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Champions League Playoffs – Wednesday night

August 28th, 2009

Wednesday night playoffs saw the final five teams joining 27 teams from Europe in the elite competition. The five teams that joined were Olympiacos FC, APOEL FC, Arsenal FC, VfB Stuttgartt and ACF Fiorentina. The first match saw Greek giants Olympiacos FC visiting Moldovian club FC Sheriff with a two goal advantage from the first leg. The Greeks looked comfortable throughout the match and were awarded with a goal in the 82nd minute. Kostas Mitroglou scored the only goal of the match and the match ended 0-1 to the Greek visitors. Olympiacos FC won the playoffs with a 3-0 aggregate score and qualified for the group stage of the Champions League.

In London, at the Emirates stadium, Scottish side Celtic had to score at least three goals to qualify for the group stage. Their hopes of qualifying were tarnished when Spanish referee Manuel Mejuto González awarded a penalty to the visitors when Eduardo dived in the penalty area. Television replays clearly showed that the Celtic keeper Artur Boruc had made no contact with Eduardo and he had dived unnecessarily. Eduardo converted the penalty and at half time the score was 1-0.

Eight minutes into the second half Eboue scored another one for Arsenal. Nothing was heading Celtic’s way and soon Arshavin scored the third of the night for Arsenal in the 74th minute. The night was looking gloomy for Celtic but they got a consolation goal in the injury period. Massimo Donati scored a stunner from nowhere with a cross from Andreas Hinkel.

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Posted in Arsenal, Celtic, Champions League, Scottish Premier League

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Arsenal v Celtic – Champions League Play-off 2nd Leg

August 24th, 2009

Arsenal host Scottish Premier League giants Celtic at the Emirates Stadium this coming Wednesday evening for the second leg of their Champions League play-off match, with the Gunners enjoying a two goal advantage from the first leg.

This so-called “Battle of Britain” play-off tie had all the ingredients laid out for a tasty treat, but the first leg at Celtic Park in Glasgow last week turned out anything but. Although it took two rather fortuitous goals for the London side to earn their victory, the Scots never really offered anything in return, bar a couple of half-hearted chances.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was rightly delighted with the way his team coped with the intimidating Celtic Park atmosphere at the start of the match, reducing the Glasgow din to a mere murmur the longer the game progressed.

In the lead up to this coming Wednesday evening’s game, both Arsenal and Celtic enjoyed convincing victories in their domestic league campaigns – Arsenal dispatching Portsmouth 4-1 at the Emirates, while Celtic saw off hapless St. Johnstone 5-2 at Celtic Park. With Arsenal also facing Manchester United in the league next weekend, Arsene Wenger will be sweating over the fitness of captain Cesc Fabregas who failed to return for the second half of the Pompey game due to a hamstring problem.

His participation on Wednesday evening’s game against Celtic is in serious doubt but apart from that the team have no other worries. Celtic manager Tony Mowbray has no injury worries ahead of the game in London.

Watch The Match Live!

Click Here To Watch Arsenal v Celtic Live

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Posted in Arsenal, Celtic, Champions League, Football Fixtures, Football Pre Match Review, General

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Football fever on a high

August 22nd, 2009

With the football fever on a high and spread like wild fire among all the soccer fans in the world, the Premier league that began from 19th august surely was more than welcomed.

The league kick started with one of the top favorites Arsenal taking on Stoke city and as expected from the star studded team they took it as it came and swept the game away from Stoke City by a stunning 4-0 win.

The game was filled with surprises and a little ruff play from Dean Whitehead of the stoke city landed them in a little trouble with him getting booked for unsporting game play.

The goal scorers from Liverpool were Torres, Johnson, Kuyt, Ngog.

Well the team surely have kick started there league with a bang and sent thrills down the spine of many other teams in the league.

The next match for the in form team is due on 24th august and in this game Liverpool will be taking on Aston Villa at Anfield.

It will be a very crucial match for both the teams but especially for Aston Villa who are already down the table with 1 game played and lost and are currently standing at the 16th position were as the Liverpool are inching towards the top of the chart with 3 points to there tally and are currently standing at 4th position in the table were as the chart leader Chelsea and Tottenham are each standing at the 2nd and first positions respectively with 6 points each.

Well the Liverpool bench will be really working hard to keep up the form and take this opportunity to make there way into the top 3

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Posted in Arsenal, General, Liverpool, Premier League

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Will Adebayor Exit Emirates Stadium?

August 13th, 2009

Will Adebayor Exit Emirates Stadium?

