Another book of lamentations by Wenger after Arsenal loss at Swansea

Swansea came from a goal down to defeat Arsenal 2-1 in Sunday's premier league game which sa the Gunners taking the lead and losing it again.

Arsenal took the lead after in-form forward Alexis Sanchez fired home from a Danny Welbeck pass before Gyfil Sigurdsson leveled through a spectacular free-kick.

Bafetimbi Gomis came from the bench to grab the winner for Swansea.

It could be recalled that Arsenal lost a three goal lead to Anderlecht in the Champions League last week, however, the Gunners boss agreed that his team lacked ''some spark or killer instinct'' to seal off games right now.

''It’s disappointing to throw a game away like we did. We were 1-0 up and had to be tight defensively and wait for that second chance. But you have to credit Swansea who didn’t give up,'' Wenger told BBC Sport.

''Football you can believe anything is possible, any minute you can concede. Bafetimbi Gomis is good in the air and it can happen. You have to accept that Swansea will fight until the last minute. We eased off at 1-0 and let them back into the game.

''Football is down to performances. People can say what they want. We are here to produce performances, and didn't do that right until the end of the game.

''We lacked some spark or killer instinct to take the game away from Swansea.''

''If you want to challenge the Premier League we have to be more realistic than we were today.''

Wenger admits Arsenal draw against Anderlecht was shocking, says the team is not affected by criticsm

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Arsenal manager Arsene wenger has described Tuesday's 3-3 draw against Anderlecht in the UCL group game as a shocking result.

Wenger was speaking in a press conference on Friday morning ahead of Sunday's premier league match at Swansea.

The manager expressed his displeasure about midweek but affirmed that the team has shrugged it off and ready to move on by the weekend.

"It was a shock but overall we know we can score goals and do better defensively.'' -said Arsenal Boss.

"We can learn a lot from what happened. Subconsciously we thought the game was over and it rarely is."

Many football pundits and fans have also criticized Wenger and his team for losing such a number of goals to Anderlecht being fully aware of its implication.

"That's the job of people who work on TV or in newspapers. They're just doing their job"

"We are very positive inside the camp. We are not affected by negativity. We are not happy when we don't win but that's it"

Toure backs Mario Balotelli for more goals

Mario Balotelli has been tipped by teammate Kolo Toure to get more goals in the course of the season.

The 24 years old striker was introduced from the bench in Liverpool's 2-1 win over Swansea in the Capital One Cup where he grabbed his side's equalizer before Dejan Lovren scored the winner for the Reds.

Toure told Liverpool Echo after the match the the goal represent the end of an era for the Italian.

''For strikers, goals are like food,” the Ivorian, who also played with Balotelli at Manchester City, told the Liverpool Echo.

''Mario needs to feed himself by scoring goals. Now that he has got one, he will do that, definitely.

''Getting that goal will be fantastic for his confidence. He is a great player, he has just been lacking goals.

''Mario is my mate and I’ve tried to help him, like Stevie [Gerrard], the manager [Brendan Rodgers] and everyone else in the dressing room.

''We all know he’s a top player. I always tell him: ‘You need to get out there and show you are one of the best players in the world.''

''He is one of the best. He has just been missing goals but they will come now.''

Emotional Mario Balotelli relishes first goal in nine matches after he grabs the equalizer against Swansea in Capital One Cup

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Mario Balotelli came off the bench to grab Liverpool's equalizer against Swansea in the Capital One Cup before Dejan Lovren's header which secured a 2-1 victory for the Reds on Tuesday night.

With less than 10 minutes to the end of the match, Balotelli who had earlier been benched for picking up a slight injury during warm up session was brought on by Brendan Rogers to help the team which finally paid off as the Italian finally had a chance to silence his critics. May be....

The player shared on his Social media accounts with an emotional icon which depicts crying. Baalotelli cry?

Okay, let the tears role Mario.... No player especially a striker will be happy when the goals are not forth coming. 

