Frank Lampard handed Chelsea the 2-0 win over Everton with a double.

Frank Lampard took responsibility for Chelsea’s fourth win in a row by scoring twice to win 2-1 at Everton today.  The 34-year -old England midfielder has been with the club since 2001 and has yet to be offered an extension to his contract ending in June.

Today’s win helps to keep the Blues in contention for the Premier League title race and also might give some hope the club will hold onto the seasoned Lampard.

On Saturday, Manchester United took their seventh win in eight matches thanks to star striker Robin van Persie.  His 90-minute shot, his League-leading 14th goal of the season, made the score 2-0 over West Brom.  United now have a seven-point lead in the standings going into 2013.

Arsenal dominated Newcastle 7-3 with help from a Theo Walcott hat trick.  The England national has refused to re-sign with the Gunners and there is speculation he will be sold in January.  In an attempt to change his mind, for the last few games, Arsene Wenger has allowed the winger to start as center striker, his requested position for many years.  He has been very effective, but is it too little too late will remain to be seen.

Manchester City squeaked out a 4-3 win over Norwich Saturday no thanks to Samir Nasri’s first half send off.  The thrilling match was a fight to the finish, but Edin Dzeko replaced the ill Carlos Tevez up front to score two plus the usual quality from Sergio Aguero helped City hold on to the lead.

Even after Sunderland beat Manchester City 1-0 last Wednesday, Tottenham managed a come-from-behind win over Sunderland in the 52nd minute thanks to a fine strike by England winger Aaron Lennon.

Other matches played over the weekend:

Stoke City 3 – 3 Southampton

Fulham 1 – 2 Swansea

Reading 1 – 0 West Ham United

Aston Villa 0 – 3 Wigan

QPR 0 – 3 Liverpool

Mikel Arteta’s spot kick gave Arsenal the win over Wigan

Arsenal defeated Wigan Athletic today at the DW Stadium 1-nil thanks to a penalty kick taken by Mikel Arteta.  The Spaniard’s spot kick looked to be all the Gunners needed for a victory, but Wigan never gave up.

The home team had a few great opportunities in the last 10 minutes, but could not prevail.  Wigan fall to the relegation zone, giving manager Roberto Martinez much to think about.

It’s early in the weekend, but at the finish of this match, Arsenal were in third place.  Today’s win, the third in three league games for the club, has quelled the questioning of Arsene Wenger’s judgement and management, at least for now.  COYG!

An Arsenal victory pile for Laurent Koscielny and his equalizer late in the match

Don’t be fooled.  From the look of the photo in this post, you’d think Arsenal had just won the league title.  They didn’t… not yet anyways.  But this IS the way Arsenal reacted to an equalizer that denied Manchester City two points at Etihad Stadium Sunday.

Ending in a draw with Citay (as they are sometimes referred to) was almost as good as a win for Arsenal.  Along with that point that put them in fifth place, the Gunners made an equally important point by demonstrating that they can hold their own against a top team.

Prior to this match, Arsenal hadn’t faced as formidable a foe as Manchester City.  This was the first real test of the season for the North London side. Fans like myself were anxiously looking to see how the players performed both offensively and defensively against the likes of Manchester City superstars.  We were pleasantly relieved at the results.

The offensive formation was a surprise.  Wenger changed up what had been working so well in the last few matches by placing Gervinho out front and center with Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey right behind him.  Podolski, who squandered a great opportunity by striking a ball well over the bar, continued to look promising.

Santi Cazorla is my new favorite player (since Alex Song left for Barcelona, I have finally found his worthwhile replacement) and I predict Cazorla will be key to this season’s success.  In this match, I saw him make two mistakes  — the only ones I have seen him make so far this season. Otherwise, a perfect game including a thunderous long-distance strike that challenged Joe Hart in the second half.

Ramsey was the surprise addition to the squad.  I had lost confidence in the Welshman from last season, but he stepped up his game today and made some great contributions.  Had it not been for a bad touch from Gervinho, Ramsey’s through-ball might have put the visitors ahead by the middle of the first half.

