Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard scored midway through each half to spark wild celebrations by the home fans who have waited so long to take their place in their new 17,500-capacity home and even longer to watch top-flight football. The win was well deserved as Brentford, revelling in their chance to take on the big boys, took the game to an Arsenal team who looked disjointed and toothless in the absence of "unwell" strike duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
* Chelsea's new striker Romelu Lukaku has all the attributes to greatly improve the London club's attack and bridge the gap to their fellow Premier League title contenders, manager Thomas Tuchel said on Friday (Aug 13). The lethal Belgian completed a 97.5 million pounds (US$134.6 million) return to Chelsea on Thursday after two years at Inter Milan where he helped the Italian club to their first Serie A title in 11 years last season.
* Everton midfielder James Rodriguez will not feature in his side's Premier League opener against Southampton but forwards Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are available, manager Rafa Benitez said on Friday. The Colombian is isolating due to COVID-19 regulations, amid speculation that he is free to leave the club this summer.
* Defender Raphael Varane's move to Manchester United from Real Madrid is "not 100per cent done" and the Frenchman will not be available for the opening league game against Leeds United, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told reporters on Friday. The France international was expected to be unveiled as a United player this week after a deal in principle was agreed between the two clubs last month.
* Champions Bayern Munich had to work their way back from a goal down in their Bundesliga season opener on Friday as they earned a 1-1 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach thanks to last season's top scorer Robert Lewandowski. The Bayern forward, who scored an all-time league record 41 goals last season, but was repeatedly denied by Gladbach keeper Yann Sommer, volleyed in from a corner to level in the 42nd minute after Alassane Plea had put the hosts in front in the 10th.
* Leicester City completed the signing of Denmark international defender Jannik Vestergaard from Premier League rivals Southampton on Friday. The fee was not disclosed but British media put a figure of 15 million pounds (US$20.72 million) on the deal for the 29-year-old who joined Southampton from Borussia Moenchengladbach three years ago.
* The 'Big Three' of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal all decided to sit out this week's Masters 1000 event in Toronto but Stefanos Tsitsipas has provided plenty of buzz as he stormed into the semi-finals of the US Open tune-up on Friday. The French Open finalist continued the stellar form he has displayed all season during a 6-1 6-4 thrashing of sixth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud that gave Tsitsipas his tour-leading 45th victory of the year.
* Monaco stretched their winless Ligue 1 start to two games after a first-half penalty from Terem Moffi gave Lorient a 1-0 win over the principality side on Friday. Moffi converted the 31st-minute spot kick after he was hauled down by Ismail Jakobs shortly after Sofiane Diop skied his shot over bar from a good position at the other end.
* A coolly taken penalty by midfielder Carlos Soler gave 10-man Valencia a 1-0 win over Getafe after the home side had defender Hugo Guillamon sent off in their LaLiga season opener on Friday. After Guillamon was shown a straight red card in the fourth minute for a studs-up challenge on Getafe midfielder Nemanja Maksimovic, Soler sent visiting goalkeeper David Soria the wrong way in the 11th minute.
* The Dutch Formula One Grand Prix will go ahead as planned on Sept 5 if stands are allowed to be filled at two thirds of their original capacity, organisers said on Friday.
* Leeds United winger Raphinha was called up by Brazil for the first time on Friday and will join the squad for September’s triple header of World Cup qualifiers against Chile, Argentina and Peru. Six players from the Brazil team that won gold at the Tokyo Olympics were also included in the squad, including the 38-year-old Dani Alves and newcomer Claudinho, who recently completed a move from Red Bull Bragantino to Zenit St Petersburg.
* New Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal sprung several surprises in his first squad after returning to the helm of the Dutch national team as they bid to qualify for next year's World Cup after a disappointing European Championship. The veteran coach, taking charge of the side for a third time, handed teenager defender Devyne Rensch, the 21-year-old left back Tyrell Malacia and 37-year-old goalkeeper Remko Pasveer first call-ups while Virgil van Dijk returns to a 25-man squad after a long-term absence.
* Aston Villa could be missing striker Ollie Watkins for their Premier League opener at promoted Watford on Saturday but new signing Emiliano Buendia is fit, manager Dean Smith told a news conference on Friday. Watkins hurt his knee in a friendly against Salernitana and Smith said it was touch and go whether he would be available.
* The arrival of Lionel Messi at Paris St Germain has created a positive mood at the Ligue 1 club but he is unlikely to play any part in Saturday's home game against Strasbourg, coach Mauricio Pochettino said. Speaking at Friday's news conference ahead of the league fixture after Messi joined PSG from Barcelona earlier this week, Pochettino added his first task was to make sure a star-studded outfit began to look the sum of its parts.
* Eintracht Frankfurt captain Sebastian Rode has been ruled out of their Bundesliga opener at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday with a knee injury, coach Oliver Glasner said on Friday. Eintracht are desperate for a good start to their league campaign after suffering a shock German Cup first-round exit to third division club Waldhof Mannheim last week.
* Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland, Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe and Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowksi have made UEFA's shortlist for the best men's forward in the Champions League last season, European soccer's governing body said on Friday. Norway international Haaland led the scoring charts last season with 10 goals in Dortmund's run to the quarter-finals, two more than French World Cup-winner Mbappe.
* Newcastle United have completed the signing of midfielder Joe Willock from Premier League rivals Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, the club confirmed on Friday, with manager Steve Bruce saying the 21-year-old had signed a six-year contract. British media reported that the deal was worth 25 million pounds (US$34.50 million) including add-ons.
* Liverpool centre back Virgil van Dijk has signed a new long-term deal, the Premier League club said on Friday, with the Netherlands international set to be at Anfield until 2025. Van Dijk recently returned to action during pre-season after spending nine months on the sidelines with an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained in the Merseyside derby in October.
