ARSENAL continued their unbeaten run in the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk – but it was far from a convincing performance.

Gabriel Martinelli orchestrated the decisive goal when his low-driven strike hit the post and deflected in off the back of goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk.

Here’s how SunSport’s Tony Robertson rated the Gunners…

DAVID RAYA – 7

Seldom asked to do much aside from recycle the ball to Gabriel or Saliba until the final stages

Pushed a potentially dangerous cross out of danger in the 84th minute. Pulled out a magnificent low save in injury time before claiming a dangerous cross to keep his clean sheet.

BEN WHITE – 6

Back in at right-back today and played as if he had never been out of the team. 

Received a yellow card in the 34th minute. Subbed at half-time for Mikel Merino.

WILLIAM SALIBA – 7

In the team after his red card against Bournemouth, played like his typically assured self marshalling the defence.

One or two sloppy passes late in the second half but otherwise can have no complaints with another solid performance.

GABRIEL MAGALHAES – 5

Sloppily gave the ball away to hand the visitors a dangerous chance out of nothing. Had another lapse just after the opener but in the end he was bailed out by Calafiori.

Marked improvement in the second half.

RICCARDO CALAFIORI – 6

Skied a golden chance over the bar after six minutes. Tested the goalkeeper again after 24 minutes.

Dragged his foot and went down injured after skipping under a tackle in the 67th minute. Replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly in 71st minute.

THOMAS PARTEY – 6

Comfortable evening in midfield for him. Recycled the ball well when at his feet and kept play ticking over.

Moved to right back as White was hooked but didn’t have too many worries. When he was caught out of position Rice was able to cover.

DECLAN RICE – 6

Like Partey, he had a quiet night in midfield with Shakhtar unable to retain meaningful possession.

Moved into the six as White was hooked and Partey moved to right-back. Cut out a dangerous low cross at the edge of the area. 

LEANDRO TROSSARD – 4

Nothing quite went right for him all night with some sloppy touches ending attacks and putting Arsenal in trouble.

Summed up his night by missing a 77th minute penalty and was hooked in the 88th minute.

GABRIEL JESUS – 8

Wore the captain’s armband and looked bright down the right wing.

Denied a well-deserved goal by the feet of the keeper in the 43rd minute after Havertz played him in.

Second half saw more good link play, but never had another chance to end his goal drought as he was replaced by Sterling in the 68th minute.

GABRIEL MARTINELLI – 7

Grew into the game following a quiet start and was rewarded with a goal, of sorts, after 30 minutes.

Brazilian cut inside from the left wing before firing a shot to the near post before the shot rebounded off the woodwork and hit the goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk to go in the net. 

KAI HAVERTZ – 7

Centimeters away from getting Arsenal’s second in the 39th minute after Jesus squared a volley back across goal.

Returned the favour to set up his team-mate moments later only for the goalkeeper to prevent a goal.

Won a free-kick at the very end of the game to run the clock down.

SUBS

Mikel Merino (on for White HT) – 6

Some nice touches and stitched play together well. A solid yet unspectacular performance.

Raheem Sterling (on for Jesus 68 mins) – 6

Tried to play on the shoulder of the last man but did not have the pace find the clear cut chance he would have liked.

Myles Lewis-Skelly (on for Calafiori 71 mins) – 6

Slotted in at left-back and was not afraid to show for the ball but often did not receive it while tucking infield.

Jorginho (on for Trossard 88 mins) – N/A

Four-time winner Judd Trump advanced to the last 16 of the Northern Ireland Open with a 4-2 victory over Matthew Selt at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.

The reigning champion, who whitewashed Ishpreet Singh Chadha in the opening round, took the first frame against Selt before slipping 2-1 behind.

Selt had an opening in the fourth frame to pile on the pressure, but world number one Trump produced a run of 74 to level the match.

