Semua Tim Raksasa Imbang, Malaga ke-16 Besar

Keempat Liga Champions baru saja selesai bergulir. Semua tim raksasa hanya mampu bermain imbang. Malaga menjadi tim pertama yang lolos ke babak 16 besar.

Bertanding di depan pendukungnya sendiri yang memadati Stadion Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid hanya mampu bermain imbang 2-2 melawan jawara Jerman, Borussia Dortmund.

Pertandingan babak pertama ditutup dengan kemenangan 2-1 Dortmund. Marco Reus membuka gol Dortmund pada menit ke-38. Pepe kemudian menyamakannya pada menit ke-34.

Di masa perpanjangan waktu babak pertama, Alvaro Arbeloa melakukan gol bunuh diri dan membawa Dortmund unggul 2-1. Sepakan bebas Mesut Ozil pada menit ke-89 menutup pertandingan dengan hasil imbang 2-2.

Harapan Manchester City untuk lolos ke babak 16 besar kian terjal. The Citizen hanya mampu bermain imbang 2-2 melawan wakil Belanda Ajax Amsterdam di markasnya, Etihad Stadium.

City bahkan tertinggal dua gol lebih dahulu melalui sepasang gol Siem De Jong, masing-masing menit kesepuluh dan 17. Beruntung, City mampu menyamakan kedudukan melalui Yaya Toure di menit ke-22 dan Sergio Aguero pada menit ke-74.

Malaga menjadi tim pertama yang lolos ke babak 16 besar. Melawat ke markas AC Milan, Stadion San Siro, sang wakil Spanyol itu sukses menahan imbang 1-1.

Malaga unggul 1-0 pada babak pertama melalui gol Eliseu pada menit ke-40. Beruntung, tandukan Alexandre Pato pada menit ke-73 menghindarkan Milan dari kekalahan.[iaf]

Inilah Hasil Lengkap Pertandingan Keempat Liga Champions:

Grup A
Dynamo Kiev 0 - 0 FC Porto
Paris Saint-Germain 4 - 0 Dinamo Zagreb
Grup B
Olympiakos 3 - 1 Montpellier
Schalke 04 2 - 2 Arsenal
Grup C
AC Milan 1 - 1 Mlaga
Anderlecht 1 - 0 Zenit St Petersburg
Grup D
Manchester City 2 - 2 Ajax Amsterdam
Real Madrid 2 - 2 Borussia Dortmund

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Van Persie Diharapkan Tetap di Premier League

London - Masa depan striker Arsenal, Robin van Persie, masih belum menemui titik terang. Kendati begitu, dia diharapkan masih akan merumput di Premier League pada musim depan.

Van Persie akhir-akhir ini santer diisukankan bakal hengkang dari Emirates Stadium. Keinginan si pemain untuk memenangi gelar juara menjadi alasan utamanya tak betah di The Gunners.

Bek baru Aston Villa asal Belanda, Ron Vlaar, beharap Van Persie tetap bertahan di Liga Inggris meskipun mungkin tak bersama Arsenal lagi. Sebabnya, pemain yang musim lalu membela Feyenord itu ingin berhadapan dengan Van Persie.

"Saya benar-benar tak tahu dia akan kemana. Saya akhir-akhir ini belum bicara dengannya," jelas Vlaar seperti dilansir ESPN Star.

"Saya berharap dia (Van Persie) bertahan di Inggris, jadi saya bisa menghadapinya. Saya berlatih dengannya saat di timnas, dan dia adalah pemain yang hebat," tambahnya.

"Akan menjadi satu kehilangan besar jika dia pergi dari Inggris," kata Vlaar.

Sejauh ini, ada tiga klub yang dihubung-hubungkan dengan Van Persie. Dua dari Inggris, yakni Manchester City dan Manchester United. Satu klub lainnya dari Italia, Juventus.

detikSport

Van Persie Perpanjang Kontrak?

West Brom - Robin van Persie sukses membawa Arsenal finis di tiga besar musim ini. Sesudahnya penyerang asal Belanda itu mengindikasikan akan segera melakukan pembicaraan soal kontrak barunya.

