Latest news with #ArseneWenger
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
PLAY TEAMSHEET: Can YOU name the Arsenal team that thrashed Leeds 5-0 back in 2004? Or pick YOUR team and guess their starting XI
Welcome back to Teamsheet... Mail Sport's original football memory game with a twist that gives you the chance to test your football knowledge against your mates. Today we are taking you back to a match in 2004, as Arsenal earned a crushing 5-0 victory over Leeds United at Highbury. The Gunners earned the victory on route to completing their invincible season, with one star scoring four goals in the same match for the club for the first time. The heavy defeat one one of 21 suffered by Leeds as they were relegated from the top flight. We want to see if you can name the line-up Arsene Wenger fielded for the match. It's just for fun, so see how you fare and share your Teamsheet score... full instructions on how to play are at the bottom of the article and in the game itself. And you can also pick any team you like and guess their starting XI. Best of luck! HOW TO PLAY The aim of the game is to score as few points as possible! If you guess a player at the first attempt you score one point - so the lowest score for guessing every player at the first attempt is 11. Guess a correct letter in the right position, and it'll turn green. Guess a correct letter but in the wrong position, and it'll turn yellow. You have six guesses for each player - and if you fail, we'll reveal their identity for 11 points! You can also ask for a free letter, but it costs you a point. So play on to see if you'll score the best possible total of 11 - or fail on every player and score 121.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Paul Scholes claims Arsene Wenger doesn't like Man United and Tottenham after the ex-Arsenal boss called for the Europa League winner to be STRIPPED of a Champions League place
Paul Scholes has joked that former Arsenal boss and FIFA chief Arsene Wenger isn't too fond of Manchester United and Tottenham, after calling for neither side to earn Champions League qualification by winning the Europa League. The Premier League sides currently sit 16th and 17th respectively and have lost a combined 39 matches in the top flight. Yet, UEFA rules grant qualification for Europe's premier competition by winning the Europa League, a stipulation Wenger voiced his objection to in light of the pair's dismal seasons. Ahead of the final at San Mames, Scholes' former United teammate Rio Ferdinand claimed the Red Devils and Spurs are 'probably the two worst teams' to reach a European final. Scholes, meanwhile, said on TNT Sports: 'I don't think Wenger quite likes United and Tottenham. 'It could be eight [Premier League] teams, United got in this from winning the fa cup this year, but recent weeks the teams have targeted this, they knew going into the game they were resting players.' Ex-Tottenham player and manager Glenn Hoddle, added: ' The Premier League is such a powerful strong league, United and spurs have got there and look how they have played, for the two team to come here and lose 39 games is incredible.' UEFA changed its rules in 2014 to allow the winners of the Europa League to qualify for the Champions League, but earlier this month Wenger argued the policy is 'not right'. 'No. They should qualify automatically for the Europa League but not necessarily for the Champions League,' he told BeIN Sports. 'Especially when you're in the Premier League where already five teams qualify. 'I think it's something [for UEFA] to think about and to review. 'On the other hand people will tell you that to keep the Europa League focused, interesting and motivated you need to give them that prize [Champions League].' Since the rebranding of the Europa League, UEFA's second biggest continental club competition, in 2009-10, no team lower than 12th has reached the final or won it. Sevilla, 12th in LaLiga, lifted the trophy in 2023 while Fulham, who also finished 12th in the Premier League in the 2009-10 campaign, lost the final to Atletico Madrid in 2010. United won the Europa League in 2018 during Jose Mourinho's first season in charge and qualified for the Champions League despite finishing in sixth place. Around 80,000 supporters have flown out to Spain for the game, despite the San Mames having a capacity of 52,114. Both sets of clubs were allocated 15,000 tickets for the final, with thousands of ticketless fans still opting to descend on the city.
