After a challenging few weeks that have seen them drop points on more than one occasion, Arsenal will spend Christmas atop the Premier League table.

However, while Mikel Arteta’s side won’t be in league action until the end of the week, they’ve got the tough test of Crystal Palace away in the League Cup on Tuesday night.

Beat the Eagles and the Gunners are rewarded with a two-legged semi-final against Chelsea and the chance to make it to Wembley Stadium for the first time since 2020.

To ensure Arsenal have the best chance of beating Palace, Arteta should make some changes to his lineup, including replacing Viktor Gyokeres with someone who has been compared to the legendary Thierry Henry.

Why Gyokeres should be dropped

The argument for dropping Gyokeres against Palace on Tuesday night is straightforward: cup competitions are usually a chance for managers to rest and rotate their regular starters.

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However, some might argue that the Swede should keep his place for the following run of matches, especially after he scored his first goal in some time against Everton.

Yet, it might still be wise for Arteta to take the former Sporting CP star out of his lineup for some of the matches over the next month or so for a few reasons.

Firstly, the matches against Aston Villa, Liverpool, and, to some extent, Bournemouth are going to be incredibly intense and among the most challenging games the Gunners will play across the rest of the season.

Therefore, it might not be wise to start a forward who tends not to take many touches and who, in previous tough games, has not really turned up.

The second argument is the simple fact that he’s just come back from an injury, and with so many games in such a short space of time on the horizon, it would be in his best interest to be rested at points.

Finally, and this is arguably the most crucial reason of all: his competition.

For example, Kai Havertz is expected to be back by the end of next month at the very latest, so he should become a regular feature in the team again.

Likewise, another striker is finally getting back to his best again, a striker who simply has to start against Palace.

The Arsenal star who replace Gyokeres

Arteta could go with Mikel Merino on Tuesday night, but realistically, the striker who should be coming in for Gyokeres is Gabriel Jesus.

The first reason is that, after three substitute appearances, he needs to get his first start since returning from injury under his belt.

After all, in his pre-match presser, the manager confirmed that the Brazilian is now fit enough to be in the starting lineup, so it wouldn’t be a risk to throw him in from the word go.

On top of helping him get back to his best, another reason the former Manchester City star should be in the side is his record against Palace.

In 15 games against the South Londoners, the Sao Paulo-born dynamo has come out the winner 11 times, drawing twice and losing twice.

Jesus vs Palace

Games

15

Wins

11

Draws

2

Losses

2

Goals

7

Assists

4

All Stats via Transfermarkt

On top of that, he’s also scored seven goals and provided four assists, which comes out to an incredible average of a goal involvement every 1.36 matches against the Eagles.

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Finally, and this is perhaps the most important reason of all: he’s just a brilliant footballer.

The 28-year-old might not be the most clinical of number nines, but, as fans have seen again in just 62 minutes of football this season, he is silky on the ball, intelligent off it and able to link the play better than any of the other strikers in the squad.

Moreover, as Ray Palour points out, at his best, he “drifts out to the left quite often, a little like Thierry Henry used to.”

Ultimately, Gyokeres has a role to play in this Arsenal team, but for the game on Tuesday, and potentially a few after that, Arteta should start Jesus up top.

Related A dream for Zubimendi & Rice: Arsenal hold talks to sign £47m midfielder

The incredible prospect could be just what Arsenal, Rice and Zubimendi need.

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Mousa Dembele looks set to leave Tottenham this summer with plenty of Italian sides interested in the Belgian, but would selling him be Pochettino’s biggest mistake?

It’s not often you get a player that every single fan loves and every single player appreciates, but Mousa Dembele has been exactly that for Tottenham in recent years.

The wiry midfielder doesn’t fill out the stats columns in terms of goals and assists, but his impact on Pochettino’s young Tottenham side is almost immeasurable, and it seems bizarre that he’s seemingly being allowed to walk out the door.

