Arsenal battled Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at Anfield in Saturday’s Premier League heavyweight clash.

The Gunners have now gone three consecutive games without defeat against Liverpool.

Also, it is back-to-back draws for the Gunners at Anfield in the Premier League.

The draw saw Arsenal remain top in the league table on 40 points while Liverpool are second with 39 points.

Arsenal took the lead on four minutes after a positive start as Gabriel Magalhaes headed in Martin Odegaard’s free kick.

Liverpool were back on level terms in the 29th minute thanks to Mohamed Salah, who received a long pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold, beat Oleksandr Zinchenko before rifling into the roof of the net.

The Reds should have sealed the win in the second half following a counter attack but Alexander-Arnold was his effort hit the cross bar.

Also, Jurgen Klopp’s men lost Kostas Tsimikas and Luis Diaz to injury.

Napoli Insert N129.5B Release Clause In Contract

African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen, has signed a new deal to stay at Napoli until 2026. The new deal is worth N9.9 billion (10m euros) yearly, which means the U-17 World Cup winner will earn N830.5 million monthly and N206.6 million every week.

In the new deal, any club that wants to prise Osimhen out of Napoli’s firm grips must be ready to cough out N129.5 billion (130m euros) to get the Nigerian gem.

According to football-italia.net Napoli President, Aurelio De Laurentiis, announced that latest development himself, posting the images of Osimhen signing the paperwork with only one word: ‘Done!’

The patron had already hinted at the deal on Friday night when telling TG1 it could be ‘the surprise gift under the Christmas Tree’ for his fans.
According to reports, including Sky Sport Italia, Fabrizio Romano and more, Osimhen’s new pay is the total sum after tax.

The release clause is valid only for clubs outside of Italy during the summer. Arsenal, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are unlikely to be put off by that kind of asking price.

Napoli paid N74.7 billion (€75m) plus bonuses to sign Osimhen from Lille in September 2020 and he helped them win the Scudetto, becoming the first ever African Capocannoniere of Serie A and African Player of the Year.

The 24-year-old scored 26 Serie A goals in 32 appearances in 2022-23 as he helped Napoli win their first league title in 33 years. Osimhen, who managed 31 goals in all competitions last season, was crowned the Italian footballers’ association player of the year earlier this month.
He also named as the African Footballer of the Year for 2023.

Osimhen said in November that he made a decision that was “good for his career” after being linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in the summer. His previous contract was scheduled to expire in 2025.

Napoli confirmed the extension to the forward’s contract on social media with a post that read “together until 2026” and a picture of Osimhen and club president, Aurelio De Laurentiis.

Anthony Joshua (R) competes with Sweden’s Otto Wallin during their heavyweight boxing match at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on December 23, 2023. 

Anthony Joshua delivered one of his best displays in recent memory with an impressive stoppage of Otto Wallin in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

The 34-year-old made it three wins from three in 2023 after the fight was called off following a thunderous fifth round which left Wallin unable to continue.

Joshua, having already beaten Jermaine Franklin Jr by unanimous decision in April before sealing a seventh-round stoppage against Robert Helenius in August, cruised to a 27th professional career victory.

But the identity of his next opponent is unclear following Joseph Parker’s shock defeat of Deontay Wilder on the same card.

Joshua has recorded three career losses so far – beaten by Andy Ruiz in 2019 before Oleksandr Usyk defeated him twice – while the Swedish southpaw Wallin had only one career loss to date against Tyson Fury.

But Joshua came flying out of the blocks in Riyadh and inflicted damage on Wallin as early as the second round.

Joshua landed a left hook to Wallin’s head, followed by a thunderous right cross and a second quick right which left Wallin frazzled and with blood leaking from his right nostril.

On to the third and Wallin’s patched-up nose was pouring again as Joshua landed another right. A strong left knocked Wallin off balance, and the former European champion was backed up on to the ropes and now with a cut to his right eye.

A steely-looking Joshua showed no sign of easing up in the fourth round as he landed a number of head and body shots on his opponent. A right hand skimmed the face of Wallin with Joshua looking comfortable and in control.

