The Nation Newspaper

Tag: arsenal

  • Champions League: Arsenal to meet Bayern Munich again

    Champions League: Arsenal to meet Bayern Munich again

    … Manchester City Vs Monaco

    … Real Madrid Vs Napoli

    English Premier League (EPL) side Arsenal will once again face five-time champions Bayern Munich in the Champions League, while Manchester City will face high-flying Ligue 1 outfit Monaco.

    Real Madrid will take on Serie A side Napoli, as the Spanish giants look to defend the crown claimed under Zinedine Zidane last season, Goal reports.

    Barcelona face a tough test against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, while Leicester City’s continental adventure will continue against Sevilla.

    The other ties at the first knockout stage will see Benfica tackle Borussia Dortmund, Porto lock horns with Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen attempt to halt the charge of 2015-16 beaten finalists Atletico Madrid.

    The first-leg ties will be played in February 14-15 and 21-22 next year.

    The pairings:

    Manchester City v Monaco

    Real Madrid v Napoli

    Benfica v Borussia Dortmund

    Bayern Munich v Arsenal

    Porto v Juventus

    Bayer Leverkusen v Atletico Madrid

    Paris Saint-Germain v Barcelona

    Sevilla v Leicester City

  • Iwobi, Iheanacho in race for CAF Awards

    Iwobi, Iheanacho in race for CAF Awards

    Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho of Manchester City are in the running for various CAF Awards.
    In the category of Most Promising Talent, Iheanacho is listed with fellow Nigerian Oghenekaro Etebo, Guinean Naby Keita, Elia Meshack of DR Congo and Ramadan Soby of Egypt.
    Iheanacho scored in four consecutive matches for the Super Eagles against Mali, Luxembourg, Tanzania and Zambia, and had been quite impressive for his English top tier club, for whom he scored in the UEFA Champions League last week.
    Etebo was the hero of Nigeria’s bronze medal feat at the Olympics in Brazil, scoring four goals in the 5-4 thumping of Japan.
    The Youth Player of the Year list was headed by Iwobi, who scored Nigeria’s first goal of the 2018 FIFA World Cup race, away to Zambia in Ndola in October. He contests with Ghanaians Eric Ayiah and Sandra Owusu-Ansah, Ivorian Franck Kessie and Mali U20 ace Sidiki Maiga.
    Super Falcons’ forward Asisat Oshoala was listed alongside South African Janine Van Wyk, Ghanaian Elizabeth Addo and Cameroonians Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene and Raissa Feudjio Tchuanyo for the Women’s Player of the Year.
    Oshoala won the award in 2014, alongside being named Youth Player of the Year.
    Cameroonian Gaelle Deborah Enganamouit was named Women’s Player of the Year 2015. Florence Omagbemi, the only person to have won the Women Africa Cup of Nations as captain and coach, contests for Coach of the Year with DR Congo’s Florent Ibenge, Uganda Coach Milutin Sredojevic, Nacer Sandjak of CAF Confederation Cup winners MO Bejaia and Pitso Mosimane of CAF Champions League winners Mamelodi Sundowns.
    Nigeria’s Super Falcons will battle for Women’s Team of the Year with Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, while Nigeria’s U23 team, bronze winners at the Olympics, will tug with DR Congo (CHAN winners), Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Uganda (the last two for qualifying for 2017 AFCON). Guinea Bissau is making its debut, while Uganda is back among the elites of African football after 38 years.
    Sundowns, Bejaia, TP Mazembe, Zamalek and Zesco United compete for Club of the Year, while Gambian Papa Gassama, Egyptian Ghead Grisha and Senegalese Malang Diedhiou are in the race for Referee of the Year. Incidentally, Gassama handled the Nigeria/Algeria 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Uyo, while Grisha was in charge of the first qualifying match away to Zambia in Ndola.
    The awards ceremony is slated for January 5 in Abuja.