The 30 year-old has just one year left on his contract, and Inter Milan have now reportedly joined AC Milan, Napoli and Juventus in the race to secure his services.

While the midfielder is bound to feel the effects of his age at some point, he is a superb athlete, and the fact that four top Italian teams are all battling it out for his signature shows just how highly rated he is.

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Spurs are likely to get upwards of £20m for the fan favourite, which is good business for a player entering the last 12 months of his contract, but Daniel Levy should be offering the player whatever he wants to stay in North London for another couple of years.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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With plenty of attention on the possible departure of Toby Alderweireld, not enough is being made of Dembele’s probable exit, which could prove to be Pochettino’s biggest mistake as Tottenham manager if he doesn’t get a top class replacement in.

So, Spurs fans, do you think it’s mistake to sell Dembele this summer? Or is it time to cash in and move on? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…

Barbados-born Mark Lavine turned on a bit of Caribbean style on Saturday to entertain fans in a one of the backwaters of the cricket world with a all-round performance that continues to have the fancied Highveld Strikers on the back foot against North West.After taking career-best figures of six for 55 in the the Strikers’ first innings, Lavine held the North West reply together with a hard-hitting 85, before taking the one Strikers wicket to fall before stumps on day two.Lavine’s knock came off just 97 balls and included ten fours and three sixes, helping to hold together a North West innigs that at one stage looked as if it was on the point of imploding dramatically.When Lavine strode to the wicket, North West had just lost their fourth wicket with just 109 on the board. Despite a useful start from the openers, wickets fell at irritatingly regular intervals for North West as they looked to establish a healthy first innings lead.That they earned an advantage of 53 runs was as much a result of some fine batting for the tenth wicket as it was the product of Lavine’s brilliance. Roe and Jordaan rode their luck in a partnership of 49, frustrating the Strikers attack with a succession of unorthodox strokes.The sense that Lavine was the beneficiary of some divine assistance was only enhanced when he raced in to take the only Strikers wicket to fall before bad light stopped play – Bacher caught behind by Poole for just nine. If North West can continue to prise such spectacular performances from Lavine and play with the kind of collective commitment they have already shown this season, they may have a surprise in store for some of the other traditional powerhouses on their visits to Potchefstrom.

Yorkshire have today in which to decide whether to lodge an appeal at the ECB pitches panel’s decision last night to dock them eight points because of ‘poor’ pitch preparation for the current match with county champions and leaders Surrey at Scarborough.Although Yorkshire’s chances of winning the Division One title have now virtually disappeared the loss of eight points could go on to cost them second place in the table which brings with it £50,000 in prizemoney.And there was another shock for Yorkshire fans at North Marine Road today when no play was possible during the morning session because of a wet run-up at the pavilion end. The square had been kept dry after several hours of heavy rain last night but water had seeped under the plastic sheeting covering the run-up, causing muddy conditions.Surrey, who did not enforce the follow-on yesterday, despite enjoying a first innings lead of 198, are due to resume on 53 for two, 251 runs in front.

Scorecard

	Mumbai’s Ajinkya Rahane continued his excellent run, making a quick 55 © Cricinfo Ltd

A solid team effort saw Bengal beat defending champions Mumbai by four wickets and enter the finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Visakhapatnam. Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Debabrata Das made rapid half-centuries as Bengal easily chased down the target of 250 with more than four overs to spare.Mumbai’s top order, led by the tournament’s leading run-scorer Ajinkya Rahane’s 55, provided a superb platform, reaching 94 for 1 by the 19th over. However, Bengal took three wickets – including that of Rohit Sharma, Mumbai’s match-winner in the quarter-final – in quick succession, to leave them at a dicey 119 for 4.Captain Amol Muzumdar then anchored the innings with a measured 71, supported by Abhishek Nayar. The partnership swelled to 68 when offspinner Saurasish Lahiri dismissed Nayar, after which Mumbai were unable to accelerate – only 63 runs coming off the last 105 balls. Left-arm spinner Iresh Saxena was the pick of the bowlers, ending with 4 for 50 in his ten overs.Despite opener Shreevats Goswami’s 48 and No. 4 Manoj Tiwary’s efforts, Bengal were in trouble at 110 for 4. But Shukla (65) and Das (55*) added 94 at more than a run-a-ball set Bengal on course for a spot in the final. They now take on the winner of Tuesday’s match between Saurashtra and Vidarbha on April 10.

