Danny Welbeck’s happy return gives Arsenal victory over Manchester United

For Louis van Gaal, it was an ignominious way to confirm there will be no trophy in his first season at Manchester United. His team fell way short, and the indignities were considerable bearing in mind the identity of the player who scored the decisive goal and the various sub-plots provided by the expensive recruits who were supposed to put a fallen team back on a steep, upward trajectory.
Danny Welbeck will certainly have relished his goal given Van Gaal’s unflattering remarks after showing him off the premises last autumn, and Arsène Wenger made a clever decision to entrust him with the central striker role, knowing that he would have a point to prove against his former club. Arsenal were sharper in attack but, just as importantly, less accident-prone on a night when their opponents defended with something bordering on recklessness.
Van Gaal was agitated enough to make a rare excursion to the technical area, and he must have been startled by his team’s lack of care on another unhappy occasion for Ángel di María, sent off for an act of dim-wittedness as United went huffing and puffing after an equaliser.
Di María’s first yellow card was for diving and the second followed moments later, when he took umbrage with the decision, clipped the referee, Michael Oliver, on his back and had a little pull of his shirt. It was a split-second of stupidity that should embarrass the most expensive player in Britain, and the low point in a season that has become a personal ordeal. Radamel Falcao, meanwhile, could not even get off the bench and there was a moment of tragi-comedy afterwards when Van Gaal defended the on-loan striker, signed to replace Welbeck, by pointing out that he had scored four goals and “stimulated” the other players. Who did he mean? United, once again, wore a dishevelled look and it was bordering on desperation when the substitute Adnan Januzaj was booked for another dive.
Arsenal did not have to resort to duplicity. They won because they passed the ball more effectively. They made fewer errors and played with superior intelligence. Santi Cazorla refused to be dragged down by the frequency of the mistakes elsewhere. Francis Coquelin stood out again and the movement of their forward line always caused problems. Welbeck might have looked raw at times, conspicuously nervous early on, but he was a tireless runner and the support cast of Alexis Sánchez, Mesut Özil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain must have been encouraged by the home side’s vulnerabilities.
The carelessness affected both teams and was due in part to the fact that the pace of the game was so frenetic. That, in turn, made it a far more exciting spectacle than just about everything that has preceded it at Old Trafford this season. Yet it was still strange to see the frequency with which accomplished players lost the ball. It was that kind of night: lots of blood and thunder and a fair amount of thud and blunder, too.
Wayne Rooney’s goal, four minutes after Nacho Monreal had given Arsenal the lead, did at least show that Van Gaal was right to restore him to attack. Yet no team can defend as generously as United and expect to get away with it. Monreal’s goal was a collective failure, but Welbeck’s was a calamity for Antonio Valencia, bearing in mind it came from his scuffed backpass. Welbeck was on the ball in a flash, flicking it one side of David de Gea and running round the other to score into an empty net.
Rooney had taken his goal superbly, reading the flight of Di María’s cross and taking advantage of some poor marking from Laurent Koscielny to flash his header past Wojciech Szczesny. United will also look back on a chance for Chris Smalling, at 2-1, when the defender put the ball over. Smalling, once again, looked conspicuously short of what Van Gaal requires from a thinking man’s team. It has become a recurring theme and he was one of the players implicated in Monreal’s goal.
The only mitigation is that it must have been difficult for Van Gaal to know who to point the finger at first. In those moments we saw Smalling being sucked out of position to the right-back spot, Valencia becoming stranded and Oxlade-Chamberlain expertly eluding Luke Shaw, Ashley Young and Daley Blind before Monreal turned in his pass without anybody tracking his run.
Arsenal lost Oxlade-Chamberlain to a hamstring injury early in the second half, whereas Shaw and Ander Herrera were both removed by Van Gaal during the interval. Michael Carrick was brought on, presumably to help provide some polish in midfield. Yet the lack of composure from United was alarming and, as Van Gaal said afterwards, they were self-inflicted wounds. Welbeck’s goal stemmed from nothing more basic than a long goal-kick from Szczesny. Di María’s meltdown came in the 74th minute and Van Gaal’s verdict – “not so smart” – was being kind bearing in mind he had warned his players to make sure they kept their discipline.
Arsenal had not won at Old Trafford since September 2006 but they played as if affronted by the suggestion they have an inferiority complex against these opponents. It needed another demonstration of De Gea’s brilliance to prevent Cazorla adding a third, and the semi-final draw, pitting Arsenal against Reading or Bradford, completed a hugely satisfying night’s work.

