EPL : Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal

With little at stake for either side other than pride, both sets of fans arrived for a relaxed end of season afternoon, and that atmosphere was reflected on the pitch.

Theo Walcott handed Arsene Wenger a winning finish to the season with the only goal at Sunderland.

The England Under-21 international fired home from Gilberto's 24th-minute pass to claim the points as the Black Cats fought them all the way to the whistle.

In truth, had the Gunners been more clinical in front of goal, with Emmanuel Adebayor and Gilberto both passing up good opportunities, they might have won more comfortably.

However, they were not (as usual this season) and the Wearsiders kept them at full-stretch to the end with Roy O'Donovan going close and Michael Chopra seeing appeals for a late penalty waved away.

In the event, one goal was enough for Arsenal to cement their position in third place as Roy Keane's men ended a tough campaign with a home defeat, but a spirited display which was warmly applauded by a sell-out crowd of 47,802.

VIDEO LINK :
Sunderland 0 - 1 Arsenal
24 [0 - 1] T. Walcott

(Theo Walcott's goal only - sorry)

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EPL : Derby 2-6 Arsenal (w. Video link)

Arsenal finally kicked to life in the second half of their game against Derby County to simply outscore their relegated opponents.

The Arsenal side had a distinctly young look about it early on - and Derby actually played well for the first 30-40 minutes pressing the Arsenal side into several mistakes.

Adebayor's presence after the break solidified the side, as did the switch of Brazilian midfielders with Gilberto on for Denilson giving the side a better balance.

Still six goals in the end - and of course a couple leaked at the other end - but you cannot grumble about the entertainment level that Arsenal offered ... and it was noticable that even the local Derby supporters stayed to watch right to the final whistle.

Here is all the video coverage - all eight goals !!
Derby 2-6 Arsenal - video.

Arsenal :
Fabianski, Toure (Djourou 78), Gallas, Song Billong, Clichy, Eboue, Fabregas, Denilson (Silva 64), Walcott, Van Persie (Adebayor 46), Bendtner.

Goals :
Bendtner 25, Van Persie 39, Adebayor 59, Walcott 78, Adebayor 81, 90.

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Red shirts dominate PFA team of the year.

The PFA team of the year at a star-studded ceremony at London's Grosvenor House Hotel on Sunday April 27th.

Five clubs were represented in the side, with 9 of the 10 outfield players normally wearing red shirts.

Manchester United had three representatives in Cristiano Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic while Arsenal had four players with Cesc Fabregas, Adebayor, Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy featured in the side.

Liverpool duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres were included, as was Portsmouth goalkeeper David James and Aston Villa midfielder Ashley Young.

Interestingly, Chelsea's strong attempts to win titles in the Premier League and Champions League were not regcognised at an individual level with no Blues players featuring.

Perhaps that reflects the dour controlled style at the Bridge, or a team that is based more on hardwork and flair? Chelsea may yet get much more tangible team rewards for their efforts - so was the team picked too soon?

PFA Premier League team of the year:
G : David James (Portsmouth),
D : Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd), Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd), Gael Clichy (Arsenal),
M : Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd), Ashley Young (Aston Villa),
A : Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Liverpool).

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EPL : Arsenal 2-0 Reading (w. video link)

Arsenal cruised to a 2-0 win over Reading at the Emirates with two goals before halftime.

Emmanuel Adebayor opened the score with a shot from inside of the box after some very good control to beat a defender while Gilberto Silva doubled it 8 minutes later with a deflected long range effort.

Arsenal couldn't increase the score in the second half although they hit the bar twice and dominated the proceedings.

Check out this football blog to see 4 short video highlights.

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EPL : Manchester Utd 2-1 Arsenal

Once again Arsenal are good enougth to take the lead in a high profile game - but once again the makeshift defence is unable to keep a clean sheet.

It's happened against Chelsea, Liverpool and now ManYoo in the last month and let's be honest that's where the title challenges disappeared as the squad has got smaller and smaller.

But instead of recriminations - here's a short video of the Arsenal fan reaction after the game at Old Trafford - as the travelling fans wait to get moved on.



Nice to see - it might not have been a victorious season - but there has been some amazing football played - and it's good to acknowledge it.

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UEFA CL - Liverpool too good but it was close !!

Liverpool scored four goals - two in the last five minutes - to beat Arsenal and move through to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Liverpool are now a top price of 10/3 (4.33) with both VC Bet and bet365 for the Champions League after beating Arsenal 4-2 on Tuesday night.

On a rollercoaster night at Anfield, Abou Diaby put the Gunners ahead on 13 minutes, before Sami Hyypia equalised with a bullet header on the half hour mark.

Fernando Torres put Liverpool in front for the first time in the tie with 20 minutes to go but Emmanuel Adebayor looked to have won it in the 84th minute for the Gunners following a brilliant length of the field run from Theo Walcott.

Facing elimination on away goals, substitute Ryan Babel won a penalty a minute later which Steven Gerrard hammered into the top corner before the Dutchman sealed the win himself with a breakaway goal in injury time.

