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Arsenal are not planning to cancel their sleeve sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda, despite a UK Supreme Court ruling on deportations to the country.

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• Arsenal have Visit Rwanda on their sleeve
• Gunners not planning to cancel that sponsorship
• UK court rules plan to deport refugees is unlawful

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The UK Supreme Court ruled this week that the Conservative Party's plan to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda is "unlawful".

  Lord Robert Reed, the president of the court, said Rwanda has a "poor human rights record" but there is not expected to be any change to Arsenal's agreement with the country, per .

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Visit Rwanda first appeared on Arsenal shirts in 2018, but the deal was reupped in 2021 and is worth £10m ($12.5m) per year to the Gunners. The club claims the agreement is about promoting potential tourism, as opposed to supporting the country's leadership, or any of their politics.

  The Rwandan government has been accused of multiple human rights abuses and Visit Rwanda is a governmental division.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Arsenal are not the only club to have an agreement with Visit Rwanda. Both Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich have also entered into sponsorship deals with the organisation.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

  The Gunners return to action following the international break on November 25 against Brentford. They will then be in Champions League action against French club Lens.

Chelsea's new starboy Cole Palmer has explained his altercation with Erling Haaland after he tried to earwig a Manchester City team chat.

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• Palmer starred and scored in 4-4 thriller
• Tried to earwig City's free-kick chat
• Claims Haaland "found it pretty funny"

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The City academy graduate came up against his former club on Sunday, showing them the player they let go with a stellar display capped off with an ice-cold stoppage time penalty to make it 4-4. Palmer was heavily involved in the action all match, and almost scored another from an Eden Hazard-esque individual run. He also attempted to wind up his former team-mates, as he tried to earwig City's late team huddle.

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• WHAT PALMER SAID

  Palmer has since lifted the lid on that incident, which saw Erling Haaland push him away roughly, as he told reporters on Wednesday: "No I didn't hear anything [from the team chat], I was just having a laugh to be honest! I think Erling found it pretty funny, I don't think the others did."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Palmer's jokey actions will only have endeared himself even more to the Chelsea faithful, after his impressive start to life in west London has already made him a fan favourite at Stamford Bridge. It also saw him earn a call up to the England senior squad from the Under-21s set-up – a decision which he revealed he thought was a joke.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Palmer has been involved in eight goal contributions in 11 matches for Chelsea this season. He tops the club's assists rankings with four to his name, alongside midfielder Conor Gallagher.

Anwar El-Ghazi has come under fire from some Aston Villa fans for his performance in the first half of their Premier League meeting with Newcastle United.

Villa were looking to get off the mark for the new season after falling to a 3-2 defeat away to newly-promoted Watford on the opening day.

El-Ghazi started on the left-hand side of the Villa frontline, with summer signing Leon Bailey sidelined after picking up a minor hamstring injury in training.

Two new arrivals completed the attacking trio, Danny Ings lining-up through the middle and Emiliano Buendia starting on the right-hand side.

El-Ghazi’s first-half performance in numbers

He touched the ball only 11 times over the 45 minutes – fewer than the home side’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez (13).

The Dutchman completed only five passes, lost possession three times and was also caught offside once.

It was a quiet first half for the hosts generally, with Newcastle goalkeeper Freddie Woodman largely a spectator as he watched four attempts fly off target.

Villa fans tear into El-Ghazi

“JJ Ramsey the only one trying here. Buendia and El Ghazi (especially) ghosting this game”

Credit: @Villa4life1990

“Hi @ASRomaEN you still interested in el ghazi?”

Credit: @AVFC_Aston

“El Ghazi is such a championship winger. His production is so average”

Credit: @chrishutton7

“El Ghazi, kills the attack everytime”

Credit: @JordAVFCx

“El ghazi starting has really done my head in”

Credit: @Jasonmoss1995

“Same old El Ghazi, not a brain cell in sight”

Credit: @JaskiMat

In other news, a journalist has predicted this man will leave on loan.

Romeo Lavia’s debut for Chelsea continues to be pushed back, with reports suggesting that it may be December before he makes his bow.

