WSL club to stop wearing white shorts next season due to period concerns By Michelle

BBC Sport have reported that Women´s Super League club Manchester City Women will stop wearing white shorts next season due to period concerns, following a statement released by the club.

This is to help players “feel more comfortable”.  The WSL club said the decision was made to create an environment for players to “perform at their highest level”

Man City  currently wear white shorts but now follow West Brom, Stoke and Scottish side Livingston in changing kit colour.

A joint statement from Manchester City and kit manufacturer Puma said the move away from white shorts in home, away and third kits from the 2023-24 season was made as a result of player feedback.

There are few footballers that treat the ball with such intimate respect as Ivan Toney. Marcus and Luke discuss his sparkling form and Tammy Abraham’s struggles to we determine if we're 'Team Toney' or 'Team Tammy' ahead of the World Cup!

In the second half, José Mourinho steps up for examination on this week’s Take Thermometer - as do you! Because we’re finally rating your most honest takes on the England team.

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Marcus, Luke, Pete and Andy pick through some post-Craven Cottage chaos, with Villa showing Stevie G the door after a turgid performance. At least they gave him a lift home! 

Also eyeing up the managerial buffet are Leeds and Southampton, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s insistent petulance threatens to overshadow his achievements. We also celebrate the return of two footballing icons: fans wearing goalie gloves in the crowd and Radja Nainggolan’s smoking habit.

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Dotun, Andy and Lars Sivertsen don their tuxedos for another episode of your one-stop shop for all things European football.

Karim Benzema secures yet another bit of glitzy jewellery with a deserved Ballon d’Or win, so we celebrate his amazing year. We also assess Xabi Alonso’s tough start to managerial life and wonder what various German and French welterweights can do to challenge the heavy hitters.

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We’re back with a bonus Ramble! Marcus, Luke and Jim are here to do forty minutes on Inter Miami’s playoff loss. Poor Fizzer. 

We just about get to some midweek Premier League too, as Adama Traoré reminds us he’s at Wolves and Brighton can’t buy a goal. Tonight, Eddie Howe’s hoping to avoid a dizzy stick headbutt from Duncan Ferguson and Steven Gerrard’s feeling the pressure ahead of a trip to the Cottage.

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After our deep dive into footballers’ good/awful acting careers a few weeks back, there was only one place we could go next. Because if a footballer’s on camera, they’re normally advertising something - especially if they play for Man United.

Jules, Jim, Pete and Vish discover that the quest for a crisp pound note isn’t just confined to ex-pros hoarding crypto on Twitter. We’ve seen it all, from George Best sincerely advertising eggs to Kevin Keegan promoting road safety (terrifying) and Michael Owen’s chopper. Tremendous, by the way.

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There were scraps galore in another regular weekend of the Barclays. Jules, Jim, Pete and Vish are here with the tale of the tape - let’s get ready to Ramble!

Liverpool edged out Man City in an absolute firecracker, while Nottingham Forest lost an early relegation six-pointer after getting too horny on main. We also check in with Graham Potter’s glow-up, take an angle grinder to yet more goalposts and applaud Blyth Spartans’ bespoke toasting services.

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Doesn't it just make you fizz when you see one of Gareth's gang having a lovely time? Doubts might have emerged about Mason Mount's fitness on Friday night after we recorded, but he has caught the eye under his new boss, Graham Potter.

We also mourn another difficult week for England's defenders – but don't worry, at least Ben White is really attractive. And Jordan Pickford is the subject of the Take Thermometer! Will this week's take finally be a Carolina Reaper?

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We check in with some of football’s most important Steves: Steven Gerrard, Steve Cooper, and... Steve Bruce. Oh no, there’s more.

Marcus, Jim and Andy discuss a titanic clash between Liverpool and Man City, discover our new favourite goalkeeper from the Cypriot top-flight, and there’s a penis update from Bolivia, of course. 

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Andy was in Warsaw on Tuesday to witness Shakhtar Donetsk – a team playing thousands of miles from their home and made up of mainly Ukrainian players – draw with the European champions, Real Madrid. He tells Dotun and David Cartlidge about what it was like to be there and how the players are feeling as Russia’s invasion continues.

Elsewhere, Club Brugge make it to the Champions League knockouts for the first time ever having still not conceded – what are they doing so well? Antoine Griezmann finally signs for Atlético, João Félix picks a fight with Diego Simeone, and… Kylian Mbappé again, is it? We discuss his mismanagement of the simmering tensions at PSG.

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Some men graft their way to the top thanks to the fruits of their relentless labour, a graceful demeanour and a healthy slice of acknowledged luck. And other men are Alan Pardew - because when you're the king, you can do anything.

Spellso, Mooresey, Jimbo and Dono settle in for a thorough assessment of the perennial FA Cup bridesmaid, as we try to separate the art from the artist. How does Pete feel about his one decent season at Newcastle? Should he have managed England? Can he headbutt?

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Kevin De Bruyne has claimed that he isn’t surprised about Arsenal’s early form this season, before likening his style of play to Manchester City’s.

The Gunners have won eight of our opening nine matches of the league term thus far, and could make it nine when they take on Leeds United tomorrow, while a win could well see them build a gap over the Citizens, who face a potential banana-skin against Liverpool at Anfield.

De Bruyne has spoken to Sky Sports ahead of tomorrow’s big clash however, and during that interview he was asked about Mikel Arteta and his uprising at Arsenal.

“Not really, no (if he is surprised with Arsenal’s performances),” De Bruyne said.

