Month: May 2016

Arsenal finds new way for Criticism

A huge criticism of Arsenal this season been their inability to win home matches.

The club, however, again something for the home supporters to cheer by getting a 2-0 win over West Brom. This was the first victory for Arsenal in three matches and one that increases their chances of finishing in the top four. Fans, however, expressed disappointment at the club being content with a top four place once again by leaving huge empty seats towards the end of the game. Alexis Sanchez came up with two brilliant goals to secure three points.

Aaron Ramsey admitted that the players had been made aware of the displeasure from the supporters. He felt that the victory came a little too late for the gunners in their hopes of winning the title. Poor form in 2016 has been the major factor in the club dropping out of the title race. It was only during Christmas that critics expected Leicester City’s title challenge to wither away. However, it looks like Leicester and Tottenham will be fighting for the title in the last few weeks of the campaign. The former are especially in a stronger position than ever before. Arsenal are now expected to get consistent set of results since their remaining games are largely against relegation threatened opponents.

“We played with a lot of belief and intensity and we made a lot of chances.We haven’t been at that standard of late and we needed that level of performance for us and our fans.We needed that. We played with a real purpose.We have been frustrated with the way we have been playing but that is what we are capable of. It may be too little too late but we keep going,” said Arsenal midfielder, who has struggled to score goals like in the past.

Can Aaron Ramsey lead Wales to the knockout stages?

Wales will feature at the European Championship for the very first time this summer after Aaron Ramsey and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale inspired Chris Coleman’s side through the qualifying campaign.

During the preliminary rounds, Wales went toe-to-toe with some of the best sides in Europe, including Belgium and Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Welsh will be quietly confident of causing an upset or two this summer.

Wales will feature at the European Championship for the very first time this summer after Aaron Ramsey and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale inspired Chris Coleman’s side through the qualifying campaign.

Can Aaron Ramsey lead Wales to the knockout stages?

During the preliminary rounds, Wales went toe-to-toe with some of the best sides in Europe, including Belgium and Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Welsh will be quietly confident of causing an upset or two this summer.

At the time of writing, Coral are pricing Wales at 4/6 in their Euro 2016 bet markets to advance past the group stages and it would take a brave man to back against them – especially with Ramsey and Bale playing at their very best.

However, it could be argued that Wales’ success this summer will be built on their defensive foundations, particularly if captain Ashley Williams is on-song. The Swansea City defender has been rested specifically with this summer’s competition in mind and Wales should benefit from his added freshness at the back.

Earlier this year, Wales showed they can cope without Ramsey and Bale in their international friendlies with Ukraine and Northern Ireland.

While they weren’t at their brilliant best, Wales showed plenty of grit and created enough opportunities to suggest they may be a force this summer – even if Ramsey and Bale fail to up their game. After all, Wales are maturing into a well-organised, solid football nation.

A solid tip to bet on in Coral’s Euro 2016 bet markets is for Wales – priced at 19/5 – to beat England in Lens on June 16th. Coleman’s men were keen to avoid England when the draw was made but Wales will be fired up and ready to prove a point against their more experienced rivals.

If nothing else, Ramsey and Bale will cause problems for Roy Hodgson’s side and England will have to be at their best to keep the Welsh attack quiet. While Wales are much more than a two-man team, Aaron Ramsey’s contributions could be crucial to their chances of reaching the latter stages of the tournament.

The Arsenal midfielder has finished the campaign strongly and Welsh fans will be excited at the prospect of seeing Coleman’s men oust the English on their way to a successful tournament. They are certainly capable of beating all three of their Group B rivals and Ramsey may be expected to carry the burden of scoring goals alongside Bale.

It would be foolish to make any concrete predictions relating to Wales’ chances but you’d have to fancy them to pick up at least four points – which might be enough to advance to the next round. And while Gareth Bale will attract most of the attention after his impressive qualifying campaign, Aaron Ramsey could be Wales’ talisman at this summer’s tournament.

Joe Allen confident on getting back Form of Wales Players

Wales have suffered from disappointing form ever since qualifying for the Euro 2016 and this has raised concerns ahead of the tournament.

Midfielder Joe Allen, though, reckons that the form will improve once the team gets back players like Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey into the starting line-up. In the absence of these two big names, Wales have managed only one win in the last five matches. Even this victory came against Andorra – one of the minnows in world football – and it was not exactly a convincing win.

Manager Chris Coleman received a lot of praise for guiding Wales to its first major European Championship. This was also the first time Wales will be appearing in a major tournament like the World Cup or the Euros for the first time since 1958. Hence, there is a lot of expectation that the nation will want to do well and continue progressing. Since the form is bleak at the moment, there is a danger of Wales suffering a humiliating exit against the top teams in European football. The nation will be up against England, Russia, and Slovakia in the group stages. Allen claims that any team will miss quality players like Bale and Ramsey. He is confident of the form improving once these players get back into the team.

“Any international team would miss players of that quality. To have the chance to welcome them back into the group is a massive bonus for us. It’s going to help bring the real best out of the team. Whether it is a friendly or not, the result is important, but it’s not the be all and end all at this stage. Teams in the past have flown through friendlies, drubbed teams and then disappointed. So I don’t think it’s too much we will look at,” said Allen.