pain

Lionel Messi thanks fans, shares pain after World Cup loss

Lionel Messi arrived back in Argentina on Tuesday for a few days of rest following the World Cup final loss to Spain.

Messi’s private jet landed near his hometown of Rosario from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at 6:27 a.m. Although many fans were waiting with signs and flags, he did not make a public appearance.

“The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal,” he posted on his Instagram account. “I cherish all the good moments, memories that will last forever — and the support of an entire nation which, combined with this group’s hard work and effort, propelled us once again into the ranks of the world’s best.”

Supporters only caught a brief glimpse of the SUV that met Messi on the tarmac to transport him and his family to the private neighborhood of Funes, roughly 185 miles north of Buenos Aires.

The Argentina captain reportedly traveled with his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, and their three children, all of whom had accompanied him throughout the tournament in North America. Waiting for him in Rosario was his 68-year-old father, Jorge, whose ongoing medical treatment for an undisclosed illness had been revealed by the family during the World Cup.

Fans had gathered at the airport as early as 3:30 a.m. hoping to catch a sight of the star. Among them were two young girls in La Albiceleste jerseys holding welcome signs, one of which read: “Messi: You’re a legend. Thank you for bringing joy to our hearts. A whole country loves you!”

Messi is expected to rejoin Inter Miami in late July or early August for the ongoing MLS season.

Fifteen members of Argentina’s 26-player World Cup roster, led by head coach Lionel Scaloni, landed at Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza Airport on Monday on a chartered flight.

The squad’s arrival followed Sunday’s 1–0 extra-time loss to Spain in the World Cup final in East Rutherford, N.J., decided by a Ferran Torres goal.

“It is hard to fully appreciate our achievement right now, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for every greeting and message,” Messi added. “I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the championship.”

The match marked Messi’s third World Cup final appearance, following 2014 and 2022. He ended the tournament as the runner-up for the Golden Boot with eight goals, two behind France’s Kylian Mbappé.

Mbappé tops the all-time World Cup goal-scoring chart with 22, one more than Messi.

Álvarez writes for the Associated Press.

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Nick Knowles’ wife Katie breaks down in tears after surgery as she reveals she’s been ‘in pain for nearly two decades’

NICK Knowles’ wife Katie has revealed that she’s been suffering with pain every day for ‘almost two decades’.

The brave star shared the news after undergoing surgery to remove parts of her reproductive system.

Nick Knowles’ wife Katie shared an emotional health update following her recent surgery Credit: Instagram
The star revealed she’s been in pain for almost two decades Credit: Instagram

Katie posted an emotional video online where she’s hugging a loved one while sitting down in tears at home post-surgery.

Penned in the post’s caption, Katie shared a health update and rejoiced that the decades worth of pain she’s been feeling should now be gone.

She said: “I’ve made some videos from hospital and after my op, and I think I’m ready to share them.

“The ovaries. The endo. The adhesions. The organs that had stuck together. The prolapses. The bits of my body that have caused me pain for nearly two decades. All gone!

no knowles!

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KNOWLES SHAKE-UP

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Katie described feeling happy but also heartbroken about her health journey Credit: Instagram
She’s the wife of TV presenter Nick Knowles Credit: tiktok/@katieaknowles

“5 and a 1/2 hours in surgery. Mr Raafat has been amazing. He is the first surgeon who has ever made me feel truly heard and understood, and I’ve been through a fair few. Around 10, I think. He understood how draining, exhausting and painful this has all been, and he’s confident this should improve my quality of life. I am so grateful for that.

“Hopefully this is the last big recovery. Hopefully this is the start of life without that pain.”

Katie continued to share how she’s still in immense pain as she’s recovering from the operation, and it’s difficult to go through even though it’s temporary.

She explained: “I know this pain is short-lived. I know the scars, the stitches, the bleeding, the gas pain, the swelling, the injections, the cannulas, the bruises and all the awful hospital bits are temporary.

“But temporary doesn’t mean easy. It is brutal. My body feels completely battered.”

Katie finished the post off by sharing just how much endometriosis has impacted her life and how as much as she feels grateful now to go forward with less pain in the future, she still feels ‘heartbroken’.

Katie concluded: “Endometriosis and adenomyosis have taken so much from me. They’ve taken years. They’ve taken energy. They’ve taken confidence. They’ve taken plans. They’ve taken parts of my body. They’ve taken versions of me I’ll never get back.

