Arsenal are looking to bounce back from back-to-back damaging defeats in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup when they take on Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League quarter finals

Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal will not allow “panic” to creep in with their whole season hanging in the balance.

Gunners boss Arteta says his players are “hungrier than ever” to save their season from collapse ahead of their Champions League quarter final showdown with Sporting Lisbon. Arsenal have suffered back-to-back defeats in the Carabao Cup final and then crashed out of the FA Cup at Southampton on Saturday to turn up the heat on Arteta’s men.

But Arteta says Arsenal are ready for the challenge of their lives as the Premier League leaders face Sporting on Tuesday night and then a crunch showdown with Bournemouth on Saturday. Arteta said: “I think what we have to do is clear, instead of panic, understand if that happens, why it happened and bring clarity.

“And when you analyse that and you accept that, you’ll be better. That’s it, and that’s the thing that we have to do. We are hungrier than ever, very excited and very motivated. Feel the pain, use it to improve.

FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news and more on our dedicated Facebook page

READ MORE: Arsenal handed triple injury boost for Sporting clash but Mikel Arteta rules two stars outREAD MORE: Sporting manager Rui Borges gives Arsenal verdict as season threatens to unravel

“I know what it means to them and I know how much they want it. It’s now the moment to show it, and we have to do it on that green tomorrow at the highest level. I think when you have the opportunity that we have, that has to be taken through excitement, through preparing yourself in the best possible way, focusing on the present and on the things that we have to do.

“And especially in our identity, it’s very clear what is taking us on the way to where we are, and that’s where we have to focus.”

Arteta insists the players can handle the pressure – because they have had their mentality questioned since the first day of the season. He added: “That’s in football, from the first game of the season. That’s going to be questioned. It’s okay, what about Arsenal this season? It’s been like this for the last nine months, and that’s going to continue; that’s never going to change when you play at this level for this club.

“There’s always going to be a question mark. You have to live the present; you have to deliver it every day. You cannot pick the game, you cannot pick the moments or the actions. It’s every action, every game, every moment. And that’s the standard that we set and that’s part of identity and it’s part of this football club.”

Arsenal have been boosted by the return of Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard to the squad to face Sporting, Gabriel is also fit while Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber could be fit to face Bournemouth.

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Find the best flights and hotels for Champions League games

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

Various Prices

Booking.com

See the deals here

Booking.com provides countless deals on flights and accommodation across Europe so football fans can follow their team on their Champions League campaign.

The spin-off switches locations from the Australian jungle to the African savannah, and has only aired on one previous occasion.

Featuring previous contestants from the original programme, the all-stars version was reportedly made in case the production was unable to return to Australia due to to Covid restrictions.

Filming for the first South Africa series took place in July 2022, but was not needed as a backup, with the show being able to return to Australia in November of that year.

ITV then decided to broadcast the spin-off in April and May of 2023.

After a gap of three years, it has now returned, with it having been pre-recorded in September 2025.

How long will I’m A Celeb South Africa 2026 be on TV for?

I’m A Celebrity South Africa’s first episode will air on Monday, April 6 and is set to conclude on Friday, April 24.

For those three weeks of airing, it will be broadcast on weeknights, with it taking a break on weekends.

In most cases, episodes will start at 9pm, with the finish times varying.

I’m A Celebrity South Africa lineup 2026

The line-up for I’m A Celebrity South Africa’s second series is:

• Former football manager Harry Redknapp
• Reality star Gemma Collins
• Soap actress Beverley Callard
• Olympian Sir Mo Farah
• Former Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt
• Champion boxer David Haye
• Actor Adam Thomas
• Former Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts
• Comedian Seann Walsh
• Pop star Sinitta
• Red Dwarf star Craig Charles
• Ex-footballer Jimmy Bullard

Scarlett Moffatt and Harry Redknapp performed the best on the original show out of the contestants, winning their respective series in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

Other strong performers from the original show include Ashley Roberts, who was runner-up in 2012.

Meanwhile, Adam Thomas earned third place in 2016, which was the same placing David Haye got in 2012.

Mo Farah and Seann Walsh came in fifth place in 2020 and 2022, respectively.

I’m A Celeb South Africa final to be aired live

In a change from the first series, the final of I’m a Celeb South Africa will be aired live on Friday, April 24.

