FOOTBALL NEWS ----------- *Arsenal learn shocking extent of Kai Havertz injury* *Bukayo Saka's injury progress revealed amid Arsenal forward crisis* *Tottenham takeover latest: New Daniel Levy claims, potential Qatari buyers, Amanda Staveley links* *Barcelona co-ordinator confident of beating Atletico Madrid in Copa del Rey* *Newcastle United have chance to end 25 years of hurt and even Pep Guardiola is worried* *Everton sponsor leaves UK after porn ad probe* --------- ©Premier League https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaEDSehI7BeAqvVI861V *Arsenal learn shocking extent of Kai Havertz injury* Kai Havertz will miss the remainder of Arsenal's season because of the hamstring injury picked up during a training camp in Dubai, a report has confirmed. The Gunners are slim in attack as it is, having already lost Gabriel Jesus to a season-ending ACL tear after Bukayo Saka was ruled out for three months with a hamstring issue of his own. Gabriel Martinelli is also facing a shorter spell on the sidelines. Fears grew when news of Havertz's injury began to emerge on Tuesday evening, but now David Ornstein has delivered the crushing revelation that the Germany international will not play again this season. Havertz tore his hamstring in training and, while a final decision on surgery has not yet been made, the focus is firmly on getting him back in time for the start of the 2025/26 campaign. His long-term absence poses an enormous issue for Mikel Arteta, who has admitted to struggling to manage Arsenal's injury woes even before Havertz was struck down. With Jesus, Saka, Martinelli and now Havertz all unavailable, Arsenal are left with three natural forwards: Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri and Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling, none of whom are recognised central strikers. .... *Bukayo Saka's injury progress revealed amid Arsenal forward crisis* Amid the extensive injury crisis sweeping across Arsenal's forward line, Mikel Arteta has been offered a glimmer of hope by Bukayo Saka's return to light training. The England international pulled up with a severe hamstring in December and was joined in the treatment room by Gabriel Jesus last month. Gabriel Martinelli won't be back until at least March and Arsenal have been rocked by the news that Kai Havertz will likely be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign after tearing his hamstring on a mid-season training camp that has been more devastating than rejuvenating. In better news, Saka has been included in light training during this Middle Eastern sojourn. This time last month, Arteta implored Saka to take a break from the churn of his recovery schedule with a holiday. "He is obligated to go, with his girlfriend, or his family, or on his own, he can choose," the Arsenal boss told reporters in the middle of January. "He needs to get away for a few days and refresh. He can still do a lot of things with his rehabilitation because it is the perfect stage. It will make him better. "He [Saka] has been with his teammates every single day. But there is a moment, especially when we are going to be away for a few days, that he needs to do that [go on holiday.] That is very important for him as well. We need to look after our players." After a much-needed break, Saka was part of the squad which travelled to Dubai this week and has been pictured back on the grass. While this development can only be seen as progress, there is no expectation that Saka is ahead of a loose recovery schedule which puts his return date at some point in March. Ben White is further ahead of his compatriot in terms of recuperation. The towering right-back has been sidelined since the end of November after undergoing knee surgery, but could be available for this weekend's trip to Leicester City on Saturday lunchtime. White may be needed to give Jurrien Timber some respite as Takehiro Tomiyasu remains sidelined for the foreseeable future with a nagging knee injury that may require surgery. ------ *Tottenham takeover latest: New Daniel Levy claims, potential Qatari buyers, Amanda Staveley links* The latest Tottenham Hotspurs news as Daniel Levy confirmed back in April last year that the club were on the lookout for a minority investor Don't miss any of the latest and best Spurs news - sign up to the free Tottenham newsletter for updates straight to your inbox New reports have emerged amid Tottenham Hotspur’s search for investment in the club, with talks over interested parties continuing. Back in April last year, chairman Daniel Levy confirmed that the club were in discussions with potential investors. In a statement accompanying Spurs’ annual financial results he said: ”To capitalise on our long-term potential, to continue to invest in the teams and undertake future capital projects, the club requires a significant increase in its equity base. “The board and its advisors, Rothschild & Co, are in discussions with prospective investors. Any recommended investment proposal would require the support of the club’s shareholders.” Since then, there has been a lot of speculation of where that investment could come from. It comes amid the team’s poor form on the pitch and fan unrest off it. Here is the latest on a potential investment or takeover of the club... Qatari interest The Guardian report that a group of Qatari investors are seeking to buy the club in a deal that could take the form of a ‘phased buyout’. It is added that the identity of the investors is unknown, but they are not government-backed Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) or Sheikh Jassim, the latter of whom made an attempt to buy Manchester United before the takeover by Sir Jim Ratcliffe. They are instead private individuals. Daniel Levy update The same report from The Guardian claims that any takeover by Qatari investors could see chairman Daniel Levy stay at