Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis hands off during the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 27, 2024, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, operating the offense in a tightly contested matchup that ended with a last-second field goal as Green Bay secured a 30-27 road victory. Mandatory Credit: Corey Perrine-Florida Times-Union.
The Minnesota Vikings’ rumor mill has run rampant since the club fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah three weeks ago, with buzz ranging from quarterbacks, free agency, and cap casualties. This week’s rumor focuses on Malik Willis, Nakobe Dean, and Jalen Nailor’s value.
Three Vikings rumors to track: Willis as a QB competition play, Dean as a blitz-fit target, and Nailor’s market climbing fast.
Free agency is about two weeks away, and answers on all things rumors should arrive fast and furious.
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The Purple Rumor Mill with Free Agency 15 Days Away
Vikings rumors for Sunday, February 22nd, 2026.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis takes off on a designed run during the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 27, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, accelerating through the open field as defenders close in during a late-season interconference matchup. Mandatory Credit: Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images.
Rumor: SI.com has endorsed Malik Willis as the Vikings’ next quarterback.
Gilberto Manzano of SI.com theorized the main offseason move for each NFC North team, and on Minnesota, he circled a Malik Willis signing as the big swing.
He explained, “Sign QB Malik Willis. It might be tough for them to splurge for Love’s backup, perhaps making Willis available at the start of free agency. Coach Kevin O’Connell can’t hand McCarthy the starting job again unless he proves it by beating out real competition in training camp.”
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“Willis, a 2022 third-round pick, showed vast improvement in the games he appeared last season for Green Bay and his determination to make the most of his latest opportunity after how poorly it went for him in Tennessee could bring out the best in McCarthy in a fierce summer battle. It was a small sample size, but Willis completed 85.7% of his passes in four games last year.”
A Willis addition would formalize a true summer showdown between J.J. McCarthy and Willis.
Manzano continued, “For comparison, McCarthy struggled by completing only 57.6% of his passes in 10 starts. Willis could have other options and maybe an easier path to a starting job, but not many teams can offer a wide receiver as good as Justin Jefferson.”
“The Vikings have no reason to commit to McCarthy’s first-round status after the team fired GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. There’s no more time to waste in Minnesota after the disastrous quarterback results in 2025.”
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Willis is the Vikings’ most straightforward quarterback solution this offseason because they don’t have to trade anything to get him. They can just … sign him. Therefore, he is in play.
Rumor: Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean is a free-agent fit for Minnesota.
In ESPN’s Matt Bowen’s rundown of the league’s Top 50 free agents, Minnesota surfaced only once — as the premier landing spot for Nakobe Dean. That’s a pretty specific endorsement.
Bowen opined, “Best team fit: Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings have cap issues heading into free agency, but I really like the fit for Dean in coordinator Brian Flores’ defense. Dean, who had four sacks with the Eagles in 2025, is the league’s best blitzing linebacker, and he would join a system that led the NFL in blitz rate at 46.8%.”
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For roster construction, the appeal is obvious. Dean’s downhill burst and timing mesh naturally with Flores’s modus operandi. The financials appear mostly manageable as well. Dean’s projected market hovers around $8 million annually, which could translate to a three-year deal in the $24 million range — a number that interim general manager Rob Brzezinski could structure creatively.
Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean pursues the play during the second half against the Houston Texans on Nov. 3, 2022, at NRG Stadium in Houston, reading the backfield and flowing downhill in a Thursday night matchup. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports.
It all boils down to whether the Vikings are comfortable with re-signing Eric Wilson to partner with Blake Cashman in 2026 — or if they want more youth. Dean is the youth.
Rumor: Jalen Nailor’s next contract will pay him $12 per season.
This week, Nailor’s free-agent valuation has raised eyebrows. Daniel Popper of The Athletic ranked Nailor No. 29 overall in his free agency rankings, ahead of established players like Rashid Shaheed, Romeo Doubs, Aaron Rodgers, and Keenan Allen.
He wrote about Nailor at No. 29, “Contract projection: 3 years, $36 million. Nailor’s production does not jump off the screen. The 2022 sixth-round pick had a career-high 444 receiving yards in 2025. But Nailor was playing behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, and he dealt with poor quarterback play last season.”
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“More importantly, the tape shows a player who is ready to take a big jump in the right environment. Nailor has the spatial awareness to weave through zones and find soft spots. He was predominantly a slot player in Minnesota but has inside-outside flexibility. He flashes late hands to prevent defensive backs from turning and locating the ball.”
