❌

Normal view

Before yesterdayCaughtOffside

Argentina 2-1 England player ratings: Messi gets 9/10 with 2 assists while Chelsea & Spurs stars shine

✇CaughtOffside
By:Mark Brus
16 July 2026 at 01:35

Argentina have beaten England and made it to the World Cup final, with Lionel Messi and co. now preparing to take on Spain.

Anthony Gordon gave England the lead in Wednesday night’s semi-final, but Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez scored twice late on to send the Three Lions out of the World Cup.

DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL CAUGHTOFFSIDE APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAY

For England, the 60 years of hurt goes on, and they’ll have to look back at what ended up being a pretty negative performance against Argentina.

Thomas Tuchel went far too defensive after England went ahead, so it’s not exactly the players’ fault, but here’s our look at how the players from both sides rated…

Argentina 2-1 England World Cup semi-final player ratings

Jordan Pickford – 6

Reece James – 7

Djed Spence – 7

Marc Guehi – 6

John Stones – 6

Declan Rice – 7.5

Elliot Anderson – 6

Jude Bellingham – 6.5

Morgan Rogers – 7

Anthony Gordon – 7.5

Harry Kane – 6

Not too many stand-out performers there from England, but Rogers and Gordon combined well for the goal, while Rice also played his part and generally worked hard in a difficult midfield battle. James and Spence were also in good form at both ends of the pitch, with the latter particularly impressive with one last-ditch challenge in the second half.

Emiliano Martinez – 6

Nahuel Molina – 6

Nicolas Tagliafico – 6

Cristian Romero – 8

Lisandro Martinez – 7

Leandro Paredes – 7

Alexis Mac Allister – 6.5

Enzo Fernandez – 8

Giulio Simeone – 6

Julian Alvarez – 7

Lionel Messi – 9

Argentina were not exactly spectacular, but Messi and Fernandez produced when it mattered and that will give them confidence against Spain in the final. A word too to Romero, who hasn’t always been at his best in a Tottenham shirt, but who looked like a real leader at the back tonight in an important game, keeping Kane quiet throughout.

Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Who do you think will win this weekend’s final now? Give us your predictions in the comments!

The post Argentina 2-1 England player ratings: Messi gets 9/10 with 2 assists while Chelsea & Spurs stars shine appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Arsenal willing to offer 28-year-old crucial player in a swap deal to sign Julian Alvarez

✇CaughtOffside
By:Ahad Shaukat
15 July 2026 at 11:31

Arsenal’s pursuit of another elite attacker has produced an unexpected development, with the club exploring whether one of their current strikers could be used to unlock a blockbuster agreement.

Mikel Arteta remains determined to improve his forward line despite winning the Premier League last season, suggesting the Gunners are unwilling to stand still while their rivals strengthen.

DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL CAUGHTOFFSIDE APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAY

The proposed structure would reduce the cash required for an extremely expensive target, but it would also mean moving on from a major signing after only one campaign.

Arsenal must therefore decide whether this is a genuine opportunity to upgrade or an unnecessarily ruthless reaction to an inconsistent debut season.

Arsenal consider player exchange offer to sign Álvarez

According to talkSPORT, Arsenal have explored offering Viktor Gyökeres as part of negotiations for Atlético Madrid forward Julián Álvarez.

Preliminary discussions have taken place, although no final strategy has been agreed and the possibility remains at an exploratory stage.

Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Álvarez is considered one of Arteta’s leading attacking targets because of his Premier League experience, pressing intensity and ability to operate as a central striker or supporting forward.

However, Atlético’s valuation remains a major obstacle.

FourFourTwo reports that Atlético would want more than £100m, while Arsenal have been reluctant to exceed £90m. Including Gyökeres could narrow that financial gap, although Atlético would still need to value the Sweden international highly enough for the structure to work.

Decision could define the attacking future of Arteta’s team

Álvarez has already indicated that he is open to leaving Madrid.

Reuters reported that the Argentina international had spoken with Atlético and expressed a desire  to pursue a new challenge, although he has not publicly identified Arsenal as his preferred destination.

Arsenal should seriously pursue Álvarez, but sacrificing Gyökeres after one season would be a major call.

The Argentine is more versatile and better suited to Arteta’s fluid attacking system, yet Gyökeres could still improve considerably after fully adapting to English football.

A cash-plus-player deal makes sense only if Arsenal are convinced Álvarez is the final piece of their attack.

Otherwise, trading away a proven goalscorer while also paying a substantial fee could create more risk than value.

Sources: Arsenal enter race for Liverpool target who has boosted his profile at the World Cup

The post Arsenal willing to offer 28-year-old crucial player in a swap deal to sign Julian Alvarez appeared first on CaughtOffside.

“Fresh contacts” – Arsenal have directly approached Atletico Madrid over Julian Alvarez

✇CaughtOffside
By:Mark Brus
14 July 2026 at 23:04

Arsenal have reportedly had fresh contacts over a potential transfer deal for Julian Alvarez, though there remains an issue with Atletico Madrid’s valuation.

The Gunners have been linked several times with the Argentina international, and it seems this story is not going away.

DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL CAUGHTOFFSIDE APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAY

According to Di Marzio journalist Luca Bendoni, Arsenal have had direct contact with Atletico over possibly signing Alvarez, while Barcelona are also still heavily involved in this transfer saga.

See below for details…

There are direct fresh contacts between the ownership at Arsenal and Atleti regarding a possible transfer. There is still a gap in the valuation of the Argentine. W/@HandofArsenal #AFC

Per @SkySportsLyall FC Barcelona are still heavily involved on the topic. pic.twitter.com/I9h0sL4RPM

— Luca Bendoni (@LucaBendoni) July 14, 2026

“There are direct fresh contacts between the ownership at Arsenal and Atleti regarding a possible transfer. There is still a gap in the valuation of the Argentine,” Bendoni posted on X.

This information was shared with the reliable Hand of Arsenal account, and there’s further information on Alvarez and other Arsenal targets there.

More on Julian Alvarez and other Arsenal transfer targets

According to HoA, AFC manager Mikel Arteta is really keen on Alvarez and views the 26-year-old as a potentially transformative signing for the north London giants.

Julian Alvarez

– From my last update, every single point still remains true
– Arteta sees Julian as a major marquee transformational signing
– There are direct fresh contacts between the ownership at Arsenal and Atleti regarding a possible transfer. There is still a gap in the…

— HandofArsenal (@HandofArsenal) July 14, 2026

It seems Atletico are also really not keen to sell Alvarez to rivals Barca, so that could end up benefiting Arsenal, as long as they’re prepared to pay up.

Alvarez scored 20 goals in 49 games in all competitions last season, which was actually less than Viktor Gyokeres scored for Arsenal.

Still, most fans would surely agree that Alvarez’s all-round qualities would likely make him a significant upgrade on Gyokeres and also on the likes of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Alvarez is also Premier League-proven from his time at Manchester City, so this wouldn’t be too big a culture shock for him.

Whether or not that makes him worth paying such huge money for remains to be seen, especially when Arsenal also seem to have other big targets.

As HoA notes, the Premier League champions also want Morgan Rogers and Bruno Guimaraes, so unless they make several big sales this is all going to be very tricky to do in line with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.

The post “Fresh contacts” – Arsenal have directly approached Atletico Madrid over Julian Alvarez appeared first on CaughtOffside.

❌
❌