Congratulations to Liverpool ...

(he says going off to find another beer to drown his sorrows ...)

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2008-9 Pre-season : Real Madrid and Juventus

Arsenal will host European heavyweights Real Madrid, Juventus and Hamburg in the pre-season Emirates Cup in August.

The Emirates Cup - which is being staged for the second year - will be held on August 2nd and 3rd at the Emirates Stadium. The trophy is decided on a league basis - with three points for a win plus an extra point for every goal scored.

"We are delighted at the calibre of the three visiting teams to this year's Emirates Cup" said Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman.

In the first season Arsenal won the pre-season trophy playing against Valencia, Inter Milan and Paris St Germain.

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Arsenal and Ajax look to link-up

Arsene Wenger has said that Arsenal are looking to create a "relationship" with Ajax from next season.

Marco van Basten, who will step down as Holland coach after Euro 2008 to take charge of the Amsterdam club, has visited Wenger this week. The two men discussed the possibility of a mutually beneficial agreement that could see players loaned out from Arsenal to Ajax.

"Van Basten visited us at the training ground this week," Wenger wrote in his programme notes for the Premier League clash with Liverpool.

"We spoke a bit about Euro 2008 and about Ajax, because he is taking over there in the summer. We also spoke about how he wants to see the future of the club and how he wants to work there, and any similarities with our policy at Arsenal, and about whether they can take players on loan for example."

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GOONER ADDS : Obviously this would be a huge boost for both clubs - who these days are well known and admired for their attacking philosophy in football.

For us football oldies who remember the time of "Dutch Total Football" and "Playing The Ajax Way" anything that helps Arsenal to learn and play this way is a great development.

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Arsene Wenger talks about Arsenal's chances

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger talks about upcoming games against Liverpool.

BBC Interview with Arsene Wenger

Interesting stuff (probably only for Gooners), and although the BBC reporter is a bit of a negative pratt, Wenger deflects it positively talking about how Arsenal are still in with a shout at the business end of the season.

He talks about Arsenal winning a trophy this season - although he admits that's a tough ask - he's not giving up on the Premier League or the Champions League yet.

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EPL : Arsenal win 3-2 at Bolton (video)

Ten-man Arsenal fought back from two goals down for a 3-2 win that lifted them back into second place in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

( link to 4 minute match highlights video )

Midfielder Matthew Taylor put Bolton two up in the first half but Arsenal, who had Abou Diaby sent off in the 31st minute for a high tackle on Gretar Steinsson, hit back with three goals in the last half hour.

Captain William Gallas put Arsenal back into the match when he turned in Cesc Fabregas' corner in the 63rd minute. Robin van Persie equalised with a penalty five minutes later after Gary Cahill brought down Alexander Hleb and Fabregas' 90th-minute shot was deflected in by J Lloyd Samuel as Arsenal ended a run of five league games without victory.

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Arsene Wenger had this to say following the Arsenal second half comeback at Bolton...

"I can't remember a better comeback than that - to be 2-0 down, with 10 men and win 3-2 with just half an hour to go is a great credit to the team. I am very proud of our performance because we got a big blow last week (losing to Chelsea) but responded well.

"The first half we didn't play badly but everything went against us. Not only was their first shot on target a goal but we had a player sent off and just before we go to half-time they score a second one which was a big blow.

"The last 30 minutes we had chance after chance and in the end we were a bit lucky on the third goal but we did absolutely everything to win the game and we got a very important victory for us."

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UEFA CL : AC Milan 0-2 Arsenal (video)

Words fail me ... so ... watch the goals
:-)



(Apologies if you've found this old post ...
YouTube finally found the video and deleted it)

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So what's Wrong with Arsenal ?

I was asked a question in the forum today ... "What's wrong with Arsenal?"

What's wrong with Arsenal?
They're top of the table - by three points - and with 11 games to go have a good chance of winning their first title in four years ... will they take up the catch-cry of "winning it for Eduardo?"

What's wrong with Arsenal?
They're playing in a competitive league and they've scored in every Premier League game bar one .... a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth at Fratton Park. Is that really going wrong?

What's wrong with Arsenal?
After losing Thierry Henry in the summer to Barcelona - nearly every external pundit said that Arsenal were finished and would struggle to make the top four - picking Spurs to replace them. Is first place really a bad effort?

What's wrong with Arsenal?
After winning 4 league games in a row they drew 2-2 with Birmingham City despite dominating the game and conceding a last minute (non) penalty. It's a stumble but not fatal.

Ok ... so having made my point ...
Perhaps the only thing that I'd point to - and I point to it each season - is Arsene Wenger's tendancy to work with a smaller squad or players when compared to the other "big 4 clubs" in England and also a tendancy to favour youth over experience.

My gut feeling is that this means that Mr Wenger has to spend less time dealing with players moaning about not getting playing time. Younger players expect less time (compare the attitude of Jens Lehmann to Manual Almunia - or Gilberto to Flamini) and with a smaller squad then they will all get to play some part in a game during a week where there is mid-week and weeekend fixtures.

