Sports
African Players Thank, Celebrate Wenger
As news broke that Arsene Wenger is to leave English club Arsenal at the end of the season, there was an immediate outpouring of affection for the manager from African fans and players alike.
From current Liberia President George Weah at Monaco to Wenger’s last signing at Arsenal – Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – the Frenchman has been a strong supporter of African players.
His knack of signing and nurturing some of the continent’s biggest names has been a distinguishable feature of his 22 years at the helm.
It therefore comes as no surprise that all 16 African footballers to have played in the colours of Arsenal all made their appearances under Wenger.
The unconditional love affair started in Africa when Wenger was manager of French side Monaco.
He discovered Liberia’s George Weah through a friend and signed him from Cameroonian side Tonnerre Yaoundé in 1988, becoming a father figure to the young striker.
Weah went on to become the only player to win the African, European and World footballer of the year titles in one season – in 1995.
The former Monaco, PSG, Milan, Chelsea and Marseille striker, who remains the only African to be voted as the world’s top player, has a lot to thank Wenger for.
“Every time I go on the pitch, playing for Arsene Wenger, I wanted him to know the ways I could pay him back. I could break my knee, my face, my hand for him – just to win a game.”
“He took care of me like his son, I could not believe it. When racism was at its peak, this is a man who showed me love.
“Besides God, I think that without Arsene, there was no way I would have made it in Europe,” Weah recalled to Tidesports source.
And when Wenger became Arsenal boss in September 1996 following Bruce Rioch’s departure, Weah’s cousin Christopher Wreh was Wenger’s first African signing.
Snapped up from his last French club Monaco in August 1997, Wreh scored three important goals in 28 appearances.
During his time at Highbury, Wreh won the Premier League and FA Cup double in the 1997/98 campaign and also lifted the FA Charity Shield.
Wreh is one of 16 African footballers to have played for Arsenal in the Premier League since it began in 1992, all making their appearances under the Frenchman.
Those numbers are only half the story. As friends, families and fans rocked up to support the team, the Frenchman’s impeccable faith in signing African players further attracted legions of fans on the continent.
Much of the Gunners’ popularity in Africa can be put down to the “Invincibles”, the record-breaking team of the 2003-04 season which won the league without losing a single match, as part of a 49-game unbeaten run.
Arsenal’s march to that incredible feat would not have been possible without the valuable contributions of three African stars. All three played starring roles at different moments, and none fluffed their lines.
A strong showing of Ivorian Kolo Toure, Cameroon defender Lauren and Nigerian Nwankwo Kanu made them even more popular. Kanu is surely one of the main reasons for Arsenal’s popularity in Nigeria as well.
Kanu, who helped Arsenal to two Premier League and FA Cup titles in a five-year stint at Arsenal, paid tribute to Wenger’s great service to the club, his career and the continent.
“Big shoes for anyone to fill, playing for Arsenal under Arsene was one of the best period of my career, two Premiership, two FA cups, The invincibles, playing with some of the best assembled players, influencing millions of fans in Africa to support this great club,” Kanu wrote on Twitter.
Lauren played 159 league games for Arsenal between 2000 and 2007 and also picked up two league titles and three FA Cups. He swiftly followed suit by highlighting his legacy.
“An emotional day. Arsene took English football to a different level and pushed me to become the player I never thought I’d be. Let’s cherish the memories and his legacy, which will always remain.
“We must thank him for giving his all to make Arsenal such a great club,” Lauren tweeted.
Nigerian youngster Alex Iwobi was not even born when Wenger took over the club, but the Super Eagle has risen from the academy to become a first team player under Wenger.
The 20-year-old also took to social media to reflect on Wenger’s influence.
“For everything you’ve done for Arsenal Football Club, for trusting me as a teenager, for giving me the opportunity to express myself and grow both as a footballer and as a person. I will forever be grateful to you boss. Thank You So Much!,” he said.
Notably, Wenger often divided opinion on the continent due to the timing of the Africa Cup of Nations – which was traditionally played during January and February.
He stressed in 2004 that the timing was beginning to harm the prospects of African players signing for major European clubs – because teams had reservations about losing players for a month in the middle of the season.
But as other Premier League managers continued to criticise the poor timing of the tournament, Wenger won the hearts of millions around the continent by consistently signing and standing by African players.
Since then, Wenger’s desire for the Nations Cup tournament to be held in June has finally been approved.
Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang shone brilliantly in France, matured as a top footballer in Germany, but failed to attract other top European clubs. However Wenger brought him to the Premier League by making him his last Arsenal signing in January.
