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IN Ayden Heaven, it seems Arsenal have got one hell of a player – if they can keep hold of him.

The 18-year-old centre-back made his competitive senior debut in October in the Gunners’ 3-0 win at Preston in the Carabao Cup fourth round – from the bench in the 80^th minute.

Reuters

Ayden Heaven is greeted by Mikel Arteta after his debut against Preston[/caption]

Reuters

The defender (right) made his Gunners bow in the Carabao Cup at Deepdale[/caption]

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Heaven (second left) with other Arsenal academy stars after beating Bolton in the Carabao Cup[/caption]

Before that, he was one of several academy stars to feature on the club’s pre-season summer tour of the States with boss Mikel Arteta starting him against Manchester United.

Heaven – standing at 6ft 3in and a left-footer – was at fault for United’s opener, outmuscled and outpaced by Rasmus Hojlund, but he recovered well as Arsenal won the game 2-1.

He has gone from strength to strength since then, and now rivals United are closing in on a deal to sign the defender.

HOW DO THEY PLAY AND WHO DO THEY REMIND YOU OF?

The first thing you notice about Heaven is his size and physicality, the body of a young, raw Patrick Vieira who is not afraid to get stuck in.

As shown against Hojlund in the summer, Heaven still needs time to bulk up and prove he can mix it with the biggest and most intimidating strikers in the Prem.

But Arteta remained calm in that department, mainly because of Heaven’s technique and calmness on the ball.

Avid watchers of Arsenal’s academy sides know Heaven very rarely loses his cool, appears unflappable in possession and has the ability to ping cross-field balls like a prime Steven Gerrard.

Arsenal have another William Saliba-style defender in the making – one who is big, quick and able to start attacks from deep.

TELL US ABOUT THEIR RISE?

Heaven is extremely highly thought of at Arsenal, having also made the bench for their last 16 first Champions League clash at Porto back in February.

He is a trusted member of the senior squad, expected to step up when called upon, especially after Arsenal’s injury woes at the start of this campaign.

After featuring against Preston, Heaven said: “I’ve waited a long time. Today the day finally came, I’m just happy. I thank my team-mates, my family and everyone that’s got me here.

“I feel like Mikel has trust in me. I feel that’s a big part in it and yeah, I just feel like there’s trust when it comes to making your competitive debut.”

Heaven signed for the Gunners in 2019 after being released by West Ham as a 12-year-old, having also had trials at Chelsea and Fulham – turning down the latter because training was too far from his north London home in Edmonton.

Before being picked up by Arsenal, he played for Sunday League outfit Levels – a grassroots club who give players opportunities to compete against elite football academies.

But Arsenal were always going to be his first pick given he was a boyhood fan – his idols being Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott.

Heaven explained: “Arsenal were knocking on the door and that made more sense given that, firstly I’m a fan, but also the location was much more convenient.

“Hale End was only a 15-minute drive, so everything fell into place perfectly. Signing for the club I’ve supported and my mum was so happy for me – she even cried!

“My family are so important, they’re my motivation, I’ve got two younger siblings and an older sister that mean the world to me.”

Heaven flourished under former Arsenal U18s coach Jack Wilshere, helping him get chances in the first team and training under Arteta at London Colney.

The teenager added: “The intensity is crazy! You get dizzy sometimes because it’s at such a quick tempo. The difference between under-18s, under-21s and the first team is unbelievable.”

I don’t know how many players are able to do that on a stage like this at his age

ARTETA AFTER PRE-SEASON GAME AGAINST MAN UTD

WHAT ARE THE EXPERTS SAYING?

Arteta is not one for over-hyping a young player too quickly, but the Spaniard had some nice words to say about Heaven after the pre-season victory over United.

He said post-match: “At 17, I don’t know how many players are able to do that on a stage like this.

“He’s lost a duel against one of the strongest and fastest players in the world, it can happen.

“But the reaction afterwards, the composure, the quality, the body language that he had were all remarkable. I’m really happy with him.”

