Arsene Wenger was probably going to be fired after failing to qualify for the Champions League with Arsenal last season. However, Arsenal won the FA Cup, and Wenger held on to his job.
He is still holding on to it, but his position has become a little more precarious after Arsenal was bounced, 4-2, from Wenger's favorite competition (he has won seven times with Arsenal) by Nottingham Forest and in particular American defender Eric Lichaj.
Lukas Podolski, a World Cup winner with Germany and a former striker for Arsenal and Bayern Munich, has always been a fan favorite, wherever he goes. The man with a hammer for a left leg is finishing out his career in Japan with Vissel Kobe right now, but while back in Cologne rehabbing an injury he opened up a doner kebab shop over the weekend to plenty of fanfare.
In the end, it’s all shock and horror for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal FC. Their 4-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Sunday means it’s the first time since Wenger became Arsenal’s manager that they’ve failed to progress past the third round — a record of 21 straight seasons that’s now over. Forest are also the first team from a lower division to score four or more goals against Arsenal in the FA Cup since 1908.
The institution that is Arsene Wenger was handed a three-match touchline ban and a $54,250 fine for a confrontation with referee Mike Dean after Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with West Brom on Sunday. The Wenger ban is nothing new for the Frenchman, who served a four-match touchline ban for a similar behavior last year. And Wenger didn’t even deny these accusations, fully admitting to what he said and standing by his criticism.
Where to begin with this game? We'll start with Alvaro Morata. If Chelsea had someone else playing striker, they probably would have won this game running away. But, they did have Alvaro Morata, and he missed three clear chances. So it goes.
You know who didn't miss, though? Jack Wilshere! Welcome back, Jack!
You know who else doesn't miss? Hector Bellerin, who nailed Eden Hazard squarely in the foot with his foot to set this up:
Arsenal and West Brom drew 1-1 on Sunday in a match that didn’t really get going until the final 10 minutes. But catching the eye more than the insipid performance from the Gunners was the odd choice of Arsenal kit, which was all red for the first time since 1978. Social media was not exactly impressed.
Much of the discourse currently surrounding Arsenal revolves around whether superstar Chilean attacker Alexis Sanchez will still be there at the end of January. We can say two things about Sanchez with a reasonable amount of certainty: he is Arsenal's best player by some distance, and he cares deeply about playing for his country.
That is why it's probably a bad idea to send tweets like this:
It wasn’t that long ago (three weeks really) that Jack Wilshere was seen as a Europa League and Carabao Cup specialist winding down the final days of his contract at Arsenal. Once hailed as the future of Arsenal’s English-infused era of dominance and the answer to decades of hurt in the Three Lions’ midfield, Jack the lad became a Mr.
New Year’s Eve is approaching, so it’s time to get all stressed out about having the best time ever while throwing up Smirnoff Ice in the toilet or whatever. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the holiday season, but it’s also extremely likely that you’ve suffered your share of anxiety due to travel, a damning inability to properly give justice to your own existence and personal beliefs over dinner conversation and the realization that another 365-day period has been spent slaving over inconsequential tedium in the face of death, which you’ll inevitably experience entirely alone.
2017 was a pronounced year with regards to the retirement of a legion of decorated footballers. In the list below, we have an assortment of winners of the World Cup, European Championship, Copa America, Champions League and pretty much every domestic title out there.
Sadly, we’ve seen the last of this group on the professional pitch and on our gaming consoles via FIFA. Here are 10 footballers (along with a few honorable mentions) that hung up their boots this year.