10-Man Arsenal Loses to Burnley 1-0 with Aubameyang Own-Goal

Burnley celebrate the winning goal. (AP)
Burnley celebrate the winning goal. (AP)
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10-Man Arsenal Loses to Burnley 1-0 with Aubameyang Own-Goal

Burnley celebrate the winning goal. (AP)
Burnley celebrate the winning goal. (AP)

Arsenal's season went from poor to dreadful as captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored an own-goal and the Gunners were reduced to 10 men in a 1-0 loss to Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday.

Aubameyang had been looking to end his goal drought, but at the other end of the field at Emirates Stadium. The striker, however, headed the ball into his own net while defending a Burnley corner in the 73rd minute.

Boos rang out from the home crowd, with 2,000 fans allowed under coronavirus restrictions. There was some scattered applause for the players later.

But Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is under increasing pressure with his team 15th in the 20-team division with 13 points from 12 games — four points more than Burnley which climbed out of the relegation zone.

“We’ve had a tough start,” Burnley manager Sean Dyche said. “We responded well to the challenge right in front of us — winning games.”

“We're moving forward again,” he added.

At the time of the goal, Arsenal was already down a man after Granit Xhaka was sent off for violent conduct in the 58th following a VAR check and a review by the referee on the sidelines. Xhaka had grabbed Ashley Westwood by the throat and pushed him to the ground after a challenge on another player.

Arteta said that Xhaka’s behavior was “unacceptable,” especially at a time when Arsenal was finally gaining a foothold in the match.

“He’s made a mistake clearly,” Arteta said. “We made the match more difficult and you give the opponents a chance.”

The Gunners were lucky not to be down to nine men after VAR deemed that Mohamed Elneny wasn't guilty of violent conduct just before the corner was taken that led to the goal. Replays showed Elneny appearing to push defender James Tarkowski in the face. He ended up with a yellow card instead.

“I don’t know how Xhaka is sent off and Elneny isn’t,” Dyche said. “But he wasn’t.”

The Gunners have now lost four consecutive home league games.

“The players are hurting,” Arteta said.

Arsenal struggled to break down Burnley's resilient defense in the first half and, when the Gunners did manage to break free, they couldn’t make it count.

The home side’s clearest chance came in the 28th when Arsenal carved through Burnley’s defense and went five on three. A cross from left back Kieran Tierney found forward Alexandre Lacazette, whose low shot forced a good save from goalkeeper Nick Pope.

Burnley also had opportunities to go ahead, taking advantage of a shaky Arsenal back line. The biggest moment came in the 13th minute when the visitors launched a quick counterattack down the right and a diagonal cross was headed just wide of the post by forward Chris Wood.

Arsenal’s overreliance on crosses into the box to create chances, many of them poor efforts, hasn’t paid off.

Aubameyang hasn’t scored — for Arsenal — since Nov. 1, when he converted a penalty against Manchester United in a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

Burnley put Arsenal under pressure at times with a high press. A nervy home side found it difficult to get through solid team defending by Burnley.

Arsenal started to take hold of the match in the 50th and had several chances to score.

But Arsenal quickly surrendered their dominance when Xhaka was sent off for violent conduct. Xhaka was initially shown a yellow card after a challenge on Dwight McNeil. But other players surrounded the Switzerland international and replays showed that Xhaka put his hands around Westwood’s throat and pushed him to the ground.

After VAR looked at the incident, referee Graham Scott reviewed the incident on a TV screen on the sidelines and sent off Xhaka.

Xhaka has “fouled Dwight and gripped him and then he’s put his hands on me and you can’t do that in today’s game,” Westwood said after the match.

Arsenal fans will be wondering why Arteta didn't name Mesut Ozil in his 25-man Premier League squad as the troubles have mounted in the team.

The players' discipline has also become an issue as Xhaka's red card was the second in four league matches. Nicolas Pepe was sent off for violent conduct against Leeds for a headbutt, and the Burnley match was the last of his three-match ban.



Tottenham Hotspur Sack Head Coach Thomas Frank

(FILES) Tottenham Hotspur's Danish head coach Thomas Frank gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on January 24, 2026. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)/
(FILES) Tottenham Hotspur's Danish head coach Thomas Frank gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on January 24, 2026. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)/
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Tottenham Hotspur Sack Head Coach Thomas Frank

(FILES) Tottenham Hotspur's Danish head coach Thomas Frank gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on January 24, 2026. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)/
(FILES) Tottenham Hotspur's Danish head coach Thomas Frank gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on January 24, 2026. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)/

Thomas Frank was fired by Tottenham on Wednesday after only eight months in charge and with his team just five points above the relegation zone in the Premier League.

Despite leading Spurs to the round of 16 in the Champions League, Frank has overseen a desperate domestic campaign. A 2-1 loss to Newcastle on Tuesday means Spurs are still to win in the league in 2026.

“The Club has taken the decision to make a change in the Men’s Head Coach position and Thomas Frank will leave today,” Tottenham said in a statement. “Thomas was appointed in June 2025, and we have been determined to give him the time and support needed to build for the future together.

“However, results and performances have led the Board to conclude that a change at this point in the season is necessary.”

Frank’s exit means Spurs are on the lookout for a sixth head coach in less than seven years since Mauricio Pochettino departed in 2019.


