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The Gunners produced another fantastic display to beat their arch-rivals 2-0 and move eight points clear of champions Manchester City.

Arsenal opened up an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a dominant victory against Spurs in the north London derby.

Mikel Arteta's side took full advantage of Manchester City's defeat at Manchester United 24 hours earlier, cruising past their local rivals to claim a first league win at Tottenham since 2014.

It was superb display from the visitors, who went in front when Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris palmed Bukayo Saka's cross into his own net after just 14 minutes.

And then they took full control when captain Martin Odegaard drilled in his eighth goal of the season to double the lead before the interval.

Tottenham were woeful, with Harry Kane left frustrated in his attempt to become his club's all-time record goalscorer. Kane went into the game one goal behind Jimmy Greaves' longstanding record, but was kept largely quiet throughout – with Aaron Ramsdale denying him twice when he did get a sight of goal.

Frustrations got the better of the home side after the final whistle, with Richarlison hitting out at Ramsdale before a supporter jumped onto the advertising hoardings and aimed a kick at the Arsenal keeper.

It was an ugly incident that will no doubt lead to an investigation by the Football Association and the police, but Arsenal will not worry about that as they continue to set the pace in the title chase.

GettyThe Winners

Winner: Oleksandr Zinchenko

The Ukrainian was exceptional for Arsenal, causing Tottenham all sorts of problems with his quality and movement. As he always does in Arteta's 4-3-3 system, he drifted inside from the left-back position whenever Arsenal were in possession, consistently causing an overload in the central midfield area which allowed the visitors to control the majority of the game. This was a game that perfectly highlighted why Zinchenko is now preferred to Kieran Tierney when he's fit.

Winner: Martin Odegaard

It's getting hard to find the superlatives to describe Arsenal's captain, who enjoyed another superb performance for the league leaders. Fresh from picking up the Premier League's player of the month award for December, Odegaard was pulling the strings again in the final third, especially in the first half when Arsenal were so dominant. His goal was expertly taken and takes his tally for the season to eight. He is also the first Arsenal club captain to score an away goal in a north London derby since Patrick Vieira in 2004. Not bad company to keep.

Winner: Aaron Ramsdale

When Arsenal needed their goalkeeper, he delivered. His save in the first half to deny Son Heung-Min was huge as it came moments after Arsenal had got themselves in front and then he produced a vital stop just before half-time to deny Kane a goal that would have given the hosts a huge boost going into the interval. It was a similar story from Ramsdale in the second half, with the Gunners keeper making more big stops from Kane and Ryan Sessegnon.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe Losers

Loser: Hugo Lloris

The Spurs goalkeeper made a huge error to gift Arsenal the opening goal which allowed them to take such a foothold in the game. Bukayo Saka's cross might have taken a slight deflection off Ryan Sessegnon, but that is no excuse for Lloris, who managed to palm the cross into his own net. He did make amends with a fine save to deny Eddie Nketiah in the second half, but that error to hand Arsenal the early advantage was absolutely crucial.

Loser: Mykhailo Mudryk

The Ukrainian has been keeping a close eye on Arsenal's games in recent weeks, so it would be no surprise if he was watching from somewhere inside Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Mudryk may have just got himself a huge contract at Chelsea, but it's tough to imagine he would not have seen this Arsenal performance and not been slightly envious at being unable to play a part in Mikel Arteta's increasingly impressive project in north London.

Loser: Antonio Conte

This was another big game Conte has failed to win and another game that highlighted how far off Tottenham are from the top teams in the Premier League this season. Conte talks at length about his desire for new additions, but the fact is Tottenham have spent a lot of money since the Italian was appointed, and they do not seem to be getting any better. Conte continues to set his team up negatively which is something you can get away with if you win trophies, but if you don't then it gets increasingly difficult to justify.

Getty ImagesArsenal Ratings: Defence

Aaron Ramsdale (9/10):

Excellent save to deny Son in the first half and Kane after the interval. Solid.

Ben White (8/10):

Linked up really well with Saka, was always providing an overlap.

William Saliba (8/10):

Best he's been since the World Cup.

Gabriel Magalhaes (8/10):

Continued his excellent recent form.

Oleksandr Zinchenko (9/10):

Was all over the pitch. Superb performance.

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Thomas Partey (8/10):

Pulled the strings from deep. Outrageous volley that hit the post.

Granit Xhaka (7/10):

Another fine display. Tottenham struggled to pick him up.

Martin Odegaard (9/10):

Brilliant performance, capped with another goal.

Wayne Rooney has labelled former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo as 'selfish'.