WHAT DOES THE NEXT 12 MONTHS HOLD?

Heaven’s future at Arsenal is not set in stone.

After signing scholarship terms with the club last summer, he is yet sign a new deal.

His contract expires in June 2025. There was confidence an agreement could be made for such a young talent in the coming months.

But United emerged as contenders to nab the Gunners academy product as they look to bolster their defence.

The Red Devils made contact with Arsenal over signing the teenager and lead the transfer race over Barcelona and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Arsenal still hope to keep hold of Heaven and have started talks over a new contract offer to persuade him to stay.

A MUM-OF-THREE was left fuming after being fined an eye-watering £320 for taking her children on a fun winter holiday to Lapland.

Mum Danielle, who jetted off to the tourist hotspot earlier this month, dubbed the hefty fine ”absolutely ridiculous”.

TikTok / @daniellemsands23

TikTok / @daniellemsands23

Taking kids out of school for holidays is frowned upon as it can disrupt their education.

Last year, Labour’s Bridget Phillipson slammed “disrespectful” parents who do so.

As of August 2024, the fine for school absences across the country rose from £60 to £80 if paid within 21 days.

If parents fail to pay a fine issued within 21 days, they will have to pay double – £160, to be precise, up from the previous £120.

The Department for Education said this rate tallies with inflation, and is the first time the amount has gone up since 2012.

Parents can only accrue two fines within a three-year period – however, once this limit has been reached, additional actions such as parenting order, or prosecution will be implemented.

However, this hasn’t stopped some families from going abroad during term time, especially as they can often find cheaper holiday deals when it’s off-season.

Raging about the fine, Danielle said her family were in Lapland, Finland, for a week and she viewed the time-off as an ”educational trip”.

”I actually wrote a letter of every single thing that we were gonna be doing in Lapland and how education this trip was gonna be,” she was fuming in the video.

”We weren’t sitting on a beach or random pool laying down for seven days – we actually had activities that we were doing every single day.

”It’s stuff that my children were never ever gonna gain by sitting in a classroom.”

Some of the things she had noted down in the list included ”seeing and learning all about the Northern lights” along with a special ”tool book” that explained the phenomenon and visiting ”a husky safari” where they’d be ”learning about the history of dog sledding”.

She went on in the video: ”Reindeer tour – learning about the culture of reindeer and reindeer herding, getting to meet and feed the reindeer and experience a reindeer sleigh ride.

”Snowmobiles – learning about different means of travel in Finland, learning how to drive a snowmobile and we got to drive over a frozen lake and to experience the wilderness of the Finnish Lapland.

”We also crossed the Arctic Circle and there’s basically so much more.

”We got to meet the real Father Christmas, of course, we got to experience skiing,” she listed the fun activities the family got up to.

In the video, Danielle said she was ”gutted” the school couldn’t see the seven-day holiday ”as an education trip”.

Slamming the system, the mother-of-three shared her confusion about her daughter’s Year 6 upcoming ”residential trip” that’s booked in the UK.

”They’re going for three, four nights – and that’s acceptable?”

Although Danielle was fuming, she didn’t blame the school – and instead, was furious at ”the government, the corruption, the council”.

In her eyes, schools should finally stand with the parents and mark the educational trips as ”authorised absence”.

According to the mum, who said they’d ”play the game” from now on, explained the same holiday would set the family back a whopping £6,000 to £7,000.

”But if I take them out during September when there’s a couple of inset days, it’s like £1,000 cheaper.

”I understand why they have things set in place – but we should be allowed to have at least one holiday with our children a year,” said Danielle, adding her partner works long hours and ”doesn’t get to see his children”.

”Nine times out of then, he’s home when the children are in bed. On the weekends sometimes he does private work or we’re busy catching up on things we can’t do during the week.”

‘It’s all about the money’

Hundreds of social media users flooded to the comments – where a fierce debate took place.

Whilst many agreed with Danielle and her frustration, others thought the implemented fine was essential for education.

