Premier League
ARSENAL’S LATEST MANAGER, LJUNGBERG, FACES FIRST ASSIGNMENT
Arsenal’s interim coach, Freddie Ljungberg will have his first baptism as manager of Arsenal this Sunday as the team travels to Norwich. For now, the interim boss hopes rapport with younger players will help revive the befuddled Gunners.
It was offered as a throwaway line but, when Bukayo Saka said after the 3-0 Europa League win at Eintracht Frankfurt in September that Freddie Ljungberg had been key in helping him understand Unai Emery’s instructions, the alarm bells sounded.
He was hardly alone in not grasping exactly what the Spaniard required of him and the manager’s fractured English frequently led to confusion on the training ground.
Interim boss Ljungberg has no such problems and it is remarkable how effective short, simple messages can be. The Swede certainly has the ear of Arsenal’s younger players, many of whom worked with him closely in the academy, and has quickly established an easy rapport with the first-team figures.
For now, a little clarity may be enough to get a tune from a befuddled squad.
Given that Arsenal have eight games this month, starting with today’s Premier League trip to Norwich, and little opportunity to perfect new ideas in training, anyone expecting Ljungberg to conjure an instant blend in his own image would be setting unfair demands.
The 42-year-old, who was an assistant to Emery and also coached Arsenal’s under-23 team, said: “I don’t think that’s the best thing to do. I’m not going to just go and smash things up.”
But he may be able to answer the question of what Arsenal actually are as a team. Part of the reason for Emery’s downfall was that he tried too many things and ended up grasping at thin air.
Ljungberg, whose instinct is towards the fast attacking football with which he thrived as an Arsenal player, must establish some kind of identity as quickly as possible.
He said: “For me, happy footballers play the best football… often the players we have enjoy playing offensive football which makes them happy.”
He must also cut out the defensive mistakes that have dogged the team this season – partly owing to Emery’s ill-advised insistence on playing out from the back.
Acknowledging the work that lies ahead of him as the Gunners draw up a shortlist of names to take over on a permanent basis, he tweeted: “However long I oversee Arsenal for, I’ll give everything I have to put smiles on faces again.
“We have a busy few weeks ahead and the team need your support.”
The former winger played for Arsenal from 1998 to 2007 and was part of the “Invincibles” team who went through the 2003-04 league season unbeaten. The current team are winless in seven games, their worst run in 27 years.
In his departing statement on Friday, Emery called his 18-month spell an honour, adding: “I would have liked nothing more than to have achieved better results for you.”
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Global Conflict Once Silenced the FIFA World Cup, Today’s Tensions Could Do the Same
Iranian women soccer players’ hotel escape aided by Australian police
Nigeria’s Sports Community Mourns Adegboye Onigbinde, A Life Devoted to Football
- WAFCON5 days ago
BREAKING: CAF Postpones WAFCON 2026
- World Cup1 day ago
Iraq coach calls for delay to World Cup playoff amid travel shutdown
- DIPLOMACY1 day ago
Morocco Backs Gulf Security, Condemns Iranian Attacks Against Brotherly Arab States
- OBITUARY6 days ago
Nigerian Sports Journalism Mourns Oyeniyi Oyeleke and Tonex Chukwu
- MLS1 week ago
Trump to Host Lionel Messi and Inter Miami at the White House
- DIPLOMACY15 hours ago
Trump calls on Australia to give asylum to Iranian women’s soccer players
- OBITUARY14 hours ago
Breaking! Former Super Eagles Coach Adegboye Onigbinde Dies Four Days After Clocking 88
- World Cup6 days ago
‘I really don’t care’ if Iran plays in World Cup, Trump tells Politico