Liverpool through as Philippe Coutinho breaks Bolton hearts at the death

Exiting on Burnden Way in the 86th minute, back on course for Wembley Way by the 91st, Liverpool rescued their FA Cup prospects with a late flurry of blows that devastated Bolton Wanderers. Cruel on Neil Lennon and his tireless Championship team perhaps, but it was the virtues of patience and class that gave Brendan Rodgers’s men a shot of redemption against Crystal Palace in round five.
Bolton were one goal up courtesy of the 36-year-old Eidur Gudjohnsen’s penalty but a man down following the needless dismissal of Neil Danns as the match entered the final four minutes. The red card proved crucial. With a full complement Bolton held their Premier League visitors at bay, won every aerial challenge and last-ditch intervention inside their area and were on course to continue the fourth-round giant-cull. Liverpool had the space but not the clinical touch to profit. Their nerve, however, eventually told against the 10 men.
Emre Can, pushed into central midfield to capitalise on Danns’ departure, lofted a glorious pass over the Bolton substitute Liam Trotter and Raheem Sterling volleyed in a fine equaliser from close range. The groans from the home supporters about five minutes of stoppage time had not fallen silent when Philippe Coutinho marked his new five-year contract at Liverpool by taking aim from 20 yards and beating Andy Lonergan with a dipping shot in off the crossbar. Reprieve for Rodgers but a night of regret for his fellow Ulsterman in the home technical area.
Lennon was fulsome in his praise of Bolton’s heroic defending with the exception of the lapse in concentration from Trotter that enabled Sterling to level. He was also blunt in his appraisal of the referee Roger East’s performance – “rubbish” – for what he deemed an unjust first yellow card for Danns when he lunged through Joe Allen. “I can understand the sending off but the first one wasn’t a booking. It changed the game,” said the Bolton manager, although his side were the beneficiaries of East’s decision-making when he awarded a soft penalty when Martin Skrtel caught the toes of Zach Clough.
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The Bolton manager felt that playing away from home might suit Liverpool given his team would be inclined to take more risks in the replay and leave more spaces as a consequence. Rodgers claimed the Macron Stadium’s “beautiful pitch” – a point he has stressed about several opposition grounds lately as his frustration grows with the Anfield surface – would also work to side’s advantage. The script never unfolded that way for Liverpool. The task of breaking down a well-drilled, hard-working Championship opponent was just as complicated as at Anfield, and Bolton posed a greater threat on home soil.
Rodgers fielded a strong side despite a Merseyside derby looming at Everton on Saturday and there were nervous moments when David Wheater came through the back of Sterling’s ankles to collect a merited yellow. The Liverpool forward limped on, mercifully to the very end for his side, but Lazar Markovic suffered a back injury that will have to be assessed before the trip to Goodison Park. The biggest selection surprise came from Bolton’s manager who, evidently keen to hustle Liverpool’s back three at every opportunity, deployed the captain Matt Mills at centre-foward instead of in central defence.
Sterling forced Lonergan into a fine low save in the first half and struck a post when Dorian Dervite stood off and invited him to shoot from 12 yards. Wheater headed straight at Simon Mignolet at the opposite end and Gudjohnsen blazed over from Dean Moxey’s inviting cross when he had time and space inside the area for a more composed finish.
Gudjohnsen made amends in telling fashion after the restart although, in truth, Sterling should have beaten the former Chelsea and Barcelona forward to it. Liverpool broke through courtesy of Coutinho’s perfectly-weighted pass to Sterling but Dervite produced an exquisite tackle to thwart the hesitant forward. Sterling had a second bite but his shot towards the top corner was punched away by Lonergan.
For the first time in the game Liam Feeney broke free down the right and delivered a deep cross towards Mills. His knockdown found Clough who took a touch into the area where he was clipped by Skrtel. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Gudjohnsen stroked a nonchalant spot-kick down the centre of the diving Mignolet’s goal.
Bolton’s prospect of holding out was dealt a severe blow when Danns was sent off for a second bookable offence, both for late and needless lunges on Allen, yet the home side had chances to double their advantage through Gudjohnsen and Clough. The Icelandic striker headed straight at Mignolet when he should have scored and Clough shot narrowly wide. They were opportunities that Bolton could not afford to miss. The pressure inevitably intensified from Liverpool.
Can had a shot deflected just wide and another tipped superbly on to the bar by Lonergan. Henderson’s half volley was diverted against a post by Wheater before Can found Sterling, who equalised in style. The misery was not over for Bolton.
Coutinho collected a pass 20 yards from goal and left Lonergan stranded with a shot that looped over and in off the underside of the bar.