The 35-year-old then took the next two frames to book a date with John Higgins or Barry Hawkins in the third round, with a 141 to seal the win giving him a second century break of the tournament.

In Tuesday’s other second-round matches, China’s Tian Pengfei beat Robert Milkins 4-1, with Louis Heathcote advancing past Jimmy Robertson by the same margin and former world champion Stuart Bingham a 4-0 winner against Mark Davis.

In the concluding first-round matches on Tuesday, world champion Kyren Wilson endured a scare against David Grace to book his place in the last-32.

WIlson had an 80 break on his way to a 3-0 lead but was pegged back to level terms before dominating the decider for a 4-3 win.

Former Barcelona boss Xavi holds discussions with Manchester United, Sevilla are interested in taking Tottenham defender Archie Gray on loan, Chelsea tell teenager Josh Acheampong he will not play again until he signs a new deal.

Former Barcelona boss Xavi has held talks with Manchester United about the possibility of replacing Erik ten Hag as manager. (Mail), external

Sevilla are interested in signing Tottenham’s 18-year-old England Under-21 full-back Archie Gray on loan. (Mucho Deporte – in Spanish), external

Chelsea have told 18-year-old England Under-20 defender Josh Acheampong that he will not play for the club at any level again until he signs a new contract. (Athletic – subscription required), external

Tottenham have placed an £80m price tag on 25-year-old Spanish right-back Pedro Porro, who is being tracked by Manchester City. (Football Insider), external

Brighton and Arsenal are interested in Aston Villa’s 21-year-old Poland Under-21 goalkeeper Oliwier Zych. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Arsenal Under-18s coach Jack Wilshere, 32, will join Norwich as first team coach this week after the two clubs agreed a compensation fee for the former Gunners midfielder. (Standard), external

Graham Potter, David Moyes and Gareth Southgate are potential candidates to succeed Oliver Glasner if he is sacked by Crystal Palace. (Guardian), external

Former Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic is a candidate for the West Ham job if the Hammers sack Julen Lopetegui. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Dortmund want to sign a left-back in January with Chelsea’s 27-year-old England international Ben Chilwell and Bournemouth’s Hungary international Milos Kerkez, 20, on their shortlist. (Teamtalk), external

Top players in Europe could refuse to promote the newly-expanded Club World Cup as part of a dispute between player unions and Fifa over the congested football calendar. (Times – subscription required), external

Everton’s takeover by the Freidkin Group remains on track to be completed by December, but the new owners will not sanction significant January spending because of PSR restrictions. (The i – subscription required), external

Mohun Bagan defeated a hapless East Bengal team 2-0 in a much-awaited ISL Kolkata derby on Saturday. Jamie Maclaren and Dimitri Petratos were on the scoresheet for the Mariners at the Salt Lake Stadium. 

Mohun Bagan outclassed East Bengal in every aspect on Saturday, not only controlling possession but also recording seven shots on target compared to East Bengal’s single attempt. This victory marks Mohun Bagan’s eighth win out of nine encounters against their arch-rivals in the ISL.

The green and maroon brigade, as expected, were the better team in the first half as they launched a plethora of attacks. Two reaction-saves from point blank range by East Bengal goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill denied Mohun Bagan an early lead.

ALSO READ | ISL: Mumbai City FC continue domination over FC Goa, win 2-1

However, with Maclaren, Greg Stewart, Manvir Singh and Liston Colaco continuously creating a menace for East Bengal defenders, it didn’t take last season’s shield winner long to find the back of the net. 

After a few fierce one-on-on battle with East Bengal left-back Provat Lakra, Manvir finally managed to get a ball past him as he delivered a low cross from the right wing. Maclaren, with his poacher’s instinct, ran unmarked between Anwar Ali and Hector Yuste, the two East Bengal centrebacks, and drilled the ball beyond Gill’s near post.

