12/12/2025

SPORTS FRIDAY | DEC 12, 2025

30

Arteta hails Madueke ‘magic’ Arsenal forward’s brace against Club Brugge keeps Gunners perfect

Ipswich climb to fourth in C’ship

Ű BY PHILIP DUNCAN

M IKEL ARTETA hailed “magic” Noni Madueke following his impressive brace in Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Club Brugge which puts the north Londoners on the brink of the Champions League knockout stages. Madueke opened the scoring with an unstoppable strike after 27 minutes before he headed into an empty net just 80 seconds into the second half. Gabriel Martinelli put the game out of reach when he scored a wonderful third 10 minutes later. Despite reluctance from some Arsenal supporters over Madueke’s arrival from Chelsea, the £50 million (RM290m) man has impressed for his new club and his two-goal haul yesterday comes a fortnight after he opened his account in a 3-1 win against Bayern Munich. “It was an unbelievable goal,” said Arteta as he reflected on Madueke’s first half thunderbolt. “When you talk about individual quality and individual action and magic moments, that’s it, for a player to be able to pick the ball that far, dribble past people and finish with the quality and the power that he’s done. “At this level, you need individual players to step up and to do some thing different. So I’m very happy because now we have some players back in the front line and you can tell how much better we are with them.” Bukayo Saka has made the right hand side of Arsenal’s front three his own but Madueke’s form provides Arteta with a dilemma of sorts. Asked if Madueke is now undroppa ble, Arteta continued: “It’s about consistency. “It’s not about one game, two games, three games, it is when you do it 10 games in a row, every three days and that’s the level that we have to hit. That’s the challenge for him.” Despite being unable to select eight injured players – with Jurrien Timber unavailable despite travel ling to Belgium – Arsenal followed Manchester United, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester City in becoming the fifth English team to win all of their first six European Cup matches. The top eight are assured of auto EDDIE HOWE is confident Newcastle’s Champions League fate remains in their own hands despite seeing two priceless points snatched from their grasp at Bayer Leverkusen. The Magpies were leading 2-1 at the BayArena when Alejandro Grimaldo struck to ensure it finished all square, a result which leaves them on 10 points and in 12th place in the table when victory would have catapulted them into sixth. Their fate will be decided by a home clash with PSV Eindhoven and a trip to holders Paris St Germain next month and Howe is hopeful they have given them selves a platform to progress. He told TNT Sports : “I think it leaves us in a good position. It’s in our hands. We have two tough games to come but we’ll look forward to playing at home and then, of course, a really tough one at the end which we knew was always there. “But all we can do is now focus back on Ű BY DAMIAN SPELLMAN

IPSWICH beat Stoke 1-0 in the English Championship yesterday to move a point behind third-placed Millwall, who conceded a late equaliser against Derby. Jaden Philogene’s fine curling finish from the edge of the penalty area after just 100 seconds clinched the three points for Kieran McKenna’s team at Portman Road. The hosts had further opportunities to increase their lead, with Ivan Azon spurning two great chances to add to the scoreline. Stoke, who dropped down to eighth following their third defeat on the trot, dominated possession for large parts of the game but struggled to create clear-cut chances. “I really enjoyed the game,” said McKenna, whose side were relegated from the Premier League last season. “I thought it was a really, really good game. A really good night’s work. We scored a brilliant team and individual goal to start the game off.” Millwall boss Alex Neil was frustrated after his side were unable to hang on to all three points in a 1-1 draw at Pride Park. Neil’s side put themselves in position to move back within two points of second placed Middlesbrough when Derby defender Matt Clarke nodded into his own net to put the Lions in front nine minutes from the end. But Derby denied the visitors a fourth straight win when Millwall’s Jake Cooper headed in the second own goal of the contest in the 88th minute. “We’re disappointed obviously in the fact that, when you’re leading with 10 minutes to go we expect ourselves to see it out,” Neil told BBC Sport . “I thought we had probably the better opportunities in the game. I thought second half we had two or three really good moments where we could have done a bit better. “To concede in the manner we did is frustrating. If somebody produces a moment of quality it’s a bit easier to accept, if you like. But I think it’s a bit of a freak goal. We defend that one another hundred times and that doesn’t happen. “I didn’t think they had any clear-cut chances in the game, so I think that’s where the biggest frustration from our perspective comes out.” Emil Riis headed an 83rd-minute equaliser as Bristol City recovered from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw with Leicester at Ashton Gate, while Hull beat Wrexham 2-0. – AFP/Agencies

