Rickie Fowler gave hope to the pack attempting to hunt down halfway leader Brian Harman on day three of the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
Fowler, who made the cut with nothing to spare on three over par, overcame miserable conditions in the early part of his round to card a bogey-free 67 and improve to one under par.
That score was soon matched by fellow American Patrick Cantlay, with Olympic champion Xander Schauffele also four under for the day after 12 holes as the players exploited a welcome calm, dry spell at Hoylake.
A stunning second round of 65 had given Harman a halfway total of 10 under par and made him the ninth player in the last 40 years to hold a 36-hole lead of five strokes or more in a major, with each of the previous eight going on to win.
Scottie Scheffler was the most recent to do so in last year’s Masters, while Louis Oosthuizen was the last to achieve the feat in the Open; the South African led by five at St Andrews in 2010 and won by seven.
However, nearest challenger Tommy Fleetwood was in no mood to give up the chase in front of his adoring fans, having recently produced rounds of 64 and 67 to force a play-off in the Canadian Open and winning the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge from four behind at halfway.
“I’ve put in chases before in the past,” Fleetwood said after a battling second round of 71.
“At the end of the day, if somebody said you’re going out in the last group on Saturday, I don’t care what the situation was or what anybody had shot, I’d have probably taken it.
“I can’t have asked for any more from anybody with all the support they’re giving me out here and everybody is talking about it.”
Harman and Fleetwood were due out in the final group at 3.30pm.
Georgia Stanway’s retaken first-half penalty was enough to earn England a nervy 1-0 victory over World Cup debutants Haiti in their Group D opener at Brisbane Stadium.
This was not the decisive victory most had predicted for the European champions and world’s number-four side against a team 49 places below them in the FIFA rankings.
Haiti came close to levelling more than once, including a late second-half chance denied at the last by Mary Earps’ outstretched foot.
While the Lionesses ultimately walked away with all three points, it was an underwhelming performance that will leave boss Sarina Wiegman with plenty of questions ahead of Thursday’s meeting with Denmark.
England fans were out in full force ahead of kick-off in the Queensland capital, where ‘Football’s Coming Home’ could be heard from a riverside rally and ex-Arsenal forward Ian Wright posed in a Lotte Wubben-Moy shirt beneath Story Bridge.
For so much of the build-up of this tournament, the conversation around the Lionesses centred on their ongoing dispute with the Football Association over bonus payments and other commercial issues.
On a clear Thursday night, England wanted their football to do the talking, yet it was Haiti who enjoyed the first spell of attack, winning an early corner before Chloe Kelly, the hero in last summer’s Euro 2022 final, tested Haiti goalkeeper Kerly Theus with a curled effort.
One of the biggest dilemmas for Wiegman ahead of this tournament was who she would entrust as her number nine and – for this opener at least – it was Alessia Russo who led the England attack and rolled an early effort at Theus.
England fans, who by the noise inside the stadium comprised the majority of those in attendance, felt their hearts leap to their throats when Roselord Borgella broke free and was one-on-one with Earps but rolled her effort past the far post.
The Lionesses thought they had won a least a penalty when Dayana Pierre-Louis clattered into Kelly on the byline and appeared to clip her knee with a stud, but the Haitian midfielder got away with just a yellow card after it was determined – following a lengthy VAR check – that Russo had committed a foul in the build-up.
Soon after that decision, however, Batcheba Louis was punished for a handball and Stanway stepped up to the spot.
Theus sparked a jubilant Haitian celebration when she saved Stanway’s first effort, but VAR again intervened and Venezuelan referee Emikar Calderas ruled the keeper had encroached and the penalty was retaken.
Stanway did not make the same mistake twice as she fired low into the left corner for what felt like an uneasy lead at the end of a stop-start first half.
Melchie Dumornay, the 19-year-old midfielder bound for Lyon after this tournament, forced Earps into a leaping save shortly after the restart before Russo was twice denied in quick succession.
Chelsea’s Lauren James made her World Cup debut after replacing Hemp, just ahead of another nervy moment for England when Dumornay found Haiti skipper Nerilia Mondesir in plenty of space before Jess Carter recovered the ball.
James tried to get something started by delivering a cross to Russo, who came close but saw her attempt tipped over the crossbar, before Bright skied an effort and Theus picked crosses from Alex Greenwood and James out of the air.
On came Rachel Daly for Russo in the 76th minute as Haiti pushed for an equaliser, which nearly came via Roseline Eloissaint but for the outstretched foot of Earps to deny the substitute from 18 yards out.