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Rooney labelled Ronaldo as selfishStill considers Messi the bestClaimed Portuguese only thinks of goalsWHAT HAPPENED?

Rooney claimed that he considers Lionel Messi to be less selfish than Ronaldo as he stated that his former Manchester United colleague only thinks about goals while the Argentine gives more effort on the pitch and tries to create chances.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT WAYNE ROONEY SAID

Former Chelsea winger Eden Hazard recently claimed that he considers himself to be a better 'pure footballer' than the Al-Nassr star. Now Rooney has supported the Belgian's statement while speaking to YouTubers Lyes Bouzidi and CultureCams.

The former England striker said: "So for instance, Cristiano Ronaldo, his mindset is goals. He doesn’t care about anything else, it’s goals, that’s all he wants. Whereas you look at Messi, he wants to play a bit more.

"I suppose that’s what Hazard is saying, he liked to play – exactly like myself. I saw something that Gary Neville said recently, that Alex Ferguson always used to have a go at me for coming too deep, but it was because I wanted to play football. And I could have been a bit more selfish and stayed up top, and maybe scored a few more goals, but I wanted to play. I wanted to enjoy the game and I imagine that’s what Hazard means."

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The Portugal captain had attacked his former colleagues Rooney and Neville in an interview with Piers Morgan in 2022. Ronaldo went on to claim that he no longer considers the duo as his friends after they criticised him towards the end of his second stint with the Red Devils.

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The 39-year-old will be next seen in action for his club on Saturday against Al-Fateh in the Saudi Pro League while the Inter Miami star will be in action in his club's season opener against Real Salt Lake on February 22.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been charged by the FA over comments made following their 1-0 defeat to Newcastle earlier this month.

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Arteta slammed officials after lossGordon scored controversial winnerArsenal boss charged by FAWHAT HAPPENED?

Anthony Gordon scored a controversial second-half winner for the Magpies, despite a lengthy VAR check whose audio has since been made public by PGMOL. Arteta didn't hold back in his criticisms of officials after the match, and the Gunners boss has now paid the price, with the FA releasing a statement on Thursday.

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Arteta now has until November 21 to issue a response. Arsenal actually backed their manager's rant initially, releasing a statement to that effect, but it now remains to be seen what kind of punishment will be handed out. The Spaniard could face a touchline ban and a fine.

WHAT THEY SAID

The FA's statement read: "Mikel Arteta has been charged with a breach of FA rule E3.1 following comments that he made in media interviews after Arsenal's Premier League game against Newcastle United on Saturday 4 November.

"It's alleged that his comments constitute misconduct as they are insulting towards match officials and/or detrimental to the game and/or bring the game into disrepute. Mikel Arteta has until Tuesday 21 November to provide a response to the charge."

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Arsenal's players are currently on international duty. They face Brentford on November 25th.

India opener Shikhar Dhawan has said his “failures” in England were part of a “learning experience” and would help him become a better batsman

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-20142:53

‘I’m getting better day by day’ – Dhawan

India opener Shikhar Dhawan has said his “failures” in England were part of a “learning experience” and would help him become a better batsman. Dhawan, who scored 187 on Test debut last year, has not been as prolific in 2014 – his top score during the five-Test series in England was 37.Dhawan played the first three Tests in England, making 122 runs from six innings at an average of 20.33, before he was dropped for Gautam Gambhir. “Those six innings that I failed probably will help me to play 50 good innings,” Dhawan told ahead of the second ODI against West Indies in Delhi. “Last one year has been a learning experience for me as I have seen both success and failure. But if you don’t know what failure is, you won’t be able to enjoy success. I am learning everyday.”He had a better outing in the ODIs in England, scoring 155 runs from four innings at an average of 51.66. His unbeaten 97 at Edgbaston in the fourth ODI helped India take a 3-0 series lead.”It’s very important for a player to have his captain’s backing during a lean patch and I have received a lot of support from the skipper,” Dhawan said. “He has been India captain for so long and he knows what a player requires. Even the support staff backed me to play my natural game.”When asked if he had changed anything in his game after the low scores in England, Dhawan said his basics had remained the same. “As you go along the way, you learn new things but my basic game has remained the same,” he said. “You learn about the mental aspect of the game as in how to disturb the flow of the bowlers. You mature with experience.”Dhawan has been opening with Rohit Sharma in ODIs since the Champions Trophy last year and the pair has scored 1500 runs from 32 innings at an average of 48.38, with six century and four fifty stands. Ajinkya Rahane has partnered Dhawan after Rohit picked up a finger injury in England and was then ruled out of the West Indies ODIs with multiple injuries. Dhawan said Rahane’s positive approach had helped him.”I love opening with both Rohit and Ajinkya,” Dhawan said. “Ajinkya is the aggressor and hits the ball really well. I then take my time to play shots while at times it’s the opposite. It’s just been two [four] games with Ajinkya but I am enjoying it. It’s good when runs start coming from both ends.”Dhawan scored a scratchy 68 in the first ODI in Kochi that India lost by 124 runs. The second ODI in Delhi will be played on Saturday.

