Premier

It was after Liverpool‘s 4-1 defeat by PSV Eindhoven at Anfield in November that Steven Gerrard said his old team just kept on “bleeding”.

A ninth defeat in 12 matches was inflicted that night, but Liverpool have stemmed the painful flow and are now 10 games unbeaten since being embarrassed by the Dutch champions.

With a spirited display in Thursday’s goalless draw against leaders Arsenal, Arne Slot’s side became the first visiting team to take a Premier League point at Emirates Stadium since Manchester City in September.

Conor Bradley’s first-half effort which struck the crossbar was the closest either side went to scoring, while Liverpool were the better team in the second half with 66% possession.

Without a recognised striker, however, they lacked a focal point to their attacks.

Had Hugo Ekitike been fit enough to feature, the visitors could perhaps have taken the win, though this was still a decent night for Liverpool.

After poor showings in recent draws against Leeds and Fulham, last season’s champions delivered a performance from which Slot can take plenty of positives.

Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch were solid in midfield and Milos Kerkez had arguably his best game for the club as he dealt superbly with the threat of Bukayo Saka.

Defensively, Liverpool prevented Arsenal having an attempt in the second half until stoppage time. Mikel Arteta’s side have now failed to score against Liverpool in both games this season.

“I think Arne Slot will be absolutely delighted with the performance of the players,” said ex-Reds forward Daniel Sturridge on Sky Sports.

“You’ve got to give him credit for his game plan. They weathered the storm for the first 20 minutes. After that, their work rate, how tenacious they were, it was a very experienced performance and they showed why they are champions.

“They lacked the cutting edge up front but had very positive moments. Jeremie Frimpong was a threat all night but missed the final pass. Florian Wirtz was very good, picked up a load of pockets and was very clean tonight. The list goes on. The defence was magnificent.

“They stopped attacks all night and I think the manager and players should be very proud of themselves. They performed exceptionally.”

Who: Arsenal vs Liverpool
What: English Premier League
Where: Emirates Stadium in London, United Kingdom
When: Thursday, January 8, at 8pm (20:00 GMT).
How to follow: We will have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.

Table-topping Arsenal entertain defending champions Liverpool in a mouth-watering offering in the English Premier League on Thursday, with glory on offer for the former but pride heavily at stake for the latter.

The Gunners are searching for their first league title since 2003, while the Reds are licking their wounds from a season that has almost inexplicably imploded following their runaway success last term.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the match in which a home win is fully expected, but nothing can ever be taken for granted in the Premier League.

How have Arsenal fared in the Premier League this season?

The Gunners have stormed to top spot as manager Mikel Arteta looks to go one better than three consecutive second-placed finishes in the English top flight.

Only one defeat in 21 matches to begin the season – the loss coming at Liverpool – has marked Arsenal as the team to stop on all fronts. Free-scoring in front of the goal and miserly at the back, Arteta appears to have finally cracked the code.

How do things stand in the Premier League title race?

The gap with second-placed Manchester City is six points, ahead of Pep Guardiola’s side welcoming Brighton and Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

Aston Villa are level on points with City, and travel to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, but their 4-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal on December 30 was regarded as a serious dent to their title ambitions.

What has gone wrong for Liverpool in the Premier League this season?

The Reds enjoyed a stunning start to the new campaign, which made their demise this season all the more alarming. Slot’s side won their opening five league matches as part of a seven-game winning run in all competitions.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot insists his reigning champions can still do “special things” this season.

“It is nine games unbeaten but we have definitely had two draws too many,” Slot told a pre-match news conference on Wednesday.

A great deal of the focus for the Reds’ slide, which saw them lose the following four Premier League games on the bounce after their fine start, has focused on the fallout with their iconic forward Mohamed Salah.

Slot has insisted the club have moved on since Salah’s departure for international duty with Egypt at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, but questions remain across the park.

“We haven’t had the consistency but we’ve already beaten some very good teams, so that tells you the talent is definitely there but the consistency isn’t,” he said.

Only 41 goals were conceded by Liverpool last season, but 28 have already been let in during their 20 games so far this season.

The massive summer spending spree, which was headlined by Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz as marquee signings, has seemingly unsettled the balance of a side that stormed to the title last season.