Daily Maverick
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Maverick
Man United vs Spurs Europa final an indictment of the level required in the auxiliary competition
On Wednesday night two teams who have toiled in the Premier League, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, will battle for European glory. The Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur has raised questions about the competitiveness and quality of Europe's second-tier competition. The sides come into the decider of the auxiliary continental contest against a backdrop of horrendous form in the English Premier League. The finalists have an identical record in the league over the past five matches – four defeats and a draw each. As a result, they languish just above the relegation zone, with Spurs in 17th spot on the table after a meagre haul of just 38 points from 37 matches. The Red Devils, who are one place above Spurs on the table, are only marginally better than the Londoners. United are on 39 points after 37 matches, in their worst season in decades. That is the background as the two sides head to Bilbao for the Europa final on Wednesday night. Interestingly, even though a run of consecutive wins in the Premier League has been as mythical as a unicorn for the Red Devils this campaign, they arrive in the final undefeated in Europe this season. Spurs have been in similarly consistent form on their trek to the final, only losing twice in their 14 matches leading up to this stage of the competition. Not a good look These two English teams outlasting all their opponents to be the last sides standing raises some important questions. Is the standard of Europa League so poor that two teams languishing near the relegation zone in their league can be contesting its final? What of the competition's prestige, which has generally been nonexistent in any case? The Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) has tried to boost the profile of its auxiliary competition over the years. This includes amending its rules in 2014 to allow winners of the Europa automatic passage into the European Champions League, regardless of where they place in their domestic leagues. The incentive will see Spurs or United playing in the world's premier club competition next season, to the dismay of some people. This includes former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who recently argued that this rule erodes the prestige of the Champions League. '[Winners of the Europa] should qualify automatically for the Europa League again but not necessarily for the Champions League,' Wenger argued on beIN Sports recently. 'On the other hand, people will tell you that to keep the Europa League participants focused, interesting and motivated you need to give them that prize (of qualifying for the Champions League),' he added. Consolation prize Of course, having United and Spurs fighting in the final (in spite of their domestic struggles) may also be a nod to the quality of the Premier League. Commercially, the English top-flight draws in billions of eyeballs globally, hence it is considered the best. Now the hierarchy of the league can also brag that two teams that have had awful individual campaigns in the league are duelling for European glory. But for the teams themselves, considering their high standards, success in the final will be a mini plaster on a gaping and bleeding wound. 'It's hard to speak about everything we need to change at this moment because we need to be excited and confident for the final, but we already know the problems we have,' United manager Ruben Amorim said. 'There are a lot of things we need to change in our club. It's hard to point to one thing. That will not be solved by winning a cup. I will say it again, for me we have bigger things to deal with to put this club back to the top,' the Portuguese tactician added. Amorim's sentiments were reinforced by his compatriot and Red Devils captain Bruno Fernandes, who said that if the team wins in Bilbao, it would mean they have been successful only in the Europa, but overall, they've had a season to forget. 'Obviously we know we talk about the Europa League and Europa League is everything that is in our minds because we will play the final tomorrow, but that only means that we were successful in this tournament,' Fernandes stated. 'In the Premier League we haven't been as good as we want.' In the Spurs camp there has been less self-criticism, despite the London team being on course for its worst finish in the Premier League era. Manager Ange Postecoglou has acknowledged that where they find themselves on the log table is not good enough. Within that, though, he has pointed out that Spurs are in line to win their first major trophy since lifting the Carabao Cup in 2008 – an achievement he hopes might save his job. 'There are so many years without winning a trophy. If I was worried about my tenure with this club, it's fair to say that we wouldn't be in this position, because I would have been too distracted with unimportant things,' Postecoglou said. 'My job here is not done. I really feel like we were building something here and what a trophy does is hopefully accelerate this,' the Australian added. The final kicks off at 9pm on Wednesday, 21 May. It will be a roller coaster match for the clubs' fans as they hope to celebrate a consolatory victory after their teams' horrendous seasons. DM
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'It can't all come from the manager'
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown says it's not just down to Mikel Arteta to respond to the club's near misses in the right way, responsibility also lies with the told Match of the Day 2: "Being the bridesmaid so often is the worst feeling in football and it takes a special group to come back from having that happen repeatedly, and win. I was lucky because I was part of a special group of players at Arsenal, but we still had to work on it."In the summer of 2001, Arsene Wenger brought in a psychologist who said to us that we were second best because the statistics proved we were. We weren't very happy about that, but then he told us that he did not believe that the statistics were telling the truth."He looked around the dressing room and said we have got World Cup winners in here, and you have all won trophies in the past. His message was that there was more under the bonnet, we just needed to find it."It was a clever move by Wenger and the parallels in Arsenal's current position means it is something Arteta could try too, but it can't all come from the manager - it is down to the players to respond in the right way."We did not make big changes to our squad that won nothing in 2001 to do the Double the following season. Sol Campbell arrived and Wenger told myself and Tony Adams that Sol would always play and one of us would be alongside him, but our only other major signing was Everton striker Francis Jeffers."I don't think this Arsenal squad needs an overhaul either, but the question always seems to come back to what they need to do to win trophies after finishing empty-handed again. The answer is usually a new player in a certain position, like a centre-forward this summer for example."I do think Arteta needs to strengthen in a few areas but I think what they really need to be successful is the mindset I mentioned above - so, a really strong group that has got such a burning desire to win that it hurts them to the core when they don't."Read more from Keown on Arteta and Arsenal