Trevor Barber, the New Zealand batsman who played one Test match at the Basin Reserve in 1956, has died in Christchurch at the age of 90. Barber had been New Zealand’s oldest living Test cricketer; the oldest now is his former Wellington team-mate and the man who captained Barber in his only Test match, the 87-year-old John Reid.A dashing batsman who liked playing his shots, Barber was called up for the third Test against West Indies in 1956 when Bert Sutcliffe was unavailable due to ill-health. West Indies batted first and Barber had the distinction of catching out Garry Sobers while fielding at gully, in what was the first wicket of the match.”It was going past and I threw the hands up – I was a bit of a show-off,” Barber told ESPNcricinfo earlier this year. “John Reid was bowling and he said ‘that’s a nice way to start your career’.”However, with the bat he was unable to have a great enough impact to retain his place in the side, and was out to Sonny Ramadhin in both innings, for 12 and 5. Barber’s attacking approach to batting would perhaps have suited the modern game, but against West Indies it brought his downfall in both innings of his Test match.”Today I might have got away with it,” Barber said. “But I went for sweeps to the leg side off short balls in both innings. My understanding as a captain and also as a batsman was that the first thing you’d do when you go out there is dominate the bowlers. Don’t let the bowlers get on top of you. Get behind the line of flight, bat straight, and when they bowl one off the wicket, give it a go. I did that and I got bloody caught at square leg.”Barber was 30 at the time of his Test appearance, and was captain of Wellington in the Plunket Shield competition. His first-class career began in 1945-46 and finished in 1959-60, but it brought him only one century, and 2002 runs at an average of 23.01. Contemporary reports described him as “a swashbuckler” who, especially early in his career, was more concerned with the joy of batsmanship than playing long innings.”A cricketer more of the pre-war era always on the lookout to thrash the bowling with off-drives, lofted shots to the boundary, pulls to square-leg and square-cuts which often caused fieldsmen to wince when trying to stop them, Barber was always scoring runs attractively, but also losing his wicket rather easily,” a article said in 1957.Barber captained Wellington to the Plunket Shield title in 1956-57 and also led Central Districts later in his career. A part-time wicketkeeper who enjoyed assessing a batsman’s weaknesses, Barber said captaincy was one of the parts of the game he found most satisfying.”It’s lovely to have some control of the game, and also the players,” he said. “I used to have quite a number of discussions with the players before we’d go out and play. I’d say this player has a weakness here, I want you Bob Blair to bowl on a length just outside his leg stumps, and I reckon we can get him.”I always remember on one occasion down at Dunedin, I said to John Reid, who was bowling to Sutcliffe, I said ‘I think he’s got a weakness on the leg glance, I’m going to field at leg gully and you bowl down leg’. We got him for a duck! It’s those little things.”Born in Otaki in 1925, Barber was raised on a dairy farm and learnt the game from his father.”I remember in the backyard he used to put out a kerosene tin,” he said. “I used to have a bat and he’d throw the ball to me. He’d say ‘go on, hit it over my head’. He made me very keen.”After his playing career ended, Barber worked with the Shell oil company and was responsible for its sponsorship of sporting events including the New Zealand Golf Open and the domestic cricket competition, which became known as the Shell Trophy. It continued a lifelong love of cricket.”I still follow it with interest,” Barber said earlier this year. “It’s just amazing how much the game has changed from my time. We only played Test cricket and Plunket Shield. Now there’s T20 and 50-over, it’s bash and slash. It might have suited me. When you see blokes like McCullum and Williamson doing so well, it’s marvellous.”