Arsenal’s Noni Madueke (right) scores their first goal during the Champions League match yesterday against Club Brugge. – REUTERSPIC

smile, with that energy and with that quality in his first performance back with us is really impressive and we’re all delighted for him. You can see how much we love him! “If he continues to perform in that manner, he will bring something else to the team and I am really happy to see that.” – The Independent

rior cruciate ligament in his left knee on January 12, came within inches of capping a brilliant evening for Arsenal only to see his right-footed strike cannon off the woodwork. “It’s been a very, very difficult and long journey for Gabi,” added Arteta. “For 11 months, he’s been fight ing against another very difficult injury and to see him back with that

matic qualification to the last 16 and Arsenal, the only team with a 100% record so far, are six points clear of ninth-placed Liverpool with a supe rior goal difference of 13. Gabriel Jesus ended his 332-day injury exile when he replaced the ineffective Viktor Gyokeres on the hour mark. Jesus, who has been sidelined since rupturing the ante

Magpies still in strong position: Howe

Emery wants to find ‘solution’ for loanee Elliott ASTON VILLA manager Unai Emery says he wants to “get a solution” for on-loan Harvey Elliott, who will “not definitely” be joining the club on a permanent basis. The Liverpool midfielder, 22, about Elliott on Thursday. “First, my decision and also the situa tion. He is on loan playing with us, but he is not definitely adding to us with a permanent contract. “Hopefully we can get the best

said of his side’s second-half display: “I thought we pressed with more belief – I thought we pressed well in both halves, actually, and regained the ball a lot and I thought we had several opportunities to counter-attack and cause them more problems than we did. “But we eventually got our attacking game going and we could have scored more. It’s a tough one to take because at 3-1, I think it would have been game over.” Gordon and his teammates were once again left to bemoan their inability to hang on to leads after conceding yet another late goal. Asked the reason for that repeated fail ing, the forward told TNT Sports : “I actually don’t know. I don’t know if it’s fatigue with all the games coming up that we’re get ting a bit tired late on in games, I’m not too sure. “But listen, it all comes back to mental ity. We’ve got to be strong, we’ve got to hold off in those games because top teams do.” – The Independent

to the Premier League. We’re in a decent vein of form. We’re not at our very best but we’re improving and that’s all I can ask of the players.” Howe will now turn his attention to Sunday’s derby trip to Sunderland won dering what might have been on an eventful night in Germany. Newcastle once again fell behind from a set-piece when Robert Andrich headed a corner into the unwitting Bruno Guimaraes’back and into the net and they might have been reduced to 10 men when Malick Thiaw was perhaps fortunate only to be booked for a foul on Patrik Schick. However, Anthony Gordon converted a 51st-minute penalty and then crossed for 19-year-old substitute Lewis Miley to score, only for Grimaldo to snatch a draw two minutes from time after the visitors had twice hit the post and Thiaw had seen his header brilliantly saved by Mark Flekken. Howe, who was unhappy at halftime,

for him and the best for us. I respect him as a player and as a person. He is training well, but we have one circumstance with him. “Hopefully we can get a solu tion for him to try to play consis tently and try to continue in his career with us or not.” Elliott made just two Premier League starts as Liverpool won the title last season. And a move to another club cannot happen as he has already featured for Villa and his parent club this year – Fifa rules prohibit players from appearing for more than two sides in one season. – Agencies

has only featured seven times since moving to Villa Park on transfer deadline day. A £35m (RM203m) permanent deal will be triggered if he plays in 10 Premier League games. Elliott, who starred for England U-21s as they won the European Championship last summer, was not in the squad for this morning’s Europa League tie at Basel. His last appearance came as a late substi tute against Feyenoord in the Europa League on Oct 2. “We are speaking with him and about his situation. He is not here with us,” Emery said when asked