Artist Faith Ringgold, whose seven-decade career encompassed bestselling children’s books, incisive activism, and work in an astonishing array of mediums, and culminated with the kind of mass international acclaim that was long denied to Black visual artists and women artists like her, died on Saturday at her home in Englewood, New Jersey. She was 93.

Her death was announced by her longtime New York representative, ACA Galleries, which did not specify a cause.

Just one aspect of Ringgold’s remarkable life would have been enough to secure her place in history, but it was her action-packed, richly detailed painted quilts for which she was best known. Her most famous was Tar Beach (1988), which tells the story of an 8-year-old girl, Cassie Louise Lightfoot, who flies from the roof of her Manhattan apartment building into the night sky. In 1991, it was adapted into a children’s book that has become a staple of elementary school classrooms in the United States.

Ringgold made fabric part of her practice after seeing Tibetan thangkas at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, but quilting had deep roots in her family. Her great-great-great-grandmother, who was enslaved in the South, quilted, she said. Her mother, Willie Posey Jones, a fashion designer, helped her sew early on, and Ringgold would go on to use the process to chart her travels, her love of art history, the horrors of the Middle Passage, and a great deal more.

With mordant humor and a joyful flare for invention, Ringgold also made vivid dolls and unforgettable political posters, staged performances, and wrote. We Flew Over the Bridge: The Memoirs of Faith Ringgold was published in 1995.

Cesc Fàbregas is the latest former Arsenal player to transition into management as his next career path.

The Gunners have witnessed many former players become managers upon retiring, including their current head coach, Mikel Arteta.

Arteta was a formidable leader during his time with the Gunners and is currently excelling as the club’s manager.

Another ex-Arsenal player who may soon join the ranks of Premier League managers is Cesc Fàbregas.

The Spaniard spent approximately a decade at Arsenal after being recruited from Barcelona as a teenage sensation.

Charlie Patino is serious about his future away from Arsenal as he concludes another loan spell at Swansea.

The midfielder was hailed as one of the best talents ever to emerge from Arsenal’s academy before he earned promotion to the Gunners’ first team.

With numerous midfielders ahead of him in the pecking order, he has spent the last two seasons on loan away from the Emirates.

Now, as he wraps up his time at Swansea, the prospect of regular playing time at Arsenal appears unlikely.

This situation necessitates finding a new club to continue his development, and according to Pianet Milan, Serie A could be his next destination.

Marquinhos struggled in the first half of this season as he spent time on loan at Nantes and could hardly secure game time at the Ligue 1 club.

Arsenal believed he was good enough to start for the French team and recalled him at the end of 2023.

Currently, he is spending the second half of the term at Fluminense and has made a promising start at the Brazilian club.

With two goals and one assist from two Copa Libertadores games, Marquinhos is making the type of impact Arsenal is delighted to see.

Additionally, the attacker is relishing his time back home in Brazil and recently shared his thoughts on his experience at his current club in a recent interview.

Jorginho’s future remains uncertain despite his significant role as one of the most important players at Arsenal this year.

The Brazilian-Italian has emerged as a key influence in Arsenal’s game plan as the Gunners aim for success in the Premier League.

With an option to extend his contract for one more season, ideally, Arsenal should have triggered it by now.

However, they have not, and clubs continue to show interest in the former Chelsea star every time he plays.

Juventus has been monitoring him for several seasons, hoping to bring him back to Serie A.

On Sunday evening, Arsenal face Aston Villa in what is likely to be the Premier League’s headline fixture this weekend. The Gunners will be hoping that their familiar surroundings at the Emirates, as well as their desire for a league triumph, will motivate them to go all out against a weakened Aston Villa.

Mikel Arteta should field his strongest lineup on Sunday to secure the victory. However, of the lineup he fields, he may not have the pleasure of fielding Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber.

Coming into this weekend, there were concerns regarding Gabriel’s fitness. When asked if the Brazilian was fit and ready to start on Sunday, Arteta responded, “We’ve got one more day to prepare for the match, and we’ll see tomorrow if everybody is available. We have some [other injury concerns], but hopefully with another day, we’re going to be okay.”

Hopefully, Gabriel will be fit for Villa. Concerns have been raised that he is currently playing with a swollen Achilles tendon and has been limping visibly for the last several games. If there is the slightest concern I would hope Arteta gave him more time to recover ahead of our visit to Bayern Munich in midweek. If he isn’t fit, Jakub Kiwior or Takehiro Tomiyasu may have to step up.