“I wish I could go back and tell younger me she wasn’t weak. She wasn’t making it up. She deserved better. So yes, I’m relieved and grateful. I really am. But I’m also heartbroken.”

Fans reading the emotional caption left their well wishes in the post’s comments section, with one user saying: “You are so incredibly strong, please remember that. Sending so much love.”

A second shared: “Sorry you have been through all of this. I wish you a speedy recovery.”

A third added: “Much love to you and your family.”

Katie is the wife of TV presenter Nick, who has hosted shows including Who Dares Wins, DIY SOS and Break The Safe.

The health update comes two months after Katie opened up about her father sexually assaulting her for “years” as she grew up.

Signs you could have endometriosis

Endometriosis is where cells similar to those in the lining of the womb (uterus) grow in other parts of the body.

Symptoms happen when patches of endometriosis break down and bleed during your period but cannot leave your body.

You might have some symptoms during your period, such as:

  • Severe period pain, that stops you from doing your normal activities
  • Heavy periods, where you need to change your pads or tampons every one to two hours, or you may bleed through to your clothes.
  • Pain when you poo or pee

You can have other symptoms at any time in your menstrual cycle, such as:

  • Pain in your lower tummy and back (pelvic area)
  • Pain during or after sex
  • Extreme tiredness (fatigue)
  • Pain or bleeding in other areas, such as in the chest, which may cause shortness of breath and coughing up blood

You may also have difficulty getting pregnant and have low mood or anxiety.

See your GP if:

  • You think you might have endometriosis
  • Your symptoms are affecting your everyday life, work and relationships
  • You’ve had treatment from a GP but your symptoms do not get better, or get worse

Source: NHS

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World Cup 2026: Declan Rice ready to play through pain against Mexico

Declan Rice is likely to be available to start England’s World Cup last-16 tie against Mexico on Sunday despite an ongoing injury issue.

The Arsenal midfielder has been playing with a neural problem that affects his hamstring and lower back and was substituted in injury time of the 2-1 win over DR Congo in the last 32.

Speaking after that game, manager Thomas Tuchel said: “I asked him. He said: ‘I can do it for the team but I am in terrible pain.’ When Declan tells you he is in terrible pain then you know he cannot take it any more.”

Though Rice is likely to be available to start against Mexico, there remain doubts about Reece James’ availability, with the Chelsea right-back having sat out two matches because of a hamstring injury.

It is understood James is yet to return to full training in the build-up to the game against Mexico, which is scheduled for 18:00 local time on Sunday (01:00 BST on Monday), though could move because of the weather.

Back-up right Jarell Quansah, who missed the win over DR Congo with an ankle issue, has stepped up his recovery but it is not known yet if he will be available.

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‘Jackass: Best and Last’ review: The old men and a sea of pain

The best weapon in the “Jackass’” arsenal isn’t the taser, the beehive or the booby-trapped latrine. It’s the explosion of relief when a prank ends, often in humiliation, always with hoots and claps. The first film, 2002’s “Jackass: The Movie” was slow to discover that carnage without camaraderie is painful; several injuries limped off-screen in horrified silence. Laughter heals, except for the brain hemorrhage that Johnny Knoxville suffered in 2022’s “Jackass Forever” when, dissatisfied by the clobbering he took from a bull, requested a second ramming that knocked him out cold.

Hence “Jackass: Best and Last,” the goon squad’s alleged final film, is underwhelmingly tame. Shot quickly by stalwart director Jeff Tremaine this spring, half of it is a clip reel of past hits, like the time fan favorite Steve-O slingshotted into the sky in a port-a-potty. The rest is scraps of hastily assembled chaos, the most elaborate of which is a puppet show in which veterans Ehren McGhehey, Dave England and Jason “Wee Man” Acuña dangle helplessly from strings, trying to recite cue cards while being pummeled by tropical fruit. “A pineapple!” Wee Man moans.

I’m no sadist. They’ve suffered plenty for our amusement. Still, it’s a shame that for the first time in two and a half decades of cringe comedy, the guffaws feel forced.

Acknowledging the Jackasses’ age, if not maturity, are a couple skits about prostate and rectal checkups. (The gnarliest involves clear pants, colonoscopy prep liquid and a game of Twister.) Modern technology enters the arena with a nimble-fingered robot. If the team had invested any actual energy into brainstorming this entry, they’d have played paintball with a sniper drone. At least for the sake of torch-passing, someone should have thought of something for the newish members introduced in “Jackass Forever” to do besides stand around and applaud.

