Sports
Arsenal, Barca Set To Serve Champagne Football
Arsenal host Barcelona tonight fuelled by the belief that they can eliminate the European champions over the course of two legs that promise great entertainment and incredible drama.
The Gunners remain in the race to claim the Premier League crown, though their hopes of dethroning Manchester United and usurping Chelsea took a shot at the weekend as a bad Manuel Almunia error gifted Birmingham City a point on Saturday.
“Barcelona is a different competition and we have a few days to recover and prepare. But it felt like a defeat on Saturday,” manager Arsene Wenger told the club’s official website, having previously blamed the state of the St. Andrews pitch for his side’s failure to register three points.
“It is always hard to pick the players up when you get a result like that. We are on a run that is very difficult, where we know there is no room for error at all, so Saturday was a big disappointment for us.”
When Arsenal have been faced with crisis points in this campaign, they have generally responded well. Against the very best – Manchester United and Chelsea – they have failed to acquire a single league point, yet the Gunners remain a very real threat in the title race, while an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Porto in the Champions League was brilliantly rescued with a terrific 5-0 response at the Emirates.
Having failed to defeat an elite side this season, questions will be raised over the ability of Wenger’s side to defeat la Blaugrana, who have become known as the best of the best over the last 18 months.
Compared to the all-conquering Barcelona side of last term, this season’s Barca have received a remarkable amount of criticism. With the increased competition from Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola’s side have been placed in the spotlight, and though they have consistently responded, they have rarely convinced.
Recent results have not seen the Blaugrana sweep away opposition in the manner they achieved last season, while their football has not always been as fluid and eye-catching. Their results, in La Primera Division at least, have been just as strong, while progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League has been achieved, albeit with a few scares along the way.
Stuttgart certainly gave Guardiola’s men a fright in the last 16. The Bundesliga outfit grabbed the lead in the first leg, though they were ultimately unable to match the power of the Catalans when forced to travel to Catalunya. Lionel Messi, as has been the case so often of late, was Barca’s inspiration behind a 4-0 second leg victory, and the little Argentine marvel will be the player Arsenal most closely need to police over the two legs.
Goalkeeper Victor Valdes has indicated that the Camp Nou outfit are feeling confident going into this fixture. “We are not going to play conservatively at the Emirates. Barcelona are capable of winning anywhere,” he asserted.
Only the second team to take anything from Mallorca’s ONO Estadi this season, having recorded a 1-0 victory thanks to a predatory Zlatan Ibrahimovic strike on Saturday, Barca can approach this fixture with optimism, despite their naysayers
The championship will run from today to October 12 at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia. On the ground for the championship are athletes from Brazil, Peru, Egypt, Cameroon, Tunisia, Nigeria, Mauritius and Rwanda. They arrived on Sunday.
Some of the other countries were expected in the Abia State capital yesterday. Speaking on the championship, yesterday, Abia State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Nwobilor Ananaba, said the chief host, Governor Alex Otti, has mobilised facilities and the personnel to ensure a successful event.
Speaking through the Special Assistant to the Governor on Sports, Raymond Chima Ukwa, said: “We have the best mats, playing mats, especially the wheelchair playing mats, which is the first of its kind in West Africa.
“If you go around, you’ll see the hall and the preparation that has been made to ensure that people have an equitable world-class playing field.” Thrilled by Governor Otti’s support for the competition, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) President, Francis Orbih, said that, besides making all the necessary arrangements that will ensure a successful hosting of the events, “we will have a Para-Badminton workshop for coaches and players.
“Nigeria is doing well, Abia is doing well, and we want to do better to improve on where we are, which is why all these have been put together by Governor Otti.”
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles began their campaign at the 24th FIFA U20 World Cup with a narrow 1–0 loss to Norway on Monday, despite creating several opportunities to level the game.
Norway took the lead in the 9th minute after being awarded a controversial penalty. The Flying Eagles pressed for an equaliser but were denied two penalty claims in the second half.
Kparobo Arierhi came close in the 47th minute when his shot drifted wide with the goalkeeper beaten, while Tahir Maigana struck the upright in the 63rd minute.
Nasiru Salihu’s rising effort in the 71st minute also went narrowly over the bar, drawing gasps from the crowd.
Seven minutes from time, Maigana again tested Norway with a long-range strike that went just wide as Nigeria continued to pile on the pressure.
Despite their dominance, the Flying Eagles could not find the breakthrough and now turn their attention to Thursday’s clash against Saudi Arabia in their second group match.
-
Sports2 days agoPlateau Wins Kanemi, As Bayelsa, Bendel Played 1-1
-
Education2 days agoVC Congratulates Igwe on Appointment as Pro-Chancellor
-
Sports11 hours agoArsenal’s Saliba Wants to Be Best
-
Politics2 days agoAlleged Attack On Abure In Benin, LP Calls For Investigation
-
Sports2 days agoLa Liga: Atletico Bring Real Back To Earth
-
Sports11 hours ago
CCL: “Rivers United will get better”
-
Maritime2 days agoCustoms, MAN Consent On 4% FoB Exemptions, Manufacturing Support Measures
-
Rivers2 days agoIAUE Emerges Winner Of National Campus Debate, 2025