By Alessandro Schiavone in Cologne 1.FC Köln 0-1 Union Berlin Goal : Schafer 91' Lukas Podolski in his prime leading the line would have suited Cologne to the ground on Saturday afternoon in their 1-0 home defeat to Union Berlin at RheinEnergie Stadion. Jakub Kaminski put in an energetic first-half display for his lukewarm side and twice came close to an opening goal. Yet his first attempt was comfortably parried by Frederik Ronnow while the volley flashed just off target. Mo

By Alessandro Schiavone in Lausanne Conference League Matchday 6 Lausanne Sport 1-0 Fiorentina Goal: Sigua 58' (LS) Pablo Mari's woeful Fiorentina side are still on course to spend the upcoming season in the second-tier of Italian football all while playing in Europe. With hindsight, the ex-Arsenal defender's side would have required a 3-0 win over the Swiss to seal a top-eight spot ahead of lowly Aek Larnaca on 12 points. Instead Serie A's bottom side suffered a 1-0 defeat

By Alessandro Schiavone at Stade Louis II, Montecarlo Champions League, Matchday 6 Monaco 1-0 Galatasaray Goal : Balogun 68' Mikel Arteta must have tapped himself on the shoulder in self-congratulatory mode and shouted "Muy bien, Mikel' to himself if he happened to watch Folarin Balogun's avalanche of missed chances against Galatasaray from his Brugge hotel yesterday night. And watching the scoreboard should not deceive anyone here! Balogun may have displayed his more opportu

By Alessandro Schiavone at Stade Orange Vélodrome Olympique Marseille 2-1 Newcastle United Goals: Barnes 6' (N) 46', 50' Aubameyang (M) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang rolled back the years as his quick-fire brace within four second-half minutes helped Marseille come from behind to see off Newcastle United 2-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday night. Marseille fans thought they would be served up the same old rubbish in Europe's premier competition when the red-hot Harvey Barnes

By Alessandro Schiavone at Johan Cruijff Arena, Amsterdam Netherlands 4-0 Lithuania Goals : Reijnders 16', Gakpo penalty 58', Simons 60', Malen 62' Xavi Simons showed glimpses of his former inspirational RB Leipzig self as he awoke from a first-half slumber to get on the scoresheet in the Netherlands's 4-0 trashing of Lithuania in Amsterdam. With qualification to the World Cup already secured thanks to a 1-1 draw in Poland last week, the confidence-shot Xavi was given a rare

By Alessandro Schiavone in Arnhem Eerste Divisie Vitesse Arnhem 0-4 Cambuur Not sure a midfield trio of Nemanja Matic, Martin Odegaard and Mason Mount added to the other eight players would turn the tide at Vitesse Arnhem right now. Bottom of Eerste Division, Vitesse had to be really on it to cause a shock against promotion favourites and second-in-the-table Cambuur. Yet despite producing a couple of goal chances early on in the game and keeping the door shut for 21 minutes,

By Alessandro Schiavone in Prague Christian Norgaard has sung the praises of false attacker Mikel Merino who took his tally for 2025 to a staggering 18 goals for club and country with his double against Slavia Prague. Those numbers would be nothing out of the ordinary or mind-blowing if the Spaniard was a classic centre-forward. But it's easy to forget that the ex-Real Sociedad star is a midfielder by trade. Norgaard, who made his first start for Arsenal in the Czech Republic

Exclusive by Alessandro Schiavone in Prague Capital Football had the honour to speak exclusively to Slavia Prague defender David Zima after the Czech giants' 3-0 reversal at home to Arsenal. Here is what he said. David, it was always going to be difficult for Slavia Prague against Arsenal. But did you expect the puzzle to be that difficult to solve? Apart from the first 10 minutes and maybe the last five the Gunners didn't give you a sniff.. "In my opinion Arsenal are one of

By Alessandro Schiavone at Fortuna Arena, Prague Champions League Matchday 4 Slavia Praha 0-3 Arsenal Goals: Saka 32' (penalty), Merino 46', Merino 68' There are 18 bridges in the city of Prague. But Slavia always knew they would be in for one hell of a ride to bridge the gap with Premier League big hitters Arsenal. Because, whether it's on the pitch or in the bank, the chasm between the two sides is evident. And how it showed. Mikel Arteta, who handed Max Dowman his Champio

Exclusive by Alessandro Schiavone The dice appears to be well and truly loaded in Arsenal's favour this season according to a West Ham legend. A 2-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor saw Mikel Arteta's men extend their victorious streak to nine games and open up a seven-point gap at the top of the Premier League. Remarkably the Gunners haven't conceded a goal since their 2-1 away win at Newcastle in late September. There's been a surge of optimism and wind in their sails since th