Ed Aarons

Max Dowman’s journey from Billericay to making history with Arsenal How Arsenal-supporting family put the youngster on road to history-making appearance at Emirates on Wednesday

“Max has always been kind of old for his age. Very mature, laid back and he’s worked incredibly hard on his football.” Max Dowman’s journey from being spotted at Billericay Town’s colts to making history last night as Arsenal's youngest-ever starter. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Premier League’s search for young talent has left the market overheated and failing Brexit and PSR are contributing to a spike in the fees and wages offered by big clubs for teenagers, but is this stockpiling really raising standards?

The market for homegrown academy players in the Premier League has gone wild. Huge fees, clubs struggling to keep players. Why? Brexit and PSR are major factors

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

African football’s general secretary accused of creating toxic culture of fear The Confederation of African Football’s general secretary, Véron Mosengo-Omba, has been accused of running the organisation as his ‘proprietorship’

CAF's general secretary Véron Mosengo-Omba has been accused of running the organisation as his “proprietorship” and creating a toxic culture of fear where employees are fired for speaking out against him. Story with @romain-molina.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/football/202...

‘It can be a really lonely journey’: Myles Lewis-Skelly’s mum Marcia on being a star’s parent and agent Marcia Lewis has handled her son’s stellar rise by becoming an agent and setting up No1Fan.club to support parents of children in academies

“Signing the paper is the easy bit”

Really interesting interview by @edaarons.bsky.social for @theguardian.com with Marcia Lewis, mum of Myles Lewis-Skelly, on creating help and support structures for parents of children in academies.

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

cheers Max!

Football Weekly Soccer Podcast · Updated Twice Weekly · Join Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning and special guests as they pick over the latest football action from the Premier League and beyond The show has reported on ...

Loved this ep of @footballweekly.bsky.social. Esp @edaarons.bsky.social l xxx podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/f...

Crystal Palace hopeful of Europa League participation despite Textor concerns Crystal Palace are confident they will be cleared to play in next season’s Europa League even if French club Lyon also qualify

Crystal Palace are confident they will be cleared to play in next season’s Europa League even if French club Lyon also qualify despite concerns that they could contravene Uefa’s rules about multi-club ownership www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Love this quote from Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi: "The thing about south London is the community. You go outside, there's diversity. Everyone getting along with each other. You feel that in the club and that's a given."

Marc Guehi says that winning the FA Cup for Crystal Palace “would be culmination of all the effort from everyone over the years that has played a part in the club’s journey.”

‘If it had been a film, we’d have won’: former Palace finalists share Cup memories Geoff Thomas, Alan Smith and Pape Souaré recall their Wembley experiences and hope Palace finally go one better this year

Geoff Thomas, Alan Smith and Pape Souaré recall their FA Cup final experiences and hope Crystal Palace make it third time lucky at Wembley www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, and the Greatest Title Collapse Europe Has Ever Seen | Opta Analyst After leading the Eredivisie by nine points with five games to go, Ajax now trail PSV by a point going into the final day of the season.

𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞'𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐞

On 19 April, Ajax led the Eredivisie by nine points. Just four games later, they trail PSV by a point.

It's the biggest collapse any of Europe's biggest leagues has ever witnessed.

theanalyst.com/2025/05/ajax...

Ismaïla Sarr: the bargain buy who has become Crystal Palace’s unsung hero Senegal forward’s signing last summer was years in the making and his double helped fire Palace to the FA Cup final

Ismaïla Sarr: the bargain buy who has become Crystal Palace’s unsung hero www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Football life ban for ‘Capello’ but Gabon’s abuse questions are far from over Former coach’s conduct is said to be the tip of the iceberg and Fifa continues to investigate matters related to abuse

Nommé 3eme vice-president de la CAF, Pierre-Alain Mounguengui avait parlé de “scandale artificiel” à propos des abus sur mineurs de Capello…

Une FIFA qui n’a sanctionné qu’un coach dans un vaste réseau pedocriminel au Gabon

Enquête avec @edaarons.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Football life ban for ‘Capello’ but Gabon’s abuse questions are far from over Former coach’s conduct is said to be the tip of the iceberg and Fifa continues to investigate matters related to abuse

