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Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal (Szoboszlai 83’)

ANFIELD — It almost worked. Arsenal had reduced Liverpool, scorers of nine goals in their first three games of the season with two attacking additions costing nearly £200m, to barely a chance.

Missing three of their best players through injury, away from home against the Premier League champions, they were six minutes away from a point or possibly more.

And then Dominik Szoboszlai struck one of the great free-kicks, the ball rising over the wall then dipping viciously, in off the post, from 32 yards, destined to be replayed in clips for decades to come.

You simply don’t stop Liverpool scoring. Almost literally, these days – Szoboszlai’s free-kick was a club record 37th consecutive Premier League game they have scored in.

Dominik Szoboszlai. WOW. pic.twitter.com/AmSa5lVgcx

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 31, 2025

But how close Arsenal came. And they did so after losing William Saliba, a key centre-back, after only five minutes to a worrying injury, replaced by Cristhian Mosquera. The summer signing had a promising pre-season, but that is nothing compared to stepping onto the Anfield pitch to face Mohamed Salah.

For 83 minutes, Arsenal had squeezed every possible second out of the game they could.

Take corners, for example. Declan Rice strolled across for all eight of Arsenal’s, taking his time.

The Anfield crowd, agitated by a surprising lack of entertainment from their own players, finally grew fed up with the approach in the 63rd minute, when Rice stopped en route and turned to have a quick chat with Gabriel Martinelli.

Rice turned back, resumed his slow amble to the corner flag, let another few seconds melt away as he readied the ball, then made sure his short run-up was just right.

In fact, Rice never broke into even a jog for any of them, despite spending the remainder of his time on the pitch tearing from box to box like a wild dog.

This is by far an exact science, but say Rice took about 30 seconds before taking each corner – that’s four minutes. A big wedge of time that you don’t want Liverpool, possessing one of the most frightening attacks in the game right now, to have.

Arsenal’s entire performance was laced with letting time drain out the clock.

In first-half stoppage time, the game goalless but Arsenal edging it, Arsenal had a break on, Noni Madueke on the ball just inside his own half.

Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, wasn’t far away from the player, and yelled at him to calm the game down, gesturing with his hands, palms facing down.

Madueke, who had already shown what he could do if he let loose when he struck terror into Liverpool’s new left-back Milos Kerkez with driving runs all half, carried the ball a little way, slowly. Over the far side of the pitch, Riccardo Calafiori hared forwards to offer a diagonal ball and a possible route in behind Liverpool’s defence.

Madueke watched his teammate, almost admiringly, then passed the ball back simply, and Arsenal retained possession to see the half out.

Liverpool finished the first 45 minutes with only two shots, none on target – an xG of 0.09. It was the first time they failed to hit the target in the first half of a Premier League in two years. And the fewest shots they attempted in a first half in almost three – since a game against Manchester City in October 2021.

It can be quite hard, mind, when your opponent is disrupting rhythm at every opportunity, flattening intensity, taking any sting out of the game you try to inject in it.

This season, referees are attempting to crack down on goalkeepers time-wasting with the ball in their hands by strictly enforcing the eight-second rule.

At one point in the second half, referee Chris Kavanagh held up his hand to warn David Raya he had five seconds remaining. The fingers went down: five, four, three, two, one.

When the time elapsed, Raya eked a few more seconds by dropping the ball to his feet, then launching it up field when he was pressured.

And there was the time Hugo Ekitike was advancing towards Raya, chasing a lost ball, and the Arsenal goalkeeper let it roll towards him an extra couple of yards. Vanishing another few seconds.

You can call it time wasting, or game management, or dark arts, or not what football is all about.

Whatever you call it, Arsenal are so good at it now you barely notice.

They may have lost a big game, to a brutal free-kick. It may not have worked this time. But there is plenty of evidence Arsenal will be right in the mix for the title yet again.

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Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal (Szoboszlai 83’)

Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free-kick helped Liverpool lay down an early marker against fellow Premier League title contenders Arsenal.

Arsenal had already been dealt an early blow when William Saliba hobbled off inside five minutes, but they initially weathered this setback as Liverpool looked the more subdued in the first half.

The hosts failed to record a shot on target, while Arsenal managed just one, making for a second half that could only get better.

