Daily Cannon

Tottenham Hotspur have been fined £75,000 for homophobic chanting by their supporters during a Premier League match against Manchester United, following abuse aimed at Mikel Arteta and Mason Mount that included references to sexual orientation.

The sanction, initially set at £150,000, was halved by an independent Appeal Board after Spurs admitted two breaches of FA Rule E21, which relates to crowd control and discriminatory behaviour.

The charges stem from incidents during the club’s 3-0 win at Old Trafford on 29 September 2024, where chants from the away section targeted Arsenal’s head coach and Mount, formerly of Chelsea.

The FA found that Tottenham had failed to ensure that their supporters “conduct themselves in an orderly fashion” and “do not use words or otherwise behave in an improper, offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting way with either an express or implied reference to sexual orientation,” with the breaches occurring around the 49th and 79th minutes.

In addition to the fine, an action plan and formal warning were issued to the club. The FA’s initial ruling was made by an independent Regulatory Commission, before Tottenham’s appeal led to the reduction in financial penalty.

Spurs condemned the abuse in a statement issued shortly after the match. “This is simply unacceptable, hugely offensive and no way to show support for the team,” the club said at the time. “The club will be working with the police and stewards to identify anyone instigating or joining in with the chanting. We shall take action.”

Following links to Arsenal and reports of a potential contract extension with Bayern Munich, Leroy Sane’s agent is now apparently working on a move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Christian Falk of German outlet Bild reports that the latest twist in the Leroy Sane saga is that his agent is working on a deal for him to join Tottenham Hotspur.

The suggestion is that Sane could opt to move to London to stay close to his family, and Spurs CEO Daniel Levy is using his personal relationship with agent Pini Zahavi to try and convince the player to join them over the alternatives.

Sane’s contract with Bayern Munich expires this summer, potentially making him available as a free agent. Though he remains in talks over an extension with his current club.

Bild wrote last week that Bayern sporting director Max Eberl had met with Zahavi this week. The winger’s agent said afterwards: “It was a good meeting, a nice meal. But there’s no news (on an extension) yet.”

Bild claim that their sources inform them that both sides are fundamentally interested in a contract extension. It’s seemingly just a matter of finding a compromise they’re both happy with.

Yet as well as Spurs, Arsenal are seemingly in the mix for Sane if he opts not to stay in Munich.

Multiple English media sources reported last week that Arsenal were considering pursuing Sane’s free transfer.

Gary Jacob and Paul Joyce wrote for The Times that Arsenal were showing strong interest, with Mikel Arteta keen to target a winger this summer.

Mike McGrath confirmed for The Telegraph that Arsenal had made enquiries over Sane, as one of a few clubs who have asked about the conditions of a deal.

But even now, it still seems most likely that Sane opts to remain with Bayern Munich. We’ve seen a number of players linked with moves away from Bayern whilst in contract talks, and they generally end up opting to stay.

Leroy Sane isn’t interested in joining Tottenham Hotspur, and Arsenal are the only club that appeal to him in the Premier League, according to a report from Germany.

Tobias Altschaffl reports for Bild that Leroy Sane’s interest in a move to Tottenham Hotspur is low. Arsenal are reportedly the only club that appeal to Sane in the Premier League, though he has plenty of other options.

Those options include concrete offers from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, with the player seriously considering the possibility of a move to Galatasaray.

Bayern Munich are also still trying to keep the winger, and he’d ideally prefer to extend his contract to stay where he is. The 29-year-old isn’t yet happy with the terms on offer, but the extension deal remains on the table if he changes his mind.

Christian Falk and The Athletic’s James McNicholas confirmed this week that senior figures at Arsenal had held talks with Sane over a potential move, though only as one of a number of options the club are targeting.

Gary Jacob and Paul Joyce previously wrote for The Times that Arsenal were showing strong interest, with Mikel Arteta keen to target a winger this summer.

Mike McGrath confirmed for The Telegraph that Arsenal had made enquiries over Sane, as one of a few clubs who have asked about the conditions of a deal.

As it stands, Sane’s deal with Bayern is running down, and he’ll be available as a free agent next month.

Sane made 45 appearances for Bayern in 2024/25, scoring 13 goals and providing six assists. Only 25 of those 45 games were starts, as he’s struggled to hold down a consistent spot in the lineup.

Following links to Arsenal and reports of a potential contract extension with Bayern Munich, Leroy Sane’s agent is now apparently working on a move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Christian Falk of German outlet Bild reports that the latest twist in the Leroy Sane saga is that his agent is working on a deal for him to join Tottenham Hotspur.

The suggestion is that Sane could opt to move to London to stay close to his family, and Spurs CEO Daniel Levy is using his personal relationship with agent Pini Zahavi to try and convince the player to join them over the alternatives.

Sane’s contract with Bayern Munich expires this summer, potentially making him available as a free agent. Though he remains in talks over an extension with his current club.