The Radio Times shares that rather than making the 12-hour flight back to Africa, the entire celebrity cast will instead gather in a UK studio.

Recommended reading:

From here, the public will be able to vote to crown this year’s I’m a Celebrity Legend.

Discussing the change, Ant & Dec said: “It’s going to be here in the UK, live on the television.

“We’re going to get all the cast back, we’ll have the finalists in the studio.

“It’ll be a live vote like we do in Australia and the public will decide their Legend.”

Will you be watching I’m A Celeb South Africa? Let us know in the comments.

Gemma Collins will join 11 other I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here Allstars for a round in the South African jungle

Gemma Collins is one of the most prolific Essex stars ever. With her signature blonde locks and bodacious attitude, the 45-year-old is back on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here: South Africa All Stars. The second series of the ITV spin-off, which features some of the show’s most memorable campmates, is set to launch on Monday, April 6.

When was Gemma on I’m A Celebrity?

After being on the show on the 14th series in 2014, but subsequently quit three days into the show due to a bout of Malaria, the TOWIE icon, known as the GC, is returning and hoping everything would be “different a second time”.

“I’d be like Lara Croft and Angelina Jolie rolled into one, and I’d do the tasks,” she said. I’m not scared of anything. Hopefully one day the producers may give me another chance.”

Hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly will join the returning stars in the South African jungle for some of the biggest trials in I’m A Celebrity … history.

READ MORE: I’m A Celeb South Africa 2026 LIVE: Huge stars return as two ‘threaten to quit’

Who is Gemma Collins?

Gemma is known for her time on The Only Way Is Essex from 2011 to 2020. She joined the show during its second series alongside Chloe Sims and Joey Essex. Her time on the show was a whirlwind of relationships, including a close friendship with former castmate Bobby Norris and Ferne McCann.

Now, she is one of 12 stars signed up for a series of brand new trials and challenges in the South African wilderness. She’ll join Adam Thomas , Ashley Roberts, Scarlett Moffatt, David Haye, Beverley Callard, Seann Walsh , Sinitta, Sir Mo Farah, Craig Charles, Jimmy Bullard and Harry Redknapp in the Kruger National Park, home to black mambas, spitting cobras, spiders, scorpions, baboons, hippos, hyenas and leopards.

Speaking in the promo video, Gemma said of the last time she was in the jungle: “It was all a bit too much, to be honest. This is a far cry away from Essex.”

Advertisement

What did Gemma Collins do on I’m A Celebrity?

“It was like I’d committed a murder,” says Gemma of her first jungle experience. “I stepped off the plane and Good Morning Britain was there. I’ve never lived it down. I felt like the woman from Game Of Thrones who has to walk through the streets naked.”

Gemma stayed in the jungle for 72 hours but after not being able to handle the jungle conditions (who would?!), she suffered a panic attack the night before filming began and decided to leave.

Now, Gemma is ready to face whatever the jungle throws at her. The star will be leaving her family, friends, partner Rami and stepson Tristan behind as she faces the trials. Will they be watching and voting for her?

“I did cry for about an hour into the plane journey because I was scared,” says Gemma. “It brought back a lot of deep-rooted trauma from the past.”

Will she last longer than the first time around? We can only hope. We’re rooting for you GC.

I’M A CELEBRITY…SOUTH AFRICA RETURNS MONDAY 6TH APRIL AT 9PM ON ITV1 & STV

Like this s tory? F or more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

A number of participants were observed to be wearing paramilitary-style uniforms

Advertisement

PSNI have revealed they deployed evidence-gathering resources during an Easter Monday commemoration parade in the Creggan area of Derry.

Police said officers observed a number of participants wearing paramilitary-style uniforms, which they believe may constitute an offence under the Terrorism Act 2000.

The force also stated the parade was in breach of a determination set by the Parades Commission.

READ MORE: New IRA claim responsibility for Lurgan proxy bomb attackREAD MORE: Rushmere Shopping Centre announces Dunelm store will “open soon”

Chief Superintendent Gillian Kearney for Area Commander of Derry City & Strabane said: “The outcomes of our investigations from previous years illustrates that where offences occur, we will investigate.

