It wasn’t pretty, but Arsenal got back to winning ways on the road last night.

The Gunners ran out 1-0 winners against Everton and, in the process, secured their place atop the Premier League table for Christmas.

It was a crucial match for the under-fire Viktor Gyokeres as well, as, even though he still left a little to be desired, he did bury the all-important penalty and end his goal drought.

However, with a League Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace on Tuesday, Mikel Arteta has to make several changes, including dropping a starter who was even more underwhelming than Gyokeres against Everton.

The Changes Arteta could make for Crystal Palace

Starting between the sticks, and while David Raya has been brilliant this season, it’s only right that Kepa Arrizabalaga comes back into the team after starting the last two rounds.

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Things get a bit more interesting when it comes to the defence, as injuries and availability might force the manager to start a couple of players he’d otherwise leave out.

However, one player who simply has to come into the side is Myles Lewis-Skelly, who was instrumental in one of the goals in the last round.

Moving into the middle of the park, it should almost go without saying that Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice should be rested for this game.

The two internationals are vital to the club, and with Mikel Merino and Christian Norgaard ready to step in, what would be the point in risking them ahead of a jam-packed Christmas schedule?

It’s a similar story on the wings, as Noni Madueke would be the perfect replacement for Bukayo Saka in this game, and Gabriel Martinelli could come in for Leandro Trossard.

Finally, perhaps the most interesting choice Arteta will have to make for this game is who leads the line.

On the one hand, Gabriel Jesus has generally looked impressive coming off the bench in recent weeks and could do with the game time.

On the other hand, Gyokeres finally got his goal against the Toffees, and therefore it might do him good to keep his place and build on that.

With that said, whatever the manager decides to do up top, there is another player who he should be taking out of the side, someone who underwhelmed on Saturday night.

The Arsenal star Arteta should drop

With most of the team already covered, it should come as no surprise that the player in question is Martin Odegaard.

Now, before the pitchforks and torches come out, the captain wasn’t terrible against Everton and is often scapegoated by fans, but he also wasn’t particularly good either.

In fact, the Norwegian international was probably the most underwhelming of Arsenal’s starters, including Gyokeres.

Odegaard vs Everton

Minutes

88′

Expected Assists

0.13

Assists

0

Big Chances Created

0

Crosses

1

Dribbled Past

1

Shots

0

Dribbles

0

Tackles

0

Duels (Won)

3 (0)

Fouls

1

All Stats via Sofascore

For example, in his 88 minutes of action, the former Real Madrid gem produced an expected assists figure of just 0.16, played one cross, failed to create a big chance, was dribbled past one, failed to take a shot and lost 100% of his duels.

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In all, it was just a frustrating display from the 26-year-old as fans know just how good he can be when he’s in the swing of things.

Therefore, his lacklustre showing and the need to protect him should see Arteta drop him for Tuesday night’s game.

Fortunately, the Spaniard has two excellent players who could come in to replace him.

Should he prefer more experience, he could opt for Eberechi Eze, who has already scored against his former club this season.

However, should he want to inject some more energy and unpredictability into the side, the manager could go for Ethan Nwaneri, who needs more minutes this year.

Ultimately, Arsenal are still on track for a stellar season, but Odegaard still needs to do a bit more in games.

Related 116 touches & 87 passes: Arteta's 8/10 Arsenal star was better than Saka

It was yet another stellar performance for the Arsenal star, who played even better than Bukayo Saka.

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Birmingham City manager Lee Clark is desperate for success over Stoke City in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.

The Blues have had a tough season in the Championship, winning just 3 of their 13 league matches.

Their troubles off field have hindered Clark’s side too, with the club’s financial problems leading to the sales of Jack Butland, Curtis Davies and Nathan Redmond. But the 41-year-old is aware of the effect a cup victory could have on the team, and fans:

“I’m conscious of that every time we play, I want to give the fans a little bit of happiness because I understand what’s going on and the predicament they’re in,” Clark told Sky Sports.

“In terms of people who are at the forefront of my mind are my players, my staff and the supporters – I want to make them feel as happy as I possibly can every time we play. A good cup run can do that, I felt that after we beat Swansea in the last round, and we’ve got a chance against a Premier League team on Tuesday night.”

“It’s a tough call for us but every time we get out on the pitch I want to give them something back because I sense the support they’re giving me and the group is really good. I can imagine they’re frustrated at times, but over that they’re seeing the reality of what we’re doing. I listen to the fans and I see them around the stadiums and I think they’re showing a lot of belief in us and feeling towards the players because they understand the predicament we’re in.”