“Liverpool can’t be any worse,” Roy Keane said on Sky Sports at half-time, while Jamie Carragher said “the game is there for Arsenal”.

After the break, Liverpool had a goal ruled out on the hour-mark with Hugo Ekitike offside and went on to dominate the final stages of the match.

And from 32 yards out, Szoboszlai curled in a beauty. “He has no right to score from there,” Gary Neville said on commentary, and it was enough for Liverpool to collect a huge three points.

Dominik Szoboszlai. WOW. pic.twitter.com/AmSa5lVgcx

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 31, 2025

Here’s how every player from Liverpool and Arsenal rated out of 10:

Liverpool player ratings

Alisson Becker: Not an especially busy afternoon in goal, but made sharp save to deny Madueke when called upon 7/10

Dominik Szoboszlai: Excellent performance out of position at right-back and then a goal worthy of winning any game 9/10

Milos Kerkez: Just about held his own in duel with pacy Madueke, with series of well-timed challenges 7/10

Ibrahima Konate: Much more assured than in previous games this season as he helped keep Gyokeres quiet 7/10

Virgil van Dijk: Messed up attack after making excellent interception but otherwise a solid display from defensive titan 7/10

Ryan Gravenberch: Snatched long range strike well wide as he attempted to recreate heroics from Monday’s visit to St James’ Park. Otherwise tidy 7/10

Alexis Mac Allister: As busy as anyone in high intensity midfield battle. Excellent pass to split Arsenal defence for Wirtz chance 7/10

Mohamed Salah: Quiet afternoon from the man who has so often decided big games for Liverpool, with several misplaced passes and heavy touches ending promising attacks 5/10

Florian Wirtz: Dropped too deep as he struggled to find time and space. Misunderstandings with Salah and Ekitike show record signing is not bedded in yet 5/10

Cody Gakpo: Lively on left wing even if final product let him down. Failed to trouble Raya after cutting in and finding space on two occasions 6/10

Hugo Ekitike: Tough afternoon as he struggled to impose himself against strong Arsenal defence. A yard offside for disallowed goal and replaced by Chiesa 5/10

Substitutes:

Curtis Jones: 5/10

Joe Gomez: 5/10

Federico Chiesa: 5/10

Wataru Endo: 5/10

Arsenal player ratings

David Raya: Some risky passes put his side under pressure and left Neville perplexed on Sky Sports’ commentary – not at fault for the goal despite the distance from where it was struck 6/10

Jurrien Timber: Saw plenty of the ball down the right and troubled Kerkez as much as Madueke did 7/10

William Saliba: Off injured inside five minutes – another early-season concern for the Gunners. n/a

Gabriel: Captain for the day, looked solid despite losing his regular partner early on 6/10

Riccardo Calafiori: Not on the same page as Timber when otherwise Arsenal might have created a chance to break the deadlock, and then did well to stifle Salah as Liverpool improved 6/10

Martin Zubimendi: Escaped a booking when fouling Gakpo and otherwise relatively quiet 6/10

Declan Rice: Beyond a free-kick that almost landed the other side of the Mersey, a typically marauding display was countered by frustrating delivery from corners – a rarity for Arsenal 6/10

Mikel Merino: Started ahead of Martin Odegaard (who was not 100 per cent fit) and sloppy in possession early on, otherwise he barely did anything of note before coming off with 20 minutes remaining 5/10

Noni Madueke: Very lively and often troubling Kerkez. “He’s been a spark,” said Gary Neville on commentary, but that never quite materialised into a goal 8/10

Gabriel Martinelli: Questionable decision-making in the final third and subbed off with 20 minutes to go – not exactly making his case amid Eze’s arrival 4/10

Viktor Gyokeres: Showed endeavour but saw little of the ball – not enough to really trouble Liverpool’s defence 5/10

Substitutes:

Cristhian Mosquera: On early for Saliba, a big test and not one he failed despite the scoreline 6/10

Eberechi Eze: On with 20 minutes to go, but despite some flashes did not see enough of the ball 6/10

Martin Odegaard: On at the same time as Eze, almost threaded through the perfect pass for Gyokeres had his striker been on the same page 6/10

Max Dowman: n/a

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Manchester United have made an improved offer for Senne Lammens and hope they can agree personal terms with the Royal Antwerp goalkeeper before Monday’s transfer deadline.