Jurrien Timber, although he has returned to full training, is not yet ready to play, and Mikel Arteta revealed why: “He’s still got a few steps to make. He needs to play a game, at least with the U21s, and he’s going to have an in-house game soon. He’s done everything in training; now it’s getting that match fitness and having people around him to start competing in a full match.”

Arsenal play Aston Villa in a must-win Premier League match on Sunday evening. There has been a lot of discussion about this game, but I believe Gooners are eager to hear Unai Emery’s perspective.

The former Arsenal manager has properly stated that he and his team would enter that game as underdogs. He admits that, despite beating Arsenal 1-0 at Villa Park, it will be difficult to face this Arsenal side at the Emirates, where they have not lost in their last seven games. He believes Arsenal’s passion and desire to win the league will make them more determined. He’s also worried that he will not be able to have his strongest squad.

Reports have suggested Jacob Ramsey, Emi Buendia, Boubacar Kamara, Matty Cash, and Tyrone Mings are all out due to injuries. And Arsenal transfer target Douglas Luiz is also anticipated to miss the game after receiving his tenth red card of the season, last weekend, when Villa and Brentford drew 3-3.

“It’s different, completely different,” Emery said. “We played at home here at Villa Park in December (compared to) the match we are going to play on Sunday.

“Something similar because there’s a lot of players again playing, fighting in those teams. But different because we’re playing at the Emirates, we’re playing as well in a different context, now they are fighting for the Premier League trophy.

Should Trossard start against Bayern?

Leandro Trossard has been very good for Arsenal this season and has settled into life at Arsenal seamlessly. He seems to have taken everything Arteta, the coaches and the players around him have said on board and has been progressing every chance he gets to play. Coming on against Bayern and scoring the equalising goal is not a small achievement and you have to give him his flowers for that, but do you think he should be starting in the second leg in Germany?

Me personally, yes I do think he should be starting. Not only because he scored the equalising goal that has put us back on equal terms and into the game, but also because I think once he came on, he changed the game.

Martinelli I obviously a great player for us down the wing and picking out of the two of the must be somewhat difficult for Arteta as they both bring quality but in different ways. Martinelli is more the type of winger who with pace will run it down the wing and likes to cross and square the ball into the box for his teammates, whereas Trossard is the type of winger who likes to run down the wing but also cut inside and create chances for himself and his teammates.

Both two great choices to have, and I only say Trossard should start because I think it would work against Bayern’s game plan. Trossard came on and made it look a bit easier to face off against Joahua Kimmich, who by my standards, was having a great game and Martinelli seemed to be struggling against him a bit. But Trossard managed to open up spaces against him and was able to cut inside him.

In Gaza, the health care system has collapsed, but nearly 200 women each day still need to find a safe place to give birth. In this week’s episode of Reveal, reporters Gabrielle Berbey and Salmad Ahad Khan tell the story of one woman, 42-year-old Lubna Al Rayyes, as she deals with a complicated pregnancy in the midst of the war. After fleeing her home in Gaza City, Al Rayyes tries to find refuge in Khan Younis—only to be forced to evacuate again when that city comes under attack too. 

Also in this episode, reporters speak with Dutch researcher Dr. Tessa Roseboom, who has been studying how famine affects the development of babies in the womb, and Dr. Ghassan Jawad, an OB-GYN who had worked at Al-Shifa hospital before it was left in ruins by an Israeli military attack. 

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Micah Richards thinks Arsenal will knock Bayern out of the UCL

Arsenal faces a huge task against Bayern next week, and after being out of the UCL for so long, the progress we have made so far has been great. Yes, we’ve faced some struggling games and at times have looked a bit like fish out of water, but we never seem to give up. When we travel to Germany to face off against Bayern in the second leg, we are going to need that level of belief and desire to push forward and win the game away from home.

Ex Manchester City legend, turned pundit, Michah Richards has had his say on the big clash at the Allianz Arena next week, saying this: “Going to the Allianz next week, it’s going to be a tough game, really tough. If something clicks for them, Arsenal could be in trouble. But the only reason I would say Arsenal have a better chance is because right now, they are performing better as a team.

“There’s been grumbles in the Bayern camp that the players are not getting up. Obviously, Tuchel’s leaving. But do you remember Tuchel at Chelsea? Things were not going well and they go and win the Champions League.”

“So, don’t put it past them that they could win that game, but I just think Arsenal as a team are just a little bit more together.”