis dropped twice and Maddinson bowled off a no-ball. Stoinis struck seven fours and four massive sixes in his 54-ball innings that really picked up pace after the powerplay.Rauf then bagged his maiden T20 five-wicket haul, and was named Player of the Match, in just his second BBL game after being plucked from Hobart grade cricket. He took 5 for 27 from four overs, backing up the work of his skipper Glenn Maxwell, who took the key wickets of D’Arcy Short and David Miller in the powerplay. Spinners Sandeep Lamichhane and Adam Zampa tied the middle order in knots before Rauf blasted them out with express pace and some cleverly disguised slower balls.The Stars now have two wins, despite not using the services of new recruits Dale Steyn and Nathan Coulter-Nile.A drop from a Rose
Clive Rose opened the bowling as a specific match-up plan for Stoinis. The first ball he bowled to the right-hander produced an error – Stoinis scooped a leading edge back to Rose and he spilled the low chance. Stoinis swept the next ball for four. He was missed again in Rose’s next over, slicing a ball to backward point only for Riley Meredith to lose the ball in the sun, with the easy catch hitting the turf untouched. Those two chances allowed Maddinson and Stoinis to capitalise. Maddinson did farm the majority of strike and battled to rotate it on a tough, low, skidding surface despite finding the boundary eight times with some powerful strikes through the off-side.Rose, despite the drop, bowled superbly in the powerplay, conceding just 12 runs from three overs. But that good work was undone in the tenth over when Nathan Ellis bowled Maddinson off a no-ball. Stoinis then thumped a four, courtesy of a misfield, and a six to pick up the rate.Marcus Stoinis pulls behind square•Getty Images

Left-right experiment halts momentum
Simon Milenko bucked the trend of misfields and dropped chances with a superb diving catch at backward point off Meredith to remove Maddinson. Maxwell and coach David Hussey decided to promote Ben Dunk to keep the left-right combination going in an attempt to nullify legspinner Qais Ahmad, instead of allowing the in-form Maxwell to bat with 59 balls left in the innings. Dunk made 19 off 12 and hit two sixes but he also absorbed five dot balls, before Meredith returned to remove Maxwell and Peter Handscomb as the innings lost impetus. The ball became softer and the pitch harder to score on as the Stars failed to find the boundary between the 15th and 18th overs. But both Stoinis and Hilton Cartwright were able to clear the rope in the last two overs to set a competitive total with the Hurricanes missing the services of specialist death bowler James Faulkner, who was strangely rested.Maxwell’s smart move
Maxwell used himself in the powerplay against the Hurricanes key man Short and left-handed opening partner Caleb Jewell. The decision worked a treat. Short was unable to find the boundary off Maxwell, scoring just four runs in five balls before pulling a quicker short ball straight to Daniel Worrall at backward square. Ben McDermott picked out midwicket with a miscued pull shot off the pace of Rauf in the next over. With Miller joining Jewell, Maxwell opted to bowl himself a third over in the powerplay against the two left-handers and he slid one through the gate of Miller as he charged and missed attempting a wild slog. The Hurricanes were 3 for 45 at end of the powerplay, and Maxwell had 2 for 15 from three overs.Legspin twins have a ball before Rauf runs riot
With Short and Miller gone, Maxwell called upon his two legspinners Lamichhane and Zampa and the pair ripped through the middle order. Jewell fell to a top-edged sweep shot trying to sweep Lamichhane’s wrong’un. Clint Hinchliffe took an outstanding diving catch running in from deep backward square. Zampa deceived Simon Milenko with a wrong’un and then a slider to clip his off bail. The pair took 2 for 16 in four overs. Rauf returned to rip through the tail bowling at 145kph-plus. He took three wickets in an over, bouncing out Mac Wright and then crashing through the fragile defences of Tom Rogers and Qais to flatten the stumps twice. He saved his best for last, fooling Ellis with a brilliant slower ball to claim his five-wicket haul. Rose was the only positive for the Hurricanes with the bat, smashing 32 not out including three sixes to post his highest score in T20s.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes Gabriel Jesus has a newfound hunger ahead of the beginning of the new Premier League season.

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• Arteta backs Jesus' return to form
• Forward impresses against Leverkusen
• Updates on Timber and Calafiori's return

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Jesus had a difficult 2023-24 due to injuries, making just 36 appearances in all competitions and scoring eight goals. The forward had a great pre-season, though, scoring in friendly victories over Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester United. His performance in their 4-1 victory over Leverkusen at the Emirates thrilled Arteta in particular, and the Spaniard has encouraged the Brazilian to get back on track.

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• WHAT ARTETA SAID

  Speaking to the media, Arteta said: "The first feeling when I saw him [this summer], it was something different. I could sense it. The energy was different. The way he looks is different. The way he moves is different… he looks good.

