Oliver Glasner has complained that the buildup to Crystal Palace’s FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa is unfair, after the Premier League turned down a request from the London club to have both sides play on the same night in midweek.
Villa were in action at Manchester City on Tuesday night while Palace travel to the Emirates Stadium 24 hours later.
Continue reading...Guglielmo Vicario believes Tottenham showed their true colours as they progressed to the Europa League semi-finals and admitted they had “suffered a lot” during an otherwise disappointing season.
A first clean sheet since the 16 February 1-0 win against Manchester United, who Spurs could meet in next month’s final if they beat Athletic Bilbao, helped overcome Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 on aggregate thanks to Dominic Solanke’s penalty. Ange Postecoglou’s side face the Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt as Spurs attempt to make up for an underwhelming Premier League campaign by claiming their first trophy since 2008.
Continue reading...Mikel Arteta has praised Declan Rice for his initiative after the midfielder ignored the instructions of Arsenal’s set-piece coach before scoring the first of his two free-kicks against Real Madrid.
Rice revealed that Nicolas Jover had been telling him to cross the ball rather than shoot in the 58th minute of the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday. Rice had never scored a free kick in 338 appearances but said Jover’s instructions “didn’t make sense” and opted to shoot instead after being encouraged by Bukayo Saka.
Continue reading...Thibaut Courtois has revealed that Real Madrid are wary of Arsenal’s prowess from set pieces and have been preparing specifically for the challenge of facing them.
The reigning European champions come into Tuesday’s first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Emirates following a 2-1 home defeat by Valencia in La Liga that left them four points behind leaders Barcelona. A poor defensive performance saw Madrid concede their 10th goal from a corner this season, although Carlo Ancelotti will welcome back Courtois and David Alaba from injury against Mikel Arteta’s side.
Continue reading...Bukayo Saka has said he feels mentally refreshed after missing three months through injury and believes Arsenal are ready to “write our own story” against Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final.
Saka is expected to start against Madrid on Tuesday in the first leg for the first time since rupturing a hamstring in December, having come on in the past two matches. The Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, said having the 23-year-old back for what he described as the biggest game of his coaching career was a massive boost as his team attempt to overcome the reigning champions.
Continue reading...James Maddison believes Tottenham are real contenders to win the Europa League and is hoping their victory over AZ Alkmaar can be the catalyst for Ange Postecoglou’s side to make it a “special season”.
Spurs overturned a 1-0 deficit from the first leg with a stirring 3-1 home victory over the Dutch side on Thursday to set up a quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt next month. Maddison was instrumental in the move that created Wilson Odobert’s winning goal, having earlier scored his 11th of the season to make it 2-0.
Continue reading...Ange Postecoglou has insisted he is not thinking about the possibility of being sacked if Tottenham are knocked out of the FA Cup by Aston Villa on Sunday and has backed his players to recover from their 4-0 thrashing at Liverpool.
A weary Spurs squad returned to London in the early hours of Friday with criticism ringing in their ears after surrendering their 1-0 advantage from the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. They did not manage a shot on target at Anfield, prompting the Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp to describe their performance as “abject”.
Continue reading...Mikel Arteta is hoping the sound of music can help Arsenal seal a place in the top eight of the Champions League and has urged his players to take out the frustration of letting slip a two-goal lead against Aston Villa when they face Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday night.
Victory against the Croatian side would put Arsenal on the verge of qualifying directly for the last 16 with a trip to Girona next week in their final fixture to come. Arsenal will again be without William Saliba after the Frenchman missed the draw against Villa on Saturday with a hamstring strain, although Arteta said the defender was “evolving well”.
Continue reading...Mikel Arteta, whose side host Manchester United, is unlikely to be able to bolster his attack this month
“Gentlemen whose sole ability to build up a good side depends on the payment of heavy and exhorbitant [sic] transfer fees need not apply.”
This summer marks the 100th anniversary of the legendary Herbert Chapman’s appointment by Arsenal after the chairman, Sir Henry Norris, posted an advertisement in the Athletic News as they searched for a new manager. Times may have changed but the message must sound very familiar to Mikel Arteta.
Continue reading...Kieran Tierney is set to feature for Arsenal for the first time in more than 16 months after Mikel Arteta revealed he expected to be without several key defenders for Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Monaco.
Thomas Partey, Jurriën Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Magalhães did not train with the rest of the squad on Tuesday and Arteta said “some of them probably aren’t going to be fit” to face the French side, who have an identical record of 10 points from five fixtures.
Continue reading...Former player on taking inspiration from a hospital visitor after being paralysed, and his hopes for his National League South club in their FA Cup tie with Morecambe
Three days before the National League South side Worthing face Morecambe of League Two in the first round of the FA Cup, builders are putting the finishing touches to the main entrance of the club’s Woodside Road stadium. Nestled in a suburban neighbourhood of the west Sussex seaside town, the Rebels have enjoyed a rapid rise up the non-league pyramid and on Saturday will officially open their new North Stand that takes the capacity to 4,000.
For the owner, George Dowell, who was paralysed from the chest down in a car crash when he was 17, days after being named on the bench for Worthing’s first team, it will be a particularly proud moment. “It’s going to be amazing to see it,” he says. “We’re starting to get that ‘North Stand, give us a wave’ chant so the atmosphere is going all around the ground these days.”
Continue reading...Former Nigeria international on starting in slippers, hoping to inspire African golfers and that attempt to join QPR
“It’s unbelievable,” says Peter Odemwingie. “I never thought I could get so obsessed with this game.” On a cloudy Tuesday afternoon in the affluent northern suburbs of Birmingham, the former West Brom, Stoke and Nigeria striker has just ripped a drive well beyond 300 yards down the third fairway at Sutton Coldfield Golf Club.
Watched by Odemwingie and his friend and fellow pro Lewis Pearce from nearby Aston Wood GC – not to mention Pearce’s pet dachshund, George – it is soon my turn to step up to the tee. Having somehow scrambled a par to win the 1st, my early advantage has evaporated thanks to a miscued tee shot into the trees at the 2nd. With the match level, the pressure is on. But sadly my tee shot fails to get off the ground and comes to rest in a big patch of heather no more than 80 yards away.
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