Adalah kemenangan 3-2 atas West Bromwich Albion di laga terakhir kemarin yang menempatkan Arsenal di posisi ketiga. Hasil akhir inilah yang dinilai Arsene Wenger jadi "alat" untuk menahan Van Persie di Emirates Stadium.

Seperti diketahui Van Persie kontraknya akan habis musim panas tahun depan. Belum adanya pembicaran dengan manajemen klub membuat isu Van Persie akan pergi dari Arsenal mencuat.

Dengan masih sulitnya Arsenal bersaing meraih gelar, Van Persie boleh jadi berpikir akan mencari klub lain yang punya potensi lebih besar untuk itu. Tersebut Manchester City dan Juventus meminati penyerang 28 tahun itu.

Terkait segala rumor tersebut, Van Persie mengungkapkan bersamaan dengan rampungnya musim ini, maka dirinya akan menemui Wenger dan bos Arsenal, Ivan Gazidis, untuk membicarakan soal masa depannya.

"Kami akan melakukan pembicaraan pekan depan di suatu tempat," tutur Van Persie singkat kepada Sky Sports.

Apakah itu artinya Van Persie akan bertahan di Emirates Stadium dan meneken kontrak baru? "Kita lihat saja. Kami akan segera berdiskusi dan mencari keputusannya."

Premier League preview: West Brom vs Arsenal

koclokindoblog, 11 Mei 2012, Arsenal can secure a berth in next season's Champions League group stage with a victory away to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

The Gunners (67 points) are winless in their last four starts but can put third spot beyond the reach of Tottenham (66) and Newcastle (65) with three points on the final day of the season.

A loss or draw, however, would leave Arsenal sweating on the results of Tottenham's clash against Fulham and Newcastle's journey to Everton and could bundle the Gunners out of the Champions League altogether.

The West Brom faithful are expected to give new England manager Roy Hodgson a rousing farewell as he takes change of his last game at the Hawthorns before turning his attention to England's Euro 2012 campaign.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned his players not to be overawed by the occasion.

"I believe that it will be an emotional departure, maybe, but I think what is important for us is to turn up with a good performance and win the football game," Wenger said.

"It will be another tense week. When you consider the last three home games, we have taken two points, we have a lot of regrets. Let's hope we will not pay the heavy price for that.

"We don't know whether fourth will be enough. It is not Champions League (proper), it is a qualifier at best. Maybe not at all if Chelsea win the Champions League."

West Brom striker Shane Long believes his Albion team-mates owe it to Hodgson to secure a top-half finish in the Premier League.

"It's been a pleasure playing under Roy and I'm a better player for it because I've learned a lot of new things," Long told the official West Brom website.

"He's turned us into a stable club in the Premier League that are looking up rather than looking down."

Arsenal were 3-0 winners last time the sides met in November with Robin van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen and Mikel Arteta all scoring at the Emirates.

 

soccerway.com

Arsenal optimistic Van Persie will stay

koclokindoblog, 11 Mei 2012, Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood remains convinced that captain Robin van Persie will sign a new deal at the club.

The Dutchman has refused to comment on his future or discuss extending his current deal that is due to run out in 2013, insisting he will not do so until the end of the season.

And the chairman stated that while no talks have taken place with the striker himself, he has discussed the matter with manager Arsene Wenger, and they are optimistic that the 28-year-old will extend his stay in north London.

"We haven't talked to Robin yet, but I spoke to Arsene (Wenger) recently. He is very confident he will stay and I very much hope he will, he has had a wonderful season with us," Hill-Wood said.

Arsenal's game on Sunday against West Brom could go a long way to influencing Van Persie to stay, with a win guaranteeing Champions League football next season.

Wenger is remaining calm about the subject, and is confident that his side will remain focused on coming away with a positive result.

"We have a massive game in front of us, but I feel we are focused, switched on. I am confident we will do well," he said.

"For us it is just to find the right mixture - to be focused, combative and relaxed, and especially be faithful to play our football like we want to.