Carter’s well-timed challenge broke up another Haiti run into the Lionesses’ final third, with Earps able to punch away the resulting corner.
The chances came for the Lionesses to double their advantage but never the finishing touch as England finished with the result, but probably not the performance, they wanted.
Lewis Hamilton raised the prospect of springing a surprise pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix after finishing fastest in final practice.
The seven-time world champion ended the concluding one-hour running before qualifying at the Hungaroring 0.250 seconds clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Verstappen, who has won eight of the 10 rounds so far and six in succession, complained about the handling of his Red Bull.
“There is no f****** grip,” said the frustrated two-time world champion over the radio.
Sergio Perez took third spot in the other Red Bull, 0.263 sec adrift of Hamilton, with Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren driver Lando Norris fourth and fifth respectively. Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell finished sixth three tenths back.
Hamilton only finished 16th on Friday, describing his machine as “at its worst”. But the 38-year-old, who has won more times at the Hungaroring than anybody else and captured his first victory in Mercedes colours at this venue a decade ago, led the way on Saturday to suggest he might be a contender heading into the remainder of the weekend.
Elsewhere, Daniel Ricciardo, back on the grid as a replacement for Nyck De Vries, clocked the 18th quickest time. His new AlphaTauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was 20th and last.
Qualifying for Sunday’s 70-lap race starts at 4pm local time (3pm BST).
Jockey Chris Hayes is optimistic Tarawa can open her account for the season in the Romanised Minstrel Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday.
Impressive when winning her final juvenile start at Leopardstown, the daughter of Shamardal has so far failed to add to her tally as a three-year-old, but has been keeping good company.
Dermot Weld’s filly was second to Zarinsk in a Group Three on her reappearance before placing fourth behind top-class stablemate Tahiyra in the Irish 1,000 Guineas.
She was last seen going down by half a length to Bold Discovery in the Listed Celebration Stakes and Hayes is expecting another bold showing in this weekend’s seven-furlong Group Two.
“It was a good run in the Irish Guineas and we bumped into a tough colt on ground that was probably a shade too quick for us on (Irish) Derby weekend,” he said.
“She is fresh and well and she’s handled the cut in the ground, so I’d be very hopeful of a good run.”
Joseph O’Brien is mob-handed in the seven-furlong Group Two, with course and distance winner Honey Girl and the high-class Jumbly joined by stablemates Snapraeterea and Montesilvano.
The Ger Lyons-trained Power Under Me bids for successive Pattern race wins at the track after landing the Amethyst Stakes in May, while Ado McGuinness hopes to saddle Ballycorus Stakes runner-up Real Appeal, but will keep an eye on ground conditions.
McGuinness said: “We’ll be praying there isn’t too much rain as we’re a little concerned over ground. We’ve declared him, but if it got bottomless we mightn’t run.
“It’s a solid race and he would have his chance if he gets his conditions, so we’ll just have to see how much rain arrives.”
Cosmic Vega, meanwhile, represents the training team of Mick Halford and Tracey Collins after a short head victory in the Listed Owenstown Stud Stakes at Naas in May.
“It’s a step up in class, but conditions look like being in his favour and the trip is ideal for him,” said Halford.
“We’re hoping for a good run and if we’re in the first three we’d be delighted, it would be a great boost for the owner-breeders.
“The more rain the better for him.”
England’s push for victory on the penultimate day of the fourth Ashes Test was delayed by the forecast rain at Emirates Old Trafford.
There are growing fears the inclement weather in the north-west this weekend may not relent to give England a window to claim the six wickets they need for a series-levelling victory.
England have seized total control of this Test, with Australia needing 162 just to make the hosts bat again, after closing on 113 for four thanks to Mark Wood’s three-wicket burst on Friday evening.
However, overnight rain continued into Saturday morning and shelving a scheduled 11am start time, with England tweeting: “We’re going to be heavily delayed.”
History, if not the weather, was firmly on Brian Harman’s side as the American attempted to claim his first major title in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
A stunning second round of 65 meant Harman became the ninth player in the last 40 years to hold a 36-hole lead of five strokes or more in a major, with each of the previous eight going on to win.
Scottie Scheffler was the most recent to do so in last year’s Masters, while Louis Oosthuizen was the last to achieve the feat in the Open; the South African led by five at St Andrews in 2010 and won by seven.
However, nearest challenger Tommy Fleetwood was in no mood to give up the chase in front of his adoring fans, having recently produced rounds of 64 and 67 to force a play-off in the Canadian Open and winning the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge from four behind at halfway.