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• Belgian teenager acquired for big money
• Yet to make a competitive appearance
• Recovering from ligament damage

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The highly-rated midfielder was acquired by the Blues from Southampton in the summer transfer window in a £58 million ($71m) deal. Chelsea have high hopes for the 19-year-old Belgian, but they are yet to see him in action.

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  Lavia is currently nursing an ankle injury picked up in training, with the talented teenager suffering ligament damage. No risks are being taken on his fitness, in a bid to avoid any further setbacks, and the claims that could force his debut back into December.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  There remains a chance that he will be ready for action in late November, with the youngster able to walk again without the aid of a protective boot. He has been doing light rehab work in the pool at Chelsea’s training ground, but he is still some way off rejoining the rest of the first-team squad.

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  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Mauricio Pochettino has been unable to put a timescale on Lavia’s recovery, with all concerned continuing to play a frustrating waiting game. Chelsea – who have made a slow start to the 2023-24 campaign – will be back in Premier League action on Saturday when taking in a derby date with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

Weston McKennie started once again as Juventus settled for a 0-0 draw at Atalanta, with their struggles upfront clear for all to see once again.

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• McKennie starts for Juve
• Weah comes off bench
• One more match before international break

Neither team could create much of anything in Sunday's match, one which saw one American, McKennie, in the XI, while another, Tim Weah, replaced him in the game's final moments. McKennie continues to start ahead of Weah after initially coming off the bench earlier in the season.

With the draw, Juventus sit fourth in Serie A, four points behind league-leaders Inter, while Atalanta sit one point behind them in fifth.

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The two teams combined for what was a largely dull game, with neither side ever really getting too much going in the attack.

  Of the two, Atalanta was the more dangerous side, creating a few decent chances. Both teams were missing key attacking parts, as Juventus were without Dusan Vlahovic and Arkadiusz Milik while Atalanta played without Gianluca Scamacca in their attack.

  Still, both teams will have felt they had the attacks to get something out of this game. Instead, they were forced to split the points and move on as they look to the final Serie A match before the international break next weekend.

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  McKennie continued his run of games starting at right wing-back as he's apparently jumped in front of Weah on Juve's depth chart. The USMNT midfielder has started five consecutive games in that position after initially seeing Weah emerge.

  McKennie has largely done well in that wing-back spot, showing off the energy and tenacity that have made him such a good midfielder for the USMNT. While the role does limit his skillset as a late runner in attack, he has been plenty involved in the buildup for Juve during this stretch.

  Still, it's hard not to wonder what Juve would look like with Weah out wide as the winger-turned-wing-back would offer a more dynamic attacking presence. It's also hard not to wonder what McKennie could do to get back into the midfield picture as he's been crowded out of Juve's trio in the middle of the park so far this season.

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  USMNT IMPACT

  No one at U.S. Soccer will be pushing the panic button on Weah yet. Life at a top club is filled with ebbs and flows. Unfortunately for Weah, things are a bit slower at the moment.

  That'll change down the line, for sure. There will be moments where Juve need his attacking presence, even if they haven't in these few games to start this season.

  On a USMNT level, Weah looked good during the last camp, scoring in the opening game against Uzbekistan. He's not totally untouchable in the USMNT squad, but he's pretty safe, so, as long as he keeps performing in camp, no one will be too worried.

  As for McKennie, it's good to see him getting consistent minutes, especially as the U.S. prepare for another camp without Tyler Adams, who has suffered another hamstring injury to rob the U.S. of their captain and starting No. 6.

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  GOAL'S RATINGS

  Weston McKennie (7/10):

  Another solid performance from McKennie, who was among Juve's better performers in a very, very dull game. Showed initiative getting forward and had plenty of energy to defend. A decent day.

  Tim Weah (N/A):

  Was tossed into the game with just a few minutes left as Juve chased a win.

Adama Traore’s name has been discussed in plenty of circles by Wolves supporters this summer.

One of those who initially deemed to be expendable, he could have left Molineux behind long before the Premier League’s opening weekend.

Wolves have found spending limited over recent months and with the Old Gold needing to rake in some more cash, it appeared as though he was going to be allowed to leave.