With Van Persie out for the last 5 months, and now Eduardo out for 6 months, Arsenal are lacking a core of striker - indeed until Adebayor struck amazing form I might have said had no recognized strikers.

A lack of experienced heads is also a key - and if William Gallas is our most responsible player - then we're always going to be likely to be in trouble when stress is applied. (again see Birmingham after the final whistle)

Arsenal has a small, young squad of extremely talented players, but (as I always complain on the blog) it is not a squad that is capable of challenging on four fronts for trophies.

Wenger has realised this this season and the Carling Cup and FA Cup sides were decidedly under-strength - but with 10 players out Arsenal do not now have enough quality options.

Of course, the problem for Wenger is that while that solves the too many games problem, it does not satisfy that fans who honestly would like to see Arsenal win every game that they play.

Remember that prior to Arsenal, Wenger's biggest previous club was Monaco, and with all respect to Monaco - their fans probably didn't care if they didn't bother to much about domestic cups.

Arsene Wenger is a great manager - but he needs to find a way to handle the man management issues (I'm available to lay down the law ) and overcome his aversion to building a big experienced squad.

If Arsenal want to be a true European power on a regular basis - then they need a squad that can handle an injury situation like this - because quite frankly given the nature of the domestic league - this situation is likely to occur EVERY season.

However, I think that Wenger knows that if he brings in experience ahead of youth - then he will undo a lot of the good work he's doing now.

So What's wrong with Arsenal?

Not much that 2-3 experienced players couldn't solve. But will Wenger ever go that way in the transfer market? I don't think so.

This year was not supposed to be Arsenal's year - it was too soon with all the young heads. But now after such a great opening 6 months I do wonder if Arsenal will somehow manage to do it - perhaps with Eduardo helping to concentrate thier efforts?

And as for next season ... just watch out.

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The Premier League must act - ban thugs

Arsenal's Croatian / Brazilian striker Eduardo suffered a potentially career threatening injury on Saturday and it's time this sort of thuggery is sorted out.

Birmingham City's Martin Taylor clattered into Eduardo divingi in studs up and missing the ball by over a foot, and fractured his left fibula and an open dislocation of his ankle joint leaving Eduardo with a foot pointing the wrong way.



The apologists for the "get stuck in brigade" are already saying that it wasn't malicious, and that Taylor "is a good lad" but have no doubt at all that this tackle was a deliberate attempt to stop Eduardo and prevent a chance at goal.

Taylor probably did not mean to break a leg, or end a career, but he also did not mean to pull out of the tackle once the ball had gone.

This tackle wasn't mistimed, it was not accidental, it was a calculated tackle delivered with full force and designed to give the Arsenal player "something to think about" early on in the game, and it something that is still prevalent in the English game.

As it stands Taylor will be banned for three games for his red card, while Eduardo will be out of football for at least 6 months ... if he plays at professional level again.

I've gone into the forum saying that my solution would be that players that are sent off for violent fouls should be suspended for a periord of time that matches the duration that the injured player is out plus three months.

Perhaps that's too harsh, especially bearing in mind that Eduardo may not play again, but I certainly think that there needs to be a review panel that sits after the game to make a decision on an extended ban period for violent fouls.

Whether, it's 5, 10 or even 20 games is something that can be determined rationally in the week following with the benefit of video evidence and witness depositions.

As it stands at the moment a player that gets sent off gets a 3-match ban, be it for talking out of turn to a referee, slapping (Jeremie Aliadiere yesterday), or for violent foul play.

That's unacceptable.

(NEWS UPDATE : Arsenal are predicting that Eduardo da Silva will make a full recovery in about nine months)

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Money talks - 11 clubs turnover GBP 100m +

Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal have established themselves in the world top five of highest-earning clubs, according to a new report.

They made £580m between them last season and Deloitte, the business consultancy which compiles the Football Money League, believes their revenues will only increase as English clubs as a whole seek to maximise their money-making potential abroad.

A ninth Premier League title combined with a run to the Champions League semi-finals and a £14m-a-year shirt sponsorship deal helped United earn £212.1m in 2007. Chelsea made £190.5m in the same period and Arsenal took £177.6m, mainly from corporate revenue which doubled to £91m in their first season at the Emirates Stadium.

There are six English clubs in the top 20, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United being the others. Financial analysts expect more to follow in 2008 because of this season's £300m Premier League broadcast deal.

The rich list 2008

1 (1) Real Madrid £236.2m
2 (4) Manchester United £212.1m
3 (2) Barcelona £195.3m
4 (6) Chelsea £190.5m
5 (9) Arsenal £177.6m
6 (5) AC Milan £153.0m
7 (8) Bayern Munich £150.3m
8 (10) Liverpool £133.9m
9 (7) Internazionale £131.3m
10 (12) Roma £106.1m

11 (15) Tottenham Hotspur £103.1m
12 (3) Juventus £97.7m
13 (11) Lyon £94.6m
14 (13) Newcastle United £87.1m
15 (16) Hamburg £81.0m
16 (14) Schalke £76.9m
17 (-) Celtic £75.2m
18 (-) Valencia £72.4m
19 (-) Marseille £66.6m
20 (-) Werder Bremen £65.5m

Last year's position in parentheses

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Adebayor said what?!