ScorecardMichael Carberry saw Hampshire home and kept their Division One hopes alive•Getty Images

Hampshire have preserved their Division One status on the final day of the season after defeating Nottinghamshire by eight wickets at Trent Bridge. They secured the victory needed to keep their hopes alive after chasing down a victory target of 200, and their perseverance was rewarded shortly after 3pm, when news filtered through from Headingley that Sussex had succumbed to the county champions, Yorkshire, by 100 runs.”I’m so happy right now. I don’t know what it feels like lifting a cup, but this probably feels just as good, if not better,” said Fidel Edwards, Hampshire’s former West Indies fast bowler whose match haul of 10 for 145 was instrumental in the victory.”To come here and win was a great effort where we showed our class,” Edwards told BBC Radio Solent. “It’s a great feeling to be staying Division One. It’s been a good team effort and we’re really happy right now. Come next year, it’s going to be hard to beat us.””We’ve played some really good cricket in the last few weeks,” said James Vince, Hampshire’s captain. “I think we’ve got the balance of our side right, and that will stand us in good stead for next season. Fidel Edwards has been outstanding. On a flat pitch like this one having someone like him who can get wickets makes a big difference.”Openers Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry had laid the foundation for the win by putting on 89 together on the third evening and after a watchful half hour they took their stand into three figures. Adams moved to his 50 from 81 deliveries and Carberry followed shortly afterwards, running Stuart Broad for back-to-back boundaries to the vacant third man area to reach the milestone.The opening stand reached 129, at which point Jake Ball struck with two wickets in as many deliveries. Adams chopped on to his stumps after making 70 and then Lions captain James Vince was cleaned up first ball by his fellow squad member.Carberry’s half-century had arrived in 110 deliveries and he made sure there was no way back into the contest for the hosts as he unleashed a flurry of shots, before scampering a single to mid-on to clinch the contest.Carberry closed on 84 not out and Will Smith was unbeaten on 34 at the end. Nottinghamshire’s defeat, their first loss in eight matches, confirmed their third place finish in the table.