These fresher faces — Jasper Dolphin, Rachel Wolfson, Zach Holmes — prove brave and resilient when allowed to participate. Only one of them, Sean “Poopies” McInerney, a surf bro so gullible that I’m not sure he’s capable of informed legal consent, fits into “Best and Last” like a well-worn punching bag. (When Poopies yelps that “my mind is getting to me” while wearing a shock collar around a sensitive area, people snort because, as sweet as he seems, the only thing rattling inside his cranium is a moth.) Early on, Poopies gets swollen lip injections that, someone claims, will last the whole movie. You expect his trophy wife pout to be a running sight gag. But his disfigurement never even gets another closeup.

“Jackass” started with a bang. In January of 1998, Knoxville, then a 26-year-old aspiring actor, strapped on a cheap bulletproof vest padded with a stack of “Hustler” magazines and fired a gun point-blank into his chest. His dumb derring-do went viral on VHS tapes, earning him an MTV show and five feature films. Watching that Rosetta Stone-cold stupid footage here, you’re struck not only by his audacity, but by the scene’s excruciating comic pacing. As there’s only one bullet in the pistol, empty chambers click multiple times before the bullet finally fires. Logically, you know Knoxville will live long enough for his hair to turn fright-wig white. Yet the lizard brain making you gawk is shrieking.

Do not attempt any of the stunts you’re about to see, the prefatory caution blares. Absolutely. The thing is, no one else could. “Best and Last’s” flashbacks are a walloping reminder that Knoxville is inimitable: a telegenic and extroverted entertainer with a charisma he wields like a skunk aims its stink. Upset him at your own risk. Like Buster Keaton before him, Knoxville has an uncanny awareness of how his death-defying escapades appear on camera. Even in that near-suicidal early segment, note how Knoxville stays on his feet, enduring agony with a magician’s “Ta-da!” He might have given himself a bruise the size of a baseball but he’s focused on the audience’s delight.

Over the years, the visuals dramatically improve, from snuff film aesthetics to confidently silly splendor. “Jackass Number Two,” released in 2006, expended major energy on a musical homage to Old Hollywood that nodded to Keaton and bathing beauty Esther Williams who, in MGM’s “Million Dollar Mermaid,” plunged 50 feet into a pool and broke her neck. By 2010’s “Jackass 3D,” which riffed on classic cartoons with Knoxville strapping himself onto an Acme-style red rocket, one could admit they went to see a Jackass movie for the cinematography with even more sincerity than if Knoxville claimed he bought “Hustler” for its life-saving properties.

The new movie doesn’t have any artistic ambition. The charitable excuse for its reliance on old material is that the gang wanted one more film that summed up their entire legacy — from the impact of seeing them age to the opportunity to include departed colleagues Ryan Dunn, who died in 2011, and Bam Margera, fired in 2020. The other explanation is it’s a cash grab made for pennies. Still, Steve-O strives for memorable moments, gathering the gang in a generic office building corridor to watch him take off his pants and pop out a ping-pong ball. There’s a lot of nudity but the setting feels half-assed.

“Best and Last’s” intro splat-tacular, typically a highlight of each film, hinges on the posse standing still on a moving floor. But the monochrome staging — white walls, white ground — looks almost like CGI, the antithesis of their appeal, and it takes us a minute to understand what’s actually going on. Worst, it lacks both suspense and surprise, that no-they-aren’toh-god-they-are drama that once elevated the franchise to the peak of pure cinema.

There is — and I mean this — existentialism in witnessing a person embrace shame and terror. Actors have won Oscars without achieving the transcendence of, say, misery glutton McGhehey in “Jackass Forever,” bound to a chair and coated in salmon and honey, realizing that his friends have released a bear into the room. Meryl Streep could never do that (and wouldn’t have to). McGhehey’s sole path to stardom is that he did.

Not everything in a “Jackass” movie needs to be that sublime. One of my few genuine howls in “Best and Last” came in a three-second rehash of someone stepping on a rake; another was the percussion Chris Pontius makes with his swinging nethers before attempting a naked Fosbury flop. There’s a great accidental gag in a cut bit from the original MTV pilot when a deputy pulls up to arrest Knoxville and forgets to put her car in park. Yet the snippet I keep thinking about is a throwaway beat in a new skit when McGhehey willingly gets into the wrong chair again and, once freed, attacks Knoxville who coolly knees him in the nuts. Everyone chuckles.