New York Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Mikel Arteta has convinced Arsenal fans – their belief remains unwavering
Adopting a Churchillian persona comes more naturally to Mikel Arteta than most managers. But, as he delivered his customary curtain-closing address to a captive audience at the Emirates Stadium, the supporters' reaction felt as important as his choice of words. In 2023, Arsenal were a surprise package. The Emirates was a permanent sugar rush, in love with the idea of a team who were genuine title challengers again. The message was simple: they wanted to stay there. Advertisement Last year, having lost just once in their final 19 games and pushed the Manchester City juggernaut to the finish line, there was a sense that they had witnessed a team who had maxed out. 'Keep pushing because we want more, and we are gonna get it,' was the rousing message. This time, there was more persuasion required. Unlike last season's finale against Everton, when they arrived still dreaming of the helicopter changing direction, the only thing on the line against Newcastle United was securing their status as the best of the rest. They achieved that, overcoming a difficult first half like the Anfield draw last week, to win 1-0 and secure Champions League football with a game to spare. It means they have finished as runners-up three years in a row, the only Premier League side to do so since Arsene Wenger's Arsenal between 1999 and 2001. That can be a fatiguing experience, however, particularly when compounded by bruising semi-final losses in the Carabao Cup and Champions League. With no silverware to toast, after Newcastle ended a decades-long drought and Crystal Palace won their first major trophy, there could easily have been an emptiness that filled the stadium at full time. Arteta sought to reframe the narrative and apply a full stop to a season when fortune seems to have been constantly running away from them. 'We had a dream, and it was to be here today or in a week's time and to bring a trophies to you guys,' he said, as his voice began to croak with emotion. 'Unfortunately we haven't been able to do it for many circumstances… but make sure that chasing a dream doesn't get blurry. 'I know what these players have been through this season… any other club in this position would finish in a position that we cannot even dream of. This group of players, I'm telling you, they have the hunger, they have the quality, they have the talent and we're gonna make it happen.' 💬 'It's an incredible connection that we have built.' Mikel on the fantastic support throughout the season 👇 — Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 18, 2025 If this was a test of whether the supporters were still behind the manager and his team, the noise that greeted his speech was an emphatic 'yes'. The temperature of online discourse can often provide a false reading of a fanbase's opinion on a manager or a team. As the players performed a lap of honour in front of an almost full stadium, there was no sense this was a group of supporters giving up or losing faith. Advertisement It felt like mission achieved for Arteta, who wanted to ensure that the fans left the stadium invigorated for a fourth and final push. This season's climb was burdened after an injury contagion and six red cards. Ever since Mikel Merino broke his shoulder in his first training session in August, it has felt destined that glory was not going to be on the menu but Arteta wanted to underline that he believes there has been progress, despite disputes from those on the outside. 'If we cannot see that, that's a really, really dangerous thing. Just expecting something, that's a really dangerous thing,' he said. 'I know what we've been through for nine and a half months, what we've done. I know very well the history of this Premier League, and the teams that they've been, not in 70 per cent of the situations that we've been in, they have collapsed, completely collapsed. We haven't. I really value that, because that shows that we have built something very sustainable and consistent. Regardless, some people don't like to see it.' If Arteta is attempting to create a siege mentality, it could be a powerful ingredient in helping his players find the extra edge to claim a major trophy. The conditions for winning the Premier League next season also look more favourable. Liverpool have won comfortably but they are not the untouchable team that Manchester City were when winning four in a row. With City having dropped off this season, too, major additions in the forward line could see Arsenal start as favourites in many people's books. Arteta had a thinly-veiled message for the board on that subject as he told Sky Sports he wanted to 'make sure the ones upstairs know to do what they have to do' in the summer. He stressed the importance of making the existing squad feel loved upon their return but after going full pelt for three seasons, can they realistically give any more without experiencing a drop off? Advertisement 'I will give my life here. I will give everything,' Arteta said. 'I will get every drop of everybody there, squeeze it to get the best. But promise? I cannot promise. I cannot. 'Any manager is going to promise tomorrow, next season, I'm going to win the Premier League or the Champions League. If I have to do that, I don't do it, because I cannot promise anybody that. My best and the best of these players are going to try and go mad chasing that.' Arsenal have proven themselves to be an extremely consistent team. They have not lost against a 'big six' side in two seasons and are a team with a clear identity, but you can only finish empty-handed for so long. The core of this team are in their peak years now and a long list of contracts needing extended. The majority of match-going fans clearly still believe that Arteta and this team can bring home silverware and that it is just a matter of time. The key players need validation soon. This season was meant to be the one, but the failure to do so comes laced with reasonable caveats. Next year, however, no matter the hurdles, conclusions will only be written in absolutes. Arsenal need to win.
