The Kremlin says “deliberate wrongdoing” is among the possible causes of the plane crash that killed mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin last week

Mikel Arteta admits he still has something to prove as a manager in European competition as he aims to lead Arsenal into the Champions League knockout stages on Wednesday night. The Gunners host Lens at the Emirates Stadium knowing a point would secure safe passage into the last 16 while victory will seal top spot in Group B. Arteta led Arsenal back into the Champions League after a seven-year absence but – other than a run to the semi-finals in 2020-21 – he struggled in Europa League knockout games earlier in his tenure. Asked if he has something to prove in Europe, he replied: “For sure. “I think it is not that we have to prove, we had to come back into Europe being the club we want to be, have that presence and the results that tell them we are back in a strong way, we haven’t done that yet and it needs to be done.” While Arsenal are on the verge of qualifying for the latter rounds, Premier League rivals Manchester United and Newcastle are still uncertain if their European campaigns will extend beyond Christmas this season. “100 per cent not,” Arteta replied when asked if qualification should be taken for granted. “You have to sweat, dig in a lot and play well in games to deserve to win them. We are playing against really tough opponents. “PSV have won all of their games in their league, they have only lost against us. Sevilla is a very tough place to go and tomorrow is going to be a really difficult game but hopefully we can be better than them. “I am enjoying it, is a great feeling. It makes you proud, it makes you feel that it is the level the club should be at and we are competing really well so let’s continue to do so.” With Arsenal on the cusp of making the knockout rounds, Arteta could be tempted to shuffle his pack against their Ligue 1 opposition. Kai Havertz will be pushing for a start after coming off the bench to score a late winner at Brentford on Saturday to send Arsenal top of the Premier League. Others will also be knocking on the door but one player who will definitely not feature is Fabio Vieira. Arteta revealed the midfielder has gone under the knife to fix a niggling groin issue and could not offer a return date when pressed. “Yes, we’ve got a problem with him,” he said. “He’s been having some discomfort. We tried to have some conservative treatment with him. “It wasn’t improving so we sent him to see a specialist and the advice was to have an operation in his groin. We expect him to be out for weeks now. “We don’t expect him to (be back before January). Let’s see how he evolves. The job it was done yesterday so we’ll have to wait and see. It will take weeks I think.” Vieira joins Thomas Partey, Jurrien Timber and Emile Smith Rowe on the sidelines with the potential that the quartet all miss the busy festive schedule. Read More Tiger Woods was ‘very frustrated’ by secretive PGA Tour deal with Saudi PIF England’s Zach Mercer installs oxygen chamber at home to combat ankle injury IFAB keen to introduce sin bins for professional football after grassroots trial Top two tiers of women’s football poised to break away from Football Association Tom Daley back on British Swimming’s World Class Programme in Olympic boost ECB boss admits challenges remain for cricket after positive impact report

Anthony Joshua’s training-camp manager has revealed that the heavyweight is training with Ben Davison, former coach of Tyson Fury, ahead of a potential fight with Deontay Wilder. After a long spell under Rob McCracken, Joshua teamed with Robert Garcia for last summer’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, which went the same way as the pair’s first fight, with “AJ” losing on points. Joshua, 33, then began training with Derrick James earlier this year, and he has earned back-to-back wins under the American – beating Jermaine Franklin via decision in April and stopping Robert Helenius in August. While Joshua is expected to conduct his next camp under James’s guidance in Texas, he has recently been training with Davison, as was revealed by David Ghansa this week. Ghansa, better known by his nickname “KD”, told Boxing King Media on Sunday (1 October): “[Joshua] is currently ticking over, he’s at the Ben Davison performance institute at the moment. He’s ticking over with Ben. “He’s still active. When he’s got a [fight] date, you’ll see him back out in Dallas, back with Derrick James, and continuing the work.” Briton Davison coached Fury in the heavyweight’s first five fights after the “Gypsy King” returned to boxing in 2015. Davison oversaw wins over Sefer Seferi, Francesco Pianeta, Tom Schwarz and Otto Wallin, as well as Fury’s controversial draw with Wilder in 2018. Fury then began training under Sugarhill Steward for his 2020 rematch with Wilder, in which the Briton stopped the American to win the WBC heavyweight title, which he has held since. Under Steward, Fury stopped Wilder again in 2021. Since Joshua knocked out Helenius in August, the focus has been on a long-awaited bout between the Briton and Wilder, with AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn suggesting that it could take place in December or early 2024. Ghansa said: “In regards to that, [Joshua’s] message to us was, ‘I wanna fight three times within the year.’ His first fight of the year was in April; we’ve got until April to get the public three fights within 12 months. “I won’t give December – Eddie was giving December – but I will definitely say: Anthony Joshua wants to be very active.” It is understood that Joshua could in fact fight in December against an alternative opponent, if the Wilder fight cannot be made in time. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More ‘Nobody can beat this Canelo’: Alvarez dominates Jermell Charlo for statement win in undisputed clash Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk ‘signed’ with undisputed heavyweight title fight confirmed The Independent’s pound-for-pound boxing rankings On This Day in 2018: Anthony Joshua stops Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Joe Joyce on knockouts, oil painting, and teaching 60-year-olds to swim The Independent’s pound-for-pound boxing rankings

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