Arsenal kept Alexis Sanchez, but the drama is far from over

It's Sept. 1, which means transfer drama is over, right? Well, not for Arsenal. The Gunners managed to hold onto Alexis Sanchez on deadline day, but that hasn't gone over well with the player or the team they nearly sold him to: Manchester City.

City were sure they had a deal, and they're furious. There are also grumblings that the player does not want to play for Arsenal again and might even go on strike. Before the deadline, rumors emerged that Arsenal's players were sick of Sanchez's attitude and wanted him sold.

Chances are Sanchez and Arsene Wenger have a meeting, come to an agreement, and Alexis trains and plays without complaint until at least January. It doesn't do his career any good to sit out and sulk. But at this point, it's pretty clear he's not going to sign a new contract, which has some people joking that Arsenal have essentially just given up £60m to take Sanchez on a one-year loan.

Goal of the day

Check out the first goal in Cristiano Ronaldo's hat trick, which propelled him ahead of Pele in career international goals.

In the news

Wayne Rooney was arrested on a drunken driving charge early Friday morning. (Royal Blue Mersey)

Giorgio Chiellini has a calf injury and is out of Italy's World Cup qualifiers. (BWRAO)

A vote of no confidence has been launched against Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu. Signatures from 15 percent of members are needed for a new election. (Barca Blaugranes)

Rafa Benitez is fed up with Mike Ashley and would reportedly take the West Ham job if it opened up. (Guardian)

Most of the big rumored deadline-day deals didn't happen, but a few did. Biggest among them: Kylian Mbappe to PSG.

Tottenham Hotspur strengthened at right-back, adding Serge Aurier.

Fernando Llorente is also a new Spurs player.

Chelsea made two depth signings, adding Davide Zappacosta and Danny Drinkwater.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain finalized his move to Liverpool.

You should be reading

Priscilla Lopez on the homophobic "puto" chant and what can be done to combat it. (Unusual Efforts)

Sam France on Bartomeu's mistakes and Barcelona still being great at the same time. (IBWM)

Stuart Reid on new Watford signing Richarlison, who looks like a great pickup. (ESDF)

What happened on Thursday

Here are all the results from World Cup qualifiers. The most notable ones were Japan's win that secured their place at Russia 2018, France's destruction of the Netherlands, and a big upset win for Paraguay away to Chile. (FIFA)

What to watch on Friday (click for listings, all times ET)

World Cup qualifying — Here's a full listing of games. Below, some highlights.

Czech Republic vs. Germany (2:45 p.m.) — The defending world champions get to mix their stars with the Confederations Cup winning squad for the first time.

USA vs. Costa Rica (7 p.m.) — A win would seriously solidify the USMNT's place in qualifying. They need to at least draw to feel OK going forward.

Mexico vs. Panama (9:30 p.m.) — El Tri is close to securing their place in Russia, and Panama losing would be great for the Americans too.