Unai Emery has been sacked as Arsenal manager following the 2-1 Europa League defeat at home to Frankfurt.

Sources told ESPN FC after that loss that Emery's position was untenable, following Arsenal's worst run in 27 years.

The club are winless in all competitions in seven games and sit eight points behind fourth-place Chelsea in the Premier League after just 13 games this season.

The Frankfurt game was played in front of a half-empty stadium and a group of Arsenal supporters unveiled "Emery Out" banners.

Freddie Ljungberg, Emery's assistant, is favourite to take over on an interim basis.

Emery, who won three Europa League titles with Sevilla boss and the Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain, signed a two-year deal with the option of a third in 2018.

After succeeding Arsene Wenger in May 2018, Emery led Arsenal to the Europa League final in his first campaign in charge but the Gunners failed to qualify for the Champions League.

- ESPN Premier League fantasy: Sign up now!
- VAR in the Premier League: Ultimate guide
- When does the transfer window reopen?
- Premier League winter break: All you need to know

In total, Emery managed 51 Premier League games in total, winning 25, losing 13 and drawing 13.

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been linked with the position but he said it would be "disrespectful" to comment on the situation.

"I think you know me well enough and you know that I'm not going to answer about that," he said earlier this week.

"I will never mention an issue that's not a reality. Mainly speaking about a job that has a manager on it. It would be disrespectful."

James Anderson has said he "doesn't see any reason" why he shouldn't play in the 2021-22 Ashes series as a 39-year-old despite bowling only four overs for England in the last nine months.

Anderson went off after hurting his calf during the first day of first Ashes Test at Edgbaston this summer, and after a recurrence of the injury while he tried to return in time for the fourth Test, he was left out of the touring party for the ongoing series in New Zealand.

He hopes to return to the squad in time for the South Africa tour that starts next month, and will travel to Potchefstroom this week, along with fellow seamers Mark Wood, Olly Stone, Craig Overton and Ollie Robinson.

ALSO READ: England hopefuls head to training camps in India, SA

Anderson told the Daily Mail that he has made technical changes during his lay-off, which he hopes will improve his longevity, including a return to the longer run-up he trialled during England's tour of the Caribbean in the spring.

"When I felt the calf go, it was in that first three or four paces of my run-up, trying to get up to speed really quickly," he said. "Lengthening my run-up just gives me that little bit extra time to gradually build up the pace rather than pushing off too quickly and putting too much pressure on it.

"I've changed the running technique a little bit, too, to use my legs a bit more to generate more momentum up to the crease."

Anderson has been using Manchester City's training facilities throughout the winter in his attempts to return to fitness, and said that he had realised during his layoff that he still had the "hunger" to play Test cricket.

"I still feel that in the near future I've got something to offer this team, both in performances on the field and around the group" James Anderson

"The biggest thing to come out of that for me was actually the hunger," he said. "I found I had to try to get fit again because it would have been quite easy for me, especially after the third time I injured my calf trying to get ready for the Old Trafford Test, to say, 'Sod it, I can't do this anymore'.

"I guess when you get to a certain age you start thinking about the next chapter. And people have always said to me that you just know when it's time to finish.

"But I went away that week, on holiday with the family to Corfu, just to get away from it because I was feeling quite low having worked hard to get back fit. And at the end of it, in conversation with my wife Daniella, she was like, 'Why would you stop?'

"It's not as if I'm unfit. Getting injured is just a thing that happens and as I get older, yes, there might be the odd extra muscle injury that I've got to deal with. But my injury record's been pretty good and I'm still in the top 10 bowlers in the world, even though I've not played for longer than six months."

Anderson also suggested that he had plenty to offer England over the next few years, not only in terms of his own performances but also through passing on his wealth of experience to the younger seamers in the side.

"I know everyone's talking about the Ashes in two years' time, which is a long way away, and I'd be 39 by then," he said, "but if I still feel like I do at the minute, if I keep working as hard as I am in the gym and at my game, then I don't see any reason why I can't make that trip.

"But whether I do or I don't, I still feel that in the near future I've got something to offer this team, both in performances on the field and around the group.

"We've got young lads coming in, some fairly inexperienced players who might need some guidance. I feel like the more experience you've got around the group, around those younger players, the better really."

