The Scottish midfielder on the constant battle to keep his place, the ‘stigma’ of employing a home chef, and why he believes Aston Villa will win a big trophy soon John McGinn has spent the best part of half an hour reflecting on his journey to this point, his next appearance for Aston Villa his 300th for the club, when he volunteers something of a confession. Asked whether he has lasered in on nutrition to maximise performance, perhaps inspired by Erling Haaland revealing his penchant for raw milk and honey, the Villa captain smiles a little sheepishly. “Yeah, I have, which makes me feel quite uncomfortable because I’m from a very humble part of the world,” he says, referring to his roots in Clydebank, a few miles north-west of Glasgow. “They will all laugh at me and wind me up for it but I do have a chef at home. I think there is a stigma towards it: ‘Who do you think you are?’ Which I get, because it used to be me thinking that. I was more nervous about telling my siblings and my mum and dad about the idea of having a chef than actually having one. My mum and dad were always running us about to training and if my dad was cooking it was always whatever is left in the fridge. Continue reading...

The Norwegian’s goalscoring feats have become so vast they hardly need chronicling, but at least he’s now doing it with a smile With 27 minutes gone, and Manchester City 1-0 up, Erling Haaland did an extraordinary and also very funny thing. Strolling with feigned disinterest away from a free‑kick in the centre circle, Haaland turned, took the ball, and decided to run straight at the Borussia Dortmund defence, dragging with him a pair of desperate yellow shirts, grabbing and stumbling and firing their useless harpoons into the great white beast ahead of them. There was nothing uncontrolled about this. It was an act of targeted violence by Haaland, the application of a superior force (basically, me) to a point of weakness (that would be: all of you). Eventually the ball ran free to Nico O’Reilly, all alone, as the entire Dortmund defence was dragged along in Haaland’s wake, by now, frankly, in need of a bigger boat. Continue reading...

If Phil Foden performs so do Manchester City is a truism reiterated by this two-goal show that helped sweep Pep Guardiola’s improving team to 10 points from four games at the stage’s halfway juncture. Factor in Erling Haaland who decorated his captaincy for the eve with a 27th goal (for club and country) and Waldemer Anton’s 72nd-minute jab home was solely an irritation. Continue reading...

‘I have an incredible striker and keeper’ says manager Pep ‘honoured’ to gain 250th Premier League win Pep Guardiola was thankful his Manchester City team has Erling Haaland scoring goals and Gianluigi Donnarumma stopping them after victory at Brentford came at the cost of another Rodri injury. “I have an incredible striker and keeper,” Guardiola said, the Norwegian’s ninth-minute goal proving the winner. Haaland’s form is reaching the levels of City’s 2022-23 treble season, the No 9 scoring in a ninth consecutive game. “He’s the best,” said his manager. “The year of the treble, he scored – what? – 50 million goals? I think he’s part of the club now, he’s settled. He feels now that it’s mine.” Continue reading...

Captain was taken off in win over West Ham Club hopeful he will be out for weeks not months Arsenal have confirmed that Martin Ødegaard has withdrawn from Norway’s squad for their games against Israel and New Zealand after sustaining a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee in the 2-0 win over West Ham on Saturday. Ødegaard went down clutching his knee after clashing with Crysencio Summerville in the first half at the Emirates and twice attempted to carry on after receiving treatment before being eventually replaced by Martín Zubimendi. Mikel Arteta said after the match that Ødegaard had left the ground with his knee in a brace and the Arsenal manager admitted his captain was “not positive about it”. Continue reading...

A 250th Premier League win for Pep Guardiola, achieved at record speed, and in a season where no contender is perfect, a seventh title trophy cannot be ruled out. The Manchester City of autumn 2025 is work in progress, low on previous star quality but still full of possibilities. The presence of Erling Haaland in his currently devastating form is a cast-iron guarantee they will be sticking around for a while yet. The ninth minute saw Haaland score his ninth Premier League goal of the season. Supplied by Josko Gvardiol, Haaland was left with plenty to do but his power and speed completed the job, bustling through Sepp van den Berg and Nathan Collins to clatter past Caoímhin Kelleher. At 25, and handed a leadership role by his manager, Haaland is thriving under added responsibility. Continue reading...