If India don’t win or tie or get a no-result against Australia, they will leave themselves with an unenviable task of needing to beat England with a bonus point and also making up a pretty significant difference between their and England’s net run-rate

The Preview by Sidharth Monga25-Jan-2015Match factsMonday, January 26, Sydney
Start time 2.20pm (0320 GMT)Big PictureIf India don’t win or tie or get a no-result on their Republic Day, and Australia Day, they will leave themselves with an unenviable task of needing to beat England with a bonus point and also making up a pretty significant difference between their and England’s net run-rate. Should India lose their net run-rate will fall from the current -1.356. If they are to make the final then, they will have to be better than England by at least 25%, and also go past their net run-rate of 0.481. Considering all that, it is a pretty big match that India enter on Monday.Good news for them is, Australia are through to the final already, and if they are going to let up or experiment now might be the time. Bad news is, Australia are unbeaten the whole summer, and India have won nothing. The last time India lost three ODIs in a row was way back in February 2012, in the triangular series in Australia. They came close in South Africa and New Zealand in 2013-14, but were saved by rain in Centurion and a late streaky partnership in Auckland. That they are in danger of doing that so close to the World Cup will be a matter of worry for them. They will still be without the services of Rohit Sharma, who MS Dhoni said is not a worry for the World Cup at least.Australia will play around with their combination a little. They might put batsman in situations that deviate from their usual role in the side, but their bowling – especially at the death – remains and will remain their biggest asset. They have bowled first in all their three matches, and have conceded 67, 61 and 59 since the end of the 40th over. India will have to hurt them more there if they are to turn the game against England into a direct knockout.Form guide(last five matches, most recent first)Australia WWWWW
India LLWWWIn the spotlightGeorge Bailey comes back to the side as captain, and should stay there until Michael Clarke is fit. Before Clarke got injured, it was Bailey who was keeping Steven Smith out. Now, though, Smith seems a certain first starter, and it will be Bailey (or Glenn Maxwell) who will be under fire if Clarke has to push his way back into the XI, whenever he does. Bailey has not had a big score since the blockbuster ODI tour of India in late 2013. He has averaged 23 at a strike-rate of 73 since. He needs to stack up reasons for staying in the side when all members of the World Cup squad are fit.Axar Patel will naturally and undesirably be compared to Ravindra Jadeja. His bowling has done him no disservice. In the first match he went for 45 runs in 10 overs, including overs bowled at the death. It is with the bat, though, that he compares unfavourably to Jadeja. Two innings, two ducks against quick bowling. A bit similar to how Jadeja’s career started. India have said often that the absence of a big hitter at No. 7 has introduced caution to the top six, delaying the slog. India have also said they won’t be averse to playing two left-arm spinners once Jadeja is fit, so Akshar will remain in focus over the remaining matches of the triangular.Team newsBailey will come back in for Cameron White, and Shaun Marsh will make way for David Warner. Australia are certain to play Xavier Doherty, which means one of the quicks will have to make way. Mitchell Marsh is nearing full fitness; if he does make his comeback, he will have to bowl too. If he doesn’t, Australia will pick an extra bowler, pushing James Faulkner up to bat at No. 6. Josh Hazlewood is a good chance to play tooAustralia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 David Warner, 3 George Bailey (capt.), 4 Steven Smith, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh/Gurinder Sandhu 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Xavier DohertyRohit has been ruled out, which means India can’t leave out Shikhar Dhawan even if they want to. Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja are returning to fitness. While Jadeja’s throwing prowess remains in doubt after a shoulder impingement, Ishant could well play on Monday. India could go back to two spinners given a dry-looking SCG pitch.India (possible) 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Ambati Rayudu, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Stuart Binny/ R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 & 11 Two out of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed ShamiPitch and conditionsThe pitch at the SCG looks dry, which is why Australia are bringing Xavier Doherty in. There is going to be a bit of weather around, especially in the late afternoon and evening, which if it stays on for long can do the job for India. They need just two points from this.Stats and trivia As middling as Bailey’s recent form might have been, if he scores 40 runs on Australia Day, he will become the second-fastest Australian to 2000 ODI runs, at 53 innings level with Matthew Hayden and one innings slower than David Boon. The last six ODIs in Australia have been won chasing. Such a long streak of chasing wins last took place in Australia in 1986. In 13 matches against them at SCG, India have beaten Australia only once, in the triangular final in March 2008.Quotes”I think one of our great strengths throughout the tournament [World Cup] is going to be our flexibility. I think we’ve seen that already, sometimes through necessity, but just having the flexibility to be able to bring X [Doherty] when it’s appropriate, use different quicks in games, use different quicks at different stages of the game.”
“We were playing the best XI. We were bothered by injuries. As I said earlier, experimentation is a word that’s banned. You can use all the different words but we don’t experiment, we feature the best XI.”
MS Dhoni says the uncertainty around the combination is down to injuries

