₦airaland Forum

Where all those guys who were talking trash about Chelsea and awarding Victory to Arsenal even before Kickoff

I hope y'all haven't been hospitalized because of the shock oo

dominique:
Arsenal vs Chelsea will be lit, Gunners to lift the trophy of course. Any which way we're returning to champions league next season

Wait for d biggest shock of ur life

The people above me calling Chelsea tauts, hooligans, agbero, etc
Wait and see d hooligans lift the trophy tonight

The only thing left to settle in the 2018-19 club season are the European honors and it begins on Wednesday as Arsenal take on Chelsea for the Europa League title. Gab Marcotti gets you prepared with what you need to know ahead of the game.

BACKSTORY: These two clubs are less than 10 miles apart -- roughly 40 minutes by London Underground -- but they've had to travel nearly 3,000 miles to face off in Baku, Azerbaijan, where they'll contest the Europa League final. Perhaps unsurprisingly, neither team sold out its allocation of about 6,000 tickets each (in a 60,000-seat stadium).

Limited airport capacity and hotel availability also drew criticism from supporters when it came to the choice of venue, but it doesn't end there. Azerbaijan is technically still at war with neighboring Armenia over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Tensions between the two countries run high and Arsenal's Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who is Armenian, elected not to make the trip, citing security concerns.

At stake is the second biggest trophy in European football and, for Arsenal, a place in the Champions League next season. (Chelsea already qualified by finishing third in the Premier League.)

THE ROAD TO BAKU: Both teams breezed through the group stage, often fielding second-string sides, but Arsenal had the tougher run in the knockout phases. They had to come from behind to dispatch BATE Borisov from Belarus and Rennes before hitting their stride and impressively knocking out Napoli and Valencia. It was a photonegative of Chelsea's run, which saw them win home and away in every round until the semifinal, when Eintracht Frankfurt took them all the way to penalty kicks after two draws.

QUESTION MARK FOR ARSENAL: Goalkeeper Petr Cech started every knockout game in the Europa League and is retiring after Wednesday night, but two factors make you wonder whether he'll get the nod. One is that Bernd Leno has been the first-choice keeper in the league since October. Loyalty and sentimentality are great, but potential revenue from qualifying for the Champions League next season could run into the nine figures. The other is that Cech will reportedly join Chelsea in a front office role when he hangs up his cleats next month. Arsenal boss Unai Emery is giving nothing away, saying he "trusts" both keepers.

QUESTION MARK FOR CHELSEA: N'Golo Kante thought he'd recovered in time from a muscular injury late in the season only to injure his knee in training last week. Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri says he's 50/50 and his absence would be a massive blow. Kante, a midfield terrier who has developed into an effective two-way player this season, is arguably Chelsea's most important figure not named Eden Hazard. What's more, a season-ending injury to Ruben Loftus-Cheek means Chelsea are down to just three able-bodied midfielders, which is a problem when you play in a 4-3-3 formation.

TACTICAL CONTRAST: Both Emery and Sarri believe in pressing and a pass-oriented game, and both men have occasionally had a rough time from fans and pundits (more so Sarri, to be fair). But where Sarri is a staunch 4-3-3 man, hardly ever deviating from his favored system and (somewhat counterintuitive) style of play, Emery is a tactical chameleon. Back three or back four, midfield three or two, man in the hole or outright wingers or both: he seemingly pulls out a bespoke formation based on availability and opponent for every single match.

NEEDS TO PERFORM FOR ARSENAL: Mesut Ozil was once the poster boy for the all-conquering multicultural German national team, the slight wizard who conjured up oodles of assists for Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid and Arsenal's record signing. He's still the latter but has had a bumpy ride, with Emery benching him at times and questioning his effectiveness away from home -- Baku is very much away from home -- at others. He has the magic to unlock any defence and a big-time pedigree to match. With Aaron Ramsey injured and Mkhitaryan watching from a distance, it will be up to him to link midfield and attack.

NEEDS TO PERFORM FOR CHELSEA: As the Blues' deep-lying playmaker, Jorginho set records for the number of passes in a single game, but as his critics point out, it's purely meaningless stat-padding if the system doesn't work. Too often, it did not. Still, he's the point guard who makes Sarri's motion offense function. If he gets flustered, careless or simply passes the ball sideways endlessly, the whole machine grinds to a halt.

