Arsenal vs Sunderland final score: Nketiah, Pepe drive blowout (video)

By Dec 21, 2021, 4:38 PM EST
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Arsenal turned on the style to increase its lead over Sunderland to 5-1, cutting through the Black Cats like a hot knife through butter to give Eddie Nketiah a League Cup hat trick.

Nketiah put a silky finishing touch on a brilliant team goal that saw Nicolas Pepe nutmeg a defender after the Gunners went full training exercise on their League One visitors to the Emirates Stadium.

Pepe had a goal and two assists, teenager Charlie Patino came off the bench to score, and Nuno Tavares and Cedric Soares also had assists in the win.  Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was again out of the 18.

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The video of Nketiah’s third goal is below, as Arsenal takes shortcuts to success as the scorer slows his run to live in the middle of a sea of Black Cats.

Sunderland had the match at 2-1 before the break when Nathan Broadhead pulled the Black Cats closer following Nketiah and Pepe goals.

Arsenal teenager Charlie Patino made his debut off the bench in the 80th minute for Emile Smith-Rowe.

Sunderland was understandably outclassed but showed good intent and football early in a match they hope can continue to build momentum toward a Championship return.

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Arsenal vs Sunderland final score, stats:

Arsenal 5-1 Sunderland

Scorers: Nketiah 17′, 49′, 58′; Pepe 27′; Patino 90’+1

Shot attempts: Arsenal 19-12

Shots on goal: Arsenal 10-6

Possession: Arsenal 68-32 Sunderland

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USMNT: Morris injured; Yedlin, Holmes, Gooch make highlight reel (video)

By Feb 20, 2021, 12:28 PM EST
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Americans have been quite busy Saturday in Europe.

One USMNT player sprung a goal with a terrific pass, another struck a sweet goal, and a third scored a brace in a game that saw a fourth stretchered off the pitch.

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Lynden Gooch, Duane Holmes, and DeAndre Yedlin were the producers, while Swansea City sub Jordan Morris is the injured man.

And, sadly, that injury is a major concern for both Swans and his parent club Seattle Sounders.

Morris hurt as Holmes shines

Let’s start with that lone dour note, as Sounders loanee Morris subbed into the match for Swans at halftime. He not only saw Swans go down 4-1 thanks in large part to a Holmes brace, but then left the match injured with his team having used all five subs.

Morris went down and his left leg was put in a brace before he was put onto a stretcher to leave the pitch at Huddersfield Town. His right knee featured the ACL he tore in early 2018.

Holmes’ two goals featured a beauty, as the ex-Derby County man dribbled out from the left wing and sent an arrow from way downtown that Freddie Woodman’s left hand clawing through air.

Fourth-place Swans are on 56 points fail to move into the top two with the loss, though they still have two matches-in-hand on Brentford and Watford sides who boast 57.

Yedlin’s outstanding ball sets up Kilinc goal

DeAndre Yedlin made his first Galatasaray start on Saturday after moving from Newcastle and debuting with two sub stints at right back.

He’s already made a huge difference in Gala taking a 1-0 lead at Alanyaspor.

Yedlin sprung Emre Kilinc with a tremendous diagonal ball in the 18th minute, an aesthetically-pleasing wonder from his own half.

Kilinc needed a rebound to finish the opportunity so Yedlin may not collect an assist unless there’s a kind-hearted scorekeeper, but wow.

There are a couple more Premier League connections in Gala’s lineup Saturday, with ex-Spurs man Gedson Fernandes and former Everton prospect Henry Onyekuru in the visitors’ 4-1-4-1.

Gooch stuns with 19-yard rocket

It’s easy to lose track of Lynden Gooch at Sunderland, as he’s remained faithful to the downtrodden Black Cats all the way into League One.

The California native, now 25, is four seasons removed from making 11 appearances for Sunderland in their relegation from the Premier League.

He had a goal and four assists in the 2017-18 season that saw Sunderland drop a league again, and has 18 goals and 16 assists in two-and-a-half League One seasons following his latest delicious strike.

Gooch collected his third goal to go with five assists this season, digging this ball out from between his pegs to smash Sunderland into sixth place in a 3-0 win at Burton Albion.

The Black Cats are as close to 16th as they are to an automatic promotion place, so Gooch and Co. need more of this to get back to the Championship. If not, will the American take the prime of his career elsewhere, or stay faithful to the club that launched his European career in 2012?