Once, in anthropology class, my professor lectured on an insular island tribe that cackled whenever someone got hurt. Schadenfreude was the community’s way to vent tension. I thought of that village throughout “Best and Last,” especially during Knoxville’s nonchalant disarmament of his pal. Team Jackass has stayed united even while at each other’s throats. In bad times, they’ve borne each other’s struggles with sobriety and mental health. In good, they’ve seen the inequality of success that’s left Knoxville in a better financial position to retire than the rest.

While “Best and Last” is a whiff, I can forgive this band of bozos’ urge to make it. No one seems happy to still be zapping themselves with electrodes. They just want to rally together for the final time to choke out one last laugh.

‘Jackass: Best and Last’

Rated: R, for extremely dangerous stunts and crude material throughout, graphic nudity, pervasive language and sexual material

Running time: 1 hour, 32 minutes

Playing: Opening Friday, June 26 in wide release

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World Cup 2026: Mohamed Salah’s World Cup pain is over as he fires Egypt to history

Salah may have been a superstar at Liverpool. He is on an even higher plane in Egypt.

With every touch comes loud cheers from his country’s fans, with huge pressure on his shoulders on every appearance.

Sunday’s goal was his 68th for his country in 118 appearances, leaving him just one shy of manager Hassan’s all-time goal scoring record, and some will say it’s his most important yet as Egypt finally ended a 92-year wait for a World Cup win.

No player has been involved in more shots during a game at this World Cup than Salah was against New Zealand – having five shots himself and creating five more for others.

Former Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou, told ITV: “If there was any doubt about Mo’s impact on this team, you can still see it.

“It will give them enormous belief. They had to deal with adversity and their big player stood up and that will give them big confidence. You need your big players to perform to progress.”

Former Jamaica winger Jobi McAnuff added: “Just when he was needed, Mo Salah stood up for his country.”

Salah has played for the senior national team for 14 years and his importance to Egypt is such that high-ranking government officials have been known to get involved when he has been injured.

“I even had calls from Egypt’s Minister of Health,” recalls Dr Mohamed Aboud, the national team’s medic, about the time Salah sustained a serious shoulder injury in Liverpool’s defeat by Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League final, leading to speculation he could miss the World Cup in Russia a few weeks later.

But, despite helping Liverpool to the Premier League title in 2019-20 and 2024-25, the player has yet to lift a trophy for his country.

The generation before Salah won three Africa Cup of Nations titles in a row between 2006 and 2010. Since then, there have been two defeats in finals, against Cameroon in 2017 and Senegal in the 2021 edition, which took place in early 2022.

This World Cup win at least banishes one of Egypt’s ghosts.

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Holly Hagan left in ‘excruciating pain’ as part of her nipple ‘FALLS OFF’ as she opens up on breastfeeding struggle

HOLLY Hagan says she has been left in ‘excruciating pain’ while attempting to breastfeed her newborn daughter.

The Geordie Shore star, who gave birth last weekend, told fans that part of her nipple had ‘fallen off’ after spending 12 hours feeding the newborn.

Holly Hagan has claimed that part of her nipple has ‘fallen off’ as she opened up about her breastfeeding struggles in a candid new post Credit: @hollyhaganblyth/Instagram
The star said she was in ‘excruciating pain’ trying to make breastfeeding work in the very honest Instagram post Credit: @hollyhaganblyth/Instagram

Taking to her Instagram Stories, Holly opened up about struggling to breastfeed, admitting there was something stopping her from being able to feed comfortably.

Sharing how it currently feels like ‘glass’ going through her breasts, the reality star said she had been through a night from hell with daughter Madison-Darci.

The mum-of-two, who also shares son Alpha-Jax with her husband Jacob Blyth, wrote to the platform “Apologies for the lack of update but we had a BADDD night.

“Little missy awake for like 5 hours 3-8, nothing would settle her, she’d just fall asleep and wake up again.

