Arsenal player ratings vs Dundalk as Eddie Nketiah and Joe Willock shine in Europa League

It took Arsenal a while, 40 minutes in fact, to get into their stride against Dundalk in tonight’s Europa League match. However once the dam broke, the game was as good as over. The League of Ireland side started the game brightly, and made forays into the Arsenal half without ever really threatening Alex Runarsson. The home side, by contrast, where remarkably sluggish and lacked intensity. Everything was fairly comfortable for Dundalk, who defended resolutely. On the 40th minute, everything changed. Dundalk goalkeeper Gary Rogers came for an Arsenal corner, missed the flight of the ball, which landed at the feet of Eddie Nketiah, who made no mistake. Once the first went in, Dundalk’s shape crumbled, and The Gunners added a second within a minute of the first. Pepe’s deflected shot fell into the path of Joe Willock, by far Arsenal’s best player, who fired his shot high into the roof of the net. It was harsh on Dundalk going into half time. Pepe added a third with their first attack of the second half, with the Ivorian rolling the ball with his left foot before hitting it with his right, sending the ball into the top corner of Rogers’ goal. The Irish side continued to defend doggedly, but the gulf in class was evident, with Arsenal simply quicker in thought and execution. Arsenal could’ve added more to the score line, but were wasteful.

Player ratings: Runarsson: 6 – had little to do. Soares: 6 – Made several forays forward and added width, but wasn’t tested defensively. Mustafi: 6 – An easy night at the back, had little to do. Kolasinac: 6 – Nearly scored with a header, little work to do in defence. Maitland-Niles: 6 – Got forward often but not tested defensively. Willock: 8 – Best player on the pitch, was dynamic and caused Dundalk all sorts of problems Elneny: 6.5 – Solid, all round performance. Xhaka: 6 – Solid without excelling. Nelson: 6.5 – Brilliant at times, frustrating at other, a raw talent. Nketiah: 6 – Wasteful at times, could’ve added more goals. Pepe: 6.5 – Much improved performance in the second half, goal was exceptional. All football stat collect from isports API, for more details, please visit www.isportsapi.com .

Clippers interested in Rajon Rondo, Lakers want him back as well, per report

Last offseason, the Lakers and the Clippers battled for Kawhi Leonard in free agency. They may not have met on the court in the Western Conference finals as most predicted, but that doesn't mean the two sides are done battling one another. In 2020, the two have their hearts set on the same free agent point guard: Rajon Rondo. According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Clippers are interested in poaching Rondo away from the Lakers, who also want him back. Rondo has a $2.7 million player option for next season -- a 120 percent raise on his 2019-20 minimum salary -- but is obviously expected to decline it after a stellar postseason. Stein indicates that Rondo wants to test the market, suggesting that his primary goal is cashing in. So, who can pay Rondo more? Well, it's complicated. Technically, if the cap comes in at last year's $109 million total, both should be able to offer somewhere between $9M-10M. How and why they'll be able to do so, or not do so, depends on a variety of other factors. Let's start with the Lakers. As Rondo has played two seasons in Los Angeles, he has Early Bird Rights with the Lakers. That means the Lakers can pay him either 175 percent of his 2019-20 salary, or, more pertinently, 105 percent of the league's average salary. That was $9.3 million last season, so 105 percent of it would be around $9.8 million. There are caveats, though. Deals signed with Early Bird Rights must last at least two seasons. The Lakers have so far avoided giving out deals that last into the 2021 offseason, when they could possibly create cap space to pursue another star. Perhaps a non-guaranteed second season could solve that, but if the Lakers prioritize immediate improvement over 2021 ambitions, that creates another difficulty. The Lakers have two primary methods of improvement through free agency: the non-taxpayer mid-level exception and sign-and-trades. That is their best chance of acquiring a starting-caliber player, but doing so would trigger a hard cap. Last season, that hard cap was around $139 million. If the Lakers are bound by that hard cap, there is almost no chance that they would have the money to pay Rondo what he's looking for. If the Lakers choose to keep Rondo instead, they would likely only be able to use the smaller, $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception on outside free agents. Not bad, but not as impactful as they'd like. There are pros and cons to both approaches. Which path the Lakers choose depends on how much improvement they think they'll need to win in 2021 as well as how important chasing another star is to them beyond that. Hanging over any Lakers decision is their hail mary pitch to shed some salary. The Lakers have applied for a Career-Ending Injury exemption on the dead money owed to Luol Deng, whom they waived with the stretch provision before the 2018-19 season. They are unlikely to be granted that exemption. If they are, though, it would clear around $5 million off of their books, making it easier to potentially keep Rondo without impacting their other plans. The Clippers can't offer Rondo quite as much as the Lakers can. The most they can offer is the league's average salary through the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, so $9.3 million. Like the Lakers, they also have to be mindful of a hard cap. Marcus Morris and Montrezl Harrell are both free agents. It's a bit simplistic, but the Clippers will probably be forced to go one of two routes. If they let one of those players go, they can use both the full MLE and the smaller $3.6 million bi-annual exception. If they keep both, they are probably limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception. Where exactly their offers will fall depends on the other moves both the Lakers and Clippers line up. There are scenarios in which one side offers significantly more than the other. There are scenarios in which both are offering him as much as they can, and ones in which they both have to lowball him a bit. We just won't know until their other plans become a bit clearer. What we can safely say is that the Clippers are a genuine threat to steal Rondo away from the Lakers. He has relationships with both Clippers coach Ty Lue and top basketball executive Lawrence Frank from their time together in Boston. He wouldn't have to relocate. He presumably wants to continue winning, and the Clippers offer that path. LeBron James and Anthony Davis both love playing with Rondo and will surely fight to bring him back, but if money is the priority, there is a decent chance Rondo is a Clipper next season.

