Sports Poets Society

Shaun Brooks/ CameraSport/ Getty Images  Buyer’s regret: Elliott Anderson (right) and Enzo Fernández (left)  could find themselves relegated if their new club does not win appeal. Some of the club’s biggest stars are bound to move if sanctions hit hard, writes Rob Draper Rob Draper 4 Oct 2026 - THE OBSERVER / Sport Penny for the thoughts of Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernández, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Illiman Ndiaye this weekend – or more specifically their agents. Last week, ESPN reported that Manchester City had been informed in July that they had been found guilty of Premier League charges, the same time as they were preparing bids for and finalising deals on a record-breaking transfer window. Binding yourself to a long-term contract at a club which conceivably could now be relegated if City’s appeal, launched on Thursday, fails, seems like ultimate buyer’s regret. Anderson, who cost £116 million, was a record fee for a British player while Fernández, at £125m, was a joint-Premier L...

23 Aug 2026 - THE OBSERVER / Sport Jessy Parker Humphreys The red flares have barely faded from the sky over Holloway Road, but after ending a 22-year wait for a Premier League title, can they defend it? As Patrick Vieira noted towards the end of their 2003-04 Invincibles season, “to achieve something special… is to win back-to-back titles”. They didn’t manage to do that, finishing 12 points behind a Chelsea team who then did. That made José Mourinho the second manager to win successive Premier League titles, after Alex Ferguson. Pep Guardiola completes that list, which Mikel Arteta hopes to join this year. The consensus heading into this season has been that it is Arsenal’s title to lose, a conclusion that was not affected by a comprehensive 3-0 win over newly promoted Coventry City to begin their Premier League campaign on Friday. Potential title rivals are contending with new managers or the loss of iconic players. Meanwhile Arsenal have stability on top of being very good at footba...

The stadium could finally deliver the glory it once promised, writes ‘I’ve never felt the Emirates like this in my whole career … It was a beautiful moment’ Bukayo Saka 10 May 2026 - THE OBSERVER / Sport Jessy Parker Humphreys It is twenty years since Arsenal bade farewell to their home at Highbury and moved 500m down the road. “The heart wants to stay at Highbury but the brain wants to go somewhere else,” said Arsene Wenger at the time. That somewhere else was a 60,000-seat stadium – an attempt to usher Arsenal into a new era of more fans, higher ticket prices and proper hospitality offerings. Initially earmarked to be called Ashburton Grove, it became the Emirates as a result of a naming rights deal, and so it has stayed for the past two decades. The finale of the 93-year Highbury era could have been a first ever Champions League title. They contested the final for the first time in 2006, playing Barcelona in Paris in a match marked by Jens Lehmann’s famous dismissal after 18 minutes...

Qian Jun/MB Media/ Getty & Andy Cheung Glitter politics: Eileen Gu (left) added silvers to her 2022 golds, while Alysa Liu claimed her first golds in Cortina. Eileen Gu and Alysa Liu are superstars of the Games but should they face the added burden of being spokeswomen for their nations’ wrongs, asks Jessy Parker Humphreys Jessy Parker Humphreys 22 Feb 2026 - THE OBSERVER / Sport In September 2003, Eileen Gu was born in San Francisco, California. Almost exactly two years later, Alysa Liu was born three and a half hours’ drive south east in Clovis, California. Both girls had parents who emigrated to the United States from China and both would go on to become sporting superstars. Their paths to the top are similar – prodigious success, elite university education, Olympic medals – but differ in one crucial aspect: when Liu steps on to the top of a podium, The Star-Spangled Banner rings out; when Gu does the same, the Chinese anthem plays. At Milano Cortina 2026, Gu became the most ...