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Holly gave birth to Madison-Darci last week, with the little one sweetly named after the star’s late sister Credit: @hollyhaganblyth/Instagram
The Geordie Shore star didn’t breastfeed firstborn Alpha-Jax, but says she’s determined to this time around Credit: Instagram

“My nipples honestly feel like they have glass running through them. I worked out I fed her 18 times for an average of 40 minutes that’s 12 hours of my day sat feeding! I have zero time to think about eating which is WILD for me I think about food 24/7.

“My bum hurts so much from constantly sitting down, my body hurts so much from being so tense when she feeds through the excruciating pain.”

Holly continued that Madison-Darci – who is sweetly named after her late sister – has been checked by doctors, who have confirmed there is no issue with her.

“Yes she’s been checked twice for a tongue tie. It’s not her latch that’s actually so strong, it’s my anatomy.

What are the recommendations around breastfeeding?

The NHS recommends breastfeeding your baby exclusively (feeding them breast milk only) for the first six months, but it’s completely up to you to decide when you want to bring it to an end – and there’s really no right or wrong way to do it.

The NHS says weaning often happens gradually as your baby begins to eat more solid foods.

They note that solid food shouldn’t replace breast milk, as there is evidence to suggest breast milk helps a baby’s digestive system when processing solid food for the first time.

“Once they are eating solids, your baby will still need to have breast milk or formula as their main drink up to at least their first birthday,” recommends the NHS.

“Cows’ milk isn’t suitable as a main drink for babies under one, although it can be added to foods, such as mashed potatoes.”

You can also combine breastfeeding with formula, too and the NHS says “phasing out” of breastfeeding is often the easiest way.

For example, dropping one feed in the day or at night time.

After around a week, you can begin to think about dropping another.

“If your baby is younger than one year, you’ll need to replace the dropped breastfeed with a formula feed from a bottle or (if they are over six months) a cup or beaker, instead,” they say.

You can breastfeed for as long as you want, and while the NHS recommends breastfeeding your baby exclusively for the first six months, you shouldn’t feel like you cannot continue for longer.

The World Health Organization says: “Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond.”

Holly shares Madison-Darci with her husband Jacob Blyth Credit: Instagram

“It’s still excruciating with a nipple shield, still can’t get any more of my nipple in her mouth after expressing a bit off. Thank god I’d caught quite a bit of milk and stored it in the fridge so Jacob could take her this morning.

“But wow hats off to anyone who breast feeds it is more than a full time job!”

Despite the agonising pain, Holly, who didn’t breastfeed the first time around, said she is going to keep trying in the hopes it will get easier.

She ended the story: “I thought I wouldn’t care about adding formula especially since I only did formula with AJ but I REALLY want to breast feed this time!

“Not going to give up just yet, trying some bigger shields and seeing if my nipples toughen up.. a physical piece of my nipple fell off today LOL”.

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Katie Price reveals son Harvey’s nasty injury after early morning accident leaves him ‘limping and in pain’

KATIE Price revealed her son Harvey suffered a painful fall at home this morning.

The 24-year-old, who has Prader-Willi Syndrome, took a tumble after waking up early and heading into the kitchen when it was still a bit dark.

Harvey Price, son of Katie Price, looks up with a tablet visible in the foreground.
Harvey Price was left in pain after falling over at home Credit: BackGrid
Katie Price sitting on a sofa, speaking to Clemmie Moodie about her recent marriage in Dubai.
Katie Price recently returned from Dubai where her husband Lee Andrews is in jail Credit: Louis Wood

Katie, 48, could be heard saying Harvey was left limping and in pain.

In a video uploaded to Facebook, Harvey was seen enjoying a sensory session with smellies and took a particular liking to lemongrass.

The post was captioned: “Harvey took a little tumble this morning! So lots of TLC for my baby bear! 

“Smelling is amazing for his sensory Needs & Taking his mind off the situation!”

HOOK, LINE & CLINK-ER

Lee Andrews accused of using ACCOMPLICE in scam plot from behind bars


PRESSURE COOKER

Moment Katie Price is grilled over Lee Andrew’s lies in The Sun’s mini doc

Katie recently returned from Dubai where she tried to find out more about husband Lee Andrew’s detention in Al Awir prison.

Lee, 43, claims he was arrested and detained on suspicion of espionage, but the reality is he is in for a private civil matter.

He needs to raise £140,000 to be released and asked Katie to set up a GoFundMe to help out, but she declined, stating there wouldn’t be enough public support.