Four-time Olympic champion intends to defend his 10,000m title at the Games in Japan

Mo Farah is to return to track racing and has set his sights on defending his 10,000m title at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The 10-time global gold medallist announced his decision to switch from track athletics to road racing after claiming his sixth world title in London in 2017.

He went on to break the European record when winning the 2018 Chicago Marathon in 2:05:11 and finished third in last year’s London Marathon but placed eighth in Chicago in his last race over 26.2 miles and has never competed in the event at a major championships.

Earlier this year Farah admitted he was still tempted by a track return and on Friday the 35-year-old confirmed his decision to target the Tokyo 10,000m in a video on YouTube.

“Next year, Tokyo 2020, I’m going to be back on the track,” he said.

“I’m really excited to be competing back on the track and to give it a go in the 10,000m.

“Hopefully I haven’t lost my speed but I will train hard for it and see what I can do.”

More to follow…

Queensland 4 for 98 (Heazlett 54*, Bird 3-26) trail Tasmania 107 (Doolan 34, Doran 32, Steketee 5-19) by nine runs

A career-best performance from Mark Steketee put Queensland in complete command against Tasmania in Hobart on day one.

Steketee took his maiden Sheffield Shield five-wicket haul, claiming 5 for 19, to skittle Tasmania for just 107. Sam Heazlett countered an early wobble with a timely unbeaten half-century to put the Bulls on the brink of a first-innings lead at stumps.

Steketee made the most of the helpful bowling conditions after the Bulls opted to bowl. He trapped Jordan Silk, Beau Webster and new national selector George Bailey lbw with swing and seam to leave Tasmania reeling at 3 for 4 in the third over.

Alex Doolan fought hard for 34 and Jake Doran made 32 down the order but Tasmania could not recover from the early setbacks. Steketee returned to rip out two more to complete a five-wicket haul.

In response, the Bulls too slumped to 3 for 11. Gabe Bell got rid of Matt Renshaw in the second over of the innings, while Usman Khawaja fell to Jackson Bird while trying an ambitious drive. Heazlett and Bryce Street steadied the side with a 61-run stand. Street was Bird's third victim late in the day but Heazlett reached his first half-century of the Shield season having missed the last three matches. Queensland finished the day just nine runs behind the Tigers.

Pakistan will be hosting Test cricket for the first time in more than 10 years, that too with a full strength Sri Lanka squad, in December 2019. Dimuth Karunaratne will lead the Sri Lanka side, with experienced batsmen Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal also in the 16-member squad. The team leaves for Pakistan on December 8, where they will play two Test matches that will count towards the World Test Championship.

Less than three months ago, Sri Lanka had toured Pakistan for limited-overs matches but as many as 10 high-profile names had withdrawn then.

There's only one change to the squad that played the second Test against New Zealand in August. Kasun Rajitha, the right-arm fast bowler, replaced legspinner Akila Dananjaya who is currently serving a one-year suspension over an illegal action.

The first Test will start on December 11 in Rawalpindi followed by the second in Karachi from December 19. The country has not hosted a Test match since the 2009 Lahore terror attack that saw several Sri Lankan cricketers and support staff receiving injuries. Suranga Lakmal, the fast bowler, was part of Sri Lanka's squad back then as well.

Test squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Dilruwan Perera, Lasith Embuldeniya, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan

More to follow...

West Indies may be ranked eighth in Test cricket right now, but captain Jason Holder believes that by the time the World Test Championship is done, they have a "realistic" chance of being in the top four.

Holder led West Indies to a nine-wicket win against Afghanistan at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, with the match completed in just over two days. Holder himself hastened the end on the morning of day three, making short work of Afghanistan after they had resumed on an overnight score of 109 for 7 on Friday. They were bowled out for 120 with Holder picking up all three wickets, and West Indies chased their target of 31 in just 6.2 overs.

"I think by the end of the Test Championship, I don't see it being impossible for us to be fourth or fifth in the world," Holder said at the post-match press conference. "That would be a significant achievement in a two-year period. We've got some tough series coming up. We've got England, then South Africa coming to the Caribbean, then we've got New Zealand… all good cricket sides. But I don't think it's beyond us to beat them. We've just got to make sure we keep building and developing. Once we do that, we can compete with any side in the world. A realistic target in two years would be to be ranked three or four in the world."