One said: ”Could you imagine all 30 children in a class taking 1-2 weeks off school during term time? You could have a child missing every week of the year.”

Someone else chimed in: ”I think schools should now double the fines, it’s quite clear the current levels are not being respected by middle class parents.”

A third wrote: ”As a teacher I’m totally against these fines. The only thing I would say is that the teacher shouldn’t be expected to have to repeat anything that the kid has missed, exams or anything.”

”It’s all about the money. They don’t care about the kids,” is how another person felt.

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A FORMER Hockey coach accused of stabbing his wife to death in bed after he began seeing another woman claimed she took her own life, a court heard.

Mohamed Samak, 42, has denied killing Joanne Samak, 49, at their home in Droitwich Spa in the early hours of July 1, 2024.

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Mohammed Samak, 42, denies killing his wife Joanne Samak, 49[/caption]

Facebook

Joanne was found dead in the early hours of July 2024[/caption]

West Mercia Police

Mohamed waited for more than an hour before calling 999 for Joanne[/caption]

The Egyptian sportsman was arrested by West Mercia Police after his alleged victim was found at the address with what police described as unsurvivable injuries.

He claims his wife stabbed herself in the stomach and chest after struggling with her mental health and alcohol, drinking two bottles of wine four times a week.

But prosecutors said Samak was seeking to characterise his wife as “an out-of-control alcoholic in order to bolster his account that Joanne took her own life”.

He waited for more than an hour before calling 999 and then “did nothing” to help his dying wife before telling a “pack of lies” about what had happened, the court heard.

Opening a trial at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday, lead prosecutor Mr Harpreet Sandhu KC told the jury that Samak killed his wife after becoming interested in another woman and experiencing financial difficulties.

Samak previously worked for £57,000-a-year public school Malvern College.

The prosecutor said Samak, who was a hockey coach who had previously worked with the under-18 Welsh national team, had “kept an eye” on his status as an alleged beneficiary of Joanne’s life insurance policy and pension.

Joanne, who was to have begun working at her new interior design business on the day of her death, was said to be the “breadwinner” of the household.

Defendant Samak had been seeking the assistance of financial advisers while struggling with his mental health, the court was told.

Mr Sandhu told the jury that Samak had killed his wife, but lied to police by claiming she had instead “stabbed herself repeatedly” before he found her slumped on a bed with a knife in her stomach.

The defendant alleged he had found Joanne, who slept in a separate bedroom from her husband, at about 4.10am after he woke to use the toilet, and immediately phoned 999.

But Mr Sandhu, who said a post-mortem examination found six stab wounds on Joanne, including one to the chest, accused the defendant of later changing his account “to fit the evidence”.

During a police interview, Samak was told neighbours had claimed to have heard screaming at about 3am.

He told officers he was awoken by a noise coming from the bathroom at about the same time.

Samak allegedly looked out from his bedroom, saw Joanne holding a knife, screaming and “trying to stab herself”, the court was told.

When he tried to help her, he said she went into the bedroom and continued to stab herself before landing on the bed.

He claimed to have waited an hour before calling the emergency services because he was crying and “struggling to breathe”.

‘HAPPY AND LOVED’

The court heard that Samak, who moved to the UK after marrying Joanne in 2014, claimed his wife was struggling with her mental health and alcohol at the time of her death.

But friends and family, including her brother, Mark Vale, who gave evidence on Tuesday, denied this and said “she was happy” and “loved her work” as an interior designer.

She was also said to be “excited” about her new business venture and was planning a party and trip to Paris for her upcoming 50th birthday.

Mr Sandhu said: “The police spoke to over 30 of Joanne’s family, friends and colleagues. The police also spoke to the defendant, Mohammed Samak. 

“Of all those people, Mohammed Samak was the only person who suggested that Joanne showed signs of instability so that she might take her own life.”

Mr Sandhu told jurors that on a night out with friends shortly before her death, Joanne had spoken about the “difficulties” in her marriage.

