1-0 up, 2-1 down and a (seemingly) improbable fight back... Arsenal's victory at the Hawthorns may not have had quite the drama of Manchester City's stunning fight back at the Etihad, but its importance for the Gunners cannot be overestimated.

Suicidal defending, an inability to keep possession, plenty of pretty passing and an unlikely 3-2 victory.

Arsenal finished the league season today in 3rd place, which gives the team automatic qualification for next season's Champions League, which is great.
Some of this season's highlights:
1. Getting by Udinese in the Champions League Qualifier
2. Winning the Champions League group, including taking four points against Borussia Dortmund, who just completed the German League and Cup double
3.

So this is it. Ninety minutes away from finishing third, fourth or fifth. A win at West Brom and third is ours, along with automatic qualification for the group stage of the Champions League, irrespective of results elsewhere in the league, or in this year's final. It would bring a happy end to an often difficult season, and of course herald the annual celebration of St Totteringham's Day (and win me the bet I had with a work colleague when we were ten points behind them).

It has been an unbelievable season in the Premier League with twists and turns seemingly every week. So it is not a surprise that as we enter the final weekend of games, that the title, Champions League places and the relegation battle are all up for grabs.

Title Race
The two Manchester clubs are level on points but City's goal difference is eight superior to United's, so effectively Sir Alex Ferguson's side must better City's result.

It has been an unbelievable season in the Premier League with twists and turns seemingly every week. So it is not a surprise that as we enter the final weekend of games, that the title, Champions League places and the relegation battle are all up for grabs.

Title Race
The two Manchester clubs are level on points but City's goal difference is eight superior to United's, so effectively Sir Alex Ferguson's side must better City's result.

• New study demonstrates player fatigue is distorting European football
• Clear performance deficit suffered by teams playing after only two days' recovery
• Domestic title and European qualification outcomes affected
• Study author, Raymond Verheijen, calls for mandatory three-day gap between matches

‘If Atletico Madrid beat Atletic de Bilbao in the Europa League Final tonight, their ‘success' could end up costing them a place in next season's Champions League,' contends international football coach, Raymond Verheijen unveiling a new 27,000 match study he has undertaken into the effects of player fatigue.

As Arsenal threw away two vital points in the race for third, Norwich City left the Emirates with a 3-3 draw, after a match that can only be compared with a 90-minute rollercoaster ride.

As Arsene Wenger celebrated his 900th game in charge of the Gunners, the Canaries pounced on Arsenal's mistakes and were able to grab an excellent point that summed up their impressive first season back in the Premier League.

Newcastle have won their last three games, and look to continue that mini-surge this afternoon, when they visit a very good looking Swansea side at the Liberty Stadium. In order to get that 5th place in the league and automatic qualification for the Europa League next season Newcastle have to try to get as many wins as [.

Newcastle have won their last three games, and look to continue that mini-surge this afternoon, when they visit a very good looking Swansea side at the Liberty Stadium. In order to get that 5th place in the league and automatic qualification for the Europa League next season Newcastle have to try to get as many wins as [.

It's another blank mid-week as far as Arsenal are concerned, our next fixture being the clash with Manchester City which kicks off at 4pm on Sunday at The Emirates.

The dust has just about settled after QPR ended our eight match un-beaten run and plenty has been said about that disappointment.

Andre Santos and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have no doubts that their Arsenal side can go from relative anonymity at the beginning of this year to being crowned champions at the end of next season.

Santos and Oxlade-Chamberlain arrived last summer to join a Gunners squad that lost the services of Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri to Manchester City, and former skipper Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona.

Bayern Munich moved within two points of the lead, Freiburg got a much needed victory, and Schalke moved up to third place in the German Bundesliga on Saturday, March 24, 2012.

Results

Bayern Munich 2-1 Hannover 96

Borussia Monchengladbach 1-2 Hoffenheim

Mainz 1-3 Hertha Berlin

Freiburg 2-0 Kaiserslautern

Werder Bremen 1-1 Augsburg

Schalke 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen

Bayern closes the gap on Dortmund

Bayern Munich won their third straight league match to put the pressure on Borussia Dortmund (who play on March 25).

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has confirmed an interest in Belgium International Eden Hazard but he fears that the big-spending giants of English football may prove to be a more attractive proposition for the exciting midfielder.

Hazard sparked a media frenzy by mentioning Tottenham when he spoke about a possible move to the Premiership,

'Maybe it will be Tottenham.

Winning the title at White Hart Lane may seem a distant memory for Arsenal fans, but they can at least reflect that Sunday's win put paid to any slim hopes Spurs harboured of claiming their first championship since 1961.

The 5-2 demolition leaves Spurs ten points adrift of Manchester City and eight behind Manchester United.

Written By James Prentice
Follow Me|@MrPrent

Fan's of Arsenal and Chelsea will be hoping for a Michael Cainesque Italian Job if they are to enter the heady heights of a Champions League quarter-final.

Arsenal, who topped their group, were drawn against 7-time European Champions AC Milan, in a repeat fixture to that of the 2008 CL round of 16, where, after a 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg, Arsenal travelled to the San Siro to silence the home crowd with a little help from a 30-yard effort from Cesc Fabregas.

Tottenham Hotspur right-back Vedran Corluka has dismissed suggestions that vengeance for Croatia's defeat in the Euro 2008 quarterfinal will be the primary motivation as Slaven Bilic prepares to lead his men in the Euro 2012 qualification playoffs against Turkey.