After the acquisition of Roque Santa Cruz and former Man-U’s forward striker Carlos Tevez, Mark Hughes, Manchester City’s manager seems to be on a roll and unstoppable as he seeks to revolutionize the club by signing on Arsenal’s ‘hit man’ Emmanuel Adebayor.

After his 30 goal spree in the 2007 – 2008 season, the Togolese international player became the most in-demand striker with clubs such as AC Milan and Barcelona offering bids as high as £30 million!! His failure this past season to perform an encore with such goals may see him exiting the Emirates Stadium.
Reports claim that Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger is more than willing to let the striker join the Manchester City club, proving that Arsenal might be more receptive to selling him now (before summer) than would have been in the 2008 – 2009 season.

Mark Hughes seems highly in demand for the £22 million-rated striker’s services as he sees a lot of potential in the 25-year old targetman. The Daily Mail speculates that the temperamental aspect of the former African player as well as his unruly behavior both on the pitch and in the dressing room might have resulted to his downfall and faded goodwill he once held in the fans.

All the same, his transfer to City would result in a great hope for him and the Man-City revolution.
Arsene Wenger would be able to use the price tag to acquire some of his new selection resulting in a
win-win situation if you may.

The deal is almost sealed!

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Posted in Arsenal, Football Transfer Market, General, Man U, Manchester City, Premier League

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Ashravin: I want to be consistent for Gunners

March 21st, 2009

Andrey Arshavin promised Gunners fans that there is a lot more, which they can expect of him, as he is only adjusting his life in London.

The diminutive playmaker from Russia has been one of the players, who have made an impact on the club’s performance, since he was transferred for Arsenal from Zenit St Petersburg on the deadline day.

He scored his first goal for the Gunners against Blackburn in the previous weekend. However, Arshavin feels that the transition to the English style of play is not turning out to be as smooth as it seems to the naked eye.

While speaking to Arsenal TV online, Ashravin said, ‘It hasn’t been long since I arrived here and am still trying to interact with my new teammates. So, there are cases, in which I have no idea, where should I go, run or use this place.’

‘Yes, I have played well in some of the games. Still, I would love to be consistent. At this moment, I can feel myself getting better with every game.’

The Russian International has been deploying mainly on the flanks. However, he is looking for an opportunity to get on the defense and come out of the central attacking role for sometime.

‘The boss needs to decide the position, where I can play at my best. However, if Gunners play 4-4-2, it is better that I play second forward.’

‘In case we opt for 4-3-3, I can play either on the right or on the left wing, wherever the manager tells me too.’

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Posted in Arsenal, Premier League

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Walcott out with Knee injury

March 20th, 2009

Arsenal Star, Theo Walcott, is all set for another break following an injury to his knee, which has also ruled him out of the English Under-21 squad.

Although there were hopes that Walcott would be back in the Under-21 team, who were to play against France and Norway, Gunners Manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that the forward will need some rest.

Wenger said, ‘Bad news for us and the English national side is that Walcott has got injured during training.’

‘He is going to have a scan on his knees and we will wait for the reports to comment further.’

‘At this moment, we are worried, as he was playing exceeding well since he arrived from an injury.’

‘It is too early to predict on his state to rule him out for the rest of this season. Still, this is confirmed that he is not going to be a part of our side for the Newcastle game and even be out of the England squad for their forthcoming matches.’

‘He is going to be scanned in the afternoon and we are going to assess the situation tonight.’

On being asked about the nature of this injury, Wenger said: ‘After seeing Theo locking his knee while walking back, I feel that it could be the cartilage.’

‘He was playing normally during the training, but seemed uneasy after that. So, it has to be something that happened during the training session.’

‘At this moment, we are just hoping that the injury is not serious and he recovers in time for the important legs of the current season.’

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Posted in Arsenal, Premier League

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Ferguson: No plan to retire in the near future

March 19th, 2009

Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United Boss, is not having any plans of calling time on his illustrious career in the immediate future.

Ferguson, who is widely recognized across the globe for being one of the greatest mangers in the game, has been toiling hard for the Red Devils since November 1986.

The wily Scot has accumulated an astonishing haul, when it comes to domestic & continental glories, in a career that has spanned 22 years. Even though he is in the latter part of his career, Ferguson is in no mood to leave the confident United dugout.

Red Devils have already won the Carling Cup & FIFA Club World Cup this season. They are even hot favorites for many to retain the League Title making it three in a row and eighteen overall.

His side has also advanced to the semifinal stage of the FA Cup where they will clash with Everton and are also in the last eight of the Champions League.

