Martin Keown slammed Martin Keown for being ‘touchy’ about Arsenal
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The former centre-backs were on punditry duty at San Siro
Arsenal have suffered three defeats in their last six in all competitions.
While their only wins in that run have come against Shakhtar Donetsk and Preston North End.
And there’s no sign of their form changing ahead of what is now a HUGE visit to Chelsea on Sunday.
But Arsenal legend Keown is not worried about the Gunners’ dip in form.
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Speaking on TNT Sports, he said: “The point I’m making is that in the second half, Arsenal did all they could to score a goal here. And I saw a really good reaction.
“Everyone wants to put Arsenal away. I don’t think there’s a massive crisis for Arsenal. I don’t think they’re that far away from getting it right.
“They’ve got to keep believing in what they’re doing. Yes they’re not scoring goals but I thought when Ethan Nwaneri came on – perhaps should have been on a bit earlier – and he demonstrated some real quality when he came on.”
Fellow pundit Ferdinand replied: “I want to see him more. But I don’t think anyone is trying to put Arsenal away here, Martin, we’re just stating facts.”
But Keown bit back: “No I’m admiring what Inter Milan are doing. They have a different model. They have a director of football who is coming to the end of his career shall we say?
“A lot of people knocking Arsenal, I’m standing up for them a bit tonight.
Arsenal player ratings v Inter Milan (1)
“I thought they did better. Maybe it was mentioned in the commentary. I thought they had one or two chances that they didn’t put away but they certainly went after their opponents today.”
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Ferdinand then turned to host Laura Woods and said: “Why are Arsenal people so touchy?
“I don’t understand, why is that? No one’s having a dig – we’re not having a dig.”
The Man Utd legend’s comment triggered a fit of laughter from the rest of the TNT panel and left Keown speechless.
Mikel Merino was adjudged to have handled inside the box from close range during stoppage time in the first half.
Merino had earlier been denied a penalty after he saw himself on the receiving end of a punch in the head by Inter keeper Yann Sommer.
Arteta said: “We were very harshly done. I don’t understand [Inter’s penalty]. It is a deflection. There is no danger, no reaction because it is very close to his body.
“There is nothing he can do. I don’t know how you can get away from it.
“We were told at the start of the season that was not going to be a penalty but it was a different story.
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“But if that is a penalty then when Merino is punched in the head it is one thousand percent a penalty. It is very difficult to accept that.”
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Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer appeared to punch Mikel Merino in the head, but Arsenal were not awarded a penalty
Arsenal player ratings v Inter Milan
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TOOTHLESS Arsenal were beaten by a superb Italian job in Milan as they lost 1-0 thanks to a controversial penalty.
Here’s how the Gunners stars were rated by SunSport’s Tony Robertson.
David Raya – 6
Unfortunate with the penalty on an otherwise quiet night. Passing was below par with on three out of nine long passes finding their mark.
Ben White – 7
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Dependable as ever at right back. Can’t be blamed for the defeat from a defensive standpoint.
William Saliba – 7
Marshalled defence well and produced some strong passes. Three clearances and six duels won said everything about his performance.
Gabriel Magalhaes – 7
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Had a slightly better time in duels than Saliba but was worse on the ball.
Jurrien Timber – 7
Had a good rapport with Martinelli down the left flank. Dependable but undone by the controversial penalty call.
Mikel Merino – 5
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Difficult to see what he brings to the midfield at the moment. Clearly Arteta likes his height and strength, but not on the same wavelength as team-mates tonight. Unlucky to give away the penalty.
Thomas Partey – 6
Should have been given more licence to roam forward in the second half. But didn’t look like he had the legs to do that job.
Bukayo Saka – 6
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Captain for the night with Odegaard only fit for the bench. Saka was always a threat, but all too often or not chose the wrong option to go inside or out.
Gabriel Martinelli – 7
Flashes of brilliance and a thorn throughout the clash. Created four chances but team-mates were unable to help him out.
Kai Havertz – 6
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Couple of flashes of brilliance, including a beautiful curled effort at goal that forced Sommer to punch clear, but needed to be a stronger force up top. Went off with a bloody head in injury time.
Leandro Trossard – 6
Buzzed around and had threatening moments. But just didn’t get the ball enough in dangerous positions.
This Saturday, the promotion hosts UFC Fight Night 247 in Las Vegas, which features a welterweight headliner between veteran Neil Magny and promising contender Carlos Prates.
What’s Prates’ ceiling at welterweight? What other bouts stand out from the card?
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MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King, Danny Segura and host Gorgeous “George” preview the top billing of UFC Fight Night 247, along with other matchups on the card.
Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel at noon ET. You can also find each episode on your favorite podcast platforms – including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more – on Tuesday mornings.
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Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
Ferrari driver James Calado has revealed that he was hospitalised with malnutrition early in this year’s World Endurance Championship campaign as a result of his efforts to lose weight.
The Briton has disclosed that he became “properly ill” after the Qatar season-opener as he strived to overcome the performance disadvantage that comes with carrying extra kilogrammes in the WEC’s Hypercar category, which does not include the driver in the minimum weight of the car.