Lammens missed Antwerp’s Belgian Pro League defeat at Westerlo on Saturday and is still not training with the club to ensure he remains injury-free for a departure. Galatasaray are competing with United for his capture.

The i Paper has been told United are yet to make a breakthrough on personal terms with the 23-year-old, with negotiations not going as well as senior figures had hoped.

However, a new offer, an improvement on their initial £17m bid, has been tabled. It is one United believe will be enough to get the club-to-club deal agreed.

Alternatives could be looked at, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma and Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa linked with a move to Old Trafford, but both deals would be considerably more expensive.

Why do United want a new keeper?

United have accelerated their pursuit of a new goalkeeper after yet more errors from their current stoppers.

Altay Bayindir got the nod over Andre Onana for the visit of Burnley on Saturday following the Cameroonian’s less-than-flattering evening at Grimsby in midweek. Bayindir, who was at fault for Arsenal’s winner on the opening day, failed to deal with a Burnley corner that led to the visitors’ second equaliser at Old Trafford.

“They are humans,” Amorim said in defence of his goalkeepers after the 3-2 victory. “With Manchester United, everything is huge. Everybody talks about the goalkeeper.

“I think it is hard to be a Manchester United goalkeeper in this moment.

“The players are struggling a little bit with all the things [negtive headlines] around the club. That is normal. So it’s not just the goalkeepers. I think everybody has to improve.”

As it stands, neither Onana or Bayindir are set to be sold, with neither actively seeking an exit. Another arrival could change that viewpoint.

Who else could leave on deadline day?

Not normally particularly active at the end of a transfer window, United face a busy few days, mostly concerning outgoings.

Rasmus Hojlund is currently in Naples to undergo a medical ahead of a loan move with an obligation to buy for £40m, so long as certain conditions are met, included in the deal.

Antony appeared set to secure a permanent switch back to Real Betis, where he was on loan for the latter half of last season, with the two clubs having agreed a fee of around £20m.

The La Liga side, however, have pulled out, insisting they cannot afford the whole package when wages and other add-ons are taken into account. United hope Betis are simply trying several last-ditch negotiation tactics before coming back to the table.

As The i Paper reported last week, Roma were set to return with another offer for Jadon Sancho, but they have again been deterred by the player and his representatives.

“There’s a motivation issue,” Roma director of football Frederic Massara said this weekend. “Which, for us, must be extraordinary to come and play for Roma.”

It is understood there remains hope from the Italians’ side that Sancho could still change his mind. Otherwise, it remains a real possibility that he stays at United beyond Monday’s deadline.

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Man Utd 3-2 Burnley (Cullen OG 27′, Mbeumo 57′, Fernandes 90+7 | Foster 55′, Anthony 66′)

Let’s start by saying the bar is very much on the floor. When you get knocked out of a cup by a fourth division side, with £600m worth of players on the pitch, the only way is up.

What happened in Cleethorpes in midweek had Ruben Amorim thinking about quitting. It had him hating his players.

As he nervously paced up and down his technical area like he was awaiting his exam results in what was already a must-win game against newly promoted Burnley, Amorim looked every inch a manager teetering on the edge.

He needed a saviour, someone to instigate a spark in his talented group, to rouse them from their perennial ineptitude. Step forward Bryan Mbeumo.

Mbeumo represents something on a throwback signing for United. During the Sir Alex Ferguson era, United’s transfer policy was pretty simple – buy the best the Premier League has to offer, by asserting their position of power.

Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke. Just let the players make names for themselves elsewhere, then swoop in, send Ferguson in to speak to the family. Then the results, and trophies, would follow.

In recent years, with the draw of United less appealing, the club has shopped overseas, bringing in the Angel Di Marias, Rasmus Hojlunds and Antonys of this world. And look how that went.

Mbeumo and fellow new boy Matheus Cunha hark back to the glory days. Both are proven Premier League goalscorers before joining United, with only four players scoring more than Mbeumo’s 20 – more than double that of any United forward – last term.

Against Burnley, in a match that, on paper, looks like United scraped home by the skin of their teeth in, Mbeumo led an attack that could, and certainly should, have wrapped up a rare comfortable victory by half time.

What Mbeumo and Cunha – before he went off injured in the first half – brings is a dynamism conspicuous by its absence last season.