EPL: Costa hat-trick helps chelsea maintain top spot, Arsenal and City share spoils

Diego Costa grabbed a hat-trick to help Chelsea beat Swansea after coming back from a goal down at the Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The Brazil-born Spaniard, who joined the club from Atletico Madrid in the summer, took his tally for the season to seven as the Blues maintain their 100% record in the season so far and also stay atop the Premier league log.

At the Emirates, Martin Demichelis struck late minute to crush Arsenal's hope of sealing a victory against Manchester City in a keenly contested encounter which ended in a 2-2 draw.

Arsenal were at the verge of a victory when Alexis Sanchez slammed home a superb volley in the 74th minute, after Jack Wilshere slotted in a neatly worked moved to cancel sergio Aguero's first half lead.

Liverpool suffered a shock defeat after Gabriel Agbonlahor score the only goal for Aston Villa to seperate both sides.

Other results:
West Bromich Albion 0-2 Everton
Sunderland 2-2 Tottenham
Southampton 4-0 Newcastle United
Stoke City 0-1 Leicester City
Crystal Palace 0-0 Burnley

EPL: Costa and Monk bag Barclays Monthly Award for August

Chelsea striker Diego Costa and Swansea City manager Garry Monk have received Barclays Premier League monthly awards for August.

According to reports from the league website, both the player and coach are being rewarded for their impressive start to the 2014/2015 league season.

Costa has been impressive since joining the Stamford Bridge club from La Liga champions Atletico Madrid in the summer.

He has scored four goals in Chelsea's three opening Barclays Premier League fixtures as the Blues opened up the campaign with victories against Burnley, Leicester City and Everton.

Monk, who was appointed Swans manager on a permanent basis in the summer after taking over from Michael Laudrup last season, has led Swansea City to a 100% start to the campaign including a 2-1 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season. It is the first time he has received the award but said it was a result of a team effort.

Wenger relishes home victory in league opener as United lose at Old Trafford

Arsenal is the only team to record a home win on Premier League opening day as the Gunners rallied back from a goal down to beat Crystal Palace.

 

Meanwhile Arsenal's manager, Arsene Wenger agreed it was a hard-earned victory for his side after going a goal down.

 

''It was not the plan, the plan was to win the game, but because of the physicality and organisation level of Crystal Palace. It was very difficult for us.

'''Why Because we conceded a goal on the first corner they had.

 

''We lacked a bit of pace in the final third to change what we built up into dangerous situations but it was enough to win the game and win the three points.''

 

Wenger: - You could see that for the first game of the season, nobody won at home, we were the only team that won at home. So that shows you that it's difficult for everybody on the first day of the season. We got the three points we wanted, now let's focus on Besiktas.

 

In other results, Manchester United suffered a 1-2 loss to Swansea, Leicester 2-2 Everton, QPR 0-1 Hull City, Stoke 0-1 Aston Villa , West Brom 2-2 Sunderland and in the London derby it was West Ham 0-1 Tottenham

 

Manchester United 1-2 Swansea: Could this be one of the shocking results Rogers warned Van Gaal about?

Swansea visited the Old Trafford on Saturday to prosecute their opening game of the 2014/2015 season. The story is simple. They came, they say and they conquered the home side 2-1.

It could be recalled that Manchester United had a pretty good pre-season run recording five wins in all five matches under new manager Louis Van Gaal but Liverpool boss Brendan Rogers issued a note of warning  that the United gaffer will find the league proper shocking.

In his words: "I think what he'll find is the competition in this league will be different to any other league that he's worked in.

"In a lot of the other leagues, there are one or two teams and those are the teams that are expected to win.

"This is a league where the top team plays the bottom team and on any given day you can lose. You don't get that a lot in the other leagues. I think the competition will probably take him by [surprise], and that's from foreign managers I have spoken to over the years."

The excerpt above shows that Brendan Rogers was clear with his words to the new united gaffer and that’s exactly what played out in the opener against the Swans at home.