“I was sick this year because I lost so much weight – I went to hospital after Qatar with malnutrition,” he explained. “I was on medication because I was running and not eating, trying so hard to lose weight.
“It’s too dangerous for me to go down to the weight I want.”
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Calado explained that he is “70-something kilos” and that could result in a performance disadvantage of as much as half a second a lap on a regular circuit to a driver who weighs 20kg less.
“I would love to be able to qualify, but I’m too heavy,” he said. “I would love something to make it more equal like karting or in other championships.
#51 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Photo by: Shameem Fahath
“It’s not easy to manage because it’s endurance racing – three drivers per car, two in others – I know that, but let’s try and do something.”
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Calado’s revelation comes at a time when there is a push to mitigate the advantage that running lighter drivers brings.
BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos revealed to Motorsport.com that he has raised the issue with the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which jointly run the WEC.
“There should be compensation for driver weight as there was in the past in LMP1 and we are pushing for that,” he said.
“We shouldn’t get to a situation where the manufacturers are looking for the lightest drivers; there should be a situation where every driver can be competitive.
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“This is also a safety topic: drivers try to lose weight, but this is endurance racing so it can be dangerous.”
James Calado, Ferrari AF Corse
Photo by: Nikolaz Godet
ACO technical director Thierry Bouvet admitted that the idea is being discussed, but stressed that no decision has been made.
“When people have ideas, we and the FIA look at the pros and cons and see if they need to be adopted or not,” he said.
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A rule introduced in LMP1 for the 2015 WEC season increased the minimum weight of a car in which the average weight of its two or three drivers was less than 80kg.
Three drivers with an average weight of 75kg had to carry 5kg of ballast in their car, for example.
The rule didn’t remove the advantage a lighter driver had over heavier co-drivers but equalised the cars across the grid.
The cars of Formula 1 drivers who weigh less than 80kg in their racewear have to carry ballast to bring it up to the 798kg minimum.
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The Hypercar technical rules for 2025 have already been approved and published but could be changed with the unanimous support of the manufacturers.
England have been drawn in the same group as world champions Spain for the 2025 Women’s Nations League.
Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses fell to a 1-0 defeat by Spain in the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, while Spain are also the reigning Nations League champions.
The two sides are joined by Belgium and Portugal in League A Group A3.
Scotland have been drawn alongside Euro 2022 finalists Germany in League A Group A1, along with the Netherlands and Austria.
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Also in League A, Wales are in Group A4 with Italy, Denmark and Sweden.
Northern Ireland will face Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Romania in League B Group B1.
Group games will take place between February and June – before Euro 2025, where England will be the defending champions, starts in Switzerland on 2 July.
Holloway came up short in his bid to reclaim the featherweight title when he got knocked out by Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC 308. It was the first knockout loss of Holloway’s career and afterwards the former featherweight champion declared he will be moving up to lightweight full time. Fans were immediately interested in Holloway moving back up to 155 pounds as were a few fighters, including a former Holloway opponent: Dustin Poirier.
Poirier himself is near the end of his career, and though he already has two wins over Holloway, “The Diamond” is interested in a trilogy bout with current “BMF” champion. But Daniel Cormier isn’t sure that’s the best idea.
“He’s asking for Dustin Poirier. That would be absolutely fantastic,” Cormier said on Good Guy/Bad Guy. “But is there a better way to introduce Max Holloway into the lightweight division? Do we put him in there with a Dustin for a third time? Or do we see what happens with Michael Chandler after he fights against Charles Oliveira? Or do we start to kind of look down the rankings a little bit and say, ‘Well, it would be fun to watch him fight a Rafael Fiziev. It would be fun to watch him fight a Benoit Saint Denis. It would be fun to watch him fight a Paddy Pimblett.’
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“I know that might not be fun for Max, that might not be great for Max, but it would also give him an opportunity to work his way back into contention without being in there with these absolute killers. Because personally, I would like to see Max Holloway not stand across from Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, Alexander Volkanovski, then Ilia Topuria. Something not as crazy of a challenge.”
Poirier is certainly a major challenge for Holloway. The two have met twice before, once at featherweight where Poirier submitted Holloway with a triangle armbar in Holloway’s fifth career fight. The pair rematched seven years later at UFC 236 for the interim lightweight title, with Poirier taking a unanimous decision in one of the best fights of the 2019. That fight remains one of only two lightweight fights in Holloway’s UFC career, the other being his sensational knockout of Justin Gaethje to claim the “BMF” title at UFC 300.
I cannot believe I’m saying this but: I think I agree with Daniel Cormier?
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Max should take a fair bit of time off anyway just to make sure he’s good, but I was at UFC 236 and Poirier plunked Max around. Obviously it was very competitive and both men are older and probably a little worse, but that’s a tough matchup for Max in the best of times. Maybe easing back into lightweight would be prudent.
That being said, I need a Max vs. Charles Oliveira rematch like I need air.
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