Exclusive by Football Reporter at Gtech Community Stadium Granit Xhaka was far from impressed with Sunderland's showing in their 3-0 trashing by Brentford. More than the defeat itself it was the manner of their slow degradation and overall attitude that irked the legendary Swiss. At 1-0 down following Igor Thiago's opener, French magician Enzo Le Fée missed a crucial penalty that could have killed Brentford's momentum and sowed the seeds for the Black Cats' turnaround. But c

Raining on their parade : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Arsenal 0 Liverpool 0 The folly of believing three Man City draws in a row had just about finished the title race was exposed as just that. Champions Liverpool became the first side to leave the Emirates this season with a clean sheet and only the second after Man City to claim a draw here. Having also prevented the Gunners from scoring in the reverse fixture at Anfield, they have done their best to keep those Gunn

Bournemouth (1) 2 v Arsenal (1) 3 Premier League Matchweek 20 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at the Vitality Stadium No one with any affection for Arsenal will want to remotely tempt fate in the first week of January, but 2026 could very well be an immense year for the club. And right at the outset it already feels as if every game is going to be like a cup final. Just in January, out of a total of nine fixtures, there are five huge Premier League matches, which will be cru

By Capital Football Reporter at Gtech Community Stadium Premier League Matchday 21 Brentford 3-0 Sunderland Goals : Thiago 30', Thiago 65', Yarmolyuk 73' (B) "Ronaldo or Romario? No, Cristiano Ronaldo is my idol!", grinning two-goal hero Igor Thiago proudly told Capital Football after Brentford trashed Sunderland. And while his statement did not bat an eyelid among the present reporters in the mixed zone after the game given the Portuguese superstar's standing in England, it

Picture by @capitalfootball With five midweek Premier League games taking place in the capital this week, it has felt as though something is going on just about everywhere. And ahead of Wednesday's three games at Brentford, Fulham and Crystal Palace there was the little matter of the latest calamity at the London Stadium for West Ham United where distress signals are peppering the sky. You can read about that 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest for the ailing Irons and the impl

By Capital Football Reporter at London Stadium West Ham 1-2 Nottingham Forest Goals : OG Murillo 13' (WH), Dominguez 55' & Gibbs-White penalty 89' (NF) A win would hardly have shifted the dial on West Ham's survival chances in most people's eyes. But the bitter 2-1 defeat in the relegation six-pointer with closest rivals Nottingham Forest has now cut the Hammers seven points adrift. In footballing terms tonight's defeat is an unspeakable tragedy of perhaps unquantifiable spor

Eagles didn't soar in the north east Premier League Newcastle United (0) 2 Guimaraes 71, Thiaw 78 Crystal Palace (0) 0 If Crystal Palace can take any solace from their latest defeat at St James' Park, one of their least favourite hunting grounds, it must be that Newcastle didn't manage a greater victory margin. The Magpies would have challenged last season's 5-0 triumph had two first-half efforts by Anthony Gordon and Joelinton not been ruled out by fractional offside decisi

In the cold light of day : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Fulham (1) 2 Wilson 17, Reed 97 Liverpool (0) 2 Wirtz 57, Gakpo 94 He was never the most prolific of goalscorers. And these days he hardly gets any minutes on the pitch. But Harrison Reed made full use of the five minutes he was given by Marco Silva to crash in a point-saving worldie. So often it is Harry Wilson who comes up with the spectacular. This time it was Reed. He only came on for Sasa Lukic in the 92nd mi

Twilight capers : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Bournemouth (1) 2 Evanilson 10, Kroupi 76 Arsenal (1) 3 Gabriel 16, Rice 54, 71 Declan Rice marked his return from injury with two precious goals as the Gunners maintained their stranglehold at the top of the table. It was only the second time the midfielder has bagged two goals in a game - the other occasion being that famous trouncing of Real Madrid last season. As usual, he was everywhere and his contribution stretched

Brentford 0 v Tottenham Hotspur 0 Premier League Matchweek 19 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at the Brentford Community Stadium There may not have been much to watch in Brentford’s goalless draw with Tottenham Hotspur, but there was plenty nevertheless for the two head coaches, Keith Andrews and Thomas Frank, to talk about over a beer after the match. Friendly from their work together for the Bees before Frank’s move to Spurs in the summer, they still live close to each oth

Baby it's cold outside. The Gtech hosts a chilly New Year's Day clash : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Brentford 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0 It's a mere 78 years since the Bees last beat Spurs at home. That's one that must remain on the bucket list for now after the drabbest of New Year's Day encounters. This Thomas Frank derby will not live long in the memory, with the freezing conditions further sapping the life from a hopeless contest. Brentford had the better of it but wer

Crystal Palace (0) 0 v Tottenham Hotspur (1) 1 Premier League Matchweek 18 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at Selhurst Park “S**t happened again.” The articulate and eloquent Crystal Palace manager, Oliver Glasner, could not have expressed in any better phrasing the frustration felt by his team after yet another narrow and probably undeserved defeat against Tottenham Hotspur. It was an inauspicious result to end the best ever year for the club, with a first major prize in Pa

