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Respected transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano has lifted the lid on a 28-year-old who is really impressing Mikel Arteta's coaching staff at Arsenal.

Latest Arsenal news

The Gunners have undergone a very solid start to this new Premier League season; remaining unbeaten over their opening five matches with four wins and a draw. Narrow one-goal margin victories over Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Everton showcased Arsenal's ability to grind out results despite perhaps not playing at their imperious, attacking best.

They also fought right to very end during a 3-1 win over Man United just prior to the international break, with very late goals from Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus handed them all three points at the Emirates Stadium. Only Fulham have come away with a point against Arsenal this term, courtesy of a last-gasp strike from their star midfielder Joao Palhinha.

Next up, the north Londoners gear up for a highly-anticipated clash against Tottenham on Sunday. Both sides are heading into the derby on a brilliant run, and it will be very interesting to see if either team can end the other's unbeaten start.

Ahead of the encounter, Arteta heaped praise on Ange Postecoglou's impact at Spurs.

"I really like him," explained the Spaniard.

"I had players and I know players that had him and they always speak really, really highly of him. That’s not a coincidence. You can tell straight away he’s fitting in the right way. That’s the beauty of this league that we have top, top managers."

One hot topic at Arsenal going into the match is Arteta's goalkeeping situation, as the manager caused a stir last weekend when he dropped long-reigning number one Aaron Ramsdale in favour of summer signing David Raya. The latter player retained his place for their midweek Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven, so supporters will be eager to see who Arteta favours for one of Arsenal's biggest games of the season this weekend.

Pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor called the rotation of Arsenal's keepers a "dangerous" call by Arteta, explaining that the former Man City assistant runs the risk of both players not quite being up to speed on a regular basis. It could be argued that Ramsdale didn't do much wrong prior to Arsenal's win over Everton, where he was first relegated to the bench, but a small line by Romano has perhaps explained why Raya has come in.

According to the renowned reporter, Arsenal's summer capture from Brentford has really "impressed" Arteta's coaching staff behind-the-scenes Indeed, the 28-year-old is apparently wowing since his loan move from the Gtech Community Stadium in mid-August.

Romano doesn't offer much more information beyond that, at least on X where he made the statement, but this is perhaps one of the reasons Arteta is now favouring Raya.

How good is David Raya?

The shot-stopper was one of Brentford's key players last season. Indeed, the former Blackburn Rovers star stood out as one of their best-performers per 90 according to WhoScored – all while playing every single league game.

Thomas Frank has also heaped praise on Raya in recent season, saying this in early 2022:

"His clear and obvious abilities in terms of playing with his feet, high position, very aggressive in terms of his positioning and going for crosses."

Big Picture

Pakistanis may be divided on various issues within the country, but one thing transcends region, religion, ethnicity, age and political affiliation. That thing is cricket. It’s the most popular sport in the country, with heroes from the game independently going on to inspire generations. It unites the whole nation, and makes you forget about any political differences. That’s the value of cricket to Pakistan.It’s an Eid of cricket in Karachi, a city of over 20 million cricket-mad people that hasn’t played host to a game of this magnitude for over nine years. Peshawar Zalmi are set to take on Islamabad United in a high-voltage PSL final at National Stadium Karachi – a venue set to host its first high-profile game since the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Test in February 2009. The game is billed as a homecoming, what with Pakistan’s biggest city having been deprived of major cricket for almost a decade.The focus of the event has been the extraordinary security in the city, but there’s plenty to focus on as far as the cricket is concerned, too. Both teams have one PSL title to their name, with Peshawar being defending champions, while Islamabad won the inaugural edition in 2016. Both are presently at the top of their game and made their way to the final with some brutal displays with the bat. There seems to be no real weak link in either team, as both are laden with experienced batsmen from top to middle, and boast powerful bowling attacks.The stadium has, over the years, largely been isolated, only hosting domestic cricket, but the infrastructure was put back together a few months before the game. The stadium is still under renovation, but the facility was prepared enough to make sure it was able to get going for the important game.

