Young Chelsea fan holds up brutal sign telling Mauricio Pochettino's flops he 'DOESN'T want their shirts' during 5-0 Arsenal drubbing, before captain Conor Gallagher responds
So much for The Choke. Resurgent Arsenal humiliated Chelsea in 5-0 rout, writes OLIVER HOLT, while Blues look half a team without Cole Palmer
Mauricio Pochettino is 'tripping himself over not to have a go at his players', says Martin Keown as he urges Chelsea manager to have 'harsh words' after 5-0 drubbing at Arsenal
PLAYER RATINGS: Four Chelsea stars score just 3.5/10 in woeful 5-0 defeat at Arsenal… while Martin Odegaard was class personified
THE NOTEBOOK: Wizardry of Leandro Trossard keeping Arsenal in title contention, Gunners replace club crest with cannon and Chelsea's Champions League taunts fall flat
Premier League pair are arrested over rape: Football stars, both aged 19, are questioned by detectives who raided team's stadium after alleged offence reported to police
Arne Slot's hefty compensation fee revealed as Liverpool consider move for Feyenoord boss to replace Jurgen Klopp
Is it time Liverpool let Mo Salah go? It sounds unthinkable, but Kop legend is nearly 32 with only a year left on his deal
Can Everton dent Liverpool's title hopes in tomorrow's Merseyside derby? The Toffees are 6/1 to stun Jurgen Klopp's men at Goodison Park
MAN UNITED CONFIDENTIAL: Kobbie Mainoo's meteoric rise to be rewarded, Avram Glazer's awkward answer to Erik ten Hag question - and fans push to change controversial ticketing rule
Revealed: The email that left Roman Abramovich's Chelsea chief Marina Granovskaia, 'football's most powerful woman', feeling 'physically threatened' in agent row over £300,000 transfer payments
Ruud Gullit on why he labels Chelsea's last two years as 'horrible', the root of Man United's problems... and Taylor Swift's NFL takeover
Leicester 5-0 Southampton: Hosts on brink of Premier League return after Abdul Fatawu nets hat-trick in rout... with Saints' automatic promotion hopes all but over
Fans rage as Nicolas Jackson 'gets away' with 'deliberately stomping' on Takehiro Tomiyasu during Arsenal's clash with Chelsea
Did he mean it? Ben White's second goal against Chelsea causes a debate online with fans questioning whether he was shooting or not... as Arsenal defender says: 'I'll let everyone else decide'
Nicolas Jackson has to be 'braver' insists Ally McCoist as struggling Chelsea striker wastes huge goalscoring chance against Arsenal
Oscar Pistorius is pictured for the first time as a free man: See the Mail's world exclusive pictures of paroled killer after he piled on the pounds in prison and had to get new prosthetic legs
Unai Emery agrees a new three-year contract at Aston Villa to snub his spot on Bayern Munich's shortlist - and now they look set to turn to Man United flop Ralf Rangnick after Xabi Alonso and Julian Nagelsmann rejections
Revealed: Why Rasmus Hojlund complained about Bruno Fernandes to Erik ten Hag, as the manager - who looks set for an exit before fixing the 'no good culture' - hides his fury at Man United
Arne Slot has been compared to Pep Guardiola, is 'the most attack-minded coach in the Netherlands since Johan Cruyff' and 'holds all the power at Feyenoord'... what Liverpool fans can expect if he replaces Jurgen Klopp
Feyenoord head coach Arne Slot emerges as strong contender to succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager after pursuit of bookies' favourite Ruben Amorim appears to go cold
Liverpool 'set to land HUGE multi-year Adidas kit deal from 2025 as Reds part ways with Nike'... but it will 'fall well short of Man United's record £90m contract with the global sports brand'
Erik ten Hag slams Man United critics as a 'disgrace' after 'embarrassing' backlash to FA Cup semi-final win over Coventry as the Dutchman insists 'top football is about results'
Arsenal and Man City 'set to fight for the signing of £100m-rated Newcastle star Bruno Guimaraes' - as the Magpies face losing key players this summer to comply with financial rules

Liverpool star Downing arrested after allegedly punching ex-girlfriend after nightclub row

By Sportsmail Reporter
Updated: 13:00 EDT, 8 January 2012

Liverpool face fresh turmoil after midfielder Stewart Downing was arrested on suspicion of assault following allegations of hitting an ex-girlfriend in a nightclub row.

The England international, 27, was arrested after a late night fracas at a club in the upmarket suburb of Yarm, near Middlesborough, at about 1am on Sunday morning.

It is the latest incident to rock the Anfield club, coming hot on the heels of the arrest of a 20-year-old man for allegedly racially abusing Oldham defender Tom Adeyemi on Friday night.

Trouble: Stewart Downing (right) was arrested near Middlesbrough

The club also remain embroiled in a second race row with Luis Suarez serving an eight-match ban for abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

It is claimed that Downing assaulted his ex-partner, with whom he is thought to have a child, after rowing with her while drinking at the Cross Keys club on Yarm High Street.

A local source told the Mail Online that there had been an incident between the two of them.

'She went over to one of his friends and said something that she shouldn't have,' the source said.

In the beginning: Midfielder Downing began his career at Middlesbrough

'He butted in and they were arguing.' It's then that the source alleged that he hit her.

The source continued: 'Police got there as they were thrown out. He caused a scene outside the club as well, when he realised they were going to take him in.'

Downing, who comes from nearby Middlesborough, is thought to have been back in town visiting old friends.

After coming up through the Middlesborough academy, he made almost 200 appearances for the club before joining Aston Villa.

Target: Downing scored his first goal for Liverpool against Oldham

He made an £18 million move to Liverpool last summer but has struggled to make his mark at Anfield but did score his first goal for the club in Friday's 5-1 FA Cup win over Oldham.

Referring to last night's incident, a police spokesman said: 'Police were called to an incident at a pub on Yarm High Street.

'A 27-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assault and a 32-year-old woman has also been arrested on suspicion of assault.

'Both are in custody and inquiries are ongoing.'