"At the end of the day it will be down to playing well, no matter what is at stake."

Another factor in Van Persie's decision will be new signings. The Dutchman has often expressed his desire for the Gunners to improve their squad, and they have already added to the team with the signing of Lukas Podolski.

Wenger, however, insisted that no deal is in place for French international Yann M'Vila.

"It is not true. There is not any interest at the moment," said Wenger.

"We have not been in touch with anybody, we have not made any offer to anybody and we are nowhere near to buying anybody at the moment.

"We are focused on our final game of the season."

 

soccerway.com

Wenger rules out Diaby for Euro 2012

koclokindoblog, 5 Mei 2012, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has ruled out Abou Diaby for Euro 2012 due to injury.

The injury-plagued France international has missed the majority of the campaign due to ankle and hamstring problems yet appeared to be fit heading into the summer.

However, the former Auxerre man picked up a calf strain in Arsenal's 1-1 draw against Stoke City last weekend and looks unlikely to feature again this season.

"Abou Diaby is not in the squad (to face Norwich on Saturday) and I think he's unavailable for the Euros," Wenger told RMC Sport.

"It would be unrealistic to think he can go to the European Championship. He has had no continuity this season. It's unrealistic to imagine that he can play in six weeks at the Euros."

Diaby has only made four appearances this season for the Gunners in all competitions.

Meanwhile, Wenger said Arsenal's popularity in African countries 'frightens' him and admitted the scheduled pre-season tour to Nigeria is not for sporting reasons.

The Gunners have regularly travelled to the Far East in recent tours but will also visit Africa for the first time ahead of next season.

Wenger said that the Gunners have forfeited some of their pre-season training plans at their London base in order to fulfil their commercial responsibilities.

"We have had to compromise on the sporting side, because we had a rational, methodical approach to our pre-season," the Frenchman told reporters.

"We have sacrificed some of that to go on tour.

"But we are in a race with the other clubs as well. I realised when I was at the World Cup in South Africa how popular a club like Arsenal is in Africa, especially in Nigeria. It is unbelievable.

"I was even frightened at some stage by how popular Arsenal is. In Kenya as well, it is absolutely unbelievable."

The Gunners coach also confessed that in a summer with a major international tournament - in this case, Euro 2012 - an extended tour creates further problems.

"A tour has advantages and disadvantages, let's be honest," he said.

"The advantage, of course, is to get in touch with your fan base in Asia - when you travel out there you realise how big the Premier League is and how big your club is over there.

"We are looking forward to doing it again, but unfortunately in the European Championship years or the World Cup years, on the purely sports side you suffer a bit more because your players have just come back and have to travel again, so the preparation time will be short for them.

"But on purely fan-base it is very exciting."

 

soccerway.com

Premier League preview: Arsenal vs Norwich

koclokindoblog, 4 Mei 2012, The battle for third place in the English Premier League intensifies on Saturday when Arsenal welcome Norwich to the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal are in third position, 17 points behind the Manchester clubs who are locked in their own battle for the title.

The Gunners would not have been happy with the midweek results that saw victories for both Tottenham and Newcastle, who moved one point behind them in the fight for third place and the resulting Champions League berth.

But Arsene Wenger's men remain in the box seat, knowing that wins in their final two outings against Norwich and away to West Bromwich Albion will be enough.

Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at Stoke City last weekend, with Robin van Persie cancelling out Peter Crouch's opening goal at the Britannia Stadium.

The Gunners have conceded just three goals in their last six appearances at home in all competitions and are favourites to say goodbye to the Emirates faithful for another season with three points.

Despite successive defeats by Liverpool, Blackburn and Manchester City, Norwich have already secured their Premier League status for another season and travel to Arsenal in search of their sixth away win of the campaign.

Norwich have produced mixed results in London this season, having defeated Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers while falling to Fulham and Chelsea.

Paul Lambert refused to blame fatigue after his side's 3-0 drubbing at the hands of the Luis Suarez-inspired Liverpool last week and remains hopeful of a top half finish on the Premier League table come season's end.

