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The Alipore Bomb Case: A Historic Pre-Independence Trial

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Like many other emotionally charged agitations, the anti-partition agitation was also initially peaceful. But as it became clear that the desired results would not be forthcoming, the reins passed into the hands of leaders who believed that a combination of boycott and terrorism could make their mission successful. Magnetised by the fiery urge to fight for their motherland, the younger generation picked up pistols and bombs. Of course, with this the anti-partition movement also entered a phase marked by violence and gradual disorder.

Less than a decade ago, British Viceroy Lord Elgin had said, “India was conquered by the sword and by the sword it shall be held!” Now, in an ironical turn of events, the youth of Bengal seemed to be returning Elgin’s comment. Many genuinely felt that violence was the only language the foreigners understood. Armed terrorism thus became closely intertwined with the fight for swaraj. In 1907, Aurobindo’s brother Barindra Ghose, began using his family home in Maniktola (then a suburb of Calcutta) as an arsenal-cum-school for revolutionaries. His compatriot, Hem Chandra Das from Midnapore, went to Paris to learn bomb making and understand revolutionary politics. As Bipin Chandra Pal, Ashwini Kumar Dutta, Aurobindo Ghose and others took control of the militant movement, the police files of the British became thicker and thicker with the names of young ‘suspects’ and ‘preventive detainees’. The same files now also had a name for this movement—’Bengal Terrorism’!

‘Bengal Terrorism’ was at its peak between 1908 and 1910. It was an organised movement that did not approve of individually motivated acts and secret murders. The objective was to stage a popular uprising and revolution that could bring down the edifice of British imperialism. This they hoped to do by forming secret societies that could enthuse the youth with higher values of bold action and sacrifice for the country, train them in the manufacture of bombs and explosive devices and the use of arms and also arm them for the fight.

Through the assassination of British officials they hoped to demoralise the British, paralyse the administration and uproot all enemies of India’s freedom—Indians or foreigners! Guerrilla warfare, inciting the army to revolt, arranging arms supplies from nations hostile to Britain—these revolutionaries were open to following many paths.

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An official report of the time mentions about 210 revolutionary outrages and 101 attempts involving hundreds of revolutionaries in the decade between 1906 and 1917 in Bengal. This includes several failed and aborted attempts on the lives of high officials between the announcement of partition in 1905 and the Muzaffarpur bombing carried out by the Jugantar revolutionaries Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki in April 1908.

These were times when the Criminal Intelligence Department (CID) could hardly afford to lean back and take a moment’s rest. Swamped with work, all its attention was now focused on tracing the web-like threads of revolutionary activity to their points of origin. All attempts to force a breakthrough had proved futile. On a more specific note, the CID was also aware of an assassination plot building up against the former Calcutta Presidency Chief Magistrate, Douglas Kingsford (now posted as District Judge in Muzaffarpur), but had not been able to unearth it. And then suddenly, the Muzaffarpur bombing happened!

A turning point in India’s revolutionary history, the incident created a sensation in British India. The blast was followed by deafening silence in stunned British circles. Young, impassioned, 18-year-old Khudiram Bose was arrested for the bombing. Through the incident and the investigations that followed, the British were able to unravel the functioning of a wellspread network of secret societies and the people associated with it. The Muzaffarpur bombing became the starting point of the famous trial known as the Alipore Bomb Case or the Alipore Bomb Conspiracy. The Muzaffarpur incident was the first real eruption of a volcano that had made many attempts to surface in the recent past. Before the bombing, several unsuccessful attempts had been made on the lives of high-profile British officials. In 1906, Bampfylde Fuller, the Lieutenant Governor of the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam, was trailed from Guwahati to Rangpur, but no attempt was made. On the night of 6 December 1907 an attempt was made near Narayangarh in the Midnapur district to blow up the train in which Andrew Fraser, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, was travelling. Another attempt was planned on the Lieutenant Governer’s train near Chandernagore in which Barindra Ghose was accompanied by his close associate Ullaskar Dutt and Prafulla Chaki. The attempt failed because the special train did not come that way on the appointed night. December 1907 also saw a group led by Narendranath Bhattacharya carry out a dacoity in Chingripota (24 Parganas) and the shooting of B.C. Allen (District Magistrate, Dhaka) by members of the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti. On the night of 11 April 1908 an attempt had been made on the life of the Mayor of Chandernagore who had incurred the wrath of the revolutionaries for stopping a swadeshi meeting from taking place. The police, therefore, had enough reasons to keep a close watch on the activities of some people in Calcutta, whom they suspected of having links with the revolutionaries.