Even though he is not confident of seeing Manchester United achieve an unprecedented quintuple, his passion towards the game has not dimmed.

On being asked with regards to his retirement, Sir Alex Ferguson told The Guardian, ‘Not in the near future. Even though I am 67, I can feel the energy within me and even my health is good.’

‘I still have that energy, which was there when I started 22 years back. I can still hear the buzz arrive in our training ground.’

‘There is still that tingle of excitement in me when our team bus stops on away ground before every big match, whether it’s Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal.’

‘I do not know where I will stop, 2 years or even after that, but I hope to continue till I can feel the passion within me.’

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Posted in Man U, Premier League

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Ashravin: Russia will be a different team without Hiddink

March 7th, 2009

Andrey Arshavin, Arsenal midfielder, admits that Guss Hiddink can leave the Russia National side for his commitment to the Chelsea Club, which will come as a matter of distress for him.

Arshavin is not very certain that Hiddink will leave Stamford Bridge following the summer to take a full control of Russia. However, in his undertaking since February, Chelsea has been undefeated in the Premier League.

While speaking to BBC’s Football Focus, Ashravin said, ‘Everyone in the Russian National Team loves him a lot and want to be led by him.’

By getting Hiddink, Chelsea has become a stronger opponent for other teams. Thus, the Russian International is concerned that if Guss moves ahead, then Russian team will be gone as well with him.

Arshavin admitted that at the start of his life in the Premier League with Arsenal, it hardly takes time for him to join the pace of the English top flight.

He said that, ‘It’s a big difference between watching the Premier league on TV and being a part of it. Even though I have very little time in hand to make the difference, I will need to use it to create the maximum effect.’

Arshavin was influential in the Gunners 3-1 success over West Brom at the Hawthorns and gave a positive result to Gunners after four goalless draws on a trot in the league.

According to Arsene Wegner’s stratagem, former Zenit St. Petersburg midfielder will like to play in varied positions rather than playing it in a progressively favored position as in the Russian squad.

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Ronaldo: Defenders never hurt me

March 6th, 2009

Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United winger, insists that no defenders are playing the game having ill intentions of injuring him on purpose.

The challenge made by Newcastle United’s Steven Taylor on the Portuguese International just before the stroke of half time sparked an altercation that carried on during the break in the tunnel.

Even though Red Devils came on top with a 2-1 win at St. James Park, there were lots of questions that needed to be answered.

Following the tackle made on Ronaldo, there is a debate in the world of football over the playing style of the winger. Some believe that the Man U Star style is the factor that incites aggressive tackling from defenders.

According to Arsene Wenger, Arsenal Boss, Ronaldo requires protection from the Premier League referees, in case no one wishes to see a repeat of the event that took place on Wednesday.

Speaking to Daily Mail, Ronaldo dispelled the fact that defenders are always out there for roughening him up. Still, they do not wish to see him injured at any stage of the game. According to him, injuries were a part of playing in the Premier League and it cannot be completely avoided.

He said, ‘On the football pitch, I am the target for many defenders, so it is difficult for avoiding certain things.’

‘However, I do not believe that defenders are tackling on purpose. I respect the feeling that is spread through the game across the globe and I cannot expect people to compete with such an attitude and intention.’

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Posted in Man U, Newcastle United

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Wenger: Spot for Champions League is on the cards

February 28th, 2009

Arsene Wenger has no doubt that Arsenal is going to end the season on a high with a spot in the next year’s Champions League.

With Arsenal 6 points adrift of the fourth placed Aston Villa and the final berth in the Champions League, Wenger is going to take his side’s Saturday home clash to be a make of break game. He knows that his London outfit can afford very few, if any, wrong moves in the game that are remaining in the season.

In recent week, Gunners have found it difficult for finding the net with there of their previous four games ending in a 0-0 draw. What disappointed fans more were that two of the games were in the Emirates Stadium.

In spite of the woes surrounding the club, Wenger is adamant that his club has what it takes for booking a place in the elite completion in Europe.

Arsene Wenger said, ‘I know that nothing can be predicted in football. Still, there is a feeling inside of me that gives me the right notion for my side.’

‘We still have 12 games in our hand. With consistent performance and a slight attitude adjustment, we can make it.’

‘There are some impressive young players in the club, who have been the prime factor for our unbeaten streak. All they need, at this moment, is a proper guidance and some good results in the coming games.’

With their game against Fulham on the cards, Wenger will be looking forward for his side to come up with great efforts and change their fortune.

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Posted in Arsenal, Premier League

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