Borja Bastón - fulfilling a father's dream. From Arsenal to Spain - the journeys of three footballers (21st June, 2017)

Miguel Bastón was a goalkeeper who played for Atlético - but only with its reserves - and spent most of his career with Real Burgos CF. His dream of playing for the first team of the club that he graduated from never materialized.

Born in Madrid, Borja arrived in his hometown club Atlético Madrid's youth system at the age of four. He began as a goalkeeper, the position which his father played professionally, but he converted him to a forward so that he could enjoy the game more. He made his senior debuts in the 2009–10 season, scoring 12 goals for the reserve team in the third division.

On 15 May 2010, in the campaign's last round, Borja made his first-team and La Liga debut, coming on as a substitute for Tiago in the 58th minute of the game against Getafe CF. He had fulfilled his father's dream.

That dream, however, faded quickly.

Twenty minutes later, he was stretchered off with a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury on his left knee, in an eventual 0–3 home loss.

He never played for the first team again - seven months after his injury, Borja re-appeared with Atlético B, and played with them in the 2010-11 season. He then spent five seasons on loan at five different clubs, before joining Swansea permanently.

At the end of the 2016 FA WSL season, three Spaniards left Arsenal as quickly as they had come. Natalia Pablos, Marta Corredera and Vicky Losada left the club and went back to Spain.

This is the story of their rise before joining Arsenal.

Until 2013 she was the captain of Rayo Vallecano women's team, where she played since the club's foundation in 2000. At Rayo, Natalia won three league titles and one Spanish Cup. She was the league's top scorer of the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons with 24 and 29 goals respectively.

In March 2013, she left the club having scored 311 goals in 324 matches overall - joining compatriot Laura del Río at the Bristol Academy in the English FA WSL. A female version of Michu, said Bristol manager Mark Sampson.

In December 2014 Natalia left Bristol Academy to join Arsenal Ladies.

Corredera signed for Arsenal in July 2015, from Barcelona where she had won four consecutive Primera División titles since 2011.

Losada's career in the Primera División - with the exception of one season (the 2007–08 season which she played for Espanyol) - was spent at Barcelona where she won four Leagues and three Spanish Cups.

In 2014, she played in the American NWSL for Western New York Flash, where she was voted the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Player of the Week by the media for Week 1 of the 2014-15 season. She returned to Barcelona after the season ended.

Arsenal announced the signing of Losada on January 22, 2015 having previously worked with manager Pedro Martínez Losa in the United States.

Natalia returned to Rayo in 2017, scoring 20 goals in just half a season to help the club finish in 7th place and qualify for the Copa de la Reina. Corredera moved to Atlético Madrid in 2016, where she won yet another league title. And Losada returned to Barcelona in 2016 too, missing out on the title by two points.

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Ismael Urzaiz and Salamanca. A 22 team La Liga. Trust and Víctor Casadesús (9th June, 2017)

Salamanca traveled to Albacete to compete for promotion to La Liga with an impossible task on their hands. They had to overturn a 2-0 deficit away from home, against a side that entered La Liga's relegation playoff spots on the final day, and who had scored 44 goals in the league - just four less than Salamanca themselves. As the clock ticked towards the 90th minute, Salamanca were winning 1-0 yet in danger of losing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Born in Tudela, Navarre, Urzaiz began his professional career at Real Madrid's B-side, making his debut in Segunda División in 1989. Despite being a successful youth international, he did not make any La Liga appearances for the first team (however, he did play one game against Odense BK, in the 1990–91 European Cup). Urzaiz spent the 1991–92 season on loan at Albacete Balompié, making his top flight debut when he came on as a substitute against Athletic Bilbao in October 1991. In early 1993, he was loaned to Celta de Vigo

Non-league Incider: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers

Last game: 8th August: Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 East Thurrock United The previous day, I was blown away by my first ever football match experience. Dulwich Hamlet impressed me, but what impressed me more was the journey. The travel to the stadium was just as enjoyable as the football itself. I had caught the groundhopping bug. There were no games scheduled for the 9th of August. There was one, near Wigan, and all I had booked earlier was a refundable bus ticket from Manchester Airport leaving at quarter past midnight. I should have refunded it. This was a mistake. This whole day was a mistake. I was only slightly hungover from the previous night, but that was nothing compared to this feeling of loss - I couldn't handle the fact that there was a game happening. And I wasn't too far away. Just three hours and a bit. They'll fly by , I thought. I was in autopilot. Something within me made me get up, grab a bag, and get out the door. This wasn't me. I wasn't trave

Non-league Incider: Cray Valley Paper Mills 4-4 Punjab United Gravesend

Last game: 9th August: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers After ripping up my groundhopping calendar, mostly because I was determined to avoid overnight travel, and partly due to other commitments, there was a period of time where non-league football took a backseat. But that period did not last long. Because of course it didn't. Secretly, I'd loved travelling over ten hours back-and-forth to watch some 10th division football. And this was 9th division football in London. When I had gone to East Dulwich exactly a week back , I had commented on how the amount of graffiti struck me as I watched from on board a southeastern train. I was going the exact same way, but much further this time - then I had stopped at Denmark Hill, now I would have to go six stations further. The graffiti I had thought was so emblematic of south London quickly disappeared, as did the tall buildings desperately cluttered together. We, and by we I mean me, were going to the suburb

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