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Arsenal are keeping tabs on a Real Madrid star who is set to depart the Spanish capital before the February transfer deadline.

Having fallen painfully short of any major silverware in recent years under Mikel Arteta, the 2025/26 season feels especially important for the Gunners. At the half-way point of the campaign, the North London side have a four-point advantage over Manchester City as they sit atop the Premier League.

Arsenal, who have not won the English top flight in over two decades, will no doubt be desperate to once again lift the biggest domestic honour available to them. Arteta has, over the years, built a squad that, in terms of quality in depth, is by far the best in England, something that has helped the club compete on all fronts this season.

Despite being the best team in the country at this moment based on their league position, Arsenal are looking to bolster their ranks this winter, adding some bodies to further cement their push for glory at the season’s end.

Recent reports have indicated that the club could be set to make a seismic addition to their forward line in the coming weeks.

Rodrygo seeks Madrid exit as Arsenal circle

According to Sport, as per Sport Witness, winger Rodrygo is “determined to leave” Real Madrid in the near future and Arsenal, along with Man City, are the “most likely destinations”.

A Madrid player since 2019, Rodrygo has grown unhappy under the tenure of Xabi Alonso having started just five league matches out of 18, and there is now “no going back” as he is already hiring new agents to force an exit.

Rodrygo, who earns £280,000 per week at the Bernabeu, is being pursued by a number of Premier League teams, with England appearing to be the most feasible destination for him. Arsenal are one such club and reportedly made “informal contact” with Madrid in September about a potential deal for the Brazilian.

Get Arsenal transfer coverage – subscribe to the newsletter Subscribe to the newsletter for focused Arsenal transfer analysis, including the Rodrygo rumours, how potential additions fit Arteta’s plans, and what such signings could mean for the club’s Premier League aspirations.

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Without doubt, Rodrygo would be a superstar signing for Arsenal, a player who could integrate immediately into the first team and bring with him an added level of quality to help the Gunners push themselves over the line this season. Whether or not a price can be agreed in the winter transfer window, however, remains to be seen.

Related Man City now favourites to sign £75m+ attacking star alongside Semenyo

He’s already working on an exit.

Posts ByTom Cunningham

New Zealand allrounder Doug Bracewell has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Bracewell, 35, last featured for New Zealand in a Test match in 2023.A persistent rib injury, which has kept him out of action for Central Districts this season, has contributed to Bracewell’s decision.Bracewell played 28 Tests, 21 ODIs and 20 T20Is between 2011 and 2023. The highlight of his career came in just his third Test match, in Hobart in December 2011, when he took match figures of 9 for 60 to lead New Zealand to their first Test win in Australia in 26 years; it remains their last Test win in the country. In all, Bracewell’s bustling fast-medium brought him 74 wickets in 28 Test matches at an average of 38.82. He also took 46 wickets across his white-ball appearances for New Zealand.Bracewell led New Zealand to one of their most memorable Test wins with his 9 for 60 in Hobart in 2011•Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

“It’s been a proud part of my life, and something I aspired to as a young cricketer,” Bracewell said in a Central Districts statement. “I will always be grateful for the opportunities I have had through cricket, and the chance to play for my country, as well as for Central Districts, throughout my domestic career. It’s a privilege to play first-class and international cricket, and I’m grateful to have played and enjoyed the game for as long as I have.”Bracewell comes from one of New Zealand’s foremost cricketing families. His father Brendon and uncle John both played Test cricket, with John also enjoying multiple stints as New Zealand coach, while uncles Douglas and Mark also played first-class cricket. Bracewell played two ODIs and a Test alongside his cousin Michael, who will captain New Zealand in the ODIs on the tour of India next month, as well as an Under-19 World Cup in 2010.Apart from domestic cricket for Central Districts, Bracewell played for Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) in IPL 2012, Joburg Super Kings at SA20 2024, and Central Stags in the Global Super League earlier this year.Bracewell retires with the rare distinction of having scored over 4000 runs and taken more than 400 wickets in first-class cricket in New Zealand; offspinner Jeetan Patel another player to have achieved this double. In his 137-match first-class career, Bracewell took 437 wickets at 31.08 and scored 4505 runs at 25.45 including three hundreds.