STAR MAN FOR ARSENAL: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is your plug-and-play striker. Whether he lines up in a front two alongside Alexandre Lacazette, up top on his own or placed out wide, his combination of speed and finishing means he'll get his chances. After all, 41 goals in 64 games (all competitions) since joining the club 18 months ago tell their own story. Whatever Arsenal's ills may be, he ain't among them.

STAR MAN FOR CHELSEA: Eden Hazard is appropriately named because when the ball is at his feet, danger is near. Few men in the game can wreak havoc out of seemingly innocuous situations. Fewer still have a body that seems built for what they do: powerful backside, low to the ground, twinkle-toes on his feet. It will be a poignant occasion for him as well. He's a year away from free agency, has refused a contract extension and appears to be on his way to Real Madrid, where he'd join his boyhood idol, Zinedine Zidane.

ARSENAL WILL WIN BECAUSE ... Emery is a cup knockout specialist, particularly in the Europa League, a competition he has already won a record three times. He's pragmatic enough to spot weaknesses and make adjustments during games and with Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira, he has the weapons to neutralize and frustrate Chelsea's midfield.

CHELSEA WILL WIN BECAUSE ... Arsenal's defence has a penchant for individual errors and self-destruction like few others and Chelsea have a knack for punishing mistakes. Hazard against Arsenal's fullbacks is a mismatch regardless of whether Emery plays a back three or a back four. And there's the distinct possibility, as sometimes happens, that Ozil shows up in body only.

PREDICTION: Arsenal 2, Chelsea 1 (after extra time, which means this game, kicking off at 11 p.m. local time, will go well into Thursday)
There's very little to separate these two teams but the uncertainty over Kante sways it slightly in Arsenal's favor. There's also the fact that while both teams have plenty of players unavailable (Mkhitaryan, Ramsey and Hector Bellerin for Arsenal, Loftus-Cheek, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Antonio Rudiger for Chelsea), Emery's side have more individual match-winners.

This is Nigeria

man Utd....
A potential replacement for the misfiring Lukaku

frbona:
who do you have in mind? Is he from Katsina state?

No not Katsina I think he's from Daura State

Iyanya di se...
Mbok kpong Ubi Franklin Agbor kagha
Bre mi Kukere, yan unek ekpri
Soson ooo

Goal na goal o, whether na bird fly down kick am put for net....Na goal
Soccer na funny game sha

OBO nobody's saying you shouldn't spend ur cash the way you want, after all you work for it.

Buh why spend a whopping $10k on just meat when that same amount can feed Thousands of Hungry dying Children and Aged people roaming the streets of your Fatherland

Bros 'Reason With Me' na

LesbianBoy:
Van Dijk is still going to win the ballon d'or if he lifts the champions league

It's dawn already and it's high time you woke up

Ndukings92:
do I know?

Ndukings na only u wer know u

Uncle Lyta, why rush in life

Patience is one virtue that will help you a lot in this life

Finally, don't be too selfish, u gotta help others grow too

Kalashnikov102:
Like say she go chop am if na anaconda pweek Las las

She fit chop am na

Ndukings92:
That girl na olosho o o,so she expect to see the head of that nigger's prick for her to confirm say he gather?some get borehole down below

Like u faa

Media personality, Toke Makinwa has taken to her Twitter account to reveal what she did to a man she saw peeing by the road side.


According to her, she body-shamed him and yelled at him to keep Lagos clean.

"The guy peeing by the road side, I saw your willy, it’s like my little finger. I pulled my window down and yelled small peeenis keep Lagos clean.


"He just casually brought out his instrument to water the ground, like no biggie I’m just going to pee for you to see," she wrote.

This guy ehnn
After all wat Aunty Kemi told him

Shortly after the release of his controversial song “4 days in Ekotieeboh”, Zlatan ibile is yet again the topic of discussion and this time he shades the EFCC with a simple message.


In a recent picture, Zlatan wore a shirt that could cause another chaos on the internet. The merch decorated in an anime like form shows Zlatan brutally kicking an EFCC officer’s face.

This merch simply illustrates that the rapper is telling the world that he came out victorious in the fight against the anti-graft agency.

