It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Naturally, I'm describing Arsenal's 2011-2012 season. I'm a nice guy, and I don't want to hold Arsene wholly accountable for the team's woes, particularly due to the simple fact that, well, that's what everybody else already does.

If ever there was a match made in Heaven in the footballing world, it would have to be between Arsenal and Thierry Henry, who have found each other again after a five-year absence, with the magic the same as it ever was.

It was an otherwise drab encounter, with little to get excited about as a makeshift Arsenal team struggled to break down a determined and dogged Leeds side coming with only one intention a lucrative replay.

Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola is refusing to read too much into a 3-1 derby success over arch-rivals Real Madrid, with the title still up for grabs.

The reigning Primera Liga champions returned to the top of the table on Saturday as they picked up three priceless points at Santiago Bernabeu.

I am sure like me, many of you were surprised when you saw the result of Wednesday's Champions League match between French side Olympique Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia.

However, it is now emerging that Olympique Lyon's 7-1 drubbing of Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Wednesday could have been as a result of a betting scandal.

By Chris Wright

Nepal saw off Bangladesh (the highest-ranked team in the tournament) 1-0 in the South Asian Football Federation Cup in the final minute of injury time tagged onto the end of their Group B game, with a 45-ish-yard free-kick from captain Sagar Thapa doing the business as the last grains of sand ran through the egg-timer of destiny.

Not many of us will have experienced anything like it. There are 100,000 people in the stadium urging you on while tens of millions round the country will have their fists clenched on the edge of their seats in homes and warungs. Despite everyone being behind you it must be the loneliest walks ever.

By Chris Wright

After busting his nose against Blackburn at the weekend, Petr Cech has been ferried over to Milan to have a personalised carbon fibre facemask added to his padded helmet in order for him to play for the Czech Republic against Montenegro on Friday...

All well and good, except the good folks over on the Chelsea Facebook page have noticed a worrying pattern in the evolution of Cech's headgear over the last few years.

The playoffs are so close, and yet so far away for the Portland Timbers. With the players healthy and coming off a big win away against the Vancouver Whitecaps the Timbers are in a good position to make the playoffs. In this bye week for the Timbers with only a few games going on we can take a look at the way the playoff run-up is taking shape.

While the U.S. is building towards their entrance into World Cup qualifying in third round, action continues in the second round with a host of qualifiers during this international window. Keep a close eye on Groups E and F, which will send their group winners to face the United States and Jamaica in the next phase.

This is Part II and the conclusion of Maura Gladys's take on the USWNT as the dust begins to settle in 2011.

What will the USWNT's Golden Moment breed?

For fans of the 2011 U.S. Women's National team, talk of destiny and fate that clouded heads has faded, the pain of losing has healed, and some distance and perspective has been gained on this summer's tournament.

Before the Portland Timbers meet the New England Revolution on September 16, we look towards the final two weekends of Cascadia Cup competition being played in Vancouver, BC later this month. Each Cascadia team has a shot at being the first MLS club to hoist the Cascadia Cup as victors, but at least one team controls their destiny.

Last season, teams in the bottom half of the league were the collective bane on our lives and arguably the reason we dropped out of the top 4. We failed to break down the so-called lesser teams as our competitors could. And so, we arrive at this match rock bottom of the league, with a very real danger of remaining there after Saturday.

The excellent start made by both Manchester United and Manchester City in the early phase of the premier league, rises the prediction that those two teams are the ones who will be challenging for the league title this season.

This opinion however, is squashed away by Man United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, himself who insisted that there will be much more competition in the league this season as the veteran manager stated around five-six are challenging for premier league glory.

All of UEFA's perspex balls of destiny have been drawn from their respective goldfish bowls of fate and, as a result, the groups for the 2011/12 Champions League look like this... Group A: Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Manchester City, Napoli Group B: Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow, Lille, Trabzonspor Group C: Manchester United, Benfica, Basel, Otelul Galati [.

The Portland Timbers controlled their destiny against Toronto FC during their match at JELD-WEN Field on July 30, as they staked themselves a two goal lead. Unfortunately, some late match heroics by Toronto FC combined with some spotty defense and odd substitutions pushed a 2 to 0 lead for the Timbers into a 2 all draw.

With SERGIO AGUERO now gone from Spanish Football & from ATLETICO DE MADRID, the latter needs to urgently find a substitute forward. The cruelty of destiny made things worst for Atletico, as forward Diego Costa injuried his knee in training yesterday & will be operated plus out of Football for about six months.

- Keith Hickey Like many of you, I watched the Final of the Women's World Cup yesterday. It was a pretty damn heartbreaking loss. To go up like that twice, it just seemed like destiny. These were our girls, out there representing our country. They were supposed to come home to magazine covers and Letterman appearances and Wheaties boxes.

TSG's Maura Gladys on the intersection of fandom and objectivity after yesterday's US Women's World Cup Final loss.

The US ladies get close, but are upended by a Japan team that kept coming...

In the end, this whole tournament was about heart. We saw that in yesterday's championship match, in the semifinals, quarterfinals, and group stage.

Brazilian young Football promise NEYMAR has his destiny closer & closer with SPANISH FOOTBALL via his soon incorporation - or signing - with REAL MADRID. As updated here days ago on a below post about Neymar the player had basically agreed to a 6 year contract at 5M€ per season: the transfer price 45M€.

Tottenham's Summer of Destiny Continues. - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

In less than a week Tottenham's season has been turned on its head, as yet another high profile player disregards a piece of paper called a contract.