Nailor’s on-field performance reflects his statistical profile. He consistently created separation, even when facing tight coverage. Comfortable in the slot, Nailor also demonstrated excellent timing with J.J. McCarthy, often appearing to be McCarthy’s go-to receiver when plays broke down. It’s just that he’s never tallied over 500 receiving yards in a season.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jalen Nailor lines up against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sep. 14, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, preparing for the snap during a primetime road contest. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports.
Popper added, “Nailor is not a burner, but he can push vertically out of the slot on fades, wheels and corners. He is a compact ball carrier who is capable after the catch, and he is also a quality run blocker for his size.”
“Nailor can get bogged down at the line of scrimmage against bigger, more physical corners. He is not a household name right now, but he could be in the future.”
If Popper has Nailor’s price tag correct at $12 million, the Vikings likely cannot afford him.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about what next for the team in their Premier League title race with Arsenal
22:36, 14 Mar 2026Updated 22:37, 14 Mar 2026
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Pep Guardiola insisted his Manchester City team will fight Arsenal with everything they have left in the race for the Premier League title. The Blues dropped points for the second successive match with a 1-1 draw leaving them nine points off top spot with a game in hand.
Arsenal had left it late to beat Everton on Saturday night and broke the deadlock as City were going through their final preparations at West Ham. Bernardo Silva gave City the lead in the capital but some poor defending allowed the home team to level with a corner and Guardiola’s side were unable to get back in front.
City’s manager had suggested on Friday that the race would be over if they did not win at West Ham, but had a new reality after the draw at the London Stadium. As jubilant as Arsenal will be at another excellent day for them, they will go to bed knowing City will not roll over.
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“No. It’s not over. Because we didn’t lose. No, it’s not over. We continue,” Guardiola told TNT Sports. “We have an incredible team, spirit, we fought after an incredible amount of effort in Madrid with the result. How we played the first half with the shape, more control for the quality of players and about the energy in the second half with incredibly talented players. The last two games with Nottingham Forest we played much better, we are an incredible team. We played so good and until the end we continue.
Asked at the end of his interview if the title race was still on, he said: “Now we rest and I don’t know how many days off I will give and prepare Madrid and I ask to our people these guys deserve it. Nine points is a lot against Arsenal but we have a game in hand, we have the game at home (against Arsenal), we have to try it until the end. When it is not possible we congratulate the champion.”
Guardiola was left to rue another display where City hadn’t made the most of the chances they had created while letting in a goal from a rare defensive lapses. The manager thinks a lack of goals has cost them – especially in the second half of the season – as he reeled off a handful of games where they have been punished despite being the better team.
“We didn’t score enough goals when we had the quality to score and they scored and punished us,” he said. “We always had the ability to score a lot of goals – I don’t know how many times we scored five goals in 10 years – and this season we had chances: Sunderland, Brighton at home, Chelsea at home, today, Nottingham Forest.
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“Except two games, Arsenal away and United away, we didn’t deserve anything. The rest, we deserved better but we didn’t score enough goals. That punished us this season.”
Josh Emmett and Kevin Vallejos square off in a bout between rising stars in the featherweight division. Main card action starts at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+.
Ireland U20s play Scotland at Virgin Media Park in Cork on Sunday, with a 3.15pm kick-off.
The game will be broadcast live on RTÉ 2.
With three consecutive victories this spring, Ireland are bidding to finish their Championship on a high against the Scots.
Head Coach Andrew Browne has named an unchanged backline from last weekend’s victory over Wales.
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Noah Byrne, Derry Moloney and Daniel Ryan continue in Ireland’s back three.
James O’Leary and Rob Carney are the centres, with scrum-half Christopher Barrett once again partnering out-half Tom Wood in the half-backs.
In the pack, Max Doyle, Duinn Maguire and captain Sami Bishti are in the front row. Joe Finn and Donnacha McGuire are named in the engine room. Josh Neill continues at blindside flanker, Ben Blaney is named at openside and Diarmaid O’Connell completes the Ireland starting team at number eight.
On the Ireland U20 bench, Lee Fitzpatrick, Christian Foley, Luke Murtagh, Dylan McNeice, Billy Hayes, James O’Dwyer, Charlie O’Shea and Johnny O’Sullivan are the replacements named.
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Ireland U20s Team
15. Noah Byrne, 14. Derry Moloney, 13. Rob Carney, 12. James O’Leary, 11. Daniel Ryan, 10. Tom Wood, 9. Christopher Barrett.