This Test wasn't part of the World Test Championship, though Holder believed his team did most of what could be asked of them. Holder had chosen to bowl on winning the toss, a decision that came under question early on, because West Indies were playing with three spinners and there wasn't too much on offer for pacers. However, Rahkeem Cornwall's career-best figures of 7 for 75 meant the desired result was achieved, though via a path that wasn't envisaged at the start of the match.

"We did expect the spinners to play a heavy role in this game, but with the new ball we probably expected a little more from the fast bowlers," agreed Holder. "As the ball got older, I felt it did a little bit more. Their openers played well and pretty much saw off the new ball. Our spinners really came into effect with the harder ball, so I think it all worked out the way it was supposed to. Credit to Rahkeem [Cornwall]. He bowled an exceptional spell in the first innings and then backed it up really well in the second innings, supported well by the other bowlers.

"I don't regret the decision at the toss. In the end, we played a really good cricket game, and we were clinical. I asked the guys to make sure we don't leave any stones unturned. Probably would have liked a little bit more in our first innings in terms of our batting, but having said that, we had a lead of 90. I think leads win games. Once you have a hefty lead, it puts pressure on the opposition."

The only point that left Holder unsatisfied was West Indies' batting, though thanks to a maiden century by Shamarh Brooks and their own bowling performance, the total of 277 that West Indies got in the first innings proved to be substantial enough. Looking at the future though, Holder felt that improving the batting was key to his goal of taking West Indies higher up the rankings.

"I've said it in the last couple of series we've played: more responsibility needs to be taken by our batters," Holder said. "Once they do that and take the bull by the horns, I think our bowling attack has shown it can compete with any attack in the world. We've shown glimpses of brilliance, which is all well and good, but consistency is the name of the game. In order to be a world class team, you have to be consistent with your batting. You have to get 20 wickets of course, but you have to set it up with the bat. First innings' count for a lot. If we can put teams under pressure with our first innings scores, more often than not, West Indies will be up there among the top-ranked sides in the world."

Liga MX 2019 Apertura top scorer Alan Pulido feels his time at Chivas is up and has admitted his next destination is likely MLS.

"The reality is I'm happy, I love the team, but I feel like I've completed all the dreams I had here, I won everything I had to win and a change wouldn't be at all bad," Pulido told reporters in Guadalajara on Thursday night.

Pulido, 28, started his career at Tigres and was part of the Mexico squad at the 2014 World Cup, after which he had a stint in Greece, before returning to Mexico with Chivas in 2016.

His next destination is likely to be MLS, according to the player, and it's almost certain it would be as a designated player.

"The most likely [next move] is to go to MLS, there are some important teams that are interested in me, but we'll take it step by step," he said.

ESPN Mexico reported that one of the teams interested in Pulido is Chicago Fire, while one source told ESPN that Sporting Kansas City has registered interest.

There have been other reports that San Jose Earthquakes could be in the mix to sign Pulido, with the striker having previously worked with Earthquakes coach Matias Almeyda at Chivas. Orlando City was also mentioned as a potential destination.

Pulido has one-and-a-half years left on his contract with Chivas so any club would have to pay a transfer fee. He was won the 2017 Clausura championship and 2018 CONCACAF Champions League with Chivas.

Chivas announced the signing of Mexico international winger Uriel Antuna on Wednesday and are in the midst of reshaping their squad under new sporting director Ricardo Pelaez.

New South Wales 6 for 223 (Larkin 50, Siddle 2-40) v Victoria

New South Wales opener Nick Larkin held firm with a half-century against an in-form Victoria attack on a low-scoring day at the MCG.

Larkin was the only Blues player to pass 50 as they were reduced to 6 for 149 before an unbeaten 74-run stand from Peter Nevill and Sean Abbott saved the day for the visitors.

Victoria's attack led by Peter Siddle and James Pattinson gave nothing away with four of the five bowlers used conceding less than two runs an over. Larkin faced 116 balls for his 50 with just three fours, weathering some high-quality fast bowling from Siddle and Pattinson. His patience eventually wore thin, falling to a top-edged slog sweep off Jon Holland.

When Siddle induced a false stroke from Nick Bertus after tea, the Blues looked in danger of being bowled out for under 200. But a steadying partnership from Nevill and Abbott steered them to stumps. Nevill reach 40 not out without a boundary, while Abbott made an enterprising 45 to frustrate Victoria late on day one.

