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Arsenal run riot in second half to win 5-1 at Fulham

Arsenal run riot in second half to win 5-1 at Fulham

London, Oct. 7, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Two goals from Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette and two more from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave Arsenal a 5-1 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage in the Premier League on Sunday.

There was also a wonderful back-heeled strike from Aaron Ramsey in between.

Fulham pressed forward in the opening minutes as they looked for their first win over Arsenal since January 2012.

And Argentine midfielder Luciano Vietto very nearly beat Gunners keeper Bernd Leno in the second minute.

Fulham’s powerful Serbian forward Aleksandar Mitrovic also had a number of half-chances but was unable to get any clear shots in on goal.

Perhaps his best attempt was a thumped volley over the bar from outside the area.

Against the run of play, Lacazette opened the scoring in the 29th minute for Arsenal.

The Frenchman collected a pass from Nacho Monreal, spinning round past defender Tim Ream and rifling the ball low into the corner of the net from close range.

Fulham’s Andre Schurrle levelled the score just before the break, chipping calmly over Leno for his third league goal since joining the Cottagers in the summer on loan from Borussia Dortmund.

But the visitors ran rampant in the second half, with three unanswered goals.

Lacazette scored his fourth league goal of the season before substitute Ramsey back-heeled in an exquisite third for the Gunners after a pass across the area from Aubameyang.

The Gabonese striker then took the game away from the home side with two more goals that left Fulham with the worst defensive record in the league by a distance.

They have now let in four more goals than any other team.

“We don’t show the Premier League level, and this is our situation,” Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic told reporters.

“Today we tried, we offered some positive signs, but it’s not enough.”

The loss leaves the Cottagers on the edge of the relegation zone in 17th place.

Arsenal, on the other hand, move up to third above Tottenham on goals scored and ahead of Chelsea who play at Southampton later on Sunday. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/SN

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Edited by Silas Nwoha

Sport

Europa League: Arsenal, Milan win, as Celtic slump in Salzburg

Europa League

Baku (Azerbaijan), Oct. 4, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) A second-string Arsenal enjoyed a 3-0 win in Azerbaijan against Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday while AC Milan beat Greece’s Olympiakos 3-1.

Eighteen-year-old Emile Smith Rowe, a product of the club’s academy was on target as the Gunners maintained their winning start in the competition.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Matteo Guendouzi also scored for Unai Emery’s side who sit atop Group E with six points.

Milan trailed to a Miguel Angel Guerrero goal at the San Siro but a late flurry of goals ensured victory for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.

Patrick Cutrone scored twice for the Italians and Argentine Gonzalo Higuain was also on target as Group F side Milan also made it two wins out of two.

RB Salzburg came back from a goal down to beat Scotland’s Celtic 3-1 in Austria.

Odsonne Edouard’s cool finish put Celtic in front in the second minute but Munas Dabbur and Takumi Minamino scored after the break.

Celtic’s James Forrest was sent off after a foul in the area and Dabbur slotted home the resulting penalty to put the game beyond Brendan Rodgers’ side.

Substitute Lucas Alario scored a brace for Bayer Leverkusen in their 4-2 win over Cypriot side AEK Larnaca.

Last year’s runners-up Marseille are in action later against Cypriot side Apollon as are Sevilla, winners of the competition three times between 2013 and 2016, and Chelsea. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/AFA

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Edited by FelixAjide

 

Sport

League Cup: Magnificent Hazard ends Liverpool’s 100% start as West Ham, Arsenal stroll

League Cup: Magnificent Hazard ends Liverpool’s 100% start as West Ham, Arsenal stroll

League Cup

Liverpool (UK), Sept 26, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) The brilliance of Chelsea’s Eden Hazard ended Liverpool’s 100 per cent start to the season as Maurizio Sarri’s side enjoyed a 2-1 win at Anfield in the League Cup third round on Wednesday.

Liverpool have started with six wins in the Premier League and a victory in the Champions League but they were knocked out by a superb solo goal from Hazard in the 85th minute.

