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Asked yesterday whether either Bukayo Saka or Jurrien Timber might play tonight, Mikel Arteta said: “Maybe one of them, let’s see.” Well we have seen, and the answer is neither of them, and also no Martin Odegaard or Riccardo Calafiori. But Declan Rice, who missed training yesterday, is in.

Team sheets have been handed in, and tonight’s lineups are as follows: saltysenoritaaz.com

When Urijah Faber first heard Real American Freestyle wanted to match him up with top UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan at Saturday’s RAF 8 event in Philadelphia, he had one quick question.

“I was like, ‘Are you guys sure you want me to wrestle him?’” Faber told Uncrowned this week. “I mean, he’s a lot bigger than I am.”

This is true. Tsarukyan competes at 155 pounds in the UFC, but typically walks around weighing somewhere in the 180-pound range. Faber competed primarily in the 145- and 135-pound divisions during his MMA career, which ended with a knockout loss to current UFC bantamweight champ Petr Yan in 2019.

Now he’s a 46-year-old dad and business owner. He stays in good shape and gets on the mats as much as he possibly can, but suddenly the RAF organizers want him to square off with a 29-year-old UFC contender who appears to be firing on all cylinders as he enters his athletic prime? It seemed like a lot to ask from this gentleman of a certain age.

“He’ll have a distinct size advantage over me,” Faber said. “And a youth advantage. And a couple other things. But wrestling is fun for me. It’s not some difficult task. It’s the type of sport that allows you to jump into a situation where the odds are stacked against you but it’s not a problem. I was kind of a late bloomer in wrestling anyway, and what I realized is that none of that matters. You just believe in yourself and your skill set and go out and have fun.”

This is partly how RAF has managed to keep grabbing the attention of not just freestyle wrestling purists, but also fight fans in general. Professional fist-fights are serious business. Your whole world — not to mention your face, teeth and other important physical features — can change in an instant.

But wrestling? To the guys who grew up doing it, this is just fun and games. So why not jump in there against a bigger, younger opponent and see how it goes? As long as you can handle the possibility of some morning-after soreness to go with a bruised ego, it’s not a bad way to make a buck and keep the competitive fire burning.

That’s what Faber told himself when he initially agreed to wrestle Cayden Henschel, a young wrestler much closer to his size. But when RAF wanted Henschel to switch to a match against former PFL champ Lance Palmer, that left Faber going up against Tsarukyan.

The difference in weight might have been his first concern, but soon after he was forced to ask himself if Tsarukyan’s penchant for brawling before and after competitions might be an issue.

This is, after all, the same guy who punched Georgio Poullas after time expired in their first match. He also head-butted Dan Hooker at a UFC weigh-in. One of the ways Tsarukyan has made himself such a must-see attraction of late is by making his volatility a sort of marketing asset. You have to watch him because you never know what he’ll do. None of that is lost on Faber.

“I never got the warmest vibe from Arman, to be honest. He doesn’t seem like the nicest guy,” Faber said. “When I was out there last time, he kind of seemed to me like this rich, indifferent kid. I’m looking forward to maybe having some interactions with him at the press conference and in the build-up, but I’m not the kind of guy that’s going to let people punk me or push me around either. I think people pretty much know me, and know I’m a respectful guy, so I’m hoping there’s not an after-the-bell fight or anything. But I’ll probably bring my mouthpiece just in case.”

For Faber, the main appeal of these RAF events is the chance to keep testing himself even as his own athletic glory days grow smaller in the rearview mirror. He’ll be 47 next month, he said, and he always likes to get in some type of competition around his birthday, just to see what he’s still got left in the tank.

One of these days, Faber said, he knows he’ll have to stop doing stuff like this. Inevitably, you get too old to wrestle UFC fighters on live TV. It happens to everyone, and once that window closes it usually never opens again. So why not get what fun you can out of it before it’s too late?