Instead, Traore has stayed in the Midlands and won’t leave unless a meteoric bid is submitted for his services. The longer the window goes on, however, the less feasible that becomes.

As Bruno Lage slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Leicester in his first competitive match in charge, his barnstorming winger positively and negatively stole the show.

Raul Jimenez was making his first league outing since that dreaded clash of heads with David Luiz last November but it wasn’t the Mexican making the headlines on Saturday; it was Traore.

This was the most classic example of a performance you’ll find from the 25-year-old. He ran the Leicester defence ragged but after doing all of the hard work, ultimately faltered.

Traore missed Wolves’ biggest chance of the game, going free on goal but then rolling an effort past the post when one-on-one with Kasper Schmeichel.

It was a moment in the game that proved decisive. If they scored then Lage would have been walking away with a point from his opening Midlands derby.

The manager wasn’t pleased with that moment and took his Spanish forward to task at full-time; “Adama has his abilities but he needs to improve other things for sure, the shooting. If he scores those chances it wouldn’t be at Wolves, it would be in a top team. We will work together to improve that skill,” he remarked.

That said, Traore’s all-around play was crucial in the match. He was a driving force and enabled Wolves to play further up the pitch in the offensive half.

The former Barcelona man is known for his dribbling and in this match, he recorded incredibly high numbers. He produced 11 successful take-ons during the 90 minutes and used his immense physical powers to reign supreme in battles with the defenders.

Dubbed “magnificent” for his display by Tim Spiers, the £46k-per-week speedster took part in a whopping 22 defensive battles too, winning an impressive 16 of them.

It’s evident that Traore is one of the most exciting players in the division but Lage is correct; in order for him to steal the show from a positive point of view more often, he must improve his end product.

AND in other news, “I understand” – Liam Keen issues Wolves transfer update that should leave fans aghast…

Virgil van Dijk was shown a straight red card for Liverpool at Newcastle moments after a costly error from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

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• Reds endured nightmare start at St James' Park
• Full-back gifted hosts opening goal
• Dutch defender then sent for an early bath

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Dutch defender was sent for an early bath after catching Alexander Isak with a reckless challenge from behind. He claimed to have got a toe on the ball, but a VAR review supported the original on-field decision and Van Dijk was forced to depart.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Liverpool were already a goal down by the time that Van Dijk suffered his defensive rush of blood, with Jurgen Klopp seeing his side stumble out of the blocks at St James’ Park. Alexander-Arnold was fortunate to escape an early red card after being booked for throwing the ball away moments before dragging Antony Gordon to the turf.

• AND WHAT’S MORE

  Things did not get any better for Alexander-Arnold as it was his mistake that gifted Newcastle the lead. He is usually so assured in possession, but his touch deserted him at the worst possible time and Gordon was allowed to race through and put the home side in front.

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• WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Van Dijk will now have to serve a ban, ruling him out of important Premier League fixtures, while Klopp needs to find a way of cutting out the mistakes that continue to cost the Reds dear. A home date with Aston Villa next weekend will take them into the September international break.

The Gunners have not been afraid to spend big in the transfer market in recent years

There was a period of time following Arsenal’s move from Highbury to Emirates Stadium where money was tight and Arsene Wenger was forced to count the pennies.

That all changed, however, when Mesut Ozil sensationally arrived from Real Madrid in 2013 for a club-record £42.5 million ($51m).

Since then, the Gunners have not held back in the transfer market and have gone on to break the club’s transfer record on a further three occasions in an attempt to compete with Europe’s elite.

Here, GOAL takes a look at the top 15 most expensive signings in Arsenal history.

Arsenal top 15 most expensive transfers

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  Fabio Vieira | £30m | Porto | 2022

  A signing that came completely out of the blue.

  Few had even heard of Fabio Vieira when it suddenly emerged that Arsenal were bringing him in from Porto ahead of the 2022-23 season.

  The playmaker arrived with exciting pedigree, however, having established himself as a key player for the Portuguese giants as they won the 2021-22 title.

  And manager Mikel Arteta was quick to hail his new arrival: “I am very excited that we have identified and signed such a special talent.

  “Fabio is a very creative player that will bring high quality and versatility to our attacking play.”