The talent of both, and the rest brought in, is quite clear, but whether Slot can gel them into a side capable of salvaging this season and beyond remains to be seen.

The manager believes his side are still in the reckoning in the league.

“There’s a lot of importance on this match because we still have a lot to play for in the Premier League,” said Slot.

What happened the last time Arsenal played Liverpool?

Liverpool secured a 1-0 win against Arsenal in an early-season encounter between the sides in the Premier League on August 31 at Anfield.

Dominik Szoboszlai scored the only goal of the game with an explosive free-kick in the 83rd minute of an otherwise tight match.

What happened in the corresponding game between Arsenal and Liverpool last season?

The sides could not be separated in last season’s Premier League match at Emirates Stadium, although Liverpool had to twice come from behind – including a late Mohamed Salah leveller – to snare a 2-2 draw.

Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino had given the Gunners the lead twice in the first half with Virgil van Dijk netting in between.

The Reds, however, had to nervously wait until the 81st minute for Salah to secure a point.

When did Arsenal last beat Liverpool?

Arsenal’s last win against Liverpool came three seasons ago, courtesy of a 3-1 victory at Emirates Stadium in February 2024.

A fiery match saw nine yellow cards shown and Reds defender Ibrahima Konate sent off in the 88th minute when his side were still searching for an equaliser.

Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli scored in either half to twice give the Gunners the lead, either side of Gabriel Magalhaes’s own goal.

Leandro Trossard rounded off the scoring in the 90th minute.

Stat attack – Arsenal

The Gunners are on a seven-game winning streak, during which they have netted 13 goals and conceded only six – two of which came in the win against Brighton in their last game.

The north Londoners are the only team to retain an unbeaten home record in the Premier League at this stage, winning nine of their 10 matches at Emirates Stadium. The Gunners have fired in 26 goals in front of their own fans in the league this season, and conceded only five.

Bukayo Saka, such a huge part of the Gunners’ form of recent seasons, is aiming to become the first Arsenal player to score in four straight league home games against Liverpool.

Stat attack – Liverpool

Liverpool are unbeaten in nine matches, winning five, but have drawn their last two – both in the league.

The Reds have kept only one clean sheet in their last seven league matches – a 2-0 home victory against Brighton and the 0-0 draw at Leeds two games ago.

Eight goals have been shipped in that time, with 12 scored.

Four of their six defeats this season have come on the road – where they have also won four and drawn two – with 18 goals conceded on their travels and only 17 scored.

Even bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers have not shipped so many goals away from home.

Arsenal vs Liverpool – stat attack

Liverpool are unbeaten in three matches against Arsenal, winning the last match and drawing twice.

That victory for the Reds, however, ended a six-match winless run in the league, during which the Gunners won twice.

The last victory for the Reds prior to that stretch was the last time the Merseysiders won at Emirates Stadium, back in March 2022, with goals from Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota.

The Gunners have won two of the three league meetings in London since then.

Head-to-head

This is the 246th meeting between the sides, with Liverpool winning 95 of the matches and Arsenal emerging victorious on 81 occasions.

Arsenal team news

Max Dowman and Cristhian Mosquera miss out, with both struggling with ankle problems, while Riccardo Calafiori is a doubt due to an unspecified injury.

Kai Havertz was rested from the squad that was named for the win at Bournemouth and may have to make do with a place on the bench at best as his recovery from a previous injury is managed.

Predicted Arsenal starting lineup

Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard

Liverpool team news

Salah remains at AFCON with Egypt, while Isak is a long-term absentee with a leg injury.

Fellow forward Hugo Ekitike missed the draw with Fulham due to a muscle problem and remains a doubt.

Florian Wirtz is nursing a hamstring problem but is expected to continue to play through the issue.

Giovanni Leoni and Wataru Endo remain longer-term absentees.

Predicted Liverpool starting lineup

Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Jones; Gakpo

Arsenal and Liverpool form guides

• Arsenal: W-W-W-W-W
• Liverpool: W-W-W-D-D

Liam Rosenior says he could not turn down Chelsea but admits unusual situation as a deal has not yet been signed.

Racing Strasbourg coach Liam Rosenior says he has reached an agreement with Chelsea to become their next manager but has yet to sign a contract with the Premier League club.