In the fifth, Joshua was throwing menacing, calculated punches with Wallin offering little to nothing in attack. Then with just over one minute of the round remaining, Joshua unleashed a superb left hook to leave Wallin stumbling towards the ropes.

Wallin managed to stay on his feet and see out the round, but the Swede’s corner said their fighter was unable to continue as Joshua celebrated a destructive win.

Asked if this felt like this was a throwback fight, Joshua said: “Not a throwback fight, just another fight.

“I respect Otto and I was telling everyone in the build-up I need to focus on the man in front of me because of what he brings to the table. It was just another day in the office.”

“(My approach) was victory by any means. This is a treacherous business. It is like snakes and ladders, one win takes you up the ladder and a defeat takes you all the way down so I just want to be victorious for as long as I can. I am a gifted fighter who has a special gift and I am just searching for greatness.”

Reflecting on Wilder’s defeat, Joshua added: “I wasn’t watching. I focus on myself. I know how important this fight is for me. I heard Deontay lost but so what, he will come back. It shows this business is fine margins.”

“Deontay, everything he has said about me, I could rip him apart right now, but I am going to take the higher ground and I hope he comes back.”

When it was suggested to him that his much-anticipated fight against Wilder could now be off the table, Joshua replied: “No. If he wants, he can come back and fight another day. It is up to him and I am sure everybody still wants to see that fight.”

Wilder, who has claimed 42 of his 43 victories by knockout, was the overwhelming favourite to beat Parker, but the New Zealander ripped up the script with a crushing victory.

Parker dominated Wilder, heavily regarded as one of the biggest punches the heavyweight division has ever seen, with a perfectly executed gameplan that left his American opponent bamboozled.

Parker was comfortably ahead on the scorecard heading into the eighth round where he delivered an overhand right and then a flurry of destructive punches as Wilder clung on.

Wilder was hurt and Parker went for the finish, but the Bronze Bomber, who last fought in October 2022 – a first-round knockout win over Robert Helenius – survived the round.

Parker landed another big left hand in the ninth, with Wilder looking increasingly vulnerable.

Parker remained composed in the 10th and 11th before a desperate Wilder came out swinging in the final round looking for the knockout blow required.

But Parker never looked in danger of losing against the former WBC champion as he sealed a huge upset, with the judges scoring the most one-sided of bouts, 118-111, 118-110, 120-108 in the 31-year-old’s favour.

The Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) has named 68 match officials for the Africa Cup of Nations holding next month  in Cote d’Ivoire.

Overall, there are 26 match referees, 30 assistant referees and 12 Video Assistant Referees (VAR). Expectedly, Nigerian referees were not found good enough for the continent’s premier football competition.

While there is no Nigerian official, Morocco feature prominently in the three tiers of officiating having three of the 26 referees, two of the 30 Assistant Referees and two of the 12 VAR officials totaling seven.

Egypt also have two referees, two assistant referees and also, two VAR officials. Ostensibly, the VAR officials are drawn from the African countries where VAR is operative.

VAR is currently not in operation in Nigeria’s domestic games. According to a release by CAF, all selected referees are expected to arrive in Cote d’Ivoire on 5 January 2024 for a refresher course which will be inclusive of physical and theoretical testing of all officials.

Nigerian international forward Victor Osimhen has signed a contract extension with Napoli until 2026, the Serie A champions announced on Saturday.

Victor and Napoli together until 2026,” said Napoli on social media, alongside a picture of the Nigerian international striker signing the new deal alongside club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.

Napoli have not revealed any details of the new contract but Italian media report that a release clause worth between 120 million and 130 million euros ($132 million and $143 million) has been inserted to ensure the club do not lose their star player to Premier League suitors without cashing in.

Osimhen’s previous deal would have expired in June 2025 and his renewal has been a major subject of discussion in Italy since Napoli won their first league title in over three decades last season.

He scored 26 league goals as under departed coach Luciano Spalletti, Napoli captivated Europe with thrilling football and were crowned champions for the first time since Diego Maradona was with the club.

In total Osimhen has scored 67 times in 118 appearances since signing from Lille in 2020.

Napoli are however 14 points behind Serie A leaders Inter ahead of their clash at rivals Roma on Sunday night and were dumped out of the Italian Cup by Frosinone midweek.