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Reported Arsenal target Riyad Mahrez scored a stunning goal for Leicester City in their 3-2 win against Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Saturday, and Gunners fans have urged their club to sign the Algerian.

The Mirror reported back in October that the north London outfit and arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur are ready to go head-to-head during the January transfer window to complete a £30m deal for the winger.

Following a disappointing personal campaign last time out, the 26-year-old is starting to recapture the form that saw him win the 2015/16 PFA Player of the Year award, and brilliant strike against the Magpies now means he has five goals and five assists in 17 appearances in all competitions this term.

Arsenal supporters were quick to have their say on his display via social media, and while one said “I want Mahrez so bad”, another said “surely we’ve got to replace Walcott with Mahrez in January”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Arsenal won a record 13th FA Cup on Saturday after producing a wonderful display against Chelsea at Wembley.

Goals from Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey gave them a 2-1 win over their London rivals in a match that many people expected they would lose.

Incredibly, Arsene Wenger has won seven of the Gunners’ 13 FA Cup wins, also a record for a single manager. His record in the competition is undeniable, more often than not finding the right blend of attacking prowess and winning spirit to be a success in single leg knockout football.

After a long and difficult season during which the Frenchman has had to endure significant fan pressure, the win is an indicator that their may be more life in his Arsenal career than many expect.

In fact, after the win many fans were quick to defend his record and counter the increasing calls of ‘Wenger out’ over the last few months.

Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his future with many wanting him to stay for another season at least…

Oh, the international break; just when the Premier League appeared to be hitting a peak of excitement, drama and unpredictability, it timely returns in an attempt to bore us all to death.

England struggle to beat X, scoreless draws between Malta and Montenegro, Roy Keane saying something slightly controversial whilst donning increasingly dishevelled facial hair – every international break follows a mind-numbingly similar pattern.

But don’t be fooled, the international break is a fantastic chance to broaden your footballing horizons and soak in some of the finest talents not on show in the Premier League, whilst those already employed by the English top flight are suddenly put into a different context.

It’s an ideal opportunity to partake in some scouting on behalf of your respective club and with that in mind, here’s a look at four reported transfer targets Manchester United fans should keep an eye out for over the next ten days.

Gelson Martins

Linked by Mirror Football last month, Gelson Martins has enjoyed a fantastic start to the season, notching up two goals and four assists in 10 Primeira Liga appearances whilst also impressing for Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.

The 21-year-old winger-come-right-back claimed his first cap for Portugal earlier this year and considering the frailty of the opposition, he has a pretty good chance of picking up a third against Latvia (likely from the bench) on Thursday night.

Andre Silva

Another Portugal starlet linked with the Red Devils, amongst a host of their Premier League rivals, Andre Silva’s senior international career has begun with a flurry of four goals in as many appearances, albeit coming against tepid opposition in Andorra and the Faroe Islands.

The Porto striker’s domestic form has been equally impressive, claiming seven goals in the Primeira Liga and two strikes against Club Bruges in the Champions League.

Portugal’s struggle to fina a dependable front-man for Cristiano Ronaldo to play off is well known; Silva could well be the answer to that long-standing issue, with Latvia representing another chance to impress.

Virgil van Dijk

Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk will already be well known to most Manchester United fans. The former Celtic star, who was linked with the Red Devils last weekend, has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League since moving to the south coast, but his exposure to international football is notably limited with just eight caps to date.

However, the classy centre-back has been included in Danny Blind’s latest squad and with Oranje’s defensive options hardly outstanding, we expect him to start in the friendly against bitter rivals Belgium on Wednesday night. The 25-year-old’s performance in a high-profile fixture against one of the most talented attacks in world football could give an insight into whether he can cut the mustard at Old Trafford.

Antoine Griezmann

Antoine Griezmann has been mooted as a prime Red Devils target repeatedly since the close of the summer window, with Mirror Football, Manchester Evening News and Bleacher Report all giving their take on a potential Old Trafford transfer in recent months.

The majority of United fans will already feel well acquainted with the Euro 2016 Golden Boot winner but should they need further evidence of whether his £89million release clause is justified, he’s certainly worth a watch as France take on Sweden and the Ivory Coast.

While we can almost guarantee the forward getting on the score sheet, how the 38-cap international would fit into Manchester United’s starting XI could become more evident in Didier Deschamps’ 4-3-3 formation.