Croatia qualified for that tournament in style almost four years ago, winning an unforgettable encounter at Wembley to prevent England from joining them in Austria and Switzerland.

It has been confirmed that a knee injury will rule Manchester City's French midfielder Samir Nasri out of Friday night's high-profile exhibition against the United States at Stade de France.

Nasri suffered from issues with his knee tendon following City's UEFA Champions League win over Villarreal last week and did not make his club's starting line-up for the thrilling 3-2 Premier League triumph over QPR on Saturday.

Euro 2012 Qualifying Playoffs: Portugal, Czech Rep, Turkey & Croatia on the line - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

The likes of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and England have all booked their places in Euro 2012 already, but four tickets to the festivities in Poland and Ukraine still have yet to be punched.

Euro 2012 qualifying began in August 2010, with 51 nations vying to be part of next Juneís tournament in Poland and Ukraine. Of course, only about half of those teams entered with realistic hopes of qualifying or making the playoffs, and less than half of those teams have a legitimate chance to make a serious run at the title.

Despite some sub-par play against the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, there were high hopes for the Portland Timbers' playoff chances coming into the weekend. However, only a few days later and the Timbers have lost ground on the pack with all three of their main playoff rivals winning.

The Republic of Ireland side briefly lost concentration during their 0-0 draw with Russia when an image of Robbie Savage in his 'Strictly' costume appeared on the stadium JumboTron. Image: Getty Images/Daylife.

With normal league fixtures resuming at the weekend, now is your last opportunity until er.

Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni saluted Richard Dunne and Shay Given for their heroic performances in a precious 0-0 draw in Moscow.
Dunne produced two superb blocks and ended the game with four stitches in a head wound as Ireland managed to cling on for their first ever point in Russia.

Ireland's hopes of automatic qualification for Euro 2012 are in the balance after an abject 0-0 draw with Slovakia at the Aviva Stadium.
The home side produced a nervous and sloppy display that allowed the visitors to control possession and territory.
A number of fine saves from Shay Given and a Sean St Ledger block on Marek Hamsik made sure the visitors left with just one point.

Steven McInerney from the impressive City blog, In Esteemed Kompany, has had a chat with us about his aspirations for the season ahead, as well as looking back at the success of last season.

Scott the Red: Were you happy with your team's performance last season?

Steven McInerney: Of course it was a fantastic year for us.

Regular guest blogger Richard Smith doesn't pull any punches with his appraisal the current state of the senior squad we'll have a preview of the Under 21s posted on Saturday morning.

The situation in the England football camp appears to be worsening by the day with manager, Fabio Capello, coming under increasing pressure, more so than he has ever known before.

Germany won the last tournament in 2009. Who will win this year?

Germany may have won the most recent edition of the UEFA U-21 Championships, easily beating England 4-0 in Sweden two years ago, but that will now count for nothing as their current crop of youngsters failed to qualify for this year's tournament in Denmark which begins on Saturday.

LONDON, England Roberto Mancini saw Manchester City clinch automatic qualification to the group stages of the Champions League and immediately demanded a fresh injection of cash. Arsene Wenger saw his side's season end on a low-key note with a draw against Fulham and promptly heaped more frustration on Arsenal fans by admitting the club [.

So, the final league game of the season and although it feels a bit meaningless it's far from that.

If City drop points against Bolton and we beat Fulham then we'll finish third, which as we all know means automatic qualification for next season's Champions League group stages. That means no qualifying round, no disruption to pre-season plans and no threat of not making the CL.

By Kirsten Schlewitz / Senior West Coast Beer and Aston Villa Correspondent
It all comes down to this weekend: Survival Sunday in the Premier League. With the title already in Manchester United's hands, there are only a few more questions to be answered:
Who Takes Third Place and the Automatic Champions League Qualification?

Morning all,

plenty to get through this morning so we'll start with today's game against Villa. It's the final home game of the season and points are required. Obviously not in the way we had hoped but we still need to ensure we finish third and wrap up automatic qualification for the Champions League.

Such is the dissatisfaction with this current season many fans are looking ahead to the summer already. Last night a flurry of Twitter based rumour involving Karim Benzema had people more excited than when we beat Barcelona.

Personally, I have no idea if we're interested in Benzema but with two games still left to play this season it's too early to start driving yourselves mad over possible arrivals and departures.

Liverpool's rookie defender Danny Wilson is focusing on qualifying for the Europa League next season, despite being knocked out last night by Braga in the round of 16 clash.
"We'll just have to move on from this," Wilson told the official Liverpool website after the 1-0 defeat.
"All the lads are disappointed with the result but we've got to look to try and finish as high as possible in the league.

For those of you who remember my tidbits posts, it's where I rant about 3 or 4 different subjects related to VCF and then open the floor to debate.

So ... here, a new tidbits post.
- The less said about Saturday's 4-0 destruction to Real Zaragoza, the better. The team was demoralized, physically and mentally after the midweek Champions League elimination to Schalke 04.

NEW YORK, NY Five more amateur teams will earn berths into the US Open Cup tournament this year. The PDL's allotment was raised to nine from eight and the NPSL will receive four automatic berths, the first time since 2003 that teams from that fourth-division league will gain automatic entry. NPSL teams used to [.

DOHA, Qatar — Australia stormed into their first Asian Cup final on Tuesday with a 6-0 thrashing of 10-man Uzbekistan to set up a decider against three-time champions Japan. Galatasary forward Harry Kewell got the opener on five minutes and Asian player of the year Sasa Ognenovski doubled their lead 11 minutes before half-time.