Premier League
WENGER MANAGES ARSENAL IN CUP SEMI WHILE SITTING WITH MEDIA
Cramped into the Stamford Bridge media tribune was an unfamiliar occupant leaping to his feet, bellowing disapproval and kicking seats in frustration.
According to Associated Press, It’s not surprising Arsene Wenger was so exacerbated.
After all, he was managing Arsenal in a League Cup semifinal.
Wenger was forced a dozen rows back from the Arsenal bench at Chelsea on Wednesday while serving the second game of a three-match touchline ban for misconduct toward a referee.
Wenger was more animated at times than his team on the pitch as the fatigue of strain of playing five games in around two weeks caught up on both teams as they labored to a 0-0 draw in the first leg.
The London rivals only met a week ago, although that draw was a 2-2 Premier League thriller. And they will face off again in two weeks to complete the League Cup semifinal at the Emirates Stadium when Wenger is due to be back in the dugout.
While Chelsea’s Antonio Conte was in the customary managerial position patrolling the touchline on Wednesday, with his players close by to receive direct instructions, Wenger was reduced to occasional exacerbated shouts.
For once the media didn’t have to strain to listen to Wenger’s howls. Every groan and muttered remark was in full earshot, every shake of the head clear to see and the benches reverberated from his kicks.
“What?!” Wenger shouted after Chelsea was awarded a free kick in the first half when Eden Hazard went down under Hector Bellerin’s challenge.
The French manager sprung out of his seat at the start of the second half when Danny Welbeck was penalized for fouling Moses.
And for the manager who bemoaned last week that “referees get away” without facing English press criticism, his targets were at close quarters. Not that Wenger interacted with the media during the game, while flanked by a security guard and coach Jens Lehmann at the end of a long row of seats.
“It was frustrating,” Wenger said later in the media room. “But the position was quite interesting because I was close to the bench and not too high up.”
If the sight of Wenger watching his own team play from the press box was unusual, so too was Alexis Sanchez being on the bench.
Wenger’s biggest call came before the match — dropping his star forward and only sending down instructions in the second half for the Chilean to be brought on.
It was a decision, Wenger insisted, that had nothing to do with Sanchez being targeted by Manchester City in the January transfer window.
“The team selection had nothing to do with the transfer market,” said Wenger, who has been willing to sell defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin to Valencia this week.
Sanchez can leave for free when his contract expires in June. “I want him to stay for longer,” Wenger said, optimistically trying to avoid being drawn into a discussion over a potential sale.
Would Sanchez have made the difference on the pitch from the start? Both teams were lacking the attacking sting to find a breakthrough in this stalemate.
Chelsea did look more likely to take the lead but was wasteful twice with headers. At the end of the first half, Fabregas nodded tamely straight at Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina. Midway through the second half, Andreas Christiansen headed off target.
“We must be more clinical,” said Conte, whose side also drew 0-0 at second-tier Norwich in the FA Cup on Saturday. “We have to improve with all the players, not only the strikers.
“When you have the chance, you have to score.”
There was a blow for Arsenal when Jack Wilshere, who was handed the captain’s armband to cap a recent resurgence in an injury-blighted career, limped off after spraining his left ankle.
“It’s a shame to lose him when he’s in such good form,” Wenger said. “It was by blocking a shot that turned his ankle. It was his good ankle.”
Wenger said Wilshere will miss Sunday’s Premier League game against Bournemouth. The midfielder could be back for the final part of January’s Arsenal-Chelsea trilogy on Jan. 24.
“To play three times in three weeks (against Arsenal) is very strange,” Conte said. “But it’s simpler to prepare the game because you know the team.”
The League Cup is the only domestic competition Wenger hasn’t won in more than 21 years at Arsenal.
It also offers his only prospect of domestic silverware this season, since Arsenal’s FA Cup defense ended at the first hurdle at Nottingham Forest on Sunday and the team is sixth in the Premier League.
England and Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been handed a 15-month suspended prison sentence by a Greek court over a 2020 incident in Mykonos, Sky Sports reported on Wednesday.
In 2020, Maguire was found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery and violence against public employees after his arrest in a brawl in which two police officers were assaulted.
