There’s Nothing Friendly about a London Derby

Arsenal and Chelsea went head to head to compete for the FA Community Shield. As the two biggest clubs in London, the match wasn’t treated like a friendly but, rather, an intense battle to prove who is the greatest team of all!

Arsenal had already claimed the Emirates Cup last weekend, and it was clear that their thirst for trophies hadn’t ended there. They had a great start to the game, putting Chelsea on the back foot for a little while.

However, it was the Blues who claimed the first goal thanks to a successful attempt by Moses in the 46th minute! It looked as if this was going to be the vital breakthrough that would win Chelsea the cup!

That was until Pedro received a red card in the 80th minute and Chelsea were down to ten men. Arsenal immediately took advantage of this, equalising just two minutes later.

The winner of the Community Shield was then decided by a penalty shootout. After the Blues missed two penalties- one surprisingly taken by the Chelsea goalkeeper- the Gunners claimed all the glory!

With two pre-season trophies, Arsenal fans can be rest assured that the new Premier League season will provide promising results and that, in fact, Wenger might have been the right man for the job after all.

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The New Season is Just Around the Corner

The Premier League season will be returning to us next month. It has been a long break, at least it feels that way, but luckily there have been a few friendly matches to keep our spirits high.

The most prominent matches are being played this weekend with Arsenal, Sevilla, Benfica and RB Leipzig competing for the Emirates Cup. Sevilla won their match against Leipzig 1-0, and the Gunners defeated Benfica 5-2 in a high intensity match. 

Four goals were scored in the first half- two from each side- and it was in the second half that the Reds truly separated themselves from their opponents, with three stunning goals!

Arsenal are set to play Sevilla tomorrow and the winner will lift the Emirates Cup. Without a doubt, a trophy for the Gunners will be a huge comfort to the fans, especially the Wenger skeptics.

Arsenal are FA Cup Champions

Many expected the Premier League Champions, Chelsea, to defeat their London rivals, Arsenal, in the FA Cup Final. However, things did not quite turn out that way.

In fact, all chances of Chelsea’s success were blown away very quickly. Sánchez gave Arsenal the lead in the 4th minute of the match. It was a shocking goal and the Gunners defended it well.

In the second half, Moses received his second yellow card of the match, due to his dive in the penalty box. Chelsea were down to ten men, and all the attempts they had made to keep their trophy hopes alive seemed to be in vain.

Nevertheless, the Blues ended up equalising, with a goal from Diego Costa in the 76th minute. However, before the Chelsea fans could even celebrate, Ramsey responded with the winning goal for Arsenal!

Arsenal have now won 13 FA Cups, 7 of which were won under the leadership of Arsene Wenger. They are definitely a team that are always breaking records!

Now, the only question left unanswered is whether Wenger will sign a new contract, and stay with the club for another season. After today’s performance, it’s hard to see why he wouldn’t.

Manchester United are Europa League Champions

Manchester United’s experienced team defeated Ajax’s juniors to win the Europa League and, ultimately, qualify for the Champions League next season.

The Reds defeated their opposition 2-0, the goal scorers being Pogba (18′) and Mkhitaryan (48′). Although Mourinho was too skeptical to celebrate the first goal, he definitely raised his hopes of lifting the cup by the time the second goal was netted.

Manchester United might have finished 6th on the Premier League table, but all that is now irrelevant. They will be joining the top four Premier League finishers in the Champions League next season, and that is what they’ll truly be celebrating.

Arsenal now remains the only top English Club to not be participating in the Champions League next season. How times have changed! Nevertheless, we wish all the English clubs the best next year.

Who knows, just like United, the Gunners could gain success outside of the Premier League. The FA Cup Final will be played this weekend, and the only thing we know for sure is that one London club will be walking away with a trophy!

All in all, congratulations Manchester United!

Chelsea are Champions

Chelsea received their Premier League trophy today! They have a lot to celebrate this season and they deserve all the glory they get!

Chelsea won their last game of the season against Sunderland, allowing them to break the Premier Legaue record of most games won in a season. They scored five goals and only conceded one to fully claim their 30th victory of the season.

After the match the trophy was raised in the midst of bubbly fans, blue banners and delighted faces all around. 

Terry played for just over twenty minutes in what was his last game with the club. It has been a good run for him and now it’s time to say goodbye, and what an amazing goodbye it is.

He has served the club for his entire professional football career and he has done it well. We wish him all the best for the future!

Next weekend, Chelsea will be fighting against Arsenal for the FA Cup. The celebration of the Blues might not be over yet!

Top Four Decided

After an action-packed final day of the Premier League, some teams have come out on top! Manchester City and Liverpool have both confirmed their place in the Champions League next season!

Manchester City secured third spot on the PL table with a whopping 0-5 victory over Watford. Kompany gave City the lead in the 5th minute of the game, and from then on the goals just kept coming. His goal was followed by two from Agüero, one from Fernandinho and the last from de Jesus.

Considering that the first four goals came in the first half, City were clearly not leaving anything to chance.

Liverpool on the other hand had to overcome their anxieties before truly dominating their game against Middlesbrough. The referee decided not to give a penalty to Middlesbrough in the first half of the match, which could have ruined Liverpool’s top four chances.