Birmingham were relegated at the end of the 2010-11 season, just months after lifting the Capital One Cup trophy after a shock victory over Arsenal.

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Without doubt the biggest fixture of a pretty encouraging Round of 16 in the EFL Cup is Manchester United hosting Manchester City. It seems like only yesterday the two titans clashed in the Premier League, and with the 2-1 beating the Citizens dished out still fresh, revenge is sure to be on Jose Mourinho’s mind.

However, the Portuguese also has the pressure of recent results weighing on his shoulders, too. There’s no way ‘The Special One’ will be excited by the prospect of taking on one of his greatest rivals, Pep Guardiola, after a miserable two weeks. Another loss will only heighten the criticism he’s currently receiving, after all.

Guardiola himself cannot really do without at least a good performance. Man City are quickly beginning to forget what winning feels like  and another big game slip will raise serious questions given the quality of the players at the ex-Barcelona man’s disposal.

This game is set to be a cracker, then. We at FFC Towers are convinced of this, and we think there will be some interesting battles on the pitch…

David de Gea vs. Kelechi Iheanacho

Mourinho is unlikely to put his faith in Sergio Romero for a game that he’ll see as must-win now, so De Gea will almost certainly keep his place.

The Spaniard, aside from his hesitance for Pedro’s Chelsea goal on Sunday, has been in decent form so far this season, but he’ll be tested by whichever of their attacking threats Manchester City choose.

We have a suspicion Iheanacho will get the nod, with the Nigerian having come off the bench to net the equaliser during the 1-1 with Southampton on the weekend. The pacey youngster needs game time and Sergio Aguero could do with a match out of the limelight.

Wayne Rooney vs. Fernandinho

So long as he can shake off a thigh injury, Rooney should be put into the Man United XI. The Red Devils’ skipper sat out of the Chelsea game with the aforementioned problem, but Mourinho needs to rotate a little and will be eager to have his skipper involved for such a huge match.

Fernandinho could well be Man City’s deepest midfielder and the Brazilian has been formidable under Guardiola. If he’s at the top of his game, Rooney may struggle to find any space.

Marcus Rashford vs. Claudio Bravo

Rashford’s game time has been limited in terms of playing as the main striker this term, but with Zlatan Ibrahimovic out of sorts, the teenager may get his chance at Old Trafford. The England international is sure to be afforded opportunities by a Man City backline that has shown itself to be porous in recent weeks, so chances are he’ll have a straight-up duel with Bravo.

The Citizens’ Chilean has been criticised for his erratic playing style since making his move from Barcelona, but he’s an athletic shot-stopper who is, lest we forget, very much decorated in terms of medals won. Rashford’s pace and energy will be vital in terms of closing him down and forcing errors.

Jose Mourinho vs. Pep Guardiola

We’re sure the cameras will be focused on the Iberian tacticians. Anyone with even a passing interest in football know the great bosses don’t have the healthiest of relationships, so things could boil over on the touchline. After all, the duo need wins, given recent results on both the red and blue halves of Manchester.

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Leroy Sane vs. Luke Shaw

Sane is slowly breaking into this Man City team after his big-money move to England from Schalke and he’s likely to be afforded some game time here with Raheem Sterling due a much-needed rest. The youngster has pace to burn, which will be a worry for Luke Shaw, who himself is rusty after a while out of the action.

The English full-back is a fearsome prospect in a defence full of confidence, but Man United are very much at the other end of the scale at the moment – so Sane will surely have opportunities to get at him.