“As this is now a live investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment any further.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

New DWP powers to check bank accounts of Universal Credit and Pension Credit claimants will be rolled out this year as part of a major benefit fraud crackdown

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is being granted sweeping new powers to crack down on benefit fraud, including the ability to scrutinise claimants’ bank accounts.

Legislation passed last year introduced a broad range of measures, enabling investigators to request financial information from individuals receiving certain benefits. Officials will contact UK banking institutions, directing them to examine their records for accounts linked to specific benefits, flagging any that may be receiving payments to which claimants are not entitled.

The new laws also grant authorities the power to withdraw funds directly from a person’s bank account should they owe money to the DWP and refuse to repay the debt. Initially, the eligibility checks will be applied to those claiming Universal Credit, Pension Credit, and Employment and Support Allowance.

The legislation indicates that this could be extended to cover additional benefits. The DWP was approached for an update on when these bank checks will come into effect, with officials confirming that they have yet to be implemented, as certain prerequisites must first be met.

As part of the rollout, the DWP will adopt a ‘test and learn approach’ to trial the new powers, which is set to commence this year. In the meantime, the DWP is currently drafting codes of practice governing the use of these new powers, with finalised versions to be presented to Parliament “before any new powers can be used”. The direct deduction powers, which enable investigators to withdraw funds straight from an individual’s bank account, are chiefly targeted at those who have exited the benefits system but still owe outstanding debts.

Previously, the DWP was restricted to recovering money through an individual’s PAYE earnings or via deductions from their benefits, reports Chronicle Live.

Should the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) decide to utilise this authority, they will contact the individual in question, offering an opportunity to contest the matter. Officials will also need three months’ worth of bank statements to verify that adequate funds are available in the account.

The legislation also provides enhanced powers to fraud investigators when conducting enquiries. Previously, they were restricted to requesting information from a limited list of sources.

They can now contact any third party linked to the individual suspected of fraud, requiring them to supply the necessary information. When the laws were introduced in December 2025, Andrew Western, minister for Transformation, said: “It is right that as fraud against the public sector evolves, the Government has a robust and resolute response.

“The powers granted through the bill will allow us to better identify, prevent and deter fraud and error, and enable the better recovery of debt owed to the taxpayer. A benefits system people can trust is essential for claimants and taxpayers alike – through this bill that’s exactly what we’ll deliver.”

Also on Monday, the leader of Haringey Council, which manages the festival’s Finsbury Park venue, said she was “deeply disappointed by the decision to book an artist whose comments are at odds with our values in Haringey, particularly given the concerns raised within our large Jewish community”.

Mikel Arteta has confirmed Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard are all fully fit and available for Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Sporting.

Gabriel played the full 90 minutes of Arsenal’s Carabao Cup final loss to Manchester City, but was forced off with a knee problem in the side’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Southampton at the weekend.

The Brazil centre-back was pictured back in training earlier today, though, and caught the chartered flight to Lisbon with the rest of Arteta’s first-team squad on the eve of the quarter-final first leg.

Rice had also been a slight doubt for the contest having pulled out of England’s friendlies with Uruguay and Japan during the recent international break.

But the midfielder appears to have shaken off any concerns over his fitness, along with winger Trossard, who did not make Saturday’s trip to Southampton due to a groin issue.

‘Yes, yes and yes,’ Arteta told reporters when asked if Gabriel, Rice and Trossard were ready to feature against Sporting upon the squad’s arrival in Portugal.

Tuesday’s match comes to soon for both Jurrien Timber and Bukayo Saka, however, with the duo left out of Arsenal’s travelling party to continue their rehabilitation back home.

On Timber and Saka, Arteta explained: ‘They haven’t travelled and are not ready yet.

‘Hopefully for the weekend if everything goes well.’

Mikel Merino, the only other absentee for the Gunners, is still some way from his possible comeback after undergoing surgery on a foot injury he suffered in January.

With Arsenal’s squad still hurting after back-to-back defeats in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, Arteta hopes his players are able to use the ‘pain’ they have experienced to drive themselves towards something positive.

‘Have some perspective about how difficult what we have done up until now has been,’ the Spaniard said.

‘Feel the pain, use it to improve.

‘We are very clear what happened, why it happened. This is football.’