Reece James set an ambitious target of 40 goals this season for sister and Chelsea forward Lauren, as he jokes she should score "a hat-trick a game."

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• Chelsea forward in sensational form this term
• Brother Reece pushes her for more glory
• Wants Lauren to hit at least 40 goals this season

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  James was recognised as theBarclays Women's Super League (WSL) Player of the Monthfor January for her impressive performance in two crucial WSL fixtures against Manchester United and Brighton. She scored a hat-trick against the Red Devils and followed it up with a brace in the Blues' 3-0 victory over the Sea Gulls. However, her brother Reece, believes that she is capable of attaining more glory and set her an ambitious target of scoring 40 goals this season.

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• WHAT REECE JAMES SAID

  The interviewer asked Reece, how many goals could Lauren score this season. The defender replied: "40 goals, maybe? Anything less than 40 is disappointing."

  "So not high standards or anything for her?"

  "No. She should score a hat-trick a game."

  When the interviewer asked if Reece would give her a brief after each match, he responded: "No, I don't need to say anything, she knows."

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  When Lauren was asked about the target that she had set for herself, the forward said, "I'm hoping to get 20."

  When she was informed that her brother wanted her to get past the 40-mark she was shocked!

  "40?!" Yeah, that is very high (standards)," Lauren responded.

Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are among the nominees for the 2023 FIFA Best Men’s Player award, with Declan Rice also on the list.

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Man City stars dominate after Treble triumphArgentine icon current holder of the prizePortuguese superstar left off 12-man listWHAT HAPPENED?

Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is the current holder of the most prestigious individual award handed out by world football’s governing body. He is back to defend that crown after helping Argentina to World Cup glory at Qatar 2022.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Haaland is another leading contender for the top prize after his 52 goals contributed to Manchester City claiming a historic Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League Treble in 2022-23. Paris Saint-Germain superstar Mbappe scored a hat-trick for France in the World Cup final, only to end up on the losing side, and has remained a model of consistency at club level.

DID YOU KNOW?

England international Rice captained West Ham to Europa Conference League glory last term, before securing a £105 million ($131m) transfer to Arsenal, while Kevin De Bruyne, Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva join City team-mate Haaland on the shortlist. Rodri, following his winning goal in the 2023 Champions League final, is also included alongside former Etihad Stadium team-mate Ilkay Gundogan – who skippered City to their memorable trophy triumphs before heading for Barcelona.

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Getty WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

While the list of contenders is loaded with talent and trophies, there is no place for Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo – who has also been overlooked in the Ballon d’Or race for 2023. He claimed the inaugural FIFA Best award in 2016, before doubling up in 2017, but has not figured inside the top three places since 2020.

La Roja hammered Costa Rica on Wednesday night but where does that result rank in terms of the largest margins of victory in tournament history?

We've seen some incredible results throughout the illustrious history of the World Cup.

Germany's 7-1 demolition of Brazil at the 2014 edition of the tournament still sits fresh in the mind.

Remarkably, that dismal night for Selecao supporters doesn't even feature in the top 10 of the most one-sided games in World Cup history.

Below, GOAL runs through the biggest wins the tournament has ever seen, starting with Spain's demolition job on Costa Rica at the Al Thumama Stadium on Wednesday night…

Getty Images=7. Spain 7-0 Costa Rica – 2022

Spain started their 2022 World Cup campaign with a thumping 7-0 victory over Costa Rica.

Dani Olmo grabbed the first goal in the 11th minute and that essentially opened the floodgates. Marco Asensio, Gavi, Carlos Soler, and Alvaro Morata got one each thereafter, while Ferran Torres netted twice on the night.

Gavi's strike in particular was masterful and ensured he became the youngest scorer for Spain in World Cup history in the process.

AdvertisementPATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA=7. Portugal 7-0 North Korea – 2010

The 2010 World Cup clash between Portugal and North Korea was marked by Cristiano Ronaldo ending a 16-month drought at international level, but it would be his only goal of the competition.

Raul Meireles, Simao, Hugo Almeida, Liedson and Tiago (two) completed the scoring in what was the only fixture in the tournament in which the Portuguese found the back of the net.