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  Martin Odegaard | £30m | Real Madrid | 2021

  The Norway international had already enjoyed a fine loan spell with the Gunners before his move from Real Madrid was made permanent in the summer of 2021.

  As expected, Odegaard slotted in seamlessly after his return to north London and is often the heartbeat of Arsenal’s attack, pulling the strings behinds the forward line.

  A price tag of just £30m ($36m) always looked like a bargain and that’s how it’s proved, with the playmaker quickly becoming one of Arsenal’s most important players.

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  Alexis Sanchez | £30m | Barcelona | 2014

  Things may not have ended well between Alexis Sanchez and Arsenal, but the Chile international was a sensation during his first couple of years in north London.

  Signed from Barcelona after the 2014 World Cup, Sanchez was an instant hit with the Gunners and at £30m he was worth every penny.

  When he left four years later to join Manchester United with just six months remaining on his contract, Arsenal landed Henrikh Mkhitaryan in return.

  It’s safe to say things didn’t really work out for either player at their new clubs.

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  Granit Xhaka | £35m | Borussia Monchengladbach | 2016

  Love him or loathe him, Granit Xhaka has certainly given Arsenal longevity following his £35m ($42m) move from Germany in 2016.

  The Switzerland international has made more than 250 appearances for the Gunners and has won the FA Cup twice.

  He was even made club captain by Unai Emery in 2019, only for that honour to be cut short after his ugly spat on-field with Arsenal fans.

  Many will argue about how much value for money Xhaka has given the club over the years, but one thing that can’t be questioned is his ability to bounce back from seemingly irreversible situations.

Celtic have made an approach for former Chelsea striker Diego Costa, according to French football website Homme du Match. 

And, as to be expected, a number of Hoops supporters have been giving their thoughts to the links on social media.

Homme du Match claim that both Celtic and Crystal Palace have approached the Spanish forward, who is still a free agent after having his Atletico Madrid contract terminated last December.

Costa, who will turn 33 in October, is sponsored by Adidas, as are Celtic following a five-year agreement last March.

The striker has been on more than £150,000-a-week since 2015, so from the outside looking in, a move appears to be an ambitious one, especially with the Hoops’ top earner on just £20,000-a-week.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-10/” title=”Celtic updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Celtic fans react

Homme du Match posted the news on Twitter on Friday evening. Plenty of Celtic fans were quick to reply to the post, with many all for a potential move and one describing a possible deal as ‘brilliant’.

“Make it happen Dom Mckay”

Credit: @mickmccorriston

“Oh my”

Credit: @90MinuteCynic

“Brilliant hahahaha”

Credit: @Aid4n_w

“I’m on my knees Celtic”

Credit: @mikeyreilly10

“Fully onboard with this, purely for the absolute carnage that would follow.”

Credit: @1p9a8u6l

“100x yes.”

Credit: @ltreidy67

In other news: Reporter reveals Celtic ‘talks’ for 6ft ace on Thursday evening; he wants Parkhead move. 

The Lionesses No.1 has already shown her worth at in Australia at a tournament she probably didn't think she'd be at two years ago

As the clock ticked into the 81st minute, the score on the board at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium remained a surprise: England 1-0 Haiti. The European champions had certainly not had it all their own way in their Women’s World Cup opener and it wasn’t won yet, either. Their opponents, one of eight debutantes at the tournament, were pushing until the end, and when substitute Roseline Eloissaint burst into the box, they had a glorious chance to score an historic equaliser. That was until Mary Earps intervened.

The England goalkeeper had very little to do on the night. There was a fierce shot from Lyon teenager Melchie Dumornay that stung her palms early in the second period, but otherwise she was a bystander, Haiti’s promising attacks rarely turning into worrying shots on target. That made her late stop to deny Eloissaint with an outstretched leg all the more impressive.

“That’s why she’s No.1. That’s why she’s FIFA’s Best,” team-mate Georgia Stanway said afterwards, referring to the individual award Earps scooped up in February. “She’s the best for a reason and moments like that explain why.”