  • Arsenal 2-2 PSG: Iwobi scores own goal in Gunners draw

    Arsenal 2-2 PSG: Iwobi scores own goal in Gunners draw

    Super Eagles forward Alex Iwobi scored an own goal as Arsenal dropped down to second place in Group A after being held to a 2-2 draw by Paris Saint-Germain.

    A win for Arsene Wenger’s side would have ensured that they would take their place among the seeds when the draw for the knockout stages is made next month but a late own goal from Alex Iwobi left the Premier League side facing the prospect of finishing as runners-up.

    During the second half against Manchester United on Saturday afternoon, Arsenal scored with their only shot on goal and history repeated itself during the opening 45 minutes on Wednesday night.

    After Blaise Matuidi had been set free down the left-hand side of the penalty area, he crossed for Edinson Cavani who slid in at the back post to tap home from three yards.

    It was a goal which should have led to a response from the home team but they toiled against the French champions and it was PSG’s own doing that they did not reach half time with a one-goal advantage.

    After Gregorz Krychowiak had brought down Alexis Sanchez in the penalty area, Olivier Giroud stepped up to fire his spot kick into the corner to undeservedly get his team back on level terms.

    The same pattern of play continued after the restart before PSG came agonisingly close to retaking the lead when Lucas Moura’s 25-yard free kick hit the crossbar with Ospina beaten.

    For the following 15 minutes, the Gunners did an effective job in stifling the visitors but as the game entered the closing stages, PSG found an equaliser when Moura’s header was deflected into his own net by Iwobi.

    However, as Arsenal tired during the closing stages, it mattered little as PSG comfortably held on to leave their fate in their own hands when they face Ludogorets in Paris in two weeks’ time.

  • Mourinho, Wenger in painful no-look handshake

    Mourinho, Wenger in painful no-look handshake

    Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was back on the touchline for Saturday’s lunchtime clash with Arsenal, and the Portuguese gave his old foe Arsene Wenger a frosty handshake prior to kick-off.

    Mourinho, who served a one-match ban following two FA charges in the victory over Swansea prior to the international break, did not exchange glances with the Frenchman at Old Trafford despite sticking to the FA’s protocol on pre-match handshakes.

    The Portuguese enjoyed uninterrupted success over Arsenal during his time with Chelsea, heading into the clash with his old adversary unbeaten in 13 games, winning seven of them.

    Wenger is clearly sick of the sight of Mourinho, with the Arsenal boss yet to conquer his Portuguese nemesis in competitive action, 12 and a half years after their first encounter.

    And there was clearly no love lost despite the change in club, after Wenger took a subtle dig at Mourinho’s playing style in the build up to the encounter, claiming viewers will tune in elsewhere if the game fails to live up to its billing.

    However, a late equaliser from Olivier Giroud has earned the Gunners an unlikely 1-1 draw with Manchester United.

    United were in control for much of the 90 minutes and deservedly led through a Juan Mata effort but in the 89th minute, substitute Giroud levelled for the Gunners as they extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 11 games.

     

  • Wenger gets more respect than me – Mourinho

    Wenger gets more respect than me – Mourinho

    Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho believes old foe Arsene Wenger is given more respect than him.

    The pair’s relationship on the touchlines and away from it has been an intriguing one over the years, with the spotlight returning to the duo ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash between United and Arsenal.

    Mourinho, who has lost only one of 15 previous meetings with Wenger, labelled the Frenchman a “specialist in failure” in early 2014, but there were no such inflammatory remarks on Friday. The Portuguese does clearly feel though that he is afforded less respect than a manager who last won the Premier League in 2004.

    “The records against any other manager being good or bad is not important,” Mourinho said.

    “For me, the only thing that matters is what you get globally as a team. Our team’s results, our CV, if you want to go to that direction.

    “In the Premier League, tomorrow is a match between the two managers with the best record in the Premier League.