“I ‍haven’t signed yet. I have agreed verbally with Chelsea. It’s really important – this is different to anything anyone has ever done. Nobody has made a statement before they have signed a contract,” ‍Rosenior said at a ⁠news conference on Tuesday.

“Everything is agreed, and it will probably go through in the next few hours,” he said in Strasbourg, France. “I’m here because I care about this club and I felt it was right to answer your questions physically here today before I move on.”

Rosenior added that he would take his ⁠assistants Kalifa Cisse and Justin Walker with him to the Premier League club.

The 41-year-old, who joined Ligue 1 side Racing Strasbourg in 2024, said his time at the club had been the most rewarding period of ​his career after spells at Derby County and Hull City.

“The ‌last 18 months have been a joy and the best of my professional career,” Rosenior said. “I have met some incredible people, created incredible memories and made history.”

He said he had been transparent with Strasbourg’s ‌ownership about outside interest.

“I have had interest from many clubs, including Champions League clubs, which I have always been open ‌with to our president, Marc Keller, and our ownership,” ⁠Rosenior said. “I will love this club for the rest of my life, but I cannot turn down Chelsea.”

Little-known Rosenior had been widely touted as the front runner to succeed Enzo Maresca since the Italian was sacked on Thursday, not least because Strasbourg and Chelsea are owned by the same consortium, BlueCo.

Rosenior, who has no Premier League coaching experience, will become Chelsea’s fourth permanent boss since BlueCo took control of the Londoners in 2022.

Chelsea has yet to confirm the appointment but held talks with Rosenior in London on Monday.

Some clubs eschew the host family approach in favour of a boarding system, in which players live together in dormitories on club property, the most famous being Barcelona’s La Masia.

“There are strengths and weaknesses to both models,” says Sam Bayford, Brentford‘s academy head of safeguarding.

“The reason we went with our model is that we want to give the players a real break, a geographical and psychological separation rather than living with and sleeping next to the lads they’ve been training with all day.”

Adolescence is a key time for personal, physical and technical development in young footballers – done right, the management of an academy player’s living situation can propel them forwards.

From age 15 Theo Walcott spent two years living at Darwin Lodge, a boarding house run by Southampton until 2010, which the former England international credits with underpinning his successful career.

Walcott lived at the Lodge alongside players like Adam Lallana, Nathan Dyer, and Leon Best, and shared a bedroom with five-time Champions League winner Gareth Bale.

“Being around the other players all the time I found really hard at the start,” the former Arsenal winger tells BBC Sport. “But the environment was built to be like you were in a proper home.

“When you have a lot of good players in the same age group around each other constantly every day, you can feed off each other, always willing to do well together.

“People would act silly sometimes. You would come home and the lights would all be off and you’d know you were in trouble because Gareth and a lot of the other players would be waiting with their underpants on their head and batter you with pillows! You’d have to dart to your room but luckily I was quick.

“Put us all together in a room even now, it’s like we saw each other yesterday.”

Alan Shearer was one of Cushin’s first heroes, but his idol as a kid was a Toon player who stopped goals, rather than scored them.

“I first went to St James’ when I was very young, but my first proper memory was against Stoke in 2008,” he explained. “We were 2-0 up at half-time, and I remember being on the concourse at half-time and thinking how great it was to be a Newcastle supporter.

“That didn’t last long – we ended up throwing the game away, conceding a couple of late goals and drawing 2-2 – but it was watching Shay Given pull off some big saves that day which made me want to be a keeper.

“Everyone else looked the same, wearing the same shirts, and it was just that one player, the goalkeeper, standing out. You are the last line of defence and you can be the hero, and I always liked that gamble – if it went wrong it was my fault, or I could be the reason why we get the points.

“I was quite keen on that, and then I suppose that transitioned into me being a musician, where it is my name on the poster. I guess I’ve always liked the attention!”

Cushin’s career between the sticks saw him play in the youth team for non-league Newcastle Benfield, but he has had to hang up his gloves to focus on playing the guitar.

“It was a sad day when I had to stop playing, but it came after I’d spent some time in the studio with Noel Gallagher, and I realised I couldn’t afford to carry on as a keeper and risk breaking my fingers,” he added.

“So I always say it was Shay who inspired me to put the gloves on, and Noel who told me to take them off again!”

Chris Sutton and Andrew Cushin were speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.