Events had been in motion for a while, but deep in their hearts the revolutionaries were getting impatient for that one big bang that could shake the British to their foundations. It is in this context that the Muzaffarpur bombing assumes great historical importance. When Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki threw a bomb at what they presumed to be the carriage carrying Douglas Kingsford on 30 April 1908 in Muzaffarpur in Bihar, they brought matters to a head. Instead of assassinating Kingsford, the bomb, however, killed his bridge partners Mrs. Kennedy and Miss Grace Kennedy, the wife and daughter of Mr. Pringle Kennedy, Advocate-at-Bar at Muzaffarpur. But even though it missed the desired target, the bomb that was hurled that fateful evening blasted the myth of British invincibility and shook the empire at its roots. Indeed, even a century later, the modest bomb remains one of the loudest explosions in Indian history.

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[Niyogi Books has given Fair Observer permission to publish this excerpt from The Alipore Bomb Case: A Historic Pre-Independence Trial, Noorul Hoda, Niyogi Books, 2008.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

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Man, 22, arrested over ‘attempted murder’ after driver ‘ploughed into crowd’ outside nightclub’s Freshers’ event – The Sun

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Man, 22, arrested over ‘attempted murder’ after driver ‘ploughed into crowd’ outside nightclub’s Freshers’ event – The Sun

A MAN,22, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a driver ‘ploughed into a group of people at a Freshers’ event’.

Two people remain in hospital after the horror unfolded outside The Tunnel Club – one of Birmingham‘s longest-running nightclubs – at around 3am on Friday.

A police presence on Livery Street in Birmingham

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A police presence on Livery Street in BirminghamCredit: SWNS

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: “We’ve arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder after a number of people were injured when a car was driven at people in Livery Street in Birmingham on Friday morning.

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“The 22-year-old was arrested at a property in the city just before 9am today and has been taken into custody for questioning.

“We were called to disorder in Livery Street at around 3am yesterday.

“A number of people were injured when a car was driven at a group outside The Tunnel nightclub.

“The car was then driven away from the scene. It’s believed six people were injured during the incident all together, and five were taken to hospital.

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“Two of the injured remain in hospital, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. One of them is under arrest on suspicion of affray.”

Det Ch Insp Dave Sproson, from Birmingham Police, said: “We’re working hard to understand exactly what happened and why.

“At this stage, we believe this to have been an isolated and deliberate attack linked to an earlier incident inside the nightclub.

“The investigation continues to make good progress, but we’d still appeal for anyone with information or mobile phone images to get in touch via our dedicated website.”

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I followed easy Martin Lewis tips and saved £423 in just 40 minutes – how to do it too

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I followed easy Martin Lewis tips and saved £423 in just 40 minutes - how to do it too

A SAVVY customer has shared how they managed to shave hundreds off their home insurance bill by using a nifty Martin Lewis hack.

The saver named Fiona told readers of Martin’s MoneySavingExpert about how she pocketed the hefty £423.

You can cut your home insurance costs with one simple trick

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You can cut your home insurance costs with one simple trickCredit: Getty

“I received a renewal notice which shot up by a few hundred quid to £866 (for a standard four-bed),” she said.

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“Your newsletter landed, I used your tips and which comparison websites to use, and 40 minutes later I found the exact same cover for £443!

“A huge saving of £423, woohoo!

“Thank you so much!”

Fiona was following the money-saving whizz’s advice to “combine comparison sites for 100s of quotes in minutes – don’t assume they’re all the same.”

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It continues: “Never just auto-renew – there’s no guarantee your existing insurer will give you the cheapest or best cover.

“It’s always worth a check elsewhere. Comparison sites zip your info to dozens of insurers and brokers at once.

“Yet don’t just use one as a) they can cover different insurers, and b) they often have different prices for the same firm.”

It comes as home insurance premiums soared this earlier this year in a blow for households.

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Premiums increased by 19% between the first three months of 2023 and the same time period this year, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Martin Lewis energy warning

The body, which represents industry, said the average combined buildings and contents premium was £375 at the start of the year.

What is home insurance?

Home insurance is designed to cover you in the event of fire, flood, or theft or loss of any item inside it.

It’s not a legal requirement, unlike car insurance, but it can be useful if something goes awry.

