EUROPA League
ARSENAL SCOUT WHO DISCOVERED CESC FABREGAS TO BE FIRED!
UK newspaper, Mirror has dropped the hint that a certain Francis Cagigao is among the 35 staff to be fired.
He is reputed to have spotted former Gunners captain Fabregas as well as current stars Gabriel Martinelli and Hector Bellerin while playing a huge part in the club’s global recruitment for over a decade.
The Premier League giants are laying off people from their commercial department, administration and football operation, although it is unlikely to affect the first team set-up.
Most jobs are understood to be going from the commercial operation with Arsenal ’s scouting department – which has already made cut backs – also affected, particularly those on rolling contracts.
As well as the renowned Cagigao, recruitment specialist Brian McDermott and several youth scouts on 12 month contracts from their famed Hale End academy could all be affected.
But it comes despite Arsenal preparing to make big name signings with Chelsea’s Brazilian star Willian, who is 32 on Sunday, set to arrive on a three year contract worth £150,000-a-week.
They are also confident of tying down Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to a new deal worth £250,000-a-week and top earner Mesut Ozil has a year left of his £350,000-a-week contract.
It prompted a fierce backlash from fans on social media and the club knows it will face a difficult moral argument as to why they can make nearly ten per cent of its 590 staff redundant while still buying new players.
Tottenham and Liverpool both reversed decisions to furlough staff during the coronavirus lockdown after a public outcry and now Arsenal, who did not furlough staff, are facing the same angry response.
It is understood that head of football Raul Sanllehi and managing director Vinai Venkatesham addressed all of the club’s staff on Wednesday afternoon and those affected will now enter a 30-day consultation period.
Arsenal’s players were told shortly after the staff were addressed and just before the club made a public announcement. They hope to save huge sums and insist that it is still necessary to invest in the squad to ensure future success.
Billionaire owner Stan Kroenke has underwritten the club’s expenditure in the transfer market last summer and the crippling cost of the pandemic with Arsenal players taking a 12.5 per cent pay cut for a year, although 7.5 per cent of that is paid back after they got into the Europa League.
However, Arsenal have lost £2m in gate receipts for every game behind closed doors at the Emirates while the commercial costs and drop in TV revenue has hit even the biggest clubs hard. Some clubs have lost tens of millions.
Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth final in the competition as a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.
The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) – either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) – deservedly earning him the epithet “Mr Europa League” from some fans and media.
Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
“His track record speaks for itself,” said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa League success. “We need to go and win it now.”
Emery was delighted with how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final to score four times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.
“Now we have to look to the final,” he said, hoping that Villa will do “something fantastic” for their fans.
Though thrilled at Thursday’s win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few times at the crowd before letting his players enjoy the moment with fans
He and his Villa side will be favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but Emery was taking nothing for granted. “Of course German teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,” he added of the upcoming opponents.
-Reuters
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List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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