1. Gooners swoon over new kits
A picture has been leaked of Arsenal’s “new” Adidas shirts for next season and Gooners are in love with the designs.
Worn by star strikers Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette the home and away strips are being praised by Arsenal supporters on social media.
“Shut up and take my money,” said one delighted fan on Twitter.
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2. Ronnie’s rocket revelation
Snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed that he won’t play in next year’s World Championship. He told The Daily Telegraph: “This year I played 11 tournaments; next year I’m only going to have to play three. I only want to play a few games to keep a bit of interest. I’m bored at home. Maybe three or four tournaments a year. Low key ones, where there is no media and no press. So I will miss the Masters, I will miss the World Championship and I will miss the UK [Championship].”
3. Fifa scraps 48-team World Cup plan
Fifa’s plan to increase the number of teams for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has been scrapped. The Times reports that football’s global governing body wanted to expand the next World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, but political problems in the Gulf and Middle East have proved too big a challenge to overcome.
4. Award double for World Cup hopeful Cipriani
After being named the Premiership’s player of the season Danny Cipriani now has his eye on a place in England’s squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The Gloucester fly-half, 31, had already won the Rugby Players Association’s annual award earlier this month.
5. Poch and Becks
Former England captain David Beckham dropped in on Tottenham training yesterday ahead of their Uefa Champions League final against Liverpool. Beckham was pictured at the Spurs training session with current Three Lions skipper Harry Kane and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino. The Daily Mail reports that Kane has stepped up his bid for full fitness ahead of the final in Madrid on 1 June.
6. ‘Back me or sack me’
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has issued an ultimatum ahead of next week’s Uefa Europa League final against Arsenal on 29 May. In a bold move Sarri has told the Chelsea board to “sack me now” if his future depends on the result in Baku. See today’s back pages for more.
7. ‘Quadzilla’ quits athletics for rugby sevens
Sprinter Trae Williams has signed a two-year contract with the Australia rugby sevens team. The 22-year-old, who is nicknamed ‘Quadzilla’, has a personal best time of 10.10secs in the 100m, the fourth best time for an Australian.
8. Inter eye Lukaku and Moses
Sky Sports reports that Inter Milan are expected to appoint Antonio Conte as their new head coach next week. Former Chelsea boss Conte, who will replace Luciano Spalletti, already has a wishlist of players that he wants at his new club. Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku and Chelsea winger Victor Moses are linked with a move to the San Siro. See more Premier League transfer news here.
9. ‘Big three’ are the top seeds in France
The seedings have been revealed for the 2019 French Open tennis grand slam and in the men’s draw the “big three” of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer take the top three spots. In the women’s singles world No.1 Naomi Osaka is the top seed while Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep are seeded two and three. The French Open starts on Sunday at Roland-Garros.
10. F1 teams pay tribute to Lauda
Formula 1 teams and drivers are paying tribute to Niki Lauda at the Monaco Grand Prix. The Austrian, a three-time world champion, passed away on Monday aged 70.
Lauda was the chairman of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport and the team tweeted a picture of its tribute on Thursday.
“From today, the W10 will carry a single red star on its livery,” Mercedes said. “For our Chairman and for our friend.”
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