Arteta added: ‘I think what you have to be is clear, understand why it happened. And when you understand that, be better, and that is what we have to do.’

More to follow.

MORE: ‘Goodnight!’ – Rio Ferdinand names team that could end Arsenal’s Premier League title charge

MORE: ‘It’s laughable’ – Ian Wright blasts ‘pathetic’ criticism of Arsenal

MORE: William Gallas tells Mikel Arteta to replace two Arsenal stars to help Viktor Gyokeres

Donald Trump has praised the US fighter pilot who was rescued from an Iranian mountain over the weekend.

The airman was on board an F-15E Strike Eagle jet that was shot down by Iran on Friday, the first US aircraft to be downed by Iranian fire since the US and Israel launched the war at the end of February.

While a second crew member was located shortly after the crash, Sky News understands he was left stranded in rural Iran, and was rescued on Sunday.

At a news conference at the White House on Easter Monday, the US president said that both pilots were “incredibly brave” and that Iran was “not so strong like they were about a month ago”.

Here’s what we know about the airman’s condition, the mission to rescue him, and what the president and Iran have said.

Iran war latest: Trump praises ‘brave’ US pilots after rescue

How did the US save the airman?

After the crash on Friday, official and semi-official Iranian news organisations reported that a regional governor had offered a bounty for the F-15E crew – around $60,000 (£45,360).

A US official told the Reuters news agency the plane was flying over Isfahan province when it was brought down, and the two airmen ejected separately.

They said that the first pilot was rescued while the second airman – the jet’s weapons specialist, and according to Mr Trump on Truth Social a colonel – remained in Iran.

Speaking to Reuters, the US source said the American officer sprained his ankle in the crash and hid in a crevice on a hilltop.

The airman later established contact with the US military and confirmed his identity.

Advertisement

Share

Advertisement

What Trump didn’t mention in message about dramatic airman rescue

After this, a senior Trump administration official said the CIA had run a deception campaign earlier, hoping to confuse Tehran by planting information that US forces had already located the missing airman and were moving him before the operation took place.

An official told Reuters the US military then took additional steps, jamming electronics and bombing key roads around the location to prevent people from getting close.

They said the aircraft eventually sent to extract the airman and rescue forces were smaller turboprop aircraft, capable of landing on small airfields and relatively light.

Mr Trump provided more details of the operation at a later briefing, revealing that US military personnel faced gunfire at “very close range” during the rescue, which involved 155 aircraft, he said.

Among the craft deployed were four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers and 13 rescue aircraft, he said.

Advertisement

Share

Advertisement

Iran releases footage of aircraft debris

The president told reporters the unidentified airman was ​hiding in mountains and kept climbing ​higher in order to improve ​the chances for a successful recovery.

He said, for the rescuers, it was like looking for “a needle in a haystack”.

Hundreds of US forces took part in ⁠the mission ​and helped prevent Tehran from ​finding him first, he said, adding that “hundreds of people could have been killed”.

The plan was not approved by everyone, Mr Trump said, pointing to unnamed members of the military who told him “‘You just don’t do this’”.

He said he understood that, “but I decided to do it”.

During his press conference, Trump provided intricate details of the rescue over the weekend of the second airman in Iran.

“This is a rescue that’s very historic,” he said.

Trump explained that the airman, a colonel, had landed in Iran a “significant distance away from the pilot” who had been rescued on Friday.

The second airman was “injured quite badly and stranded in an area teeming with terrorists from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – rough group – as well as besieged military, militia and local authorities.

“Despite the peril, the officer followed his training and climbed into the treacherous mountain terrain and started climbing toward a higher altitude, something they were trained to do in order to evade capture,” he said.

The serviceman was “bleeding rather profusely,” and treated his own wounds but “contacted American forces to transmit his location” using what Trump said is a “very sophisticated beeper-type apparatus” that he said “saved his life.”

“We immediately mobilised a massive operation to retrieve him from the mountain hold-out,” Mr Trump said.

“The heroic F-15 weapons system officer had evaded capture on the ground in Iran for almost 48 hours,” he said.

“In a breathtaking show of skill and precision, lethality and force, America’s military descended on the area” before they “engaged the enemy” and “rescued the stranded officer, destroyed all threats and exited Iranian territory while taking no casualties of any kind”.