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There are two types of home insurance policy – contents and buildings.

Buildings insurance covers the cost of repairing any damage to the structure of your property which might have been caused by a fire or flooding.

The “building” includes elements like your roof, walls and floors as well as permanent fixtures such as windows or fitted kitchens.

Contents insurance says what it does on the tin – it covers you in case the contents of your home are damaged, lost or stolen.

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How else to save money on home insurance

There’s a few other ways you can save money on your home insurance…

Ceri McMillan, insurance expert at Go Compare previously told The Sun renewing your policy 27 days ahead of it expiring could save you £60.

And at the very least, don’t wait for your policy to auto-renew as you’ll likely pay more than if you shop around for a cheaper deal.

If you’ve got the money up front, it’s worth paying for your premium in one lump sum as well.

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Ceri previously told The Sun you can save around 10% on your premium using the trick.

When does the price cap change?

OFGEM reviews the cap on unit rates for those on the default tariff every three months.

This means the energy price cap can move up or down at four different points in the year.

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Price cap rates are updated on the following dates:

  • January 1
  • April 1
  • July 1
  • October 1

The ABI said the average home insurance premium was £341 in 2023, which means you could save around £34.

Combining contents and buildings policies rather than paying for them separately could save you £100 a year as well, according to Confused.com.

Installing a burglar alarm can help drive down your premium price as well, albeit after the initial up front cost.

Consumer group Which? says you can get an alarm for around £100, and install it yourself to save extra cash.

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You can buy either buildings or contents policies separately, or combined so you are covered across all scenarios.

Not all home insurance policies cover the same things though, so it’s worth shopping around.

You can use price comparison websites like Compare the Market, GoCompare and Uswitch.

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Doctors And Nurses Are Revealing The Medical “Lies” People Should Stop Believing

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Doctors And Nurses Are Revealing The Medical "Lies" People Should Stop Believing

We recently wrote a post where doctors and nurses shared the medical “lies” people should stop believing. In the comments, even more medical professionals shared surprising health misconceptions. Here’s what they had to say:

Note: Some responses were pulled from this Reddit thread.

1.“Your water breaking is RARELY like on TV. Most folks don’t wind up with a giant puddle. You might feel a pop (or not), you might think you peed yourself, and when you move or have a contraction, it’ll usually keep leaking until you deliver.”

It’s also NOT an emergency! Don’t freak out and drive like a bat outta hell. Yes, if your water breaks, we’d like you to head to the hospital, especially if your labor hasn’t started on its own, because you might need help to get it going in a timely fashion. But unless you’re bleeding, or the fluid is greenish/brown, or the baby hasn’t been moving like normal, it’s ok to grab your go bag at a safe, normal pace. No screaming, speeding, or ambulances required.

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Katherine Heigl in Knocked Up, wearing a hospital gown, screams in a medical setting with doctors in blue scrubs nearby

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2.“Pharmacist here. Please don’t confuse side effects with allergies. Weight gain with prednisone is a side effect. Nausea and itching with codeine and morphine are side effects. A documented allergy to a medication on your chart will trigger an alert with any similar medication.”

“Can’t get codeine? Better not order vicidin or percocet for that patient!”

tjjennin

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3.“People believe ‘if you are an organ donor, emergency crews are less likely to save you if you are badly injured so they can get your organs.’ No. Stop it.”

u/TheCrawdad

4.“When you have an IV site, there isn’t a needle in your arm. There is a tiny, flexible, plastic catheter, and it’s not going to tear through your veins and skin if you bend your elbow.”

u/wicksa

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A person's arm in a hospital bed with an intravenous (IV) line inserted, wearing a hospital gown and a medical wristband

Olaia Salvador / Getty Images

5.“Wearing high heels is not harmless and can lead to foot problems. When wearing sneakers, your weight is distributed all over your feet in a healthier, more comfortable pattern. When you’re on high heels, that redistributes your weight in a way that can damage your heel.”

u/upvoter222

6.“I’m a surgeon. ‘We can’t find anything wrong with you’ does NOT mean ‘nothing is wrong with you.’ Medicine is not nearly as advanced as most people think. There was a time we had no idea what multiple sclerosis (MS) was. So, all those people suffering from MS were told, ‘We don’t know what’s wrong with you. Our tests all came back normal.’”

lisafatgirlnamemcquade

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7.“Reading in the dark won’t make your vision worse. It just affects the type of light entering your eye; it doesn’t change anything within the organ itself. You may feel a little uncomfortable and deal with some eye strain, but there’s no long-term problem.”

u/upvoter222

Person reading a book in bed with a lamp on, wrapped in white sheets

Westend61 / Getty Images

8.“Doctor here, but I need to say this: Your doctor/provider may not know best. Get a second or third opinion when dealing with a difficult diagnosis or a diagnosis that will need potential surgery. Specialists and surgeons will have different approaches to the same disease.”