Naved Latif lifted National Bank of Pakistan’s (NBP) spirits and helped them reach a creditable 256 for 6 by close on the opening day of their first-round replay against Sialkot at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Monday.Put in to bat, NBP lost opener Nasir Jamshed (13) early but a 63-run second-wicket partnership briefly lifted them before a flurry of wickets – three for 26 – pegged them back again. Fawad Alam then played a rescue act with Latif as they carried NBP towards the 200-mark before Alam was cleaned up by Nayyer Abbas for a 46-ball 33. At this juncture, Latif and Mansoor Amjad, NBP’s captain, joined hands in an unbroken 75 run-partnership for the seventh wicket that took NBP to close.Most batsmen contributed well as Rashid Riaz’s 48 came off 124 balls with six fours, Naumanullah, already the highest scorer in the tournament, took his tally to 945 with his 34 off 58 balls. Latif’s unbeaten 62 at close had come off 112 balls as Mohammad Ali, who finished with three wickets for 69 runs, took his tournament tally to 40 wickets.The first-round tie between these teams in October was abandoned after unplayable conditions at Jinnah Stadium.The 11th and final round of the Championship begins with three Group A matches from Wednesday in addition to five Group B matches. Habib Bank Limited (HBL) are on top of the Group A table with 66 points and a win against Karachi Whites in their final round encounter will take them into the final.NBP need to win both their last two matches and gain the full 18 points. At the same time, they would be hoping that HBL are beaten by Karachi Whites. Group B leaders Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) have already qualified for the final, which will be played from January 1, 2008.

‘To come out and put in a performance like this was a tribute to the whole squad’ © Getty Images

Rahul Dravid and Brian Lara wore distinctly different expressions at the end of India’s 3-1 series win at Baroda. Lara, usually eloquent and warm, seemed hurried and just about ready to leave as soon as he arrived. Dravid, normally cagey and defensive, was relaxed and cracking jokes. But both sang from the same hymn sheet when asked about Sachin Tendulkar’s innings.”We were not unduly worried about Sachin. Maybe everyone else can stop worrying now so we can have a bit of peace around. But what will we discuss then?” said Dravid, eliciting laughter from the press corps. “It was a great innings. Sachin showed why he is a great player, why he can play in different conditions, why he can adapt. Not many people in the world can do this. If you have players who can do this sort of thing, you’re going to win a lot of games, no doubt about it. Sachin’s innings was truly special and one of the best I’ve seen from him.” Lara was no different. “Another very good innings. We all know what he’s capable of. I am not surprised, maybe you are,” he said. “He’s capable of producing innings like that every now and then.”But from there on, there was little similarity in what the two captains had to say. Lara acknowledged that his team had been comprehensively outplayed on the day. “It was complete domination but I wouldn’t say it was a lack of fight from West Indies,” he said. “I thought the Indians just played much better. They deserve the win. Their performance was outstanding with the bat and in the field as well.”Lara also stood by his decision to put India in, explaining it by saying, “There was nothing wrong with the decision to field. It was the same decision as the one in Madras [Chennai]. There was nothing very different about this pitch. We gave away too many runs and when it was our turn lost too many wickets. India batted pretty well and things didn’t work out for us in the first half. After they had a good foundation the likes of Dhoni and Tendulkar could accelerate in the end. We started poorly and didn’t put the ball in the right areas. Uthappa got India off to a flier, scoring at 6-7 an over and this meant that there was no pressure on the guys who came after.”Dravid was just happy with the way the series had ended. “It’s a really good way to win the series. It was a must-win game for us, to win the series,” he said. “We were under a bit of pressure. That’s good. We’re going to play some pressure games that are must-win in the future. To come out and put in a performance like this was a tribute to the whole squad.”