Jack Russell 53 from 94 balls Photo © AllSport UK

Gloucestershire missed out on promotion from the second division of the County Championship, despite an exciting three-wicket victory over Nottinghamshire at Bristol.Mark Alleyne’s side were hoping to add promotion to their unprecedented one-day treble this season, but were undone by events elsewhere.Glamorgan secured enough bonus points from their draw with Middlesex at Cardiff to take one of the two remaining promotion places, while Essex secured the other with a run chase win over Warwickshire at Chelmsford.Even so, Gloucestershire can look take satisfaction from their championship campaign. Six wins and fourth place was a considerable improvement on last year, when they finished bottom.With Nottinghamshire also in the hunt for promotion, both captains were keen to set up a contrived finish on the final day.Play was delayed for an hour by a damp outfield and Nottinghamshire were handed a first innings advantage of 143 when Gloucestershire declared on their overnight 73-1.Nottinghamshire then raced to 104-3 in 18.5 overs before captain Jason Gallian declared their second innings shortly after lunch to leave the home side needing 248 for victory in a minimum of 59 overs.Usman Afzaal passed 1,000 first-class runs for the season during his innings of 36, which ended with a superb, one-handed catch by Ben Gannon at square leg off Jon Lewis.Guy Welton and Mark Bowen, in his final first-class innings before retirement, also fell victim to Lewis, whose 3-50 lifted his tally of wickets for the season to 72 – second only to Worcesterhsire’s Glenn McGrath.Dominic Hewson and Kim Barnett got the Gloucestershire run chase off to a good start with a stand of 42 in nine overs before Hewson was bowled by Bowen for 18.Bowen then had Barnett caught behind by Chris Read for 28, while Ian Harvey was caught down the legside by Read off David Lucas for ten.When Matt Windows was brilliantly taken by Bowen at mid-on off Lucas for 38, the game was neatly poised at 138-4 in the 33rd over.But Jack Russell then swung it Gloucestershire’s way with a fine 53 from 94 balls before he was caught by Read off Paul Franks.Left-arm spinner Richard Stemp had already taken the wickets of Jeremy Snape and Alleyne by then, but there was no denying Gloucestershire their victory.Chris Taylor was joined by Lewis and the pair shared an unbroken eighth wicket stand of 36 in six overs, as Gloucestershire got home with nine balls to spare.Taylor finished with three boundaries in his 51-ball innings of 38 not out, while Lewis was unbeaten on 16.

Eddie Leie’s international debut was better than any of his countrymen’s – his figures of 3 for 16 are the best by a South African on debut – but it was not good enough for promotion to the one-day squad. Not officially, anyway.Leie will remain with the squad for the three-match ODI series to “get exposed to the environment” and “spend time with the coaches,” Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach explained. And to watch the experts at work.Imran Tahir, South Africa’s first-choice limited-overs spinner and their leading wicket-taker in ODIs in 2015, returns to the set-up after being rested from the T20s. Aaron Phangiso, the left-arm spinner who was part of the 2015 World Cup squad, is also in the squad. Both are likely to be considered ahead of Leie for the World T20 next year, but for Leie, that’s not a major concern at this stage of his career.”There is no competition between me and Immi. Immi is a great bowler and he has done well consistently well for the country and in the IPL. I try to learn as much as I can from him,” Leie said after his Man-of-the-Match performance. “I think we are a team.”It’s not too difficult to see how Leie gets there. Tahir, Phangiso and Leie have always been part of his team, domestically. The trio was at the Lions franchise, although, as is the nature of South African teams, they did not always play as part of the same XI. Tahir has since moved to Dolphins which has bumped Leie up the queue as far as Lions’ regulars go. Eventually the same may happen at international level, but until it does, Leie is happy to be Tahir’s understudy.”We are the Proteas as a collective so if one spinner gets rested, it’s important for other players to fulfill the role. It’s not about competition, it’s about the role that needs to be filled,” Leie said.In keeping with that, Leie tried to fill Tahir’s shoes as much he could on his debut. Like Tahir, Leie plays a dual role with an equal focus on attack and defense. On Tuesday he was brought on with South Africa needing a bit of both.Bangladesh’s good start had been stemmed with the loss of Tamim Iqbal but they had still scored quickly and their aggressor-in-chief Soumya Sarkar was still at the crease in the seventh over. Given that, Leie could have been conservative in his approach but chose to invite the batsmen forward with flight, and with his fifth ball, Sarkar accepted. He left his crease to try and cream Leie through the covers but missed and gifted Quinton de Kock a stumping. As quickly as that, Leie demonstrated a Tahir-like confidence in his own ability and maturity in his execution. And he was enjoying himself too, although not quite as much as Tahir does.”I enjoy bowling in T20s because you can have a bit of flair, you can mix it up as much as you want,” Leie said. “There’s a lot of fielders that are outside so you can try a few things.”In his next over, Leie found significant turn – enough to confound Bangladesh’s two best batsmen, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim – and in his final over, he found himself on a hat-trick. Faf du Plessis, South Africa’s T20 captain, admitted Leie should have bowled his full quota but felt he needed a quick man to finish things off instead.”He bowled really well and he deserved four overs today,” du Plessis said. He bowled fantastically but that’s just the way the game worked out, I thought we needed a seamer at the end there.”Kyle Abbott was handed the ball in the final over and it turned out to be a right decision. He took two wickets to jump to joint first place on the wicket-takers’ list in the series, with Phangiso. But Leie is behind them with his three and that’s likely where he will be for the foreseeable future: right at the heels of Phangiso and Tahir, challenging for his place.

