Bernd Leno made headlines for the wrong reasons when he shoved a ball boy during <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/fulham-tv-schedule/">Fulham’s</a> game at <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/bournemouth-tv-schedule-for-us-viewers/">Bournemouth</a>. With 15 minutes left in the 90 at Vitality Stadium, Fulham trailed Bournemouth by two goals. Desperate to restart the game, the Fulham goalkeeper hunted a ball from one of the ball boys behind the Fulham goal. 



However, the ball boy did not throw the ball to the German goalkeeper when he asked for it. Instead, the Fulham ball boy cleverly held onto the ball and sauntered over to give Leno the ball. Frustrated with the ball boy, Bernd Leno shoved the Bournemouth ball boy. It was not an aggressive push, but it was enough to send a message.



At the time, Leno was sitting on a yellow card. With intentional contact to someone on the sidelines, officials generally brandish a yellow card at events like this. Yet, Leno escaped the situation without picking up his second booking. The situation did not matter for Fulham, though. The Cottagers went on to lose the game at Dean Court. Additionally, Bournemouth scored a goal to make it a three-goal lead in stoppage time, adding to Fulham’s suffering.



However, the officials removed the ball boys from around the pitch to avoid any further altercations. That ended the multi-ball protocol at the end of the match. That goes against the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Premier League’s</a> ambition to <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/efl-premier-league-refs-to-crack-down-on-time-wasting-20230728-WST-446158.html">avoid all timewasting</a> from teams in the lead.



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<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Bournemouth ball boy gets pushed by Fulham GK Bernd Leno. Proper Teutonic holiday greeting. <a href="https://t.co/vlhgzXPx4v">pic.twitter.com/vlhgzXPx4v</a>— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) <a href="https://twitter.com/MenInBlazers/status/1739692003611267244?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h2>Fulham manager insists there was no wrongdoing</h2>



After the game, Fulham boss Marco Silva claimed Leno was not overly out of line in how he acted on the pitch. The Portuguese boss claimed it was not a shove, but rather a touch. Silva said he was unsure over whether Bournemouth ball boys had instructions to delay the game as they did.



“I don’t know if it was instruction or not, but the ball boys were always delaying,” <a href="https://www.espn.in/football/story/_/id/39187855/fulham-boss-silva-insists-leno-push-bournemouth-ball-boy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Silva said</a>. “Bernd wanted to play quickly and he took the ball from the ball boy. He didn’t push him, it wasn’t strong enough and he apologized.”



Bernd Leno is unlikely to face any kind of sanctioning for the push on the ball boy. As this was not a serious interaction, the match officials dictated all the circumstances.



<h2>Bernd Leno creates latest in-game ball boy story</h2>



The Premier League has a history of interactions with ball boys, both good and bad. For example, Eden Hazard once <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/eden-hazard-ball-boy-millionaire-27820174" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">kicked a ball boy</a> at Swansea when the ball boy did not give the ball to the Belgian when he was at Chelsea. A Tottenham ball boy made a heroic play during a Champions League game when he provided a Spurs player with the ball to quickly restart the game.



Jose Mourinho, the Tottenham manager at the time, even congratulated the ball boy and gave him a tour of the first-team facilities. 



In this instance, Bernd Leno apologized to the ball boy at the Bournemouth game for shoving him. He is likely to start between the sticks when the Cottagers host league-leading Arsenal on New Year’s Eve.



PHOTO: IMAGO.

Premier League goalkeeper pushes ball boy for timewasting

Bernd Leno made headlines for the wrong reasons when he shoved a ball boy during Fulham's game at Bournemouth.

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After a busy transfer window, Arsenal’s summer departures are next in Mikel Arteta’s plan.
So far, <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/teams/arsenal-tv-schedule/">the Gunners</a> did well to bring in quality players in significant positions. Undoubtedly, center-forward Gabriel Jesus is the most important acquisition this summer. However, they also bought other reinforcements across the pitch. For example, attacking midfielder Fabio Vieira, American goalkeeper Matt Turner, and winger Marquinhos all now call the Emirates home. Plus,&nbsp;<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/teams/manchester-city-tv-schedule/">Manchester City’s</a> <a href="https:\/\/twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1548201264261079040" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oleksandr Zinchenko</a> looks set to be the north London club’s next signing. Manchester City and Arsenal reached a deal. Now, all that remains is personal terms for the Ukrainian to move to North London.
Clearly, Arsenal is not done buying players. However, the priority now is to offload quite a few fringe players.
<h3>Arsenal’s summer departures</h3>
With the turn of the season, previously loaned players return to Arsenal under contract. That includes six players that are excess to requirements in Mikel Arteta’s plans. Hector Bellerin, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Pablo Mari, Reiss Nelson, Alex Runarsson, and Lucas Torreira are all most likely entering their final days as Arsenal players.
Along with this sextet, Bernd Leno, Nuno Tavares, and Nicolas Pepe could also be on the move this summer.&nbsp;That brings the total of potential sales to nine players.&nbsp;Although most of these players fail to collect huge transfer fees, selling them all helps the club in three different ways.&nbsp;Firstly, the transfer fees. However big or small this is, it is funding. In selling these players, Arteta and technical director Edu have more at their disposal in the transfer market this summer.
Secondly, player wages in the club fall quite drastically is the aforementioned nine players depart.&nbsp;Currently, the collective nine make a total of about $812,000 per week. Selling these players saves Arsenal somewhere in the range of This means that selling these players could essentially save the club around $42 million annually in wages.
<h5>Fitting in the system</h5>
These nine players do not fit Arteta’s plans with the team. Selling them also frees up space for new recruits.&nbsp;After a campaign without European play, Arsenal return to the Europa League for the 2022/23 season. This means that the club requires a bigger squad. After all, more matches means more tired legs. If Arsenal sells all nine of these players this summer, Arteta requires a few more pieces to fill out the depth necessities of the squad.
Nevertheless, some of the possible departures need not replacement. Currently, the Gunners have five goalkeepers in the senior team. Selling Leno and Runarsson does not affect the squad. Turner arrived for direct competition to current No. 1, Aaron Ramsdale.&nbsp;In a similar situation, selling (or loaning) Bellerin and Mari would also not necessarily mean new recruits would be needed in these particular positions.
Arteta and Edu are off to a good start in bringing more talent to the team. But, Arsenal’s summer departures is just as important.&nbsp;The manager has a clear set of attributes that he wants in his players. Arsenal fans hope that he can grab a few more quality players before the start of the upcoming season.
PHOTO: James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images

After locking in a number of key arrivals, Mikel Arteta now faces alleviating the squad with Arsenal's potential summer departures.

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Premier League goalkeeper pushes ball boy for timewasting

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Signings secured, Arsenal's focus turns to summer departures