Earl Eddings, the Cricket Australia chairman, has indicated that the broad issues of anti-corruption processes and sports betting are up for discussion with the Australian Cricketers Association, though he has stopped short of meeting with its president Shane Watson to specifically address the Emily Smith WBBL case.

In a week where CA has faced criticism for banning Smith for the rest of the season after she posted the Hobart Hurricanes' batting line-up on her Instagram account an hour before the scheduled start of play, and also for its commercial relationship with sports betting, Eddings told ESPNcricinfo that the governing body needed to strike a balance between the issues of the moment and wider considerations. He spoke by phone with Watson on Thursday, and has also corresponded with the ACA's chairman Greg Dyer.

ALSO READ: Australian Cricketers Association not contesting Emily Smith ban

The integrity unit at CA, headed by Sean Carroll, is effectively ring-fenced from the rest of the governing body on the basis that it must have the authority to investigate any individual at CA, from the chairman down. It is also linked to the ICC's rigorous anti-corruption code and unit, making any intervention by CA's board or management more problematic than it might be for other issues in the game.

"I spoke to Shane Watson yesterday, Greg and I have exchanged emails. We always talk to the ACA, but our hands are tied," Eddings said. "We can't change the decision under the code of conduct. As I have said to Shane, we don't need to meet. There's other forums where we can meet, and we can't change the decision and won't change the decision. So getting the two boards together I thought was superfluous.

"While this week with the Emily Smith situation there are some disagreements about the outcome, I think it's been done respectfully and with mutual respect. Like anything it is a work in progress. We established the ACC [Australian Cricket Council] together, that's been a great initiative. [The ACC] is an advisory body to bring in leaders of Australian cricket to talk about significant strategic issues. Would the Emily Smith situation be one of those, probably not, maybe the process might be. It's about delivering the future of Australian cricket, getting all the stakeholders feeling like they've got an important say in issues that affect Australian cricket."

Dyer and Eddings have enjoyed a far more constructive relationship than previous CA/ACA chairmen, with the previous CA chairman David Peever particularly unpopular during the pay dispute in 2016-17. "I think our relationship is really strong, probably not my words but the ACA would say it is the strongest it's been since my time on the board," Eddings said. "Like anything, it's a matter of working for the good of the game and showing mutual respect.

"It doesn't mean we'll always agree, and I would expect the ACA, that's their job to come out and protect their players - if they don't do that, why are they there. So I've got no problem with them flying the flag for the players."

The parallel lines of CA's harsh integrity stance and commercial relationship with with Bet365 have also been criticised this week by the noted anti-gambling advocate Tim Costello, who addressed CA's chief executive Kevin Roberts and state and territory CEOs in Perth last December. "What Emily Smith did in simply posting a team make-up has zero consequences on the game of cricket itself, and was clearly not corrupt," Costello told News Corp. "If [CA] was serious about distancing itself from betting scandals, it would not take a single dollar from the gambling industry."

Eddings acknowledged that while community expectations around sports betting advertising are changing, any review of CA's relationship with betting would need to guard against social justice overreach.

"As a board we always consider what are the issues coming up, how does that affect our brand, is it the right thing to do," he said. "At the moment we're focused on how Australian cricket is travelling. Certainly there is a mood out there in the public, we've seen the social activism about it. At the moment we're happy to have Bet365 as a corporate partner, and we'll review that going forward.

"I think as any sport, particularly as Australia's truly national sport, we need to be really cognisant of our role in society, without being over the top and without overreaching. I think we've done that well in the last 12 months with pay equity for female players, parental leave, our transgender policy. Those are examples of where there's a broader community reach you have and a responsibility you have. We're very conscious as a board of our role, without overreaching into some of those areas."

Chris Woakes may have bowled himself on to the South Africa tour after emerging as the pick of England's seamers on the first day of the second Test in Hamilton.

A week ago, having been passed over for selection for the first Test, it looked as Woakes' chances of making that tour were receding. It was not just that he had fallen behind the seamers on this trip, it was that England are hoping to recall James Anderson and Mark Wood for that tour. Clearly, competition for places is likely to be ferocious.

But his recall here - a recall Woakes admits surprised him a little - has given him another chance. And by claiming two big scalps - Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor are both in the top four run-scorers in New Zealand's Test history, after all - Woakes has to be right back in contention.