Rajasthan Royals legspinner Pravin Tambe, and a host of players from various other countries, who participated in a private T20 tournament in New Jersey that also featured banned Bangladesh player Mohammad Ashraful, could avoid penalties because of the nebulous state of affairs at the USA Cricket Association (USACA).A day after ESPNcricinfo revealed that Tambe, who has also represented Mumbai in the Ranji trophy, had played with Ashraful in the Laurel Hill Cricket Twenty20 tournament in the last week of July, officials familiar with the code of conduct set up by the ICC watchdog ACSU said Tambe had not breached any regulations. Both the Mumbai Cricket Association and the BCCI have not yet given a formal reaction though.”He has not violated any code of conduct,” a BCCI official well versed with the anti-corruption code said. Though the ICC did not want to comment on the matter, a source revealed the prevailing view was that Tambe had not broken any code by playing alongside Ashraful.The BCCI official said that normally the blame for Ashraful’s participation would lie with the host country, but because the USACA had been suspended by the ICC in June, the case was not so straightforward. “Normally it is the responsibility of the host association to ensure that no banned player participates in any match organised by them. In this case it is not known if this match was played under the aegis of USACA.”According to him the BCCI or ICC communicates information on bans imposed to the affiliated associations only. “Hence there may be occasions when players are actually not aware of every player they are playing with or against.”He said Tambe could not be blamed directly. “If it was local club cricket and Tambe claims he did not know that Ashraful was participating, then we have to take Tambe’s word for it unless proved otherwise.”When asked if Tambe was at fault for not seeking a no-objection certificate from the MCA, the official said that it would not have been aware of Ashraful’s presence in any case. “Even if MCA had given him a NOC, MCA themselves would not verify the players playing. It is the duty of the host association to see no banned players are participating in the tournament.”On June 26, at the end of its annual conference in Barbados, the ICC announced it was suspending the Associate membership of USACA. The ICC thus became the adjudicator for sanctioning official tournaments in the USA. Other than the overseas players, when asked whether any of the USA or Canada players picked for an ICC Americas tryout scheduled for September in Indianapolis could face local sanctions for playing in the same tournaments as Ashraful, an ICC spokesperson replied in the negative.”The ICC is aware of the issue you have raised and will be reminding its members and other relevant parties of the regulations regarding players who have been banned by other boards,” an ICC spokesperson said in an email. “This matter will not affect players selected in the [Indianapolis] Combine.”

ScorecardNick Compton fought hard to stabilise Middlesex’s innings•Getty Images

Former England players Graham Onions and Nick Compton dominated the first half day at Chester-le-Street before rain arrived with Middlesex on 141 for 5.Onions took the first four wickets, including a spell of 3 for 2 in nine balls, to reduce the second-placed visitors to 18 for 3 before Compton dominated stands of 54 with James Franklin and 66 with Neil Dexter.The total was on 138 when Compton was fifth out for 71, gloving a leg-side catch to wicketkeeper Michael Richardson when trying to pull John Hastings.It was an unfortunate end to an assured innings, in which he left anything he didn’t need to play at but hit nine firmly-struck fours, mainly through pulls and cover drives.Middlesex were put in on an overcast morning and the first rain interruption, lasting 25 minutes, arrived after seven balls.Onions, out of sorts for much of the season, has worked hard at regaining his previous high standards and had his rewards on a day when his support was below par.His first ball – the seventh of the morning – was cut for four by Sam Robson but after the rain break a ball from Onions started on leg stump and swung past Robson’s outside edge, bringing a huge but unsuccessful appeal for caught behind.Paul Stirling and Robson both fell when shaping to drive, the Irishman going first when he edged to Paul Collingwood at first slip.Late in-swing found Robson’s inside edge on the way to middle stump, which was sent flying, and three balls later Onions swung one into in-form left-hander Dawid Malan to have him lbw.With three seamers injured, Durham handed a debut to James Weighell, an academy product from Teesside.He came on first change and after opening up with a maiden he conceded seven off his second over and made way for John Hastings.Both the Australian and Chris Rushworth, in his second spell, bowled round the wicket to left-hander Franklin without making him play often enough.Franklin was unusually restrained in making 16 of 54 balls before he played inside an in-swinger from Onions and edged it to Collingwood straight after lunch.Occasional extravagant seam movement allowed Weighell to beat Compton on 59, but two balls later Dexter clipped him through midwicket for an all-run four. Dexter was on 23 when the rain arrived with John Simpson on 2.

