For almost everyone involved with Arsenal FC, Tuesday’s spectacular 3-3 draw with Bournemouth, after being 3-0 down in the 70th minute, must’ve felt like a victory. Everyone apart from Alexis Sanchez, that is.
Alexis Sánchez didn't seem too delighted with the result at full time. [@andremar655] pic.twitter.com/44misj4BEI
‘Member John Obi Mikel? The 29-year-old defensive midfielder has been on the books at Chelsea for 11 years now, but he’s yet to make an appearance in the 2016-17 season. In the previous three seasons, Mikel made a respectable 67 appearances for the Blues, but the length of those appearances averaged only 52 minutes.
Seeing Mikel appear next to the fourth official became the equivalent of popping a bottle of champagne for Chelsea supporters — if Mikel was coming on, victory was all but assured.
Being a professional referee in the Premier League is an extremely tough job. The old adage “Who would ever want to be a referee?” rings particularly true in the EPL. They get more abuse than we as fans care to admit, and every single one of us has been guilty of being on the wrong side of a decision before viewing the instant replay.
The debate as to where this goal falls on the list of the greatest of all time could rage ceaselessly, but this is almost certainly the greatest of the Premier League era.
It’s been six months since Hal Robson-Kanu completed what many consider THE footballing moment of 2016. After Wales had unexpectedly leveled against a heavily favored Belgium side in the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 through Ashley Williams, Robson-Kanu dropped jaws around the planet by performing a Cruyff turn through two Belgium defenders and firing beyond Thibaut Courtois, lifting Wales into the semifinals.
For many, 2016 will be remembered as a year of loss. For all the remarkable gains, achievements and creations that sprung from 2016, it’s often the hurt derived from defeats and casualties that reverberates most poignantly. Here are 10 things we’ve lost in football over the course of 2016.
Son Heung-min is now our favorite footballer on the planet. And with an average of a goal every 147 minutes this season, he's a damn good footballer at that.
@SpursOfficial @kevinwimmer27 pic.twitter.com/87GlYBZPHK
— . (@ned99kelsey) December 29, 2016
Saying the words "Adam Lallana is the key to the Premier League's most high-powered offense" feels weird. It does not roll off the tongue. You think "did I just say that?" and, after a few moments, realize you did say that, and that you meant it, because it's true.
This is not a thing that seemed like it could ever be true as recently as this summer.
Here are a couple of tweets I have tweeted about Adam Lallana:
What was truly remarkable about Leicester City’s Premier League title run-in last year was how smoothly they managed it. After a 2-1 loss to Arsenal of February 14, Leicester finished the season on a 12-game unbeaten run, winning eight and drawing four.
In those eight victories, they hammered their opponents by a scoreline of 14-1. That solitary goal was scored by Everton after Leicester had already clinched the crown. Essentially, they never slipped up; they never made a mistake.