Somehow, that was more demoralizing than the 0-3 loss at West Brom, despite the quality of the
opposition and the slightly less embarrassing scoreline.
There were excuses for that first loss, most stemming from the red card. But this script becomes
more painful the more we're subjected to the same film.
Arsenal winger Theo Walcott firmly believes that his club has the ability to bounce back and
defeat Premier League-chasing Manchester City when the two sides meet at Emirates Stadium this
weekend.
The Gunners had been in excellent form until recently when their run of seven-consecutive league
victories was abruptly ended by the 2-1 defeat that they suffered at the hands of Queens Park
Rangers at Loftus Road.
Premier League betting Arsenal, Chelsea and United to win, Liverpool to lose - originally posted
on Soccerlens.com
Here's a look at this weekend's best Premier League action and top betting tips for the big games.
QPR v Arsenal: Eight in a row for the Gunners? Arsenal are on a roll and make
plenty of appeal at 1.
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.
In my time writing this column, I don't ever recall such difficulty in thinking up material to
fill my remit. It's quite absurd when you think about it, that on the back of one of the team's
best runs of form in the last five years, there really is nothing to say. Professional journalists
at least have the advantage of being able to stick a microphone under someone's nose and attempt to
extract a comment that can be conjured into a morsel of controversy.
New signings were exactly what Arsenal needed to successfully manage the challenges of the
English top flight this season but left-back Kieran Gibbs argues that the arrival of new faces at
the Emirates this season also led to a period of transition.
Gibbs, who was immediately chosen as the replacement for Manchester City-bound Gael Clichy last
summer, saw his side hammered 8-2 by defending champions Manchester United seven months ago,
leading manager Arsene Wenger to spend uncharacteristically on the transfer deadline day.
Arsene Wenger saw his Arsenal team hang on for a sixth consecutive League win a row last night at
Goodison Park, but admitted that the Gunners had to dig deep in defence to keep David Moyes side
out. Arsenal came out of the traps flying and looked like they were going to over-run Everton, but
[...]
Former Gunner Sol Campbell believes Arsenal have proven that they are gutsy enough to end their
2011/12 domestic campaign on a high note.
The North London giants registered their fifth consecutive league win by defeating Newcastle
United 2-1 at the Emirates on Monday. It was the fourth straight time that they came back from a
position of deficit to claim all three points against their domestic rivals.
There's a trip to Bolton looming in midweek, where we'll continue our climb up the league table
in search of that Champions League spot. But first there's the matter of the FA Cup to deal with. A
small matter or a big matter? Depends on the individuals. Arsene Wenger loves a bit of this
competition but not over qualification to Europe's premier competition.
Arsenal head into Sunday's FA Cup fourth round clash with Aston Villa on the back of three
consecutive league defeats, but they have still been deemed the favourites by many European
bookmakers to emerge victorious.
Arsenal and Villa last played an FA Cup match nearly 29 years ago at the good old Highbury,
where the Gunners progressed courtesy of a 2-0 win.
Arsene Wenger has said that he can take criticism from his own fans as the club heads into the
business end of the 2011/12 season.
Last weekend, Arsenal once again lost to bitter rivals Manchester United by a scoreline of 2-1,
which was their third consecutive league defeat. Wenger infamously substituted impressive Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain with severely out-of-form Andrey Arshavin in the second half of the match.
When the team has just lost our last 2 consecutive league fixtures, the last thing we want to
hear is that our club is being gazumped elsewhere away from the pitch. Liverpool has secured a
brand new £150million kit deal with American firm Warrior Sports. A deal that place them only
second behind Barcelona in today's shirt deals around the world.
In a battle of the cellar-dwellers, the Union earned their second consecutive league victory,
pounding Toronto FC in a match that could have been far more lopsided.
Chivas USA and the Los Angeles Galaxy may be toiling near the bottom of the Western Conference
standings, but their annual rivalry clash at the Home Depot Center on Saturday has become a
must-see event.
The match comes two days after Chivas pulled off a pair of high-profile trades, sending Heath
Pearce to the New York Red Bulls for Juan Agudelo and acquiring Danny Califf from the Philadelphia
Union for Michael Lahoud.
If 2011 had seen a disappointing end, 2012 didn't get off to the best of starts either for
Manchester United, as they suffered a second consecutive league defeat falling 3-0 at St.James'
Park against Alan Pardew's high-flying Newcastle. Four days later, United faced the mother of all
third round tie in the FA Cup, away [.