Like still waters, South Africa cricket’s talent pool runs deeper than it may seem according to former international and long-time coach Jimmy Cook. Despite the recent results of the A side – who returned home from a tour of India without a single win – and Under-19 team – who lost home and away series to Bangladesh – Cook is optimistic about the upcoming summer and the long-term future.”We’ve got enough depth; it’s just about blending the youth with the experienced guys and making sure they work well together,” Cook, who has coached at various levels, told ESPNcricinfo. Cook, who played three Tests and four ODIs between 1991 and 1993, is now involved with the King Edward VII School, which Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith attended.”I think what happened with the A side is that the selectors were looking to give guys opportunities and took a lot of guys who they thought they would look at picking in future and because of that, they had a lot of young guys in the group and not a lot of experience and that could have led to the results. But that’s why they went there – to get experience.”The A side was made up mostly of second-tier players who do not hold regular spots in the national team and are challenging the incumbents. The only exceptions were Quinton de Kock, who was sent to India to regain form after being dropped from the South African team during their July series in Bangladesh, and Stiaan van Zyl, who is the new Test opener and was part of the four-day squad to get used to his role at the top of the line-up ahead of the senior side’s four-Test tour of India later this year.The rest of the 50-over and four-day outfits were players who know they are either next in line or back in line and are young enough to wait in line, which results suggest they will have to do.The average age of both the South African four-day squad and one-day squad was 26 with the oldest being 31-year-old Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who has also played the most international cricket. Across all formats, Tsotsobe holds 89 caps and was once the top-ranked ODI bowler in the world. Wayne Parnell is next, having played 85 matches for South Africa and Quinton de Kock, is third with 75 appearances.Dean Elgar (22) Stiaan van Zyl (5), Temba Bavuma (4), Marchant de Lange (10), Beuran Hendricks (5), Reeza Hendricks (5), Dane Piedt (1), Dane Vilas (2) and David Wiese (15) have all played some international cricket and have collectively earned 69 caps across all formats. None of that seemed to count for much as far as their performances went and the numbers do not make for good reading, although it should be remembered that the squad suffered a food poisoning incident midway through the tour, which resulted in 10 players being hospitalised.South Africa A lost all four of their 50-over matches – two to India A and two to Australia A – and lost them badly. They only posted a total over 250 once and managed to bat out their overs only half the time. They also only bowled out their opposition only once and of the possible 40 wickets, they could have taken in the series, only claimed 16.On an individual level, they also had very little to shout about apart from Quinton de Kock. He finished fifth overall on the batting charts with two centuries and went on to score a century in the first unofficial Test to confirm his return to the runs. Cook, who coached de Kock, believed he needed the trip to refocus. “He is a very talented lad and I have no doubt he will do well, especially as he gets older and gets a calmer head on his shoulders,” Cook said.Other than de Kock, Khaya Zondo, Reeza Hendricks and Dean Elgar all scored fifties. In the bowling department, Lonwabo Tsotsobe was the only one to feature among the top ten wicket-takers, with five scalps.With the next 50-over World Cup still four years away, South Africa will be more interested in the performances of the four-day side, who lost their two-match series 1-0.The team began strongly in the first game when they piled on 542, largely thanks to centuries from Omphile Ramela and de Kock, and even bowled India A out cheaply with fit-again Dane Piedt’s claiming a five-for. But they did not enforce the follow-on and did not give themselves enough time to bowl India A out again. Everything fell apart in the second match, when South Africa A were bowled out for 76 in their second innings on a crumbling deck and lost by an innings and 81 runs.Dane Piedt picked up 11 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls, in the two unofficial Tests, in India•AFP

Piedt took five in that match as well to push for a Test return, but South Africa may be more perturbed by the players they lost. Wayne Parnell (hamstring) and Beuran Hendricks (back) will both not be fit for the start of the home summer. Neither of them were likely to feature in Test cricket though, where South Africa now have tough choices to make.Cook advised to keep Stiaan van Zyl at the top of the order for the eight Tests because “he has shown he can do it at that level.” Van Zyl performed well in Bangladesh and scored 96 in the second unofficial Test in India and Cook expects him to be able to handle the conditions without trouble. “It shouldn’t be a problem facing the new ball because it does not move much but obviously batsmen have to be fairly good players of spin, because they will face a lot of that in India.”That is where de Kock’s technique has sometimes come into question, and Cook has suggested taking both de Kock and his replacement, Dane Vilas, who Cook also coached, to India. “Dane is very mature and knows his game well. He’s been given a go so now he must have a proper run – five, six or seven Tests to see what he can do. As things stand, South Africa are very lucky to have those him and de Kock to choose from.”Cook believes that in years to come, South Africa will have more to choose from, despite the disappointing performances of the Under-19s, who are a different group to the one that won last year’s World Cup. “That kind of thing happens – some years you get a really good group and some years you don’t. I see that at school level a lot, it can go in cycles,” Cook said.

