Monday, 13 April 2026
ARTETA COULD BE SACKED BY ARSENAL, WITH A REPLACEMENT ALREADY IN SIGHT
A major victory has saved the Spanish manager's job.
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| AFP |
Doubts are mounting over Mikel Arteta’s future at Arsenal, according to a Spanish report, amid growing pressure within the club despite the team continuing to compete for titles this season.
The speculation follows a shock 32nd-round Premier League defeat to Bournemouth, which has reignited questions about the club’s trophy prospects despite substantial board investment in recent years.
Mundo Deportivo claims the Gunners can still rescue the campaign in both the Premier League and the Champions League, where they recently recorded a vital away win against Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of the quarter-finals.
Yet the report insists his future now hinges on silverware: another trophy-less campaign could see the club’s hierarchy lose patience.
The likely successor
Should Arsenal end the campaign empty-handed, the board has a “ready-made alternative” in Cesc Fàbregas, whose impressive work in his current coaching role makes him the favoured candidate to take over.
Fàbregas is currently guiding Como with an attractive, attack-minded approach that has the club challenging for European qualification—a profile that has already drawn the attention of Arsenal officials.
The former Spanish star also has an additional advantage, namely his intimate knowledge of the London club, having played for them for eight seasons as a player, which could facilitate his transition to the manager’s seat should a decision be taken to sack Arteta at the end of the season.
The loss to Bournemouth, which left Arsenal on 70 points after 32 games, has only intensified the debate.
In contrast, Bournemouth moved up to 45 points, climbing to ninth place in the table.
That result handed Manchester City, second on 61 points from 30 games, a valuable chance to narrow the gap and reignite the title race.
- Ahmed Abdelhamid
SCOTTIE SCHAEFFER MAKES MASTERS HISTORY DESPITE FALLING SHORT TO RORY MCILROY
Scottie Schaeffer came up just short of another green jacket, but his performance at Augusta National still etched his name into Masters history.
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| Andrew Redington/Getty |
The world No. 1 finished one shot behind Rory McIlroy at 12 under, settling for runner-up in the 2026 Masters. While McIlroy claimed the spotlight with his second straight win, Scheffler’s historic weekend and late surge told a story that will likely get overlooked.
After sitting 12 shots off the lead at the halfway point, Scheffler mounted a stunning comeback. He carded a 7 under round on Saturday and followed it with a 4 under 68 on Sunday, putting serious pressure on McIlroy down the stretch.
More impressively, Scheffler did not record a single bogey over the final 36 holes. According to PGA TOUR Communications, he became the first player in 82 years to play the third and final rounds bogey-free at the Masters.
The last time that happened was in 1942.
Historic Masters Weekend Puts Scheffler in Rare Company
Scheffler’s weekend was extremely impressive.
Across the final two rounds, he recorded nine birdies and an eagle while avoiding any mistakes on the scorecard.
His 133 weekend total also stood as a personal best at the Masters.
Even more remarkable, Scheffler nearly completed a full tournament without a bogey, something not seen in over eight decades. His precision and consistency allowed him to erase a massive deficit and nearly force a playoff.
He had just five bogeys all tournament, with four coming on Friday.
He pointed toward his Friday struggles as the reason he wasn’t able to win a third green jacket.
“I’d say Friday probably hurt the most in terms of my chances of winning,” Scheffler said. “I didn’t see many birdies out there Thursday afternoon, so going out on Friday, whatever they did to the greens to soften them up, they did some stuff. And I just wasn’t able to take advantage of that going out early on Friday.”
Despite the loss, this performance also extended his incredible run at Augusta. Scheffler has now finished inside the top five in five straight Masters appearances, reinforcing his dominance at the sport’s most prestigious event.
Scottie Scheffler Reflects on 2026 Masters
Speaking after his round, Scheffler reflected on where things slipped away.
“Overall I’m not going to hold too many regrets, but yeah, definitely a little disappointed now,” Scheffler said. “But like I said, I started the weekend 12 shots back and ended up only one shot back. If I am going to blame anything, I should probably blame the first two rounds before I start looking at stuff from my last couple.”
He also pointed to a few key moments late in Sunday’s round that could have changed everything.
“Disappointing par on 13, and wasn’t able to get it in the fairway on 14, that was a shot I’d like to have back,” Scheffler said. “But then good birdies on 15 and 16, and really great stuff on 17. I hit two really good shots into 18 and the second shot just came up short.”
Scheffler hit a perfect putt on 17 that came within inches of dropping. Had it fallen, it likely would have forced a playoff with McIlroy, setting up a head-to-head battle between the two best players in the world for the green jacket. While it was a bummer for fans that it didn’t happen, Scheffler still etched his name into Masters history despite the loss.
- Dylan Tracy-Lindenbaum
Sunday, 12 April 2026
UNION BERLIN MAKE HISTORY AS MARIE-LOUISE ETA BECOMES FIRST WOMAN TO LEAD BUNDESLIGA MEN'S TEAM
She becomes the first woman to take charge of a men’s team across the top divisions of Europe’s “big five” football leagues.
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| STRONG UNION: Union Berlin have appointed Marie-Louise Eta as the first female head coach in the men’s Bundesliga as they bid to ensure its league survival. Pic: Christof Koepsel/Getty Images for DFB |
Union Berlin have appointed Marie-Louise Eta as the first female head coach in the men’s Bundesliga as they bid to ensure its league survival.
She becomes the first woman to take charge of a men’s team across the top divisions of Europe’s “big five” football leagues.
The 34-year-old Eta takes over from Steffen Baumgart, who was fired late Saturday with his assistants Danilo de Souza and Kevin McKenna after the team’s 3-1 loss at last-place Heidenheim, Union announced just before midnight.
Eta, who was coaching Union’s Under-19 men’s team and agreed earlier this month to take over as coach of Union’s women’s team next season, has five games to secure the Köpenick-based club’s Bundesliga survival.
“Staying in the Bundesliga is not yet guaranteed given the point-differences in the lower half of the table. I’m happy that the club entrusts me with this challenging task,” Eta told the club website.
”One of Union’s strengths has always been our ability to pull together in such situations. And of course I’m convinced that we’ll get the decisive points with the team.”
Eta already made history with Union in 2023 as the first female assistant coach in the Bundesliga and across the top divisions of the “big five” leagues. She had to step in for media duties for head coach Nenad Bjelica when he was suspended for three games in 2024.
“I’m delighted that Marie Louise Eta has agreed to take on this role on an interim basis before she becomes head coach of the women’s first team as planned in the summer,” Union sporting director Horst Heldt said in a statement.
Baumgart, a former Union player, was appointed during the 2024-25 winter break but Heldt said recent results prompted the club to take drastic action.
“We’ve had a completely disappointing second half of the season so far and we’re not letting the table fool us — our situation remains precarious and we desperately need points to secure our place in the league.”
Defeat in Heidenheim left Union in 11th place in the 18-team division, just seven points clear of St. Pauli in the relegation zone with five rounds remaining.
“Two wins out of 14 games since the winter break and the performances shown in recent weeks do not give us the confidence that we can turn things around with the current setup. We have therefore decided to make a fresh start,” Heldt said.
Union next hosts Wolfsburg, which is also fighting for survival, next weekend.
- AP NEWS
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