Many fear that this could land the rapper in another mess with the agency as he was released based on administrative reasons.

Grandmas

Ya both Slay

Allen02:
Mary Slessor stops the killing of twins in Igbo land. other tribes back then, accept twins.

Mary Slassor stopped d killing of Twins in Igbo Land

Thought it was the Efik Land

Ask him now to define LEGEND

He'll start telling us Long Stories

So after Character assassination and attempted murder, that's all they could do that useless girl

Asin was there no pepper around

That her Toto for chop small pepper....Nonsense

Walahi na confirm meat be dat oo

abeg u go still kill am tomorrow

I for like place order oo

iTearHerToto:

This wraps it all
And the winner is....

OkaNaUbe:
Nice development.

It seems you weren't ever in support of that idea

FIFA has given up on its efforts to expand the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams, football's world governing body announced on Wednesday.

"In line with the conclusions of the feasibility study approved by the FIFA Council at its last meeting, FIFA and Qatar have jointly explored all possibilities to increase the number of participant teams from 32 to 48 teams by involving neighbouring countries at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022," a FIFA statement read on Thursday.

"Following a thorough and comprehensive consultation process with the involvement of all the relevant
stakeholders, it was concluded that under the current circumstances such a proposal could not be made now.

"Additionally, FIFA and Qatar have once again explored the feasibility of Qatar hosting a 48-team tournament by in particular lowering certain key FIFA requirements. A joint analysis, in this respect, concluded that due to the advanced stage of preparations and the need for a detailed assessment of the potential logistical impact on the host country, more time would be required and a decision could not be taken before the deadline of June. It was therefore decided not to further pursue this option.

"The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will therefore remain as originally planned with 32 teams and no proposal will be submitted at the next FIFA Congress on 5 June."
FIFA had been exploring if logistical and political complexities could be overcome to expand the tournament from 32 to 48 teams, which would have required at least one more country being used in the Persian Gulf to accommodate an additional 16 matches in the region.

A FIFA internal report had already concluded that the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia could not join as co-hosts unless they restore the economic and travel ties with Qatar that were severed two years ago.

The regional diplomatic crisis left neutral Kuwait and Oman as the viable options. Oman has said it isn't keen on hosting games at the FIFA showpiece. FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited Kuwait last month in an attempt to persuade them to host matches in 2022.
But FIFA has now concluded that it lacked the time to prepare a country to host the extra games.

In Kuwait, Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium has 60,000 seats and the capacity at Sabah Al-Salem Stadium is only 26,000. Both venues would require upgrades to be used at the World Cup, putting the spotlight on working conditions and labor rights.
FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura wrote to human rights activists last month to offer assurances that there would be "an assessment of human rights risks and potential opportunities associated with a possible expansion."

Qatar has an exemption that allows foreigners to drink alcohol, but Kuwait has a complete ban that would have been problematic for FIFA, which has Budweiser as a major sponsor.
FIFA has already had to adapt to cope with taking its showpiece tournament to the Middle East for the first time.

While Qatar won a vote in 2010 on the basis of staging a June-July World Cup, FIFA shifted the tournament from its usual slot to Nov. 21-Dec 18, 2022, because of the fierce summer heat.


Source: www.espn.com

I've been hearing 'Tonto', 'Tonto', 'Tonto' lately
Is it a name of a Person, Animal Place or Thing
Abi na Toto una mean

1Sharon:

I also learnt that he drinks tea too

One day they'll come tell us God is a YAHOO Boy

kingkakaone:
Just imagine what someone is saying.
SMH
"It is finished"...

I say ehnn....

What do you expect from a person whose skull has been filled with bitter leave and Vinegar

He definitely can't think right

That him wife reassemble one Wrestler like that

I grew up to know that 'God is supernatural being and He is everywhere'
I never knew it was the Car Papa Oyedepo gave to Him that takes Him everywhere
Oh God, What on Earth are these preachers doing to your Children
Save us Oh Lord

So cech's plan is to help Arsenal win the UEL trophy and then come back to Stamford bridge to be the Sporting Director

Oga e no go work....

If u must be our Director, u must open the goal post wide enough for Aunties Giroud/Higuain to score next week at Baku.