Great way to end the year - Arteta in his post-match press conference : Picture by @YTJourno A disenchanted Unai Emery raced down the tunnel at full-time without waiting to shake hands with Mikel Arteta after Arsenal's thumping 4-1 win over Aston Villa - but the Gunners boss could hardly have cared less. He played down what might be interpreted as churlish behaviour by former Arsenal boss Emery and could afford to be magnanimous. His side had handsomely seen off a side on an

Blues v Cherries by @JTaylorSport Chelsea 2 Bournemouth 2 Chelsea’s final game of the calendar year saw some festivities in the shape of an entertaining draw at Stamford Bridge. Yet there will be little seasonal fun for embattled Enzo Maresca, who left the stadium feeling unwell at the climax. Naturally, the consequence of stalemate, disjointedly thrilling or not, will provide significantly more satisfaction for Bournemouth than it will for the Blues, who now have one win fro

Last Emirates dance of 2025: Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Arsenal (0) 4 Gabriel 48, Zubimendi 52, Trossard 72, Jesus 78 Aston Villa (0) 1 Watkins 94 Villa had this coming. Their last-gasp winner against the Gunners in Birmingham a month ago was a bitter pill to swallow, ending an unbeaten run of 18 games. It was only right that Arsenal should respond in kind by ending the Villa sequence of 11 straight wins. The catalyst for a vital win against opponents who had to move

Night Lions on the prowl: Picture by @YTJourno Championship Millwall (1) 2 Neghli 16, Langstaff 81 Bristol City (0) 1 Randell 49 Sometimes it is no-nonsense man on the terrace who comes up with the best summary of a game. "F knows how we won that," voiced a happy Lions fan departing the Den after seeing Millwall complete a quickfire double over the Robins. A recent 1-0 win at Ashton Gate was mired in the controversy of the late spat which saw Alex Neil end up on the turf and

West Ham United (0) 0 v Fulham (0) 1 Raúl Jiménez 85 By Kaz Mochlinski at the London Stadium Premier League Matchweek 18 This was the one that brought them to tears. Ollie Scarles could not stop himself crying very visibly on the pitch at the final whistle, after his mistake led to the winning goal in the closing stages, but most of West Ham United’s faithful must have felt very similarly. The Hammers’ growing gloom got ever greater on a grey winter afternoon as they were con

Eyes down for another capital clash : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Crystal Palace (0) 0 Tottenham Hotspur (1) 1 Gray 42 Archie Gray claimed his first senior goal after 112 appearances as Spurs made light of being second best for most of the game to plunder a vital away win. They had to soak up up a ton of pressure from the Eagles whose drip-drip feed of crosses could not quite carve out the opening they desperately needed. In the end the on-target count was edged by S

T'was meant to be the season to be jolly :Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Chelsea (1) 1 Joao Pedro 37 Aston Villa (0) 2 Watkins 63, 84 Rampant. Dominant. Urgent. Chelsea played Villa off the park for nearly an hour, but ended up empty-handed. It was impossible to see how such a vibrant, physically imposing first-half display could bring no reward but the visitors somehow found the gears to get back into it and had Ollie Watkins up their sleeve. The England striker came of

Gunners v Seagulls by @JTaylorSport Arsenal 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Engulfed with relief, the outstretched arms of Declan Rice at the end of this latest battle of nerve said it all. Apart from the occasional moment, there were few festive frolics on show at the Emirates as Arsenal dug out a 2-1 win over Brighton to force themselves back to the top of the Premier League table. The Gunners made heavy weather of managing the game at times after they went a couple of goals ahe

Gtech Saturday : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Brentford (2) 4 Schade 7, 51, 90+6, Petrovic og 38 Bournemouth (0) 1 Semenyo 75 Kevin Schade doubled his goals tally for the season with a treble that sent a struggling Bournemouth packing and further cemented Brentford's place among the comfortably well off in mid-table. Schade quickly had the Bees in the driving seat against a Bournemouth side without a win since late October - a run of eight games. Igor Thiago's simple p

Post match views from Lions boss Alex Neil : Picture by @YTJourno Millwall dropped out of the play-off places but will take heart from a battling draw against third-placed Ipswich at the Den which was a fine response to successive defeats which clipped their paws. The one big issue it again threw up, however, is the modest goals return and the continuing imbalance in the goal difference. The Lions have now netted just 25 times after the first half of the league programme has

Boxing Day at the Den : Picture by @YTJourno Championship Millwall (0) 0 Ipswich Town (0) 0 It's not often the Lions get top billing in London - especially on such a traditionally significant day in the English football calendar. But with no Premier League matches taking place in the capital, this felt very much like the Boxing Day game to see. It was given added kudos too by being the sixth placed team v third in the Championship. Alas, the end product did not quite match pr

The Rest is Merch : Picture by @YTJourno Carabao Cup Quarter-Final Arsenal (0) 1 Lacroix og 80 Crystal Palace (0) 1 Guehi 90+5 (Arsenal won 8-7 on pens) It wasn't as goal-laden is the cup tie between the two sides in the same competition a year ago but the denouement to make it arguably even more memorable. It needed an own goal from Maxence Lacroix and a 'miss' from the luckless Eagles defender to settle it after an endless shoot out of 15 perfect kicks in a sequence that l