Mikel Arteta believes Viktor Gyokeres has raised his game to the “highest level” after he scored a second-half brace in Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Sunderland.

Following Martin Zubimendi’s impressive first-half opener at the Emirates Stadium, Gyokeres landed his first just six minutes after coming on as a substitute.

The Sweden international then completed his brace in stoppage time to put the gloss on a win which moved Arteta’s side nine points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

Gyokeres has faced criticism during his first campaign in north London. But his double takes his tally to four in as many matches, and six from his last eight appearances.

Since the start of the year, no Premier League player has scored more goals than Gyokeres’ five across all competitions.

And Arteta said: “Confidence is the magic word. When you feel confident, when you feel important, when you feel at your best, that’s when you can really take your game to the highest level.

“We are really behind him in every moment to try to help him, to try to support him. And he is delivering, and he’s in a really good moment now.

“Obviously, when you put that shirt on, there is lot of responsibility and huge expectation, and you need to live with that.

“In your journey, you’re going to have moments where it goes really well, and then others where it is going to be tough.

“With Viktor, it’s very difficult to understand his emotions because he looks straight at you. But he doesn’t seem too affected by the real highs or the lows. He’s very demanding of himself, he’s constantly trying to improve.

“I love his character, the way he approaches every single day and the fact that he’s so focused on the present, what he has to do, and he has a genuine will to help the team in whatever role he has.”

Arsenal are now in a strong position to claim their first title since 2004 with 39 points left to play for across the final 13 rounds.

Manchester City will have to beat Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday to trim Arsenal’s advantage back to six points.

But when asked what his team’s latest victory means in their quest to take the title, Arteta replied: “Nothing. We still have to win so many games to achieve what we want.

“I’m going to have a beautiful dinner tonight. Tomorrow I start to prepare for Brentford (on Thursday), because it’s going to be a really tough one.

“And in the meantime, I will be watching a big, big game (between Liverpool and City).”

Sunderland have been the league’s surprise package this season but this was their third defeat in four matches.

Manager Regis Le Bris said: “At the beginning of the second half we had opportunities to get back in the game, but we didn’t seize those opportunities and if you don’t do that against a team like Arsenal – one of the best teams in England and Europe – then the game has gone.”

France arrive in Cardiff next Sunday with Wales searching for a first Six Nations home win in four years.

The calamitous state of Welsh rugby means the WRU is struggling to sell out their three home games this year, with thousands of tickets still available for next weekend.

Tandy hopes Wales will receive the usual home backing.

“The fans have been amazing support for the team,” said Tandy.

“We know what it means to the boys to play in the Principality Stadium and the fans give them huge belief.”

Whether the Wales head coach will make changes remains to be seen as he balances reacting to an underwhelming display and the need to develop a settled side.

He says there would be no “knee-jerk reaction” and full-back Louis Rees-Zammit appears to have done enough to keep the number 15 jersey.

The former NFL triallist was making his first Six Nations appearance for almost three years and is settling into a new position after switching from the wing.

After a shaky start where he had an early kick charged down, Rees-Zammit settled down and produced one searing second-half break.

“He did well in his first start at 15 in a while for us,” said Tandy.

“In Test match rugby, there’s not much space but I thought he adapted with the aerial battles.

“He’s a big man and lit the game up in moments. It’s looking how we can get more of those moments.”

So maybe one thing for Welsh fans hold on to. There is currently not much more.

Jeremy Fears Jr. made history but didn’t make any new friends in Big Ten country Saturday. The Michigan State point guard etched himself in Spartan lore with a 26-point, 15-assist showing to help No. 10 MSU outlast No. 5 Illinois 85-82 in an overtime thriller.

For a program that has housed legendary point guards like Magic and Cleaves and Cassius and Valentine, it’s Fears who will stand alone as the first Michigan State player ever to notch multiple 15-dime games. 

He did it in the last two weeks.

The same 14-day span where Fears has turned into a legitimate All-American contender and one of college basketball’s biggest villains after numerous acts that span between reckless, shady and downright dirty. 

College basketball scores, winners and losers: North Carolina, Alabama rally to win rivalry games

David Cobb

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Fears attempted to trip Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg on Jan. 30 in a move that Wolverines coach Dusty May dubbed intentional. He kicked Minnesota’s Langston Reynolds in the groin in Michigan State’s 76-73 loss in a move that earned him a technical, a tongue-lashing from Tom Izzo and a warning that he might not even start against Illinois. 

But on gameday, Fears was back in the starting five and involved in another controversy. Fears drew 14 fouls, but it was a play that didn’t earn a whistle that had Illinois’ bench riled up. Fears appeared to trip Illini big man David Mirkovic on a runout in the open floor, but after review, it was not upgraded to a flagrant foul.

“There was nothing on the trip, they looked at it,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said in the postgame press conference. “It’s always going to be a judgmental thing. He stops. It’s what he does. But yeah, he was terrific. We didn’t do a very good job of squaring him up. He plays with great speed and pace. I was disappointed in the fact that we fouled him that much. He’s not a very good shooter, and we wanted him to have to shoot the ball in even if it was a layup. He’s crafty, he’s smart and did a nice job tonight.”

This saga feels far from over, but one thing is clear: Fears’ debt to his team has been repaid.

His actions against Minnesota objectively cost his team the game, but the Spartans don’t beat the big, bad Illini without him. 

“To be honest, it was kind of rough,” Fears told Fox in a postgame, on-court interview. “That’s not my character. That’s not who I am. I want to be able to help my team. I wasn’t able to help my team in the last few games. I wanted to help my team get the win today. No matter what.”