“I’m right at the edge of being too old to do this,” Faber said. “But right now I’m still just barely young enough, and I love these challenges. I still believe in myself. My mind, my knowledge, it’s better than it’s ever been. But it’s like that old tale of a 90-year-old sensei who’s gained all this knowledge, and if only he could keep the body he had then he’d be the baddest dude on the planet.

"Arman better come prepared. I might have a dad bod — he called me a sack of potatoes. But the mind, you’ve got to watch out for the mind.”

Tune into a random Timberwolves game, and you might learn a new expression. Nori, the Wolves’ top assistant, often conducts an in-game interview. He is famous for his Ted Lasso-esque demeanor. One time, he remarked that the opponent “caught us at the beach with no sunblock.” The rest of his analysis is no less whimsical. The Timberwolves consider him one of their locker-room connectors, someone capable of growing close with all types of personalities. When he was with the Denver Nuggets, his guy became Nikola Jokić. At his current gig, he’s tight with Anthony Edwards. Two jobs. Two All-Stars. Two personalities who could not be more opposite ends of the spectrum.

New York Times

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: The Timberwolves consider him one of their locker-room …

Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is reportedly being lined up for a sensational return to English football, according to a new report.

The Unspecial One

Mourinho is currently in charge of Portuguese giants SL Benfica, having taken the reins from compatriot Bruno Lage in September.

However, the return to the Estádio da Luz has not proven successful for the ‘Special One’, with the Eagles currently ten points adrift in the Liga Portugal title race and having already suffered early exits from both the Taça de Portugal and the Champions League.

The exit to Real Madrid in Europe was also marred by controversy after Benfica forward Gianluca Prestianni was banned by UEFA for racial abuse towards Vinicius Junior, with Mourinho also drawing criticism for his response to the incident.

While Mourinho’s stock in his native country remains high, there is a sense he may not remain at Benfica beyond the current campaign. Interestingly, Ruben Amorim – who was handed his marching orders by INEOS in January – is a name strongly linked with the Lisbon club, having enjoyed unprecedented success with local rivals Sporting CP prior to joining United.

But if the 63-year-old manager does become available this summer, Newcastle United are already being touted as an option for him to return to the Premier League as the Magpies contend with Eddie Howe’s potential exit.

Trouble on Tyneside

Newcastle United are enduring a difficult season after early exits from the cups and a dismal campaign in the Premier League. They are currently 14th in the table, with zero hope of securing European football next year.

Furthermore, there are financial difficulties on Tyneside as the club’s Saudi ownership continues to govern with an indifference that contrasts with the fervour of the early period of their tenure at the helm.

There are growing concerns Newcastle United will be forced to sell some of their best players, already having lost Alexander Isak and Elliot Anderson in recent years, to help balance the books. Lewis Hall, Bruno Guimarães, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon are all being chased by other top clubs hoping to take advantage of this situation, including the Red Devils.

This has led to reports suggesting Howe may follow his prized assets through the door at St James’ Park. “Sources now indicate that as he weighs up his own future, it cannot be ruled out that he could choose to step away from the St James’ Park hotseat by resigning,” TEAMtalk reveals.

“Newcastle are understood to be preparing for a significant squad reshaping this summer, with the possibility that key players may need to be sold in order to rebalance finances and evolve the team. While the club would want Howe to oversee that process, there is growing awareness internally that he could opt to take a break from management, as he did following his departure from Bournemouth in 2020.”

Ben Jacobs (talkSPORT) corroborates this uncertainty, claiming the Saudi owners are “attracted to the idea of appointing a big-name in the event Howe departs” – which has led to Mourinho’s name being floated.

The Portuguese treble winner is understood to retain “admirers among the Newcastle hierarchy”, despite having burned bridges at Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in his last three jobs in England.

Final Thoughts

If Howe were to depart Newcastle, and the ‘Special One’ arrive in his place, it would certainly make for blockbuster viewing in the brief time that the ill-suited marriage in the north east lasted. And if it helped escalate the exit of the Magpies’ best players to escape his reign of terror, that would just be the cherry on top of a delicious cake for United fans.

Featured image Ahmad Mora via Getty Images

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