I’m not sure what to say about Gervinho except I will refrain from saying anything in hopes that the Ivorian had an off day and things will look up in the games ahead.

Arsenal’s offensive players  matched up well with Manchester City’s usual back four, made up of former Gunner Gael Clichy, Joleon Lescott, Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta.  This usually fearsome group of mercenaries seemed sluggish and lumbered around most of the match.  Of the four, Joleon Lescott made the greatest contribution for both teams. His header at the end of the first half deflated some of the dominance Arsenal had established, but then he failed to clear a corner in the 82nd minute.  That costly error allowed Laurent Koscielny to level the game with a close range shot that sent electricity through ever Gunner, player and fan. See photo again for proof.

Arsenal’s defense has been a bone of contention for a number of seasons but the pressure from the likes of Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure tested, but did not break down, Arsene Wenger’s back four.

Carl Jenkinson, looking far more seasoned than his young age reveals, was particularly strong down the right.  And praised for reading the game well, Per Mertesacker denied City possession time and again from center-half.   Additional and unselfish support from Mikel Arteta and Abou Diaby also point to Steve Bould and his efforts to strengthen the squad defensively.

Take a look at that photo one more time.  Look at the genuine and raw emotions on their faces – ALL of their faces. (Ok, Koscielny might have been exhibiting some pain at that point, but I bet it hurt so good.)  Seriously though, that is the photo of a cohesive team.  It’s a picture of a hard-working squad passionate about their game.  That is a photo of a doggedly determined team destined for greatness.

It is still early in the season, but both Manchester City and Arsenal remain undefeated.  Arsenal ended the week in fifth place while City settled into seventh on goal differential.  City will need to pick up their game if they are to retain their title, while on this evidence, Arsenal could be well-placed to challenge them.

COYG!

Gervinho was part of Arsenal’s starting 11 against Sunderland today

Arsenal kicked off their season opener earlier today with a home game against Sunderland.  The Wildcats fought hard and won their point well in a scoreless draw.

The recent departure of Arsenal striker Robin van Persie meant this was the first game without the goal-scoring captain as part of the team.  It goes without saying that van Persie, scoring the most goals in the league with 30, was instrumental in Arsenal finishing third in the Premiership.  The question now remains:  will Arsenal have a shot at the title without him?

The answer is a resounding YES.

The loss of van Persie has been anticipated all summer.  As disappointing as it is, not so much that the Holland striker left the club, but that he went to rival Manchester United. This time the club was prepared.  Unlike last season’s end of summer transfer mess, Arsene Wenger spent time and money on three key players that will keep the Gunners in contention for the title.

German International Lukas Podolski came from the Bundesliga and scored an impressive 18 league goals for his Koln team and 44 goals in 101 appearances for his national team.  Lukas started in today’s game and looked confident and eager but a lack of playing together as a team seemed evident.

Olivier Giroud is a fairly unknown French international player who played a pivotal role for his Montpellier team in the top French league.  The 25-year old led the attack by scoring 22 goals and winning the league title.  Giroud will not find the back of the net as easily as he did in Ligue 1, which was evident when he missed an easy shot in front of the net late in the match today.  That goal could have given the Gunners a win, but hopefully the striker will shake it off and return to the kind of football he is capable of playing.

Last but definitely not least, Arsenal most recently purchased Santi Cazorla who represented Spain at Euro 2012 and played successfully in La Liga.  He was given rave reviews from fellow Spaniard and Gunner Mikel Arteta and the two may often play together as attacking midfielders.

Cazorla is known for his pace, intelligent play and creativity.  He is also a very versatile player, able to play left winger but can also play right, considering he uses both feet effectively.  I predict his contribution will be crucial to the team and think he showed the most promise of all the players on the pitch today.