Manager has ‘nothing to say to Spanish referees’ in Monaco Haaland says display not good enough after scoring twice Pep Guardiola has “nothing to say to Spanish referees” after Manchester City dropped two points in Monaco thanks to a last-minute Eric Dier penalty. Jesús Gil Manzano was sent to the screen by the video assistant referee before awarding the spot-kick after he adjudged Nico González’s high boot against the English centre-back merited punishment. Erling Haaland scored twice for City but they were pegged back on two occasions through Jordan Teze and Dier’s late penalty. It had been a dominant performance from City but they fell short at the end. Continue reading...

It was all Manchester City’s fault that they did not leave Monaco without all three points. A piece of late mindlessness from Nico González gifted Eric Dier the chance to level and earned a draw for the hosts. It should have been so much easier for City after Erling Haaland proved their such a thing as a sure bet in Monte Carlo, as his double looked to have secured victory on a subdued night in the principality. Instead Jordan Teze was afforded too much space for the first equaliser and Dier could not turn down the opportunity. There is plenty of time to make up for the dropped points but it was a frustrating match for City who dominated from start to finish but never gave themselves a sufficient cushion that would see themselves over the line. Continue reading...

Winger sustained injury in 1-1 draw with Manchester City Kai Havertz and Martin Ødegaard already out injured Arsenal have been dealt another significant injury blow with Noni Madueke expected to be sidelined for up to two months after sustaining a knee injury in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City. The 23-year-old England international was forced off at half-time at the Emirates Stadium, having played through discomfort during the first half. Mikel Arteta said Madueke “had an issue very early in the match and he wasn’t well enough to continue” before being replaced by Bukayo Saka. Scans conducted on Monday are understood to have confirmed the injury is serious enough to keep him out of action until late November. Continue reading...

Winger to undergo tests on injury sustained in City draw Early optimism at Arsenal that he will make swift return Arsenal are sweating on Noni Madueke’s fitness after the winger went off with a knee injury against Manchester City on Sunday. Madueke is set to undergo tests on Monday and it is hoped that the damage will not be severe enough to require a lengthy lay-off. Arsenal have already lost Kai Havertz to a knee injury and were without Martin Ødegaard against City because of a shoulder injury. Bukayo Saka was also out for a month with a hamstring injury. Continue reading...

Aston Villa’s struggles continue, more West Ham problems while Brighton wrap up Carlos Baleba in cotton wool Premier League top scorers 2025-26: who is leading race? Pep Guardiola becomes ever more the traditional English football man. As his Manchester City stay extends to 10 seasons, he relies ever more on the principle that big players can win big matches. Hence his late-career conversion to employing a wrecking ball striker in the peerless Erling Haaland. As for his former assistant Mikel Arteta, Arsenal looked stuck in the weeds of over-thinking. Benching Eberechi Eze, who tortured City in last season’s FA Cup final, till half-time was just too clever by half. Arteta’s recent talk of using rugby strategy, of thinking of substitutes as finishers, in the style of South Africa’s “bomb squad” is all very well. Even if the substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored the equaliser from an Eze long ball, a talented, capable squad playing one-dimensional fare is far less explicable. This is not the City who previously dominated the Premier League. They showed their own limitations, particularly once Haaland, brilliant as attacker and defender, was removed. John Brewin Continue reading...

Manager pleased with ‘resilience’ of his ‘transition team’ Arteta says service to Gyökeres needs to improve Pep Guardiola admitted he had no choice but to park the bus against Arsenal, and praised Manchester City’s defensive resilience despite conceding a late equaliser. A brilliant lob from the substitute Gabriel Martinelli in the third minute of stoppage time cancelled out Erling Haaland’s early strike as Mikel Arteta became the first manager to go five consecutive league games unbeaten against his compatriot. City recorded just 32.8% possession at the Emirates – the lowest in a top-flight match for a team managed by Guardiola – in an uncharacteristically backs-to-the-wall display. Continue reading...

Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Martinelli excel off the bench for Arsenal, while Erling Haaland is game’s outstanding player David Raya Stood no chance with Haaland’s goal and did better with his second attempt. Largely a spectator. 6 Continue reading...

For Arsenal, it felt as if all hope had left the stadium. Mikel Arteta had started with the dial turned towards caution but by the time the board went up to show seven minutes of stoppage time, the manager had torn off the handbrake, sending on attacking substitutes, praying that one of his finishers could come up trumps. It was attack versus defence, as it had been throughout, but now it was a ridiculously extreme version, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City set up with everybody deep; 5-4-1, desperately holding on to the advantage given to them by Erling Haaland in the ninth minute. Continue reading...