Former Zimbabwe captain and current Middlesex batting coach Dave Houghton will join Ireland as a batting consultant for their upcoming tour of Zimbabwe.Houghton, who played 22 Tests, has a coaching career spanning 20 years. He had a short stint as coach of Ireland during the 1994 ICC Trophy in Kenya, before going on to coach Worcestershire and Derbyshire. He was also assistant coach at Somerset.”What a great opportunity it is to have the likes of Dave Houghton with us for the Zimbabwe leg of the tour,” said Ireland head coach John Bracewell. “His experience as a coach and knowledge of Zimbabwe is a real bonus to the group.”I have played and coached against Dave for over 30 years and have always admired his manner and temperament in and around cricket. He has always been generous with his time and knowledge and I believe he will be invaluable to all skill-sets on tour.”Expressing delight at being offered the role Houghton said, “This is a very exciting time to be involved with Irish cricket, as they sit on the cusp of achieving their ambition of entering the Test arena. I hope that my knowledge and energy will be of great benefit to them.”Ireland will play three ODIs against Zimbabwe on October 9, 11 and 13 before playing a four-day fixture against Zimbabwe A starting on October 17.

ScorecardFile photo – Left-arm spinner Rahil Shah took two wickets and complemented pacer Aswin Crist•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A four-wicket haul from the medium-pacer Aswin Crist helped Tamil Nadu to crucial first-innings points, against Madhya Pradesh in Indore. MP, who began the day well-placed at 181 for 0 in reply to Tamil Nadu’s 596, suffered a mini-blip once Rahil Shah provided the breakthrough to dismiss Aditya Shrivastava for 90. Shrivastava’s opening partner Jalaj Saxena made his way to a century, but quick strikes from Crist meant MP fell from 213 for 0, to 288 for 7. Naman Ojha offered a brief resistance, scoring 87 and putting up a 94-run stand with Puneet Datey, but Rahil and L Vignesh soon cleaned up the tail, ensuring MP were bowled out 407, and that TN took away three vital points.
ScorecardAndhra claimed three points against Gujarat on the back of a first-innings lead of 113 runs. Resuming the final day on 24 for 1, Gujarat were held together by four half-centuries. Opener Priyank Kirit Panchal added 109 with Bhargav Merai before he became Bodapati Sumanth’s maiden first-class victim. Panchal was the next fall when he was trapped lbw by Prasanth Kumar for 72 off 173 balls. Ruijul Bhatt and Parthiv Patel also hit fifties as Gujarat finished at 254 for 4 in 90 overs.Wicketkeeper-batsman Srikar Bharat, who scored 127 in the first innings, was named Man of the Match.Mumbai v Punjab: Herwadkar six-for seals Mumbai’s innings win

BCCI president Shashank Manohar is set to replace N Srinivasan for the remainder of the latter’s term as ICC chairman. Manohar will occupy the position till end of June next year. The BCCI also appointed former ICC president Sharad Pawar as the second nominee to attend ICC meetings in case Manohar was unavailable.At its 86th annual general meeting, held at its headquarters in Mumbai, the BCCI also made two changes to the national selection panel. Former India wicketkeeper MSK Prasad replaced Roger Binny as South Zone member and Gagan Khoda came in for Rajinder Singh Hans from the Central Zone. Former India pacer and bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad was appointed chairman of the junior selection panel.Some other decisions taken at the AGM were:

• The meeting accepted the conflict of interest reforms “in principle” but there will be discussions on all the suggestions made and doubts raised will be clarified and undertaken over the next few months. It appointed AP Shah, a retired chief justice of the Delhi High Court, as its first Ombudsman.
• The board confirmed Test status for Pune, Ranchi, Indore, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam and Dharamsala.
• Sourav Ganguly replaced Anil Kumble as head of the BCCI’s technical committee.
• PS Raman, a member of the governance review committee, has been appointed chairman of the legal committee
• The DDCA was given a deadline of November 17 to keep the Ferozshah Kotla ready to host the fourth Test between India and South Africa starting December 3. If the DDCA misses the deadline, Pune will host the match.
• Rajeev Shukla, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ajay Shirke, MP Pandove and Sourav Ganguly form the modified IPL governing council which has been cut down from 23 to five as of now. Manohar said there would be “further deliberations” about the possibility of the induction of three independent members into the governing council, a suggestion he had made to the board.
• The India women’s team was awarded contracts for the first time in two grades – of Rs 15 lakhs and Rs 10 lakhs.