ALSO READ: Knee injury casts doubts over Stokes' bowling role

It probably did Woakes no harm to miss the carnage of Mount Maunganui. Not only is it unlikely he would have enjoyed figures any more flattering than his colleagues', but it meant he came into this game a little fresher than the rest of the attack and with his long-standing knee issue under control. He was, notably, the second quickest of the bowlers - only Jofra Archer bowled faster and, even then, not always and not by much - and generally the most probing on a top of off stump line and length.

But we pretty much expect that from him. While there have been one or two disappointing performances in Woakes' career - he has admitted previously he thought his Test career may be over after the Centurion Test of 2016 - he has generally bowled respectably even if he has lacked potency. His problem is that, with anything other than a Dukes ball, he struggled to gain the lateral movement to trouble Test batsmen on good pitches. Before this match, he averaged 23.45 with the ball in 19 Tests in England and 61.77 in 12 Tests overseas. Put simply, his struggle has been a microcosm of England's bowlers in recent years: they just haven't been able to get the Kookaburra to do enough. It looked as if, overseas at least, England might be considering moving on from Woakes.

But even if Woakes is, at 30, something of an old dog (in fast bowling terms, anyway), he is still looking to learn new tricks. So in recent months he has added the wobble seam delivery - used to such devastating effect by Stuart Broad against David Warner - to his armoury and here gained just enough movement from conventional outswing to pose a threat.

Williamson fell to just such a conventional delivery. Forced to play, he was unfortunate enough to see the ball leave him a fraction and carry to first slip. Later Taylor, perhaps frustrated by Woakes' control - Taylor's strike rate against him was the slowest of any of the England bowlers - attempted to cut one too close to him and edged towards the cordon.

We have to be careful in judging on such a small sample size. This pitch does have an unusually lavish covering of grass - 16mm, which compares to somewhere between 4-6mm usually seen in England - and Woakes has claimed only two wickets, after all. But while his colleagues struggled to gain the movement - particularly the swing - anticipated when they inserted New Zealand, Woakes did manage to gain movement he has rarely generated with the Kookaburra. Most pertinently, while Sam Curran, straying on to the pads of Latham all too often, conceded more than four an over and gained little swing, Woakes looked both more dangerous and proved more frugal. If there is space for only one of them in the 16-man South Africa tour party - and it may well be they both travel - the selectors have a tough decision to make.

"I was a little surprised by the recall," Woakes admitted. "When you're not picked for the first Test of a two-match series you feel something has to go drastically wrong to get a go. But they decided that we were going to go with the seamer rather than the spinner.

"I don't want to give too much away to the opposition but generally to the left-hander I was using the wobble and to the right-hander I was trying to swing it," Woakes said afterwards. "I've worked hard in the nets on quite a few different skills, not just the wobble seam. The Williamson wicket left him a fraction."

Whether Woakes' performance justified England's decision to bowl first and drop Jack Leach was debatable. It seems their logic for inserting was that they expect the pitch to be at its best for batting on the second, third or even fourth day. And they may well have a point. "We didn't think we were going to bowl them out for 200," Woakes continued.

And their logic for dropping Leach? It seems they have been underwhelmed by the lack of bite in his bowling to date and are happy to rely on Joe Root and Joe Denly to provide spin bowling as required. And it's true Root, who had BJ Watling dropped at slip on 31, didn't lose too much in comparison to Leach in the first Test. It is also likely the team management were aware of Stokes' knee problem and wanted to provide some seam-bowling cover. Leach is still likely to make the South Africa (and Sri Lanka) Test squads, but Moeen Ali's stock has probably risen in his absence. Still, while England probably didn't miss Leach on day one, they may wish for his variation before the end of the match.

The other contentious selection was Ollie Pope with the gloves. Despite his relative callowness - with just five first-class games as keeper behind him, he is England's least experienced Test keeper since Dick Young, who had kept in four matches, did so (in spectacles) in 1907 - he barely fumbled a ball all day and impressed with some acrobatic takes. While the scoreboard will show he conceded four byes, they came from an Archer bouncer that Robert Wadlow, sitting astride a giraffe, would have struggled to reach. Put simply: Pope impressed. Well, you didn't expect him to show fallibility, did you?