Former Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge, who had earlier missed an open goal, put Liverpool in front in the 58th minute with an acrobatic volley after Willy Caballero parried out Naby Keita’s drive.

Emerson levelled for Chelsea in the 79th, slotting home after Simon Mignolet parried out a Ross Barkley header from a free kick whipped in by Hazard.

The goal was reviewed by VAR but ruled as fair although Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp felt it should have been disallowed for offside.

Sturridge then struck the bar with a fine effort from distance but it was Chelsea who struck the decisive blow.

“It’s a fantastic goal. Not only the beauty of it but for the time he scored it,” Chelsea assistant manager Gianfranco Zola said.

“Not only is he one of the best in the Premier League – if not the best – but he is one of the best in Europe and the world.

“In my opinion we haven’t seen the best of him yet. He’s remarkable,” he added.
The two teams face each other at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the Premier League.

Elsewhere, West Ham United hammered fourth tier (League Two) Macclesfield Town 8-0 for their biggest win since 1983.

Grady Diangana and Robert Snodgrass both scored twice as West Ham ripped apart the Cheshire side who are bottom of League Two without a win this season.

In an all-Premier League tie, Tottenham Hotspur progressed to the last 16 by beating Watford 4-2 on penalties after the game, played in Milton Keynes, ended 2-2.

Isaac Success had given Watford the lead in the 46th minute but Spurs looked to have grabbed the win thanks to a Dele Alli penalty in the 82nd minute and Erik Lamela’s goal four minutes later.

But Etienne Capoue’s 89th-minute drive took the game to penalties, only for Capoue and Domingos Quina to fail to convert their spot-kicks.

Alli didn’t fail to wrap up victory for Spurs.

Danny Welbeck scored twice as Arsenal beat Championship Brentford 3-1.
After the former Manchester United striker put the Gunners 2-0 up, Alan Judge brought Brentford back into the game but Alexandre Lacazette made sure of the win for Arsenal.

In an all-Championship match, Nottingham Forest beat Stoke City 3-2 despite having Diogo Goncalves sent off 13 minutes from time. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/SA

Edited by Salif Atojoko

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Sport

Lacazette, Aubameyang help Arsenal edge past Everton

EPL

London, Sept. 23, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Arsenal broke down a determined Everton defence to win 2-0 on Sunday, with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring two second-half goals in two minutes to give the Gunners their fourth straight Premier League win.

Everton had created most of the early chances as they looked for their first victory at Arsenal since January 1996, but they were unable to find their way past goalkeeper Petr Cech.

French striker Lacazette broke the deadlock just short of the hour mark for the Gunners.

He ran in from the left before elegantly curling the ball into the far corner just beyond the reach of outstretched England keeper Jordan Pickford.

Gabon international Aubameyang doubled the lead two minutes later from what appeared to be an offside position, sending Pickford the wrong way from close range.

The win — and Arsenal’s first clean sheet of the season — pushes the Gunners up to sixth in the table, while the Toffees stay in 12th place. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/AFA

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Edited by Felix Ajide

 

Sport

New managers Emery, Pellegrini scrap for first point

New managers Emery, Pellegrini scrap for first point

London, Aug. 24, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) When Manuel Pellegrini and Unai Emery were appointed within a day of each other in May, neither could have envisaged where their teams now stand on the table.

Both teams met for the first time three months later and after two games, West Ham United and Arsenal are joint bottom and pointless.

Two games is no measure of a season, and both were handed the hardest possible opening fixture.

But their poor starts have given Saturday’s derby at the Emirates an unexpected edge as each scrambles to kickstart a response.

Both managers have arrived with a bagful of experience and trophies with Arsenal boss Emery a multiple Europa League winner with Sevilla.

West Ham’s Pellegrini is a Premier League champion with Manchester City.

Each can expect the time to ensure they adjust after securing the all-important first win.

Of the two, Emery has taken on arguably the greater challenge, succeeding Arsene Wenger at a club needing to reassert its top-four potential.

Former Arsenal players have a vocal place in the British media and are divided about what they have seen so far from the Spaniard.