If you have trouble understanding exactly what Emmanuel Adebayor is saying in post-match interviews - YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Here is a helpful(?) subtitled interview with Adebayor after he scored a late goal against Blackburn. There may be a couple of errors .. who can really tell ..

Carry On Adebayor!
by Rrrseblogging

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Henry to return to England - for Newcastle?

This one made me laugh out loud - I had to read it twice to make sure it was genuine.

Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan has stated that Thierry Henry is at the top of his wish-list and UK bookmaker bet365 make the price 11/2 (6.50) for Henry to join Newcastle by the time the transfer window closes at the end of August.

bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth managed to keep a straight face when he said : "If Keegan manages to stay at Newcastle and keep them in the Premiership he could have a bottomless pit at his disposal in the summer – and Thierry Henry is hardly getting rave reviews at Barcelona."

He did add : "However, Newcastle are just 12/1 for relegation and they'd have more chance of signing Lenny Henry if they dropped into the Championship."

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GOONER SAYS : Bearing in mind Henry's legendary status at Arsenal, and the fact that he left on extremely good terms last summer, I think that if he was going to turn up anywhere in the Premier League in August - then the Emirates Stadium would be the place to see him.

Keep your money in your pockets on this one.

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Adebayor chasing Ronaldo for top scorer honours

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor has had his odds cut to finish as the Premier League's top scorer this season after closing the gap on Cristiano Ronaldo at the weekend.

Ronaldo remains favourite but has been eased out to 1.83 at Centrebet.

Adebayor scored twice in Arsenal's 3-1 win at Manchester City to take his tally to 18 while Ronaldo stayed on 19 after firing a rare blank against Tottenham. Adebayor is quoted at 2.65 at VCBet now.

Liverpool's Fernando Torres added to his tally with a goal against Sunderland but is a distant third favourite with 12 goals. You can get on Torres at 15.00 at Bet365.

While Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka also scored and has 11 goals now and he's priced at 17.00 at Bet365.

Elsewhere Carlos Tevez (26.00), Robbie Keane (34.00) and Dimitar Berbatov (51.00) are also offered - but it's pretty much a "fan" bet - and you'd probably feel better by donating your money to charity than simply handing it over to the bookmakers.

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Arsenal go top after beating Man City 3-1

Arsenal scored a 3-1 success at Manchester City thanks to two goals from Emmanuel Adebayor and a fine strike from Eduardo da Silva, have been cut to 6/4 (2.50) to win the title.

Manchester United equalised with the last kick of the game in a 1-1 draw with Spurs at White Hart Lane to pick up a point. United were eased to 4/5 (1.80) for the title by Stan James.

Betfair exchange customers backed under 1.5 goals down to 1.04 and Tottenham were matched at just 1.01 when a Carlos Tevez goal from a corner at the death sealed a dramatic point for the Reds.

(and showed just how unsafe it is to chase those "easy money" bets at the exchange)

Chelsea lost ground on Arsenal after being held to a 1-1 draw at Portsmouth where Nicolas Anelka's 55th minute strike was wiped out by new Pompey signing Jermain Defoe. The Blues are out to 11/2.

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Arsenal currently top the table on 60pts, two ahead of United and five clear of Chelsea. All three have played 25 games.

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Deja vu - Arsenal 3-0 Newcastle (goal video)

As I said last weekend against Newcastle - there's nothing like a 3-0 win for Arsenal to make the world feel a better place eh Gooners?

(oh wait I've done that to death)

All right then - how about that second goal by Mathieu Flamini then? A jet powered strike from at least 25 metres out, probably closer 30m on the angle, and it gave poor old Shay Given no chance at all in the Newcastle goal.

That was a rocket-powered shot with turbo-thrust and after-burners combined. It was ... ah sod it .. just watch the video I found of it until it gets banned from YouTube.



Now that was something - I have no idea what the commentator was saying - but I whole-heartedly agreed with the sentiment ... WOW !

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FA Cup 5th Round Draw : Man United v Arsenal

Arsenal will face Manchester United in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup.

Arsene Wenger's side were drawn against their Premier League title rivals when the draw was made at FA headquarters in Soho Square on Monday afternoon.

Arsenal eased into the last 16 with a 3-0 victory against Newcastle at Emirates Stadium. United beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The Fifth-Round ties will be played over the weekend of February 16 and 17.

Full FA Cup Fifth-Round draw
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Bristol Rovers v Southampton
Cardiff City v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sheffield United v Middlesbrough
Liverpool v Barnsley
Manchester United v Arsenal
Preston North End v Portsmouth
Coventry City v West Bromwich Albion
Chelsea v Huddersfield Town

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FA Cup : Arsenal 3-0 Newcastle

As I said last weekend against Fulham- there's nothing like a 3-0 win for Arsenal to make the world feel a better place.