1. Max Doyle, 2. Duinn Maguire, 3. Sami Bishti (captain), 4. Joe Finn, 5. Donnacha McGuire, 6. Josh Neill, 7. Ben Blaney, 8. Diarmaid O’Connell.
Ireland U20s Replacements
16. Lee Fitzpatrick, 17. Christian Foley, 18. Luke Murtagh, 19. Dylan McNeice, 20. Billy Hayes, 21. James O’Dwyer, 22. Charlie O’Shea, 23. Johnny O’Sullivan.
Speaking to FightHype, former multi-weight ruler Roy Jones Jr backed Haney quite clearly, though did warn of Romero’s ‘abnormal’ power, making a rare comparison to British enigma ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed.
“Rolly’s only chance is if he can get lucky and hit Haney, which I doubt he can do. I think Haney beats him, but Rolly does have a puncher’s chance. What people fail to realise is Rolly is not your everyday, average boxer, but he has abnormal punching power. He hits anybody, he can knock them out. He’s like Prince Naseem, just not quite as skillful as Prince Naseem. Same kind of punching power, though.
“His boxing IQ ain’t the best, that’s why they underestimate him, but his punching power is beyond best. It’s abnormal … It makes it kind of balance out.”
Romero’s confidence will be boosted by the fact that when Haney faced Garcia, he was dropped three times and suffered a points loss on the night. However, the result was later overturned to a no contest after Garcia tested positive for a banned substance.
The winner of this match-up, should Bill Haney’s assurance come good, sets up a rematch with Garcia, who won the WBC belt from Mario Barrios last month.
Saturday night brings a top-half clash in Liga MX as Cruz Azul and Pumas UNAM will meet. As their midfield has gotten settled, Cruz Azul have risen close to the top of Liga MX alongside steady performances, winning seven consecutive matches in all competitions since drawing against Toluca in February. With only seven matchdays remaining in the Clausura portion of the season, the race for playoff seeding will begin, and this is a match where that battle takes center stage.
How to watch Pumas vs. Cruz Azul, odds
Date: Saturday, March 14 | Time: 11:10 p.m.
Location: Estadio Olímpico Universitario — Mexico City, Mexico
With Pedro Vite and Adalberto Carrasquilla and Pumas facing off with Agustin Palavecino and Cruz Azul, this match is going to be a showcase of midfield power. Any ball that’s played to the wrong place will immediately head the other way and turn into a chance, but when you have a maestro like this in midfield, it’s easy to see why Cruz Azul are leading the league right now.
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Palavecino does everything well on the attacking end and is able to ensure that Cruz keep ticking over. With his skill, he’ll be impossible to mark out of the game, but Pumas will need to find a way. Teams like Cruz Azul are the sides that they’ll need to push by to show that they’re actual contenders. The team are improving, but to take the next step, they have to defeat the top of the table sides, and there’s no better chance than hosting them at home.
The rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese got some new fuels Friday.
A clip is making the rounds of Clark ignoring Reese’s gesture for a high-five during a game for the FIBA World Cup qualifiers. As Reese held her hand out for her Team USA teammate, Clark walked in the other direction.
Reese taunted Clark by pointing to her ring finger during the game, prompting outrage and sparking an ongoing feud between fans.
Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes got revenge on Reese’s LSU Tigers a year later in the Elite Eight, but the tension hit a whole new level when the players reached the pros for their rookie WNBA seasons.
LSU’s Angel Reese, right, reacts in front of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark during the second half of the NCAA national championship April 2, 2023, in Dallas.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
In their first WNBA season in 2024, Clark took a series of questionable fouls from Reese’s Sky throughout the 2024 season, including one from Reese June 16.
In 2025, the two had a heated exchange after Reese pushed Fever forward Natasha Howard in the back as she grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss by teammate Rebecca Allen. Reese brought the ball low, and Clark fouled her before she went up for a shot. Reese fell to the ground.
Reese got up from the floor and got into the face of Clark.
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Referees reviewed the play and determined Clark used her left hand to shove Reese to the floor. They upgraded the personal foul on Clark to a flagrant foul. And Reese and Aliyah Boston of the Fever were issued technical fouls.
Angel Reese (5) of the Chicago Sky and Caitlin Clark (22) of the Indiana Fever during the second half June 23, 2024, at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.(Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“Nothing malicious about it, just a good take foul,” Clark told ESPN’s Holly Rowe.
Now, the two stars are teammates for the U.S. as they try to make the FIBA World Cup, but fans can probably still sense an awkward dynamic between them.
Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
Manchester City were unable to match Arsenal’s home win against Everton in the Premier League title race
Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham in the Premier League, denting their title hopes after Arsenal’s earlier 2-0 win over Everton. Bernardo Silva scored the opening goal for the visitors but that was later cancelled out by Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Prior to City’s game, Arsenal had the chance to extend their lead over City to 10 points and did so courtesy of the late strikes from double substitutes Viktor Gyokeres and Max Dowman. However, City’s game at the London Stadium was one of City’s two games in hand over the Gunners.
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The other fixture is a rescheduled match against Crystal Palace.
With nine points now separating the sides, the Manchester Evening News has taken a look at City’s upcoming fixtures and how they compare to those of their title rivals, Arsenal.
Manchester City’s next six fixtures in all competitions
April 7 – Potential Champions League quarter-final first leg
Bournemouth (H) – April 11 – Premier League
April 14 – Potential Champions League quarter-final second leg.
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Up next for the Citizens is the second leg of their round‑of‑16 tie against Real Madrid, where Pep Guardiola’s side trail 3-0 and need to turn the result around to keep their Champions League hopes alive.
The goal gave Connor his eighth 30-goal campaign, passing Ilya Kovalchuk for the most in Jets/Thrashers franchise history.
Alex Iafallo and Cole Perfetti, with an empty-netter, also scored for the Jets (27-28-10), who rebounded from back-to-back regulation losses to salvage a critical two points in their pursuit of a playoff spot. Mark Scheifele picked up two assists, including his 51st to set a new personal single-season record for helpers.
Connor Hellebuyck lost his shutout bid late in the third but put forth a solid 28-save performance for the win.
Martin Necas broke the shutout at 18:44 of the third period with his 31st goal for the Avalanche (44-12-9), who saw their season-high six-game road winning streak snapped. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar assisted on the play.
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Mackenzie Blackwood made 15 saves in the loss for the Avalanche.
Avalanche defenceman Brent Burns played in his 990th consecutive NHL game, surpassing Keith Yandle for the second-longest Iron Man streak in league history. Phil Kessel has the longest streak, at 1,064 consecutive games.
Jets: Winnipeg moved back into the win column to salvage a shot at a playoff spot, backed by a strong defensive effort against an Avalanche attack that entered the day leading the NHL with 3.80 goals per game.
Avalanche: Necas extended his goal streak to three games. He has now found the back of the net in each of Colorado’s last six road games.
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Connor broke a scoreless deadlock at 2:05 of the second period, firing home his 30th goal of the year to ignite the Winnipeg offence and set a new franchise benchmark.
Connor has reached the 30-goal mark in every season of his nine-year NHL career except for the 56-game COVID-19 shortened campaign.
Jets: Host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.
Avalanche: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday.
India women’s hockey team (Photo by @TheHockeyIndia)
NEW DELHI: India’s women’s hockey team finished runners-up in the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers after losing 0–2 to England on Saturday. Despite the defeat, India still secured qualification for this year’s Women’s Hockey World Cup. England, ranked sixth in the world, showed their quality by scoring once in the first quarter and again in the third.India actually started the match strongly and created an early opportunity when Navneet Kaur won a penalty corner within the first two minutes. However, the attempt was saved by the England goalkeeper. The Indian side continued to push forward in the opening half and managed several circle penetrations, but they were unable to seriously trouble the opposition goalkeeper.England gradually settled into the game and took the lead in the 13th minute through Grace Balsdon, who successfully converted a penalty corner with a drag-flick. India kept trying to break through the English defence, but England stayed disciplined and organised at the back, maintaining their one-goal lead going into halftime.With the advantage, England controlled possession in the second half and dictated the pace of the match. Their second goal came in the 43rd minute when Elizabeth Neal struck from open play. Her shot took a deflection off an Indian defender before going past goalkeeper Bichu Devi, doubling England’s lead.India kept attacking in the final quarter and even earned a late penalty corner, but they were unable to convert it. England remained confident and avoided sitting back defensively, preventing India from mounting a comeback.Along with champion England and runner-up India, Scotland also qualified for the World Cup after defeating Italy 1–0. The upcoming Women’s Hockey World Cup will be jointly hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium from August 14 to 30 alongside the men’s tournament.
The kind of moment you already know will be looked back on, maybe in the title race, almost certainly in the burgeoning career of one of the brightest talents in world football. You don’t even have to say “remember the name”. Max Dowman is everywhere, just as he was in a 22-minute appearance that also made him the youngest scorer in Premier League history.