Form Guide

Peshawar Zalmi: WWWWL (last five completed games, most recent first)
Islamabad United: WLWWW

In the spotlight

The final is anticipated for its own merits as a contest, of course, but an absorbing mini-contest revolves around the dazzling form of each side’s wicketkeeper-batsman. Kamran Akmal and Luke Ronchi are both 36, have both been opening the batting, and presently sit at No. 1 and No. 3 on the PSL run charts with 424 and 383 runs respectively. Both are major reasons for their respective teams making the final this season. Both have exhibited extraordinary skill in power-hitting, and are brimming with the confidence, and will be at the forefront of their respective opposition bowling attacks leading into the game.Pitch preparations ahead of the PSL final in Karachi•Associated Press

Team news

Despite safety concerns among foreign players overshadowing the games themselves, both teams have managed to retain the services of most of their best overseas players for the marquee game. This was in stark contrast to last year, when all of Quetta Gladiators’ foreign players pulled out while Peshawar Zalmi fielded a full-strength side.Misbah ul Haq missed the Qualifier with a hairline fracture in his wrist. The 43-year-old has been struggling for fitness, and will miss the final. Islamabad are likely to stick to their combination from the Dubai game where they beat Karachi Kings by eight wickets with 45 balls to spare. One enforced change will be the absence of Alex Hales, who pulled out due to security concerns.Islamabad United (likely): 1 Luke Ronchi (wk), 2 Sahibzada Farhan, 3 JP Duminy (capt), 4 Hussain Talat, 5 Samit Patel, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Chadwick Walton/Samuel Badree, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Faheem Ashraf, 10 Mohammad Sami, 11 Amad ButtKamran Akmal has been playing despite a stiff neck and a hamstring niggle but with three days of rest before the game should have had enough time to regain his fitness. Peshawar are likely to retain their winning combination.Peshawar Zalmi (likely): 1 Kamran Akmal (wk), 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Saad Nasim, 5 Liam Dawson, 6 Darren Sammy (capt), 7 Chris Jordan, 8 Hasan Ali, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Umaid Asif, 11 Sameen Gul

Stats and trivia

• Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi have the two best PSL win-loss ratios across three years. Islamabad have won 18 matches and lost 12, while Peshawar have won 19 and lost 13.
• Islamabad’s Faheem Ashraf is the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, with 17 wickets at a strike rate of 12.7 and an economy rate of 7.72. Peshawar’s Wahab Riaz is breathing down his neck with 16 wickets at an economy rate of 6.86 and a strike rate of 17.2.

Quotes

“Its good to see the logistical work done behind the scenes and we’ve been brought here safely .. I am very grateful for hard work being done behind the scenes and we are excited about tomorrow final.”

Jhye Richardson’s rapid rise has been maintained by selection to tour South Africa with Australia’s Test squad, in which the selectors have retained both Cameron Bancroft and Peter Handscomb despite underwhelming displays during the Ashes series.

Australia squads

For Tests in SA: Steven Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc.
For T20Is v England and New Zealand: David Warner (capt), Aaron Finch, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa

The panel chaired by Trevor Hohns could find no room for Glenn Maxwell – chosen as a standby batsman as recently as the Gabba Test against England in November – and also left out the Adelaide Test 12th man Chadd Sayers.At the age of 21, Richardson has played only five first-class matches, but took 17 wickets in four Sheffield Shield games for Western Australia prior to the start of the Big Bash League. Richardson has stated he takes inspiration from South Africa’s Dale Steyn.Those four appearances included some slippery spells against a full-strength New South Wales team at Hurstville Oval, where he impressed Australia’s captan Steven Smith with his pace and movement. “He has impressed very much so early days of this Sheffield Shield season,” Hohns said of Richardson. “He’s bowled very well, he’s got good pace, pretty good control we think. He’s certainly a player of the future. He offers a pretty good package too; he’s a good fielder and he’s pretty handy with the bat. We do see a good future for him particularly that he just seems to have that extra pace which may well be required in South Africa.Jhye Richardson receives his ODI cap•Getty Images