Instead, Liverpool were first to score a goal at the end of the first half. This confidence allowed them to score two more goals in the second half, one from Coutinho and the other from Lallana. The best part about it all was that the home fans were cheering them on all around the stadium!

Arsenal was the unlucky club that missed out by one point. However, they did put up a great final performance. Bellerín gave Arsenal the lead in the 8th minute. Then, when Arsenal went down to ten men after Koscielny received a red card six minutes later, all looked as if it would go down hill.

However, the Gunners simply stepped up to the challenge. Sánchez scored another goal for the club and, even though Arsenal conceded a penalty in the second half, Ramsey ended the game on a high note with a final goal in extra time! The Gunners were glorious!

Although Arsenal’s attempts were in vain, they’ve showed that they are a great club who we can expect great things from next season. It’s the first time in 21 years that they have finished outside the top four. However, this shocking change is perhaps what’s needed to push them to greatness. Just take Chelsea for example.

Chelsea finished tenth place last season and first this season, without the stresses of the Champions League. The Gunners might just find glory next season.

The Battle for Top Four

It is the last day of the Premier League and a huge battle for top four will take place in a few hours. Chelsea and Tottenham have both secured 1st and 2nd position respectively, so it’s left to either Manchester City, Liverpool or Arsenal to make up the numbers.

Manchester City are the most likely club to finish in a Champions League position. They defeated Crystal Palace, Leicester and West Brom this month, moving them up to 3rd place on the table.  They are two points above Liverpool and three points above Arsenal. So, the only possible way that they could fall out of top four is if they lose their final match, against Watford, and Arsenal score 5 goals. This is rather unlikely.

Liverpool also have the fate of top four in their hands. They are currently fourth place on the Premier League table, having won two of their last three matches and drawn the other. To secure their fate, they simply need to win their last game at home against Middlesbrough, a team already relegated. That shouldn’t be too hard.

Arsenal won all four of their Premier League matches this month. However, since they haven’t been consistent throughout the season, they are currently in fifth place and their hopes of top four are sitting in the hands of those above them. Not only do they need to win a tough match against Everton, they also need those above them drop enough points and concede enough goals in order to overtake them.  

Arsenal have finished in top four for 20 years in a row! However, this run could come to an end very shortly.

The Premier League is coming to a close and all the action will be happening all at once. Whilst we try to predict what is to come, we must brace ourselves for the unexpected!

London is Blue

Chelsea are the Premier League Champions of 2016-17! Tottenham did believe that they could win it, however, it was clear that the Blues had other ideas. They are number one!

Tottenham were consistent in maintaining a four point gap between them and the leaders, Chelsea. However, when they were defeated 1-0 by West Ham, Spurs conceded their title hopes to Chelsea, who completely destroyed them!

The Blues defeated both Middlesbrough (3-0) and West Brom (0-1) before Spurs were even able to play their next matching, confirming Chelsea as the Premier League Champions!

The fans chanted Antonio Conte’s name and Tottenham became a distant memory.

It’s been a great season for the Blues, they’ve climbed from tenth place under Mourinho to first place under Conte! This is a tremendous victory for the club, the manager and the fans.

This is Terry’s, the Chelsea legend’s, last season with the club. He scored one of the goals in Chelsea’s 4-3 victory over Watford and will, undoubtedly, play in the last match. It will be a nostalgic send off for the legend and an unforgettable day as the Blues receive their trophy.

The FA Cup is Coming to London

The top teams battled against each other for a spot in the FA Cup Final. Chelsea faced Tottenham and Arsenal faced Manchester City and this is what came of it…

Chelsea, the Premier League leaders tore their competitor to shreds with a 4-2 victory. The Blues were quick to put to bed any false hopes Tottenham were harbouring of winning the FA Cup. This game also proved to be a big indicator of who would be the most victorious in the Premier League.

It was then a matter of who was going to face Chelsea in the final. The match between Arsenal and Manchester City was the decider.

Both teams scored a goal by the end of the 90 minutes, forcing them to play another 30 minutes of added time in order for one team to find a winning goal. Luckily, one did- and it was Arsenal!

Sánchez’s goal in the 102nd minute confirmed Arsenal’s place in the FA Cup final. Arsenal have won the cup twice in the last three years, so it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if they won it again this year.

The FA Cup Final will be played on May 27th. It’s going to be a big match between two great London rivals. Chelsea have already won the Premier League. Will they win another?

MANCHESTER UNITED UPDATE

Manchester United have really built themselves up since last year, and are beginning to show that they can still be a too club without Alex Ferguson.

They put on very strong and promising performance in January. Not only were they largely winning their Premier League matches, but they also succeeded through the third and fourth round of the FA Cup.

The same fate followed them throughout February, in which they reached the Europa League last 16 and won the Football League Cup by defeating Southampton 3-2! Impressive! 

It’s sad to note that they were knocked out of the FA Cup in March after being defeated by Chelsea 1-0. Manchester United are good, but perhaps not as good as the Premier League leaders.

Although, that was indeed challenged this April. Manchester United defeated Chelsea 2-0 last weekend, just a few days after drawing against RSC Anderlecht 1-1 in the first leg of the Europa League quarter final! They won’t give up!

Manchester United is currently 5th position on the Premier League table, but they have the mentality of a team in top four. Let’s hope that this can-do attitude helps them in the second leg of their Europa League match tomorrow!