Aston Villa have a decision to make about Harvey Elliott, Brentford have money to spend and Burnley and Everton need goalscorers

A busy summer with the arrival of more than £250m in reinforcements has proved to be invaluable given the number of injuries that have hit Arsenal, particularly in defence. But that also makes any more expensive incomings unlikely in January, especially after the timely return of the influential Gabriel Magalhães this week. A loan signing or two could be on the cards, however, with Arsenal not having filled either slot so far after bringing in Neto from Bournemouth and Raheem Sterling from Chelsea last season. Mikel Arteta could do with more cover at right-back and must also decide whether to allow Ethan Nwaneri to go on loan with the 18-year-old having made only three starts in all competitions. Ed Aarons

• British boxer is released on New Year’s Eve in Ikeja

• Joshua can ‘recuperate at home’ after treatment

The British boxer Anthony Joshua has been discharged from hospital, Nigerian authorities said on Wednesday night. The two-time former heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist was involved in a car accident near Lagos on Monday which killed two of his close associates and team members.

The 36-year-old had been under observation while recovering from minor injuries, his promoter had said on Monday.

• Club set to open new year with emergency talks

• Cryptic comments have led to rapid escalation

Enzo Maresca is on the brink of leaving Chelsea after a complete breakdown in his relationship with the club. The situation around the head coach has been unpredictable for weeks and it is highly likely that a parting of the ways is expected to take place on Thursday.

Chelsea are set to open the new year by holding emergency talks over Maresca’s position. It is expected that the Italian, who was booed by supporters during the disappointing 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, will not be in charge for Sunday’s trip to Manchester City. Sources have indicated that Maresca wants to leave the club but it is unclear if he is willing to walk away without a payoff. His contract runs until 2029, with an option for an extra year.

This year features a football World Cup, a Winter Olympics, a Commonwealth Games and a historic Test match

Jannik Sinner will be aiming to become only the second man in the Open era, after Novak Djokovic, to win three consecutive Australian Open singles titles, while in the women’s draw Madison Keys will be seeking to defend the title she landed via a shock victory over Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s final. Elsewhere, Roger Federer is scheduled to return to Melbourne Park for the first time since retiring from tennis in 2022 as part of a Battle of the World No 1s match, alongside Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt. “It still makes me smile when I think about all the moments I’ve had here,” said the Swiss legend.

• Holders come from two goals down to win 3-2

• Burkina Faso beat Sudan as both sides progress

Côte d’Ivoire came from two goals down to beat already eliminated Gabon 3-2 in Group F at the Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday as the teenager Bazoumana Touré’s headed winner in added time in Marrakech handed them top spot. The Ivorians finished on seven points from their three games, ahead of Cameroon on goals scored after the latter beat third-placed Mozambique.

Gabon were ahead on 11 minutes when Guélor Kanga profited from a mistake from the goalkeeper Alban Lafont as he spilled a tame shot, allowing the forward to score from close range. It was 2-0 on 21 minutes and this time Lafont had no chance. Denis Bouanga curled a superb shot from the left-hand side of the box across the goal and into the far corner.

Scotsman rolled back years to reach first quarter-final since 2022 at the expense of toiling Michael van Gerwen

“I’m just here to cause a headache,” Gary Anderson had told everyone in advance of this game, and for the great Michael van Gerwen the hangover from this crushing 4-1 defeat will comfortably outstrip any quantity of New Year’s Eve festivity. It was a little nervy at the end, a little scrappy and short of breath. But somehow the result had never really been in doubt from the early stages: Van Gerwen, the three-time champion, was simply outplayed by a man almost two decades his senior, a true darting maestro enjoying an uproarious final act to his career.

In reaching the quarter-finals of this tournament for the first time since 2022, Anderson has finally made good on a renaissance that has been at least a couple of years in the making. As the halcyon days of his career began to recede in a haze of domestic bliss, tournaments missed and general middle-aged apathy, it became common to speak of Anderson’s greatness in the past tense. The big prizes and bright lights no longer seemed to motivate him, and so it was hard to glimpse what actually did.

Arsenal will begin 2026 with a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League as they continue their quest for the club’s very own holy grail, and judging by this game of two halves against putative title rivals they may need it.

A scrappy, angst-ridden opening 45 minutes was followed by a performance of complete dominance kickstarted by two goals in the space of five minutes from Gabriel Magalhães and Martín Zubimendi at the start of the second half. Leandro Trossard added a third with 20 minutes to go before the substitute Gabriel Jesus rubbed salt in Aston Villa’s wounds to compound their first defeat in 12 matches and leave them six points adrift of the leaders in third.

Manchester United missed eight frontline players so Wolves, who arrived as the bottom team with only two points, seemed ideal opponents. Yet Ruben Amorim’s side struggled – badly – and while Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire headed those unavailable, the display provokes questions regarding United’s cohesion.

In the contest’s closing phase they were potent only sporadically – as throughout. Their opening-half goal was a fortunate one for Joshua Zirkzee, rebounding in off Ladislav Krejci, and after the Czech’s equaliser just before the interval, Wolves might have recorded a first – and famous – victory of the season.

It is fair to assume that Pep Guardiola has targeted Antoine Semenyo for more than his enormous long throws. Still, the Bournemouth winger’s missiles were a devastating weapon against a slipshod Chelsea defence. They led to insultingly simple goals for David Brooks and Justin Kluivert during a breathless first half and were enough to plunge Enzo Maresca deeper into trouble after another damaging result for the Italian’s erratic side.

There were jeers from the Stamford Bridge crowd when Maresca removed Cole Palmer with Chelsea chasing a winner during a one-sided second half. There was no chance of the dissenters giving a moment’s thought to the context around Palmer, whose load still needs careful management as he feels his way back from a groin injury. “You don’t know what you’re doing,” was the chant pouring down from the stands and, although Chelsea were the stronger side during the closing stages, there were more boos when this wild game drew to a close.

• Fury and Usyk pay tribute to Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele

• Joshua recovering in Nigeria after fatal collision

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have passed their condolences to the families of Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele, the two friends who died in a car crash in Nigeria on Monday in which the former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua was also injured.

Ayodele, also known as Latz, was a personal trainer of Joshua, while Ghami acted as strength and conditioning coach for the 36-year-old boxer. Joshua remains in hospital in Lagos, where he was described by his management team as being in a stable condition.