“There’s no doubt about that [Sayers is unlucky]. Chadd is performing well as he always does, but with Jackson Bird there he has the jump on Chadd at the moment, there’s no doubt about that. We have him, Josh Hazlewood is a well-renowned seam bowler then we have the good pace of [Mitchell] Starc, [Pat] Cummins and Jhye Richardson.”Australia’s desire to have a high-speed reserve option in South Africa is long-standing. They rushed James Pattinson back from injury in 2014, and he played a substantial role in the pivotal third Test of the series in Cape Town, alongside Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris. Pattinson may well have come into consideration this time as well, alongside Nathan Coulter-Nile, but both men are injured.”I haven’t really expected to play for Australia, just having the amount of experience I’ve had in Shield cricket,” Richardson said. “I’ve only played five games under my belt. But having said that, I’m going in with full confidence. I’m learning so quickly, especially being around these guys, seeing how they go about their business and I’m certainly developing as a person and a player extremely quickly.”I had a relatively good domestic one-day competition. And, as I said, I’m really confident with how I’m bowling. Body is feeling good. Technique is coming along really nicely, being able to swing the ball at the top of the order is always nice. The message was just to go about the business as you do and just be myself around the group.”I’m only 70-odd kilos and 178cm tall so I’m not the biggest unit around, but it’s always something in your head, you always want to prove people wrong and I think that’s been my attitude from the start, If someone is going to beat me down, why not prove them wrong. There’s going to be a lot of people that put me down for not having the experience at this sort of level but if I can go in being as confident as I am right now I think I’ll be able to get the job done.”Cameron Bancroft had a few problems against the short ball•Getty Images

Bancroft’s technique was gradually dismantled by England over the course of five Tests, but his presence in the team was strongly endorsed by both Smith and the coach Darren Lehmann, who had pointed to his success in building partnerships with David Warner even though he did not always look comfortable. Handscomb’s retention as reserve batsman – having been dropped for Mitchell Marsh after the second Ashes match in Adelaide – is likewise a vote of confidence. The decision to retain the pair was simplified by a badly-timed injury to Joe Burns, while the Big Bash League has deprived Matt Renshaw of opportunities to press for a recall.”It’s a absolutely a vote of confidence in Cameron Bancroft,” Hohns said. “He’s the type of player we love having there at the moment. He’s the type of player that seems he could excel in Test cricket. We do have other options for openers if something needs to happen in that area. We’ve got the spare batsman, currently it’s Peter Handscomb.”We feel adequately covered anywhere in the batting line-up with the personnel we have available. There is no doubt Mitch has made the most of the renewed opportunity, that has to be said. I suppose at the moment Peter is the spare batsman and it’s up to the others to perform as they have out here.”Rather than choosing Ashton Agar as a possible second spin bowler, the role he filled in Bangladesh last year, the selectors also recalled 30-year old Jon Holland as injury cover for Nathan Lyon and also as a net-bowling approximation of South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj. Hohns said that the unlikelihood of needing to play two spinners meant Holland was preferred as Lyon’s back-up.”[Agar] is definitely still in the developmental stage of his spin-bowling career,” Hohns said. “He’s a different type of package. He offers us the all-round type of package when the need is there to play two spinners in the one team, probably like in the subcontinent when we’ve played two or three as well. But, in this instance going to South Africa, we don’t envisage the pitches that we will encounter will necessitate playing two spinners in the one side.”What we thought we needed there was actually a specialist spinner as back-up to Nathan Lyon if anything were to happen to him and he couldn’t play and take his place in the side on any given day. [Holland] is a wicket-taker, simple as that. You have a look at his record, it speaks for itself over the past couple of seasons. He fits that specialist role very well.”Of the Test squad, only David Warner will take part in the Twenty20 tri-series against England and New Zealand that begins on February 7. He has been chosen as stand-in captain to allow Smith a break after the current ODI series and also the chance to have a full preparation for the South Africa series, which begins on March 5 and takes place across four Tests in Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg.”Steve has had a very big summer and will benefit from a short break both physically and mentally, before he leaves for South Africa,” Hohns said. “David is a very capable leader and has captained in Steve’s absence before and done a fine job. We wanted to ensure the T20 side had key leadership throughout this Series and we know the team is in good hands with him at the helm.”D’Arcy Short, the indigenous left-handed batsman, earned his place in the T20 squad through a series of outstanding BBL displays, while the left-arm swing bowling of the Sydney Sixers’ Ben Dwarshuis has also been recognised. Chris Lynn, who withdrew from the ODI squad due to a calf injury, was recalled, with a chance to prove his fitness by playing for the Brisbane Heat beforehand. The most curious omission was that of Fawad Ahmed, the leading Australian spinner in the BBL but deemed to be behind Adam Zampa in the selectors’ order of preference.