Attacking midfielder Elliott Bennett is determined to put in a good performance against Arsenal.

"It's massively important to end on a bit of a high, because it would be a shame to waste all the hard work and some of the great things we've achieved this season and haven't achieved in the last few games," Bennett told the Norwich Evening News.

"We have still got two football matches left that we really want to win. Hopefully at Arsenal we can put the Liverpool performance behind us and then against Aston Villa we can do the same."

Grant Holt has failed to score in his last four appearances for Norwich but will be looking to add to his tally of 15 for the season and is likely to start up front at the Emirates.

Arsenal captain van Persie netted either side of half time as his team came from a goal down to defeat Norwich 2-1 at Carrow Road last time the sides met in November.
 

 soccerway.com

Lukas Podolski resmi gabung ke Arsenal

koclokindoblog, 1 Mei 2012, Nilai kontrak Lukas Podolski ke Arsenal dirahasiakan.
Lukas Podolski akan bergabung dengan Arsenal dari Cologne musim depan dengan nilai kontrak yang dirahasiakan.

Penyerang Jerman berusia 26 tahun ini memulai karir di Cologne pada tahun 2002 dan sempat bergabung dengan Bayern Munich empat tahun kemudian sebelum kembali ke Cologne pada tahun 2009.

Podolski, yang membela tim nasional Jerman sebanyak 95 kali ini mengatakan: Saya sangat senang bergabung dengan Arsenal dan Liga Primer. Mereka adalah salah satu dari klub papan atas di Eropa dengan sejarah yang besar.

"Ada banyak pemain berkualitas di Arsenal dan gaya mereka fantastis.

Dia menambahkan, Saya membuat keputusan ini tidak bertentangan dengan FC Cologne tetapi karena ini adalah kesempatan besar.

"Ini bukan keputusan yang mudah bagi saya, karena Cologne, penggemar kami dan kotanya adalah hal yang spesial bagi saya.

Penyerang kelahiran Polandia yang sebenarnya masih menyisakan satu tahun kontrak ini telah mencetak 18 gol di musim ini tetapi Cologne berada di peringkat ketiga dari bawah klasemen Bundesliga.

Dia menambahkan: Saya akan selalu membawa FC Cologne di hati saya. Kita harus mengumpulkan semua kekuatan kita sekarang dan harus fokus untuk selamat di Bundesliga.

Ketua Eksekutif Cologne Claus Horstmann mengatakan: Cologne sebenarnya menyiapkan perpanjangan kontrak bagi Podolski. Bagaimanapun, keputusan pindah ini memberikan ruang dan rencana keamanan klub di musim mendatang.

Lukas memberikan reputasi bagi FC Cologne dan kami merasa perlu untuk berterimakasih kepadanya untuk sejumlah pengalaman sepak bola yang luar biasa, kata Horstmann.


Pujian Wenger Manajer Arsene Wenger sendiri menyambut kedatangan Podolski dengan pujian, dia adalah pemain kelas atas, seorang pencetak gol yang sangat bagus dan terbukti di tingkat klub dan internasional. Dia adalah pemain yang sangat kuat dan akan memberikan kami opsi penyerangan.

Saat ini Arsenal memang tengah membutuhkan penyerang baru. Meski Robin van Persie duduk di daftar pencetak gol terbanyak dengan 28 gol tetapi pelapis penyerang Arsenal lainnya Theo Walcott hanya mampu mencetak delapan gol.

Arsenal juga sempat membawa pulang Thierry Henry dari AS guna mengisi kekurangan penyerang.

Sosok Podolski yang pernah mencetak gol ke gawang Inggris di Piala Dunia Afsel 2010 lalu ini dianggap mampu mengisi kekurangan posisi penyerang ini.

Podolski juga akan masuk dalam tim nasional Jerman yang akan berlaga di Piala Eropa 2012.

Di timnas dia mencetak 43 gol dari 95 kali penampilan. Wenger mengatakan, Itu adalah rekor fenomenal dan menunjukkan kualitasnya sebagai pemain.