the club, with the investors willing to offer him a long-term contract to continue running the club as executive chairman. That decision may not go down too well with some Spurs fans, who have made their feelings clear by chanting that they want ‘Levy out’ at recent games. It is said that the investor are keen to retain Levy’s ‘expertise’ should a takeover happen. Amanda Staveley links Former Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Stavely and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi continue to be linked with Spurs, having attended Tottenham matches and NFL games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. She has previously said that she would be open to investing in another Premier League club after leaving Newcastle. Speaking at Bloomberg’s Women, Money & Power event back in December, she said: "It's so hard to move on from a club that's amazing. "We could never move on from Newcastle, and we never will. But yes, we're looking at a number of investment operations. "We can't say too much at the moment because of rules around it. But we will be able to talk about it, hopefully in the not too distant future." That came after reports back in August that the two were in advanced talks over acquiring a sizable stake in Spurs, with them attending matches against Brentford and Arsenal as club guests. ---- *Barcelona co-ordinator confident of beating Atletico Madrid in Copa del Rey* Barcelona were dealt a difficult tie in the semifinal of the Copa Del Rey today, as they drew with none other than Atletico Madrid. The Catalans, though, were not expecting anything better considering the fact that the other two options were Real Madrid and Real Sociedad. Nevertheless, shortly after the draw, Barcelona assigned Bojan Krkic, a member of the management, to make the first assessment of the club’s opponent. Bojan on facing Atletico Madrid Through a videoconference, Bojan talked about Atletico Madrid as an opponent, notably admitting that they will be a tough team to break down. “Atlético Madrid are a very tough team, but we are going to prepare for them very well because we know the type of team they are and how we should face it,” he said (h/t SPORT). Bojan, though, expressed confidence in Barcelona’s ability to beat Diego Simeone’s men and advance through to the Copa Del Rey final. “We are one hundred percent confident that we can go through to the final,” the former attacker said. Barcelona are set to take on Atletico Madrid in the form of two legs. Unfortunately, the Catalans will have to play the second leg at the Metropolitano. However, Bojan believes this won’t be much of an inconvenience to Barcelona. “They will be two great games and I don’t think it depends on the pitch where they play first or later,” he said. It must be remembered that Barcelona have an excellent record against Atletico Madrid in La Liga, though the most recent meeting between the two sides ended in a narrow victory for Diego Simeone’s men. However, things have changed since, with Barcelona producing excellent form since the turn of the year, with the attack, in particular, performing in full flow. Whether or not it will be enough to break down a rigid Atleti defence remains to be seen. Barcelona will take on Atletico Madrid in the first leg on the week of February 26, though the exact timing has not been decided. ........ *Newcastle United have chance to end 25 years of hurt and even Pep Guardiola is worried* The only time Newcastle United have beaten Man City at the Etihad Stadium was in the League Cup way back in 2014 - is the time now? Newcastle United will never get a better chance to beat Manchester City in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium. After 20 attempts of trying to defeat the Citizens there have been just two occasions where Newcastle managed to scrape a point. It's been 10 losses in a row at this ill-fated venue for Newcastle fans and the majority of those defeats, which included three 5-0 defeats and a 6-1, have been pretty much deserved against the stronger outfit. And it's not just an Etihad Stadium thing in the Premier League, you can go back to the year 2000 when Alan Shearer last bagged a winning goal away from home to secure three points, that was at the old Maine Road! This time it feels different. It feels less daunting and if you could pick a time to play Man City, it's now. City have lost 12 games in all competitions already this season and defensively look woeful! Pep Guardiola is normally so self-assured but there have been telling signs of genuine strain. Even when Man City have taken the lead in games, the opposition are still very much in the game and have gone on to make it count. One of the more notable Man City moments in recent times came when Guardiola's side strolled into a 3-0 lead against Feyenoord in the Champions League. There should have been no panicking at 3-1 with 15 minutes left but as the cameras panned back on to Pep, he was irritated and banging his hand against his head. We would later discover why as the Dutch side came back to draw 3-3 and it's not the only time City have thrown it away at home. With just two minutes left they led against a poor Man United team, but lost 2-1. The lead was surrendered in a 1-1 draw with Everton too. Away from home, City led 2-0 away to Paris-St Germain on 56 minutes but lost 4-2. And going into the 86th minute against Real Madrid last night they held a 2-1 lead only to lose 3-2. Throw in a 4-0 home defeat against Spurs, a 5-1 away defeat to Arsenal and a narrow escape at Leyton Orient in the FA Cup, where City fought back from 1-0 down, there should be plenty to go at for Newcastle on Saturday. After the Real Madrid loss, Guardiola said of the turning point of the night: "After it was 2-1 it happened too much this season. In many games it happened, against Feyernoord, Sporting Lisbon, Brentford in the Premier