The game went pretty much as predicted with Newcastle far more adventurous under Kevin Keegan than the departed Sam Allardyce but showing too many gaps at the back.

It took 60 minutes for Arsenal to make the breakthrough but a pair of goals from Emmanuel Adebayor helped The Gunners to see off Newcastle. The final shot tally was something like 17-4 - showing the general flow of the game.

The FA Cup picks on Saturday went 4-1 with only the woeful Derby preventing a clean set - while the spreadsheet also produced two likely winners in Serie A.

All-in-all a very satisfactory day at the office, and a profitable one too.
Enjoy the beers.

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EPL : Fulham 0-3 Arsenal

There's nothing like a 3-0 Arsenal win to make a Gooner feel better about life.

I particularly like the wins where we've effectively wrapped it up by halftime and even the opposing manager and fans have good things to say about the Arsenal performance.

And so it was at Craven Cottage yesterday when Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice before halftime for a comfortable lead and Tomas Rosicky sealed the win in the second half.

The Guardian even called Arsenal "elegant" while a Fulham fans admits Arsenal "were brilliant" - whach are both things we probably already thought but it's nice to hear other people saying this sort of stuff too.

(it's all a far cry from the Don Howe / George graham days eh?)

Over at the BEEB Sports section the reporting is far more functional but it's worth playing the video interview with Fulham manager Roy Hodgson who talks about Arsenal's skill on the ball and admits it was a comfortable win.

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Nothing much changed in the league standings with ManYoo and Chelsea both scoring away wins (albeit both of them a little less comfortable than expected) while Liverpool and Man City play on Sunday.

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King Kev's debut at St James's Park was a damp squib, a 0-0 draw against a very defensive Bolton in a horrible game - but the Geordie fans recognise that it's gonig to take time and were not booing at the final whistle.

I expect to see more improvement in Newcastle in future months - but as we play them soon in both the FA Cup and the Premier League I'm hoping that it imght take Mr Keegan a wee while to restructure his side.

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Juande Ramos fielded a weakened Spurs side for their game against Sunderland, but still won 2-0 although it was a game that was surprising for the Sunderland effort in the second half.

I read a comment (somewhere) from a Sunderland fan saying that his side had mastered the art of snatching a defeat from a good performance - which I thought was a clever piece of gallows humour.

Spurs now host Arsenal kids in the Carling Cup semi-final second leg - and should rightly consider themselves favourites to progress - as I think that they've got the measure of the young Gooner side.

But still - that favourtism tag can hang heavy around teams - and stranger upsets have happened - so there is plenty to play for on Tuesday night.

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OK let's see what Sunday brings - I'm surprised to see such big prices for both Aston Villa (6.25) and West Ham (4.00) to win on the road - and I reckon that we might see a surprise in either (or both) of these games.

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Le Sulk heads for Les Bleus

Nicolas Anelka's move to Chelsea provides the perfect stage for the gifted but enigmatic French striker to make his football career mean something.

Arsene Wenger unearthed the french starlet as an 18 year-old from Paris St Germain, for the meagre price of £500,000 and got some brilliant performances during an all-too-brief stay at Highbury.

He earned the tag of "Le Sulk", during his stay in North London, as he listened to the deluded ramlbings of his brother agents - and despite his talent there was great relief and merriment in my household when he left Arsenal in August 1999 to join Real Madrid in a £23m deal.

Anelka has never lived up to his undoubted talent, never really looked likely to fulfill his potential as while he was blessed with physical prowess - he's also been cursed with mental shortcomings and a readiness to believe his sycophant followers.

Anelka showed at Arsenal, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, Fenerbahce and Bolton that he has (had?) the skills to succeed at the top level, but for all his talents - he has too much baggage to be relied upon by top flight sides.

After a domestic double with Arsenal in 1998 and a Champions League win with Real Madrid in 2000, his career has been a series of ill-fated transfers where the biggest headlines are written the day he signs the contract - and little more thereafter.

Chelsea have bought a flawed talent, although in the short term Anelka might be able to help Chelsea to strive towards their trophy challenges this season.

But it will be beyond Avram Grant (or any manager) to keep Anelka playing to his ability for more than 30-40 matches. Anelka changes clubs like other players change their cars - playing for ten teams in scarcely more than ten years.

Despite the 4 1/2 years on the contract the fact remains that Anelka has never seen a contract through - and it's most likely that Stamford Bridge will be no more than a pit stop as "le Sulk" continues his footballing journey through most of Europe's clubs.

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FA Cup 3rd Round : Favourites fail to win - almost everywhere!

It was a tough weekend for favourites backers in the FA Cup this weekend with a mix of upset wins and draws meaning that only 7 of 22 teams that started as odds-on favourites actually managed to win.

You'd have been better off picking cup winners at random over the weekend!

Although there were no total shocks in the FA Cup on Sunday we still saw Liverpool, Newcastle, Derby and Fulham were all held by lower league opposition.