A European champion with her country last summer, a stand-out performer in the Manchester United side that secured Women’s Champions League football for the first time this year, and now set to be a key player in the Lionesses’ bid to win the Women’s World Cup, Earps’ importance cannot be overstated.

But it’s not always been like this for her with England…

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• On top of the world

  Back in November 2019, England welcomed Germany to Wembley for a highly anticipated clash between two of Europe’s best. It was just a friendly, but it proved to be an occasion that meant much more in the grand scheme of things, with 77,768 turning up to watch the Lionesses. It was a record crowd for the women’s national team in England.

  Earps was in between the sticks for her country that day, which felt significant. This was one of the biggest games in the history of English women’s football and then-head coach Phil Neville had selected her to wear the No.1 shirt for it.

  It also seemed to be a positive sign regarding Earps’ England career. She had just gone to the 2019 Women's World Cup as a back-up goalkeeper, but Karen Bardsley and Carly Telford, the other two shot-stoppers in that squad, were coming towards the end of their respective careers. The No.1 shirt was soon to be up for grabs…

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  Out of favour

  But then, all of a sudden, Earps was completely out of the picture. A few days later, in a friendly with the Czech Republic, Neville would choose to play Telford instead, and when the next international break came around in February, Earps wasn’t even selected. The coach never picked her again.

  “To go from the highest high and play for your country in the biggest game in English female football history, in front of nearly 80,000 people, to then not get selected for SheBelieves was very difficult for me personally,” she told in early 2021.

  “I won’t sugar-coat it, I will tell you straight, it was very difficult. I don’t mean from an ego point of view, I mean [it] genuinely hurt to the core of my being. I used my time in the lockdown as best as I could to put myself in the best position, mentally and also in terms of technically.

  “I feel in a completely different space now in my brain. I feel like, of course, [England] is where I would like to be, I won’t tell you any lies, I’m not going to pretend, ‘Oh it’s completely gone, whatever,’ but I’m at peace with what happened.”

  Neville left his role in early 2021 and in came Hege Riise, the legendary Norwegian who won the Euros, World Cup and Olympics in her playing days. She was to take charge of England on an interim basis and of Great Britain for the Games in Tokyo that summer. She did not select Earps during her time in charge of both.

  But after Team GB’s quarter-final exit in Japan, a change would come that would benefit the Manchester United star immediately.

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  Wiegman’s No.1

  In September 2021, after leaving her role with the Netherlands, Sarina Wiegman named her first squad as England boss. Earps was in, earning her first call-up since that game with Germany in November 2019. To say it caught her off guard would be an understatement. The goalkeeper was cooking dinner and thinking about heading out to John Lewis to buy some curtain poles. Then she got an email containing the “surreal” news.

  “I rang my mum and dad straightaway,” she told reporters at the time. “They know the challenges that I faced and obviously they've been through everything with me, so they were just really happy for me and just said, ‘Look, go and enjoy yourself’.

  “[Then] I rang my coach and he was like, ‘This is the first time I've ever heard you be speechless’. I was like, ‘Yeah, that sounds about right!’”

  Earps would be chosen to start Wiegman’s first game in charge, an 8-0 win over North Macedonia, and quickly became her No.1 goalkeeper in the build-up to the Euros.

  At England’s home tournament, she made some outstanding saves as the Lionesses kept four clean sheets in six games in a triumphant summer, her performances helping her to be named the Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper earlier this year, too.

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  Match-winner

  There’s a reason why Earps has been able to keep hold of that shirt since Wiegman came in. Her form in that time has been absolutely brilliant, with her certainly playing at the best level of her career to date this past year in particular.

  While previously there might have been an error or two in her game, the 30-year-old has ironed those out and made them much more rare. She’s clearly confident when she has the ball at her feet, her role as a leader has grown immensely and her shot-stopping appears to have only got better – even if it was already at a high level.

  Consistency has been one of Earps’ stand-out traits, too, with that helping United take Chelsea to the final day in the Women’s Super League title race this past season while also securing Champions League football.

  In fact, there was no goalkeeper more impressive in the division in 2022-23, that reliability between the sticks coming with an eye-catching highlights reel, including match-winning stops just like that one against Haiti on Saturday.