Oldham confirm Ched Evans is expected to sign by early next week

The owner of Oldham Athletic, Simon Corney, believes there is an “80% chance” his League One club will sign the convicted rapist Ched Evans. The businessman argues the 26-year-old striker, who served half of a five-year prison sentence for an offence committed in 2011, deserves a chance to resume his career. “We believe he has served his time,” Corney told the Jewish Chronicle. “There is an 80% chance of us signing him. It won’t be done today. It’s not straightforward and there are some legal issues.”
The prospect of Evans resuming his career at Boundary Park has provoked a strong reaction, with more than 65,000 people signing a petition protesting against the move and the shadow sports minister, Clive Efford, writing to the Football Association on Wednesday to ask the governing body to intervene to prevent Evans from returning to play football.
“The decision on whether players should return to football after committing serious offences is not a matter solely for individual clubs and I have asked the FA to refuse his registration when Oldham Athletic approach them,” Efford said.
In his letter to the FA’s chairman, Greg Dyke, Efford wrote: “I believe the FA has failed to appreciate the seriousness of the crime for which Ched Evans has been convicted and the consequences that his return to the game will have on people’s impressions of the sport and its governing body.” It is understood, though, that the FA has no rules under which to prevent the registration and Evans would be free to play again.
Corney said he understood the widespread concerns but he claimed the support of three unnamed Premier League managers and added: “I hope people don’t get too carried away and it doesn’t get too hot. I completely understand people’s views and I respect them. I would never tell people they are wrong to have their own views. But we want people to keep them in check.”
Although Corney stated the deal could happen “at any time”, he told the Jewish Chronicle it was likely to be confirmed before the weekend. However, Barry Owen, a board member who backs the signing of Evans on what would be a free transfer, hinted plans were in a state of flux and warned the deal may not be completed until next week. “There are ongoing negotiations with regard to signing Ched Evans,” Owen said. “Unfortunately, quite a lot of due diligence still needs to be completed. We are still in talks with the PFA [Professional Footballers’ Association] and other agencies. At the moment I would just ask you to bear with us. There are things to be done, genuinely, and I don’t anticipate that it is going to be done over the next few days.”
Commercially Oldham have already paid the price for the move to sign Evans. on Wednesday one of the club’s sponsors ended its association. Verlin Rainwater Solutions said: “After receiving the news regarding the imminent signing of Ched Evans it is with great regret that [we] will no longer be associated with Oldham Athletic. We would like to take this opportunity to make clear that we feel Mr Evans should be able to lead a life without further punishment after serving his sentence, although our feelings remain the same that this should not be within the public domain where his previous behaviour may influence the next generation.
“We sincerely wish the club a very successful future and have no regrets about being associated with Oldham Athletic over the past few seasons but feel our continued support would be sending out the wrong message.”
The restaurant chain Nando’s said it would be ending its relationship with Oldham and another sponsor, ZenOffice, is close to following suit, warning that its five-year relationship would be over if Evans signed. A statement from the company said: “This partnership has been based on mutual respect as OAFC did share the same values as ZenOffice, based on family and community. ZenOffice do not agree that the path OAFC are embarking on espouses these values. Therefore it is with much regret that ZenOffice would like to confirm that we will end our association with Oldham if the move goes ahead to sign Ched Evans.”
Oldham’s main sponsor is Sports Direct whose chairman is the Newcastle United owner, Mike Ashley. Although the company has yet to comment on the issue, it is thought Ashley is unconcerned. Mecca Bingo, another Oldham sponsor, threatened this week to withdraw its support. In a tweet it said: “We can confirm [we] will be ending our association with @OfficialOAFC if they sign Ched Evans.”
Corney, whom Oldham’s website states owns “97% of share capital”, purchased the Lancashire club during the 2003-04 season. The consortium was credited with stabilising Oldham, who had been in a difficult financial position and close to liquidation.