With Coetzer taking a break from the team to complete his Level 4 coaching qualification, Richie Berrington will stand-in as captain for Scotland’s first two games against Ireland

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2018Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer will miss the side’s first two matches of the ODI tri-series in the UAE, also involving the hosts and Ireland. With Coetzer taking a break from the team to complete his Level 4 coaching qualification, Richie Berrington will stand-in as captain for Scotland’s first two games against Ireland.Coetzer will take back the captaincy in Scotland’s third match against UAE. Coach Grant Bradburn welcomed Berrington into the leadership role and set his sights on qualification for the 2019 World Cup.”Richie Berrington will captain the team for the two games against Ireland and then assume the vice captaincy for the UAE matches,” he said. “Richie is highly skilled as a player and hugely respected within our team. It is fantastic that he has agreed to step up into a formal leadership role on this tour, which we believe he will thrive on.”This Dubai series is no different in terms of importance, but we have full confidence in our players to take on different roles. We must continually improve and give players the exposure to grow. Our sole intent is to qualify for the CWC 19 and to do that we must develop depth and allow players to show their vast range of abilities at international level.”Ireland beat UAE by four wickets in the tri-series opener on January 11.

Manchester United star Ella Toone has been nominated for the WSL Player of the Month award after enjoying an impressive December.

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Toone nominated for WSL Player of the MonthMan Utd star impressed in DecemberEngland teammate Hemp also nominatedWHAT HAPPENED?

Toone scored in both of United's WSL outings in December, a 4-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur and a 2-1 loss to Liverpool. She has been nominated for the award alongside England team-mate Lauren Hemp, as well as WSL stars Khadija Shaw, Taylor Hinds, Lena Patermann and Barbora Votikova.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Following a long FIFA Women's World Cup campaign with England over the summer, Toone struggled to hit her stride in the opening months of the new WSL season. Her performances improved towards the end of the year though; in November she scored one goal and set-up three more in four league outings for Marc Skinner's United.

DID YOU KNOW?

Toone has only been named WSL Player of the Month once before. Coincidently that also came in December, midway through the 2021/22 campaign. Lauren Hemp has never won it either, although she was included in the PFA WSL Team of the Year for 2020/21 and 2021/22.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ELLA TOONE?

Toone is in contention to feature when United take on PSV Eindhoven in a friendly in Malta on Friday evening. After that, she and her team-mates will prepare for an FA Women's Cup fourth round clash with Newcastle on January 14.

West Ham United are eyeing a summer swoop for Jean-Clair Todibo.

What’s the latest on Jean-Clair Todibo to West Ham?

According to French outlet Nice-Matin, the Irons have made an approach to sign the Nice titan, who could cost around €40m (£34m).

Despite still just being 23-years-old, Todibo has enjoyed stints across the continent at Toulouse, Barcelona, Benfica, and Schalke.

However, since joining Nice in 2021, the 6 foot 3 defender has been far more settled and has gone on to make over 100 appearances for the French outfit.

Would Jean-Clair Todibo be a good signing for West Ham?

Last season, in 33 Ligue 1 starts, the player averaged 2.2 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game (fourth-highest in the squad), as well as 3.1 clearances and 0.6 blocks per game (second-highest).

His game is built upon defensive solidity and his quality has been recognised even in the infancy of his career – back in 2020, German legend Lothar Matthaus described Todibo as the “best centre-back” he’s seen in a “long time.”

This sentiment was echoed by his former teammate Aaron Ramsey, who added:

“Jean-Clair is a very interesting character; he’s very confident and he’s a great guy around the dressing room and he’s a very, very talented player, who can go all the way to the top.

