HARRY KANE'S INSUBORDINATION

England captain and Tottenham Hotspurs striker, Harry Kane was supposed to return to first team training last week Monday after players who were involved in the European Championships were given extended holidays to recuperate. 

He failed to do so and only returned on Saturday. And guess what? The reporting of this rebellion by the British press and the punditry by various analysts of this situation has been low key and toned down because of the individual rebelling. 

Imagine if a certain French midfielder playing in Manchester acted this way. We would not hear the last of it. 

Kane who prior to this time had tacitly indicated that he wanted to move on as Spurs currently were not matching his ambitions to win trophies has by his 5 day AWOL spoken louder than a thousand words. 

Reports indicate that he has a gentleman’s agreement with Spurs Chairman, Daniel Levy, that he would be sold as soon as a big club shows an interest in his services. But like Jamie O’Hara said on TalkSPORT, you don’t reach agreements with the likes of Daniel Levy without putting such on a sheet of paper with both parties signing it. 

It is a shame for Kane that he still has 3 years left on his contract and as it is, Levy will  get premium price for Kane no matter who comes and no matter how long Kane continues to grumble. It is reported that the figure that would persuade Levy to even consider selling him is £160 million pounds. 

Manchester City who are favourites to land his signature just acquired Jack Grealish for a 100 million pounds. They should be able to find another 100 million. Whether they can meet Kane’s valuation of 160 million though is another matter. Whether this deal should even be allowed to go ahead is debatable. City breaking the British record twice in one window should not be allowed in any shape or form. 

At the moment, there is no other club that can pay this collosal amount except Chelsea who are soon to complete the signing of Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan. 

In my honest opinion, Kane’s options are limited. No club outside England can pay that fee at the moment. Chelsea are not interested. Man United who might have been interested have more urgent areas in their squad to address and are also struggling to hold on to Paul Pogba. 

Moreover, United who refused to be held to ransom by Borussia Dortmund over Jadon Sancho won’t fork out 160 million anytime soon.

So we are left with Manchester City’s desire to meet Spurs evaluation of Kane or they give up on Kane and go for who else is available or play with a false 9. 

And if City do not get Kane this season, then Kane risks damaging a lot of the goodwill and legacy he has with the club when he leaves. He will get his move eventually but at what cost? 

Kane has a responsibility to conduct himself professionally until he gets his move but if he refuses to get with the programme, then Daniel Levy and Nino Espirinto Santo should let him rot for 2 years ( if he does not come back to his senses, after all, there is a World Cup in 2022) and sell him for whatever he is worth on the final year of his contract.

WATFORD'S ROMANCE WITH NIGERIA

Following the announcement by Watford that Nigerian midfielder, Peter Etebo, has been signed on a one year loan deal from Stoke City, less than 24 hours later, Watford soon announced the signing of yet another player of Nigerian descent, Dapo Mebude from Rangers.

Dapo Mebude who is a Scotland youth international is eligible to play for Nigeria as he has not been capped by the Scotland national team as he is still very young and is still developing his game. 

He joined Watford from Glasgow Rangers who have opted to release him after he was unable to break into their first team. Mebude is a pacy forward and will probably have opportunities limited due to competition from more established forwards like Ismaila Sarr and the pressure on the Watford manager to hit the ground running and ensure Watford’s survival in the premier league.

Watford manager Xisco Munoz, who oversaw Watford’s promotion back into the the premier league, has 4 other Nigerians in his squad to call upon when needed and they include Super Eagles captain William Troost Ekong, Isaac Success, recent signing Emmanuel Dennis from Club Brugge and Tom Dele Bashiru. 

Of all the players mentioned, only Troost Ekong appears to be trusted by Munoz after appearing 32 times for Watford in the Championship last season. Isaac Success appears to be a squad player as he only appeared 9 times last season and has scored only just one goal. 

Dele Bashiru didn’t fare much better as he only appeared twice throughout the whole of last season. Bashiru is 21, still quite young and should have more opportunities in the League Cup and a handful of games in the premier league as a sub. 

What is baffling for me though, is how Isaac Success keeps getting contract extensions at Watford despite being largely unproductive in the last 2 or 3 seasons. He has made a total of 63 appearances spanning 5 years for Watford and has scored only 3 times. A pathetic stat for a forward if you ask me. 