Getty=7. Poland 7-0 Haiti – 1974

Poland racked up three wins from three games in the group stage of the 1974 World Cup on their way to a third-place finish, with their 7-0 thrashing of Haiti particularly impressive.

Andrzej Szarmach hit a hat-trick, Grzegorz Lato bagged a brace, while Jerzy Gorgon, and Kazimierz Deyna score one goal apiece.

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Getty=7. Turkey 7-0 Korea Republic – 1954

The 1954 World Cup provided a plethora of one-sided encounters, with Turkey's 7-0 drubbing of South Korea just one of a handful of games to end with one side scoring six or more goals than their opponents.

In fact, in Group Two alone, 32 goals were scored across just four games between Turkey, Korea, West Germany and the great Hungary side of the time.

MatériaMais Notícias

A tarde de domingo foi positiva para o Grêmio. No Bento de Freitas, o Tricolor bateu o Brasil de Pelotas pela vantagem mínima e amenizou a estreia amarga no meio da semana.

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Um dos destaques da partida foi o meio-campo Maicon, que teve um fim de temporada com lesões e pouco conseguiu ajudar o time dentro das quatro linhas.

‘Estou bem. Minha pré-temporada foi muito boa. Fiz grandes trabalhos com os fisioterapeutas e preparador físico. Estão me dando suporte para jogar. Feliz por estar jogando mais noventa minutos, uma partida inteira. Acho que isso é importante. Cada treino eu vou melhorando, cada jogo vou procurando melhorar mais, para que eu possa jogar mais partidas assim durante o ano’, declarou.

Sobre o time, o meio-campista acredita que pode melhorar o seu desempenho no decorrer das partidas.

‘É inicio de temporada, segundo jogo, mas a gente tem de caprichar mais. Tivemos bastante oportunidades hoje e a gente sabe que nesses jogos é bem difícil reverter depois, porque as equipes se fecham bastante. Mas hoje tivemos superioridade e uma vitória importante. Agora é garantir em casa para buscar a classificação’, afirmou Maicon.

Legspinner Ish Sodhi has credited his partnership with left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner in domestic cricket, with Northern Districts, for their success in the World T20

Arun Venugopal in Kolkata25-Mar-2016Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner, 23 and 24 respectively, neither look nor sound dangerous. They don’t possess a big bank of glittering past performances to fall back upon and no weighty reputation to keep. When New Zealand played three spinners, including Nathan McCullum, in their opening game against India, it may have come across as a case of a foreign side overestimating the spin-friendly nature of Indian surfaces. All it took was 18.1 overs in the chase in Nagpur for such theories to be debunked.The Santner-Sodhi partnership has earned New Zealand 13 wickets at an economy rate of 5.29 in three matches and has inarguably been at the heart of New Zealand bossing their way to the semi-finals. It’s been as emphatic an ambush as any with many players yet to work out the methods of Sodhi and Santner. What is worth remembering is this isn’t so much a selection punt as just reward for their recent consistent performances. Their recent numbers are a good place to start.Since December last year, Santner has picked up 21 wickets from 16 limited-overs games at an average of 20.61, while Sodhi has helped himself to nine from eight limited-overs matches at 20.88. That they are team-mates at the domestic level and are good friends has only strengthened their symphony. “We’ve played a lot of domestic cricket together for the Northern Districts, played some crucial roles with him in Twenty20 and one-day cricket,” Sodhi said. “To be able to do it at this level is really pleasing, and to have a good friend, a good partner at the other end, helps me want to support him really nicely from the other end.”Sodhi said he and Santner always had Daniel Vettori’s ear and reaped the benefits of picking his brains. Sodhi, however, felt there were few similarities between Santner and Vettori as left-arm spinners. “For us to have had Dan [Vettori] for advise and support is really, really good because he’s done that for years and to have that voice to go to whenever needed is really nice for him and myself as well.”I think he is a fantastic bowler in his own right,” Sodhi said. “A lot of people are comparing Santner to Vettori but they are completely different bowlers and I think Santner is being himself as much as he can and it’s working really well for him. I’m hoping he can continue for a long period of time.”Santner’s strength, according to Sodhi, was the ferocious rip he exerted on the ball – an upshot of pitches in New Zealand not facilitating appreciable turn. Consequently, his menace has been amplified on friendlier pitches like the ones in the World T20. “Santner is a finger spinner but he really puts revs on like a leg-spin bowler, he puts a lot of revs on the ball,” he said. “But you have to do that in the conditions we were brought up in because they are not very conducive to spin, so you have to get something out of the wicket and I think he is a product of that. And over here when he puts a lot of revs on the ball he becomes even harder to play. It’s probably a product of where we grow up and it’s seeming to hold him in pretty good stead over here.”Sodhi attributed his own development as a legspinner over the last few years to working on his fitness and discussing his game with his coaches and mentors. “I have met quite a few players who I feed off, quite a few mentors, coaches and stuff like that,” he said. “A lot of the work that I put into my game over the last year or so has been really good. Trying to keep things simple – try and put revs on the ball and put it in the right area – it’s as simple as it has to be. Three or four years of learning the game and going through struggles and things like that and it’s all coming to the fore now.”New Zealand have not been shy of fielding different combinations during the World T20, after factoring the conditions and the opposition’s strength. Sodhi, who admitted to being surprised by the amount of turn on offer, said New Zealand’s preparedness and adaptability helped them invariably settle in on the best XI.”To be completely honest I didn’t expect it to turn as much as it has. Most of the tournaments that I have watched over here in the past few years have been pretty decent batting surfaces,” he said. “Then [for it] to turn as much has been unexpected but we have had to adapt and I think we have done that pretty well so far.”Selection really comes down to the last day. The selections are made by the captain and the coach and you have to put the trust in them that they are going to provide the right team to combat the conditions. We are really blessed to have some good people out there making those decisions and they’ve done a really good job so far. Kane [Williamson] as a captain has been really good over here. He’s really a very good captain when it comes to teaching you to adapt to different conditions because he does with his own batting skill as well.”