The second half proved to be a boring affair as Oscar Bruzon’s men looked more disciplined in defending. Jose Molina’s team tried to recreate the attacking display of the first half but nothing materialised until the 88th minute when Gill wrongfully tackled Petratos inside his own box to gift Mohun Bagan a penalty.

Petratos, who came off the bench in the 77th minute, smashed the ball into the net from the spot to double his team’s lead, killing all hopes for East Bengal to stage a comeback. 

Saturday’s loss marked East Bengal’s fifth consecutive defeat in the ISL, leaving them at the bottom of the standings. Meanwhile, Mohun Bagan sits in second place with 10 points, having secured three wins and a draw from their five matches. 

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has a new sentencing date.

Initially scheduled for Friday in Santa Clara County (Calif.) court, Velasquez’s hearing was continued to a later date. Court records now reveal that date will be Jan. 24.

At the hearing, Velasquez will go before Judge Arthur Bolcanegra, who will determine what penalties he will receive, as he faces a handful of charges including attempted murder for a February 2022 shooting in the San Jose area.

Bolcanegra is the same judge who granted Velasquez bail after nearly nine months of incarceration and multiple denials by other judges.

Velasquez, 42, has been out on bail since November 2022. A full list of charges includes attempted murder (one count), shooting at a motor vehicle or aircraft (one count), assault with a firearm (three counts), assault with a deadly weapon (three counts), willfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle (one count) and carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony (one count).

Velasquez initially pleaded not guilty to the charges but changed his plea to no contest in August.

Velasquez was arrested nearly two-and-a-half years ago after he allegedly pursued and shot at a man, Harry Goularte, accused of molesting Velasquez’s then 4-year-old son at a daycare. Velasquez allegedly chased a car carrying Goularte and family members during a high-speed chase with a bullet striking Goularte’s stepfather, causing injury.

Goularte faces a felony charge of lewd acts with a minor and has a trial setting and motion hearing scheduled for Nov. 13. There is also a coinciding civil lawsuit by the Velasquez family against Goularte, his family, and their businesses.

MANCHESTER UNITED legend Patrice Evra has surprisingly blamed himself and Sir Alex Ferguson for the club’s disastrous decade.

Since the legendary boss retired, Man Utd have not won the Premier League title and their fifth permanent manager Erik ten Hag is in danger of losing job.

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The Red Devils crashed out the Champions League group stages and finished eighth in the Premier League with a negative goal difference last term.

Evra departed Old Trafford in 2014 – a year after Sir Alex quit the club.

And the outspoken Frenchman bizarrely blamed himself and his former gaffer for the club’s recent downfall.

He told the BBC with a smile: “I blame myself, I blame Sir Alex Ferguson.”

Evra continued: “It’s always tough to talk about United right now because back in the day we used to play for the fans, for the badge, for the history.

“When we left, we left too early and it’s difficult for the players because they don’t have any example.

“I’m not inside, I don’t know what the problem is. The manager Ten Hag is trying to do his best – it’s not good enough.

“But it’s not just about this season, it’s since we won the last league in 2013, the club has been in chaos.

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“I’m a positive man, but it’s tough. Our rivals are getting better than us, play a better style of football. The future is not bright. It’s a tough moment.

“Liverpool waited 30 years to win the Premier League again, now it’s been 11 years [since United’s last title]. I don’t want to wait that long.

“No matter what, I will be a United fan forever, but it’s quite tough to watch United play.”

Ten Hag has often claimed success in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup means he should keep his job.

But Evra says two trophies is “not enough” for a club like United, explaining: “I’m a straightforward guy. Even if you put the chef as a manager, I will support any manager.

I’m not inside, I don’t know what the problem is. The manager Ten Hag is trying to do his best – it’s not good enough.

Patrice Evra

“Three years [Ten Hag has] been at the club and, yes, he’s won two trophies.

“When you’re the manager of United, what people expect from you is to win the league every year.

“We need to stop talking about the past. This is not the United it used to be. We have to rebuild it.”