Success and Bashiru have to do more if they want to be more than just squad players. They need to raise their game whenever they are called upon. Fortunately, Bashiru has time on his hands but Success on the other hand, not so much. 

I expect Etebo and Ekong to contribute immensely to the Watford cause in the coming EPL season as they are vastly experienced and seasoned internationals. 

Emmanuel Dennis, however, looks an interesting prospect as he comes with champions league pedigree and even though he fell out with Club Brugge and was subsequently loaned out to FC Cologne where he was unsettled, Watford provides a refreshing opportunity for him to rediscover the form that made him score 19 times for Club Brugge.

End Of An Era: Arsene Wenger

Last weekend, Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger dropped the bombshell that shocked many as he announced that he would be leaving Arsenal at the end of the season. He is leaving with one year remaining on his contract. 

The announcement which came out of the blue has, as it should be expected, sparked joy and relief for the 'Wenger  Out' brigade while it has led neutrals and supporters of Wenger to wax lyrical and pay tribute to his achievements and legacy at Arsenal.

Sir Alex Ferguson, arguably Wenger's most bitter rival, commended his decision to step down. He statement was: "I am pleased he has announced he is leaving at this stage of the season as he can now have the send off he truly deserves".

" He is without doubt one of the greatest premier league managers and I am proud to have been a rival, a colleague, and a friend to such a great man". Ferguson added.

Arsenal captain, Per Mertasacker, who is also stepping down at the end of the season to join the Arsenal coaching staff said he was 'sad and emotional' at the announcement. 

Other premier league managers such as Jurgen Klopp, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte also had some kind words to say about the Frenchman.

Arsene Wenger, who has endured a turbulent season this year and the year before, paid tribute to the fans and the club. 

"I am grateful for having had the privilege to serve the clubs for so many memorable years. I managed the club with full commitment and integrity." He said.

Wenger joined Arsenal on 1st October 1996. And at the end of this season, he would have spent 22 years at the helm. He won 3 premier league titles and a record 7 FA cups during his reign. He also led Arsenal to the final of the UEFA cup and Champions League.

Wenger who is currently the premier league's longest serving coach is also overseeing Arsenal's worst premier league position since he became manager. Arsenal currently lie 6th on the league table and will have to win the Europa league if they are to return to the Champions league next season.

Why is Wenger stepping down?

The last few seasons has seen an increase in fans discontent about the failure of Arsenal to challenge for the premier league title. Arsenal last won the premier league title in 2004-the season they went unbeaten. 14 years ago.

His critics point to the fact that Wenger keeps lowering the bar in terms of expectations by stating that the top 4 is a trophy since it guarantees a Champions League place. Sadly, Arsenal will for the second season in a row finish outside the top 4.

A few days after his announcement that he was stepping down, Wenger revealed that the decision to leave now wasn't his. This implies that the powers that be at the Emirates namely, Stan and Josh Kroenke have noticed the signs of apathy and disaffection of some of the VIP support and have decided to act before profits start to dwindle. 

In recent weeks, many Gunners faithful have decided to show their frustrations by voting with their feet. The sight of many empty seats at the Emirates and the slow renewal of season tickets would have sent alarm bells round the Arsenal boardroom.

In a nutshell, Wenger has been forced to step down. 

How will Wenger be remembered?

After spending 22 years on the Arsenal hot seat, there will of course be a lot Arsenal supporters and indeed observers of the premier league will remember Arsene Wenger by. 

He brought new and innovative ideas to the English game when he arrived England. He changed the diets and nutrition of his players such that several players careers were prolonged as a result. He also transformed the football too. Boring Arsenal was no longer boring.

He challenged the established order. He threatened Sir Alex Ferguson's domination of the league and won 3 premier league titles which culminated in the season of the 'Invincibles'. That season (2003/04) where Arsenal remarkably went unbeaten in the league. They would continue the run for 49 matches.

Wenger holds the record for the highest number of FA cup titles. He has won 7. 3 in the last 4 years. Unfortunately, it has done little to pacify his staunchest critics. Many of his critics believe he should have left on a high after winning any of these FA cup titles.