“For him, it is important to keep his feet on the ground, strive for more, and take in as much information as possible.

“He’s a great guy, a great player, and very ambitious, so there is no reason that he can’t go all the way to the top and represent France.”

From a West Ham perspective, adding a man of this calibre and reputation would be a monumental boost. Furthermore, Todibo can also be a noticeable upgrade on Kurt Zouma.

Defensively, the former Barcelona starlet outranks his elder for tackles per 90 (2.28 vs 0.41) and blocks per 90 (1.29 vs 0.77), while Zouma very narrowly outperforms Todibo for interceptions (1.36 vs 1.29).

However, what separates these two players is their ball-playing ability. Todibo is vastly superior to the former Chelsea youngster for pass completion per 90 (88.5% vs 84.4%), progressive passes per 90 (4.8 vs 1.4), and successful take-ons per 90 (0.63 vs 0.09).

Although it is easier for the £20k-per-week man to score better than Zouma, as in domestic matches he averages over 30 more touches (76.2 vs 42.5), Todibo still ranks tremendously across the continent, sitting within the best 20% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for the aforementioned metrics.

Zouma is perhaps a victim of David Moyes’ lack of possession-based style of play, but Todibo’s pedigree is undeniable and looks like he could be a formidable asset in the Premier League.

Moreover, despite only signing for the East Londoners in 2021, the 6 foot 3 mountain has already missed 23 games through injury. With the club set to play a third-consecutive season of European football, they cannot afford to lose Zouma for another prolonged period, whilst Todibo is yet to miss any games for Nice due to injury.

This signing would be an inspired way for the 2023 Europa Conference League winners to kickstart their window.

An update has emerged on Celtic and their plans to bolster their defensive options ahead of the 2023/24 Scottish Premiership campaign…

What's the latest Celtic transfer news?

According to the Liverpool Echo, Brendan Rodgers is keen on a swoop to sign out-of-contract central defender Jonny Evans during the summer transfer window.

The report claims that the Northern Irish head coach would like to reunite with his compatriot after their time together at Leicester City, as the veteran stopper's contract with the Foxes expired at the end of last season – making him a free agent.

It states that Premier League side Everton have no interest in signing the 35-year-old enforcer, despite speculation ramping up after a supporter heard an unknown person in the background of a training video posted on social media state that the club had Evans coming in.

What has Jonny Evans won?

Evans would arrive as a player with the experience to slot straight into the high-pressure environment at Celtic as he is a proven winner who knows what it takes to secure trophies.

The Northern Ireland international won ten pieces of silverware during his time at Manchester United, including three Premier League crowns and one Champions League title. Most recently, he lifted the FA Cup with Rodgers at Leicester in the 2020/21 campaign.

His arrival on a free transfer this summer could spell the end of 23-year-old defender Stephen Welsh's time at Parkhead, as it may push him further down the pecking order ahead of next season and in need of a transfer to revive his career.

Serie A sides Bologna and Hellas Verona have both been touted with an interest in snapping up the rarely-seen central defender, who wants to play regular first-team football instead of watching on from the sidelines or the bench for another 12 months.

It was also reported earlier this year that the Glasgow giants would be willing to sanction his departure if they are able to bring in a replacement.

Welsh only made four Scottish Premiership appearances last term as the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Carl Starfelt, and Yuki Kobayashi were preferred ahead of him.

Evans, who was once described as a "Rolls Royce" by former Northern Ireland teammate Keith Gillespie, coming in would surely limit the Scotsman's chances even further, as it seems unlikely that Rodgers would want to bring him in with the intent of being the fifth choice in that position.

Therefore, signing the former Red Devils ace would open the door for the manager to part ways with Welsh, who may not get the regular game time that he is looking for at Parkhead.

The fact that Rodgers is eyeing up another central defensive option suggests that the ex-Liverpool boss wants to improve the quality of his backup options behind Carter-Vickers and Starfelt, which does not bode well for the 23-year-old enforcer and his chances of breaking into the XI.

Therefore, Celtic could capitalise on the interest from Italian teams in Welsh's services and cash in on him this summer by securing a deal to sign Evans on a free transfer first.