Spurs' dynamic duo of Son, Kane give Mourinho an old-school style

 BURNLEY, England -- Tottenham Hotspur are a tough team to define under Jose Mourinho -- rampant one game, defensively-naïve the next and there are also more questions than answers right now when it comes to Gareth Bale and Dele Alli.

But there is one certainty with Spurs and that is the unerring ability if Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane to deliver when Mourinho's side needs a goal.

Just as Monday's trip to Burnley appeared to be heading for a dismal 0-0 draw, the Kane-Son double-act struck again to seal a 1-0 victory and extend Tottenham's 100% run away from home this season to five straight wins.

Spurs had scored 16 goals in four road trips prior to the visit to Turf Moor, hitting Manchester United for six and putting five past Southampton during that run, but Son's 76th-minute header was enough to clinch a win that leaves Burnley marooned in the bottom three with just one point from five games.

And once again, the goal came courtesy of a Kane assist, with the England captain heading on Erik Lamela's corner for Son to head home from six yards.

It is the 13th Premier League goal between Kane and Son in six games this season.

"Me and Sonny have had a nice little partnership going recently and hopefully it continues," Kane said after the game. "It was not an amazing assist but it fell well for Sonny and 1-0 away to Burnley is a fantastic result."

The partnership of Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane keeps on delivering for Tottenham. JASON CAIRNDUFF/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

It was Kane's eighth assist of the season -- twice as many as his closest rival, Aston Villa's John McGinn -- and was the 29th time that he and Son had combined for a Premier League goal. Only Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba have more in Premier League history, with the former Chelsea pair racking up 36 goal combinations during their time together at Stamford Bridge.

Many of those goals would have come under Mourinho during his first spell in charge at Chelsea, so the Spurs boss will know the value of having two attacking players in his team who seemingly always know where the other will be when the goal is in sight.

Lampard and Drogba helped Mourinho's Chelsea win everything in England. Whether Spurs can be quite as dominant as that Chelsea side remains to be seen, but with Kane and Son in his side, Mourinho knows that they will at least be competitive.

And in a rare display magnanimity, Mourinho credited his predecessor, Mauricio Pochettino, with laying the foundations of the Son-Kane partnership.

"It is an understanding that comes from Maurcio's time," Mourinho said. "I don't want all the credit myself, let's share with Mauricio. They play together for a long time, probably a different way because Harry is not always a No. 9 now.

"What pleases me more about them both is that they are two top players but close friends, no jealousy, they both play for the team. Credit to them, two great players, two great boys."

The modern game has moved away from the strike pairings of old, with coaches preferring to operate with a fluid front three rather than two forwards who dominate the attacking third.

But when two strikers click, they can be devastating and impossible to stop. Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton -- nicknamed the SAS -- scored 49 league goals between them when Blackburn Rovers won the Premier League title in 1994-95 while Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole scored 53 goals as a partnership to help Manchester United to the Treble in 1998-99.

Kane and Son are good enough to eclipse the tallies of both Sutton and Shearer and Yorke and Cole because they offer completely different qualities.

Son has pace, exceptional movement and nerveless finishing ability, while Kane is strong, powerful in the air and able to score from distance and close range.

Keeping them fit, Kane in particular, is the challenge that Mourinho must overcome, but if either player is struck down by injury, Spurs can at least count on Bale and maybe even Alli to plug the gaps.

Bale has managed just 18 minutes in the Premier League since returning to the club from Real Madrid last month and he spent the entire 90 minutes on the bench at Burnley.

At 31, and with a chequered fitness record, Bale is being carefully managed right now, so he will come to the party at some point and is a proven goal scorer when fit and able to play.

The same applies to Alli, but he was nowhere to be seen at Turf Moor, with the former England player left out of the squad once again by Mourinho, who said at the weekend "it's about him, It's not about me," when asked about Alli's repeated absences this season, adding: "If the player is not motivated, we can't do much."

Alli is too good a player to be cast aside for too long, but right now, he is having to sit on the outside, looking in, as Kane and Son perform like players at their peak.

And while they continue to do so, Spurs will be contenders to finish in the top four at the very least this season.

All football stat collect from isports API, for more details, please visit www.isportsapi.com.