This is not to forget that Arsenal's move to the Emirates from Highbury was managed spectacularly by Wenger who ensured that the quality of Arsenal's football was not compromised and that they still competed with the likes of Chelsea and Man United for the league. 

With the paucity of funds due to the building of the Emirates stadium and later on, the paying of debts incurred by the club for the financing of the project, it became a Herculean task for Wenger to compete with rivals in acquiring the best players. He managed the situation admirably. Players like Nasri, Fabregas, Coquelin, Sagna, Clichy, Van Persie etc were transformed from players who were virtually unknown into players in high demand by the best clubs under his guidance.

But for every success of Wenger, his critics who want him out can easily point to his failures as a manager. 

Wenger was often accused of not having a plan B and being tactically clueless when teams shut out Arsenal or are very physical when playing his team.

He was also accused of refusing to spend money in signing better players that would improve the squad even when the Arsenal hierarchy assured fans that there was money in the bank. He stubbornly reiterated the fact that he would only sign players at the right price. This as a result, led to teams like Spurs and Man City leaving Arsenal behind.

Several irate fans have pointed out that one of the reasons that prove that Wenger has lost his mojo is his penchant for selling star players to strengthen direct rivals like Man united and Man City. Top teams hardly sell their top players to domestic rivals. Not for Wenger apparently.... He sold Van Persie and Alexis Sanchez to the Red Devils. He also sold the likes of Toure, Nasri, Sagna, Adebayor etc to City. 

Many of his detractors feel Wenger is loyal to his team to a fault. A situation which leads to a non performing player being given an extended run in the team (Xhaka) or getting bumper contracts for underperforming (Ozil) or keeping injury prone players such as Abou Diaby Tomas Rosicky and currently Santi Cazorla. A slightly more ruthless manager would have pushed such players out of the club far earlier than Wenger would.

Worst of all has to be the trophy drought.  Wenger after spending 22 years in a supposedly big club can only account for  only 3 premier league titles. The last of which came in 2004. He won the FA cup in 2005 but would not win any more trophies until 2014 when he finally ended a drought of 9 years without winning any major silverware by defeating Hull City in the final of the FA cup.

It is also fair to say that part of the reasons Wenger has stayed so long is due to the fact that the club owners feel some form of gratitude and respect for Wenger's management as his presence guarantees profits. Until recently anyway... It took the arrival of the ruthless Josh Kroenke to the scene to convince Stan his father that Wenger's time was up.

Nevertheless, there are many fond memories Wenger will be leaving behind as well as many sad ones in which fans who once adored him feel were opportunities missed due to the stubbornness and pride of the manager.

Wenger, 68, the football purist who considers football to be an art will be missed by those who love him and who experienced the first half of his successful years. The younger generation who have only experienced the consolation of 3 FA cup trophies in the last 4 years and have seen how his stock has fallen and how stale he has become believe the new regime can't come soon enough.

7 Reasons Why Chelsea Is Struggling

Chelsea lost at home in last weekend's premier league fixture to high flying Tottenham 1-3 at Stamford Bridge in a game which almost confirms that Chelsea will not be in the Champions league next season with only 7 games remaining. 

This defeat is the latest in a long list of disappointing defeats and performances for Chelsea this season. 

Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, who won the premier league title in his first season in England and was hailed for the introduction and his effective use of the 3-4-3 formation has seen Chelsea's fortunes go south this season. Chelsea lie 5th in the league with 56 points and are 8 points behind 4th placed Spurs. 

Only a spectacular collapse by Spurs will see Chelsea gain passage to the UCL. Knowing how Chelsea has treated even more successful managers in the past  then it is anyone's guess what will be the fate of Conte in the summer especially if they don't win the FA cup. 

But why have things gone wrong for Conte this season?

1. That text to Diego Costa

At the end of last season, Conte sent former Chelsea striker Diego Costa a text  as players were about going for a deserved break that he was no longer in his plans for next season and should find himself a new club.

It led to a saga between Costa and Conte which eventually led to Costa re-joining former club Athletico Madrid last January. The only problem for Conte is that he has so far failed to acquire a prolific replacement. Conte signed Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid but he has struggled so far to fill the large boots of Diego Costa.