Through simply chasing down lost causes and pressurising opponents, he takes the attack to the opposition, while possessing the quality to pose a threat to anyone.

Nobody had more touches in the opposition box at Old Trafford than Mbeumo’s nine, or put in more crosses. Only Bruno Fernandes, who takes all set pieces, created more chances.

This is what United have been missing as the goals have dried up in recent years. Just someone with the confidence and, more pertinently, willing to put opponents on the back foot.

“It was impressive, the way he [Mbeumo] stretched the team,” Amorim said after the match. “The quality he has in the first touch.

“You can feel that we are a different team, because when we win the ball, we have one guy stretching the team. Last season we struggled a little bit with that.

“The sound of the fans when we are pressing and winning balls and corners, and you sprint to get a corner, you sprint to get a throw in, it’s nothing to do with the tactical and technical aspects. So today, I just need to watch sometimes the first minutes from Bryan to understand the mindset of the team.”

Two goals in two games represent a goalscoring streak by United standards. Mbeumo’s finish to put United back in front on Saturday was as clinical as we have seen for some time.

More of the same, and some, from the old school capture will be needed to ensure the dramatic Burnley success is capitalised upon and more attacking verve returns with regularity to Old Trafford.

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The reason broadcasters insist managers speak directly after the match is for predicaments like Ruben Amorim found himself in following Manchester United’s chastening League Cup exit at Grimsby.

Being knocked out by a fourth-tier side on penalties was always going to hurt – prime time for ITV to get their broadcast rights money’s worth.

By admitting his players “spoke loudly” with their performance in Cleethorpes, Amorim opened the door to questions over his own future. It came just three games into a season that promised so much, after a positive summer in which the winds of change had seemingly swept through Carrington.

Most managers could easily put the negativity put to bed when next speaking to the media, having had time to reflect and meditate. Not Amorim.

“To be really honest with you guys, every time that we have or have in the future one defeat like that, I’m going to be like that,” he said ahead of what is now a crucial clash with Burnley on Saturday.

“Sometimes I want to quit, sometimes I want to be here for 20 years, sometimes I love to be with my players, sometimes I don’t want to be with them.

“And I know, again, that you have a lot of experienced people talking about the way I should perform with the media, to be more constant, to be more calm. I’m not going to be like that.

“I don’t know what is going to happen. I am not going to promise you nothing [about whether he would resign or not], what is going to be the future. But I’m the manager of Manchester United and I think that is not going to change.”

United figures rushed to qualify what Amorim was trying to say after the press conference, insisting the Portuguese saying he “wants to quit” does not mean that he does, it is tongue in cheek, his way of explaining how emotional he gets in games.

Context is important in these situations. Amorim said similar after United’s Europa League final loss to Tottenham. He is right, broadcasters pay millions to get quick manager reactions like Amorim’s on the Blundell Park pitch for this very reason.

Doubling down two days later, whether jovially or not, tells a different story. Conversations with the hierarchy have taken place since the Grimsby debacle. There can’t have been too many reassurances from the powers that be that Amorim’s position is overly safe.

His demeanour suggests something isn’t quite right. His programme notes for the Burnley match are an astonishingly brief 95 words, not even enough to fill one column.

Such a woeful start to the season will be difficult to take. At the opening of the club’s shiny, positive-vibes-only training facility ahead of the new campaign, the improved mood among the players was palpable as they playfully teased each other like kids on a school trip whenever the teacher was not looking.

A new £200m strikeforce only added to the feeling of optimism among supporters desperate to forget last year’s season from hell.

Zero wins from three, with goals remaining in short supply still, has left Amorim scratching his head.

Doubts over his methodology persist as he sticks, unsuccessfully, with his 3-4-3 system. He has often been keen to reiterate he is not for turning, and again insisted the Amorim way can be successful. Time for the naysayers to see something, anything, to back that up. If he does stick around, that is.

“If I feel that it’s best to change, then I will,” Amorim added. “I played all my life in the 4-4-2, 4-3-3. The only system that I didn’t play one minute, 3-4-3.

“I just have one idea that we need to be so good in this way of playing, then we are going to adapt. What I’m thinking is that we have one system that is going to adapt to different systems, and then when everyone is doing this with his eyes shut, I’m going to change a lot of things.