A year after beating out Manchester United to secure their third League Cup, Liverpool would
head back to Wembley for the fourth time in a row with the chance to further add to their trophy
case, and this time they would face off against Everton for the honours. It was the first time the
two sides met at Wembley, and when all was said and done it marked both the first trophy of manager
Joe Fagan's brief time in charge and the end of Liverpool's run of dominance in the league cup.
D.C. United aims to end one dubious streak Wednesday night, while Sporting Kansas City looks to
keep their impressive one intact.
That is what's on the line in two mid-week MLS matches, as D.C. hosts the Montreal Impact and
Sporting Kansas City leaves the confines of Livestrong Sporting Park, heading north to face the
Vancouver Whitecaps.
Steven Gerrard showed that he still has what it takes to lead Liverpool as the skipper marked
his 400th league games along with a return from injury by scoring a hat-trick against the Reds'
city rival, Everton.
The three goals helped Kenny Dalglish team maintain their pedigree over David Moyes' squad and
also earned an important morale boost for the Pool who have been suffering from three consecutive
league defeats ahead of the derby.
Perhaps this Arsenal team should come with something of a health warning. 'May cause heart
attacks due to proliferation of late goals'.
Three times in our last four league games we've won it in injury time. We've set a new record in
the Premier League, the first team to come from behind to win in four consecutive league games.
Perhaps this Arsenal team should come with something of a health warning. 'May cause heart
attacks due to proliferation of late goals'.
Three times in our last four league games we've won it in injury time. We've set a new record in
the Premier League, the first team to come from behind to win in four consecutive league games.
Thierry Henry has been able to provide a spark for Arsenal in his brief time on loan with the
club, but the Gunners may have to look elsewhere for inspiration during their crucial match this
weekend.
Henry picked up a calf strain in training, and his status is uncertain for Arsenal's match
against Manchester United.
One of my favourite things about football is the extent to which it constantly confounds finite
conclusions. We're all guilty of it to varying degrees. Just four weeks ago I used this space to
contemplate the upsides of Europa League participation. 6 consecutive league wins later and we find
ourselves favourites for third and ahead of Sp*rs – who were effectively 13 points ahead with a
2-0 lead over us just over three weeks ago.
Following consecutive league defeats (both games in which we took the lead) I think we can all
agree the need for savage and violent revolution is obvious. A blood thirsty, shrieking gallop to
the hills followed by a good fortnight of medieval combat ought to sort it. Because nothing quite
says "ambitious football club" like flapping through a wooded area wearing Arsene Wenger's skin as
a dress and Peter Hill Wood's nuts for earrings.
Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao scored a hat trick Monday as his team thrashed Athletic
Bilbao 4-0 in the teams' first meeting since the Europa League final last season.
Falcao scored twice in the 3-0 victory in Romania in May and could have scored more at the
Vicente Calderon as Bilbao continued to struggle without Spain internationals Fernando Llorente and
Javi Martinez, who were omitted from the squad again with their futures at the Basque club
uncertain.
Reading United return to the friendly confines of Albright's Shirk Stadium for their Premier
Development League clash with the Long Island Rough Riders on Sunday, June 24th from 4pm. Sunday's
match is also Reading's Kicks Against Cancer Night in which United raise money for the fight
against the insidious disease which took team founder and local soccer legend, Archie Moylan, in
2000.
The Minnesota Stars were glad to be home after a month of being on the road. But they were not able
to shake their recent poor run of form and were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-1 on Saturday
night in front of 2,908 fans at the NSC Stadium. "It's our second consecutive league [...]
Amidst all of the buzz surrounding Carlos Tevez and his possible arrival in Milan, Inter have
slowly continued their climb towards the upper echelon of the Serie A table. The Nerazzurri have
won five consecutive league matches over the past month, outscoring their opponents by a 13-1 mark
during that period.
It's been a while since I've written on the Central American playoff scene, but all of the
champions have been decided with the exception of Belize. Below is a summary of who won what: Costa
Rica: Alajuelense won their third consecutive league title, and their 27th overall, by defeating
Herediano 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate draw in the final series.
Ipswich Town boss Paul Jewell must have feared the worse when he walked into the dressing room at
half-time during their game against Barnsley at Oakwell last Saturday.
His side was 2-0 down and staring down the barrel of an eight consecutive league defeat.
Incredibly, they hit five goals during the second half as they staged the most unlikely of
comebacks.