2. Choosing Morata over Lukaku

Chelsea signed Morata for £60m from Real Madrid and he has so far delivered 11 EPL goals for Chelsea. Conte decided to over look a tried and tested Romelu Lukaku who could easily fill the void left by Diego Costa's all round play and favoured a more sleek and 'intelligent' striker.

The gamble hasn't worked very well this season and now Conte has had to sign Olivier Giroud from Arsenal to help with the goals.

Lukaku on the other hand, has scored his 100th premier league in the colours of Manchester United.

3. Replacing Batshuayi with Giroud

In the January transfer window, Conte allowed Belgian striker, Michy Batshuayi join Borussia Dortmund for the rest of the season on loan and went ahead to sign Arsenal striker, Olivier Giroud.

In a cruel twist of fortunes, Batshuayi has gone on to flourish at Dortmund while Giroud has hardly made an impact at Chelsea. Why Conte failed to give Batshuayi a run in the side despite Morata's struggles with injury, form or adaptation to the premier league is a mystery.

4. The sale of Matic to United

For some reason, Antonio Conte allowed the sale of Nemanja Matic to rivals Manchester United for £40m pounds and replaced Matic with Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko.

Matic had formed a formidable partnership with N'Golo Kante in Chelsea's central midfield last season and so the sale of a key element in Chelsea's title winning team is baffling.

Bakayoko it turns out does not have the same defensive discipline as Matic because he is more attack minded. This has left Chelsea exposed in midfield and defence as Kante is left alone to do all the dirty work.

5. The signing of Drinkwater and Barkley

In order to plug the hole left behind by Matic, Conte has tried to rekindle the midfield partnership between Kante and Danny Drinkwater at Leicester's title winning team of 2 years ago by signing Drinkwater from Leicester in January.

Sadly, they have hardly featured together in midfield with Drinkwater finding it difficult getting into the first team. 

Meanwhile, Ross Barkley who joined Chelsea from Everton during the January transfer window as well has barely had a kick since he joined. It's hard to see him upstaging Cesc Fabregas in Chelsea's attacking midfield.

Barkley joined Chelsea after a long injury lay off and will need time to regain full match fitness and his form in order to challenge Fabregas for a starting shirt next season.

6. The beef with David Luiz

One of the decisions Conte made last season that turned out to be a master stroke was the re-signing of defender David Luiz from PSG. 

His partnership with Cesar Azpilicueta  and Gary Cahill in Chelsea's 3 man central defence last season was one of the success stories for Chelsea as they had one of the meanest defences in the premier league. 

But this season, probably due to a bust up off the field, David Luiz has lost his place to Andreas Christiansen who though has looked promising, is young and is prone to the odd mistake just like his mistake against Barcelona in the Champions League where his wayward pass led to Barca's equaliser.

7. His Quarrel With Mourinho 

Conte allowed himself to be side tracked and fall prey to Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho's mind games.

Mourinho had earlier in the season hinted that Conte was a 'clown' due to his exuberant goal celebrations and also made reference to a match fixing scandal  Conte had been indicted in while he was coach of Siena but was later cleared of wrong doing.

Conte of course was visibly irritated and hurt by this and in a press conference called Jose a 'little man' with no profile. 

How this spat with Mourinho which dates back to last season where they exchanged hot words on the touch line has affected Conte this season in the battle for the top 4 is obvious.

The Football Diary

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of The Football Diary. In this post, I intend to discuss some of the interesting matches that were played over the weekend especially in the premier league. 

Liverpool Brought Down To Earth

Just the previous week, Liverpool were being hailed for the manner in which they outclassed Arsenal for certain periods in the second half of that premier league fixture as they romped to a 4-1 lead. This past weekend however was a different story. Burnley showed Liverpool how to be clinical in front of goal while just having barely 20% of ball possession. With all the possession Liverpool could muster, they still lost 2-0 although it was partly due to some careless defending.

James Milner started at left back for Liverpool in place of Alberto Moreno who was responsible for some calamitous errors in the game against Arsenal. Apparently, his presence didn't make much difference as Liverpool were breached twice by the resilient Burnley team.