“I’ve put in chases before in the past,” Fleetwood said after a battling second round of 71.
“At the end of the day, if somebody said you’re going out in the last group on Saturday, I don’t care what the situation was or what anybody had shot, I’d have probably taken it.
“I can’t have asked for any more from anybody with all the support they’re giving me out here and everybody is talking about it.”
Harman and Fleetwood were not due out until 3.30pm in the final group, with play getting under way shortly before 9am in miserable conditions.
Persistent and occasionally heavy rain greeted the early starters, whose number included world number one Scheffler.
Scheffler made the cut on the mark of three over par thanks to a somewhat fortunate birdie on the 18th on Friday evening, but might have been cursing his luck after starting round three with bogeys on the second and fourth.
Novak Djokovic's status as the greatest of all time is unharmed despite his Wimbledon final defeat, says Marion Bartoli.
Djokovic's hopes of winning a fifth straight Wimbledon title and a joint-record eighth overall were ended by a superb performance from Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won in five sets to clinch a second grand slam despite only turning 20 in May.
Now 36, Djokovic has won 23 grand slams, more than any other male player, and though he missed the chance for a record-extending 24th at SW19 last weekend, Bartoli maintains his position as the greatest ever cannot be questioned.
"If you have three or four more grand slams than anyone else, how can you even start the conversation?" she told Stats Perform. "The conversation is over.
"You can sort of go into more details with the surface but overall, especially when you look at the head-to-head and we know that Novak is leading the head-to-head against Roger [Federer] and against Rafa [Nadal].
"We know he's leading on the weeks at number one in the world. We know he has won all the grand slams three times and even more. You know, we know all those numbers. So then, what else do you need?"
For all of Djokovic's success, he has not always proved the most popular of players, in stark contrast to his 'Big Three' rivals Federer and Nadal.
Bartoli does not feel this plays into the conversation of who is the best ever and believes Djokovic can continue to challenge for grand slams in the coming years despite his advanced age.
"If it's then how much you're liked by the crowd," Bartoli said. "That is something that is, you know, not a fact. That's purely an emotion, so you can't judge based on emotions.
"Even now, when you split the first three grand slams [of 2023] only with two players [Djokovic and Alcaraz], it's fair to say that the rest of the field is not quite at the same level as them, so Novak can sustain that level [at the top for longer]."
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are clearly ahead of the rest of the men's singles field, but Marion Bartoli believes both can be caught.
Alcaraz denied Djokovic a fifth straight Wimbledon title last weekend with a stunning five-set victory at SW19, to secure the 20-year-old Spaniard a second grand slam title.
As a pair, Alcaraz and Djokovic have now won the last five grand slams stretching back to last year's Wimbledon, and Bartoli feels they are far ahead of the chasing pack.
The former Wimbledon champion however suggests that gap could motivate others to work on their own game in order to catch up.
"Very much, when you look at the first three grand slams [of 2023], it's clear that there is Novak, Carlos and the rest and there is quite a gap between those two and the rest," she told Stats Perform.
"That's quite obvious with the results. That said, I think that's going to push them to sort of catch back just like Novak did with Roger [Federer] and Rafa [Nadal].
"With [them] having more Grand Slams than him and wanting to be part of the conversation, that just pushed him to elevate his level.
"I think it's going to be the case on the ATP. I don't think the guys are going to look at Carlos and Novak saying 'Oh my god, they're just untouchable, and we're going to lose to them'.
"I think they're going to really try hard. Especially I can see [Holger] Rune, I can see [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, I can see [Daniil] Medvedev, all those and [Jannik] Sinner, being very eager and very hungry to just go and chase.
"I'm sure they can actually push them to work harder on their game to come up with something even better. So I don't see it as a runaway completely and there is no opposition.
"I think maybe it's going to take a little bit of time before they reach that level, but I just don't think it's going to be that easy in a way for Novak and Carlos to just win everything without having a say from the other players."
Bartoli, who won at SW19 in 2013 before retiring in 2018, believes Alcaraz has taken the best qualities of the 'Big Three' of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer and feels he is one of those spearheading a new era in tennis.
"In the eras before, when you look at Pete Sampras, and all those players, it was one way to play and then if you would take that play away it was a lot more difficult for them," she explained.
"If you take Alcaraz for me, what is very interesting is he has almost the best of Novak, Roger and Rafa combined and that is new. I think it's very much sort of total tennis, when you feel there is just not one department that maybe is lacking a little bit.