That such a talent is the name on a stat like that feels both fitting and also the least of what this was about.
Because this really isn’t about the numbers, astounding as Dowman’s mere 16 years and 73 days are, given his ability. It was about the feeling that you could certainly sense around a rapturous – and relieved – Arsenal stadium after this late 2-0 win over Everton.
A beaming Mikel Arteta later admitted that he’d had “a gut feeling that it was a moment for him” after watching Dowman in training this week. And just before the teenager went on, the manager’s very message reflected that feeling.
“Go and do your thing and win us the game.”
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Dowman streaks upfield to score Arsenal’s second goal (AFP via Getty Images)
The moment – and the release – was all the more special because of how testing and trying everything before it had been.
Just before Dowman offered the incisiveness that Arsenal had been lacking, there was a piece of play that had seemed to sum up everything that was wrong with them; that would have been pointed to had they only drawn 0-0.
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David Raya had the ball at his feet on 88 minutes, but couldn’t seem to even see a pass. The goalkeeper had to play it sideways, which Arsenal had been doing so much of for those 88 deeply frustrating minutes. There was a strain to everything they were doing. They weren’t high enough or urgent enough. You could see the desire to get this done, but that was actually a bad thing. It was resulting in hurried long shots that were dragged wide, or even impatient pushes where players were giving away needless free kicks as they tried to do anything to just get play further up the pitch.
More than anything, Arsenal just couldn’t get beyond Everton.
Eberechi Eze was persistent, and offered two brilliant passes in behind, but something was always missing. Or, rather, there was always an Everton body right there.
Arteta admitted he was “pushing with every inch of my body to go to that goal, and somehow we score a goal”.
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Max Dowman celebrates after scoring Arsenal’s second goal (Getty Images)
David Moyes had marshalled his side too well, and they were successfully reducing everything to physical duels. This was also despite James Tarkowski surprisingly missing, with the manager twice saying “nothing to add” on that afterwards. It left some intrigue, but his players were clearly up for a battle. This was a proper fight.
You wouldn’t usually describe such a situation as the opportune moment for a child to come in, but it was exactly that.
Almost immediately, Dowman was properly winning the ball, nicking it off Everton players, but also then going past them. Crucially, he was also cutting inside. Arsenal were actually making inroads for the first time since the game’s early stages.
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Arteta admitted as much afterwards.
“It’s not only the goal that he scored. I think he changed the game. Every time he got the ball, he made things happen. It looked like we were more of a threat. To do that at that age, in this context, with this pressure, it is just not normal.”
Arsenal did need something out of the ordinary. And, on 89 minutes, Dowman offered the kind of cross that the team had been missing. It was a delivery that brought indecision to the Everton defence for the first time.
Jordan Pickford, who has recently been producing his own save of the season competition, came for the cross. It was his first mistake. Piero Hincapie was left to square for Viktor Gyokeres to just tap in.
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Such an easy finish after such difficulty in getting there. It almost felt surreal.
What it meant in reality could be seen and heard in the celebrations, even Arteta was leaping with joy.
Viktor Gyokeres put Arsenal ahead in the 89th minute (Andrew Matthews/PA)
As bad as Arsenal had been, that can have a transformative effect.
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“Then you turn around and you see the bench and those eyes just with that happiness, that joy that you’re almost not believing what has just happened,” Arteta said.
Not long afterwards, Dowman got to live his own dream.
With Arsenal really digging in – Piero Hincapie celebrating an abrasive late challenge that might have risked a penalty – Everton claimed a corner. Pickford this time hurried up to the other end… only to allow that opening.
With Arsenal desperately trying to get the ball away, it eventually landed with Dowman. Unlike his teammates, though, the teenager didn’t just look to get it away. Nor did he rush it and go for the shot, in the way many players would. He instead showed the composure and quality to get around Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and just keep going, dribbling from his own half to score in Everton’s box.
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“Nothing seems to faze him,” Arteta said.
The anticipation was building.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, left, says ‘gut feeling’ made him bring on Max Dowman (Andrew Mat)
“You could sense that he was – ooh – building up, building up,” Arteta smiled. “And there’s no goalie there, it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. It was incredible. It was so loud, so energetic.
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“What a moment.”
As regards what next for Dowman, there was already talk of a World Cup, and starting the game on Tuesday.
“Calma!” Arteta laughed.
That will be hard for anyone at Arsenal to do after this.
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Dowman, however, looks like he’s going to keep going. This was where he really started, and it might yet prove defining for Arsenal in the title race.
