For a memorable few months in 2008, Russia was the talk of the soccer world.
Zenit St. Petersburg captured the Europa League title, defeating Rangers in the final after dismantling Bayern Munich 5-1 on aggregate in the semis.
Just a month later, the national team also achieved unprecedented success, reaching the semifinals of Euro 2008 before bowing out to eventual champion Spain.
Fenerbahçe will sign German midfielder Mesut Özil from Arsenal for three and a half years for an undisclosed fee, Turkey's private Demirören news agency and other Turkish media reported on Wednesday.
While there was no immediate comment on the reports from Fenerbahçe, broadcaster A Spor said Özil and the club had agreed on the transfer in principle and that the 32-year-old would join the former Turkish champions later in January.
With the Premier League season nearly half over, this current lull in matches is the perfect time to look back at the campaign so far.
We've all been following the matches and have a general idea about where each team sits in the league table, so the next logical step is to dive deeper into the analytical side of the Premier League and examine the expected goals league table.
After Kieran Tierney scored a stunning solo goal on Saturday, I texted a bad joke to a friend saying that was definitely Arsenal’s best goal of the year. Within minutes I had to take it back as the Gunners had combined for one of their trademark beautiful team goals on the way to a 4-0 win over West Brom on Saturday at a snowy Hawthorns.
Three-and-a-half years after leaving Schalke to join Arsenal on a free transfer, Sead Kolasinac is returning to the Veltins-Arena on a six-month loan.
@seadk6 is back!
Welcome home, Seo! #S04 | #Kolasinac
Manager Sam Allardyce brought his West Brom side to Anfield on Sunday as massive underdogs. His Baggies had just one win all season and were on the road against league leaders Liverpool.
Big Sam brought out his big guns: the rarely seen 6-4-0 formation, which West Brom stuck to despite conceding an early Sadio Mane goal.
Got to love the West Brom 6-4-0 fromation pic.twitter.com/6UZJk7hA38
For Arsenal fans, it feels like the last time the Gunners won in the Premier League was a couple million years ago. In reality, it was nearly two months ago that Arsenal edged Manchester United. Since then, Mikel Arteta has watched his side lose five and draw two in league play.
So it’s safe to say not even the most ardent of Arsenal fans expected what happened on Boxing Day.
Last week, West Brom fired Slaven Bilić after just seven points in 13 matches to begin the season, making him the first Premier League manager to be relieved of his duties this season. The timing is pretty impressive, considering that five Premier League managers had been fired by this time last season.
Let’s face it: Arsenal is not a good soccer team right now. The Gunners will celebrate Christmas in 15th place in the Premier League, four points out of the relegation zone and 11 points behind rivals Chelsea and Tottenham, which are tied for fifth. To make matters worse, the Grinch came early with a pathetic Arsenal howler that perfectly encapsulates how the club is playing right now.