"There is a lot of players from this or sort of the past generation that are not that complete, who are really going to suffer against those new kids like Alcaraz, Rune and Sinner who are coming in and just having nothing you feel that they could really do better.
"In that sense, I think that's going to be the new sort of tennis we will see for the next 10 to 20 years."
Republic of Ireland midfielder Denise O’Sullivan has reflected on an “unbelievable” first taste of World Cup football and admitted adrenaline meant she felt no pain during Thursday’s defeat to Australia.
O’Sullivan had been a doubt for their Group B opener after she suffered a soft tissue and bone bruise injury during last week’s warm-up match with Colombia that was cancelled after only 20 minutes.
North Carolina captain O’Sullivan was able to recover in time to play the whole match in front of a record crowd of 75,784 at Stadium Australia and she has talked up the vocal support of the Irish fans even before the narrow 1-0 loss.
“It was sore in the game, but the medical team done a few things to make sure I wasn’t in that much pain. I think honestly the adrenaline was so high I didn’t feel anything,” O’Sullivan told RTE after Ireland’s major tournament debut.
“It was unbelievable. I can’t even describe it. We were in the tunnel waiting to walk out and we could already hear the Irish fans.
“We were just all smiling and looking at each other. It was a moment I will never forget and then walking out.
“Even to do the warm-up, they started singing right away and that’s all you could hear in the stadium, Irish fans. We definitely have the best fans in the world. It was an unbelievable experience for our opening game.”
A 52nd-minute penalty from Australia’s stand-in captain Steph Catley consigned Ireland to an opening defeat, but there were plenty of positives for Vera Pauw’s side who play Olympic champions Canada next on Wednesday in Perth.
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Eighteen-year-old Abbie Larkin was a bright note for the Girls in Green and she has been backed to further shine.
O’Sullivan said of Larkin: “Honestly, no fear. She is a little gem. I have been saying it in training leading up to this game, she is a different player.
“She’s been excellent and coming into the game, it is a lot of pressure for an 18-year-old, your first World Cup game, but she took it in her stride. She came on and was absolutely fantastic so I am really happy for her.”
When O’Sullivan broke through as a teenager in 2011, the state of Irish football was markedly differently but the 29-year-old is delighted with their progress and to finally make her major tournament debut with so many long-serving team-mates.
She added: “It was tough back then. I don’t think we had many resources and facilities or investment as we do right now.
“I would have dreamed to be at a World Cup when I was 18-years-old but it just wasn’t possible back then.
“Always in the back of my mind I did have that belief that some day I would make it to a World Cup and I am just really grateful I am here with this group of players. Some of them I have been playing with for 10 plus years and it is great to be on this journey with them.”
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs and J.D. Martinez added three RBIs to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 11-5 win, ending the Texas Rangers’ six-game winning streak in a matchup of division leaders on Friday night.
Freeman, Will Smith and Martinez each had two hits and the NL West-leading Dodgers won for the ninth time in 11 games.
Los Angeles erased a 5-4 deficit by scoring seven runs over the final three innings, using three walks – one intentional to Freeman - a single and a wild pitch to push across two in the seventh.
Smith delivered a two-run double and Martinez singled home another run in the eighth, and Mookie Betts doubled home a pair in the ninth.
Rangers All-Star shortstop Corey Seager hit his 15th home run in the sixth inning against his former team to give Texas a 5-4 lead but left in the eighth after spraining his right thumb on a headfirst slide on a double.
Nathaniel Lowe also went deep for West-leading Texas, which had been the only team without a loss since the All-Star break.
Ohtani allows four home runs in win
Shohei Ohtani allowed four home runs for the first time in his career, but the Los Angeles Angels hit four homers of their own in their fourth straight win, 8-5 over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pirates rookie Henry Davis became the first player to take Ohtani deep twice and Jack Suwinski and Ji Man Choi also homered, but the Japanese superstar struck out nine and pitched into the seventh inning to rebound from losses in consecutive starts.
The Angles scored five times in the fourth and tacked on two more in the fifth.
After Ohtani led off the fourth with a walk, Mikey Moniak doubled and Taylor Ward walked in front of Mike Moustakas’ three-run homer. Two outs later, rookie Trey Cabbage connected for his first career home run.
Zach Neto and Ward homered in the fifth to extend the Angels’ lead to 8-4.
Tucker hits three home runs in Astros’ win
Kyle Tucker hit three home runs for the first time in his career and Alex Bregman also went deep to lead the Houston Astros to a 6-4 win over the Oakland Athletics.