With no European or International tournaments to have distracted him, it seems clear that Luka Modric did not spend the summer studying law, if he had he would have realised that he is bound to Tottenham for the foreseeable future and without a La Liga style minimum fee clause in his contract, Spurs do not have to sell.

Arsene Wenger believes that his team will recover from last season's collapse after the Carling Cup Final, and will learn from their mistakes and go on to win the title in the coming season. Wenger was speaking after Arsenal's ecstatic arrival in China yesterday. He said to the press: "I believe that the real destiny [.

spain football SPANISH FOOTBALL has its own Shakespearian play underway with two stories full of drama, changing destiny, backstabbing, betrayal, rumour, lies & human suffering. One is Cesc Fabregas & his endevour to leave Arsenal & get to FC Barcelona, the other which is todays post, SERGIO AGUERO & his desire to leave ATLETICO DE MADRID for rival REAL MADRID.

Whatever be the result, come tomorrow history will be made. FC Barcelona and Manchester United will face each other in this season' biggest final, UEFA Champions League final at the Wembley stadium, a place both team claims as their destiny. The Old Wembley stadium has been very precious for these two teams - having won their first European titlesover there.

So it's all over for another year, save the final act at Wembley next week. As in the English Premier League, the final stages of the season in La Liga seemed more exciting with regard to the relegation issues than with the destiny of the top spots. There are probably two reasons for this relatively new phenomenon.

By Chris Wright

First Denilson, now Nicky Bendts. Looks like Arsenal will be hemorrhaging some real 'Grade A' talent over the next few weeks.

According to Bendtner's father/agent Thomas, his son/client is almost certain to leave the Emirates this summer in search of his footballing destiny:

"Nicklas is 100% open now to a change of clubs.

As West Ham United's relegation from the Premier League was confirmed this afternoon with a match still to spare, supporters of the club may well be left wondering what the future holds for their club. After a chaotic season, punctuated by the decision to award the post-games use of the Olympic Stadium in Stratford to them, Avram Grant was reportedly sacked in the tunnel after this afternoon's defeat at Wigan Athletic.

So a desperate season comes down to this.
It is, after all, just football. A game where championships can still turn on the final day, a game where the drama should be confined to the pitch.
Today has already been dubbed Helicopter Sunday.
It says much for the bankruptcy of the SPL's ideas departments that they think using a six year old marketing device will still engender excitment.

After Celtic's stunning defeat midweek, Maurice Edu and Rangers now control their destiny for a third straight SPL title and their game on Saturday at home against Hearts is now a must win.

United Rant reminds us that our destiny is still in our hands.

MUFC Info has a statistical preview for tonight's game against Schalke.

Alan Hansen tells The Telegraph that United will struggle to beat Barcelona if we're in the Champions League final.

Caught Offside lists the 100 greatest players of all time.

Patrice Evra has tried to rally his players ahead of the massive game on Sunday and you get the sense by reading his comments that United couldn't understand why they played the way they did against Arsenal and if they do that again they know Chelsea will take full advantage!.
He said:

"We have our destiny in our hands.

The Build Up:

After an impressive display from both sides and Chelsea more so in the second half, Let's face it, The 2-1 win over Spurs was based on the curios cases of first the ball and second a man crossing a line.

Instead of luck, I'll just put them down to destiny, because what followed was.

Bari are in a whole lot of trouble. They have been for some time now, and nothing seems to be getting better for the side. Relegation may not be a mathematical certainty but certainly looms on the horizon as a seemingly inescapable destiny. Coach Bortolo Mutti, however, wants to ensure that his side go down in style.

As Frank Lampard sat down next to Carlo Ancelotti last night to take part in the press conference ahead of tonight's game, it was evident that the focus of the build up to the game is about Moscow and Chelsea's determination to win this trophy after having come so close.
Frank Lampard was quick to respond.

It's Chelsea and John Terry's DESTINY United. We owe you lot big time and it's our time!
Remember that!
KTBFFH
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What an extraordinary weekend here in Spain, where events in La Liga took place in a counter-intuitive fashion, and more or less set the seal on the destiny of the league title, give or take an improbable implosion of form at Barcelona FC over the next eight weeks. As the weekend turned out, Real Madrid were probably wishing that the strike over television rights had gone ahead after all.

Carlo Ancelotti is featured on this article on Skysports and it got me thinking. The reason it had me thinking was because, and I had forgotton about this, Carlo compared Chelsea meeting United a few years after that horrible night in Moscow to his Milan side that lost dramatically against Liverpool in the final but put the ghosts to bed by overcoming them two years later.

Five points behind Chelsea, six off Man City. We haven't scored in our last three games, haven't won in five. Since the 16th January, our strikers have only scored six goals between them. Worst of all, Tottenham are highly unlikely to be playing Champions League football next season. A heavy defeat in the Bernabeu on Tuesday night would really finish us off.

Arsenal 0 Blackburn 0
(Premiership)

I mentioned after the last round of Premiership fixtures that it felt like a day which would be seen as pivotal come the end of the season. United had pinched a late winner against Bolton despite being a man down, meaning our comeback at West Brom wasn't enough to avoid us losing ground.

It was a weekend at the top, middle and bottom of the Premier League where results may have huge ramifications on the destiny of club's in the coming weeks to months. Wigan won, Arsenal almost lost, Chelsea could be on a surge to battle for the...
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Jack Wilshere has agreed to leave Arsenal for Barcelona and will move to the Camp Nou in the Summer.
The Daily Bullshit claims that the England international will wear the famous red and blue next season after agreeing a deal with the Catalan giants.
The 19-year old will be given the number 4 jersey and is expected to pen a long-term contract until 2025.