League Man United, many games we gave away. "We have to look at ourselves and at this level it’s so difficult. It’s not the first time; unfortunately, it happened many times, and that’s why it’s so difficult." .... *Arsenal have radical options as Kai Havertz injury leaves Mikel Arteta without a striker* Kai Havertz being ruled out for the rest of the season has created huge problems for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal. The injury news just keeps on coming and the Gunners’ failure to sign a striker in January is coming back to haunt them just days after the transfer window closed. The injury news just keeps on coming and the Gunners’ failure to sign a striker in January is coming back to haunt them just days after the transfer window closed. Havertz joins an already well populated medical room with a muscle injury sustained while on their winter camp to Dubai, an injury that's likely to keep him sidelined for the rest of this season and into next term. An already threadbare forward line is looking desperately thin. Gabriel Jesus is already out until the end of 2025, while Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are not expected to be back in contention until March at the earliest. Add to that Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu and that’s a core spine of the Arsenal squad that are missing. The Gunners are six points behind Liverpool, which could be extended to nine if Arne Slot’s side beat Everton on Wednesday night. Drop points in any upcoming games, starting with Leicester on Saturday, then their title quest will be all-but over. Read more>https://talksport.com/football/2921585/arsenal-radical-options-kai-havertz-injury-no-striker/ ..... *Everton sponsor leaves UK after porn ad probe* A front-of-shirt sponsor of Everton football club is giving up its licence in Great Britain after an investigation into an ad featuring porn actress Bonnie Blue. In the social media video shot outside Nottingham Trent University, she said she was there "as promised" to "sleep with 180 barely-legal 18 year olds", with Stake's logo on the screen. Campaigners had urged the culture secretary to take action over the advert for using sexual content to promote gambling to young people. The Gambling Commission said it will write to Everton to warn it of its responsibilities to ensure that the unlicensed gambling websites promoted on shirts cannot be accessed from Great Britain. The regulator is also writing to Nottingham Forest, which has sponsorship from Kaiyun, and Leicester City which has a deal with BC.Game, because both sites are also unlicensed in Great Britain. Australian online betting firm Stake decided to exit Great Britain after the Gambling Commission launched its investigation. The BBC understands that Everton has no plans to replace Stake as a main shirt sponsor. The English Premier League attracts a vast global audience, and clubs frequently strike sponsorship deals with firms that do no business in the UK. Stake, whose logo appears on Everton football shirts, calls itself the "worlds leading cryptocurrency casino and sportsbook". It allows customers to bet on sports or virtual casino games, though GB users cannot use Bitcoin and other digital currencies. It is run under licence by a firm based in the Isle of Man, TGP Europe, using a "white label" agreement, frequently used by global gambling firms that want to start up in the UK without a large initial investment in infrastructure and development. The Gambling Commission said Stake's GB business will stop taking new registrations and will close altogether on 11 March. Stake said in a statement that it has "made a strategic decision in mutual agreement with TGP Europe to exit white-label agreements and focus on securing local licences through our in-house platform and operations, building upon our growth in key regulated markets such as our recent expansions into Italy and Brazil." The regulator will warn the clubs that their officers could face up to 51 weeks in jail and unlimited fines if they were found guilty of promoting "unlawful gambling websites". It wants an assurance from the clubs that they have "carried out due diligence on their white label partners and that consumers in Great Britain cannot transact with the unlicensed sites," it said. That could involve the clubs specifying that the websites block UK users, including those using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which can allow users to access unlicensed websites by disguising which country they are accessing the internet from. It added that customers can contact a gambling operator via the operator's website if they still needed to obtain their funds after the firm had closed. In January, Bonnie Blue – whose real name is Tia Billinger – tried to break the world record for sex with the largest number of men in 12 hours. She was not included in the Commission's investigation and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing on her part. The advert was not posted by an official Stake account and has now been deleted. Premier League clubs have agreed to drop gambling companies as main shirt sponsors from the end of the 2025-26 season, but will still take gambling ads elsewhere, such as shirt sleeves and digital advert hoardings. There has been increased scrutiny from both the government and campaigners about the widespread use of gambling firms to sponsor football clubs. Research from 2024 suggested that the number of betting adverts during the opening weekend of the Premier League season almost trebled compared with the year before. Campaigners including former Stoke City player Tony Kelly have warned about the "dark side" of sports betting, including gambling addiction. Everton declined to comment. The BBC has contacted Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, Bonnie Blue aka Tia Billinger, and TGP Europe for comment.