Marseille Coach De Zerbi Leaves After Humiliating 5-0 Loss to PSG 

Marseille's Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi looks on from the technical area during the French Cup round of 32 football match between FC Bayeux and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Michel-d'Ornano Stadium in Caen on January 13, 2026. (AFP) 
Marseille's Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi looks on from the technical area during the French Cup round of 32 football match between FC Bayeux and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Michel-d'Ornano Stadium in Caen on January 13, 2026. (AFP) 
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Marseille Coach De Zerbi Leaves After Humiliating 5-0 Loss to PSG 

Marseille's Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi looks on from the technical area during the French Cup round of 32 football match between FC Bayeux and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Michel-d'Ornano Stadium in Caen on January 13, 2026. (AFP) 
Marseille's Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi looks on from the technical area during the French Cup round of 32 football match between FC Bayeux and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Michel-d'Ornano Stadium in Caen on January 13, 2026. (AFP) 

Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi is leaving the French league club in the wake of a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of PSG in French soccer biggest game.

The nine-time French champions said on Wednesday that they have ended “their collaboration by mutual agreement.”

The heavy loss Sunday at the Parc des Princes restored defending champion PSG’s two-point lead over Lens after 21 rounds, with Marseille in fourth place after the humiliating defeat.

De Zerbi's exit followed another embarrassing 3-0 loss at Club Brugge two weeks ago that resulted in Marseille exiting the Champions League.

De Zerbi, who had apologized to Marseille fans after the loss against bitter rival PSG, joined Marseille in 2024 after two seasons in charge at Brighton. After tightening things up tactically in Marseille during his first season, his recent choices had left many observers puzzled.

“Following consultations involving all stakeholders in the club’s leadership — the owner, president, director of football and head coach — it was decided to opt for a change at the head of the first team,” Marseille said. “This was a collective and difficult decision, taken after thorough consideration, in the best interests of the club and in order to address the sporting challenges of the end of the season.”

De Zerbi led Marseille to a second-place finish last season. Marseille did not immediately announce a replacement for De Zerbi ahead of Saturday's league match against Strasbourg.

Since American owner Frank McCourt bought Marseille in 2016, the former powerhouse of French soccer has failed to find any form of stability, with a succession of coaches and crises that sometimes turned violent.

Marseille dominated domestic soccer in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was the only French team to win the Champions League before PSG claimed the trophy last year. It hasn’t won its own league title since 2010.


Olympic Fans Hunt for Plushies of Mascots Milo and Tina as They Fly off Shelves 

Fans take selfies with the Olympic mascot Tina at the finish area of an alpine ski, slalom portion of a women's team combined race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Fans take selfies with the Olympic mascot Tina at the finish area of an alpine ski, slalom portion of a women's team combined race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
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Olympic Fans Hunt for Plushies of Mascots Milo and Tina as They Fly off Shelves 

Fans take selfies with the Olympic mascot Tina at the finish area of an alpine ski, slalom portion of a women's team combined race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Fans take selfies with the Olympic mascot Tina at the finish area of an alpine ski, slalom portion of a women's team combined race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)

For fans of the Milan Cortina Olympic mascots, the eponymous Milo and Tina, it's been nearly impossible to find a plush toy of the stoat siblings in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Many of the official Olympics stores in the host cities are already sold out, less than a week into the Winter Games.

“I think the only way to get them is to actually win a medal,” Julia Peeler joked Tuesday in central Milan, where Tina and Milo characters posed for photos with fans.

The 38-year-old from South Carolina is on the hunt for the plushies for her niece. She's already bought some mascot pins, but she won't wear them on her lanyard. Peeler wants to avoid anyone trying to swap for them in a pin trade, a popular Olympic pastime.

Tina, short for Cortina, is the lighter-colored stoat and represents the Olympic Winter Games. Her younger brother Milo, short for Milano, is the face of the Paralympic Winter Games.

Milo was born without one paw but learned to use his tail and turn his difference into a strength, according to the Olympics website. A stoat is a small mustelid, like a weasel or an otter.

The animals adorn merchandise ranging from coffee mugs to T-shirts, but the plush toys are the most popular.

They're priced from 18 to 58 euros (about $21 to $69) and many of the major official stores in Milan, including the largest one at the iconic Duomo Cathedral, and Cortina have been cleaned out. They appeared to be sold out online Tuesday night.

Winning athletes are gifted the plush toys when they receive their gold, silver and bronze medals atop the podium.

Broadcast system engineer Jennifer Suarez got lucky Tuesday at the media center in Milan. She's been collecting mascot toys since the 2010 Vancouver Games and has been asking shops when they would restock.

“We were lucky we were just in time,” she said, clutching a tiny Tina. “They are gone right now.”

Friends Michelle Chen and Brenda Zhang were among the dozens of fans Tuesday who took photos with the characters at the fan zone in central Milan.

“They’re just so lovable and they’re always super excited at the Games, they are cheering on the crowd,” Chen, 29, said after they snapped their shots. “We just are so excited to meet them.”

The San Franciscan women are in Milan for the Olympics and their friend who is “obsessed” with the stoats asked for a plush Tina as a gift.

“They’re just so cute, and stoats are such a unique animal to be the Olympic mascot,” Zhang, 28, said.

Annie-Laurie Atkins, Peeler's friend, loves that Milo is the mascot for Paralympians.

“The Paralympics are really special to me,” she said Tuesday. “I have a lot of friends that are disabled and so having a character that also represents that is just incredible.”