  "Now it's a question of finding the consistency and doing it consistently and doing it in any context, any situation, any day, every three days, for 90 minutes, for 30 minutes, for 70 minutes. OK – what are you able to produce in those circumstances? But he looks good."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  With the Gunners set to try and take part in their third-straight title challenge, Arteta also provided an update on the return of Jurrien Timber and when their new £42 million ($53.3m) signing Riccardo Calafiori would be taking to the field having not played a single minute in their four pre-season games so far.

  He told the media: "Jurrien had a little discomfort in his foot in the last few days and obviously, after the amount of time he’s been out, we didn’t want to take any risks with him.

  "In regard to Riccardo, so much happened to him in one week! He’s come into a new environment with a different methodology and different training, so we are managing him, and we want to do it slowly and in the best way possible.

  "Hopefully he will be available to play some minutes on Sunday."

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• WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

  Jesus is likely to be on the team sheet for Arteta when Arsenal take on Lyon in their final pre-season friendly on August 11 in the Emirates Cup final.

BCCI ethics officer “dismissed” the complaint filed against Dravid because it was “bereft of merit”

Nagraj Gollapudi14-Nov-2019Former India captain Rahul Dravid has been cleared of conflict of interest charges by the BCCI ethics officer Justice (retd.) DK Jain. Justice Jain issued the order on Thursday after conducting two hearings in response to a complaint filed by Sanjeev Gupta, a life member of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA).Gupta had alleged that Dravid, who was appointed the director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) this July by the BCCI, was guilty of conflict of interest because he was occupying more than one post at the time, which was not permitted as per the board’s rules. The second post that Dravid was serving, Gupta said in his complaint, was as vice-president of India Cements Pvt. Ltd, which he claimed had ties with the Chennai Super Kings franchise in the IPL.However, in his order, Justice Jain said “a case of conflict” against Dravid could not be made and hence he had “dismissed” the complaint because it was “bereft of merit.”In the order, Justice Jain noted that Dravid had rejected the allegation straightaway, in a written response on August 9. Dravid told Justice Jain that on the “advice” of BCCI and to “avoid any kind of conflict of interest” he had taken “leave of absence” without salary from India Cements during his stint at the NCA. Dravid pointed out that he had been an employee of Indian Cements for two decades, but never had “any connection, relationship or obligation” towards the Super Kings.The BCCI also told Justice Jain that the Super Kings franchise was run by Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd., registered in 2013 under the Indian Companies Act. It had nothing to do with India Cements, which was an independent entity. Hence, the BCCI said Dravid could not be an employee of the Super Kings, as Gupta had alleged.”He (Dravid) has asserted that his employment with India Cements Limited, is not and cannot be construed as an employment with the CSK franchisee, regardless of any relationship between the two entities, viz India Cements Limited and Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd.,” the order said. “He has further pleaded that at no point in time, has he been a “Team Official” of CSK.”Gupta, however, did not accept that. At the hearing on September 26 in Mumbai, Gupta told Justice Jain that Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd. was a “wholly owned subsidiary” of India Cements with “some” of the directors sitting on boards of both firms. Gupta said “a mere change in nomenclature” could not absolve Dravid of the conflict of interest allegation.The ethics officer was clear about one thing. “The concept of ‘conflict of interest’, is not necessarily a question about something one does or intends to do but a question of what one can possibly or potentially do,” Justice Jain said in his order.Justice Jain even referred to the judgments he had served in the cases concerning two of Dravid’s former India team-mates – Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, both of whom were held guilty of conflict. The complaint against Ganguly had been filed by more than one member of the public, while Gupta had pressed the conflict charge against Laxman.Justice Jain pointed out that Ganguly and Laxman suffered from “tractable conflict” and fell foul of the one-man-one-post rule stated in the BCCI constitution.Dravid’s case allowed him to examine the rules deeper. “For examining an instance of ‘conflict of interest”, mere holding of posts by an individual associated with the BCCI may not per-se be sufficient for arriving at the conclusion of existence of ‘conflict of interest’,” Justice Jain said in the order. “But whether holding of such post(s) gives rise to ‘conflict of interest’ or not must also be tested on the anvil of reasonable apprehensions of, or actual favoritism, lack of objectivity, bias, benefits, etc., as contemplated in the definition of ‘conflict of interest’.”Accordingly, Justice Jain needed to test whether the two posts Dravid held “give rise to an apprehension of, lack of objectivity or bias” in each of those positions. “At least, I am unable to fathom any such circumstance (none has even been pointed out by the Complainant), which would come in the way of Mr. Rahul Dravid in fairly discharging his duties as a ‘Team Official’, without being influenced or influencing, in any manner, as a person who is in governance, management or employment of a franchisee or vice versa.”According to Justice Jain, to avoid any complications at the behest of the BCCI, Dravid had handed a written copy from Indian Cements giving a leave of absence until he was employed by the board.