Tucker homered off starter JP Sears in the first inning, hit a two-run shot off Sears in the fifth and had a solo blast off Tayler Scott in the seventh for his 17th of the season.
Framber Valdez allowed four runs and six hits over five innings to beat lowly Oakland for the third time this season.
The Astros have won nine straight meetings with the A’s.
Bradley Wiggins became the first British rider to win the Tour de France on this day in 2012.
Wiggins finished three minutes and 21 seconds ahead of compatriot and Team Sky colleague Chris Froome to be crowned champion in the 99th edition of the race.
The then 32-year-old was left on the verge of history following his impressive time-trial win on the penultimate day.
And there were no slip-ups during the 20th and final stage, where Wiggins helped another Team Sky rider Mark Cavendish to victory on the Champs-Elysees.
“I don’t know what to say, I’ve had 24 hours for it to soak in,” he said following his win.
“I’m still buzzing from the Champs-Elysees, the laps go so quick. I’ve got to get used to that (being in the spotlight), it’s going to take a while.
“I’m just trying to soak it all in. You never imagine it will happen to you but it’s amazing.”
Wiggins, who ended his career as a five-time Olympic gold medallist, had been favourite to win the previous year’s race, only to be sidelined after breaking his collarbone in a crash.
Following three weeks and 2,173 miles raced, wearing the yellow jersey for 13 consecutive stages, he came out on top ahead of Froome and third-placed Italian Vincenzo Nibali.
He was later named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Kenya-born Froome won four of the next five Tours, while Welshman Gerraint Thomas became the third British champion in 2018.
History was firmly on Brian Harman’s side as the American attempted to claim his first major title in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
A stunning second round of 65 meant Harman became the ninth player in the last 40 years to hold a 36-hole lead of five strokes or more in a major, with each of the previous eight going on to win.
World number one Scottie Scheffler was the most recent to do so in last year’s Masters, while Louis Oosthuizen was the last to achieve the feat in the Open; the South African led by five at St Andrews in 2010 and won by seven.
However, nearest challenger Tommy Fleetwood was in no mood to give up the chase in front of his adoring fans, having recently produced rounds of 64 and 67 to force a play-off in the Canadian Open and winning the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge from four behind at halfway.
“I’ve put in chases before in the past,” Fleetwood said after a battling second round of 71.
“At the end of the day, if somebody said you’re going out in the last group on Saturday, I don’t care what the situation was or what anybody had shot, I’d have probably taken it.
“I can’t have asked for any more from anybody with all the support they’re giving me out here and everybody is talking about it.”
Shot of the day
Not much beats a hole-in-one, achieved by Travis Smyth on the short 17th, but fellow Australian and defending champion Cameron Smith managed it with a stunning eagle on the 18th to make the cut with a shot to spare.
Round of the day
Brian Harman had some of his competitors wondering which course he was actually playing after carding four birdies and an eagle in a stunning 65.
Quote of the day
Harman when asked to expand on how he followed a missed cut in the Masters by killing a pig and a turkey on his Georgia farm.
Statistic of the day
Not a good omen for Fleetwood or his thousands of fans.
Easiest hole
The par-five fifth played as the easiest for the second day running, with two eagles and 62 birdies leading to a scoring average of 4.699.
Hardest hole
Fleetwood was one of just 10 players to birdie the 14th, with almost exactly a third of the field (53 players) making bogey and 12 carding a double-bogey six. That resulted in a scoring average of 4.462.
Weather forecast
Cloudy with outbreaks of light to moderate rain, with a chance of drier spells at times. Winds gusting up to 19mph. Heavier bursts of rain are possible overnight Saturday and into Sunday.
Key tee times
0855 Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler
1425 Rory McIlroy, Max Homa
1510 Jason Day, Shubhankar Sharma
1520 Min Woo Lee, Sepp Straka
1530 Tommy Fleetwood, Brian Harman
England will have their eyes on the skies as they attempt to dodge the rain and turn three dominant days into victory in the fourth Ashes Test.
The hosts need to win at Emirates Old Trafford to have any chance of reclaiming the urn and have done everything in their power to set up a winning position.
A thumping first-innings lead of 275, built around Zak Crawley’s 189 and an unbeaten 99 from the stranded Jonny Bairstow, gave them full control before Australia slipped to 113 for four.
With Mark Wood tearing in to claim three for 17 and a cushion of 162 runs, England would back themselves to get the game moving over the weekend but may find the weather forecast harder to defeat than the tourists. Long, heavy showers are expected on Saturday and Sunday and the pressure will be on to maximise any passages of play that are possible.
