The Full Time Report — Episode 137: A Deal, a Backing, and a Fight in Madrid
Mikel Arteta went into this international break without a contract. By Tuesday lunchtime he had one.
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The Full Time Report — Episode 137: A Deal, a Backing, and a Fight in Madrid
Tuesday's football was one night of it, in the women's Champions League, and everything else was a decision: a manager committing himself to a club until 2030, a board backing a manager who had wondered aloud about stopping, and a club asking for the president of its own league to be replaced.
Arteta agrees a new contract at Arsenal
Mikel Arteta has agreed a new contract with Arsenal. The three-year deal he signed in September 2024 expired at the end of this season, and talks had been going since May, when Arsenal won the league for the first time since 2004. 1 The length has not been confirmed, but the deal is expected to keep him at the club until 2030 and to take his reign past ten years; he replaced Unai Emery in December 2019. 2
The 44-year-old's current terms are worth about £10m a season, with a £5m bonus for reaching the Champions League. The new deal is a significant rise on that and puts him among the best-paid managers in the world. 2
What Arsenal are paying for is two seasons. They won the title last season, their first since 2004, and reached the Champions League final, losing to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties in Budapest. 2 This season began with seven wins from seven in all competitions, before Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion. 2 Arsenal go into the international break second on 12 points, three behind Manchester City. 3
Arteta's own line, given before the Brighton game: "I think we are all very much aligned. Whenever the time is right, we'll get that done. There is nothing to be concerned about." 2
Arsenal also want new terms for Declan Rice, 27, who has two years left on his deal plus a club option of a further 12 months, and intend to use the international break to finalise them (Football Transfers). 24
Real Madrid ask for a new La Liga president
Real Madrid have called for La Liga to be led by somebody else, after its president since 2013, Javier Tebas, answered the club's complaints about refereeing in Sunday's 2-1 derby defeat at Atlético Madrid. 56
Replying on social media to a pro-Real article, Tebas wrote: "Claiming that referees are directed against Real Madrid is living in another galaxy." He added: "It's more comfortable to point to a conspiracy than to explain what's happening on the pitch," and that "the competition belongs to no one". 56
Real Madrid's statement said it was "intolerable" that La Liga's president used his position to keep attacking the club, and that the competition "urgently needs a leader capable of managing it... with the fundamental duty of neutrality". 56
Two incidents sit underneath it: Atlético's Cristian Romero was not sent off for a stamp on Jude Bellingham, and there was a challenge by Lee Kang-in on Federico Valverde. 6 José Mourinho, back in charge at Real, said his side could win the title "if they let us compete on a level playing field". Real sit six points behind Barcelona. 6
A 93rd-minute penalty, and a comeback in Munich
Five Women's Champions League league-phase matches were played on Tuesday. 3
Arsenal 1-0 HB Køge. Mariona Caldentey scored the only goal from the penalty spot in the third minute of stoppage time, after Selina Cerci was brought down by Yukina Sakabe. 78 Chloe Kelly had a goal ruled out by VAR because Stina Blackstenius was offside and in the goalkeeper's line of sight. 8 Arsenal had 69.7% of the ball, 19 shots and two on target, and Køge's goalkeeper Alberte Vingum was named player of the match. 7 Renée Slegers called it "a mentality and resilience win" and said "the football didn't give us the win". 8 Steph Catley said the goals "are not coming as freely as they have in the past". 7 Arsenal go to Chelsea in the Women's Super League on Sunday, with five points from three games. 8
Bayern Munich 2-2 Manchester City. Giulia Gwinn scored on 11 minutes, unmarked from Linda Dallmann's pass, and Kerstin Casparij's own goal on 27 minutes put Bayern two up. 9 Beth Mead pulled one back before half-time, and Carlotta Wamser's first goal for the club made it 2-2 late on. 9 Khadija Shaw had a penalty saved by Ena Mahmutovic, the goalkeeper who had conceded it by tripping Aoba Fujino. 9 A blue smoke bomb on the pitch was still there when City scored, and Bayern's players felt the game should have been stopped beforehand. 9
The other results: Inter Milan 1-0 Häcken, Real Madrid 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus 1-2 Benfica. 7
