Turning their attention to Champions League duties on Wednesday night, Arsenal will travel to Italy when they meet Napoli. Ahead of a stacked midweek schedule from across the continent, there are plenty of attractive Champions League betting promotions available. Verdict: Kai Havertz over 0.5 shots on target Best Odds: Bookmaker: BetUS Napoli Starting with the hosts, […] The post Prediction: Napoli vs Arsenal appeared first on SoccerNews.
Chelsea hero Joe Cole (Picture: Getty) Joe Cole slammed Chelsea for selling ‘world-class’ Kai Havertz to Arsenal after Xabi Alonso’s side were beaten by the Premier League champions. Havertz helped Arsenal maintain their perfect start to the new season by scoring the equaliser in a 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium. Chelsea summer signing and ex-Arsenal transfer target Morgan Rogers gave the visitors the lead inside two minutes but Havertz equalised midway through the first half. In-form Martin Odegaard put Arsenal ahead just after half-time and the captain’s goal proved to be the winner as Chelsea failed to score an equaliser of their own. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. The result means only Arsenal and Manchester City have taken a maximum nine points from their first three games, while Chelsea stay fourth with six. Arsenal’s £65m move for Havertz in 2023 raised eyebrows given the German’s three mixed seasons at Stamford Bridge. But Havertz is now Arsenal’s first-choice striker – ahead of £64m signing Viktor Gyokeres – and produced another influential performance in Sunday’s win over Chelsea. Chelsea sold Kai Havertz to Arsenal in 2023 (Picture: Getty) ‘I think if you’ve got Kai Havertz at your club you’re watching him every day, week in, week out,’ Cole said on Premier League Productions. ‘Coaches and managers come and go, but the Directors of Football? Look at the amount of money on centre-forwards the club has spent since they him go out the door. ‘It’s just not good enough; I think it’s got to stop happening. It happened with Kevin De Bruyne [leaving]; it happened with Kai Havertz. Arsenal beat London rivals Chelsea (Picture: Getty) ‘Those kind of deals never happened at Manchester United with Sir Alex Ferguson, or with Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. ‘When did you hear of them letting go of a player who went on to become world class at one of your rivals?’ Odegaard heaped praise on Havertz, who also played a role in Arsenal’s winner, after the 2-1 win over Chelsea. https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc9L9tTDLrn/?img_index=1 ‘He’s a really smart player,’ the Arsenal skipper said. ‘He moves so well and takes a lot of attention from the defenders and it was a brilliant goal.’ Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, said of Havertz: ‘He looks happy. He looks settled, happy, and some great things have happened in his personal life as well. ‘He feels fit, he’s training every day and has this routine right now. He’s scoring goals, but not only that – he’s also doing amazing work for the team.’ Arsenal face Napoli on Wednesday night in their first Champions League game of the season while Chelsea take on Leeds United in midweek in the Carabao Cup. Speaking after Arsenal beat his former club Chelsea, Havertz said: ‘It’s always nice to win at home against a London rival. It was a tough game but over the 90 minutes, we deserved to win that game. ‘They have strong players. They have an amazing squad but so do we. We knew it was going to be tough and it’s going to be a tight game. ‘They scored early, so it’s not easy for us but we believed in ourselves and changed the game around.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
With AC Milan visiting Juventus for the Derby dei Campioni in the 26-27 Serie A, Christian Pulisic's presence in the subs bench raised eyebrows. AC Milan feature on Sunday, September 6, in one of the most critical fixtures of the early 2026-27 Serie A campaign against rivals Juventus at Allianz Stadium. However, as the starting lineups for the Derby dei Campioni were announced, questions arose regarding the exclusion of Christian Pulisic from the Rossoneri’s starting eleven. Christian Pulisic begins on the substitute bench against Juventus strictly due to a fitness management situation. The USMNT star remains below his peak physical condition following his recent injury layoff, prompting head coach Ruben Amorim to hold him out of the starting lineup. According to reporting from Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport, Pulisic’s physical condition remains well short of full match sharpness, noting that he is “not at 100 percent and not even close to it” at present. Despite the temporary setback, he remains regarded as a vital cornerstone of the squad as Milan carefully manage his return to action. Thus far, Pulisic has yet to record a single competitive minute during the 2026-27 Serie A campaign. Although included on the matchday bench for previous fixtures against Torino and Venezia, Amorim utilized all five available substitutions in both contests without calling on the USMNT star to take the pitch. Here's how we line up for a big night 📋Brought to you by 𝗞𝘂𝗺𝗵𝗼 𝗧𝗶𝗿𝗲 pic.twitter.com/Oip9MQLfGe— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 6, 2026 Having spent several weeks building fitness in full training sessions, Pulisic is expected to compete for one of the dual attacking midfield roles in Amorim’s tactical setup once fully recovered. For the clash against Juventus, those central attacking positions will be occupied by Adrien Rabiot and Alexis Saelemaekers. Conversely, USMNT teammate Yunus Musah earned a spot in the starting lineup for the marquee clash. The former Valencia midfielder anchors the central pivot alongside Croatian legend Luka Modric, flanked by Diego Moreira and Pervis Estupiñan on the wings. Confirmed lineups for Juventus and AC Milan Juventus’ confirmed lineup (4-2-3-1): Guglielmo Vicario; Pierre Kalulu, Bremer, Jhon Lucumi, Zeki Celik; Manuel locatelli, Douglas Luiz; Francisco Conceicao, Nicolas Gonzalez, Kerim Alajbegovic; Randal Kolo Muani.Head coach: Luciano Spalletti. AC Milan’s confirmed lineup (3-4-2-1): Mike Maignan; Mario Gila, Koni De Winter, Strahinja Pavlovic; Diego Moreira, Yunus Musah, Luka Modric, Pervis Estupiñan; Adrien Rabiot, Alexis Saelemaekers; Goncalo Ramos.Head coach: Ruben Amorim.
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