An Oldham Athletic employee distributes hot drinks to the press outside Boundary Park. Photograph: Dave Howarth/PA

Evans, who was convicted of raping a 19-year-old woman in 2012, had been linked with Sheffield United, Hartlepool United, Tranmere Rovers and Malta’s Hibernians before either being turned down or, in the case of Hibernians, prevented from joining by the Ministry of Justice. Northumbria’s police commissioner, Vera Baird, who is from Oldham, called on Ashley to withdraw Sports Direct’s sponsorship if Evans signed. The Greater Manchester police commissioner, Tony Lloyd, said: “It will send out entirely the wrong message if they offer him a contract.”
Evans consistently maintains his innocence. An investigation into his conviction by the Criminal Cases Review Commission is continuing.

Evans with his girlfriend Natasha Massey. Photograph: Rex/REX

Oldham signed Lee Hughes in 2007 after he had been released from prison after causing death by dangerous driving.

Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko ready to fill Sergio Agüero void at Roma

Manchester City's Edin Dzeko says: 'I’m happy to be back because I was never actually injured so long [a month].' Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Edin Dzeko has vowed to fill the void left by the injured Sergio Agüero and be the hero in Manchester City’s final Champions League group game against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday night.
If City win against Rudi García’s side and better CSKA Moscow’s result at Bayern Munich then next year’s knockout phase will be reached. But they will be without Agüero, who has scored 19 goals in 21 appearances, after the Argentinian suffered knee ligament damage in Saturday’s win over Everton.
Manuel Pellegrini said at Tuesday’s pre-match press conference that Agüero would be out for four to six weeks, although City’s manager later voiced fears that the layoff could be as long as eight weeks.
Dzeko is not 100% match-fit following a calf injury but should start and has a history of important strikes. When City claimed the title in 2011-12 he scored a 90th-minute equaliser in the final match against Queens Park Rangers before Agüero’s added-time winner. Last season Dzeko registered nine goals in City’s last 11 matches to help push the team to the championship.
Asked if he could again be the hero for Pellegrini’s side against Roma, the Bosnian said: “I’m there when the team needs me and first of all I’m happy to be back because I was never actually injured so long [a month] – it was a bit hard for me but now I’m back and I’ll do my best to try and score the goals and bring something good to the team.
“I did [score big goals] but that’s past now and we have to look to the future, and like I said I always try to do my job and my job is to score goals and I will keep scoring them I’m sure if I keep healthy.”
Dzeko’s first appearance since 8 November was as a substitute on Saturday, after 63 minutes. “I expected even less than 30 minutes; I was saying 15 minutes would be OK for me just to get back on the pitch and I already played 30. The feeling was OK but I still need some more games to come back,” he said.
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On whether he can play all of the match against Rome, Dzeko said: “Against Everton definitely not but Wednesday, who knows? We still have days [of] training so I will be better by Wednesday.”
Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Stevan Jovetic and Fernandinho, who had been doubtful, trained on Monday morning so they should be available to Pellegrini on Wednesday night. Dzeko believes the high-pressure stakes in Rome can bring the best out of City who defeated Bayern Munich in Group E’s previous round which had also been a must-win game.
He said: “It’s kind of a special situation, in the league and Champions League because we were just trying to play but when we were eight points behind [Chelsea] we knew: ‘OK, now we have to start playing.’ And in the Champions League as well, we lost the game at home to CSKA and then you have to win the next game, and we won it, so maybe we need that pressure: I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.
“We will definitely try to go there and score goals because if you don’t score the goals you can’t win the games. It will be a big game for them as well – I think the atmosphere will be amazing and that’s what’s football’s about, and those kind of games we want to play.
“I played many games with the good atmosphere but actually I’m looking forward to that game because they have great fans with a big stadium so it will hopefully be a night to remember.
“Definitely confidence is high – we won five in a row. It’s better confidence, better atmosphere in the team when you’re winning the games and I think we’re coming back to our normal performances especially after our national teams’ break and hopefully we can be even better in the next week. There will be some big games, crucial games.”
Of Agüero’s injury, Dzeko said: “That was a big blow for us – you can see how he played recently for us. [But] I’m back now, Alex [Kolarov] is back now, hopefully David will be back.”