Would Jurgen Klopp have rued the fact that this game should have been played at Anfield? Liverpool opted to play this fixture at Turf Moor instead of at home which was the original venue because of redevelopments going on at Anfield currently. They would probably have fancied their chances of defeating Burnley at home and build on their impressive victory over Arsenal at the Emirates.

The inconsistency of Liverpool during the Brendan Rodgers era appears to still be their undoing at the moment as Klopp attempts to build the team in his own image. They need to stop defeating the big boys one week and then coming unstuck against weaker opposition the next.

The question of Alberto Moreno rremaining at left back is a headache Klopp may silently be wishing he had fixed earlier. Perhaps Moreno will eventually come good or maybe Joe Gomez who is currently out with a serious injury could be the cover or messiah that could save Klopp's blushes if Moreno continues with his erratic performances. Time though will tell how it will all pan out for Liverpool.

Hull City Keep Fighting Like Tigers

Hull City are currently a model in inspiration for anyone in a crisis at the moment. A team with only 13 fit senior players, a caretaker manager who doesn't know what the future holds for him and a boardroom in turmoil is enough to put any club in disarray and of course, have telling results on team spirit and performance.

But it appears Hull City have leaders amongst them who have used the unsavoury situation at the club to motivate the team to win their first 2 games with Premier League champions, Leicester City, the first to suffer a shock defeat at the claws of Hull's battling tigers. 

Swansea, Hull City's last weekend opponents, were on the front foot for most of the game but Hull stuck to their game plan and hit Swansea at key moments of the latter stages of the game. Hull City eventually ran away 2-0 winners. Swansea who were 1-0 winners at Burnley the previous weekend got a bitter taste of their own medicine.

For Hull City, time will tell how long this positive run will continue. If it does continue, then it might be the catalyst that could trigger positive changes in the club. For now, Hull City can draw strength from the positive results. The club's fortunes can change if caretaker manager, Mike Phelan, can get the job on a permanent basis and some new players are brought in to make up for the shortfall in squad players before the close of the transfer window.

Arsenal Battle Leicester To 0-0 Draw

Arsenal and Leicester both remain without a victory after 2 rounds of matches played and look set to play catch up to Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd if they both falter in their next games and their rivals grab maximum points.

Arsenal as usual remain good on the eye with their free flowing football but they could not break down a stubborn Leicester defence. Leicester returned to basics after their disappointing loss to Hull City and threatened Arsenal on the break. There were controversial moments as well as Leicester were denied 2 penalty appeals. Leicester City became more dangerous with the introduction of Ahmed Musa at the latter stages of the game but on the balance of play, the result was fair for both sides.

For Arsenal, the need to sign another defender has become as urgent as ever. With their prime target Shkrodan Mustafi proving more difficult to acquire by the day. With this failure so far to land Mustafi, Arsenal has now been linked to other players such as former Man United defender, Johnny Evans, a signing which might yet bring more scorn on under fire manager, Arsene Wenger. 

Wenger was quick to defend his position on transfers during the post match press conference with his observation of Rob Holding's performance against Leicester which has to be said was excellent. He may yet end up an astute signing by Wenger. Then there is also the striker situation which Alexis Sanchez has filled with little success as 'top dog' Olivier Giroud builds up his fitness. Would Wenger be able to sign a 'world class' striker before transfer deadline day? 

Claudio Bravo In, Joe Hart out?

When new managers come into a club, there is the occasional casualty amongst the tried and trusted players who don't fit into a manager's plan or philosophy for the team. A good case in point is the Andy Carrol or Christian Benteke scenario at Liverpool in which both were forced out by Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp respectively.  

It has happened at Manchester United already this season with Jose Mourinho axing Bastian Schweinsteiger from the first team squad and now across the city, Pep Guardiola may be about to make a real statement about the way he likes his goalkeepers to play as Bravo arrives for a medical from Barcelona.

Joe Hart who is number one at City has been dropped by Guardiola for Willy Caballero in City's first 3 competitive games this season because of Hart's deficiency in bringing the ball out of defence. As things look, Hart may be set to go from number 1 to number 3 if Bravo passes his medical.