Wednesday's fixtures, all times UK: OH Leuven v Roma and Servette Chênois v OL Lyonnes, 17:45; Barcelona v Paris FC and Chelsea v Austria Wien, 20:00. 10
Celtic back their manager, and report a £4.8m loss
Celtic's chief executive, Michael Nicholson, publicly backed Martin O'Neill, saying the club will "come together and support" him after a "painful" week and that the focus is now success domestically and in the Europa League. 11
The week contained three defeats in a row: the League Cup loss to Rangers, the 1-3 home defeat by Ferencváros in the Europa League, and the 1-0 Old Firm defeat at Celtic Park on Sunday. 11 After the derby, the 74-year-old said "it might be time to wrap it up" and that he would consider his future during the international break. 11
The accounts published the same day explain the mood. Celtic made a loss after tax of £4.8m for the year to 30 June, 12 months after a profit of £33.9m, with revenue down 22.7% to £111m and £66.4m in cash, against £77.3m a year earlier. The club spent £31.6m on players this summer. 12
The interim chairman, Brian Wilson, called it a year "more turbulent than anyone would have wished for" and credited O'Neill and his staff with "extraordinary resilience" in winning the league and Scottish Cup; he left the club's transfer income, including the sales of Daizen Maeda, Arne Engels and Reo Hatate, undisclosed. Celtic are still top of the Premiership, but the lead is down to two points. 12
Fifa agrees to a governance review
Gianni Infantino has agreed to an independent external review of Fifa's governance, a demand from Uefa, and confirmed it in a letter to member associations this week. Uefa has also withdrawn its threat to boycott the Under-20 Women's World Cup, which finishes on Sunday. 13
The background is the World Cup sell-off plan Fifa abandoned last month. Uefa has taken a complaint to courts in New York, Miami and Colorado seeking disclosure of documents about the commercial venture, which it argues was undervalued; Fifa has filed to block the discovery and accused Uefa of a smear campaign. 13
Infantino reasserted his intention to stand for re-election, with no opponent yet declared. The deadline for candidates is 18 November and the election is expected in March; Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation have all called for him to go. 13
Spain at Wembley on Saturday, and Ireland's fixture in Debrecen
England's four Nations League games begin with Spain at Wembley on Saturday, then Czechia away on 29 September, Croatia away on 3 October and Czechia at home on 6 October. 3
Jarrad Branthwaite is back in the squad for the first time since June 2024. The Everton centre-half was limited to 10 appearances last season by hamstring and groin problems, and spent three to four weeks at the MYOS clinic in Munich in the summer, where the programme examined his movement patterns and links between his injuries and his brain. "There were a lot of different things looked at, like movement patterns, the brain; it was quite complex, but fingers crossed it has worked," he said. 14
The Republic of Ireland play first, away to Israel on Sunday. The match is at a neutral venue, Debrecen in Hungary, because Israel have not played on home soil for three years; no tickets have been sold to Irish supporters, and RTÉ will show it without commentators, pundits or half-time analysis. 15
Ireland's manager, Heimir Hallgrímsson, said his team were "playing against genocide", not with it, and that taking part did not legitimise anything. The Israel Football Association called his comments "ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity". The return fixture, Ireland's home game, is on 4 October in Bačka Topola, Serbia. 15
The transfer desk
The window is shut until January, so none of this is a completed deal.
- Tyrick Mitchell, 27, Crystal Palace's left-back, is attracting interest from Manchester United and Liverpool (Teamtalk). 4
- Bayern Munich are interested in Morgan Gibbs-White, 26, Nottingham Forest's England midfielder (Talksport). 4
- Liverpool remain committed to Florian Wirtz, 23, whose representatives have been sounded out by Bayern Munich (Teamtalk). 4
- Endrick, 20, could go on loan from Real Madrid to AC Milan or Roma if Florentino Pérez allows it (Calciomercato). 4
- Alejandro Garnacho, on loan at Aston Villa from Chelsea, is being monitored by clubs in La Liga (Mail plus). 4
- Arsenal came close enough to signing Vinícius Júnior in the summer that his Real Madrid team-mates assumed he was leaving (Cadena SER). 4
- Not a rumour: Julian Ward is being reappointed as Liverpool's sporting director, moving from Fenway Sports Group's technical director role to replace Richard Hughes (The Athletic). 4
References
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