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Brighton gives Premier League return to Danny Welbeck

By Oct 18, 2020, 7:44 AM EDT
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Danny Welbeck has a fifth home in the Premier League and may make his Brighton and Hove Albion debut as early as next week.

The Manchester United-grown striker, 29, and former Arsenal, Watford, and Sunderland man has signed a one-year deal with Graham Potter’s men after leaving the Hornets earlier this month.

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Welbeck has 44 Premier League goals in his career including a terrific overhead goal for Watford in Project Restart this summer.

Capable of playing anywhere across an attack, Welbeck’s problem has been staying healthy; The former England national team regular has played 30 PL matches just once.

Here’s Potter:

“We are delighted to have Danny joining us. He will complement our existing striking options. He’s got an undoubted pedigree, and he is quick and technically very good. He will add to our attacking threat and we are thrilled to add another player of his experience and quality.”

Brighton plays Crystal Palace away at Selhurst Park on Sunday (Watch live, 9am ET online via Peacock Premium) and could see Welbeck debut in just over a week against West Brom.

Potter’s attack is an intriguing proposition for any attacker, and Welbeck gives Brighton yet another very different threat in attack. Neal Maupay and Leandro Trossard are the stars of the show but Aaron Connolly is growing in threat while Jose Izquierdo is returning from injury and Alireza Jahanbakhsh has started to find his footing though he is set to miss out on Sunday’s derby.

USMNT forward Gooch crafts long solo goal for Sunderland (video)

By Sep 20, 2020, 9:25 AM EDT
Lynden Gooch goal video
Photo by Leila Coker/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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Former Premier League mainstay Sunderland is still toiling away in League One, but American forward Lynden Gooch enjoyed the competition on Saturday.

The Californian, 24, is a Black Cats lifer having joined the club at age 17 in 2012. He’s stuck with the club despite two relegations after his 11-appearance Premier League run in 2016-17.

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Gooch came off the bench with Sunderland up 1-0 and delivering the second goal of the game within four minutes of his entrance.

There was some comical defending on the play, though we’d like to say the American bewitched Oxford United with his 20th senior goal for Sunderland to go with 17 assists in 126 outings.

Sunderland drew Bristol Rovers in its league opener and sit fifth on the table.

Gooch has made four substitute appearances for the USMNT but none since 2018.

Celtic, Aberdeen games called off after coronavirus breaches

By Aug 11, 2020, 8:35 AM EDT
Boli Bolingoli
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Celtic and Aberdeen have been slammed by the Scottish government and their games in the next week will not go ahead after coronavirus breaches from players.

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Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon addressed the situation regarding the two Scottish Premiership clubs and said fans should “not expect to see Aberdeen or Celtic play over the course of the coming week.”

It has emerged that Celtic player Boli Bolingoli had traveled to Spain and failed to quarantine on return before Celtic’s game against Kilmarnock on Aug. 9, breaking Scottish law, as the club released a statement saying the Belgian wide-man will be disciplined and slammed the ‘stupidity’ of his actions.

That came after eight Aberdeen players apologized after they broke guidelines by going out to a bar following a loss to Rangers on Aug. 1.

Here is more information on the situation in Scotland regarding Boli Bolingoli and the Aberdeen players from our partners at Sky Sports:

“What I regret is that some football players seem incapable of living up to their responsibilities. I very much regret that. When I stood here on Friday I think my frustration with the Aberdeen football situation was pretty palpable,” Sturgeon said.

“I don’t want the season to be in jeopardy. I don’t want people who are not responsible for this to pay the price but we have to be very clear that this situation is not acceptable. We’ll set out the conclusion of the talks later today but as a minimum, you should not expect to see Aberdeen or Celtic play over the course of the coming week.”

It comes just days after Aberdeen’s trip to St Johnstone was called off due to two of their players testing positive for coronavirus.

Quite simply, these players should know better.

The Scottish government went on to acknowledge that the vast majority of people with Scottish football are following the guidelines but the actions of a small minority are putting everyone at risk.

After ending the 2019-20 season early due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020-21 Scottish Premiership season has just kicked off and already these issues are cropping up.

Celtic were due to play St Mirren on Aug. 12 then, ironically, Aberdeen on Aug. 15. Aberdeen were due to play Hamilton Academical on Aug. 12.