“I will do my system no matter what. And then in the future, I could change. I could wake up one morning and say ‘I understand that for my idea of football, it’s better to change right away’.

“I just want to win. We didn’t lose against Grimsby because of the system. In the first half, I didn’t know the system. It’s not the system.”

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Eddie Howe has offered the clearest indication yet that Alexander Isak’s conduct this summer will influence Newcastle United’s decision over whether to sanction a British record sale as Liverpool prepare a second offer thought to be in the region of £120m.

Newcastle will break their own transfer record to sign Stuttgart’s Germany striker Nick Woltemade later on Friday in a much-needed recruitment breakthrough.

Howe confirmed the club were looking to sign at least one more player ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline, although the Isak situation will dictate what they do and how much financial scope they have in the final hours of the window.

Howe has maintained all summer that the final decision on Isak will not rest with him and it is understood the club’s majority owners PIF will make the final call on the Sweden striker’s future.

Club sources have told The i Paper Woltemade’s signing “does not necessarily mean” Isak will be sold, and the Reds will need to meet their valuation of Isak.

But the direction of travel is pointing one way on Isak’s future, with Howe’s admission on Friday that the club will “have to look at all the information” a reflection of the fact that some in positions of power at Newcastle believe the situation to be close to irreparable.

Howe confirmed to The i Paper on Friday that he has not spoken to Isak this week, which takes it to more than a fortnight since the pair have interacted.

Asked whether he had a preference for what happens next with Isak, Howe said: “Of course I would have a preference, but ultimately you have got to look at all the information.

“So of course I have a footballing preference, but then you have to take everything else into account, you can’t just be oblivious to things that have happened.

“So I’m in that position really, where I’m trying to separate myself because I have no control over it. I will let everything take its course and then deal with the eventuality.”

Howe has been very careful not to criticise Isak throughout the summer and repeated on Friday that there was a path to reintegration. He said that “of course” he could see Woltemade and Isak being in the same squad moving forward but there is a sense that PIF are now in full control of the decision.

“I don’t think you can be emotionally involved,” Howe said. “If you’re emotionally involved you’re going to make a bad decision. I’ve had to separate myself from it, as Alex exited the squad, initially.

“I took the view that the squad needed me to be the best me and be totally focussed on them. This situation was not going to be resolved quickly and I had no control over bringing any resolution to it.

“I was in that position when I took the call to move forward with the squad.”

All eyes are now on Liverpool and the timing and scale of a second offer that insiders now believe is “inevitable” and “imminent”.

Club insiders at Anfield have maintained to The i Paper that a follow-up bid will only be forthcoming if they believe it has a realistic chance of progressing. They have also stressed that any signing must represent “fair market value”.

With no-one else bidding for Isak, Liverpool will feel they are in a strong position and it is understood that a second offer would be closer to the £120m mark – giving PIF a decision to make on a player whose valuation hovered closer to £150m. It all makes for a fascinating final few days of the transfer window.

It’s worth remembering that Newcastle’s PSR situation means that any move for a second striker – and Brentford’s Yoane Wissa remains a priority target if the Bees can find a replacement – might well depend on an outgoing.

Howe admitted on Friday that Newcastle had been forced to make “poor decisions” in the past, most likely a reference to the call to sell Elliot Anderson, who is set for a call-up to the England senior squad.

Howe said: “I think I’ve said many times we don’t want to be in a position where we are having to make poor decisions, which we had to do, well documented, previously off the back of the decisions we’ve made trying to improve the squad as we are now.

“I think PSR continues to influence everything we do but we don’t want to be chasing a big deficit because that will have big negative consequences if we are in that position again.”

Newcastle are unlikely to have Woltemade on board in time to face Leeds, which opens the door for Will Osula – the Magpies’ young but raw forward – to start his first Premier League game.

Osula made an impressive late cameo against Liverpool, scoring an equaliser that ended up being in vein, but is still considered a work-in-progress. And it was telling that Howe refused to rule out a possible loan move for the Denmark under-21 striker.

That answer suggests that Newcastle are planning to bring in a second forward.

“I wouldn’t want to put any kind of restriction onto how (Will) is viewed,” he said. “We will view him and judge him every day, like we do. He’s made great strides in a year.

“Sometimes, when you’re watching someone every day, and you’re so ingrained in their development, you can forget to see the giant leap that he’s made.

