The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Steely Spurs turn screw on faltering Arsenal Posted: 03 Mar 2013 03:03 PM PST
Both Spurs goals came in a two-minute burst shortly before halftime with man-of-the-moment Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon scoring before Arsenal hit back with a header from Per Mertesacker just after the interval. But Arsenal failed to break down the Spurs defence again and they ended the day in fifth place on 47 points with their long unbroken run in the Champions League, dating back to 1998, under serious threat. They have never finished below Spurs since Arsene Wenger became manager in 1996. Although unsourced reports in Sunday papers said Arsenal were going to be the subject of a $1.5 billion takeover bid from Arab investors, failure to reach the Champions League would probably devalue that figure considerably. Spurs, after years in Arsenal's shadow, seem to be the club on the move with victory bringing them to within two points of second-placed Manchester City who meet Aston Villa today.
"It was a very, very important win for us," Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas told reporters. "There are still 10 matches to go and we have to keep fighting hard to get back into the Champions League, but we are motivated and confident, while Arsenal are at a low." Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was puzzled by his team's loss. "When we went 2-0 down we should have been 2-0 up," he said. "It was a strange game to lose and it is difficult to understand how we lost it. We made mistakes at the back but they never dominated us and we played very well. Now we have a massive challenge to finish in the top four." All Arsenal Arsenal dominated the first 25 minutes, closing Spurs down quickly and looking far more impressive than they had done in many recent matches. Much of the pre-game hype had centred on Tottenham midfielder Bale, who had been in stunning form with eight goals in his previous six matches, and he continued his prolific form.
Arsenal's defence was quickly breached again when Scott Parker picked out Lennon who beat the offside trap and waltzed round Szczesny to double the lead. Arsenal won last season's derby at the Emirates 5-2 after trailing 2-0 and they also trailed 1-0 there this season before beating Spurs 5-2 again and they came back into this match when Mertesacker headed home at the near post from a Theo Walcott free kick. But Arsenal's hopes of another fightback were thwarted by the superb Spurs defence in which Jan Vertonghen was outstanding alongside captain Michael Dawson. "It was massive win today," Dawson said. "It probably wasn't our best performance of the season, we didn't keep the ball like we can, but we showed some real determination and grit out there and got the three points we deserved. "We want to be back in the Champions League and that showed in our celebrations afterwards." — Reuters |
| Gulf investors reported may bid RM7b for Arsenal Posted: 03 Mar 2013 03:35 AM PST
The bid is likely to be mounted in the next few weeks, seeking to buy out the current majority owner, US sports investor Stan Kroenke, the British newspaper said. The Middle Eastern investors do not want to reveal their identities yet but will be backed by funds from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the newspaper reported late yesterday without naming its sources. The consortium would make available transfer funds "to transform the club into a major force in European and world football", the newspaper quoted an unnamed source familiar with the plan as saying. "The bid team regard Arsenal as one of the great clubs of European football but also one that is no longer punching its weight and is in danger of falling behind," it said. The newspaper added that the consortium would pledge to reduce ticket prices at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium in London, and would aim to recreate there some of the atmosphere of Highbury, Arsenal's historic former stadium. The takeover would raise questions over the future of Arsenal's manager, Arsene Wenger, although the consortium values his football knowledge and wants him to remain at the club, The Telegraph said. An acquisition would add to a string of investments in European football teams by Middle Eastern interests over the past several years. Manchester City, the current English Premier League champions, were bought by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family in 2008, while Kuwait's al-Hasawi family bought twice European Cup winners Nottingham Forest in July last year. France's Paris St Germain and Spain's Malaga are owned by Qatari investors. — Reuters |
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