Barcelona have been linked with Malick Fofana of Lyon as a potential alternative to making Marcus Rashford’s loan permanent next summer. According to SPORT, the reigning Spanish champions have opened discussions with Fofana’s representatives and believe they could sign the left winger at a reduced fee given Lyon’s well documented financial difficulties and the club’s recent near relegation because of economic irregularities.

Fofana, 20, has acknowledged outside interest but underlined his priority is playing time. “There was interest from those two clubs, but ultimately it wasn’t concrete enough,” Fofana revealed to HBVL earlier this year. “I’ve thought about a transfer, but now I think it’s more important that I play a lot, and that has to happen at Lyon. Because I still have progress to make.” He has also said: “I don’t focus on the media,” Fofana said earlier this season. “I just do what I love: dribbling and scoring.”

The forward’s season has stalled after an ankle sprain at the end of October that could sideline him for several months, yet he remains on the radar of top European clubs. Barcelona are reportedly keen on keeping Rashford but face a financial decision over the €30 million (£26.1 million, $34.8 million) release clause that would make his loan permanent from Manchester United.

Stat comparisons from the 2025–26 season across all competitions underline the gap in direct output. Fofana has 12 games, two goals and one assist, with 0.33 xG per 90, 0.27 xA per 90, 2.4 shots per 90 and 3.1 dribbles per 90. Rashford has 16 games, six goals and seven assists, 0.31 xG per 90, 0.33 xA per 90, 4.5 shots per 90 and 5.0 dribbles per 90. The report notes: No one in La Liga has created more goals than the United loanee (six).

Fofana compares his style to Jérémy Doku and has been candid about his strengths. “Maybe Jérémy is faster in the first metres, but I’ll be faster at the end of the sprint,” he smiled. “Just ask Doku; he’ll probably admit that.” Barcelona’s deliberations will weigh immediate impact, cost and long term squad planning.

Arsenal’s season has been defined by a defence operating at an exceptional level. Their set-piece prowess has drawn attention, but it is the near-impenetrability at the back that stands out: the side have conceded only three goals in all competitions this season, those strikes coming from Dominik Szoboszlai, Erling Haaland and Nick Woltemade.

A midweek Champions League shutout in Czechia — a 3–0 win over Slavia Prague — extended Arsenal’s winning streak to 10 matches in all competitions and pushed their clean-sheet run to eight successive victories. They have recorded wins to nil against Olympiacos, West Ham United, Fulham, Atlético Madrid, Crystal Palace, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley and Slavia Prague during the sequence.

That eighth consecutive win without conceding matched the longest such run by any English top-flight club, according to Opta. Preston North End achieved the mark in 1889 and Liverpool did so in 1920. No English side had repeated the feat within the last 100 years until Arsenal reached it in 2025.

If Arsenal win and keep another clean sheet away at Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday they will set a new chapter in that history. That task is far from simple: Sunderland have scored in all their home games this season and sit fourth in the table. Still, a shutout would bring Arsenal closer to making that historical claim a reality.

On domestic clean sheets specifically, Mikel Arteta’s men are on a run of four successive league shutouts. The Premier League record is held by Manchester United, who managed 14 straight league clean sheets in 2008–09. Across all competitions Liverpool’s 11-game streak under Rafa Benítez in 2005 remains the benchmark.

Arsenal have conceded three goals in their 10 Premier League matches to date and are on course to challenge the record for fewest allowed in a season. Chelsea conceded 15 in 2004–05, breaking a previous low of 17 set by Arsenal in 1998–99.

Bruno Fernandes made his 300th appearance for Manchester United in the weekend 4-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, becoming only the second Portuguese player for the club to reach that mark after Cristiano Ronaldo. The pair spent 18 months together at Old Trafford following Ronaldo’s return in 2021, and while their on-field relationship provoked debate at times, they remain close off the pitch. “I spoke with Cristiano about the situation, Saudi and everything,” Fernandes recently admitted.

Fernandes chose to stay at United rather than leave and that decision brought an inevitable milestone in 2025–26. He is the 52nd player in club history to reach 300 games, a total he amassed quickly thanks to a strong injury record. At his current rate, the midfielder “will soon top Ronaldo’s haul of 346 United games,” a comparison that has prompted analysis of their respective records.

The statistical picture is mixed. Both players reached 300 appearances, but Fernandes has more starts (284) than Ronaldo had at that point (250). Ronaldo scored 124 goals in his first 300 United matches, 50 of which came from the bench, while Fernandes has 100 goals and 87 assists, giving him 20 more assists than Ronaldo’s 67.

Minutes-based metrics favour Ronaldo. Fernandes averages 255 minutes per goal compared to Ronaldo’s 185.3, and Fernandes records a goal contribution every 136.4 minutes against Ronaldo’s 120.3. Ronaldo’s first 300 appearances included major trophies: three Premier League titles and both domestic cups. Fernandes has also contributed to silverware, lifting the EFL Cup and FA Cup under Erik ten Hag, both victories arriving after Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr at the end of 2022.

Ronaldo’s pathway included extended success at Real Madrid and Juventus between his United spells, and his 300th United appearance came 14 years after his 200th. Fernandes has matched the milestone in a different context: often carrying a team that has not always matched Ronaldo’s collective achievements.