By Olumide T. Olumide| Nigerian
Writer and Blogger
Follow @olumideblogzin|
 |
| Arsene Wenger celebrates his team's victory! |
Arsenal qualified for the Champions
League for the 16th straight season after edging Tottenham to fourth place in
the Premier League, as Alex Ferguson bowed out as Manchester United manager
with a 5-5 draw against West Bromwich Albion.
Laurent Koscielny's 52nd-minute volley sealed an
unconvincing 1-0 for Arsenal at Newcastle, rendering Spurs' 1-0 victory over
Sunderland -- courtesy of a late screamer from Gareth Bale -- meaningless.
"We celebrated a bit like we had won the
championship, which was a bit weird considering the ambition at the start of
the season," said Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, whose team won
eight and drew two of its last 10 games of the campaign.
Chelsea finished third -- and claimed the last
automatic Champions League spot -- by beating Everton 2-1 thanks to Fernando
Torres' winner in Rafa Benitez's last game in charge of the Europa League
champions.
With the title fight decided a month ago and
three relegation spots already settled, the remaining business was bidding
farewell to several icons of English football.
Ferguson was treated to a wild match at The Hawthorns
in his 1,500th and last game at United, with his team surrendering a 5-2 lead
in the final 10 minutes to draw. While United midfielder Paul Scholes,
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher and Stoke striker Michael Owen all played
their final games before retiring.
"I have been here a long time and it has to
come to an end sometime," said Carragher, who ended his 737-game career
with a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over last-place Queens Park Rangers.
There were 36 goals on the final day of the
season. None better than Bale's latest match-winner from 35 yards for Tottenham
that guaranteed an extremely tense final few minutes in the race for fourth
between two fierce north London rivals.
It meant Arsenal needed to hold onto its lead at
St. James Park, and when winger Theo Walcott slid a shot against the post in
injury time there was still a chance for Newcastle to muster an equalizer. It
wasn't to be for Spurs, though, who missed out on the Champions League on the
final day for a second season running.
"It was the most nervous I have ever
been," Walcott said. "We had to dig deep. No one (outside Arsenal)
believed we could do this."
Tottenham was in third place and seven points
clear of Arsenal after winning the north London derby in March. But not even
Bale's stream of match-winning goals in recent weeks could hold off Arsenal's
end-of-season resurgence, just like last season.
"It is difficult to take. In the end we did
what we had to, but Arsenal did their job well and go through," Spurs
manager Andre Villas-Boas said. "It is difficult at this moment."
To make matters worse for Spurs, failing to reach
the Champions League will undoubtedly increase the speculation surrounding the
future of Bale, who has been linked with many of the world's top teams after a
brilliant season in which he won English football's Player of the Year award.
Spurs finished on 72 points -- its highest total
in the Premier League -- but must again play in the Europa League next season.
Nice one!
ReplyDeleteVERY NICE!
ReplyDelete