England make a poor start on day one of the second Test against Pakistan at Lord’s as Emilio Gay falls for just eight, following a brilliant diving catch by Muhammad Rizwan.
Reiss Nelson has agreed a deal with Arsenal to terminate his contract by mutual consent.
Nelson is attracting interest from clubs in England and overseas but plans to thoroughly assess his options before making a decision on his future. The Athletic reported earlier this month that West Ham United and Arsenal had held talks over a deal for Nelson.
The 26-year-old was entering the final year of his contract at the Emirates Stadium, though it included an option to extend by 12 months.
Although Arsenal now miss out on a transfer fee for Nelson, his exit represents a saving on the wage bill and there was an acknowledgement at the north London club that, at 26, he needs to be playing regular football.
The Englishman spent last season on loan at Brentford, but only appeared 13 times in all competitions for the west London side. The forward made just three starts, which came in the cup competitions, with injuries and illness forcing him to miss 10 games.
Nelson came through the academy at Arsenal and signed his first professional contract in December 2016. He made his debut in August of the following year, coming on as a substitute against Chelsea in the Community Shield.
He made sporadic first-team appearances before joining German club Hoffenheim on loan for the 2018-19 season. He scored three goals in 22 appearances in the following campaign but found game time limited in 2020-21 and subsequently joined Dutch side Feyenoord on loan in August 2021.
Nelson made occasional appearances for Arsenal over the next two seasons, signing a new contract in 2023, but was primarily used as a substitute and eventually informed the club in 2024 that he wanted to assess his options for a potential transfer that summer.
The former England Under-21 international eventually joined Fulham on loan, though his season was ended prematurely in December 2024 by a hamstring injury.
Nelson has made 90 appearances for Arsenal, scoring eight goals and providing nine assists.
Nelson leaves a fan-favourite whose enormous promise remains unfulfilled
Analysis from Arsenal writer James McNicholas
A graduate of the Hale End academy, Reiss Nelson will be most fondly remembered by Arsenal fans for his 97th-minute winner against Bournemouth in March 2023.
That goal, which sealed a 3-2 comeback win, seemed to suggest Arsenal were destined for the title. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. It’s perhaps an appropriate encapsulation of Nelson’s time in North London: enormous promise, largely unfulfilled.
It was Arsene Wenger who first introduced Nelson into Arsenal’s first-team environment, noting his superb technical ability. Mikel Arteta coached Nelson as a 16-year-old, and had designs on integrating him into his own squad.
Did you know Arsenal nearly signed Bruno Guimaraes in 2022?
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Sadly, injuries have hugely hindered his progress over the subsequent decade. Loans to the likes of Fulham and Brentford were ravaged by fitness issues.
The summer after that Bournemouth goal, Nelson signed a new long-term contract. That has now been terminated. At a time when many clubs are hoping for academy players to produce “pure profit”, Arsenal will get no return on Nelson. They will, at least, make a significant salary saving.
Now aged 26, there is a recognition at Arsenal that Nelson needs to play. Hopefully he can move past his injury issues and showcase the talent the likes of Wenger and Arteta undoubtedly saw in him.
Leonard Williams celebrates with the Lombardi Trophy at the Seahawks’ championship parade in February. Jason Redmond / AFP via Getty Images
Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams is expected to sign a three-year extension, according to a team source who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet official.
Williams, who turns 32 in June, was set to enter the final year of a three-year, $64.5 million contract signed in March 2024.
The 12th-year veteran has had the best stretch of his career since arriving in Seattle via trade from the New York Giants in October 2023. In 2024, he had 11 sacks and 28 quarterback hits, along with a 92-yard pick six, then earned a second-team All-Pro selection (the first of his career) in 2025 with seven sacks and 22 QB hits in the regular season. He added a sack and three QB hits in the postseason while helping the Seahawks to the second Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Including a franchise tag, this will be Williams’ fifth NFL contract since the New York Jets drafted him with the sixth pick in 2015. He spent five years each with the Jets and Giants and is entering his third full season with Seattle.
Belichick highlighted that the possibility of the Jacksonville Jaguars relocating to London and Wembley had been explored in the past, but they ultimately stayed put and built their own new stadium in Florida.
He did, however, believe the travel involved would not stop a franchise being developed in Europe.
“It would certainly be a little bit of an adjustment coming here, but it’s not a whole lot different than coming from the east coast to the west coast in the USA,” Belichick added.
“Time-wise it’s a long trip, but going from New York or Boston or Philly to LA or Seattle, it’s about the same.”
After 23 years in the NFL, Belichick said it was “important” for him to give back to the sport that “has been good to me and my family”.
“American football is a great game, fans around the world love it.
“There’s not a lot of it being played outside of the US, but I know when I visited places like Croatia or Germany there are a lot of local teams who play in their own leagues.
“It’s super-popular. Anything I can do to give back to the game, whether that is in our country or internationally, I want to be part of that and I want to do it.”
When asked if he would ever return to the NFL in a coaching capacity, Belichick said his full focus was on North Carolina.
“I recruited these kids and I want to help them,” he added.
“I had a great experience in the NFL but I’m very happy to be at North Carolina and I’m excited about the future of our programme.”
