Mikel Arteta believes the timing of injuries that hit his squad late in the season ultimately cost Arsenal in their bid to hold off Manchester City and win the Premier League.
The team’s collapse largely coincided with a back injury sustained by defender William Saliba during their Europa League exit to Sporting Lisbon in March, with stand-in centre-back Rob Holding struggling to match the standard set by his team-mate.
Arsenal were also without strikers Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah, defenders Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu and midfielder Mohamed Elneny for large parts of the season as they were eventually chased down by City despite leading the table for 248 days.
It hands the club the unwanted record of the most number of days spent top of the l…
Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas and his team-mates believe they will win their 19th Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
Carlo Ancelotti s men face fellow La Liga giants Barcelona in the final at Valencia s Estadio de Mestalla.
The Copa del Rey decider will be Real s third in the past four years, and they are aiming for their second win.
Casillas said his team felt they would win the trophy, with their last success also coming at the Mestalla in 2011.
Winning is the idea we have, not just me, Casillas told a news conference.
The team has played a good Copa Del Rey. It won t be easy, it will be an exciting match with great players and we need to believe in our chances and our way of playing.
We think we are going to do it.
Real face a Barca side who …
Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer became the oldest debutant in UEFA Champions League history after being selected by Chelsea on Wednesday.
The former Australia international was named in Chelsea s team to face Steaua Bucharest at the age of 41 years and 66 days.
Only Marco Ballotta, who featured for Lazio against Real Madrid five years ago to the day when he was 43 years and 252 days old, has appeared in Europe s premier club competition at an older age.
Schwarzer joined Chelsea on a free transfer in the close season, having reached the UEFA Europa League final with previous club Fulham in 2010.
He also played in the final of the UEFA Cup for Middlesbrough in 2006, and retired from international football last month having earned a record 109 caps for Australia.
Pr…
Romelu Lukaku s 19th Premier League goal of the season helped Everton beat West Brom 3-0 on Saturday in a win which saw them match their total points tally of 47 from last season, highlighting their marked improvement under Ronald Koeman.
Everton s display emphasised their increased solidity in defence since Roberto Martinez s departure, while there were no signs of that negatively impacting their effectiveness going forward as they equalled last season s record despite having 10 more games to play.
It did take them a little longer than they would have liked to open the scoring, but a brilliant six-minute spell at the end of the first half had Everton well on course to wrapping up a comfortable win, finally making the most of their superiority over a West Brom team whi…
Cristiano Ronaldo s relationship with his teammates has been brought into question in recent months
Cristiano Ronaldo was baited slightly by journalists yesterday ahead of Real Madrid’s Champions League last 16 tie on Wednesday night.
Journalists asked the Portuguese star about Leo Messi’s now infamous passed penalty.
Ronaldo never one to enjoy talking about his nemesis, was visibly annoyed by questions about his relationship with fellow Real forwards Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, compared to that of Messi’s relationship with Luis Suarez and Neymar.
Always driven to individual success
At times it seems that Ronaldo would be quite happy playing without any teammates. Football is a team game, but the Portuguese’s determination to be the be…
Republic of Ireland could not avenge their World Cup play-off defeat to Denmark as they were held to a goalless draw by a visiting side missing Christian Eriksen in Dublin.
Hat-trick hero Eriksen extinguished Ireland s qualifying hopes in a 5-1 away win last November, but the Tottenham midfielder was not fit to feature in Saturday s rematch in the Nations League.
However, rather than opening the door for Ireland to record a much-needed victory, Eriksen s absence merely sapped the quality from the contest as both outfits struggled to offer anything in the final third.
Denmark at least know Eriksen s return should ensure improvement from this dour display, but there were few positives for Martin O Neill and Ireland to take forward.
The first of very few fir…
Verdict: Both teams to score – yes
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Serie A champions Juventus lock horns with Catalan giants Barcelona in the replay of the 2014-15 Champions League finals and Bianconeri are relishing the opportunity to get their payback against an out-of-form La Liga side.
Juventus
have gone through a bit of a hiccup over the past couple of weeks with Max Allegri’s men drawing and losing to Napoli in a Serie A game and a Coppa Italia clash, respectively. The Cup defeat came at no cost for Bianconeri however, as Juventus sealed their place in the final despite the 3-2 loss as the aggregate result of 5-4 worked in their favour. Juventus got back to winning ways at the weekend however to make a suitable introduction for the highly-anticipated d…
Daniel Farke felt Leeds’ 1-0 victory over Stoke was his side’s “best win in 2024” as they continued their Championship automatic-promotion charge.
Dan James could have had a couple in the first half but for Daniel Iversen’s saves before the Wales international put his side ahead with his 11th goal of the season just after the half-hour mark.
Stoke did not roll over and Illan Meslier kept out chances from Lewis Baker, Tyrese Campbell and Josh Laurent in the second period.
Mateo Joseph saw one blocked off the line to deny Leeds a second while substitute Ben Pearson was sent off late on for the visitors.
Farke said: “For me, it is the best win in 2024 because everyone expects us to win this home game.
“Everyone expects us at Elland Road…
Pep Guardiola hailed his players for writing themselves into history after Manchester City finally claimed Champions League glory.
City secured the prize they have craved for so long when they beat Inter Milan 1-0 in a hard-fought final in Istanbul on Saturday night.
Rodri scored the only goal of a tough contest in the 68th minute at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, landing City’s first European crown after several years of near misses and completing the treble.
Guardiola hopes all of City’s successes, including their five Premier League titles in the past six years, will now be given due credit without the shadow of Champions League under-achievement hanging over them.
CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE!!!
— Manchester City (@ManCity)
The City manag…
The fluctuating fortunes of Wayne Rooney this year once again highlighted English football s age-old tendency of flattering to deceive as the Premier League lost some of its sparkle.
Rooney was the toast of England in May after a barnstorming domestic campaign which saw him finish with 34 goals for Manchester United while scooping the Players Player of the Year and Footballer of the Year awards.
While Rooney s heroics were not enough to prevent Chelsea winning a Premier League and FA Cup double, the striker s form left England in buoyant mood as they headed to South Africa for the World Cup.
Rooney, in the form of his life and benefiting from a maturity conferred on him by fatherhood, was finally ready to end England s long wait for international glory, or so th…