Thomas Vermaelen was the villain turned hero last night when he scored at both ends of the pitch to ensure Arsenal earned a point form their fixture against Fulham. The draw means that the Gunners remain in position 6 in the EPL table.
However, Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger had other reasons as to why his side performed the way they did. According to Wenger, his side were simply exhausted going into yesterday’s match.
“It is a puncture problem,” Wenger said.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is still confident that his side can win the English Premier League. Chelsea who were 3-0 winners over Wolves yesterday, registered their first win in their last 4 outings with goals from Terry, Sturridge and Mata easing the pressure on Villas-Boas.
With Man United and Arsenal both drawing, the EPL table looks slightly different after Tottenham‘s 3-1 win over West Brom that saw them into position 3 on the table.
Leaders Man City travel to Anfield to face a re-surgent Liverpool who will be buoyed by their recent performances in the league. A win for City could see them increase their points advantage over Man united to 7.
After Roberto Mancini made it clear that Argentine striker Carlos Tevez would never play for City as long as he was still the coach, the 27 year old has surprisingly emerged as a key transfer target for Italian giants AC Milan.
Tevez however, will not be sold cheap and if the unconfirmed rumours doing the rounds are to be believed, then Milan will have to part with £25 million to bring the striker to the San Siro.
Chelsea seem to have lost all direction as was evident when they suffered their 3rd consecutive loss last night. The Blues have now lost 4of their last 5 games and the future is not only looking bleak for Villas-Boas, but also for a number of the club’s stars.
Reports now emerging from London suggest that Anelka is thinking about leaving the club in the January transfer window. The striker who has struggled to fit into to Coach Villas-Boas plans is thought to be fed up with playing second fiddle to struggling Spanish striker Fernando Torres.
Tonight Arsenal face a giant of a test when German club Borusssia Dortmund visit them at the Emirates in a winner takes all Group F Champions League clash. Any slip up tonight from either Arsenal, Marseille or Dortmund could effectively end their hopes of moving on to the knockout stage.
Arsenal lead Group F on 8 points and Wenger will be hoping that his star striker Robin Van Persie will carry on from Saturday and ensure the Gunners qualify with a game to spare.
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Man City‘s amazing unbeaten run finally ended last night after they suffered 2-1 away defeat to Serie A club SS Napoli. The loss now means City will have to beat Bayern Munich at home in the final group game and hope that Villarreal who are yet to pick up a point in the tournament can spring a surprise and beat the Italian club.
The other English club in action yesterday also saw United miss the chance to secure qualification as they were held to a 2-2 home draw by Portuguese club Benfica.
It’s quite simple for both Napoli and Manchester City today, if either side loses the match,they can say goodbye to their chances of moving onto the knock out stages.
City are probably the best team in Europe at the moment if you consider their current form, however, their hosts Napoli are no pushovers either. With a squad that oozes talent, Wlater Mazzarri will be hoping that his boys can replicate the same form that saw off Serie A champions AC Milan 3-0 earlier in the season.
Losing is starting to become a very familiar result for Chelsea. The Blues once again suffered a shock home defeat to Liverpool on Sunday going down 2-1 to leave them 12 points of the pace set by leaders Manchester City.
Not only was the defeat Chelsea’s second consecutive home loss, but it was also the first time the club lost 2 successive Premier League home games since Claudio Ranieri’s tenure as coach.
After refusing to sign a new contract with Arsenal and casting doubt about his future with the club, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger reiterated his commitment to the club saying that he will only think about stepping down when he felt like it.
Arsenal were 2-1 winners over Norwich yesterday with their captain Robin Van Persie scoring both goals to ensure the Gunners kept pressure on the exclusive top 4 club.
Speaking after the victory, Wenger said that his comments in French publication L’Equipe were taken out of context.
“The only way I would consider my future is if I don’t deliver what’s expected,” Wenger said.
The Confederation of African Football has released its short list for 2011 CAF African Player of the year. The list includes usual suspects Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast, Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon and Seydou Keita of Mali.
Other players short listed for the prestigious award include: Asamoah Gyan, Yaya Toure, Kevin Prince-Boateng, Moussa Sow, Gervinho, Adel Taarabt and Andre Ayew.
An interesting twist to this year’s list is the addition of 5 extra players instead of the 5 that has been the custom throughout the history of the gala ceremony.