Obviously the team needs more time to get familiar with each other and gel but there’s promise from new and existing players.  Andre Arshavin came in around the 75th minute and had some good touches.  Defender Kieren Gibbs held steady against a more experienced Louis Saha and Gervinho had good possession of the ball, but needed help converting.

Even with quite a few injured players and an unusually hot day, the squad managed a point.  The Gunners will have to step it up quickly though as I anticipate an early and dominant start from both Manchester clubs and we don’t want to fall too far behind.  So happy the season has finally begun! Come On You Gunners!!

We’ve got a few interesting headlines for you today, footy fans. From news on Mohamed bin Hammam’s FIFA ban, to the mystery of Smart Soccer to Chris Pontius’ interesting misunderstanding, we’ve got it all here for you in today’s Daily Kick Around!

World Soccer

One of the biggest stories to come out today is the announcement a court annulled the lifetime ban FIFA placed on former Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed bin Hammam. Bin Hammam was previously banned for bribing nations during his campaign against current FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

The three-man Cas panel, which included the British QC Philippe Sands, emphasised only that it was “case not proven,” because the evidence, compiled following Fifa’s own investigation, was not sufficient to definitively prove Bin Hammam provided the suitcase full of dollar bills.

Very interesting turn, with all the current bribery talk circulating around FIFA these days.

English Premier League

Who better to champion the idea of conservative spending from EPL clubs than Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, who’s very well known for not spending money to bring or keep players int he Gunner kit. Wenger said today there is a need for the Financial Fair Play organization to come in and curb spending from big clubs like Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United.

While the talks continue between MLS, Geoff Cameron and Stoke City, Alexi Lalas is already predicting Cameron will be a “quality” player for Stoke. Hmm, only time will tell! If he ever gets there, we might find out!

Major League Soccer

The other big headline to come out today was from our domestic league – MLS and adidas announced today that Smart Soccer will run rampant in MLS next year, making it the first “smart league” in the world. I gotta say, the concept of all this data from players and games sounds very interesting. But I wonder how long before the fans get bored with it?

The Seattle Sounders may have lost 4-2 to Chelsea in the World Football Challenge last night, but that didn’t reflect Fredy Montero’s performance – he scored both of the goals for the Sounders. After three years in the MLS, however, Montero admitted he’s ready to play in a league like EPL, but only if the opportunity is right.

Finally, on a rather silly and funny note, D.C. United’s Chris Pontius revealed to the Washington Post he’d picked up 50 Shades of Grey, after misunderstanding during a radio interview led him to believe it might be something he wanted to check out. Forty pages in, Pontius realized what the book’s true motives were and said he stopped … after reading 30 more pages, because he was bored. Ha!

What will is take for Arsene Wenger to change his philosophy?

It’s Sunday footy fans! Check out what’s happening today in the soccer world!

English Premier League

Looks like the loss of Robin van Persie has no affect on Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. The frenchman refuses to change the way he runs the club by focusing on developing young talent rather than becoming a big-spending club. Wenger is modelling his Arsenal club after the 1990′d Ajax club, which had a very powerful academy, however it’s the frugal ways of Wenger’s philosophy that’s backtracking the success of the Gunners.

Don’t start customizing your LA Galaxy kits to say Lampard on the back. Chelsea player Frank Lampard is dismissing all rumors that he’s heading to the MLS after his contract at Stamford Bridge expires next year. Lampard was spotted at the Galaxy-Union match with his agent Steve Kutner, which began the rumor speculation. Lampard claims he was with his fiancee on holiday while Chelsea manager hints at a new contract offer for Lampard next season.

Serie A

Andrea Stramaccioni, manager of Inter Milan, suggested that he wouldn’t block the sale of Wesley Sneijder, if it came at a good price.

“Sneijder is fundamental from a technical and tactical point of view, but I can’t say that he is not for sale. That would be an abuse of my power. I would only ask the president to think carefully should an important offer arrive.”

La Liga

As of now, David Villa will remain at Barcelona. Paris Saint-Germain announced that they will not launch a bid for the striker this summer, even after weeks of a €30 million offer was anticipated.

