Sports
Arteta encouraged as leaders Arsenal end Fulham jinx | The Express Tribune
The Gunners are three points clear of second-placed Manchester City in the title race
LONDON:
Mikel Arteta said Arsenal’s 1-0 win against Fulham was an encouraging sign for the Premier League leaders as they ended their recent struggles at Craven Cottage.
Leandro Trossard’s close-range finish in the 58th minute secured Arsenal’s fifth successive victory in all competitions.
The Gunners are three points clear of second-placed Manchester City in the title race, with champions Liverpool four points behind prior to their clash with Manchester United on Sunday.
Arsenal took just one point in their away fixtures at Newcastle and Fulham, and at home to West Ham, last season.
This term they have already recorded nine points from nine in those matches and their victory at Craven Cottage was a first in three visits to the west London club.
Arteta believes that those wins are a significant statement of intent as Arsenal — runners-up for the last three seasons — look to win the title for the first time since 2004.
“The recent history wasn’t in our favour and we wanted to change that, like we did against Newcastle and West Ham at home,” Arteta said.
“And this is another step to having that mindset and that ability to win these kind of matches against a really good opposition, and a really difficult place to come.
“When the context is 0-0, and the game gets longer and longer, it becomes more difficult. But we showed a lot of maturity. We kept knocking on the door in various ways, and in the end we found a way, with the set-piece to do it, but we deserved it.”
In the moments after Trossard’s opener, Bukayo Saka looked to have earned a penalty when he was upended on the corner of the area by Fulham substitute Kevin.
Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot but VAR ruled that Kevin touched the ball before taking out Saka.
Arteta, who was visibly frustrated on the touchline, said: “I was getting animated because it was taking so long.
“I asked Anthony ‘why it was taking so long’. It was nothing to do with the process, it was just that the screen wasn’t working.
“It probably wasn’t a penalty so they made the right decision in the end, and I was just animated because of the process.”
The only sour note for Arteta was Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres’s failure to find the net for a seventh consecutive game.
Signed from Sporting Lisbon in the close-season, Gyokeres is struggling to make an impact in the Premier League after his prolific form for the Portuguese club.
“He was very close again today. We were all begging for him to score,” Arteta said.
“The work rate he puts in for the team is phenomenal. We try to give him support and the love, and it will come.”
One year after a winter storm forced postponements across U.S. sports, another major weather system is prompting a reshuffling of games this week and threatened to wreak havoc on the weekend schedule.
A storm that meteorologists say could rival the damage of a major hurricane is expected to bring snow, ice and frigid temperatures from New Mexico to New England starting Friday.
The Sun Belt Conference preemptively shook up its women’s basketball schedule, moving around the start times on several games from Thursday through Saturday.
Tennessee’s swim meet at Georgia and the USC Upstate women’s basketball game at Longwood were moved up to Friday from Saturday because of the forecast.
Arizona State‘s on-court threads will look a bit different, courtesy of a program icon.
The Sun Devils unveiled a new uniform on Tuesday that blends elements from James Harden‘s time at Arizona State with his signature shoe deal.
On a black base, “Arizona State” appears in a blocky font in maroon and outlined with gold, with the jersey number sandwiched by the school’s name.
A legacy never leaves 🔱
Introducing the James Harden X ASU collection.
Available now: https://t.co/BbmKQRflzJ pic.twitter.com/Si7ra1CuJe— Arizona State Sun Devils (@TheSunDevils) January 20, 2026
Arizona State’s “Sparky” mascot logo is featured on two locations — under the front collar of the jersey and on the sides of the shorts.
On the jersey’s maroon back collar is a cream-colored patch with No. 13 — Harden’s jersey number as a Sun Devil — in gold, a nod to the LA Clippers guard’s two seasons with the program.
Similar to Louisville‘s Donovan Mitchell uniform and Texas Tech football’s Patrick Mahomes threads, Arizona State will feature Harden’s signature logo — in this case on the right side of the jersey’s collar and the bottom left of the shorts.
Harden, a 16-season NBA veteran, played for the Sun Devils from 2007 to 2009 before being selected as the No. 3 pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged 19 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game as a Sun Devil, leading the team to a 2009 NCAA tournament berth.
The Clippers guard first signed a 13-year deal with Adidas in August 2015, after Nike failed to match the shoe company’s $200 million offer.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rejected Bangladesh’s demand to shift their matches at next month’s T20 World Cup outside India, the governing body said on Wednesday.
Bangladesh have refused to play their matches in India, citing safety concerns following soured political relations between the neighbours, and demanded to play them in Sri Lanka, which is co-hosting the tournament, instead.
“The decision was taken after considering all security assessments conducted, including independent reviews, all of which indicated there was no threat to Bangladesh players, media persons, officials and fans at any of the tournament venues in India,” the ICC said in a statement after a board meeting.
“The ICC board noted that it was not feasible to make changes so close to the tournament and that altering the schedule under the circumstances, in the absence of any credible security threat, could set a precedent that would jeopardise the sanctity of future ICC events…”
The ICC said that the board’s management also engaged in a series of “correspondences and meetings” with the Bangladesh Cricket Board in a bid to resolve the impasse, sharing detailed information on the event security plan, including layered federal and state law-enforcement support.
An ICC spokesperson said: “Over the past several weeks, the ICC has engaged with the BCB in sustained and constructive dialogue, with the clear objective of enabling Bangladesh’s participation in the tournament.”
“During this period, the ICC has shared detailed inputs, including independent security assessments, comprehensive venue-level security plans and formal assurances from the host authorities, all of which consistently concluded that there is no credible or verifiable threat to the safety or security of the Bangladesh team in India.”
“The ICC remains committed to acting in good faith, upholding consistent standards, and safeguarding the collective interests of the global game.”
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