SPORTS
Arsenal Beat Brentford to Close Gap on Liverpool
Arsenal showed they can cope without the injured Bukayo Saka as they began the year in style by recovering from an early sucker-punch to beat Brentford 3-1 away from home.
The result ensured that they moved back into second place in the English Premier League on Wednesday.
Forward Saka, arguably Arsenal’s most influential player this season, has been ruled out for at least two months after hamstring surgery, dealing a blow to the club’s title hopes.
A visit to a Brentford side who have been impressive at home this season felt like a must-win game for Arsenal.
However, things began badly as Bryan Mbeumo gave his side a 13th minute lead with the home side’s first attack.
Arsenal did not panic, though, and Gabriel Jesus continued his recent resurgence to equalise before halftime.
Mikel Arteta’s side came out firing in the second half and Mikel Merino put them ahead five minutes after the restart after Brentford failed to deal with a corner.
Three minutes later Gabriel Martinelli produced a clinical volleyed finish to put Arsenal in complete control.
The victory lifted Arsenal above Chelsea and Nottingham Forest with 39 points from 19 games with leaders Liverpool on 45 from 18.
Injury-hit Brentford’s second home defeat of the season left them in 12th spot with 24 points from 19 games.
Defeat would have left Arsenal nine points behind Liverpool, who also have a game in hand, but the way they reacted to going behind suggests they can still be a factor in the title race.
Arteta will also have been impressed with 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri after handing him a first Premier League start.
“I think the team showed a lot of composure. To keep insisting, keep attacking them,” Arteta, whose side are unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions, said.
“We can only win our next match and see what happens. It’s not in our hands, but what is in our hands we need to make sure we do it.”
Arsenal did not lose a London derby in 2024 and have started off in similar fashion.
They were caught cold, though, when Brentford burst forward in the 13th minute and Mbeumo was given too much space to cut in from the right and fire a shot past David Raya.
Raya was almost left red-faced soon after when he allowed a Mbeumo shot to burst through his gloves but he managed to race back and claw the ball off the line.
It proved a pivotal moment as less than a minute later Brentford were guilty of failing to clear the ball and it eventually arrived for Thomas Partey to fire a shot that was parried by Mark Flekken and Jesus dived to head in the rebound.
It was the Brazilian’s sixth goal in his last four games for Arsenal in all competitions, as many as in his previous 48 games for the club.
“I keep working and everyone at the club can tell how I work every day, not just me but everyone. I don’t give up and it is not easy to play for a big club like Arsenal,” Jesus said.
Arsenal’s efficiency from set-pieces was evident again early in the second half when a corner caused chaos in the area and Merino was able to fire home a loose ball.
Martinelli gave the visitors breathing space with a superb finish when the ball came out to him on the edge of the box.(Reuters/NAN)
Lagos State will host the second edition of the National School Volleyball Championships from April 21 to April 24 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
President of the Nigeria School Sport Federation (NSSF), Olabisi Joseph, said in a statement on Monday that schools from across the country had converged for the four-day tournament.
She said the competition meant for secondary schools is organised by the NSSF in collaboration with the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), with support from the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC).
Joseph said the annual tournament aims to develop volleyball in the school system and identify outstanding athletes who will represent Nigeria at the International School Sport Federation (ISF) events.
She expressed delight at the growing interest among schools nationwide and urged participants to be worthy ambassadors of their institutions.
“In Nigeria, we are blessed with an abundance of talent in the school system.
“Volleyball, being one of the popular sports in schools, has ignited healthy rivalry among students.
“Sports stimulates learning, so we are building a total child through events like this,” she said.
Joseph added that standout athletes from the Lagos championship would be shortlisted to compete at the ISF World School Volleyball Championship in China.
She described the event as a unique opportunity for young players to showcase their skills before global scouts.
“Teams from Lagos, Osun, Rivers, Bayelsa, Adamawa, Ogun, Taraba, Bauchi and other states are competing for honours, with NVBF technical officials on ground to scout for talent.”
The maiden edition of the National School Volleyball Championships was held in Abuja, where host teams won both the boys’ and girls’ categories.
Outstanding players from the FCT, Plateau and Kaduna states later represented Nigeria at the 2025 ISF World School Volleyball Championships in China.
The World School Volleyball Championship is scheduled to be held from July 1 to July 10 in China.
Guinea will face Nigeria’s Flamingos in the final qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The Guineans defeated Niger Republic 3-0 in the second leg of their qualifying fixture in Conakry on Saturday.
They won the contest 8-2 on aggregate, following their 5-2 triumph in the first leg last week.
The winner of the Flamingos versus Guinea clash will qualify for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The Flamingos set up camp in Abuja for the clash with their fellow West Africans last week.
Newly appointed head coach, Akeem Busari invited 36 players to camp for the team’s preparation.
The Nigerian National League (NNL) side, Lobi Stars Football Club of Makurdi, has trimmed its squad and retained a few quality players to push for promotion to the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL).
Lobi Stars Chairman Simon Ikya made the disclosure in a statement signed by Austin Tyowua, Principal Media Officer to the club, and made it available to newsmen on Thursday in Makurdi.
Ikya said that the club took the decision after a meeting with all the players and technical staff at McCarthy Stadium, Makurdi.
The chairman explained that the decision was rooted in duty rather than dislike.
He stated that the players on the exit list would be granted clearance at the end of April once their entitlements were settled.
Ikya added that for those retained, there would be no room for laxity.
The chairman urged them to tighten their belts, keep the focus, and drive the Federation Cup campaign all the way to its final stop.
Meanwhile, the list of retained players was read out by the head coach, John Onuh.
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