Promising signs: Both Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan came good in their own different ways © Getty Images

When asked if any players would be rested in the forthcoming matches against Sri Lanka, Dravid said, “Now we’re coming to a stage where we have to pick our squad and play our best fifteen with an eye to the World Cup. Who plays in specific games depends on the conditions.”Before the start of this match there was plenty of interest in how Irfan Pathan would fare in his comeback. Seven overs for 43 runs was not exactly ideal, but Dravid was comfortable with the start that had been made. “I thought Pathan bowled quite well. He bowled in some good areas,” said Dravid. “When he pitched it right he created a few problems for the batsmen. He has to get some more international bowling under his belt before we can make any judgments but the start was a good one.”Dravid was also happy with the way Yuvraj Singh was finding his feet on return from injury, and the manner in which he fielded. “He was exceptional, wasn’t he? That’s exactly what we wanted to see,” said Dravid. “One of the goals in playing Yuvraj – who feels fit and fine – was to see this. What he needed was the confidence in a match to do the things he knows he can do and has done in the past. Under pressure of a game when a catch is there your instincts take over. He was brilliant.”

Rahul Dravid could be partnering Virender Sehwag again © Getty Images

Rahul Dravid has hinted that he will open the batting, despite terming it a short-term option, and emphasised the importance of starting well in the second Test at Faisalabad. He added that the bowlers needed to wake up to the challenge of bowling on placid tracks, lowering the bar and trying different strategies.”We already have two specialist openers available,” he said when asked if India were considering using Sourav Ganguly as an opener. “My individual success and the good partnership with Sehwag has given us some short-term options. Instead of looking at it as a difficult situation, I would like to take it as a positive. It has given us the opportunity to try a few things out. We will review it on an ongoing basis, when we go on other tours, when the pitches and the conditions are different. But we are not looking at Sourav opening as an option at this moment.”Approaching the series as a two-Test rubber, Dravid reiterated that every session from now on would be critical, and hoped for some moments of brilliance from his side. “Every hour, every session is very important now,” he continued. “With less sessions and less Tests left, you can’t afford to make many mistakes. Looking at it the other way, it also gives us the opportunity of having a couple of good sessions. A couple of sessions of brilliance from the team can put you in good positions.”Gauging the surface, Dravid termed it as being “slightly different” to Lahore. “It looks a good wicket, good for batting,” he confirmed, “and as the game progresses, maybe it will play a little up and down, helping the bowlers. Crucially, we have to play good cricket on it for five days. Let’s give it a chance, let’s see how it pans out. We are focussing on playing good cricket, and I am sure the curator has done his best in the time he has got.”When confronted with a flat track, he felt the bowlers needed to approach it as a challenge rather than curse their luck. “You throw out a challenge to them,” he noted. “In difficult conditions, it will be unrealistic to expect them to run through the opposition. But you tell them to look to keep the runs down. It’s as challenging for the bowlers to bowl on flat tracks as it is for batsmen to play in a green top or a seaming pitch. Just like a 40 on a green top can be criticial, a couple of wickets at a crucial time can be decisive. In such conditions, you have to lower the bar. Most of the bowlers are experienced, they enjoy the challenges, and they can gain and learn from the experience that will help them in better conditions.”Barring Sachin Tendulkar, none of the current squad has played at Faisalabad before but Dravid revealed that knowledge of the previous Tests provided them with indications of what to expect. “We look at a lot of numbers as part of the build-up,” he added, “and that can give you an indication of how games have gone here. But you can’t form definitive judgements based on those numbers alone, because the kind of wickets and conditions can vary dramatically. You don’t have the same wickets this month as you had the previous month, so you can’t really read too much into what happened five years back.”

AB de Villiers: set to ‘play his own game’© Getty Images

"The great, green, greasy Limpopo river …" Celebrated in Rudyard Kipling’s Just So stories as the place where the elephant got its trunk*, and situated on the Zimbabwean border in the northernmost reaches of South Africa, it is not the most likely of places to spawn a Test cricketer – let alone two in a single match. But all that is set to change tomorrow morning, when AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn are expected to make their Test debuts.There has been no standing on ceremony where these two players are concerned: neither of them has yet completed a full season of first-class cricket, but already their selection belies Kevin Pietersen’s assertion that there is no future for young white talent in the South African set-up. Steyn has just seven matches under his belt, including a nine-wicket haul against the Warriors at Buffalo Park in East London, while de Villiers has but one century to his name which, happily enough, was scored in the very week he was selected for the national squad. As wild cards go, they seem precisely the type of hungry young carnivores who should thrive under Ray Jennings’s raw-meat-eating regime.Are they green? Most certainly. Greased? Well, in Steyn’s case, his brief dalliances with the speed-gun have recorded a none-too-sluggish delivery of 147.7kph, while de Villiers’s penchant for belting the leather off a cricket ball has resulted in some lightning-quick performances in the Standard Bank Cup. And as for "great", only time will tell, but at the ages of 21 and 20 respectively, they clearly have plenty of that on their side – de Villiers especially, who has a useful little sideline as a wicketkeeper.As befits an opening batsman, albeit a strokemaking one, de Villiers is the more cautious of the pair. He watches all questions carefully onto the bat, and meets the more testing ones with a confident assertion that he will "play his own game", whatever that game may be. But he can certainly play his strokes with dismissive disdain as well. Steve Harmison, surely a daunting prospect for any debutant, is driven straight back down the ground as "just another bowler", while Test cricket itself seems no big deal either – "bigger crowds, a bit more professional, that’s it really."