Speaking of Barca, Seydou Kieta has quit as a blaugrana and will be heading to China. The new club? Dalian Aerbin. Kieta only started about half of Barca’s matches last season. He is to sign a 2.5 year deal with the Chinese side, joining Didier Drogba, Yakubu and Freddie Kanoute as the Far East’s recent imports.

Major League Soccer

Last night was a special night for fans of MLS soccer, especially supporters of the Seattle Sounders. It was the MLS debut for Steve Zakuani after his tragic injury that took place against the Colorado Rapids on April 24th, 2011.  Last night Zakuani was subbed on in the 84th minute, at home against, the Colorado Rapids. The Sounders won 2-1 and our own Liz Ibsen was at the match and wrote up a beautiful piece of lat night’s match. You can read it here.

Landon Donovan was selected in the MLS All-Star First XI for the 12th year in a row. The All-Star match will be on July 25th against European Champs, Chelsea FC at PPL Park is Chester, PA. For the rest of the First XI, click here!

We’ve alluded to it several times recently in our Daily Kick Around posts, but it seems now the rumors are becoming reality.

Several news sources are confirming today that Arsenal’s star striker Robin Van Persie has declared he will not renew a contract with Arsenal this summer. 

He’s been in talks with the club and manager Arsene Wenger before the start of Euros, but RVP posted on his Web site this morning he would not re-sign with them (if you can log on to it, good luck. Since the news broke, I haven’t been able to get the page to load!)

“I’ve thought long and hard about it, but I have decided not to extend my contract. You guys, the fans, have of course the right to disagree with my view and decision and I will always respect your opinions.

“Out of my huge respect for Mr. Wenger, the players and the fans I don’t want to go into any details, but unfortunately in this meeting it has again become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward.”

The question now becomes “What in the world will Arsenal do and where will RVP go?” After the horrid summer last year for the Gunners and the loss of Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, Arsenal relied heavily on RVP. Wenger will now have to scramble to fill the spot before the start of pre season.

As for where RVP will go, that is another mystery. Several clubs have been linked to him, but we can only wait and see. We’ll be keeping tabs on the story and update you here at Aerys Soccer as soon as we learn more!

We have a huge matchup in the first semifinal match of the Euros plus some interesting drama stemming from it. Also, it looks like Arsenal locked in a new signing, all in today’s DKA!

Euro 2012

Today is a battle between the Iberian Peninsula as Spain face Portugal in a semifinal match (actually the game is on right now!). Spain are favorites behind Germany to win the trophy, however you shouldn’t underestimate Portugal, who have had a good run so far in the tournament. Last time the two countries played each other, Portugal ravished Spain with a 4-nil victory. Needless to say, today should be an exciting match! The match is underway at the moment (kick off was at 2:45 p.m. ET) on ESPN.

On the topic of Spain, it looks like UEFA has rejected a request by La Roja to have a moment of silence for Real Betis player Miki Roque, who passed away Monday at age 23 after losing a battle with cancer, before the semifinal clash with Portugal. But here’s where it gets interesting, UEFA are denying that they rejected it! UEFA released a statement via their website:

Further to media reports of the alleged refusal to allow a minute of silence in memory of Spanish football player Miki Roque ahead of tonight’s UEFA Euro 2012 semifinal between Spain and Portugal, UEFA would like to underline that it has not received any such request from the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

You’d think that out of respect, they’d allow it anyway. That’s UEFA for you.

English Premier League

Olivier Giroud has chosen Arsenal over Chelsea! Giroud completed a £13 million transfer from Montpellier to Emirates yesterday, preferring the set-up at Arsenal. When asked why he chose the Gunners, his answer was simple: He loves the club.

”Why did I choose Arsenal rather than Chelsea?’ Because it is a club I love and I thought it would be easier for my adaptation. Arsenal is a great club, the facilities are wonderful, but I feel it is a club that takes big care before signing a player, notably considering human values. ’There are French players. There is also Arsène Wenger who let me understand he really wanted me.”