By doing this, the Hoops could add a vastly experienced and proven winner to their squad, who has already played 129 competitive matches under Rodgers, without spending a penny on transfer fees, whilst also potentially recouping a fee by selling one of their current centre-backs.

The ICC is once again mulling over the prospect of scrapping the Champions Trophy, in favour of two expanded World T20 tournaments in a four-year cycle. Talk of the impending demise of the tournament has become almost a ritual. And with the next edition tentatively inked in for 2021, in India, David Richardson, the ICC CEO, said the body is considering scrapping the event to capitalize on the popularity of the T20 format to open the tournament up to more teams.”It’s always been quite difficult to distinguish or differentiate between the two 50-over global events,” Richardson said. “With the World Cup becoming a ten-team event, it’s almost like the World Cup is becoming more like the Champions Trophy, which I think is a good thing.”I think it (World Cup) will still be a longer event. The World Cup format will allow the best chance for the best four teams to get into the semifinals. So it takes away the risk of maybe a rain-affected game or one poor game having a huge impact on the tournament like it can be in this tournament (Champions Trophy). But still, highly competitive matches hopefully.”And then, whether the Champions Trophy in 2021 stays a Champions Trophy, or we move to two World T20s – that still needs to be discussed and settled. It’s a possibility, yes. I wouldn’t say it is categorically going to happen because, as we’ve seen, the Champions Trophy on its own is a very good event and very well-supported, particularly in the UK, where you get support for all teams. So let’s not be too hasty in writing it off, but to be honest and frank, there is consideration for moving towards two World T20s in a four-year cycle.”Two World T20s in a four-year cycle, Richardson said, gave the ICC a chance to open the tournament to more Associate teams, a balm to the decision to curtail the number of teams at the 2019 World Cup to ten. That decision drew flak from Associate players, with Ireland and Scotland cricketers quite vocal.”Having two World T20s in a four-year cycle gives us an opportunity to globalise the game to a great extent, open the tournament to more teams – 16 or maybe even in a longer term to 20 teams,” Richardson said. “It’s easier to be competitive in that format, and thus easier to accommodate more teams.”Richardson’s thoughts will hardly come as a surprise. In 2012, it was decided that the last edition of the tournament would be held in 2013, as the ICC sought to introduce a World Test Championship from 2017, and there was talk of scrapping it even as long ago as the time of the 2009 event. However, the significant commercial success of the tournament in England in 2013 – a short, sharp competition that featured eight teams – led to its retention at the expense of a World Test Championship.The ICC, however, is discussing the idea of a two-year Test league, with a 9-3 format – the top nine Test countries compete among themselves and against the three lower-ranked teams comprising Zimbabwe, and most likely Ireland and Afghanistan (depending on whether they earn Test status), which could also put some strain on the international calendar.The 2017 edition, Richardson said, highlighted the importance of context, and the ICC CEO was happy with the success of the tournament.”Overall, very satisfied with the Champions Trophy (2017). Across all aspects of the event, really, from the enthusiasm of the volunteers – cricketeers, as they were called – to the broadcaster viewership, the digital content that we put out, umpiring, player behaviour, pitches … everything went well. The cricket has been great. It shows that if you’ve got context and competitive teams, you will have a great event.”

We’ve all been there, haven’t we? Turning up on a Sunday morning, maybe a bit worse for wear – at least that’s the excuse you give – before putting in a performance worthy of the Hall of Shame.We’re talking ball rolling under your foot bad, open goal misses kind of bad. The type of performances that really make you think, is this it? Is it time to bring an illustrious career of games on what we somehow call football pitches to an end? The answer, by the way, is definitely a yes. Hang those 20-year-old boots up.If only professional footballers could forget about a disasterclass so easily. Instead, their mistakes are thrown into compilations, to be forever remembered, and eventually thrown into lists such as this.With that said, after fans took to Twitter to name the worst performances in Premier League history, we at Football FanCast have ranked them.