JJ Smuts’ 101 cancelled out Grant Thomson’s 98 as Warriors edged Titans with a ball to spare in the Momentum One Day Cup opener in Centurion.Needing 14 off 12 balls, Warriors lost Simon Harmer and Sisanda Magala in a space of four balls but Andrew Birch and Bashreeru-Deen Walters, who hit the winning runs, saw their side home. The chase of 328, though, was set up by Smuts, who was the dominant partner in a 133-run stand with No.3 Yaseen Vallie. Smuts struck 14 fours and two sixes before right-arm pacer Ethy Mbhalati had the opener caught behind in the 24th over.Titans struck back, triggering a slide, as Warriors went from 160 for 1 to 230 for 6. Simon Harmer, who had taken two wickets earlier in the day, and Birch then took charge of the chase, crashing 89 in only 7.5 overs. Birch smashed five fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 28-ball 55.Titans, however, had begun well after being inserted. Each of the top three had bright starts but none managed to convert it into a big score. However, Dean Elgar and Thomson gave the innings some ballast and then impetus with an 87-run partnership. Simon Harmer broke the stand in the 39th over when he had Elgar caught by Somila Seyibokwe for 57 but Quaasim Adams became the third half-centurion for his team. Titans plundered 70 runs off the last five overs but they eventually came up short.

ScorecardFile photo: Shivnarine Chanderpaul had to resurrect another batting wobble, and did so with 65 off 210 balls for Guyana•PA Photos

Vishaul Singh struck a career-best 150 to set the stage up for 20-year old left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, who galloped to 6 for 20 in the first innings to bowl Leeward Islands out for 85 in the first innings and then come back to finish the job in the follow-on with 5 for 85. It was only Motie’s second first-class match and he led Guyana to an innings and 35-run win at Providence Stadium.Bowlers running rampant may have turned out to the be theme of the match after Leeward Islands decided to bowl and got rid of the top three Guyana batsmen for single-figures, including captain Leon Johnson for a duck. Then came the resistance from Singh and the ever reliable Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who made 65 off 210 balls. They put on 171 runs for the fourth wicket. That partnership became the example for the lower order to rally around as No. 7 Christopher Barnwell (48 off 67), wicketkeeper Anthony Bramble (42 off 72) and No. 9 Steven Jacobs (63 off 87, with nine fours) took Guyana’s total to 419 for 9 when Johnson declared the innings.Then came the wreckage. It was almost like Guyana had given away the first few runs as seamers Ronsford Beaton and Barnwell combined to take the score from 25 for 0 to 26 for 4. Then on came Motie, the fifth bowler introduced, and in 13.2 overs, he had whisked six wickets for only 20 runs to rout Leeward Islands for 85, which was 269 runs short of the follow-on target. Guyana enforced it, and although the visitors were a bit more dogged – Nkrumah Bonner made 89 off 168 and Daron Cruickshank added 57 off 83 – and hauled themselves to 299, the first-innings damage had been too steep. Motie snagged 5 for 85 and basically shut down the middle order before they could make the massive scores that were needed.
ScorecardBarbados and Trinidad & Tobdago played out a tight draw at Kensington Oval. Both teams had won their opening match of the season and did try to up that tally to two-in-two – Barbados set a target of 298 in 68 overs and T&T were brisk in their chase of it, until a few wickets started falling, especially Evin Lewis for 41 off 55. Narsingh Deonarine dropped anchor with 38 off 103 and had Yannick Cariah was unbeaten on 37 off 114 when the match came to a close.Barbados took eight points, two clear of their opponents on the points table, courtesy Sharmarh Brooks’ third first-class century. Roston Chase (59) and Kyle Corbin (46) and wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich (48) lent good support but they were still all out for 300 because the rest of the line-up could not score more than 18. T&T Legspinner Imran Khan picked up 4 for 75 and fast bowler Shannon Gabriel chipped in with 3 for 49. Their batsmen, however, could not muster any score substantial enough to challenge Barbados’ total. Only the 22-year old wicketkeeper Steven Katwaroo, batting at No. 7, could make a half-century. He was ninth man out, bowled by Kevin Stout who took 4 for 54. Fellow seamer Miguel Cummins claimed three wickets as T&T were knocked over for 246.Barbados’ top order was formidable again with captain Kraigg Brathwaite holding one end with a 151-ball 72, then Brooks scored a brisk 55 off 84 and Dowrich hit 40 off 31 balls to provide a target of 298, which was just large enough for the hosts to be safe. And it was.