Fears scored 22 of his 26 after halftime, including a remarkable 11 points in overtime. Illinois battled brilliantly in the Breslin Center until the very last second, showing it has what it takes to be heard from in the chase for a Big Ten Championship and a Final Four, but it could not defend without fouling in the final moments. For Fears, drawing fouls is an art of sorts, even if it drives the opposition into a tizzy (or to another swig from the bottle). 

Fears told CBS Sports at Big Ten Media Days that he studies the rulebook intently, trying to understand and/or uncover any tricks of the trade that will get him to the free throw line. He shot 13 more free throws in Saturday’s victory, bringing his season total to a whopping 148. It’s the fifth time this season that Fears has double-digit attempts from the charity stripe, and no Big Ten player is drawing more fouls per 40 minutes than Fears (7.2), according to KenPom.com

“This team has confidence in each other; we’ve played bad, we got controversy, distractions,” Izzo said. “The best way to stick ahead is avoid dirtbags and distractions.”

Let the bobbing and weaving begin even more because the microscope on Fears isn’t going away.

Somewhere, in another life, Fears just toed the free-throw line yet again.

Cash.

Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez is one of the hardest-hitting operators in the lower weight divisions, but that status could soon be challenged by an unbeaten super-flyweight contender.

Most would consider Rodriguez a top five pound-for-pound star, having made a considerable impression on both the 112 and 115lb divisions.

The two-weight world champion comes off a 10th-round finish over Fernando Martinez – unifying the WBC, WBO and WBO super-flyweight titles in November – but has also claimed notable victories over the likes of Sunny Edwards and Juan Francisco Estrada.

One man who hopes to eventually defuse the explosive technician, meanwhile, is Jack Turner, who enters his 14th professional outing on the undercard of Nick Ball vs Brandon Figueroa this Saturday.

At 24 years of age, it is still very much early days, but the ferocious puncher has nonetheless told Boxing News that a future Rodriguez clash certainly piques his interest.

“Bam’s only young, but I’m still only a baby in the sport. When the time’s right, I’d love that fight.

“I wouldn’t be in the sport if I didn’t want to fight the best – I’ll fight anyone. But yeah, hopefully I’ll get that opportunity when the time’s right.

“He’s a great fighter, a brilliant fighter, and I love watching him. I like his style, and I like studying him.

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“Obviously, everyone has their good points – but everyone has their weaknesses as well.”

Turner’s most significant victories have come against Ryan Farrag, who was dealt a second-round stoppage defeat last year, and Nicolas Muguruza, a tough Argentinian who, after enjoying spells of success, was ultimately stopped in the sixth round of their encounter last August.

Clearly, the Liverpudlian carries fight-ending power which, he believes, is only becoming more decisive as his career progresses.

“Yeah, it’s getting better. Each time I fight, and in every camp, I feel like I’m hitting harder.

“It’s always good to carry that power and [the Muguruza performance] shows I can carry that power into later rounds. If you’ve got power then that’s what people want to see; they want to see knockouts.

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“I’m going to take care of all these super-flyweights and smash their heads in.”

The next man at risk of getting his head smashed in is Juan Carlos Urbina, who Turner will look to demolish at Liverpool’s Echo Arena.

Elsewhere on the Queensberry Promotions card, fellow Scouser Andrew Cain threatens to make an equally destructive statement against bantamweight visitor Alejandro Gonzalez.

This, like with Rodriguez, is a fight that could become more realistic in the next year or so, especially with Turner and Cain representing the Rotunda ABC and Everton Red Triangle – two of Liverpool’s flagship gyms – respectively.

“Obviously, we’re in two different weight classes. But, for sure, that could be a fight in the future.

“We’re two Scouse lads, so it would be a massive fight.”

While an all-Liverpool clash with Cain, and indeed a legacy-defining opportunity against ‘Bam’, represent mouth-watering matchups down the line, Turner must first take care of business and extend his unbeaten record on Saturday.

WWE star AJ Styles seemingly retired at the 2026 Royal Rumble. Veteran wrestling manager Jim Cornette is still confused over how the segment panned out during the show.

Styles faced off against Gunther in a singles match with his career on the line. He passed out as the Ring General caught him in a Sleeper Hold, forcing the ref to call the match in favor of Gunther. After the encounter, AJ removed his gloves, signifying his retirement, but quickly put them back on before exiting the ring.

During a recent episode of Jim Cornette’s Drive Thru, the veteran manager felt WWE was sending mixed signals with the whole retirement angle. Cornette was confused because AJ Styles almost left the gloves in the ring and then put the gloves back on, hinting that he was still not done.

“Well, I’m getting mixed signals sent to me. They gave him a big ovation after Gunther left the ring. Fans are singing for AJ and everything, and he makes a production out of taking his gloves off, and the fans are like, ‘No, no, no!’ But then he put his gloves back on. What does it mean? Did he lie? He left the ring, and then he came back and posed on a turnbuckle. He didn’t take his boots off. I guess the gloves were gonna be the boots. He took the gloves off, but then he put the gloves back on. Has he changed his mind? Is he gonna say, ‘I just don’t want to leave you now’? That would be kind of kabukish.”

Roman Reigns shared a message for AJ Styles

Tributes and heartwarming messages have poured in for AJ Styles after his retirement. Several WWE stars and veteran congrulated him on a successful career in the business.

The 2026 Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns also shared a message for Styles. The OTC said that he was a true team player and complimented AJ’s work ethic. He felt The Phenomenal One was a talented and disciplined superstar and one of his video game friends.

While using the quotes please credit Jim Cornette’s Drive Thru and add an H/T to Sportskeeda.