A big fall from grace this will be for England's number one if this move materialises. 

Meanwhile In Brazil...

The Dream Team VI won Nigeria's only medal at the Olympics by winning the Losers' final by defeating Honduras 3-2 and thus claiming the bronze medal. They have thus become the fourth team to win an Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals at the Olympics.

Despite the flaws in the team, we have to congratulate the team for earning a medal. This is hoping some of these players step up into the Super Eagles seamlessly and thus provide the much needed strength in depth the Super Eagles desperately needs.

A special mention goes for John Mikel Obi for the exemplary attitude and leadership he exhibited during the games. I dare say he was handsomely rewarded for his efforts by that Japanese philanthropist.

Sadly In Niamey, Nigeria's Golden Eaglets Crash Out of U-17 AFCON

Nigeria has taken the proverbial 2 step backwards after taking one step forward after failing to qualify for the African U-17 Championship and as a result, will not defend the World Cup title it won just last year. 

What is it with us and defending our titles?  The signs that the story wasn't going to end well was when the during the screening, dozens of players were shown the way out of the camp when MRI scans showed many of the players were over the age bracket. Another show of shame.

Poor football administration appears to remain the bane of sustained development and success of Nigerian football at all levels.

The Football Diary

The Premier League is back and returned with not too much of a bang on the opening weekend but it did bring up a shocking result and some entertainment.

With the arrival of superstar managers and players to the League coupled with the fact that most Premier League clubs have spent heavily this summer, the 2016/17 season is set to be one of the most keenly contested ever.

Leicester Start Defence of The Title On A Shaky Note.

The 5000-1 favourites last season surprised many when despite the odds, won the premier league title. Their manager, Claudio Ranieri, who was ridiculed because of his last job as Greece manager was tipped to get Leicester relegated after they just survived relegation the previous season under Nigel Pearson.

But he put his critics to shame and now the rest is history. 

A new season is here now and Leicester have strengthened their squad but have however, lost arguably their most important player in N'Golo Kante who moved to Chelsea and was in action for Chelsea as they defeated West Ham at Stamford Bridge.

Their opponents last weekend was Hull City who are in a shambles at the moment. Their manager Steve Bruce resigned after leading the team back to the Premier League the first time of asking. When they faced Leicester last weekend, they had only 13 fit senior players. Care taker boss, Mike Phelan, didn't bother to make any substitutions during the match.

But instead of allowing the gloom in the boardroom to affect them, the players led by Captain, Curties Davies, were  in inspirational form and shocked the Premier League defending champions with a 2-1 win. 

As any title winning manager knows, it is more difficult to retain a title than to win one. Ranieri has an uphill task in retaining the title if he actually believes he can. The big boys have strengthened and have attempted to poach his best players. So far, Riyadh Mahrez is still a target for Arsenal. Jamie Vardy though, has extended his contract after Arsenal also tried to sign him. 

Kante's absence was felt against Hull  and the new recruits have to quickly step up their game. The trusted senior players and spine of the team, Wes Morgan, Robert Huth,Vardy and Mahrez have to quickly discover their form if they don't want  to play catch up or worse, battle relegation...

Guardiola Starts Reign With Hard Fought Victory

Former Barcelona and Bayern Munich  coach, Pep Guardiola, kicked off his reign as Manchester City boss with a last gasp victory over Sunderland as they laboured to a win with help from Sunderland defender, new signing Paddy McNair who put the ball behind his own net.

David Moyes was looking to stamp his influence on Sunderland and they typically provided gutsy performance which suggests that they might yet surprise some teams during the course of the season. Jermaine Defoe remains as dangerous as ever and who knows,  his former boss Sam Allardyce might yet extend an England invitation if his current form continues.

Guardiola would need time for his philosophy to take root at City. There will be bumpy roads along the way but he remains most bookies and pundits favourite to win the title. 

Then there is the situation of the future of some senior players. Joe Hart was on the bench in the game against Sunderland while Willy Caballero was given the nod and now rumours are rife that Joe Hart might eventually be sold if Guardiola is able to sign Barcelona's Claudio Bravo. Yaya Toure was not even in the match day squad so also Samir Nasri and Eliaquim Mangala.