5 Dejan Lovren vs Tottenham Hotspur, 2017

Ironically, without this performance from Dejan Lovren, Liverpool may not have gone on to win every trophy possible in club football in the six years that followed. This October day to forget was the final straw for Jurgen Klopp, who welcomed Virgil van Dijk in January. And the rest is history.

Nonetheless, the performance still deserves a place on this list after the defender was at fault for two of Tottenham Hotspur’s first goals, before being hooked in the 31st minute.

4 Romelu Lukaku vs Crystal Palace, 2022

You have to feel for Romelu Lukaku here, in a way. He started life back at Chelsea so well, practically bullying Arsenal on his debut, finding the back of the net as the Blues won 2-0.

It went downhill from there, however, culminating in an embarrassing afternoon for the Belgian against Crystal Palace, as he touched the ball just seven times – a Premier League record – as Chelsea avoided a narrow escape to seal all three points.

His time at Stamford Bridge is summed up by that game.

3 Tiemoue Bakayoko vs Watford, 2018

When Tiemoue Bakayoko first joined Chelsea, the immediate partnership that he formed with N’Golo Kante was one of the best in the Premier League as the London club won the league title under Antonio Conte.

That was as good as it got for the Frenchman, though, in a short peak of form in England’s top flight.

The midfielder’s display against Watford in 2018 was the nail in the coffin, as the Hornets smashed Chelsea 4-1 after Bakayoko was sent off just 30 minutes in, having looked way off the pace throughout.

Here’s a brilliant Twitter compilation showing just had bad he was:

2 Steven Gerrard vs Manchester United, 2015

When Brendan Rodgers benched Steven Gerrard against Manchester United back in 2015, he would have done so with the thought in the back of his mind of lighting a fire underneath the Liverpool captain.

This would mean that when Rodgers did need to turn to the Reds legend, he would have himself a player ready to turn the game around. Benching Gerrard didn’t just light a fire, however, it lit a raging, destructive inferno.

Indeed, the captain stepped from the bench at half-time, before launching into challengers, and receiving an instant red card just 38 seconds after coming on – the third-fastest dismissal in PL history.

Speaking in his book which was serialised by the Daily Mail, Gerrard said of the incident: As I left the pitch I asked myself: “What have you just done? Are you f****** stupid?”

1 Jonathan Walters vs Chelsea, 2013

You’d have thought it can’t get much worse than scoring two own goals in a Premier League game, but Jonathan Walters somehow took things another level further by then missing a penalty at the other end against Chelsea.

We’re not just talking any penalty miss here, either. No. We’re talking, the ball is likely still travelling high into the sky type of missed penalty. It simply cannot get worse than the game Walters had.

First came the own goals, which, to his credit, were two inch-perfect headers – albeit at the wrong end – to give Chelsea a two-goal advantage. The Blues then went on to score twice more to make it 4-0 against Stoke City, before their top goalscorer for the day had a chance to restore face, only to blast his penalty over the bar.

It doesn’t get any worse than that.

Half-centuries from Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad and Muhammad Usman underpinned UAE’s 82-run victory over Papua New Guinea in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Muhammad Usman struck six fours and a six•Peter Della PennaHalf-centuries from Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad and Muhammad Usman underpinned UAE’s 82-run victory over Papua New Guinea in Abu Dhabi. Mohammad Naveed and captain Rohan Mustafa, meanwhile, made cameos as UAE ran up 292 for 5. Spinners Ahmed Raza and Imran Haider then claimed combined figures of 7 for 79 to dismiss PNG for 210.PNG, though, had started positively in their chase with Tony Ura and Vani Morea adding 82 for the first wicket. Legspinner Haider then claimed three wickets in three overs to jolt PNG. Raza, the left-arm spinner, smothered the middle order further with the lone source of resistance coming from Sese Bau who contributed with 42 off 51 balls. The last five wickets tumbled for six runs as PNG were bowled out in 47.3 overs.Having been inserted, UAE lost Mohammed Qasim early to Chad Soper, but a string of fifty stands from the middle order shaped the innings. Shabber was circumspect, making 50 off 96 balls while Shahzad, Usman and Naveed went at better than a run a ball as UAE threatened the 300 mark. Seamer Alei Nao picked up 2 for 47 on ODI debut.