Trump said that eventually there was a problem leaving Iran because of the “wet sand” and the “weight of the plane.”

“Then we also had all the men jumping back onto the planes, and they got pretty well bogged down. And we had a continued contingency plan which was unbelievable,” he said.

Trump said that “lighter, faster aircraft” flew in to take the Americans out of Iran with the airman. The U.S. destroyed the aircraft that were stuck in the sand, he said.

What happened during the rescue mission?

The initial search effort encountered fierce resistance, with two Black Hawk helicopters involved in the search reportedly hit by Iranian fire but they escaped.

In a separate incident, a pilot ejected from an A-10 Warthog fighter aircraft after it was hit over Kuwait and crashed, the officials said, though the extent of crew injuries was unclear.

The conflict has killed 13 US military service members, with more than 300 wounded, the US Central Command says. No US troops have been taken prisoner by Iran.

Two MC-130 aircraft that ferried some of the roughly 100 special operations forces into rugged terrain south of Tehran suffered a mechanical failure and could not take off.

Their commanders made a high-risk decision, ordering additional aircraft to fly into Iran to extract the group in waves.

US troops then destroyed the disabled MC-130s and four additional helicopters in Iran.

Read more from Sky News:
Fourth company distances from Wireless
Kim Jong Un’s daughter ‘could be successor’

What has Trump said?

During the operation, Mr Trump was relatively quiet online, with a local reporter checking if he was at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington DC.

After the mission was finished though, the US president said on Truth Social: “Over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History”.

He added that the airman was injured, but “he will be just fine”, before saying: “This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory.

“WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND!”

At an Easter event at the White House, Mr Trump said of the rescue that “normally you’re in very hostile territory, and I don’t think it gets much more hostile than (Iran) are, and they’re capable fighters”.

“You don’t mind when the enemy is weak, but that enemy is strong, not so strong like they were about a month ago, I can tell you”, he added.

“In fact, right now they’re not too strong at all in my opinion, but we’re soon going to find out, aren’t we?”

The US president also said that “what we did yesterday is we picked up not one – we picked up two” – referring to the first pilot thought to be rescued. It’s unclear whether he misspoke.

He added: “We kept the first one quiet, and we were able to keep it quiet for about a day, which made it a lot better. But those two pilots were incredibly brave, and we thank them.”

What has Iran said?

Iran’s state TV showed on Sunday a picture of black smoke from what it said was a destroyed American transport plane and two helicopters.

Iranian state media on Friday also said a second US plane – an A-10 aircraft – crashed after being hit by Iranian forces.

The US military has not commented on the status of that aircraft or its crew.

And on the US’s rescue efforts on Sunday, Iran said several aircraft were destroyed.

Samsung is discontinuing its proprietary messaging application, Samsung Messages, directing users to Google Messages instead.

The tech giant announced the end of service for its namesake app, effective July, via an end-of-service notice published on its U.S. support website.

Owners of Samsung smartphones and other devices are being advised to transition to Google Messages “to maintain a consistent messaging experience on Android.”

All Samsung Galaxy phones operate on Google’s Android operating system. To make the switch, Samsung’s website provides instructions: users should download the Google Messages app from the Play Store if it’s not already installed and then set it as their default messaging application. Some users may also receive an in-app notification to guide them through this process.

Samsung says switching to Google Messages will give users access to updates like the latest artificial intelligence features from Google’s Gemini — which includes an experimental feature called “Remix” to generate images during conversations and AI-powered reply suggestions — and the ability to share higher quality photos between Android and Apple iOS devices through RCS-enabled messages.

Users of older Android operating systems (dating back to Android 11 or older) will not be impacted by the end of Samsung Messages, the company noted. To check what Android OS you have on a Samsung device, open the settings app, click on “software information” and scroll to “Android version.”

Meanwhile, owners of Samsung’s latest Galaxy 26 lineup and other newer phones cannot download the Samsung Messages app from the Galaxy Store today.

All devices will no longer be able to download Samsung Messages after it’s officially discontinued in July, the company noted. Samsung said users can check their app for the exact date for when service will go offline.

Beyond the U.S., Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for further information about whether its guidance for Samsung Messages was the same globally.