“I think his game is in a much better place. I think there’s more growth to come, naturally for someone so young. But he’s got ability and he’s got a talent, and he does score goals. He’s scored goals regularly in training, and he is quick and he is strong.”

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Eberechi Eze strokes his chin, deep in thought.

It is early May and Eze is playing against Minecraft streamer Sapnap in the final of the amateur Pogchamps 6 chess tournament. The commentators – Andrea and Alexandra Botez, sisters who are two renowned chess players and social media stars – aren’t entirely sure who Eze is, but the live chat is full of Crystal Palace fans.

And one thing they notice is: Eze is actually really good.

Through the tournament he starts each match with a King’s Indian setup, sets traps, springs surprise attacks formulated several moves in advance.

Plays that surprise even the commentators, one of whom is a former FIDE Master.

“Ebs does not miss a moment,” Andrea says after Eze’s win. “He is a very terrifying opponent.”

Eze smiles down the camera, waggles a forefinger. “One more,” he says. He is one game away from the $20,000 prize.

“Show me the money!” he adds, quoting the famous Jerry Maguire line.

He has time for a quick interview with the commentators who ask if chess has transferrable skills to football.

“I think so,” he says. “Chess is deep, man. The way I see chess now I’ve started to apply that to life and how I play football. Thinking steps ahead and trying to calculate how people are thinking while they’re making decisions.”

To learn more about Eze’s unique mindset, there are perhaps few individuals better to discuss and dissect it than Steve Sallis, who has not only worked as Eze’s mindset coach for several years, but first met the footballer when he was around 11 years old.

Eze attended The John Roan School, in Greenwich, when Sallis was P.E. teacher at Blackheath Bluecoat School, famously attended by the Ferdinand brothers, and the two schools regularly met each other on the pitch.

“Ebs was an academic lad, bright, always did his work,” Sallis recalls.

It was a harsh environment, the teachers caring more about developing boys tempted by gangs than winning football matches, a local area that fostered a groundswell of future Premier League players, including Eze, Joe Gomez and Junior Stanislas.

Sallis explains that “Ebs was probably the best player we’d ever seen” and it came as a shock when Arsenal released him aged 13.

Later, after our interview, Sallis sends me a link to the Rising Ballers Instagram video of Eze in various youth matches: beating a player with a neat spin then arrowing the ball into the top corner; juggling the ball, clipping it to a teammate, volleying in the return pass; slipping between players like water through rocks.

But everywhere he went he found rejection. Fulham for a few years – let go. Reading for a year – let go. By then Sallis had moved into football full-time at Millwall, where they were reunited.

“We got him in because he was a bloody good human being. I can’t emphasise it enough. Low maintenance, kind, humble, just a genuinely good lad.”

Still, it would take one more release before an impressive trial at Queens Park Rangers led to his breakthrough. At QPR, the Under 23 head coach Paul Hall told me a couple of years ago Eze was given the nickname “Drunken Master” for his ability to trick opponents with his languid style.

Hall wondered if Eze slipped through so many nets because coaches mistook it for a lack of effort.

The words used to describe Eze in statements accompanying his signing, for a fee that could rise to £68m, were different than the usual fodder. Sporting director Andrea Berta said he was “creative and explosive”. Arteta mentioned the “new dimension” he would add to the attack.

One Crystal Palace source believes Eze could be the perfect antidote to Arsenal’s constant strive for “perfect” goals that can, at times, become predictable.

“He makes goals out of nothing,” the source says, “getting the ball and doing it himself. He wins games that sometimes you shouldn’t win, scores goals that lift the team. He’s prepared to track back and do his bit, too.

“He was very popular at every level at Crystal Palace. One of those rare players who is brilliant individually but also works hard for the team.”

Sallis, whose book Educating Football is a highly regarded bible on developing mindsets, believes the reason Eze has been able to sustain such a high level is down to his faith.

Eze is a devout Christian. “The reason players struggle at that level is their whole world is based around being a footballer. Because Ebs is so religious and spiritual he can sustain such high levels because if he plays badly at football he has his faith.

“His identity is: that’s OK, I’ve got other things going on in my world.”

Sallis’s work now with Eze is minimal – “we’re at the stage where if he wants some advice he picks up the phone”. He places him in the bracket of elite players who don’t work with Sallis reactively, but to find extra edges. And it can be the simple things.