With six sessions on the table they will be hoping a fresh bowling attack has enough time, but Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood has already broken cover to admit he would be happy to watch the heavens open. Marnus Labuschagne remains in place on 44 not out, with in-form all-rounder Mitch Marsh at the start of his innings.
England pile into toiling Australia
Crawley laid the foundations for England, who added 208 to their overnight score which took them to a formidable 592, with fifties for Ben Stokes, Harry Brook and Bairstow. This was England’s highest total in a home Test since August 2011, their best score in the Ashes since January 2011 at Sydney and the first time they have gone past 500 on their own shores against Australia since August 1985.
Tweet of the day
All eyes will be on the skies this weekend – and the view of the BBC lead weather presenter does not augur well.
Quote of the dayJonny 99
Bairstow was left high and dry, one short of a 13th Test ton, after number 11 batter James Anderson was trapped leg-before by Cameron Green. The previous delivery, Bairstow had turned down a risky return run which would have taken him to three figures. This was Bairstow’s second 99 at this ground – although on that occasion against South Africa six years ago Anderson was blameless as the Yorkshireman was lbw missing a sweep off Keshav Maharaj.
Pat down
An analysis of 23-0-129-1 makes for grim reading for the Australia captain, who doubtless would not have been consoled by claiming the wicket of his opposite number Ben Stokes. Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting wondered aloud on Sky Sports whether Cummins was “starting to get a bit mentally and physically worn out”, having played in and captained the side in the World Test Championship final and four Ashes matches inside the last seven weeks. His partners in crime Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc hardly fared any better as the trio leaked a barely believable 392 between them from 75 overs.
Duck-ing the trend
Chris Woakes, whose priceless 32 not out got England over the line in the Headingley run-chase, nicked off from his first ball to collect England’s first duck of the series. In the last Ashes in 2021-22, there were 17 scoreless dismissals. Woakes’ fortunes improved with the ball in hand as he snared David Warner for the second time in the match courtesy of an inside edge on to his stumps.
Century Mark
Wood snaring the valuable wicket of Steve Smith for a second time in the match, after Australia’s vaunted number four was given the hurry up by a steeply rising bouncer, was Wood’s 100th Test wicket. It has taken Wood 30 matches and eight years to reach the milestone. Interestingly, the identity of his first Test wicket was a certain Brendon McCullum – now England head coach – at Lord’s in May 2015.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is convinced Thomas Partey will remain at the Emirates, despite the arrival of England star Declan Rice.
The Ghanaian midfielder has been linked with a move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, but Arteta said he remains a key part of his plans.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s pre-season clash with Manchester United in New Jersey, Arteta said: “Without a question of a doubt, Thomas Partey is a super important player for us and for me. I want him to be in the team.
“Every time I spoke to him and every time I have a conversation with him, his will is to stay with us. For me, there’s nothing there at all.”
He said the arrival of Rice does not mean any lessening of Partey’s role.
“They can play together and that was in my plans,” he said. “You want to improve the squad and have more quality.
“We need players who can play together but we need players in the same position who can fight for their places.
“It’s something we haven’t had over the last few years and we wanted to improve that and that’s why we bought Declan.”
Arsenal finished second behind Manchester City in the Premier League last season, having topped the table for much of the campaign – an experience Arteta believes will help his players as they look to make the next step.
“I think what happened last year probably was necessary to learn the lessons you have to learn get better and be more successful and achieve what we want to achieve,” he said. “It’s part of that road and that journey.
“The level is going to go up. Teams are getting better and the league is getting stronger, it is only going to get harder.
“We have to be better. We have to play better and we have to do things better than we did last year. That’s what we are working on at the moment.”
Olexsandr Zinchenko, who made a huge impression in his first season after switching from Manchester City, is convinced they can make that step.
He said: “I said a lot of times in the past, I have the feeling and, the smell I would say, that Arsenal’s time is coming.
“Unfortunately last season we didn’t achieve what we wanted but it was a lot of good lessons for us during the season and, for sure, it will help us during the next one. I’m full of confidence so let’s see what’s going to happen.”
The Ukrainian international has had to deal with plenty off the pitch after the Russian invasion of his country and urged people to keep on supporting their fight.
He said: “I know some people have got fatigue from this war but we cannot give up.
“All of us we need to fight for our freedom, our independence.
“Today it is Ukraine, tomorrow it could be your country. That’s why we need to stick together and fight until the end.
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