Erling Haaland equalled a Premier League feat set by Harry Kane after he scored the crucial goal in Manchester City's 1-0 victory over Brentford.

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Haaland scored winner against BrentfordNorwegian has now netted against every PL team he's faced City climb to second in table WHAT HAPPENED?

Despite a resilient performance by Brentford, Haaland's composed finish in the 71st minute secured the win for City, reigniting their pursuit of a third-straight Premier League title. With this goal, Haaland joins Kane (32/32) as the only players to have scored against every team they faced in the Premier League. However, the Norwegian achieved this feat in just his second season in England, which speaks volumes about his goal scoring prowess and the impact he has had on the English top-flight since he moved from Borussia Dortmund.

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Kristoffer Ajer had an unfortunate slip which provided Haaland with a clear path to goal. The 23-year-old kept his composure to score past Mark Flekken, who had come off of his line, to register his 22nd goal of the season.

DID YOU KNOW?

City had taken 17 shots on goal in the first half, but only five of them were on target. However, they were more clinical in the second half and kept six more inside the frame of the goal out of eight attempts.

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The victory sees City leapfrog Arsenal into second place and close the gap to one point behind league leaders Liverpool. Looking ahead, City will aim to continue their winning streak as they face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, while Brentford will seek to bounce back against West Ham United at the London Stadium.

Paul Mullin admits he "couldn’t give a f*ck" about himself, with son Albi and his struggles with autism the most important thing in his life.

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Red Dragons star remains a prolific presenceCan be relied upon to deliver on the fieldFaces as many challenges off the pitchWHAT HAPPENED?

The prolific Wrexham striker has forged quite the reputation for himself in recent times, with a 47-goal haul last season helping to fire the Red Dragons to promotion back into the Football League. Mullin is a firm fan favourite in North Wales – with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney among his many admirers – but the 29-year-old is eager to point out that events and challenges away from the pitch will always be his top priority.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT MULLIN SAID

Mullin, whose famous ‘A’ hand signal goal celebration offers a nod towards his young son, has said in his new autobiography : “People say going to an autism discussion group will help me, but I’m not arsed about me. The last person I’m arsed about in this whole situation is me. I genuinely couldn’t give a f*ck about me. I care about Albi. I spend every minute thinking about how I can help him overcome barriers that he, as a child, can’t foresee. As soon as I work out he can jump one, in my head the next one appears. Sometimes the worry hits me like a cannonball. I sit on the couch and cry. Or I’ll watch him when he’s asleep and feel wave after wave of emotion. I don’t know why, because I don’t care that he’s autistic.”

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Mullin added: “What I am, though, is scared. For him, not me. Not knowing how it affects him is what I hate. Does it affect him? Does it not? Does he care? Does he not? I’m constantly trying to get inside his head and sometimes I just hit the wall. It’s as if my own head has split open and a flood of emotion has come pouring out. If one week he isn’t as vocal as the one before, I’ll feel a massive weight of guilt – it’s my fault. Those emotional episodes are necessary in a way, because when I wake up the next day I feel ready to go again. The other side of me is back – I’m on the train again. My focus is there, and it’s a positive focus. ‘You’re being stupid,’ I tell myself. ‘You spend so much time with him that you do know how he works. You know what’s inside his head.’”

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Mullin has earned plenty of plaudits for the work that he continues to do regarding autism awareness, with funds being raised for several charities. He can always be relied upon to give his all professionally, with the 29-year-old as ambitious as any other player, but there will always be more important things for him to worry about than where his next goal is coming from.

Buy your copy of Paul Mullin's brilliant new autobiography My Wrexham Story on Amazon.