“She said she did not love him and would divorce him if she could but believed he ‘would not survive’ in the UK without her,” he told the court.

Jurors were told Samak had also been in contact with a woman called Fadila Fadou.

Mr Sandhu said that from messages the pair exchanged it was clear “he had feelings for her and he envisaged some sort of future relationship with her”.

The court heard that in May last year, the pair met in London for dinner after Samak “somewhat ironically” got his wife to sort out his parking for him. 

Messages sent afterwards suggested they had “kissed or at the very least come very close to kissing each other” while further messages indicated he had said he was not happy in his marriage.

STABBING HORROR

Joanne suffered six stab wounds and died as a result of a wound to her chest.

Samak claimed to have moved her to perform CPR but police officers who arrived at the scene noticed he had no blood on his hands while paramedics deduced she had been dead for some time.

Mr Sandhu said that while on the phone to the emergency services Samak was asked if his wife had stabbed herself.

He said: “That is not a difficult question. In response to that he said this ‘I think so, I think so’.

“If it really were that Joanne had stabbed herself, it should have been a very clear ‘yes she did”.

“There were reasons why he was not being clear. He knew that Joanne had not stabbed herself and he could not bring himself to say that he had stabbed her.’

“The reality is that he defendant did nothing to help Joanne… you see the defendant already knew that Joanne was dead because he had stabbed over an hour before he had made the call to 999 and he knew any attempts to try to resuscitate Joanne were going to be futile.

“This was not a man overcome by emotion following the death of his wife but a man who was thinking carefully about what he was going to say and why he was going to say it.

“By the time he called emergency services in truth there was nothing they could do…”

Prosecutors said: “On the one hand, (there is) a woman who had everything to live for, a woman who had made lots of future plans that decided to take her own life.

“Alternatively, her husband, who was interested in another woman, had financial concerns and had an eye on what he might get if she died, killed her.”

The trial continues.

SCOTT MILLS says he would welcome Liam Payne’s father Geoff as a guest on his new Radio 2 Breakfast Show, after it was revealed he was a fan.

The DJ said on air during his previous afternoon slot in October that he was in touch with the late One Direction singer’s grieving father following Liam’s death, and he has now offered him an open invite.

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The DJ said in October that he was in touch with the late One Direction singer’s grieving father following Liam’s death[/caption]

In an exclusive chat, Scott told us: “He would like to, I think.

“I would definitely get him on the air at some point.

“I would love that because he is a funny man.

“I went to the funeral and it was just heartbreaking because I’ve known him . . .

“The weird thing about Geoff is that he always just texts in.

“He used to text into the Radio 1 show and now he texts into the Radio 2 show.

“And you always know it’s him because he just signs off, ‘Geoff from Wolverhampton’.

“At the premiere of the One Direction film, I remember Liam coming up to me going, ‘Scott, this is embarrassing.

“I’m really sorry about my dad.

“He really wants a picture. Do you mind?’.

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Liam died last year after an accident in Argentina[/caption]

“I’ve met him a couple of times, a few times after that, and I’ve spoken to him a few times.”

Recalling seeing him again at Liam’s funeral, Scott continued: “When I saw him that day, my heart was just breaking because it was just – as it would be with any parent losing their son – it was just heartbreaking to speak to him.

“We did say let’s keep in touch. And we do.

“I still text him and just check in on how he’s doing.”

Paris perky in pink

IT has been a hard year so far for Paris Hilton after her Malibu home burnt down in the Los Angeles wildfires.

But she is doing what she does best – brushing herself off and putting on a pretty outfit to lift her spirits.

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Paris Hilton was snapped in a pale pink dress with matching bag, coat and shades[/caption]

The reality star looked remarkably put together while out in New York, in a pale pink dress with matching bag, coat and shades.

She was in the city to host the third annual Young Hearts Friend Fest fundraiser to encourage youngsters to volunteer in their communities.