Liverpool are now 7.00 (6/1) (BetFred) for the trophy, while Newcastle are 29.00 (28/1) with Bet365 for Wembley glory.

At least my team Arsenal obliged with a good result as they beat Burnley 2-0 and covered the asian handicap bet too. The Gooners are now a 5.00 (4/1) chance at Ladbrokes to lift the cup.

On Saturday Manchester United beat Aston Villa 2-0 to book their place in the last 32. They are now 4.33 (10/3) favourites at BoyleSports to win the FA Cup.

Chelsea were also among the winners - they beat QPR 1-0 - and Avram Grant's side are now joint-second favourites to lift the trophy in May, as they are 4/1 with BoyleSports.

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Moyes needs convincing Arsenal were better?

Arsenal surprised as lot of people yesterday by battling back from a goal down to beat Everton 4-1 at Goodision Park.

The win moved Arsenal to the top of the Premier League - 2 points clear of Manchester United - to see in the New Year.

However, Everton manager David Moyes says that he thinks that Everton were the better footballing side during the game.

He said: "For all the stuff talked about the way they play, it was not their usual type of goals that beat us. We cannot hide that we made mistakes for the goals, but I will take some convincing that Arsenal were better than us.

Moyes continued "It was us who played the football and Arsenal who went direct. I'd find it hard to view it differently."

Of course what Mr Moyes is ignoring is the fact that on a cold, wet Merseyside night Arsenal scored four goals away from home to win by some margin.

Both sides had 10 shots, although Arsenal were more accurate with a 7-3 advantage on target - however the biggest difference was in the accurate finishing and quality defending.

For all the talk that Mr Moyes offers about the Everton style of play - the passing movements only really happened after Everton were 1-2 and then 1-3 behind, and Arsenal allowed the Toffees to play in the middle 3rd of the pitch.

Yes - Everton did make more passes - when they were losing on the scoreboard and Mr Moyes ignores the key areas of the game in his assessment.

The league table is NOT ranked according to possession stats - if it was then Arsenal would be runaway champions - instead it's ranked according to match results and goals scored and conceded.

Arsenal made one defensive mistake (and were punished) while Everton made half a dozen - and at the top level that's far too many to expect to win.

Quite simply Arsenal were better because they scored four times while playing away from home - and that's usually enough to win any game ...

(unless of course you are Reading)

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Arsenal ready for Lehmann offers

Arsenal are willing to listen to offers for Jens Lehmann but manager Arsene Wenger has insisted he wants the goalkeeper to stay at the Emirates.

The 38-year-old has been linked with a number of clubs in Germany and England but no firm bid has so far been made.

Arsene Wenger commented - "We will sit down together if an offer comes, but I believe first he has to make his own mind up if he wants to stay with us or not. I would prefer him to stay with us."

Spaniard Manuel Almunia has kept Lehmann out of the starting line-up this season, prompting speculation that the latter could move in order to safeguard his place in the German team for Euro 2008.

Former club Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg, Hertha Berlin, VFB Stuttgart, Borussia Monchengladbach and Manchester City are rumoured to be interested in signing the veteran.

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Manchester United lead the Premier League

Manchester United are the new leaders of the Premier League after they beat Sunderland 4-0 on Boxing Day and then saw title rivals Arsenal held to a 0-0 draw at Portsmouth.

United strolled to a straightforward victory at the Stadium of Light.

Wayne Rooney was put clear in the 20th minute and had no trouble beating Craig Gordon with a cool finish, and he turned provider when he broke forward and crossed to Louis Saha who guided the ball home after 30 minutes.

A sublime Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick in first-half injury-time put the game beyond Sunderland and when Nani went down in the box, Saha converted the late penalty (86).

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Arsenal had two great chances to grab the points in the closing stages but William Gallas lifted a shot over the bar from close range and then Tomas Rosicky screwed an effort just wide in injury time.

The result leaves Arsene Wenger's men trailing United by a point at the halfway stage of the season.

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Chelsea also dropped points as the Blues were involved in a riveting 4-4 draw against Aston Villa in a game which saw three players sent off.

Villa took an early 2-0 lead with a Shaun Maloney double. Zat Knight was sent off in first-half injury-time for bringing down Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko scored the resulting penalty, before levelling with a brilliant strike in the 50th minute.

Chelsea went ahead through defender Alex (66) but Martin Laursen equalised for Villa. Ricardo Carvalho was dismissed for a two-footed lunge at Gabriel Agbonlahor but Chelsea went ahead regardless through Michael Ballack's 88th-minute free-kick.

However, Villa earned a penalty when Ashley Cole was sent off for handling on the line, and Gareth Barry scored from the spot to secure a well-earned point.

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Liverpool laboured to a late 2-1 win at Derby and had captain Steven Gerrard to thank for the victory.

Spain international Fernando Torres' excellent dribble and finish put Liverpool a goal up at Pride Park although Rafael Benitez's men struggled to extend their lead.