The AI predictions were generated using Microsoft Copilot Chat – we simply asked the tool to ‘predict this weekend’s Premier League scores’.

Maresca stunned even members of his own staff when – after beating Everton 2-0 for Chelsea‘s solitary Premier League win in December – he said “many people” had made it his “worst 48 hours” since joining the club.

Those comments came without any warning to club staff or senior management, who would have preferred any discussions to remain private.

But friction had been brewing in the months before that.

Maresca had hoped to raise his profile following the Blues’ successes through opportunities outside the club. He was planning to publish a book before being blocked, and spoke at Il Festival dello Sport – an event in Italy organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper – without the club’s permission.

He also made public that he disagreed with the club not signing a central defender after Levi Colwill injured his anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season. The club’s hierarchy explained that doing so could prompt academy prospect Josh Acheampong to request a transfer, which ultimately led Maresca to back down.

The former Leicester manager has also switched agents – from the Wasserman agency to Jorge Mendes – and has been talked of as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, which Maresca has dismissed.

In addition, he has increasingly avoided wearing club tracksuits – opting instead for his own clothing.

Following his last game with Chelsea – a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on 30 December – assistant manager Willy Caballero said Maresca felt too unwell to do his post-match media duties, but it is understood his absence was more due to his disillusionment at the club.

And it was noticeable that when Chelsea posted a 52-second video on social media on New Year’s Eve summarising their year, there was no trace of Maresca.

Another year of football is over and it’s time to start looking ahead to 2026.

The Premier League will reach its conclusion in May, with Arsenal looking to win their first title in over two decades – but can the Gunners see the job through this time?

Will an English club be crowned champions of Europe? Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are all looking to reach the last 16.

Could Chelsea‘s hold over the Women’s Super League be set to end? Manchester City, now under the guidance of Andree Jeglertz, lead the way in an enthralling title race.

The World Cup, expanded to 48 teams and complete with a round of 32 for the first time, is bigger than ever before – but who will come out on top?

The winners of the Women’s Champions League, Ballon d’Or and Scottish Premiership will also be known.

So now it’s over to you, the BBC Sport audience… Here is your chance to predict who will win the biggest of trophies, both domestically and globally, in 2026.

It had seemed like Arsenal were starting to wobble.

After starting December with defeat by Aston Villa, they were far from convincing as they beat Wolves, Everton and Brighton by narrow margins.

But the Gunners ground out vital results and they answered any lingering doubts over their title credentials with an emphatic 4-1 home victory over Villa on Tuesday.

It not only kept Unai Emery’s in-form side at bay in third place, it served as a powerful statement to any team hoping to derail their trophy ambitions.

Arsenal head into 2026, and the second half of the campaign, at the top of the league – five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, with Villa a further point behind.

“Arsenal doing what they did to Villa tells you where they are,” former Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“It’s all going right for them because everyone is contributing – the manager, the players, the staff.”

Speaking on Match of the Day, ex-England midfielder Danny Murphy added: “Arsenal‘s performance was a big statement. It was powerful, full of quality and showed their strength in depth.”

But, with a history of letting the title slip from their grasp following three successive runners-up finishes, can Arsenal finally make it count this season and be champions for the first time since 2004?

Married At First Sight star Leisha Lightbody has hinted that she has started dating a premiere league footballer but is keen to keep his identity under wraps as it’s still early days for the pair

Married At First Sight star Leisha Lightbody has shared with fans that she is dating a Premier League footballer, months after her split with show husband Reiss Boyce. The 32-year-old reality TV star had mentioned while on the show that she had been DM’d by a footballer while on the E4 show, but assured Reiss that she had told him she was in a relationship.

But now it looks as though her desire to be a WAG has finally come true. Although Leisha has remained tight-lipped over his identity, a source has said that she is “excited” over her new romance.

Posting a cryptic video on TikTok, followers only saw the shoulder of a man sitting next to her. She captioned the video saying: “Last plot twist of the year.” Now, it’s been claimed that Leisha is dating not just any footballer but a Premier League one.

READ MORE: Traitors star Claudia Winkleman’s eyeshadow stick drops to less than £10 ahead of NYE

A source told The Sun: “Leisha has spent the summer single but feels she’s finally ready to get into another relationship. It’s too early to tell whether this will work out, but she’s hopeful and excited to see what happens.” The added: “Leisha wants to keep his identity under wraps until she knows if it’s the real deal.”