Arsenal progress to the last 16 after Yaya Sanogo stuns Borussia Dortmund

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Arsenal’s Alexis Sánchez wheels away after his low curling shot made it 2-0 against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

Arsène Wenger can call off the search for the dictionary, at least for now. The Arsenal manager had said that he might have to delve for the tome to reacquaint himself with the meaning of crisis. After so many years and so many crises, he joked that he had forgotten how one could be qualified.
Many Arsenal supporters felt that the club was flirting with one as they took to the field here, on the back of three sobering results – the Champions League draw against Anderlecht, when they had led 3-0, and the Premier League losses to Swansea City and Manchester United. Per Mertesacker, the defender, said that the players had “dropped mentally”. This, he said, was a psychological challenge.
But on a dank night in north London, the players showed their mettle, albeit against a Borussia Dortmund that looked like a shadow of the team that had stormed to the final of the competition in 2013. Jürgen Klopp, the manager, lamented a lack of confidence and courage.
Arsenal were occasionally vibrant, almost always solid – which was arguably the biggest boon, after the well documented, recent lapses – and thoroughly deserved victors. The reward was a 15th consecutive qualification to the second round of Europe’s elite tournament. Whisper it, but they are not yet out of the running to nick top spot in Group D from Dortmund, which would increase their chances of a more favourable last-16 draw.
It was a game that will go down as the one in which Yaya Sanogo broke his scoring duck for the club on his 19th appearance and it was illuminated by the thrusting performances of Alexis Sánchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Sánchez scored again; Oxlade-Chamberlain was denied only by the woodwork.
But above all, it was defined by a more balanced feel to the performance. As Wenger put it afterwards, Arsenal were “more urgent to defend”. He has regularly stressed his confidence that there is something special in his squad and there was evidence here to support him.
The opening goal always stood to be decisive and, from a Dortmund point of view, Arsenal plundered it with indecent haste. For Sanogo, it was the stuff of dreams. The 21-year-old owed his selection to Danny Welbeck’s knee injury and Olivier Giroud’s ineligibility, and a penny for the thoughts of Lukas Podolski and Joel Campbell might have been worth the investment. The World Cup winner and World Cup star respectively could not have taken kindly to being overlooked for a callow rookie. Sanogo has looked almost painfully raw during his injury-scarred Arsenal career but Wenger’s faith in him has never wavered. “Sanogo will surprise you,” the manager has said. One minute and 15 seconds were on the stadium clock when Sanogo did just that.
There was a maverick quality to his hold-up work from Calum Chambers’ throw-in, as he played a bit of keepy-uppy before executing an extravagant back-heeled flick to Santi Cazorla. Sanogo span away, then he got the ball back and, suddenly, there he was, with only Roman Weidenfeller to beat. His first touch felt heavy but with the second Sanogo poked the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs. The delirious celebrations were underpinned by an element of collective amazement. Sanogo had looked to have been marginally offside from Cazorla’s pass but the flag stayed down. The linesman was a romantic at heart.
Dortmund’s travelling fans banged their drums and bellowed their anthems throughout. Their team came to flicker on the counter in the second part of the first half and Henrikh Mkhitaryan was at the heart of their best moments. He was denied an equaliser on 39 minutes by Emiliano Martínez. Mkhitaryan’s first touch following Lukasz Piszczek’s header was perfect and the second was struck at goal from close range. Martínez diverted it past his near post. Arsenal’s third-choice goalkeeper emerged with credit, and his reflex block at the very end from the substitute Adrián Ramos was of the highest order.
Arsenal played good football in patches and they might have taken a two-goal lead in the 10th minute, when Aaron Ramsey sprang Sanogo through the Dortmund back line. This time, Sanogo opted to jink inside only to run into Marcel Schmelzer. He battled to win the ball back and, when he shot, he was denied by Matthias Ginter’s block.
Klopp had said that this engagement had represented a holiday for him; a welcome break from the nightmare that has been the Bundesliga season so far. Almost implausibly, Dortmund languish third from bottom. Klopp must be an angry tourist. He roared at the fourth official and he berated his players when they erred. If Dortmund had been poor at the outset, it was a similar story at the beginning of the second half. With the onus on them, Klopp’s team pressed onto the front foot but Arsenal, and Sánchez in particular, simply revelled in picking them off.
Sánchez barrelled through to extend Weidenfeller with a low drive while Oxlade-Chamberlain, on his 100th appearance for the club, hit a marvellous looping shot from Sánchez’s pass that rattled the crossbar.
Not unusually, Sánchez provided the champagne moment. From Cazorla’s pass, he darted inside Piszczek to open up the shooting chance at the far corner. It has become his trademark and the bend on the right-footed shot from 20 yards was beautifully judged. Sánchez had his 13th goal for the club and Wenger was out of his seat, smiling broadly and pumping his fists. It was a night for him to enjoy.