The Game Of The Weekend Lives Up To The Hype

The big game of the weekend was the fixture between Arsenal and Liverpool which was filled with great entertainment, wonderful goals and drama. 

Walcott missed a penalty, then found the back of the net shortly after. Phillipe Coutinho scored a contender for goal of the weekend with his excellent free kick to draw Liverpool level while Liverpool in the second half raced to a 4-1 lead With Sadio Mane scoring on his debut with a wonderful individual goal.

Then there was the Arsenal fight back which ended with Liverpool managing to hold on for a 4-3 win instead of strolling to victory.

Arsenal need to be commended for their fight back when all seemed to be lost and when it appeared they were in danger of another capitulation Arsenal fans are very familiar with. Liverpool without the injury prone Daniel Sturridge showed great attacking ability and if this game is used as a reference point, then expect Liverpool to score many goals this season under the charismatic Jurgen Klopp.

For Arsenal, the same old questions remain. The question of spending big and solving the striker situation remains unanswered. We should remember though, that in the last 4 seasons Arsenal have lost 3 of the opening fixtures at the Emirates but have still ended up in the top 4. If anything, expect the Gunners again to end up in the top 4.

Sparing A Thought For The Dream Team

Nigeria takes on Germany in the semi finals of the Olympics soccer event in midweek. Since it is unlikely the team will be able to stop the Germans from scoring, this is hoping the team will be clinical when the opportunities come and out score the German machine.

This is wishing Samson Siasia and John Obi Mikel the best of luck. They are going to need it.

Now that the Elections are over, can we have our football back?

The presidential elections have come and gone. General Muhammadu Buhari has emerged as winner of the elections and now the 'wind of change' will sweep the incumbent and outgoing president, Goodluck Jonathan out of office. 

I haven't published any posts recently because the mood of the nation was set on the conduct of the presidential elections. I doubt if anyone would have been willing to read any articles on football in Europe or anywhere else in the last couple of hours or days before the elections, Election Day proper and the days in which results were being collated. 

There was also excitement and tension in the land in anticipation of the announcement of the election results. Football to say the least, was the last thing in most people's minds. But now that the results have been announced, a winner has emerged which reflects the mood of the nation at this time as we grapple with the fall of the Naira and falling oil prices, we can now begin to relax.

And since the announcement, there has been celebrations all over the country, especially among president elect, Muhammadu Buhari's supporters. The celebrations are over or subsiding and we can now return our focus on other happenings around the world and football remains one of the pleasures  that can take our minds off the painful change that is coming for us Goodluck Jonathan supporters even though another round of elections are coming up  on the 11th of April with the Gubernatorial elections being the main event. 

While we were all awaiting the outcome of the election results, friendlies and Euro 2016 qualifiers were being played all around Europe. There were a few shocking results as Portugal lost at home in a friendly to Cape Verde Islands 0-2. Although the rest of the world may not  know much about the Cape Verde Islands, we in Africa know that Cape Verde is an emerging force in football in Africa at least and so, it may not be entirely shocking that Cape Verde shocked a mediocre Portuguese side who had Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench.

Spain were also defeated by the Netherlands 2-0 in Amsterdam in a result that may not be entirely shocking but what would be worrisome for Spain and Vicente Del Bosque is how they can return Spain to the level where they dominated the planet for 6 straight years with a team which is arguably the best in the history of the game at international level.

The English Premier league resumes this weekend with the Arsenal-Liverpool fixture at the Emirates being the pick of the pack. The game is expected to be entertaining. We hope the game will live up to the hype. Arsenal are favourites to win since Liverpool will be missing a few key players including Steven Gerrard and Martin Skrtel. Liverpool know however, that if they hope to force their way into top 4 reckoning, this is a game they cannot afford to lose. Manchester United will be expected to defeat Aston Villa at Old Trafford and if Liverpool lose, it might be extremely difficult for them to catch up even though United have tough games against Manchester City and Chelsea to come respectively after their game against Aston Villa.

As the EPL begins to reach its climax, the fate of teams who are battling relegation and those seeking a place in Europe's premier club competition, the Champions League, might be cemented after this weekend's round of matches.

Welcome back EPL !