“I think I see a lot of similarities with the way that we [City] play and that’s always been his [Arteta] style. When he stopped playing football and had the opportunity to come here it was, for him, a good learning school and obviously we had great years together. I saw an evolution from the beginning of Mikel and after three years when left.

Arsenal have been ruled out of any potential move to try and sign Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain, despite rumours of the Frenchman being unhappy at present.

The superstar is currently claimed to be unhappy with his current club and wants to leave, sparking numerous rumours surrounding his potential next club.

While the Gunners have a great record with French players such as Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira and others, Ben Jacobs insists that we will not be entertaining a move to try and land him despite his current situation.

“Arsenal are not in the race for Mbappe,” Jacobs told the Football Terrace podcast. “They would not seriously entertain any kind of offer or bid for him, that one is a complete non-starter. And Newcastle, as I mentioned is another possible destination in the sense that PIF want a marquee signing. But there’s absolutely nothing in it at the moment.”

While we could hope to have bigger aspirations in the transfer market next summer with an expected return to the Champions League, I don’t believe anybody is expecting us to to battle for Mbappe.

Arsenal will make the long trip north to Yorkshire to take on Leeds United on Sunday, with the visitors currently unbeaten at home this season.

The Whites have been a mixed bag this term, but have continued to play with a high intensity regardless of the challenge in front of them, and they have enjoyed some fine wins this term, including an impressive 3-0 win over Chelsea.

We go into the game as strong favourites however after winning eight of our opening nine in the division, but the boss is not taking anything for granted as he praises our opponents style of play.

“With Jesse and the teams that they have already played, it is very clear what he wants to do – be a really intense team, a really dynamic team and a really good team when there are spaces to attack,” Arteta told Arsenal Media in his pre-match conference.

“There’s some similarities [to Bielsa’s team] but every coach has his own book, but what Jesse has done over the time he has been there is really impressive.”

Arsenal has had joy shopping for talent in Brazil recently and they could return for a new man there.

The South American nation has blessed the Gunners with the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Magalhaes.

The trio are regulars in Mikel Arteta’s squad now and they are one of the reasons the team is at the top of the league table.

Marquinhos joined in the summer and has done well when he plays for the Gunners.

They could have another countryman as a teammate soon as Arsenal explores the Brazilian market once again.

Former Arsenal man Ray Parlour wants the club to show they have learnt from losing key players in the past by getting the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and William Saliba on new deals.

These youngsters have established themselves in the current Arsenal first team, and they are one of the reasons the club is at the top of the Premier League table.

In the past, the Gunners have lost key players because they delayed offering them new deals or offer them less than another suitor is willing to.

A famous case is when they lost Ashley Cole to Chelsea because the Blues offered him more money.

Saka, Martinelli and Saliba are being watched by the best clubs around the world, and they will pounce to sign them if we don’t act fast.

Gabriel Martinelli has around 18 months left on his current Arsenal contract and this should worry some of the club’s fans.

Since he broke into the team as a relatively unknown player, the attacker has grown in leaps and bounds playing with the senior side.

Unai Emery handed him his debut, but Mikel Arteta has also found him very useful to his team too.

This means he has remained in the Gunners’ first team for the time the Spaniard has been boss.

Martinelli keeps getting better, and he is one of the masterminds of Arsenal’s brilliant season so far.

Arsenal has been handed a tremendous blow to their hopes of signing Douglas Luiz after the midfielder signed a new contract at Aston Villa.

The Brazilian has been the subject of transfer interest from the Gunners for a long time and they submitted at least two bids for his signature on deadline day.

Villa rejected the offers, even though they knew he would be a free agent at the end of this season.

Arsenal had hoped he would not renew his contract with the Midlands team and join them for free in the summer.

However, that plan can be buried now because Steven Gerrard’s side has announced via their Twitter page that he has signed a new long-term contract.

Arsenal has one of the finest stadiums in the Premier League, and the Emirates is a favourite destination for some players and fans.

The ground was built to become a modern destination for fans and people who love football.

It was one of the best grounds in the world when it was first built, but other stadiums have since been erected to a better and higher standard.

Nevertheless, it remains a fine stadium to visit, and its hospitality is one of the best in the Premier League.

A report on The Sun says, however, the Tottenham Stadium has beaten them to become the ground with the best away experience.

Like everyone else in the League, we are going into an invedible month where we play every single 3/4 days, and there is the clear and obvious danger of fatigue and injuries setting in, and for Arsenal our treatment list was pretty bad before the glut even started.

We luckily got a few of our players back during the funeral and international break, but one of those, Oleks Zinchenko, looks like he is still suffering the aftereffects and is unlikely to be available for tomorrows game at Leeds. Arteta was asked if he was still on the unavailable list: “I think so.” he replied. “With Oleks, I don’t know, he has not been on the pitch yet. So we have to be a little bit calm.”

Well, we certainly hope that he regains some fitness before we play PSV on Thursday, as we will need to rest as many first teamers as possible but still get the three points needed to guarantee top spot in the Group Table.

But we still have Kieran Tierney and perhaps Tomiyasu to cover that spot, but a lot more worrying news is that Gabriel Jesus is also a doubt after getting concussed in last weeks physical encounter with Liverpool. Arteta said in the pre-match presser when asked if Jesus was recovered: “I don’t know, obviously he has some discomfort after the game against Liverpool and that’s why we decided not to bring him in [to Norway], so let’s see how he is tomorrow and Saturday.”

This would be a big blow for Arsenal if he misses the game, but we at least have Nketiah in reserve. If we lost both of them we could be in serious trouble.