The former England manager Graham Taylor has called for a rethink by Arsene Wenger on retaining William Gallas as his captain after the defender launched a verbal attack on his Arsenal teammates on Thursday.
In an interview, Gallas questioned the commitment of the squad following four league defeats this season.
The France international also revealed some teammates have approached him to complain about one member of the squad in particular, although Gallas did not reveal his identity.
He was also fined two weeks' wages and received a stern rebuke from Wenger after being photographed leaving a nightclub with a cigarette in his mouth last month.
"Would we not think that by now Arsene Wenger, the manager that he is, would know the kind of person he wants as a captain, and if it isn't working for him, make those changes," Taylor said.
Arsenal play Manchester City who are looking for a goalkeeper on loan to replace the injured Joe Hart after sustaining ankle ligament damage.
Mark Hughes will see the return though of captain Richard Dunne, midfielder Gelson Fernandes and striker Danny Sturridge for the home clash.
Dunne and Fernandes have both completed one-match bans for their red cards against Tottenham a fortnight ago, while Sturridge has returned to training following three weeks out with an ankle injury.
Meanwhile, Dimitar Berbatov will miss Manchester United's trip to Aston Villa tomorrow after picking up a hamstring injury on international duty with Bulgaria on Wednesday. Rio Ferdinand may also miss the game as he struggles to shake off a back injury.
Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted he only has himself to blame for his two-match touchline ban and £10,000 (Dh68,000) fine for his post-match rant at referee Mike Dean after the Red Devils 4-3 win over Hull. Ferguson claimed a couple of weeks ago he was surprised to have been charged. "It happens," reflected Ferguson yesterday. "It is my own fault."
"You will always get inconsistent decisions because every referee has their own opinions of things. That has not changed from the day refereeing started."
* Agencies
Oppenheimer
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
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Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
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Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950