Ray Parlour and Alan Smith both praised the way he was quick to make changes in the two defeats.

The coach substituted Aaron Ramsey after 53 minutes against Manchester City and Mesut Ozil in the 68th minute at Chelsea.

“That’s a strong statement to make in these early weeks, when everyone is trying to come to terms with the manager’s methods.

A lack of accountability, after all, had marred Arsene Wenger’s last few years,” wrote Smith in the Evening Standard on Friday.

“Irrespective of performance, you never got the feeling Ozil would be dropped under Wenger. If fit, the inconsistent playmaker seemed guaranteed a place.”

Under Wenger, Ramsey and Ozil started a combined total of 45 games last season.

However, the arrival of Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria and Matteo Guendouzi, arguably Arsenal’s best player in their first two games, from Lorient has added competition.

The fact that Torreira has not started yet has surprised another former player, Tony Adams, who felt that Emery has presided over two Wenger-like performances.

Adams claimed that Arsenal was lacking the sort of defensive steel the Uruguay World Cup midfielder was presumably bought to provide.

“I felt so sad about that. Everyone knows what Arsenal have been missing — it’s that steel, that resilience,” wrote Adams in The Sun.

“Whether Emery can coach it or not I don’t know yet, it is early days.”

Such arguments over Arsenal’s midfield will not be lost on former Gunner Jack Wilshere, who will play for West Ham on Saturday.

He was told in a 15-minute conversation with Emery that he did not feature in his plans after 197 appearances for the club.

Wilshere’s quality has never been in doubt but his poor injury record made a parting likely and he has faced a tough opening to his West Ham career.

The lack of pace at the heart of West Ham’s midfield, where Wilshere has partnered Mark Noble, has been questioned by pundits and fans.

Pellegrini is likely to be forced into a change on Saturday with captain Noble unlikely to be fit, with Pedro Obiang set to come in.

West Ham spent around 105 million pounds on new players in the close season and Pellegrini said he is unconcerned about the poor start.

“If you review my career, at Villarreal, at Malaga, at Manchester City, the first games that I managed were never good games,” he said.

He acknowledged that some of West Ham’s defensive work against Bournemouth had been unimpressive.

Any repeat on Saturday will sharply crank up the pressure. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/SN

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Edited by Silas Nwoha

Sport

Champions Manchester City are impressive winners at Arsenal

Champions Manchester City are impressive winners at Arsenal

Victory

London, Aug. 12, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Manchester City began the defence of their title with an impressive win away to an Arsenal side playing under new Spanish manager Unai Emery on Sunday.

City romped to Premier League success by 19 points last season and seem to have continued where they stopped.

Attempting to become the first team since Manchester United in 2009 to retain the title, the champions were good value with goals by Raheem Stirling and Bernardo Silva.

Sterling went past two weak challengers to put City ahead in the first quarter of an hour with his 50th league goal.

Soon after debutant Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City was substituted, Bernardo Silva added the second in the 65th minute. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/SA

Edited by Salif Atojoko

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Sport

Ozil looks forward to friendlies, avoids retirement talk

Ozil looks forward to friendlies, avoids retirement talk

Ozil

Singapore, July 25, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil avoided any talk of the controversy surrounding his retirement from international football as he opted to focus on the club’s pre-season tournament in Singapore on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old quit the national side on Sunday citing “racism and disrespect” due to his Turkish roots as key to the decision.

He was singled out for criticism when Germany bombed out of the recent World Cup in the group stages.

Making his first public appearance since his retirement statement triggered a bad-tempered debate in Germany about relations with its largest immigrant community, Ozil was all smiles at a fan event in Singapore.

“It’s very exciting to be in Singapore. It’s our second time here and we really enjoy coming,” he told a gathering of Arsenal fans.

Arsenal take on Atletico Madrid at the National Stadium before they also play Paris St Germain on Sunday.

“We are expecting good matches against Paris St Germain and Atletico Madrid.

“They are great teams with great players, it’s a test for us to get ready for the new season, so it’s something to look forward to,” said Ozil

He was also criticised for meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May, where the pair were photographed holding up an Arsenal shirt.