Jerome Taylor refused to question why he bowled so few overs for West Indies on the first day of the Jamaica Test match, despite looking by far the most likely man to unpick the lock to Australia’s batting order at Sabina Park

Daniel Brettig in Kingston12-Jun-20151:38

Jerome Taylor picked up 3 for 18 from 15 overs on the first day

Jerome Taylor refused to question why he bowled so few overs for West Indies on the first day of the Jamaica Test match, despite looking by far the most likely man to unpick the lock to Australia’s batting order at Sabina Park.Possessing an already handsome record at the ground, Taylor improved it further by picking up 3 for 18 from his 15 overs, a tally of deliveries that might easily have been greater. By day’s end his Sabina Park ledger stood at 26 wickets at 13.11 from four and a quarter Test matches, leaving many to wonder why the captain Denesh Ramdin did not afford him further opportunities in the morning and then again with the second new ball in the evening.”I’m only one person,” Taylor countered. “It is a bowling unit and each of us have to get a fair chance out there. So, at the same time we know what is required moving forward, so it is a case where each and every one has to chip in. And I think the effort was good at the end of the day.”About not using the second new ball, Taylor said: “The old ball was working for us. We didn’t know what the new ball would have been like. So, what was happening was the work we were doing, bowling as well as possible, and see what we could get out of it. So, it is about taking the new ball tomorrow, at whatever time, and at the end of the day it is what it is. It is a good team effort.”As one of the Caribbean’s most storied grounds, Sabina Park features two ends bearing the names of the pace bowling giants Michael Holding and Courtney Walsh. It was from Holding’s end that Taylor raced in to the wicket, finding swing to add to the speed and bounce he was able to extract from the pitch, particularly when it was fresh. His performance came close to validating Ramdin’s decision to send Australia in.”It is a decision that the captain took and decided, we have to support the skipper 100% so as the bowling leader it was up to me to lead the charge from the front,” Taylor said. “It means a lot to me. Of course it is my home crowd, this is a happy hunting ground for me. I have memories that will live with me for the rest of my life. So, being here performing for the crowd and the people of the West Indies and Jamaica, it is just a fantastic feeling.”Once you are comfortable with your run-up and have you balance then, I mean, that’s the two primary things, so it is about hitting the area and concentrating for a long period.”The West Indies’ day turned less on anything Taylor did than the one ball with which his offsider Kemar Roach appeared to have taken a wicket. Roach had a poor day, unable to get his lines or lengths consistent, but when he claimed a return catch from the Australian captain Michael Clarke, the tourists were looking at serious trouble. Instead, Clarke was reprieved by a Roach no-ball, and the rest of the first session provided evidence of how sapping such moments can be as Clarke and Steven Smith wrested control.”It is a blow,” Taylor said. “We all know that having Michael Clarke on a no-ball, it is a big chance, but at the end of the day it is still cricket and these things do happen and we have to move on past that. Unfortunately Roachy didn’t get the wicket there but we got him out in the end and it is a good feeling for us.”The first session of the day went haywire and then the bowlers really came back and pulled it together and pulled back the Aussies so much. So, I mean, we are confident about moving forward.”