Keep your medical records organized: copies of recent labs, imaging studies, medications, etc. This will reduce duplicate studies and labs and help inform your doctor/specialist while keeping costs down. Always get a CD/film of your imaging study, and take it to any relevant doctor visit — unless they are in the same system.”

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u/tpsreports123

“We will never, EVER mind if you ask for a second opinion. If your case is difficult, we have probably already gotten multiple other doctors’ opinions.”

lisafatgirlnamemcquade

9.“Mostly for older people: If you have a catheter in your urethra, you do not need to pee; it’s peeing for you.”

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u/wicksa

10.“Taking 1000 mg+ of vitamin C a day isn’t necessary. Your body only absorbs a certain amount and pisses the rest out.”

—Anonymous

A hand is stirring a wooden spoon with white powder into a glass of orange juice

Beo88 / Getty Images

11.“That ‘pulling the plug,’ as seen on every TV show, is shenanigans. It drives me up the wall to see people unplug an IV, only to watch a person choke to death. They’re battery-powered.”

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u/farnswiggle

12.“Don’t stop taking medications just because you ‘feel better.’ This includes antibiotics, but I’m talking about all meds (psych, blood pressure, insulin, and steroids). You feel better because the medicine is working and doing its job! (Duh). Even if you legitimately don’t need them anymore, many meds can cause bad side effects if stopped cold turkey. You need to wean off.”

“Also, make sure you research HOW the medications should be taken. With or without food? At night or in the morning? Can they be taken with other medications, or will they be more effective if taken alone? These little things are important.”

u/PixieNurse

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13.“Parents with kids over 18: No, I cannot give you health information on your child after they turn 18. It’s called HIPAA. Also, ethics.”

—Anonymous

A doctor speaks with a seated patient in a medical office. Posters about vaccination and the muscular system are on the wall behind them

Jacob Wackerhausen / Getty Images

14.“If you’re clinically dead and are brought back to life, there’s a good chance you won’t last long afterward. You don’t just get up and get back to life; you probably suffered brain damage from a lack of oxygen for X amount of minutes.”

u/PhotographerMan

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“I’ve been a trauma nurse for two years and can definitely confirm this. I have seen 672 patients require CPR. Of the 672, only 23 lived.”

—Anonymous

15.“Clinical assistant for an urgent care here. Masks are NOT just for COVID. They were used in clinical settings before then and will continue to be used. We don’t care if you’ve tested negative for COVID; you could carry another highly transmissible virus, like strep or the flu.”

“If we ask you to wear a mask because of your symptoms, either take it and put it on or go wait in your car.

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16.“A defibrillator isn’t used to restart a heart that has stopped beating. It is used to stop the fibrillation of the heart and will ‘reset’ it to its normal rhythm. Thanks to TV shows and movies, many people have this misconception about what the device will do and what it’s meant for.”

“Also, when the shock is administered, the patient won’t spasm violently. The muscles in the chest area will contract, but it’s nowhere near as violent as often portrayed.”

u/Reqol

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Two surgeons in scrubs and masks in an operating room, holding defibrillator paddles, looking down at the camera

Peter M. Fisher / Getty Images

17.“So many people have weird ideas about losing weight that involve weird dietary restrictions and only eating certain food groups. If you want to lose weight, you need to watch what you eat and reduce calories. Don’t starve yourself. You’ll be miserable and have lots of cravings. Instead, try to find healthier alternatives to what you currently buy.”

u/upvoter222

18.“A few air bubbles in the IV line or a syringe will not kill you. In fact, it takes a WHOLE lot of air to be injected into you even to affect you.”

u/wicksa

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And finally…

19.“[There is a proper way to wash your hands.] Do you actually wash your whole hand when washing? Between the fingers and all around…”

u/MildlyMild

There are specific, numbered steps to hand washing that we are tested on, and if we do it incorrectly, we fail and have to retest the next time they can give us a date. This even includes how to dry your hands and wrists after washing. It’s also why many CNAs/LPNs/RNs can’t wear fingernail polish at work. It’s a health concern because bacteria can get between the polish and the nail, and washing your hands is harder.”