Dale Steyn: ‘I’m ready to play on any track’© Getty Images

Steyn, by contrast, has a more up-and-at-`em attitude, and plays his cricket in a style not dissimilar to a young Allan Donald, with speed through the air and late movement his trademarks. Though he has been given licence to crank up his pace at Port Elizabeth, he seems mildly disappointed that the St George’s Park pitch is unlikely to favour an out-and-out attack. "You need to bowl a fuller length down there," he concedes, "so if they want me to ping a few guys on the head I might struggle. But I’ll be up for it I promise you."Steyn has an interesting admission that belies his surname, and is sure to make readers of Die Beeld wince – he speaks no Afrikaans. "I do try …" he insists, but explains that his parents were British Rhodesians and so there was never any cause to take up the language. Already, however, his ignorance has stood him in good stead at the crease. Faced with a gutful of vitriol from Nantie Hayward, his fiery forebear in the South African team, Steyn could do nothing but shrug: "I couldn’t understand what he was on about!"They may hail from the same province, and play for the same franchise, the Gauteng-based Titans, but there was little overlap between the pair as they worked their way towards national recognition. de Villiers’s home of Belabela is a good 500km from Steyn’s stomping ground in Phalaborwa, and by the age of six he had already moved to Pretoria, where his sports-mad family gave him little option but to pursue a career in cricket.de Villiers continued his sporting education in Ireland last summer, where he played club cricket for Carrick and laid waste to records left, right and centre. Steyn, by contrast, took a much less focussed route to recognition, and it was only once he’d left school that he realised he wanted a career in the game. "They play a bit up there [in Limpopo], but no-one takes the clubs too seriously. It’s up to you want you want to do. It’s your life."Though he was mentioned in dispatches for the tour to India, Steyn was wisely left at home for that trip, for the subcontinent is no place for a young fast bowler. But he won’t exactly be on familiar territory at Port Elizabeth either – he’s never yet played at the ground. Not that he’s fazed, of course. "I’m ready to play on any track," he says. "Just to be there at all is a bonus."(* courtesy of a tenacious crocodile)

Hampshire sunk to a two day defeat against bottom club Derbyshire in the Frizzell County Championship at The Rose Bowl. Dominic Cork’s side outplayed Hampshire at both batting and bowling in what was a disapointing display by the home side.Derbyshire’s last four wickets added a further 155 runs to their first innings overnight tally, as Nathan Dumelow led the charge with a run a ball career best 75. Dumelow hit 13 fours and a six and was aided by some loose bowling and poor fielding including two apparently straightforward catches being dropped.Dimitri Mascarenhas was the pick of the Hampshire bowlers as he toiled in the heat in an attempt to stem the tide. Chaminda Vaas in his first Championship match took 4 wickets. James Bruce proved expensive, but he was the unlucky bowler to see chances go astray as butterfingers seem to rule.With a lead of 198, Derbyshire soon got amongst the Hampshire batting, four wickets fell for 24 runs, with Cork again being the main protaganist. John Crawley came in with a runner and held up the visitors progress for a while, but only Simon Katich held his end in resolute fashion.Chris Tremlett hit three fours and a six in a bright 30 to take Hampshire past 150, but the inevitable happened shortly after tea.

