Today’s back pages: Arsenal and Luiz are ‘saved by the Bell’, Rashford ruckus, Saracens saga

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Drama at the Bridge

There is one story that dominates the back pages and that is Arsenal’s dramatic 2-2 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Domination is what the Blues did to the Gunners on the pitch, but the visitors still managed to share the spoils thanks to Hector Bellerin’s late equaliser.

“Saved by the Bell” is the headline in the Independent, Daily Star and the Daily Express, while Metro plumps for “Gunners survive Luiz cannon”, a nod to the first-half red card for ex-Chelsea defender David Luiz.

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Rashford ruckus

The other prominent story making the back pages is the long-term injury to Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford.

The Times claims that the stress fracture to his back could keep Rashford out of England’s Euro 2020 campaign, which will be “a worry” for England manager Gareth Southgate, given that Harry Kane’s hamstring injury has also cast a doubt on his availability.

The Daily Mirror and the Independent focus on the criticism directed towards United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

BBC pundit Ian Wright has accused the United boss of putting his own needs before those of his player, but the Norwegian has hit back, saying: “I never put myself before the team. I always put the team and the club before anything else.”

Saracens saga

Several papers carry the latest news on Saracens, the bad boys of English rugby union, after their relegation from the Premiership for breaching salary cap limits.

The Daily Express slams Sarries for their lack of contrition and says that the club has “refused to hand back trophies” that were won during their tainted era.

Independent reports that Saracens are refusing to refund season-ticket holders despite the fact that next season they will be watching their team in the second tier of English rugby.

The Guardian’s angle is that Saracens should “come clean over [the] salary-cap report”, which they are allegedly not doing at the moment.

Today’s newspaper back pages

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