“The only thing I drive him mad about, and he knows this because I leave him voice notes, is get to the penalty spot. I mentioned it on a text message at the end of last season. I said: Look, just reminding you to get to the penalty spot. Ball goes out wide, just get there.”

Eze subsequently score two goals from near to the penalty spot against Tottenham, followed a week later by scoring the winner in the FA Cup final against Manchester City from virtually the same position against.

“Sometimes even the best players in the world just need reminding of the most obvious things,” Sallis adds.

There is every chance that Eze becomes a star for Arsenal and a key player for England, where he is already favoured by manager Thomas Tuchel, by next summer’s World Cup. Which is not bad for a player who is already 27 years old and has had a long, winding climb to get to the top.

 “I texted him when I saw one of the Instagram posts of him coming out of the tunnel at the Emirates after he signed,” Sallis says. “I don’t think I’ve seen him look so happy.

“It really was a beautiful moment, him thinking: bloody hell, I’ve made it to the club I support.”

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Kobbie Mainoo could follow Alejandro Garnacho in leaving Manchester United, with clubs across Europe alerted to his availability this summer.

Five Premier League teams have considered making an approach for the 20-year-old, including Aston Villa, Brentford, Chelsea, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur.

Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Juventus and Napoli are also monitoring the situation.

The i Paper understands Mainoo has not told United he wants to leave directly but several sources have indicated he is keen to play in the Champions League.

A departure before Monday’s deadline day remains unlikely at this stage, insiders said, given United would have little time to bring in a replacement.

The latest on Garnacho

The news comes as United have finally reached an agreement with Chelsea for the sale of Garnacho.

It is understood both clubs agreed a £40m fixed fee, with a 10 per cent sell-on fee included.

A medical is planned for Friday, with a seven-year contract expected to be finalised.

Where do United stand on Mainoo?

It is understood United are not actively looking to sell Mainoo.

However, Wednesday’s embarrassing Carabao Cup exit at Grimsby Town may force the club to take drastic measures in the transfer market.

Brighton’s Carlos Baleba has been earmarked as the midfielder who can transform Ruben Amorim’s fortunes, but the asking price, which sits at upwards of £100m, is putting United off.

Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton has been looked at, too.

What does Amorim think of him?

Several sources have suggested United would be willing to accept a cut-price deal for Mainoo, who has two years left on his contract.

When Chelsea enquired about his availability in January, they were quoted £70m.

United would accept considerably less now.

It is a remarkable comedown for a club who have long seen Mainoo as a player to build a team around.

"I believe a lot in Kobbie, more than everybody thinks"

Ruben Amorim says it's important for Kobbie Mainoo to fight for his place in the Man United starting XI pic.twitter.com/1l7XIpDF8G

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 27, 2025

But it comes down to the fact there is not an obvious place for him in Amorim’s preferred 3-4-3 system.

Mainoo finds himself competing for a place in a midfield two.

He has too much ball-playing ability to be restricted in the anchor role, leaving him suitable for the other spot, which is currently being occupied by captain Bruno Fernandes.

However, usurping the most successful signing of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era is unlikely. Thus, in Amorim’s eyes, Mainoo is expendable.

The latest on Garnacho

With Alejandro Garnacho nearing the Old Trafford exit, he and Mainoo could generate the income to see a late move for Baleba happen.

Chelsea are close to agreeing a fee with United for Garnacho, who only wants to move to Stamford Bridge.

United had hoped to get around £50m for the Argentine, with the Blues holding out for £35m.

A compromise is expected to be found in the coming days.

Any other business

One player who is unlikely to be moved on is Andre Onana, despite another error against Grimsby.

The Cameroon international has no plans to seek pastures new, even though United are closing in on Royal Antwerp goalkeeper Senne Lammens.

Sources close to Onana insisted he feels he has competition from Altay Bayindir so doesn’t mind more.

Jadon Sancho’s move to Roma is definitely off, adding to United’s frustration.

The club are willing to extend Sancho’s contract by a year to ensure he doesn’t leave on a free next summer.

United would then look at loaning Sancho out again, if they cannot move him on permanently, which they are desperate to do.

Antony should secure a loan move back to Real Betis with the Spanish club having finally made a bid. United are negotiating to get an obligation to buy included.

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