Aubameyang could not have put it more succinctly when he posted on Twitter: “I’m your last signing but since I’m here, I’m proud to be your player Boss thanks for everything.”
Culled from BBC Sport
Thierry Henry has called for the return of the away goals rule in the aftermath of the bombastic Champions League semi-final between Inter Milan and Barcelona.
The visitors at the Estadio Olimpic Lluis Companys came within milimeters of clinching the first leg of the final-four clash after former Arsenal star Henrikh Mkhitaryan netted late in the second-half.
But the linesman was quick to raise his flag, and semi-automated offside ruled out what would have been a thrilling conclusion to the high-octane 3-3 draw.
The hosts came from behind twice to share the spoils, chasing Inter Milan from the first minute of the game after Marcus Thuram stunned the Barcelona faithful into silence with his neatly flicked goal.
Denzel Dumfries doubled Inter’s lead 20 minutes later, but it took just three more for the Blaugrana to finally get on the scoresheet courtesy of a moment of magic from teenage starlet Lamine Yamal.
Ferran Torres drew Barcelona level ahead of the break, but Lamal was forced to play catch-up again in the second-half after Dumfries scored his second.
In light of the impressive effort from Inter, Henry wondered if the team should have got more from the fixture ahead of the second-leg at the San Siro.
‘I know it’s been like that for a very time, and we have to accept it,’ Henry said of the removal of the away goals rule, ‘But off air I was talking to Jamie (Carragher), and I was like, “how can you score three goals away from home and you don’t have an advantage?”
‘Away goals for me were massive, you score three goals away and you still don’t have an advantage 0-0 at home,’ Henry shrugged.
UEFA took the decision to scrap the rule which gave goals scored away from home the ability to act as a tiebreaker in the case of level scorelines ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Current FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger claimed during his time as Arsenal manager in 2015 that the away goals rule ‘encouraged the team at home not to attack’ and that ‘the weight of the away goal (was) too big today’.
Without the rules, the tie at San Siro will go to extra time and penalties to decide which teams books their spot in the Champions League final.
But based on Wednesday evening’s performance, Henry seemed to give Inter a fighting chance against the newly minted Copa del Rey champions.
The 2025 London Marathon set a new world record for the number of finishers despite hot conditions on Sunday for its 45th edition.
A total of 56,640 runners crossed the finish line at the end of the 26.2-mile route, Guinness World Records has confirmed.
The number surpassed the previous record of 55,646 set by the New York Marathon in November.
Hugh Brasher, chief executive of London Marathon Events, said he hoped the high number of finishers inspired people to apply for the 2026 race ballot.
“The London Marathon was already the most popular in terms of ballot entries, with 840,318 people applying for the 2025 race,” he said.
“It is also the world’s largest annual one-day fundraising event with more than £1.3bn raised for charity since 1981.”
The number of people applying for the ballot to enter this year’s race broke the world record of 578,304 for the 2024 edition.
Of UK applicants 49% were female, while there was a 105% increase in applications from people aged between 20-29.
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa surged to victory in the elite women’s race in a world record for a women’s only field, while Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe triumphed in the men’s event.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has said that his side will have to do something special in Paris if they are to reach the Champions League final following defeat in their semi-final first leg.
Ousmane Dembele’s early strike at the Emirates leaves the Gunners needing to overturn a one-goal deficit against Paris St-Germain in the second leg at the Parc des Princes next week.
It was an ultimately frustrating night for Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, who failed to convert any of their five shots on target.
“If you want to win the Champions League final, you have to do something special. We’re going to have to do something special in Paris to be there,” Arteta said.
PSG dominated the opening 20 minutes of the match and, while the hosts grew into the game, they continued to be frustrated by the French side’s solid defence, failing to score in a home Champions League match for the first time since February 2016.
“We have a lot of chances to be in that final. As I repeat myself, you have to do something special in the competition to have the right to be in the final. And the time to do it is going to be in Paris,” said Arteta.
Arsenal have not reached the final since 2005-06 while PSG are hunting a first Champions League trophy.
As they did against Liverpool and Aston Villa earlier in the campaign, Luis Enrique’s side relied on Italian keeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma to keep them out of trouble.
The 26-year-old kept a clean sheet and made five saves – including important stops to deny Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard in one-on-one situations.
“At the end, we have two of our front players one v one with Donnarumma. If they scored the goal it is different. He made the saves, like he did against Liverpool and Villa, and that’s the difference in the Champions League,” Arteta said.
But Enrique says the shot-stopper was just doing his job.
“That’s the work of a goalkeeper, no? Save the team, they work every day for that. In a semi-final, you need all the players,” the Spaniard said.