With mere seconds left to play against Burnley, it looked like Arsenal fans were going to get to celebrate Arsene Wenger’s 20th anniversary with the club by continuing their calls for him to be sacked. But Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Laurent Koscielny and the match officials all did what they could to ensure that Wenger didn’t suffer embarrassment by getting him a 1-0 win with an offside, handball goal at the death.
Second-half goals from Willian and Diego Costa gave Chelsea a 2-0 win over mighty Hull City and left the Blues feeling good after the match. As a result, Eden Hazard did a little work for Chelsea TV, first interviewing Willian, who dedicated his goal to his mother.
After that heartwarming moment, Diego Costa emerged from the dressing room and tried to evade his mic-wielding teammate before demonstrating that he knows the word “beautiful” and can speak in tongues as if possessed by a demon. Which would explain so much.
It should come as no surprise that the endless fountain of entertainment that is Harry Redknapp has been caught up in The Telegraph’s undercover sting operation uncovering corruption and malfeasance in football. The man whose 2012 tax avoidance trial featured revelations about foreign bank accounts in his dog’s name was caught on video regaling dinner companions with the story of how he once caught his players betting on one of their own matches.
Arsene Wenger is celebrating 20 years without getting sacked by Arsenal and to mark the achievement, the club presented him with a crystal vase that can occupy the space left by all the trophies Wenger hasn’t won over the last decade.
Sam Allardyce’s scandal induced resignation from his role as England manager has caused collateral damage for the FA in the form of 4,000 T-shirts intended to be handed out during England’s upcoming match against Malta — what would have been Allardyce’s first at Wembley.
Most people might assume that dumping a bunch of Skittles into a bottle of vodka and going to town on it isn’t the best way to maintain the level of physical well being needed by a professional athlete. Well, in 2012, when Jamie Vardy first joined Leicester, he was not most people.
It takes a unique manager to pull off a Premier League title with Leicester City and Claudio Ranieri — with his pizza rewards and made-up words — is certainly that. So it should come as no surprise that the decor in his office is unusual to say the least.
Thanks to Gary Lineker’s Instagram, we now know that Ranieri has framed pictures of every Premier League manager in his office. This is weird. Of course, Jose Mourinho has pictures of Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez in his office, but those are on dartboards. These are nicely hung artistic black and white photographs. They convey a respect for his colleagues that they would likely find unnerving.
It makes you wonder if he uses them for some sort of pre-match voodoo ritual or if he sends pictures of him with the photos to his next opponent in order to get in their head and make them think he’s some sort of stalker. Whatever the case, it’s gotten me thinking and my picture isn’t even on his wall.
If you’re wondering how Arsenal were finally able to beat Chelsea, I think we have the answer in this video. During the club’s preseason visit to the U.S., James Corden took charge of the squad for a day and brought some new ideas to the table — something they haven’t had in a while given Arsene Wenger’s long tenure.
Following a bus ride that included a sing-a-long and a tour of the many Los Angeles locations with a connection to David Schwimmer, Cordon taught the players some new football skills and celebrations. I’m disappointed the lawnmower hasn’t made an appearance yet this season.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has apparently become so powerful that he is multiplying. One member of his secret army of clones escaped the containment facility and invaded the pitch during Man United’s match against Leicester in an attempt to unite with Original Zlatan and form a unified Mega Zlatan. Though stewards thwarted his efforts, Original Zlatan was amused by the sight of the man, but clearly wanted him to get lost so as not to ruin their plan for world domination.
“This is my life now…ball man.”
Finally accepting the reality of Wayne Rooney’s struggles, Jose Mourinho benched him for Leicester’s visit to Old Trafford, starting Juan Mata in his place. And Man United went on to score four goals in the first half. Wayne Rooney, meanwhile, was forced to explore a strange new environment to him: the bench.