Adding further fuel to the rumours, she tagged her location as Manchester. Explaining why she has chosen to keep her new beau’s identity a secret, she said: “I honestly can’t”. She went on to say: “We love and adore a man who knows what he wants.”

Earlier this month, Leisha was linked to Love Island star Jack Fincham. The pair reportedly shared a kiss at an event. One fan told her: “I really hope you’ve found someone that appreciates your excitement about the future and your intensity about life.”

In response, Leisha said: “Me too. Thank you so much. 2026, let’s pray.” Another fan said: “As long as you’re happy that’s all that matters.” And again Leisha said: “Yes I am happy. Neeeded the summer to be alone but now things are so good.”

Leisha was left devastated when she split with Reiss after the show. At the time of the commitment ceremony, the couple had decided to try to make it work in the outside world.

But after a few months, the pair failed to make it work after Reiss visited Leisha in Scotland, and they got into an argument while out and about. Soon after the split, Leisha claimed she still had unanswered questions.

In a chat with the Mirror: “When we left after final vows, I genuinely thought that we were in this fairytale and thought we were going to watch it back and it was going to be a magical thing, but actually, he didn’t like me as much as I thought.”

She added: “I honestly thought that he really did like me, and I’m not saying he didn’t, but obviously they picked up things that he said on camera that he didn’t necessarily say too much to me.” Leisha said she felt she had mixed feelings about Reiss.

She continued: “I’m not a body, I’m a human being, I’ve got feelings, I’ve got emotions, and I feel like there was just a lot of mixed emotions, and I think looking back, he probably just wasn’t emotionally available!”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

Manchester United midfielder Mason Mount faces a fitness test on the injury that forced him off against Newcastle.

Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire will again miss out, while Amad Diallo, Noussair Mazraoui and Bryan Mbeumo are at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Wolves are without midfielder Andre, who serves a one-match suspension following his fifth booking of the season.

Yerson Mosquera should be fit after suffering from cramp against Liverpool, but Santiago Bueno is a doubt with a knock.

Players out: Man Utd – De Ligt, Fernandes, Mainoo, Maguire, Mbeumo, Amad Diallo, Mazraoui Wolves – Agbadou, Andre, Bellegarde, Chirewa, Chiwome, Munetsi, R Gomes, Toti

Doubts: Man Utd – Mount Wolves – Bueno

Key FPL notes:

Guardiola – who takes his side to Sunderland on New Year’s Day – held several talks with his squad during the Club World Cup in America in the summer and believes the breakthrough came there.

He said: “When we went out to Al Hilal, it wasn’t the fact we didn’t win but that we were so good there. It was then holidays so I said: “OK, go on holidays” but I was annoyed because we were good there, good with the guys training, good with the competition.

“The place we were in, Boca Raton in front of the beach, everyone was happy. We made a lot of dinners, a lot of talks, [about] what we have to do next season. What we have to do. We wanted to extend it, just to live that.

“After talking with Pep [Lijnders] and James [French], Manel [Estiarte], Hugo [Viana], Txiki [Begiristain], we turned around and said something changed. Something [you can feel].

“Energy, energy, energy. We lost it last season. We started to train better, compete better.

“It doesn’t mean you are going to win but that you are able to recognise the team. Now it is eight victories in a row. It is not easy but compete in a way we do. We have to improve, absolutely, but this mindset is better.”

Chelsea are investigating after a bottle was thrown towards the Aston Villa bench following their 2-1 Premier League defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

After the full-time whistle, an open plastic bottle was directed at Villa’s celebrating bench, splashing staff and players with a liquid that appeared to be water.

One member of staff pointed towards the area from which the bottle came, which seemed to be a section containing both Chelsea fans and staff.

It remains unclear who was responsible. Chelsea have launched an investigation but have not commented officially at this stage.

It is also unclear whether referee Stuart Attwell and his officials saw the incident or whether it will be included in his report. BBC Sport has contacted the Football Association for comment.

Villa substitute Ollie Watkins scored twice to overturn Joao Pedro’s first-half opener for Chelsea.