The Sun’s Showbiz Editor Clemmie Moodie sat down with Katie during her Dubai trip and grilled her about Lee and the many untruths he has told over recent months.

Among them are the claims he bid to buy a majority stake in Chelsea Football Club and visited Katie’s children in person on secret trips to the UK, despite the fact he has a travel ban and can’t leave Dubai.

The full 56 minute sit down interview is available to watch here.

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France 1-0 Republic of Ireland: Pain in Grenoble but hope for Irish as play-offs loom

Three wins and three defeats to finish third in their qualifying group may not look like much, but there is plenty for Republic of Ireland to be proud of in how they navigated what many said was the ‘group of death’ in League A.

The bottom seeds, who had only won promotion to League A with a last-gasp goal against Belgium in a promotion/relegation play-off last year, were tipped to go straight back down to League B when they were drawn against France, Netherlands and Poland.

Manager Carla Ward always said they wanted to aim as high as possible, and while they fell short of scaling their Everest by narrowly losing to France in their final qualifier to miss out on automatic World Cup qualification, they still have a chance to reach next year’s tournament in Brazil.

They became the first side promoted to League A not to be relegated straight back down and the first to pick up not just two but three wins in the top tier, including that sensational win over Netherlands in Cork on Friday.

Their third-place finish has secured a seeded play-off in the autumn and they will be the team many will want to avoid when the draw is made on 18 June given how they have shocked Poland twice and the Netherlands and run France ever so close.

Ward’s overriding feelings when speaking to RTE were pride tinged with pain that they couldn’t get over the line, although she was philosophical in how far they have come and how far they can go.

“I’m incredibly proud of this group and I said it to them there. We’ve got a special, special group who work unbelievably hard. It shows you everything, the [French] scenes at the end, they didn’t have it easy tonight,” she said.

“France are a top, top side and the fact we are here disappointed tells you an awful lot about where we are.

“You can take so many positives. This campaign we have grown and got better and better. Whether we had won, drawn or lost tonight we wanted to continue on the journey. We are in a really good place going into October and that has to be the focus.”

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Champions League final: Arsenal ‘pain’ will fuel fire after heartbreak

Arsenal will celebrate their Premier League title win on Sunday in front of their supporters in north London.

“If you’d offered them at the start of the season – that they would win the Premier League title and lose the Champions League final by a penalty kick, then it is not a bad season, it is a great season and I mean a really great season,” Pat Nevin told BBC Sport.

“Let’s remember they have lost tonight but they are the Premier League winners,” Onouha added.

“They have got their parade to look forward to and I don’t think there will be any fewer people turning up tomorrow just because they have lost the Champions League final.

“I think the club is in a great position, the manager has been there for many years now and he has a bunch of players who are still very very hungry, even though they have been successful.”

The review of the Arsenal squad will come in the summer but this team has progressed so much from the one that Arteta took over in 2019.

Bukayo Saka is the last player left from that squad and Arteta said it has been a “joy” to share this season with his players and staff.

Arsenal have looked at how they could generate money in the coming transfer window by potential player sales.

There is also a group of exciting youngsters, including 19-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly – who started in Budapest – Ethan Nwaneri, 19, and 16-year-olds Max Dowman and Marli Salmon who could emerge as first-team regulars in the coming seasons.

“It is cruel for Arsenal fans, but it is inevitable that this club win the Champions League,” European football expert Julien Laurens said on 5 Live.

“Mikel Arteta will see the positives because that is the kind of guy he is. Arsenal are getting closer and closer.”

And for Arteta, despite the pain, says he is ready to celebrate what has been a big step for his Arsenal side.

“I already know how they [the fans] feel about the team. I want to thank them for everything they’ve done for us throughout the season.”

“Difficult moments like this, they’ve been with us. It’s been a joy to see the reaction they’ve had when we’ve been able to win a league after 22 years.

“It hurts a lot for them not to win it today because I can’t even imagine what would have happened.

“We all had a huge desire to win it and tomorrow we’ll have a great day, I’m sure.”

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‘Blue Film’ review: Sex work, denial and maybe forgiveness in tough drama

To describe a movie as including a ski mask, a camcorder and $50,000 in cash would certainly lead one to imagine a specific type of story. Add two men and sex work and the brain might roll around more pointed scenarios.

