Premier League
KANU’S FORMER CLUB, WEST BROM RELEGATED AFTER 3-1 DEFEAT AT ARSENAL
Former Nigeria captain, Nwankwo Kanu is a common denominator as West Boromwich Albion faced Arsenal on Sunday in a Premier League that dealt a heavy blow on the former.
West Bromwich Albion were relegated from the Premier League after a 3-1 loss at Arsenal sent them straight back down to the Championship after one season in the top flight.
Kanu had played for both clubs. The defeat left the Baggies in 19th place with 26 points, 10 points behind fourth-bottom Burnley with only three games left to play. It is the first time manager Sam Allardyce has suffered relegation from the Premier League during his 17 campaigns.
West Brom started brightly but struggled to move the ball into good attacking positions, and when they did they failed to get their efforts on target. Arsenal, on the other hand, put on a brilliant display of finishing to condemn them to the drop.
Emile Smith Rowe connected perfectly with Bukayo Saka’s cross in the 29th minute to deftly volley Arsenal’s opener, and Nicolas Pepe cut in from the right before curling home an unstoppable left-foot shot six minutes later.
Pepe had another thumping effort saved by Sam Johnstone early in the second half and, with Saka carving West Brom open down the left, Arsenal had lots of chances to add to the score.
However, Matheus Pereira pulled one back for the visitors in the 67th after a surging run from deep inside his own half ended with him scoring from West Brom’s only shot on target.
That was all the Baggies could muster and Willian’s brilliant 90th-minute free kick wrapped up the points for Arsenal, who are in ninth place on 52 from 35 games.
West Brom will join basement club Sheffield United, who are already down, in the second-tier next season, but defender Kyle Bartley was in defiant mood despite his side’s relegation.
“(I’m) massively disappointed, (but) it’s time to focus on these next three games, get as much momentum as possible to make sure we come straight back up next season,” he told BT Sport.
“I am really proud of the way the boys kept going. It would have been so easy to fold out there and lose four or five nil, but everyone kept going.”
Third-bottom Fulham host Burnley on Monday knowing a defeat would also send them straight back down to the Championship.
-Reuters
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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