Maguire, who was detained for two days following the incident and denied any wrongdoing, was handed a suspended prison sentence of 21 months and 10 days but was granted a full retrial after appealing against Greek court convictions on multiple charges.
In accordance with the Greek judicial process, the filing nullified Maguire’s conviction before a full retrial in a more senior court. His retrial was postponed many times.
Maguire faced allegations of non-serious assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery. The 32-year-old was convicted on all three counts but will face no prison time. His legal team will appeal against the guilty verdict, Sky Sports reported.
Maguire’s brother Joe and friend Christopher Sharman were also found guilty of offences related to the incident and received suspended prison sentences in 2020. They also denied any wrongdoing.
-Reuters
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Arsenal maintained control of the Premier League title race as they chiselled out a nervy 2-1 win over London rivals Chelsea to open up a five-point lead at the top of the table on Sunday.
Jurrien Timber’s 66th-minute header from a Declan Rice corner ensured Arsenal took three precious points, but it was a nervy afternoon in north London.
Mikel Arteta’s side moved to 64 points from 29 games, with Manchester City, who have played a game fewer, on 59.
Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber celebrates scoring their second goal with Gabriel Magalhaes REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Defender William Saliba had given Arsenal the lead in the 21st minute from a trademark corner routine.
But it had looked as though an own goal by Piero Hincapie just before halftime would prove costly for the hosts until Timber came to their rescue.
Chelsea, whose six-match unbeaten league sequence under new manager Liam Rosenior was halted, ended the match with 10 men after Pedro Neto was sent off for a second yellow card.
-Reuters
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Premier League
Manchester United climb to third in Premier League table with come-from-behind win over Palace
Manchester United produced a stirring second-half comeback to defeat Crystal Palace 2–1 at Old Trafford on Sunday, with captain Bruno Fernandes inspiring the turnaround that lifted the hosts into third place in the Premier League standings.
Trailing inside four minutes after a dominant start by Palace, United responded through a Fernandes penalty before his pinpoint free-kick was headed home by Benjamin Sesko to seal victory against the 10-man visitors.
The win extended interim manager Michael Carrick’s unbeaten run to seven matches since taking charge in mid-January. United now have 51 points from 28 games and are unbeaten since the January 5 dismissal of Ruben Amorim, climbing into third for the first time since May 2023. Palace remain 14th on 35 points.
“It feels like a big result, we were behind and had to show some character,” Fernandes told Sky Sports. “There are a lot of games to go still, and it is important that we don’t feel that we are in the position that we need to be. We need to make as many points as we can.”
Palace, under Oliver Glasner, were electric in the opening half hour, capitalising on sluggish United play. Defender Maxence Lacroix powered home a header from a corner after muscling past Leny Yoro, scoring the earliest goal United have conceded this season.
The visitors nearly doubled their advantage when Daniel Munoz latched onto an Ismaila Sarr through ball, but goalkeeper Senne Lammens produced a crucial save.
United gradually found their rhythm before the break. Sesko forced Dean Henderson into action with a header from a Fernandes cross, and the Palace keeper also tipped a Fernandes free kick over the bar.
The turning point arrived in the 57th minute when Fernandes converted from the penalty spot after Matheus Cunha was dragged down by Lacroix. Following a lengthy VAR review, Lacroix was shown a red card, reducing Palace to 10 men.
Eight minutes later, Fernandes’ delivery again proved decisive as Sesko rose highest to nod home the winning goal.
United pushed for a third, with Casemiro’s volley drawing a diving save from Henderson and substitute Amad Diallo testing the keeper from distance in stoppage time. Joshua Zirkzee saw efforts blocked, while Kobbie Mainoo’s fierce strike drifted narrowly wide.
Carrick praised his team’s resilience. “The biggest thing for us to take from the game is really the first time that we have been in that situation going in at halftime,” he said. “Being in that position and how we react and showing that personality and belief… to then come back as we did in the second half is the biggest thing for me today.”
Palace pressed late but could not find an equaliser. Glasner admitted his side had let the game slip. “It feels like there was more possible today. A great first 30 minutes, but the red card changed it completely. The second goal just happened too quickly.”
For United, the victory reinforces growing belief under Carrick that a top-four finish—and a return to Europe’s elite competition—is firmly within reach.
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