PGMOL chief Howard Webb is under pressure to block Premier League match officials from travelling to the Middle East for midweek fixtures.

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Referees working in the Middle EastHead back to England for top-flight gamesMistakes making unfortunate headlinesWHAT HAPPENED?

It has been revealed that Darren England and Dan Cook – who were in the VAR booth for Liverpool’s controversial clash with Tottenham on Saturday – formed part of an officiating team in the UAE on Thursday evening, giving them just 48 hours in which to complete a long-haul flight and recover in time to keep an eye across top-flight action in north London.

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They failed to spot that a Luis Diaz effort in the first half of Liverpool’s game with Spurs had been wrongly ruled out for offside, leading to PGMOL having to issue an apology for a “significant human error” impacting proceedings at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

WHAT THEY SAID

Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett has told of the midweek jaunts to the Middle East: “I understand that they officiated on Thursday evening, which means on Friday they will have had a minimum seven hours in the air. This impacts on their recovery and a loss of sharpness in their performance. In my time in office if they were in Europe on Thursday then they would not officiate until late Sunday or Monday at the earliest. This is yet another example of poor management of these professional sports persons and actual changes must be made to stop these mounting errors.”

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Concerns have been raised regarding a potential conflict of interest as match officials split their time between the Premier League and lucrative wages on offer in the Middle East, although there is no evidence of that being the case at present. Webb is, however, under pressure to bring an end to the trips – outside of those taken in as part of European competition – in a bid to remove any potential distractions and bring about an end to the regular debates regarding costly errors being made in the VAR department.

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According to Football Insider, Middlesbrough have opened talks with Hull City over a potential deal for Kamil Grosicki before the transfer window closes.

Grosicki has been in impressive form for Hull this season, scoring four times and registering six assists in 22 Championship appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

The 5ft 11in ace is also a 64-time Poland international and has proved his class at this level over the last couple of campaigns.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

Boro are fifth in the Championship table as it stands but have only scored 31 league goals this term, which is one of the poorest records in the division.

According to Football Insider, Tony Pulis is keen to bring Grosicki to the club, but will face competition from Monaco for the 30-year-old.

The Boro fans have been on social media commenting on the transfer report.

And it would be fair to say that the majority are desperate for their team to get this particular deal over the line.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Riding on five wins in their last six completed games, Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to break into the top half of the table when they meet Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Wednesday

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu12-May-2015Match factsWednesday, May 13, 2015
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)2:25

O’Brien: RCB’s top order phenomenal

Big pictureAfter being largely short circuted early season, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s production line of batsmen has blazed away heading into the business end of the IPL. AB de Villiers was at it against Mumbai Indians, clattering 133 off 59 balls to effectively seal the game in the first half itself. Virat Kohli, meanwhile, has played Asafa Powell to Chris Gayle’s Usain Bolt; Royal Challengers charging to five wins in their last six completed games.The top three, with 1223 runs between them, will target Kings XI Punjab again. A win on Wednesday will help the visitors catch up with Kolkata Knight Riders by leapfrogging Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad as the scramble for playoffs hots up. Despite being the weaker suit, Royal Challengers’ bowling has been in healthy shape with the likes of S Aravind, Yuzvendra Chahal and David Wiese complementing Mitchell Starc.The first time these two teams met this season encapsulated how everything has gone pear-shaped for Kings XI. They had dropped Gayle twice and the bowlers went on to concede 226, after which the batting line-up was wiped out for 88.David Miller hit back with an unbeaten 89 off 44 balls in Kings XI’s previous game against Sunrisers but it came a little too late. The Indian players will have to rally round and spur the team to click in unison if Kings XI are to break their seven-match winless streak.Form guide Kings XI Punjab LLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Royal Challengers Bangalore WWLWWWatch out for…S Aravind is no Adam Milne, but has gone about his business steadily in his first IPL after three years, taking five wickets in two games at seven runs an over. His assortment of slower balls has been vital in tying down the opposition.Wriddhiman Saha, who recorded the first IPL hundred in a final last season, has had very little to do this season apart from snapping up a few sharp catches behind the wicket. His dip in batting form is perhaps a consequence of not having a definite role in the side.Stats and trivia Kings XI (90) hold the unwanted record of losing the most wickets in IPL 2015 Gayle is four short of smashing 200 sixes for Royal Challengers. Kohli and De Villiers have struck 192 togetherQuotes”He is very special. Not many people can do what he does. The freedom, the commitment he shows towards his shots and the enjoyment factor when he plays out there is something that I would love to take from him.”