And back home in California, she has been helping the fire-ravaged community by supporting worthy causes and fostering dogs from owners who are trying to find new homes to live in.

She has put up with plenty of mocking over the years, but Paris really is a good ’un.

Night is Yung for Burns pals

YUNGBLUD likes to party – and he doesn’t give a dram who knows it.

The Patience singer looked a l­ittle jaded after spending Burns Night ­boozing with Lewis Capaldi and Fontaines D.C. rocker Grian ­Chatten.

Eroteme

Eroteme

The singer was also snapped in Camden with Lewis Capaldi[/caption]

My exclusive pictures show Yungblud – real name Dominic Harrison – as they partied in Camden, North London.

Onlookers told me the trio spent a few hours at the ­Camden Town Brewery before heading on to an after-party.

They said: “Dom, Lewis and Grian were partying hard and really enjoying ­themselves.

“They played some pool and drank a fair bit in some of Dom’s favourite pubs before leaving.”

Dom only lives locally so luckily the stagger home was quick.

Eroteme

The musicians outside a pub in North London[/caption]

Al: Guys want me for Adele

ALAN Carr has revealed that dating is tough because blokes only want to get close to him to meet his pal Adele.

The comedian’s marriage to his former husband was officiated by the Rolling In The Deep singer – and clearly some men hope she could repeat the favour again.

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Alan Carr is friends with singing superstar Adele[/caption]

Alan said: “People are just psychopaths.

“They go, ‘When can we meet Adele?’, and I’m like, ‘F*** you’.”

Alan is back in the dating game after the end of his marriage in 2022.

He told Paloma Faith on her podcast Mad, Sad & Bad: “I’m putting my toe back in.

“My ­problem is I’ve slagged myself off so much I’ve started to believe my own act.”

Gordon in the moo-vies

HE is renowned for shouting the F-word, but this time it’s “Flora”.

Gordon Ramsey jumped on a cow and rode it in a new ad campaign for the plant-based spread to try to big it up as a vegan-friendly alternative to butter.

Flora/Supplied

Gordon Ramsay in a new ad campaign for Flora[/caption]

He said he used Flora to whip up a cake, which he proudly held aloft while straddling the beast.

Somehow, I doubt using that will stop him from serving up helpings of beef in his restaurants.

HE is already one of the busiest men in music, working with everyone from Beyonce to Ariana Grande.

And at the age of 72, Chic legend Nile Rodgers is now branching out with an entirely new project — a Broadway adaptation of hit 1980 movie The Blues Brothers.

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Chic legend Nile Rodgers is working on a Broadway adaptation of hit 1980 movie The Blues Brothers[/caption]

I can reveal Nile is currently helping to craft the score, which is expected to include original numbers as well as songs from the comedy classic.

While it is just getting going, show bosses hope to ­eventually bring the production to the UK.

A source said: “Nile loves the film and jumped at the chance to get on board.

“The whole process is still in the very early stages so it won’t be opening for a while but he has officially signed on to the project.

“The current focus is to get a successful run on Broadway but once that is complete, the dream is to bring it to London’s West End.”

Released 45 years ago, the cult movie starred John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood Blues, and featured a string of hits and cameos from music legends Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and James Brown

A sequel, Blues Brothers 2000, was released in 1998, with new music from Eric Clapton and Bb King.

Nile’s venture into musicals comes just months after Elton John opened a stage adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada.

The Chic frontman, who has won six Grammys, scored hits including Get Lucky with Daft Punk and has written for David Bowie and Madonna.

He has a packed summer ahead, with a run of shows across the UK including gigs in Chelmsford and Oxford.

The Sun also revealed how Nile will be taking to the main Pyramid Stage at ­Glastonbury this June.

The musician and his band will perform on the Sunday, after pal Rod Stewart wraps up the Legends slot.

Broadway and West End film adaptations have had mixed success, but with Nile involved I’m sure this one is going to be a winner.

Alamy

Blues Brothers starred John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood Blues[/caption]

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