Happy Mother’s Day footy fans! I hope you all enjoyed Survival Sunday with all the insane soccer matches happening all over the globe. Today we celebrate champions in La Liga, EPL and Serie A! Enjoy today’s DKA!

La Liga

Today wraps up the 2011-2012 season in Spain with Real Madrid taking all the glory, winning their first title in 4 years! You can read my recap as well as the ending stats of the league here!

Also congratulations to Lionel Messi for winning the Pichichi Award with 50 goas scored in the regulare season.

Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes also was awarded the Zamora Trophy! Congrats!

English Premier League

Well, it looks like Manchester is bleeding blue tonight as Manchester City won their first title since 1968 when they beat QPR 3-2. Our own Teresa Munoz has the full recap here!

Last year’s champions Manchester United claimed the second spot in the standings when Wayne Rooney headed a goal giving United a 1-0 victory over Sunderland. You can read Trista’s post-match article here!

Let’s go back to September shall we? Who would have thought that Arsenal FC would finish this 2011-2012 campaign in third place. Yes, THIRD PLACE. I can’t count how many people doubted the Gunners but alas, Arsenal capture 3rd and a spot in Champions League. Toni Stone has the full recap of the match here!

Serie A

Juventus’ Alessandro Del Piero will leave in fashion after helping Juve seal their title after a 4-1 win over Atalanta. It’s the 28th Scudetto for Juve but the club still ah one match left before their season is finally over. Next weekend they host Napoli in the Coppa Italia Final.

They did it!! Not sure how they did it, especially with the way they played today.  But Arsenal defeated West Brom away and finished third in the league.  Final score 2 – 3.

This means Arsenal automatically qualify, along with the Manchester duo, for next season’s Champions League.

Tottenham Hotspurs, the other North London contender, won 2 – 0 at home over Fulham.  They finished fourth in the league, the highest they have ever placed in the long history of their team, but still one point and one place below their arch-rivals Arsenal. (add smirk here)

The fourth place Spurs, however, may not automatically qualify for the 2012-13 Champions League.  Chelsea made it to this season’s Champions League final where they will be playing against Bayern Munich.  Winning that tournament, which will be played next weekend, will automatically give Chelsea the league’s fourth place qualifying position, blowing the opportunity for tournament-hopefuls Tottenham.

Back to Arsenal:  To qualify for Europe’s elite tournament was no easy feat for Arsenal this season. The Gunners lost three key players over the summer along with rumor rumblings about other players with one or two years left on their contracts wanting to jump ship.

The team spent 3/4ths of the summer trying to hold on to their star play-making midfielder, Cesc Fabregas, who understandably wanted to return to his home town of Barcelona.  Then the lure of money and trophies took Samir Na$ri and Gael Clichy to Manchester City.

So with three key starting players lost and the summer three quarter shot, Arsene Wenger made some last minute, but key decisions.  Andre Santos and Yossi Benayoun were two of eleven players signed over the summer.  Both made key goals for the Gunners in today’s match.

As we look forward to this summer’s usual antics, let’s see if Arsenal can get Robin van Persie to renew his contract early on.  That key signing combined with  the opportunity to play in Champions League should attract more quality players to the team.

Wenger has to figure out how to re-build the team around the possible introduction of new players but also with returning players from injury.  He should have young Jack Wilshire back in midfield, who has been injured for most of the season.  The right-back Bacary Sagna will hopefully return after his second leg break of the season.  And the promising Emmanuel Frimpong, who got a little experience on loan to Wolves, will perhaps be an option after injuring his knee in the second half of the season.

It’s sad to see the season end, but as a Gunner fan, I’m beyond thrilled with the result .  Plus, I can finally let out the breath I’ve been holding for about 4 weeks now.

Well played Gunners! And what a relief to stay in Champions League and finish higher than last season without Cesc, Samir and Gael.  COYG!