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Tuesday Ticker: Arsenal battle back to top West Ham, Ronaldo out for cup final, and more

Arsenal (Getty Images)

By FRANCO PANIZO

Arsenal are back in fourth place in the Premiership and their dreams of playing in next season’s UEFA Champions League are still alive.

At least, for now.

The Gunners battled back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat West Ham United, 3-1, on Tuesday afternoon. The win saw Arsenal leapfrog Tim Howard and Everton for the Premiership’s lone Champions League qualifiers spot, but the Toffees have a game in hand to make up the one point difference.

Arsenal fell behind five minutes before halftime when Matthew Jarvis headed home a loose ball in the penalty area, but Lukas Podolski responded with the first of his two on the day in the 44th minute. Podolski recorded his brace 12 minutes from the final whistle, but not before Olivier GiroudĀ netted the winner in the 55th minute.

Everton will have a chance to reclaim fourth place when they host Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

Here are more news items from around the soccer world:

RONALDO RULED OUT FOR CUP FINAL

The next chapter of El Clasico will not feature star attacker Cristiano Ronaldo.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Tuesday that Ronaldo will be held out of Wednesday’s Copa del Rey final against Barcelona due to the Portuguese international’s current knee and thigh issues. Ronaldo has been out of action since playing in a UEFA Champions League quarterfinals first leg vs. Borussia Dortmund on April 2.

Isco and Asier Illarramendi are the favorites to replace Ronaldo in Real Madrid’s lineup.

CORONA SUSPENDED FOR CCL FINAL

If Cruz Azul are to win the CONCACAF Champions League this year, they will have to do so without starting goalkeeper Jesus Corona.

CONCACAF announced Tuesday that it extended a suspension on Corona for his part in a post-game altercation during the semifinal round of the tournament earlier this month. Corona was shown a red card following the second leg that saw Cruz Azul beat Club Tijuana, 2-1, on aggregate, but CONCACAF prolonged the ban because of what it deemed unsporting behavior.

The suspension will prevent Corona from playing in either of the two legs in the CONCACAF Champions League finals series vs. Toluca, which begins on Tuesday night. The veteran goalkeeper would also miss Cruz Azul’s first game at the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco should his team defeat Toluca.

DORTMUND REACH DFB POKAL FINAL

Borussia Dortmund might lift some hardware this season, after all.

Dortmund moved onto the DFB Pokal final after picking up a 2-0 home win vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday. Henrik Mkhitaryan set the tone for the victory by scoring in the 12th minute, and Robert Lewandoski doubled Dortmund’s lead two minutes before the intermission with his 100th goal for the club.

Dortmund will face the winner of Wednesday’s Bayern Munich-Kaiserslautern semifinal match in the title game on May 17.

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Still confident that Everton will take the UEFA Champions League qualifiers spot instead of Arsenal? How will Real Madrid fare vs. Barcelona without Ronaldo? Surprised to see CONCACAF prolong Corona’s suspension?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. If you havent seen it, look up Giroud’s goal. The “hole in one” assist from Vermaelen from the center line, combined with Giroud’s smooth takedown from the air, and megging the keeper. GOTW contender!

    In close second is Poldi’s 2nd goal, with a sublime headed assist onto his left leg from Ramsey, opposite from the direction he was falling.

    Incredible quality, when it all clicks.

    Reply
  2. The fact that Arsenal were still winning games with their entire starting midfield and often times one or both of their center backs sans Cazorla out injured for long spells is incredible.

    Reply
  3. 9 years without a trophy. how does Wenger continue to have his job? Sure he always has them qualify for the CL every year and some years they are actually in competition for the league title but nothing more than that.

    they need to part ways with him.

    Reply
      • i think the differing opinions on wenger’s tenure come down to expectations.

        it’s obvious that the goal of arsenal’s board isn’t really to win the league (or any major trophies), but to qualify for the champions league, and they provide funds accordingly. in that sense, wenger is a great success, and he’ll be around as long as he wants.

    • LAKY,

      Wenger has his flaws but did you notice how quickly Man U went to also rans as soon as SAF left?

      Want to bet Arsenal go even further down the tubes if you fire Wenger at the end of this season? This Arsenal squad is man for man inferior to Liverpool , Man City, and Chelsea.

      Before you fire Wenger maybe you should get him better talent.

      Reply
      • I wouldn’t say they’re man for man inferior… when they have a full strength squad they can play some pretty good football, as they showed at the beginning of the season before they got plagued with injuries.

      • or at least talent that doesn’t break. Their form dropped when midfielders started dropping like flies. Not too many teams can have their first four mids drop without issues. If you blame him for having fragile players then you are really stretching it.

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