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u/CosmicDustbunny

Hands lathered with soap under running water, demonstrating proper handwashing technique

Peopleimages / Getty Images

Fellow doctors and nurses, what are some other medical “lies” people should stop believing? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.

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Dragon Drones Take on Tanks in Unconventional Ukrainian Warfare

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Dragon Drones Take on Tanks in Unconventional Ukrainian Warfare

Ukrainian forces have ramped up their use of “dragon drones” on the battlefield, a tactic that has proven effective for targeting Russian tanks.

Drone Vs. Tank

Originally deployed to incinerate Russian trenches in forested areas, these drones have evolved to destroy armored vehicles, marking a significant development in Ukraine’s drone warfare capabilities, according to WP.

Footage has emerged showing a Russian tank being struck by a guided anti-tank missile, followed by a dragon drone dropping thermite on the disabled vehicle.

This thermite, a mixture of aluminum powder and iron oxide, ignites at extremely high temperatures, often exceeding 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 degrees Celsius), making it effective for penetrating tank armor and concrete bunkers.

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Bukayo Saka sets the tone for an Arsenal side that has to be bolder

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Arsenal's Bukayo Saka, right, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Southampton at the Emirates Stadium in London, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Arsenal 3-1 Southampton (Havertz 58’, Martinelli 68’, Saka 88’ | Archer 55’)

EMIRATES – It is a strange quirk of the week Arsenal have just enjoyed that over a spell of seven days, three games and nine goals scored, there can still be question marks raised over their creativity.

Indeed had a scare against Southampton not proven short-lived, this might have been a chastening tale of why Mikel Arteta should have been bolder in his initial team selection – but thanks to Bukayo Saka, all this is once again a footnote.

Saka’s goal and two assists blew away any fears about Arsenal’s ability to cope with such an intense run of fixtures while battling a growing injury list. At 23, he now has just one less Premier League goal contribution (91) than Ryan Giggs at the same age. No player in the top five European leagues is matching him for assists this season. Not bad for a player who, in the non-sensical world of football punditry, was the subject of debate this week over whether he is indeed “world-class”.

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Arsenal needed it too, with the decision to start Thomas Partey at right-back leaving a central partnership of Jorginho and Declan Rice restricted. If not ultra-conservative, it felt unnecessary against a winless Southampton, and in order to facilitate Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz was then also forced deeper.

For a brief moment, as Cameron Archer latched onto a ball over the top, beat William Saliba and then David Raya, it might have been fatal. It wasn’t. Predictably, Flynn Downes was dispossessed close to the box, and Kai Havertz raced at Taylor Harwood-Bellis before scoring in his seventh home game in a row.

Amid fears that Jurrien Timber’s absence would render Arsenal immobile down the right, Partey can feel vindicated in his role for the part he played in cutting inside and teeing up Gabriel Martinelli, who narrowly stayed onside to put the ball through Aaron Ramsdale on the goalkeeper’s return to the Emirates.

And when substitute Leandro Trossard raced through to set up Saka for the third, it was a run full of the energy Arsenal had been missing for the previous half an hour.

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So Saka’s heroics were only part of the story. Opportunities were always going to come against a Southampton as self-sabotaging as Russell Martin’s but Arsenal still had to be patient.

The defining moment was not one of the goals, but the double substitution that transformed the tone around the hour mark. Jesus and Jorginho off, Trossard and Mikel Merino on. Arsenal desperately needed a goal, but it was one at the other end, and the substitutions that came shortly afterwards, that helped them come alive.

Arteta was chastised for his initial starting XI, but deserves praise for turning it on its head. Martinelli is an example too to those around him for the manner in which he has revived his career this season.

The question for Arteta now is how much these dry spells bother him when Arsenal are eventually capable of turning on the style spectacularly, just as they did against Leicester City last weekend.

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Martin Odegaard is still missed. There is hope he will be fit after the international break, and in the meantime there could be a greater role for Ethan Nwaneri. It is to his immense credit that at 17, so many already see him as the solution to Arsenal’s occasional staleness. But it is Saka who remains the game-changer.

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Matt Peet explains key Wigan Warriors absence as Leigh Leopards also dealt blow

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Matt Peet explains key Wigan Warriors absence as Leigh Leopards also dealt blow


Wigan host Leigh in the second Super League semi-final.

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