 

sport.detik.com

Premier League preview: Arsenal vs Stoke

koclokindoblog, 27 April 2012, Arsenal's bid to secure an automatic Champions League place continues with a clash against Stoke City on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger's men have won just two of their last five English Premier League matches, giving the in-form Newcastle United some hope of finishing third.

Injuries have affected Arsenal in recent weeks, with Mikel Arteta and Theo Walcott ruled out for the rest of the season.

Spaniard Arteta has been a big loss in midfield, while the form of prolific goalscorer Robin van Persie is also worrying.

Van Persie, who still tops the Premier League scoring charts with 27 goals, has netted just once in his last seven outings.

Arsenal's reliance on the Dutchman was always set to hurt them at some point this campaign, with their recent struggles coinciding with van Persie's poor form.

Joining the likes of Arteta and Walcott on the sidelines are Francis Coquelin, Per Mertesacker, Emmanuel Frimpong and Jack Wilshere.

But the visitors should still have enough quality to secure all three points against mid-table Stoke at Britannia Stadium.

Tony Pulis' men cannot be relegated and are unable to book a European berth for next season.

Normally reliable in defence, Stoke have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last eight games, including in the 3-0 loss to Newcastle last time out.

With just one win in their last eight league outings, Stoke have slipped to 14th on the table with little to play for in their remaining matches.

The likes of Salif Diao and Mamady Sidibe are sidelined.

Pulis is likely to persist with striker Jonathan Walters, who missed several chances in the loss to Newcastle.

"Jon could have had a hat-trick – and not a very difficult hat-trick. I'm not picking on him because he's done fantastic for us and kept going," he said.

"The best thing about him is that he will never stop getting into positions. His attitude and strength of character is fantastic and that's why we pick him every week."

 

soccerway.com

Barcelona Tak Tertarik Boyong Van Persie

koclokindoblog, 25 April 2012, Barcelona - Dalam beberapa bulan terakhir Barcelona dikabarkan akan memboyong penyerang Arsenal Robin van Persie ke Camp Nou pada jendela transfer musim panas tahun ini. Namun rumor tersebut langsung dibantah oleh pihak Barcelona.

"Bagi Barcelona semua pemain yang bagus selalu menarik, dan Van Persie merupakan seorang pemain hebat," kata juru bicara Barcelona, Toni Freixa kepada The Sport Review, Selasa 24 April 2012. "Tapi untuk sekarang ini kami tidak berencana mengontrak dia."

Spekulasi Van Persie akan meninggalkan Arsenal di akhir musim ini, berhembus kencang setelah penyerang tim nasional Belanda itu berkunjung ke hotel yang ditempati para pemain Barcelona, sebelum bentrok dengan Chelsea di semifinal Liga Champions. Menurut Freixa, Van Persie berkunjung ke hotel karena ingin berjumpa dengan Ibrahim Afellay.

"Dia adalah orang Belanda begitu juga dengan Ibrahim Afellay," tuturnya. "Mereka hanya minum kopi bersama-sama. Jadi dia tidak datang menemui kami, dan pastinya tidak ada percakapan."

Bila Barcelona tak berencana mendatangkan Van Persie, maka Juventus adalah kandidat terbesar untuk menggunakan jasa bekas pemain Feyenoord itu. Pasalnya, Direktur Olahraga Juventus, Fabio Paratici, dikabarkan telah melakukan kontak dengan agen Van Persie. Bianconeri ditengarai siap menggelontorkan fulus sebesar 25 juta pound sterling (Rp 369 miliar) untuk mengeluarkan Van persie dari Emirates Stadium.

Masa depan Van Persie memang mulai jadi perbincangan hangat lantaran sang pemain tak kunjung memperpanjang kontraknya yang bakal habis pada pengujung musim depan. Penampilan apik yang ditunjukkan Van Persie musim ini pun semakin meningkatkan minat pasar terhadap jasa pemain berusia 28 tahun tersebut.

 

tempo.co