In fact, Swansea went ahead to take the lead before Wayne Rooney grabbed the equalizer which only lasted until the later minutes of the match before Gary Monk’s men completed the job.

Van Gaal complained bitterly about how his team faired as a unit, other than trying to achieve stuffs with individual brilliance. 

''It is very disappointing that we have lost our first home match,''

''We didn’t reach the level we can play at. That is disappointing because we have done it much better and when you cannot do it in your first home match that is disappointing, especially for the fans.

''We were very nervous in first half, made the wrong choices and that is a pity. In the second half we never played as a team, therefore I’m responsible.

 

 ''We had more chances than Swansea but that shall say nothing about the result. It is the goals that count. I thought we would win [at 1-1] but because we are not playing as a team in the second half we made the wrong decisions going forward.

 ''My players did their utmost best, which I said in the dressing room, but you also need to play as a team and reach your level.

 Simply put, no English Premier League is a roller coaster, as often said, Gold don't lie enticingly in Gold Coast. What a way to begin the season.!

City on course as Cardiff, Fulham relegate to the Championship

Cardiff City and Fulham have been confirmed relegated to the Championship after they lost their week 37 matches against Newcastle United and Stoke City respectively.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's  men are rocking the bottom with 30 points while Fulham occupy 19th position with 31 Points. The third is yet to be confirmed as Sunderland upset Manchester United 1-0 at the Old Trafford on Saturday to move up from the relegation zone.

Norwich must however beat Chelsea on Sunday to have a gasp of hope in the relegation battle.

At the top of the Log, Everton lost to Manchester City 2-3 at the Gudison Park. For city, it's a glimpse of hope as all they need do is to win the remaining two matches to be crowned champions.

Tottenham on the other hand lost 0-2 to West Ham United. A couple of other results:

Aston Villa 3-1 Hull City
Swansea 0-1 Southampton

Chelsea Beaten as Sunderland end Mourinho's unbeaten Stamford Bridge Record

Records have it that Chelsea Manager Jose mourinho has had a 77-match unbeaten record at the Stamford Bridge, it suddenly came to an end after his side lost to Sunderland 1-2 in a Premier League maTh on Saturday.

Fabio Borini scored a late penalty, as Sunderland dented Chelsea’s title ambitions as they trail Liverpool on the standings.

Samuel Eto’o volleyed home from a corner kick, Sunderland had other ideas and they quickly levelled through Connor Wickham.

The Black Cats were awarded a penalty after Cesar Azpilicueta seemed to foul Jozy Altidore in the area. Borini stepped up and coolly slotted the ball home, as Gus Poyet’s men continue their fight to escape relegation.

Other results for Sat 19 Apr 2014
Chelsea 1 - 2 Sunderland
Aston Villa 0 - 0 Southampton
Cardiff 1 - 1 Stoke
Newcastle 1 - 2 Swansea
West Ham 0 - 1 Crystal Palace
Spurs 3 - 1 Fulham

City crush United 3-0 in Manchester derby, Arsenal draw

Edwin Dzeko scored one of the fastest goal in the derby match under a minute of play, got another to complete his double while Yaya Toure completed the job.

In the build up to the match, Manchester United looked like a side that would cause City troubles but there was no cause for alarm as the fans at Old Trafford had to enjoy City doing the scoring.

Meanhwile, it's the 10th loss for United this season. (Record in the Premier league within in a season for Utd)

At the Emirates, Arsenal were forced to a draw by Swansea City who got a late equalizer trough an own goal credited to Matthew Flamini.

Swansea got a goal in within ten minutes of play while Arsenal scored twice within a minute through Lukas Podolski who came on to replace Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 57' and Giroud scored the second for Arsenal from an attack driven by the substitute Podolski.

More accident for Arsenal you'll say.

In another fixture on the night, Everton trashed Newcastle 3-0 on away soil.