Simon Akpaasou's Blog

After seeing Arsenal's restart optimism washed away in a Manchester downpour, Mikel Arteta spoke of needing to 'delete the 3-0 loss from the hard drive'. Arteta no doubt wishes he could do something similar with Mesut Ozil. The German didn't even make Arsenal's 20-man squad at the Etihad Stadium with the Gunners manager answering 'tactical reasons' when pressed for an explanation. Not many words but it spoke volumes for the absurd situation Arsenal find themselves in with a player who costs them a cool £350,000 each and every week yet doesn't even make the squad for one of the biggest games of the season. With the enforced three-month break promising to throw an element of chaos into the Premier League season, Arsenal might have sniffed an opportunity to inflict a rare defeat on City. And so, logically, you'd want your top earner and by extension one of your best players, to at least be there on the night. But no - Ozil wasn't carrying an injury

At least 20 Indian soldiers have died after a "violent face-off" with Chinese troops along the countries' de facto border in the Himalayas late Monday, the Indian army has said. The incident occurred during a "deescalation process" underway in the Galwan Valley in the disputed Aksai Chin-Ladakh area, where a large troop build-up has reportedly been taking place for weeks now on both sides of the border, before senior military commanders began talks earlier this month. The Indian army had earlier said three soldiers had died, but added on Tuesday that a further 17 troops "who were critically injured in the line of duty at the standoff location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries." The deaths are the first military casualties along the two countries' disputed border for more than 40 years. According to the earlier Indian army statement, there was loss of life "on both sides," bu

WASHINGTON – Today, in a coordinated action with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against six Nigerian nationals for conducting an elaborate scheme to steal over six million dollars from victims across the United States. The individuals designated today targeted U.S. businesses and individuals through deceptive global threats known as business email compromise (BEC) and romance fraud. American citizens lost over $6,000,000 due to these individuals’ BEC fraud schemes, in which they impersonated business executives and requested and received wire transfers from legitimate business accounts. Money was also stolen from innocent Americans by romance fraud, in which the designees masqueraded as affectionate partners to gain trust from victims. “Cybercriminals prey on vulnerable Americans and small businesses to deceive and defraud them,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “As technological advancement increasi

Tensions between China and the UK continue to mount over plans for a new security law in Hong Kong, after Boris Johnson said he would allow Hong Kong residents citizenship in response to China's recent crack down Beijing has warned they will "strike back" against the UK as tensions continue to mount over a new security law. The law, in China, will alter Hong Kong's mini-constitution, or Basic Law, to require its government to enforce measures to be decided later by Chinese leaders. China's ceremonial legislature, the National People's Congress, endorsed a security law for Hong Kong earlier this week that has strained relations with the UK and the US. The law led to Boris Johnson saying he is ready to open the door to nearly three million Hong Kong citizens if China imposes it, which critics say would rob the territory of its autonomy. The Prime Minister, writing in The Times, has offered to make what he says would be one of the "biggest changes" in t

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is reportedly set to start Paul Pogba on the substitutes bench against Tottenham on Friday - meaning his potential partnership with Bruno Fernandes in midfield will have to wait Pogba has not played Boxing Day and has featured just twice since September due to a number of ankle issues, but the French World Cup winner is now fully fit after the three-month break of football due to the coronavirus crisis. And after Bruno hit the ground running following his £68m move from Sporting Lisbon in January, many United fans are excited to see their two star midfielders pair up - but that won't be the partnership from the beginning on Friday, according to The Athletic. Pogba is understood to have 'trained well since lockdown began' but nonetheless, United are said to be working on a starting XI without the 27-year-old. Instead, Solskjaer could turn to 2019-20 starting XI regular Fred, as well as Scott McTominay or Nemanja Matic in the centre

Chelsea have been linked with a sensational move for Cristiano Ronaldo this summer. The Premier League club have already signed Hakim Ziyech and appear close to sealing a deal for Timo Werner. Now, according to the global press, the Blues are prepared to part with 120 million euros to bring Ronaldo to Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese international only arrived at Juventus in 2018 for 117 million euros and, although he's been an important part of the team since then, he's looked a bit off the pace recently. Ronaldo's reputation in the Premier League is still sky high following his 118 goals for Manchester United over a decade ago.

19-year-old Manchester United player, Angel Gomes, has reacted to a viral video of his visit to prophet TB Joshua’s Church for healing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfHCl3BYgtY Regarding the video that has come out from 2016. I am from a Christian family at the time my mum was a fan of the pastor, and she really wanted me to go. I was going through some issues. From the outside looking in it looks crazy, but I was just practicing my faith. I didn’t really need to explain myself but a lot of people was asking me what the video was about. I was young at the time and if my parents thought something was best for Me I would do it. There are far more important issues out there in the world we can tackle. For example #FreeSchoolMeals #maketheUturn !!!!!

Get some vitamin D. Christiano Ronaldo advise fans https://mobile.twitter.com/Cristiano_Ronaldo/status/1272585066267447297?p=v

Ms Li, 29, forced an emergency landing after the pilot of Loong Airlines Flight 8528 made an unscheduled stop at Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport, which is in the capital of Henan Province in Central China A furious woman smashed a plane window mid-flight after reportedly becoming upset over her failed relationship. Ms Li, 29, forced an emergency landing after the pilot of Loong Airlines Flight 8528 made an unscheduled stop at Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport, which is in the capital of Henan Province in Central China. Airport authorities said Ms Li “lost control of her emotions” on the flight on 25th May, with footage showing her crying in her seat while cabin crew and passengers try to restrain her. She is thought to have been dumped by her lover, and Zhengzhou police said she drank half a litre of the Chinese grain alcohol known as ‘baijiu’, which has a typical alcohol by volume of between 35 to 60 percent. Ms Li drank two 250-millilitre bottles of baijiu prior to bo

This throwback video of Manchester United's Angel Gomes being healed by Prophet TB Joshua at The Synagogue Church of All Nations has gone viral on social media. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfHCl3BYgtY