Jay McEveley equalised on 67 minutes and chances came and went for both sides, before Gerrard - who moments earlier hit the bar - made a tireless burst forward to steam into the box and bundle the ball past Lewis Price in the 90th minute.

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The pressure on Sam Allardyce was cranked up by Newcastle's miserable 1-0 defeat at Wigan.

Ryan Taylor's delightful curling free-kick beat Shay Given to put the Latics ahead - and heap further stress on Allardyce following the 2-2 draw with Derby last weekend.

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Birmingham enjoyed a much-needed 3-0 win against Middlesbrough at St Andrews.

Stewart Downing sliced Gary McSheffrey's driven free-kick into his own net in the 21st minute and Mikael Forssell stabbed home after Cameron Jerome flicked on from a corner.

McSheffrey added a third in added time, converting a penalty after being fouled by Huth in the box.

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Everton beat Bolton 2-0 after a goalless first half at Goodison Park.

The home side edged ahead after 51 minutes when goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen made a mess of clearing Phil Neville's deep cross, allowing the ball to pass him and hit the net.

Tim Cahill made it 2-0 after a scrappy build-up when Rob Styles played a smart advantage and Joleon Lescott crossed accurately.

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Earlier in the day, Tottenham were impressive in a 5-1 win over Fulham as Robbie Keane and Tom Huddlestone scored two apiece and Jermaine Defoe added a late goal, while Moritz Volz was sent off for Fulham.

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West Ham and Reading shared the points in an entertaining 1-1 draw at Upton Park in which the Royals had Brynjar Gunnarsson sent off in the first half.

Nolberto Solano put the Hammers ahead but Dave Kitson secured a point.

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UEFA Champions League Draw

Liverpool and Arsenal have paid the price for finishing second in the their Champions League groups with draws Inter Milan and AC Milan in the first knockout round.

The Gunners will meet the holders AC Milan in February, while Rafa Benitez's Liverpool side go up against the reigning Serie A champions and current league leaders Inter Milan.

Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United have a tough match against the dangerous French champions Lyon while Scottish representatives Celtic are facing up to two matches against Spanish giants Barcelona.

Chelsea were drawn against Olympiacos of Greece and the other big tie in the last 16 pits mighty Real Madrid against Francesco Totti and Roma.

Schalke 04 of Germany take on 2004 winners FC Porto and Sevilla face Turkish side Fenerbahce.

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Carling Cup Semi-final Draw

North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham will meet in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup for the second season in a row.

Chelsea, the last team in the draw after beating Liverpool 2-0 on Wednesday evening, will play Everton.

The two-legged semi-finals take place in the weeks starting 7 and 21 January.

OUTRIGHT ODDS (all from Bet365) :
Chelsea 2.38, - Arsenal 3.50, - Tottenham 5.00, - Everton 6.00

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Arsenal and Spurs through to Carling Cup semis

North London neighbours Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur eached the semi-finals of the English League Cup following wins against Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City.

Arsenal kids prevail in Extra time.
Arsenal changed all 11 players from the side that had beaten Chelsea just 48 hours earlier as "the kids took paert in a dramatic encounter at Ewood Park.

Arsenal raced into a two-goal lead through strikes from Abou Diaby and Eduardo da Silva. However, despite the visitors looking dominant, Blackburn's Roque Santa Cruz got one back just before half-time and then latched on to David Bentley's free-kick after an hour to level the tie.

Rovers were applying the late pressure, and Arsenal's Denilson was sent off for a wild challenge as the match went into extra time leaving the Gunners a man short. However, in the additional period Alexandre Song released Eduardo who finished calmly past home goalkeeper Brad Friedel to secure a 3-2 victory for the Gunners.

Spurs win with another Ten-man effort
Meanwhile, goals at the beginning and the end of the game from Jermain Defoe and Steed Malbranque gave Tottenham a 2-0 win and inflicted Manchester City's first home defeat of the season.

Not even having to play with ten men for 70 minutes after Didier Zokora's dismissal could hamper Spurs, who go into the last-four draw on Wednesday together with Arsenal, Everton and the winner of the Chelsea / Liverpool tie who meet on Wednesday.

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EPL : Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea

William Gallas scored the only goal just before halftime as Arsenal beat Chelsea to stay at the top of the Premier League table.

Gallas headed home the winner in first-half stoppage time to restore a one-point advantage at the summit for Arsene Wenger's team.

He nodded the ball into an empty net after Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech came to try and collect a looping Cesc Fabregas corner, but failed to make any contact.

Arsenal had chances to wrap up victory after the break, but Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor both had goals disallowed while van Persie and Fabregas both wasted great opportunities.

For Chelsea Andriy Shevchenko failed to trouble Manuel Almunia with a free header, and had a blistering free-kick tipped over by the Arsenal goalkeeper.

The victory was a deserved one for an Arsenal team who looked the brighter outfit for most of the 90 minutes as Chelsea struggled without skipper John Terry who went off with a foot injury in the latter stages of the first half.

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Big match Buildup.