But none of that can prepare you for what micro-indie “Blue Film” has in store. The nexus of perversion, pain and sexual purpose driving writer-director Elliot Tuttle’s dark, discursive chamber drama is of a stripe rarely attempted in even the most self-consciously daring movies. Should you need a self-imposed break afterward from intimate two-handers, even Tuttle might understand, then wink in the general direction of his Pasolini posters. (I’m guessing at this provocateur’s wall art.)

Is it clear yet that “Blue Film,” set primarily in a house in Los Angeles over the course of a revelatory night, isn’t for everybody? Some of that “everybody,” incidentally, includes the festivals and distributors who rejected the queer filmmaker’s debut feature, despite having critical buzz, Tony-winning actor Reed Birney as one of its stars and indie guru Mark Duplass as a mentoring producer.

But certain subjects (spoilers ahead) are bound to trigger a different kind of scrutiny. Initially, our attention is on macho-posturing tattooed camboy Aaron (“Boots” star Kieron Moore), graphically boasting to his followers online of the big payday he’ll receive that evening from a submissive client. What he later encounters, however, at the door of a Craftsman on a quiet street is a masked, polite, older host (Birney) with a camera and, once it’s turned on, a lot of personal questions, the kind that begin to crack the facade of a young man used to being in control of his transactional life.

Then his client’s face is revealed and Aaron recognizes it’s his middle school teacher Hank, a convicted pedophile who once coveted him. Hank, who completed prison time for the attempted assault of a different boy, has made a cross-country trip to seek out the adult version of someone who could have been his first victim. He is still processing what he is, wondering if desire, even love, is available to him anymore.

The question is, will you care? Even viewed through Aaron’s cautious, clear-eyed empathy, it’s a steep ask. But you should. Tuttle’s fearless inquisition won’t insult your intelligence, ask your mercy or hogtie your feelings. Honestly, it’s refreshing to be repulsed and intrigued by a movie willing to plumb these psychological depths when Hollywood won’t. In its commitment to unvarnished talk — even if that leads to a clunky staginess — “Blue Film” has thoughts about identity, choice, sin and salvation. There’s a sincere engagement with humanity’s more difficult realities.

Needless to say, this type of graphically articulated exchange wouldn’t work if the performances didn’t land. Thankfully, Moore’s affecting portrayal of jumbled masculinity mixed with situational curiosity is well-calibrated, while Birney, a pro with a challenge, eases us into Hank’s weary self-possession (if not always the nauseating facts of it) before coloring outside the lines with a believably interesting philosophy about reckoning.

But “Blue Film” is tough, make no mistake. Awkward and searching, it exists in a filmic space that you could argue was opened up by last year’s courageous documentary “Predators.” And sometimes that gaze is just discomfiting, full stop. Tuttle wants that. He has room to improve but he’s someone to watch, plumbing the hard-to-fathom.

‘Blue Film’

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 22 minutes

Playing: Now playing at Landmark Theatres Sunset

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Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt day-to-day after dislocating right pinky finger

Though Jarred Vanderbilt suffered a gruesome dislocated right pinky injury during the Lakers’ loss in Game 1 against the Thunder on Tuesday, coach JJ Redick said his forward has been listed as day-to-day for the second-round series.

Vanderbilt, who is left-handed, was injured in the second quarter trying to block a dunk by Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, but his hand hit the backboard. Vanderbilt immediately doubled over in pain, as the bone broke through the skin and had to be put back in place.

“They were able to put his finger back together and it’s splinted and he’s day-to-day,” Redick said Wednesday.

The Lakers and Thunder play Game 2 here Thursday night at Paycom Center.

Redick said it was a “reduction” for Vanderbilt, meaning it was a procedure to restore his dislocated finger.

Vanderbilt had his finger taped and had a splint on the finger after the game.

“Yeah. I mean, he’s obviously a tough-minded player and person,” Redick said. “It just, he had a full dislocation. So they just put the stuff back together. You know, he’ll be day-to-day.”

Redick was asked if it’ll be a pain tolerance issue for his defensive-minded forward.

“Certainly the pain is involved,” Redick said. “From my understanding, it’s basically making sure basically the tissue is healed enough. We’re obviously going to splint him, but making sure the tissue is healed enough to protect his skin barrier.”

Jaxson Hayes called Vanderbilt’s finger injury “disgusting” because the “whole bone was out of his skin.”

“Obviously, you never want to see one of your teammates go down,” Hayes said. “But, I mean, that was gross. That was really gross.”

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