Bild wrote earlier this week that Bayern sporting director Max Eberl had met with Zahavi this week. The winger’s agent said afterwards: “It was a good meeting, a nice meal. But there’s no news (on an extension) yet.”

Bild claim that their sources inform them that both sides are fundamentally interested in a contract extension. It’s seemingly just a matter of finding a compromise they’re both happy with.

Yet as well as Spurs, Arsenal are seemingly in the mix for Sane if he opts not to stay in Munich.

Multiple English media sources reported this week that Arsenal were considering pursuing Sane’s free transfer.

Gary Jacob and Paul Joyce wrote for The Times that Arsenal were showing strong interest, with Mikel Arteta keen to target a winger this summer.

Mike McGrath confirmed for The Telegraph that Arsenal had made enquiries over Sane, as one of a few clubs who have asked about the conditions of a deal.

But even now, it still seems most likely that Sane opts to remain with Bayern Munich. We’ve seen a number of players linked with moves away from Bayern whilst in contract talks, and they generally end up opting to stay.

Mikel Arteta has praised Arsenal for securing Champions League football and a likely second-place finish, firing a subtle shot at Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the process.

Arsenal mathematically secured Champions League football with a win over Newcastle United on Sunday, with a four-point gap to third place with only one match remaining.

The Gunners haven’t mathematically finished second yet, as sixth-place Manchester City have a game in hand. Should they win their final two fixtures, they could match Arsenal’s current tally of 71 points.

But Arsenal have a 10-goal advantage in goal difference and would likely need to lose heavily to relegated Southampton to finish below City on the final day. Realistically, a second-place finish is extremely probable.

Reflecting on the season, Mikel Arteta insisted his team deserve his praise for maintaining high standards and not dropping down the table despite their injuries and issues with red cards in 2024/25.

“Make sure, as I said, that it doesn’t get blurry, and it doesn’t get recognised what we’ve done,” Arteta said. “Any other team, I’ve seen it with one injury to finishing eighth, fifth, 16th, 17th.

“What this team has done, in my opinion, to sustain the level throughout the season with everything that happened is incredible.

“We don’t want anybody to value [it], but me as a manager, I have to value what these guys have done.”

The references to clubs dropping to 16th or 17th feel a little pointed, with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur occupying those two positions with one game of the season remaining.

One of the two clubs will sneak into the Champions League with Europa League success later this week, but even that team will have a huge job on their hands to completely reverse their domestic form next year.

As for the team that loses, it will arguably be their worst season in many, many years.

Even with all of the obstacles Arsenal have faced this season, they’re not even close to dropping to that level. Arteta is right to highlight it.

Ange Postecoglou has suggested he was asked to lose Tottenham Hotspur’s match against Manchester City last season, to deny Arsenal the Premier League title.

With Tottenham Hotspur sitting 16th in the Premier League table with five games to go, Ange Postecoglou is coming under a lot of pressure from inside and outside of the club at the moment.

The manager’s one saving grace at the moment is that Spurs remain in the Europa League, and winning the competition would mean qualifying for next season’s Champions League despite their domestic struggles.

All the same, Postecoglou clearly felt the need to defend himself in a press conference this week.

“I love the frenzy around finishing fifth this year, they’re all brilliant, aren’t they,” Postecoglou asked sarcastically. “We finished fifth last year, why is it such a disaster that we finished fifth?

“Around this time last year, I was asked to lose a game, and I was wrong for wanting to win it.

“But it’s not a good story. A better story is that my tenure’s been a disaster and it continues to be.”

Postecoglou is seemingly referring to the conversations around Tottenham Hotspur’s match against Manchester City towards the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

Spurs had the opportunity to give local rivals Arsenal a boost by taking points off City, with many of the fans hoping that the team would lose instead.

Postecoglou grew frustrated with the suggestion that he would throw the game to spite Arsenal, but Spurs lost anyway. If they’d won, they would have ultimately finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League.

Instead, their defeat condemned them to Europa League qualification, and Postecoglou clearly hasn’t forgotten that this is the fate the fans demanded.

Arsenal have confirmed plans to hold a north London derby match in Hong Kong this summer, as part of the club’s 2025/26 pre-season plans.

Arsenal have officially confirmed leaks that they intend to hold a north London derby pre-season match this summer, facing Tottenham Hotspur at the newly-opened Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong.

It will be the first north London derby held outside of the United Kingdom, with the game scheduled for July 31st at 19:30 local time, 11:30 BST.

Arsenal managing director Richard Garlick said: “Everyone at Arsenal is excited to be visiting Hong Kong in July. It’s great to be back with our men’s first team squad after 13 years, and gives us the opportunity to meet so many of our fantastic supporters in the region again.

“As well as training hard and playing the match, we cannot wait to connect with our Hong Kong supporters in this wonderful part of the world.