To hear Joe Root talk the day after England’s latest defeat – this time at the hands of Sri Lanka – you would have thought they had experienced one bad day.Root suggested it was “not fair” to conclude from recent results that a chasm exists between England and the best ODIs sides. He suggested it was “very harsh” to suggest England’s fielding had been substandard. He felt there were “a lot of positives” to come from the performance.But it is not so. The statistics paint a clear picture.England have lost 16 of their last 21 ODIs against Full Members. The last four of those have been thrashings. In the last five-and-a-half World Cups they have won five and lost 17 matches against Full Member nations. They have not won an ODI series for a year; when Ashley Giles was coach, Stuart Broad was captain and Michael Lumb made a century on debut. They have dropped several chances in recent games, including Aaron Finch before he had scored in Melbourne and Lahiru Thirimanne on 2 in Wellington. Both went on to make centuries. Sunday’s result was not an aberration.Root, of course, was in an impossible position.The man who, at 24, had just become England’s youngest World Cup centurion deserved a better fate than being wheeled out to explain the team’s latest calamity. The ECB might as well have thrown out a piece of meat.But their logic was simple. They no longer trust some of those in management to defuse situations – Paul Downton was originally pencilled in to take this press conference and every time Colin Graves speaks he undermines his executive team – and they hoped that, by producing one of the few men who has performed well in recent days, they might distract attention from the wretched performance of England’s most senior cricketers in the field.It was a desperate ploy. The ECB knew full well that a report leading with Joe Root’s century would be like leading a report into the sinking of Titanic by noting that the band played beautifully.And what else could Root say? While “We’re hopeless and might as well come home now” might have been honest, it would not be appropriate. Root and co. must continue to believe even when logic cries otherwise.Besides, amid the bluster, there was candour. The England camp has blamed, without equivocation, Sunday’s defeat on the bowlers. Despite some suggesting that England’s total of 309 for 6 was under par – it was the highest score (for a few hours) on the ground since December 2005 – Root was clear where the fault lay.”We weren’t disciplined enough with the ball and we leaked too many boundaries,” Root said. “We couldn’t quite create the pressure with the ball that they did.”That’s not hiding from the fact that we didn’t bowl well. We all know that in the dressing room. We all know that in the squad. The key is to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. I don’t think it was a plan to bowl width and leak boundaries.”Root denied that the self-belief had drained out of the squad, but there were times when his words underlined the paucity of their ambition. For example, he suggested that England’s current standings in the Group A table – leaning rather than standing might be a better description – were distorted by the fact that three of their first four games have come against Full Member nations. Had they only faced Bangladesh and Afghanistan earlier, he suggested, things may not look so bleak.”The way our schedule is, we have these games towards the end,” he said. “If it was broken up a bit more it might look slightly different.”We want to win these two games convincingly. We don’t want to just scrape through: we want to put in some really good performances and put to bed some of the things we’ve got wrong so far.”But there is no way to do that at this stage. There is no margin of victory over Bangladesh or Afghanistan that can paper over the cracks in this England side.And Root’s analysis grew even more modest. “We know that if we get through to the quarter-final we’ll be in a position where we have nothing to lose,” he continued. “There will be sides coming up against us who could potentially be quite timid and think they should beat us and that could work in our favour. By the time you get to that stage it’s crunch time and every side is under pressure, not just us. Hopefully we can get those wins and build some momentum.”In short, England aim to slip into the last eight by defeating two Associate teams and Bangladesh – far from a foregone conclusion – and then, with that terribly modest and vaguely face-saving ambition fulfilled, trust that everything might just come together on the night.The Ashes were moved for that? England have built for four years for that? They have played six months of nothing but ODI cricket for that? Players and coaches were sacked in the hope of reaching a quarter-final? Never in the history of England cricket has the bar been set so low.