Dakin- Essex bound Photo CricInfo

Former Leicestershire player Jonathan Dakin has become the latest player to join Essex as part of the Club’s rebuilding programme in their quest to regain their mantle as one of the country’s leading counties.Born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, the 28-year-old all-rounder made his debut for his former county in 1993 and was a regular member of both their championship and one-day squads.Standing 6’6″ tall, he is a powerful left-handed batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler with a highest score of 190 against Northamptonshire in the championship. Last season, he topped the Leicestershire first-class bowling averages with 16 wickets at 26 runs apiece in his seven matches.Chief Executive David East said: “Jonathan is currently playing in Tasmania and is delighted at the prospect of joining us. We all believe that he can play a full part in taking the county into Division 1 of both league competitions, as he is a proven performer at that level. We expect him to prove a shrewd capture.”

Could Alastair Cook pull out the reverse sweep during the Test series against Pakistan? For one of England’s most orthodox batsmen, and an increasingly rare link back to the traditional form of Test batting, it would appear an unlikely prospect. But the importance of England not becoming bogged down by Pakistan’s spinners has been pinpointed by Paul Farbrace, the assistant coach, as a key route to success this winterCook is one of three left-handers likely to be part of England’s top seven at the start of the series. His opening partner is set to be Moeen Ali, while Ben Stokes will bat at No. 6. They are going to be facing two spinners, legspinner Yasir Shah and left-armer Zulfiqar Babar, turning the ball into them with fields that are likely to stifle their leg-side scoring options.England had an early taste of such a tactic during their opening warm-up match when, on occasions, the Pakistan A spinners – the two who bowled the most, Zafar Gohar and Mohammad Ashgar, were left-armers – had a seven-two leg-side field.England have previously been criticised for their obsession with the conventional sweep in Test cricket, instead of hitting straight down the ground, and Farbrace said that playing straight should be the preferred option in the first innings. However, he believes that all variations of the sweep could have a key part to play, especially deeper into the Test matches.”Second innings, the sweep is going to be a huge part of the game,” Farbrace said. “Even [in the first warm-up], we saw to the left-handers with a seven-two leg-side field bowling into the stumps, it might be that the left-handers have to learn to reverse to get the ball into the offside, just to manoeuvre the field.”People talk about ‘you’ve got to play straight’ but all you’re looking to do with the reverse sweep is play it once or twice to manoeuvre the field. What the best batsmen do against spin is manoeuvre the field to where they want the fielders to be to create gaps to knock the ball into. That’s something you have to do. On slow pitches, you have constantly to be rotating the strike and getting the ball into gaps.”The biggest danger, Farbrace says, is when a batsman becomes stuck at the single end, giving a spinner the time to work him over. After the warm-up match Mark Wood conceded how England will have to play a different game compared to their expansive Ashes cricket, but it must not go from bash to block.The 2007 vintage of Alastair Cook attempts a rare reverse sweep•Getty Images

“The bowler builds pressure, fielders around the bat, and eventually you bat-pad one and you get out,” Farbrace said. “The key for our batters is, one, to adapt to the conditions very quickly and have the options to play the sweep, reverse sweep, whatever it might be. Even hitting over the top, down the ground, all of our batsmen have got to have that option within their game as well.”England’s 3-0 whitewash against Pakistan in 2012 will be a regular reference point, but since then they have drawn in Sri Lanka and won in India so their record in subcontinental conditions – which the UAE can be bracketed as – is not as bad as some would make out.In two of the victories – Colombo and Mumbai – the now absent Kevin Pietersen was to the fore making 158 and 186 with astonishing strokeplay, including the switch hit, and quick footwork that did not allow the spinners to dominate.However, Cook was also immense, making 94 against Sri Lanka and three centuries in India. He played to his strengths, working off his pads, playing square into the off side and picking off anything that was dropped short. So the odds of Cook moving away from his method are slim. The first innings of the recent Ashes series was also instructive when he tried to attack Nathan Lyon early on and edged a cut. His is the long game. For anything more extravagant from the lefties, you probably need to look to Stokes.But not over-hitting has been a key message from short-term consultant Mahela Jayawardene who is working with England until the end of the first Test. The outfield in Sharjah for the first warm-up match was slow, reducing value for shots, but England’s batsmen are being told not to get frustrated.”Rather than trying to hit the ball harder because the ball is not getting to you as easily as it might do at home, the key is to let the ball come a bit more, hitting more under your nose, actually looking to bunt the ball into gaps,” Farbrace said. “If you see a long hop, the natural reaction is to pull it as hard as you can…[Jayawardene] is talking about letting the ball come, hitting it as late as you can, guide it into gaps. You’re only going to get one [run] anyway.”We saw people whacking the ball hard still only getting ones. Rather than whacking it and nicking behind, just guide the ball. They are the very simple things that he’s talked about. And it is simple. There’s nothing rocket science about what he’s talked about. He’s just offered some of his thoughts.”How many of those thoughts England’s batsmen implement, only time will tell.