    “Sir Alex Ferguson isn’t here anymore. Tomorrow, I think between the two managers we are speaking about, I think (we have) six or seven Premier League titles (between us). I have three, he has three or four.

    “Does that mean we should be respected, even in periods where our results are not the best? I think Mr Wenger has that respect from all of you, I don’t think I have, especially because my last Premier League title was 18 months ago, not 18 years ago.

    “I don’t think I get that respect. But to be honest, I just follow my way because I want to win a ninth championship and I want to win a fourth Premier League.”

     

     

  • Aliko, Arsenal, emotions and margins

    It may be said that the passion with which Aliko Dangote, Africa’s own Midas, chases after North London’s premium property, Arsenal Football Club, may equate Hardball’s tenacity to redirect his mind home. Apart from the fact that charity as we all know it to be said, begins at home; each time our mogul whimpers about being denied the purchase of the club or vows to snatch it regardless, Hardball’s sensor begins to run riot. In fact, it has become an obsessive, auto-motor thing that is a bit scary. But the reason for this reaction is not far-fetched as you can see shortly.

    For the third time in as many numbers of years, Africa’s cash king, Aliko Dangote, has vowed to take over the much coveted English football team, Arsenal FC. Twice he tried in the past and twice he was shunned. He told Bloomberg TV recently that it was a matter of time before he claimed his prize.

    One cannot deign to teach the master the art of money-making but suffice to say that Aliko’s interest in Arsenal is more an emotional exhilaration than it is about profit margins. We love our soccer and we love our Arsenal, but we know he knows that no football club makes a billion dollars profits, to start with. So a lot of what he may be buying in the Gunners if he eventually nicks it may be vicarious emotions, world-wide hype and marketing gimmickry.

    One could devote an entire book on this matter someday soon but note quickly that Nigeria’s football and her league would flourish with just a small fraction of the cost of acquiring Arsenal. Nigeria’s football owes so much today to the likes of Pastor D.K. Olukoya (MFM FC), Ifeanyi Ubah, Chris Giwa and others who have invested in soccer clubs; giving life to numerous budding football talents.

    Hardball will want to wager that an Ifeanyi Ubah is likely to buy Arsenal first going by his exploits in the Nigerian league in such a short period – he has a club that will be playing continental soccer; he has built a stadium in his hometown and he has already struck some kind of partnership with an English Premier League club, West Ham. He has something to show.

    Kano is a great footballing city and needs a rival to Kano Pillars. How about setting up Aliko Football Club (AFC; Arsenal through the back door!)? It will be inchoate if not unjust, (to put it mildly) to Nigeria and her footballing youths for Aliko to invest in Arsenal without considering Nigeria first.

    Now that Nigeria’s league is improving by the day, Aliko’s intervention by way of club sponsorship, facilities development and talent nurturing may well be the game-changer we need. Who says Arsenal cannot come to Kano during summer break if the facilities are right.

  • Arsenal wants more goals from Ozil

    Arsenal wants more goals from Ozil

    ARSENE Wenger called on Mesut Ozil to keep scoring after the German playmaker returned to give Arsenal a much-needed spark in their 3-1 win at Watford on Saturday.
    Ozil made his first start of the season and immediately made the Gunners look much sharper in attack as Wenger’s team earned their first victory of the Premier League campaign. He capped his performance by putting Arsenal 3-0 up in the first half after meeting a pinpoint cross from Alexis Sanchez in the box.
    While it’s normally Ozil who is the provider of those types of assists, Wenger said he wants more goals from the German star.
    “I think what we have seen from him today is what we want from him,” Wenger said. “To give assists but as well to score goals. So I’m very happy that he scored today because that’s what he has to add to his game.”

  • Real Madrid draw Borussia Dortmund in UEFA Champions League

    Real Madrid draw Borussia Dortmund in UEFA Champions League

    … Arsenal to meet PSG, Basel

    Defending champions, Real Madrid, will play Germany’s Borussia Dortmund in this season UEFA Champions League group stage.