Unai Emery’s side have now equalled a club record of 11 consecutive wins in all competitions and sit three points behind league leaders Arsenal in third. Chelsea are fifth before Sunday’s games.

Emery may deflect title talk, but his body of work at Villa and the Midas touch he displays – match-winner Watkins described his manager as a “tactical genius” – means they are now right at the heart of the conversation at the top of the table.

Villa’s acid test may just come in their next game, when they face league leaders Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, 30 December (20:15 GMT) but Emery has made a habit of making life difficult for his former club.

He ticks every box for an elite manager, taking Villa into the Champions League last season, only missing out on this term’s competition on the final day of the last campaign, and now taking them just three points from the top of the table and only a point behind Manchester City.

Another figure of significance is that Villa’s win means they are now 10 points clear of fifth-placed Chelsea, a position they would have accepted with gratitude after failing to win any of their first five league games.

Emery proved his pedigree when he acted to galvanise a stuttering Villa display just before the hour as they trailed to Joao Pedro’s messy 37th-minute goal, the striker touching home Reece James’ corner in a scramble.

With Villa going nowhere but the game still in the balance, Emery sent on Watkins, Amadou Onana and Jadon Sancho for Donyell Malen, John McGinn and Emiliano Buendia.

The impact was stunning, Watkins equalising inside four minutes then powering home a header for the winner.

Emery did what the best managers do – he took the big decisions that turned a game which looked to be getting away from Villa on its head.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery insists it is still too early to say whether his side is in contention for the Premier League title despite being third in the table after their 2-1 victory against Chelsea.

MATCH REPORT: Chelsea 1-2 Aston Villa

Available to UK users only.

Arne Slot says Liverpool are doing enough things right to be winning their matches more comfortably following a nervy 2-1 victory against Premier League bottom club Wolves.

MATCH REPORT: Liverpool 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Available to UK users only.

Dec. 26 (UPI) — Taiwan President William Lai Ching-te and Premier Cho Jung-tai face impeachment proceedings filed by opposition party leaders accusing them of constitutional and legislative violations.

Members of Taiwan’s KMT and TPP parties and two independent lawmakers secured enough support on Friday to advance impeachment proceedings to go before Taiwan’s Constitutional Court, Al Jazeera reported.

The impeachment effort is viewed as symbolic because a two-thirds majority is needed to impeach an official holding public office in Taiwan.

“It’s not possible to have a real impeachment,” Yen-tu Su, a constitutional law and democratic theory expert at Taiwan’s Academia Sinica, told Al Jazeera.

“They want to make a record that President Lai would be the first president considered impeached in the history of Taiwan’s democracy,” he said. “It’s a way to register their protest.”

The Legislative Yuan approved an impeachment motion with a 60-51 vote on Friday, but it would take 76 of its 113 seated members to impeach the president and premier.

The conflict arises from Lai’s administration refusing to enact a legislatively approved amendment that would give more public funding for local units of government, according to the South China Morning Post.

The Legislative Yuan is controlled by opposition parties, but Lai’s refusal to enact the law change created conflict, and Cho Jung-tai declined to sign the amendment.

Lai became president in 2024, but Taiwan’s legislature has been divided and mostly deadlocked since.

Being so close to the action also posed other occupational hazards.

“Trabzonspor versus Aston Villa, I was suddenly knocked out because of the supporters throwing rocks,” said Haroun.

Rocks were not the only danger, it was footballing legends taking shots on goal, too.

“Wayne Rooney, [while] practising, knocked me out one day,” she added.

“Denis Irwin, he shot at goal, but he knocked me out and I think it was Bryan Robson who turned round and said: ‘If you’re going to kill a photographer, Denis, make sure it’s not the chairman’s cousin!’

Sometimes, though, the players were helpful when trying to get the perfect shot.

Before one European match involving Arsenal, Haroun had a word with Gunners legend Ian Wright and told him to celebrate in front of her if he scored.

Wright did score, but started running in the opposite direction.

To Haroun’s relief, the striker realised his mistake.

“You could see him going the other way, then stopping and looking round and then coming back, [shouting] ‘yeah!’ with his arms outstretched, so much so that so I had to have a wide-angle lens on,” she said. “Perfect picture!”

Arsenal are sitting top of the Premier League at Christmas, but it is BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton who leads the way when it comes to predictions.