Having recently lost the last two unbeaten Premier League records, Arsenal and Liverpool will be trying to bounce back with wins over their biggest rivals.

Alex Ferguson will take some time out from advising the FA not to pick Sam Allardyce for the England job to test the true quality of Rafa Benitez's perennial cup kings and see if their title challenge is for real.

While, Arsene Wenger could welcome back Cesc Fabregas, and Van Persie is almost certain to take part in a mouth-watering contest. One team plays some of the most attractive football in the world. The other is Chelsea.

The managers will say these Sunday games will decide nothing, we say it'll decide who gets to abuse who in offices and workplaces all over the planet for months to come.

Nothing could be more important!

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EPL : Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal : Report

Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal

Aston Villa : Gardner 14';
The Arsenal : Flamini 23', Adebayor 36'

Arsenal came back from an early goal to deservedly lead by halftime and then weathered a vastly-improved second half performance from Aston Villa to maintain their unbeaten record and the leadership of the Barclays Premier League.

Craig Gardner had given Villa hope of their first win over the Gunners in 18 meetings when he put them ahead with his third goal of the campaign.

But Arsenal responded by handing out a footballing lesson for the remainder of the half and could easily have added to goals from Mathieu Flamini and Emmanuel Adebayor.

The Gunners had been a joy to watch in the opening 45 minutes with some delightful free-flowing football which often had Villa chasing shadows. They stepped up a gear from the minute Villa went ahead and their one-touch play caused the home side constant problems.

Lassana Diarra and Alexander Hleb sparkled in midfield while Emmanuel Eboue was an effective outlet on the right flank. Little was seen of the exciting forward play which had brought Villa 11 goals in the previous four games.

Villa were a different proposition after the break with Ashley Young more of a threat on the left wing and target man John Carew causing problems. Carew put a thumping header against the Gunners bar with Almunia well beaten - and Young was booked late on for a swan dive looknig ofr a penalty after his control let him down.

But the Gunners held firm with Kolo Toure and William Gallas solid performers at the heart of the Gunners back four.

It means that Arsenal have not tasted defeat in the league since April and in the process they brought an end to Villa's run of four successive wins.

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Arsenal back on top of the table

Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League after a convincing 3-1 win over Reading at the Madejski Stadium on Monday night.

Mathieu Flamini, Emmanuel Adebayor and Alexander Hleb were all on target for the Gunners, with Nicky Shorey grabbing a late consolation for Reading in what was a dominant Arsenal display.

Cesc Fabregas picked up the man-of-the-match award from Sky Sports with another top display. The 20-year-old has starred in Arsenal's unbeaten start to the season and he admits he is now ready to ditch plans to return to Spain.

Fabregas said : "When I first came to England my idea was to go back to Spain one day ... But the truth is that now I'm happier every day and I love London, the people and the club.

"Every day I have more desire to stay here for a long time, for the rest of my career" - he added.

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Win Aston Villa tickets at 32Red

Aston Villa Sponsors 32Red Poker are running a special poker "Giveaways" tournament on November 15th.

You can win a whole range of stuff:
- VIP passes to Aston Villa v Arsenal match (Dec 1st)
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Carling Cup Outright Betting

Chelsea remain favourites to win the Carling Cup after overcoming a mighty scare to beat Leicester 4-3 at Stamford Bridge this week.

Frank Lampard completed a hat-trick with an injury-time winner to put the holders into the quarter-finals and Chelsea are 11/4 favourites (3.75) with Ladbrokes to defend the trophy.

Arsenal's latest batch of young Gunners cruised into the last eight with a 3-0 win at Sheffield United. Last season's runners-up were comfortable victors at Bramall Lane thanks to Eduardo da Silva's brilliant double and a deflected third from Denilson.

Liverpool were made to work harder as they overcame Cardiff 2-1 at Anfield. But a Steven Gerrard winner soon after proved good enough for the Reds.

Spurs are fourth favourites after Juande Ramos' first game in charge ended in a 2-0 home win over Blackpool. Robbie Keane and Pascal Chimbonda got the goals.

Manchester City (1-0 winners at Bolton), Blackburn (2-1 winners at Portsmouth) and Everton (1-0 extra-time winners at Luton) are all 11/1 at bet365 while West Ham are the 14/1 outsiders of the all-Premier League quarter-final line-up.

The draw for the quarterfinals takes place on Saturday.

ODDS :
Chelsea 3.75 @ Ladbrokes
Arsenal 4.50 @ Bet365
Liverpool 5.50 @ BetFred
Tottenham 10.00 @ Ladbrokes
Manchester City 12.00 @ Bet365

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Chelsea odds lengthen after another bore draw

Chelsea are out to 8.00 (7/1) at BetFred to win the English Premier League now after another 0-0 draw - this time with Fulham.

There were plenty of boos from the home crowd as the Blues trooped off from Stamford Bridge, and the news got even worse when it was revealed that John Terry suffered a fractured cheekbone and requires surgery.

Arsenal lead the league but are only second favourite