    In the draw for the world’s most prestigious clubs’ competition held Thursday in Monaco, France, the Spanish side will also square up with Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon and Poland’s Legia Warsaw in Group F.

    English Premier League club, Arsenal will play in Group A alongside French champions PSG, Swiss giants FC Basel and FC Ludogorets of Bulgaria.

    Five time winners Barcelona will confront another EPL side Manchester City, Germany’s Borussia Monchengladbach and perennial Scottish champions Scotland in Group C.

    Last season’s surprise English league champions, Leicester City, play Portuguese giants FC Porto, Belgium’s Club Brugge and FC Copenhagen of Denmark in Group G.

    The group stage runs from September to December.

    The pairings:

    A – PSG – Arsenal – FC Basel – FC Ludogorets
    B – Benfica – Napoli – Dynamo Kiev – Besiktas
    C – Barcelona – Man City – Borussia Monchengladbach – Celtic
    D – Bayern Munich – Atletico Madrid – PSV – FC Rostov
    E – CSKA Moscow – Bayern Leverkusen –Tottenham Hotspur – Monaco
    F – Real Madrid – Borussia Dortmund – Sporting Lisbon – Legia Warsaw
    G – Leicester – Porto – Club Brugge – Copenhagen
    H – Juventus – Sevilla FC – Lyon – Dynamo Zabreb

  • SUPER SUNDAY: Arsenal host Liverpool in star match

    SUPER SUNDAY: Arsenal host Liverpool in star match

    ARSENAL take on a Liverpool side feeling the benefit of a full pre-season with Jurgen Klopp in their opening 2016/17 Premier League fixture

    For weeks, if not months, anxious Gooners have called on Arsene Wenger and the boardroom to spend some of their considerable cash reserves. Many want an upgrade on Olivier Giroud up front, as well as a reaction to the injury crisis in defence. Yet for now, little else except rumours have materialised. That means Arsenal enter the Premier League opening weekend with their fourth and fifth choices at centre-back. This is a weakness Sunday’s visitors, Liverpool, look well-suited to exploit.

    The good news for Wenger is that Arsenal should be okay elsewhere, despite further absences. They will miss Giroud and Mesut Ozil, who have recently resumed training having been granted extended time off following the Euros.

    That means Theo Walcott or Alexis Sánchez will play up front, and the lively Chilean would surely worry Liverpool if picked. Options on the flanks include Walcott, Alex Iwobi, Joel Campbell and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. In central midfield, where a knee injury makes Jack Wilshere a doubt, Wenger has Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny, Aaron Ramsey and new signing Granit Xhaka to call upon. No major shortcomings there, either.

    The defence is another matter. Hector Bellerin will start, but Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista are out injured, while Laurent Koscielny has just returned to training and has, alongside Ozil and Giroud, been ruled out by Wenger. That means the three best centre-backs are all missing.

    Jurgen Klopp will, despite some absences, field a decent back line and can also count on a midfield boosted by signings Sadio Mané and Georginio Wijnaldum

    The bad news for Arsenal is that Klopp’s pressing game has so often been effective against expansive, possession-based sides. They stress defenders, force errors and launch lethal transitions; only Tottenham have an equally devastating effect on an opponent’s passing game. This is what makes Arsenal’s makeshift defence look particularly fragile for Sunday.

  • Mertesacker appointed new Arsenal captain

    Mertesacker appointed new Arsenal captain

    Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger, has named defender Per Mertesacker as the club new captain following the departure of Mikel Arteta this summer.

    “Per is a very respected figure in the dressing room, is loved as well and is also a very demanding figure,” supersport.com quoted Wenger as saying to Arsenal players on Saturday.

    “I think it is absolutely natural to be him.”

    The 31-year-old Mertesacker, who signed for Arsenal in 2011, helped the club to FA Cup victories in 2014 and 2015 but would be unavailable for the first four months of this season after picking up a knee injury in July friendly against Lens.