Twenty-two years after the Frenchman picked up the mantle at Arsenal FC, Arsene Wenger is leaving with the grace and integrity of the proper gentleman that he is. By leaving at the end of the season, the 68-year-old leaves a power vacuum in his departure — one that Arsenal needs to fill immediately.
During a press conference for UEFA’s Match for Solidarity, former Chelsea FC boss Carlo Ancelotti expressed his interests in running the Gunners.
There are some hits that are just so pure, so instinctual, so well struck and so fucking powerful that they defy everything we thought we knew about sport. There was Albert Pujols’ monster home run off Brad Lidge in the 2005 NLCS that may still be in lower-Earth orbit to this day. Then there’s Matt Prater nailing a 64-yard field goal in the NFL or Andre Agassi’s ridiculous service return. And on Sunday there was this Kevin de Bruyne goal vs Swansea City.
Olivier Giroud is a bit of an enigma. He’s a large center forward with a meaty French forehead who is often at his best using his size and strength to score with his head — and he also scores some of the most incredible goals in the world. The Giroud goal vs Southampton for Chelsea in the FA Cup semifinals on Sunday at Wembley Stadium falls into the latter category.
In the outpouring of eulogies surrounding the end of Arsene Wenger’s time at Arsenal, you’re going to read two popular refrains: (1) the beginning was better than the end and (2) there’s some degree of face-saving in his decision to walk with a year yet to go on his current contract.
Red cards are absolute game-changers — punishments that are often too much for the offending team to overcome. But which club produces the most Premier League red cards? The second-ranked team will likely surprise you.
West Ham have really struggled this Premier League season. Back in the summer, it seemed as though the Hammers were getting serious with the signings of Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic.
However, things have not been as smooth as they expected at London Stadium.
Michael Oliver, the referee who took a stand and freed Narnia from the evil grasp of Sauron, returned to Premier League duty on Monday in a 1-1 draw between West Ham United and Stoke City. Okay, fine, Oliver didn’t fight any orcs or free Narnia, but the man did end Gianluigi Buffon’s dreams of winning the Champions league.
Imagine walking side by side with nine of your closest friends on match day. Except you are not going to the stadium. You are going to meet 10 other men supporting the rival team in the forest and you are going to fight them.
While this may sound overly dramatic, it actually happened in Spain this weekend.
Ultras supporting Málaga (Costa Nostra) face Real Madrid hooligans (Ultras Sur) hours prior to the game.
Manchester City are champions again after Manchester United folded like a wet blanket against West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. City has been in position for several weeks to bring home the title – earlier than almost any club in Premier League history, with five games remaining. Only Manchester United and Everton have wrapped up the title with as many games left in the season. There's little doubt that the list of Manchester City records set by the end of the season will be an impressive one.
Manchester City’s season took a blow with defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday. Combined with the second-half collapse to rival Manchester United last weekend, things were about as dismal as they could be for a team with a 13-point lead in the Premier League. But a 3-1 win for Manchester City vs Tottenham on Saturday at Wembley Stadium showed Pep Guardiola’s side is still the best in England.