He has yet to comment on his retirement since he announced it through social media.

Arsenal forward Reiss Nelson and midfielder Alex Iwobi sat alongside Ozil at the fan event in Singapore.

“Training has been good and Emery has been a major influence to what we are doing on the training ground.

“He’s looking to bring through the young players as well… pushing them, so they will have a feeling they can shine under the new coach,” Nelson, 18, said.

Arsenal open the new Premier League campaign with a home fixture against champions Manchester City on Aug.12. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/MUYI/SA

Edited by Muhyideen Jimoh/Salif Atojoko

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Sport

Arsenal deny chief executive Gazidis resignation

Arsenal deny chief executive Gazidis resignation

London, July 25, 2018 (NAN) Arsenal FC of England has denied reports that its chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, has accepted an offer that would see him leave the club.

Gazidis, who has enjoyed a stable tenure at the London club and built a cordial relationship with former coach Arsene Wenger, was reported to have decided to part ways with the club.

He was rumoured to be heading to Italian giants AC Milan from the beginning of the 2018/2019 season.

But according to a statement by Chips Keswick, Chairman of Arsenal Football FC, published on the club’s official website, the chief executive has no such offers.

He, however, admitted that Gazidis always receives luring offers due to his huge popularity.

“We are aware of the speculation surrounding our chief executive Ivan Gazidis. We know he receives many offers from organisations inside and outside the game as he’s a hugely respected figure.

“He has never accepted any of these opportunities and has never spoken about them publicly.

“He has always been fully committed to taking Arsenal forward and is currently working hard in Singapore with new head coach Unai Emery as we prepare for the new season,” the statement said. (NAN)

KIA/SN

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Edited by Silas Nwoha

Sport

Russian billionaire Usmanov explores sale of 30% Arsenal stake – report

Russian billionaire Usmanov explores sale of 30% Arsenal stake – report
Arsenal
London, July 24, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov is exploring a sale of his 30 per cent stake in English football club Arsenal, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
The Russian billionaire has grown frustrated that the club’s majority owner, Stan Kroenke, is unwilling to engage in takeover talks.
The newspaper also said Usmanov has given up all hope of acquiring the club outright, according to the report citing sources familiar with the billionaire’s thinking.
Usmanov had previously made a 1.3 billion dollar offer to buy out Kroenke, but Kroenke’s KSE (Kroenke Sports & Entertainment) UK Inc said its shares in the Premier League club were not for sale.
Russia’s so-called oligarchs who have relocated to London could be under threat as there have been calls to deny them access to their London lifestyles.
It followed the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in Britain.
Usmanov and Roman Abramovich, who owns the Chelsea football club, are the most prominent among the Russian elite living in London.
Arsenal finished a disappointing sixth last season and missed out on a Champions League qualifying spot, with manager Arsene Wenger leaving after almost 22 years at the club.
It appointed former Paris St Germain coach Unai Emery as their new manager.
A representative for Usmanov declined to comment. Arsenal was not immediately available to comment. (Reuters/NAN)
KIA/SA
Edited by Salif Atojoko
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Sport

Arsenal to sign keeper Leno from Leverkusen

Signing
London, June 19, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) English Premier League side, Arsenal, are closing in on a deal to sign Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper, Bernd Leno, on a five-year deal, according to British media reports.
The German international is likely to be new manager, Unai Emery’s second acquisition after Swiss defender, Stephan Lichtsteiner, joined on a free transfer from Juventus earlier this month.
Leno kept 10 clean sheets in the Bundesliga last season and is seen as a long-term replacement for Petr Cech, who turned 36 last month.
He was named in Joachim Loew’s provisional World Cup squad but failed to make the final cut for Russia.
The north London club will look to improve on their sixth-place finish in long-time manager, Arsene Wenger’s last season at the helm.
Arsenal are scheduled to start the new campaign with a tricky home match against champions Manchester City in August. (Reuters/NAN)
KIA/MUYI/OPI
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Edited by Muhyideen Jimoh and Olisa Ifeajika