Mashrafe Mortaza will carry extra responsibility on New Zealand’s seam-friendly pitches © TigerCricket.com

New Zealand will want to iron out their top-order batting woes when they host Bangladesh in Test and ODI series over the next four weeks. The lack of a steady opening Test pair has been a problem that dates back to the early 1990s for New Zealand, and the lack of a consistent combination at the top seems to have now infiltrated the one-day game. The recent tour of South Africa was another disappointing one for New Zealand, and their poor starts were probably the biggest cause for concern.There were high hopes that the selectors had found a viable opening combination for the Tests in Craig Cumming and Michael Papps. Cumming showed some form – before having plates inserted into his face after being hit by Dale Steyn in the second Test – but the opening stands in the two matches were 16, 12, 26 and 4. This was largely due to Michael Papps, who had a record-breaking domestic season in 2006-07 but was unable to cope with the pace of the South African attack. His failure to reach double figures in the Tests gives the selectors a major headache. Do they persevere with him or bring in yet another opener? Jamie How had a great one-day series at No. 3 in South Africa, and is used to opening. On the other hand the Wellington captain, Matthew Bell, has scored a huge number of domestic runs already this season and has international experience, having appeared in 13 Tests between 1998 and 2001. Whatever the selectors decide, it is important to find a combination and stick with it, as England will provide tougher competition when they arrive in February.The one-day opening problem has emerged in the wake of the retirements of Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle, and Lou Vincent and Brendon McCullum have been used since then. In South Africa, the first wicket contributed 12, 9 and 7, but despite the poor return McCullum seems to be maturing in the position; in the Chappell-Hadlee Series he opened with 96. However, having two dashers at the top carries the risk of exposing the middle order too early.Even if New Zealand can’t sort out these issues, they are still favoured to beat their next opponents. Bangladesh’s World Cup victory over India was seen as a turning point for them, but they haven’t come close to repeating that performance in any form of the game since.Bangladesh come to New Zealand after a disastrous tour of Sri Lanka, where they were defeated by more than an innings in all three Tests, and failed to win an ODI. The tour opens with a one-day match against Northern Districts in Hamilton on the 16th, and the ODI series will be held between Christmas and New Year. Dunedin’s University Oval, which has come in for criticism after a first-class match was completed inside two days there, will host the first Test from January 4 before the series is completed in Wellington.One major concern for the new coach Jamie Siddons, who was appointed in October, is that the team was dismissed within 50 overs in each match, and it is something he is working on. “If you can stay at the crease long enough, then you’ll score a lot of runs, whether it is one-day cricket or five-day cricket,” he told tigercricket.com. “So we’re going to practise not getting out; we’re going to practise still being aggressive cricketers, innovative cricketers, and along the way we’ll win some games.”It is in the limited-overs formats that Bangladesh will offer the most resistance, although Mohammad Ashraful’s side is relatively inexperienced. “For the one-day series, it’s a very young side, very inexperienced, but full of enthusiasm,” Ashraful told NZPA. “That can go a long way to winning games.”Despite the inexperience of their opponents, New Zealand will remember Bangladesh’s defeat of India, which helped seal a spot in the World Cup Super Eights. However, things in New Zealand are different to the Caribbean and Bangladesh will have to adapt to the conditions to be competitive. They will not be able to rely as much on their spinners, and a great deal of responsibility will be placed on the pace spearhead, Mashrafe Mortaza. Tutored by the West Indian Andy Roberts, Mortaza has played 25 Tests, taking 59 wickets. He has to build on this record during the two Tests in this series. He has 91 wickets at 29.70 in 69 ODIs, with a respectable economy-rate of 4.6, and will be crucial as Bangladesh try to exploit the weaknesses of New Zealand’s shaky top order.