Ban for ‘Capello’ but abuse questions remain in Gabon after it emerged that Fegafoot president Pierre-Alain Mounguengui dismissed initial allegations as an “artificial scandal”. He remains under investigation by FIFA www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Crystal Palace fans have taken over Covent Garden ahead of the FA Cup semifinal against Aston Villa…

Brighton’s Carlos Baleba: ‘My dad said if I learn acrobatics it will help my timing’ Brighton and Cameroonian midfielder tells Ed Aarons about adapting at Brighton while grieving for his mother and how his parents shaped his work ethic

"It’s easy for me! I can do everything …" Brighton’s Carlos Baleba on learning how to do backflips on the beach in Cameroon, how his father’s intense training regime has shaped his career and playing for the memory of his mother www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Arsenal eye summer move for Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams after initial talks Andrea Berta, Arsenal’s sporting director, is understood to have met with Nico Williams’s agent, with the club heavily scouting the forward over the past two years

Arsenal are exploring a summer move for Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams. Andrea Berta has held talks with the Spain forward’s representatives in one of his first acts as the club’s sporting director www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Crystal Palace open contract talks with Oliver Glasner amid Leipzig interest Crystal Palace have opened talks with manager Oliver Glasner over extending his contract in an attempt to ward off potential interest from RB Leipzig

Crystal Palace open talks with Oliver Glasner over contract extension amid interest from RB Leipzig www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Arsenal’s Under-18s source new talent after rise of Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly Squad containing 15- and 16-year-olds will have Emirates stadium experience in FA Youth Cup tie against Manchester United

"I think we’re the youngest in the competition." Arsenal Under 18s coach Adam Birchall hoping fast-tracking of Max Dowman, Kyran Thompson and the next generation of the Hale End academy in FA Youth Cup means they can follow in footsteps of Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Afghan club disbands after alleging match-fixing in champions’ 8-0 win A club that missed out on the Afghan title has disbanded in protest at what it says is the federation’s failure to properly investigate allegations of match-fixing

Our new investigation with @edaarons.bsky.social
regarding match-fixing and the inaction of the Afghan FA lead by Mohammad Kargar

Notre nouvelle enquête sur les matchs truqués en Afghanistan avec l'inaction du président de la fédé (déjà accusé dans le passé)

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

‘We’ve had enough’: anger threatens Zambian football after election controversy The Zambian FA’s president Andrew Kamanga was re-elected unopposed after eight nominees were disqualified

“We would rather not play football at all than have Andrew Kamanga staying on as a dictator.” Potential FIFA ban looms for Zambian football after election controversy www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Transfer deadline day: Tel, Nkunku, Disasi, Félix, Chilwell news and latest moves – live Join our team of writers for the very latest news and rumours on transfer deadline day

Arsenal and Bayern Munich appear to have reached an impasse over a potential move for Mathys Tel, with Mikel Arteta’s side preferring to do a loan deal that contains an option rather than an obligation to buy www.theguardian.com/football/liv...

Transfer deadline day: Rashford, Tel, Nkunku, Disasi, Félix news and latest moves – live Join our team of writers for the very latest news and rumours on transfer deadline day

Crystal Palace reject Tottenham's bid for Marc Guehi. Transfer deadline day live: www.theguardian.com/football/liv...

Arsenal have significant bid for Ollie Watkins rejected by Aston Villa Arsenal have had a significant bid for Ollie Watkins rejected by Aston Villa, after identifying the England striker as a priority target

Arsenal see their surprise bid for Ollie Watkins rejected by Aston Villa, who don't want to sell www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Tomas Rosicky leads contenders for Arsenal sporting director role Tomas Rosicky is a leading contender to become Arsenal’s sporting director, although any return to his former club would likely be put on hold until the end of the season

Tomas Rosicky is a leading contender for Arsenal sporting director role and has been in regular contact with members of club’s hierarchy as they search for Edu's replacement. He wants to see out season with Sparta if possible. Story with @nickames82.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Mikel Arteta battles injury crisis amid Arsenal’s crammed January schedule Gunners must negotiate nine matches this month but manager says squad is one of the ‘thinnest’ in the top flight

Mikel Arteta facing more headaches in January with Arsenal's packed fixture list and his squad stretched to the brink. If only they could head off to Dubai again like last year... www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Mikel Arteta says Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori will both available against Crystal Palace

We’re working on it…!