“Playing against Tottenham Hotspur in the magnificent new Kai Tak Stadium will be a great experience for both teams and supporters, and will be a very important part of our pre-season preparations ahead of the new season.”

Arsenal are seemingly set for a tour of Asia, with Arsenal Fixture News reporting that they expect two more games outside of Hong Kong but still on the same continent. Both are expected to take place before the Hong Kong match.

Arsenal’s 2024/25 campaign will come to an end in May, whether that’s the final game of the Premier League season on May 25th or the Champions League final on May 31st.

The Gunners are seemingly set for around a month and a half off after that, with pre-season starting at some point in mid-July. The new season will then kick off on August 16th.

The Premier League have recently confirmed that the summer transfer window will open briefly between June 1st and June 10th (due to the Club World Cup) before opening properly on June 16th and closing on September 1st.

Arsenal should therefore have over a month to complete any transfers before the pre-season tour kicks off. Ideally, a few new signings will be involved by the time the team reaches Hong Kong.

There have indeed been talks over a pre-season friendly between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, but the game isn’t currently confirmed, according to a report.

Following rumours over the last seven days, Sami Mokbel reports for the Daily Mail that there have been talks over a north London friendly between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur during Spurs’ planned trip to Asia this summer.

Spurs intend to hold a summer training camp in the Far East, and they’ve discussed the prospect of playing a game in Hong Kong against the Gunners.

There was plenty of buzz around the potential fixture last week, with a supposed “leaked” graphic showing plans for two games at the new Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong.

The rumoured matches were Liverpool vs AC Milan on July 26th, and Arsenal vs Spurs on July 31st.

But subsequent reports played down the leaks, with Hong Kong outlet SportsRoad claiming that the two friendlies haven’t been officially confirmed, and British journalist Charles Watts writing that the fixture is yet to be finalised.

Yet it seems the Gunners are at least considering the prospect. As well as Watts and Mokbel confirming that the Hong Kong fixture is a possibility, Arsenal Fixture News writes that there’s also talk of an Arsenal game in Singapore.

Arsenal have spent the last couple of pre-seasons on tour in the USA, so it would make a change to travel to the other side of the world in 2025.

Arsenal are seemingly set to face Tottenham Hotspur in a pre-season fixture in July, according to rumours circulating online.

In the last 24 hours, reports have been growing that Arsenal are set to play a pre-season friendly against Tottenham Hotspur at the Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong.

The above graphic is reportedly a leak from the promotional materials for the game, as well as Liverpool’s friendly fixture against AC Milan. According to the graphic, Arsenal will play Spurs on July 31st, 2025.

Hong Kong outlet SportsRoad report that the two friendlies haven’t been officially confirmed, but the rumours fit with earlier claims about the summer plans for the new stadium. British journalist Charles Watts shared the graphic in an apparent confirmation.

Arsenal Fixture News report that as well as playing in Hong Kong, there’s also talk of an Arsenal game in Singapore. So all the signs point towards a tour of Asia for the Gunners this summer.

Arsenal have spent the last couple of pre-seasons on tour in the USA, so it will make a change to travel to the other side of the world in 2025.

Yet whilst local fans will likely be delighted to see a north London derby in their home country, other fans might be disappointed to see another pre-season friendly match against a bitter rival.

Friendlies are primarily about building fitness, but these derby games often end up bringing an unnecessary level of aggression and injury risk.

But these are the games that make the most money. Now that they’ve become a common feature of every pre-season tour, we’re only likely to get more of them.

Galatasaray and Tottenham Hotspur signings Alvaro Morata and Mathys Tel were both open to joining Arsenal in January, but the Gunners opted against both transfers.

Sami Mokbel reports for the Daily Mail that whilst Alvaro Morata and Mathys Tel ended up joining Galatasaray and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, both would have given serious consideration to joining Arsenal in the January transfer window.

The reason neither had to make that decision was that after discussing each move internally, Arsenal decided not to make offers. The club felt that neither would provide sufficient impact in the second half of the season.

Simon Collings reported on deadline day that whilst Arsenal did hold exploratory conversations over a move for Tel, they decided not to advance it beyond that.

The Gunners’ hestiance to do a deal for the teenager was likely partly related to the significant finances involved. Spurs are paying a loan fee of up to €10m (£8.3m), and they’re also paying Tel’s salary in full.

After that, Spurs will have a €60m (£50m) purchase option, taking the total potential cost of the signing up to more than £58m. That’s significantly more than Arsenal were willing to pay for a proven striker in Ollie Watkins, and Spurs are investing it on a player with no club goals this season.

As for Morata, it’s clear that Galatasaray were just a lot more keen to get a deal done. The Turkish club ultimately signed the striker on loan with an option to buy.

Arsenal are clearly an attractive destination to strikers at the moment, but the Gunners are evidently hoping to leverage that fact to sign one of their priority targets. Morata and Tel didn’t fit that description.