“I’m number one at Christmas – again,” said Sutton, who as a player led the Premier League table at this point with Norwich in 1992 and Blackburn in 1994, and went on to win the title with Rovers.

“It’s a big deal for me to be top, as well as for Arsenal.

“AI is the go-to for virtually everyone in the world whenever they have to ask anything, so the fact that I am beating it – and let’s face it, I have stuffed it for half a season now – is pretty incredible. It says a lot about me, and I’m delighted.

“Rather than asking AI about everything, maybe people should come to me to tap into my intelligence instead?”

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, BBC Sport readers and a variety of guests.

For week 18 – the festive fixtures on Boxing Day and the weekend of 27 and 28 December – he takes on Jonny Stewart, bass singer with sea shanty folk supergroup The Wellermen, who is a Newcastle fan.

The Wellermen were the originators of the sea shanty trend on TikTok, with their versions of Misty Mountain, Nancy Mulligan and Hoist the Colours racking up billions of views.

Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own predictions below.

The most popular scoreline selected for each game is used in the scoreboards and tables at the bottom of this page.

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.

Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche has told his players to “enjoy themselves” but to “use common sense” over christmas. His comments follow Pep Guardiola’s admission that Manchester City’s players will be weighed when they return to training to check their fitness has not dropped over the festive period.

READ MORE: Dyche urges ‘common sense’ and won’t weigh players

The last time Villa lifted silverware – beating Leeds 3-0 in the League Cup – Prodigy’s Firestarter had knocked Take That’s cover of How Deep Is Your Love off the No.1 spot in the charts and Wallace and Gromit’s A Close Shave had just won an Oscar.

David Beckham was yet to make his England debut while Cash, Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara and Emi Buendia were not born.

It has been a long wait, with Villa losing two FA Cup finals and one League Cup final since.

Emery, a Europa League winner with Sevilla and Villarreal in previous roles, stated on his first day in charge the main goal was to win a trophy. Last season’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to eventual winners Crystal Palace still stings.

A Europa Conference League semi-final defeat by Olympiakos 18 months ago and the thrilling Champions League quarter-final exit to Paris St-Germain in April show they are getting closer.

“The semi-final in the Conference League and Champions League quarter-final, they were big nights for us, big moments in which we haven’t delivered,” captain John McGinn told reporters.

“Every time we go into a big game now, we have that determination in the back of our heads to prove this team we have built over the past five or six years is worth more than a quarter-final, worth more than a semi-final.

“The determination, I can feel it this year. I can feel we want to prove a point. I think until we do that, there will always be questions asked. As captain, you feel that probably twice as much, but when that day finally comes, you will feel it positively, twice as much.”

For many Arsenal fans, there will be a sense of deja vu. Leading the Premier League at Christmas before being eaten up by a relentless Pep Guardiola side is something the Gunners have got a little bit used to.

Seeing a seven-point lead over Manchester City cut to two in the space of five games won’t exactly fill them with confidence either.

“We’re back on top of the table but we’re not watching City too much, or the other teams,” said Bukayo Saka. “We’re in control now. We know if we win every week we’ll stay there.”

Arteta added: “The only thing we can control is our own performance and results and we know how long it’s going to be and how tough is this league. That’s it.”

Manchester City have obviously got history on their side. Guardiola has won the Premier League title six times, the Bundesliga three times with Bayern Munich and La Liga three times with Barcelona. Arteta has no league titles as a manager.

Guardiola’s squad are full of Premier League winners, players who know what it takes to end a campaign strong, while none of the Arsenal squad have won a Premier League – but have experienced losing leads over the past few seasons.

Why can’t this season be different though? Manchester City look far from the relentless side they have in previous seasons – and have already lost four games this campaign, compared to Arsenal‘s two losses.

“We will be there. If they follow me we will be there but we have to improve,” said Guardiola.

“I know the level in Europe, in the Premier League, I know Arsenal and the other teams and how tough they are. It is not enough.

“The spirit is there, last season we did not have the spirit or aggression or hunger – all the attributes they need. It is not about the highlights and how good the actions are, there is something that comes from inside where we will recover from the Club World Cup.”

City’s attack is flowing, having scored 10 more goals than Arsenal, but having also conceded six more – you feel the title race could be defined by whether City’s goals can outshine Arsenal‘s solidity.