Sports

Arsenal five points clear with Odegaard double over Wolves

Published

4 years ago

November 13, 2022

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Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Wolves at the Molineux.

The Gunners have made rapid starts their trademark this term, but couldn’t find their rhytm early on against a Wolves side who got plenty of joy in behind their visitors full-backs.

Gabriel Jesus has found goals hard to come by in recent weeks and his first half performance will do very little to ease fears over the Brazilian’s finishing. He spurned a number of clear opportunities in the first period and the one time he did have the ball in the net he was greeted by the sight of the offside flag.

Gabriel Martinelli response to Brazil backlash highlights key trait Mikel Arteta loves
The Gunners can consider themselves fortunate to have not had a penalty awarded against them when William Saliba’s trip on Adama Traore evaded VAR punishment.

Martin Odegaard’s first goal from close range marked his fifth strike of the season and sparked pandemonium in the away end. Fabio Vieira deserves plenty of plaudits for his assist, while Jesus’ initial ball unlocked the penalty area.

Shortly after the Gunners skipper had his sixth of the campaign and second of the evening, rifling a low left-footed strike beyond Jose Sa. The goal could prove to be one of the most important of Arsenal’s season.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says that managers have a big responsibility to control their behaviour on the sideline despite the intensity of the game.

A win at Wolves now sees the Gunners sit comfortable at the top of the Premier League table, boasting a five-point advantage over their nearest challengers Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s side were beaten 2-1 at home by Brentford at the Etihad which presented Arsenal with the chance to extend their lead while also guaranteeing that whatever happened at the Molineux, Arteta’s men would be top at Christmas.

Everyone associated with the Gunners would have felt the pressure with a five-point lead on the line, but by hook or by crook Arsenal delivered and can now enjoy the festive period with a healthy lead at the summit of the table.

Oleksandr Zinchenko’s arrival in the summer was greeted with plenty of excitement and while when he has played he has been excellent, injuries have curtailed the start of his Arsenal career.

Tasked with silencing the imposing physical presence of Adama Traore at times, many of the Gunners faithful would have expected Arteta to opt for the more natural defensive option of Kieran Tierney.

However, Arteta stuck to his guns and kept Zinchenko in the team for what he offers Arsenal going forward. The initial signs were not promising, with Wolves targeting the Ukrainian’s flank regularly in the opening exchanges.

Zinchenko’s best traits, such as his composure in possession and line-breaking passes were not on display but his inability to deal with big diagonal passes was.

Arteta even had the chance to use Tierney sooner than expected when Xhaka was hauled off, but chose to not move Zinchenko into midfield and have the Scotland international at left-back.

Arsenal parted ways with £35million to bring Vieira to the club from Porto in the summer, but injuries stalled his integration into the team.

Since being introduced into the fold, his only real standout performance came away at Brentford back in September. Each Europa League outing since then has been littered with missed chances and flashes of brilliance mixed with sloppy touches.

He came on inside the opening quarter of an hour to replace Xhaka and started slowly, but his assist for the game’s opening goal was a thing of beauty.

Vieira took a pass from Jesus in his stride, before delicately dinking the ball across the face of goal and putting it on a plate for Odegaard to guide home.

This standalone performance summed up his Arsenal career so far.

Sports

Arsenal win EPL title after 22 years

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2026

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Arsenal are English Premier League (EPL) champions after Manchester City failed to win at Bournemouth.

Pep Guardiola’s Man City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium to hand Arsenal an unassailable four-point lead with just one match remaining to the end of the season.

The Gunners win the EPL title for the first time in 22 years, since the legendary Invincible side won it in the 2003/04 season.

In the club’s 100th season without relegation from the EPL, the club will celebrate its centenary participation with a league title won on the back of a record 28 EPL wins that surpassed the 26 wins recorded by the Invincibles. The defence prevented opponents from registering a shot on target in six matches, equaling a 23-year league record, and also scored a record 17 goals from corner kicks.

Mikel Arteta’s tough side has led the table for most of the season before a late mini-collapse, and Man City’s late surge in form nearly threatened their title ambition for a second season in a row.

City’s late resurgence, however, was initially stunned by Everton in early May and completely collapsed against Bournemouth.

Guardiola’s side visited the Vitality Stadium aware that any result other than a victory would seal Arsenal’s title. But they lacked the execution for the mission after falling to a wonderful strike from Junior Kroupi in the first half.

City were only kept in the game by Bournemouth’s profligacy in front of goal. When Erling Haaland’s equaliser was squeezed home in the eleventh hour of the game, even the most faithful City supporter knew it was too little, too late.

Arsenal and Arteta secured the league earlier than they would have predicted, giving City a prodigious title run-in.

The league triumph is Arteta’s second major title with the North London club since joining in December 2019, adding to the English FA Cup trophy won within six months of his tenure in May 2020.

The 44-year-old Spaniard wins his fourth title overall and can win his fifth — and third major trophy — with victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final next weekend.

Sports

WrestleMania 42: Nigerian wrestler Oba Femi beats 10-time WWE Champion Brock Lesnar

Published

2 months ago

April 20, 2026

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Nigerian professional wrestler, Isaac Odugbesan, popularly known as Oba Femi, defeated 10-time WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, on his WrestleMania debut on Sunday.

The clash, one of the headline matches at WrestleMania 42, ended on a dramatic note as the 27-year-old Nigerian overpowered the veteran.

Lesnar left his wrestling gear in the ring after the match — a gesture widely regarded in professional wrestling as a sign of retirement.

Oba Femi, also known as “The Ruler,” is a former NXT champion and has spent just three months on WWE’s main roster.

The contest began with both wrestlers testing each other’s strength before Lesnar briefly seized control with a series of offensive moves.

However, Femi absorbed the pressure and responded with a dominant display, shifting momentum in his favour.

Lesnar delivered an F5, but Femi quickly recovered, hitting a chokeslam before finishing the contest with his “Fall From Grace” sit-out powerbomb for the pinfall victory.

The bout quickly became a major talking point on social media, with fans reacting to the upset win.

Femi, a former shot put athlete, is a two-time NXT Champion and a one-time NXT North American Champion.

Born in Lagos, Odugbesan competed in track and field during his school years before signing with WWE in 2021 through its NIL programme.

He went on to win the 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament and the 2024 Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge.

During the WrestleMania Sunday post-show, Femi sent a message to Roman Reigns, popularly known as the “Original Tribal Chief,” drawing a loud reaction from fans as he hinted at a possible title challenge before the end of the year.

Sports

BREAKING: CAF overturns Afcon final result, declares Morocco winner

Published

3 months ago

March 17, 2026

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The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals and declare MOROCCO the winner of the title.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned by CAF.

A statement by the African Football’s Governing Body said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.