Tottenham Hotspur will still be able to attract top players even if they do not qualify for next year's Champions League, manager Andre Villas-Boas said on Friday. The north London club's hopes of qualifying are hanging in the balance with them needing to win their final Premier League match of the season at home to Sunderland on Sunday while hoping bitter rivals Arsenal fail to beat Newcastle United.
Tottenham, who are fifth going into the final weekend of the season, missed out on Europe's elite competition last season despite finishing fourth because Chelsea, who came sixth, won the trophy and took England's final qualification place. Despite that setback they managed to hold on to their talented Welsh forward Gareth Bale, but that could prove even more of a challenge after Bale's superb form earned him the Player of the Year award.
Villas-Boas, however, is keen to add to the squad and believes the club will be able to strengthen. "I'm not sure (Champions League qualification) is that key because Tottenham has a great tradition in football, it has conditions that other clubs don't have but equally these (training) facilities," Villas-Boas told a news conference.
"And I think we have a group of players that attract other players to come here. They are good quality players and other players, in bigger or same level squads, would want to join up and play with them." Bale, whose contract runs until 2016, has been linked with a move to some
10:41 PM, May 17, 2013
London : On the final day of last season, Arsenal narrowly held off fierce rivals Tottenham to claim third place in the Premier League - which proved more important than either team knew at the time. A year later, with the title fight decided and the three relegation spots already settled, the two North London neighbours are fighting it out again for a place in the top four and lucrative...
06:58 PM, May 17, 2013
London: Arsenal have made no approach for Manchester United's Wayne Rooney but are in "advanced talks" with French side Auxerre to sign 20-year-old striker Yaya Sanogo, manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday. "I don't know if Man United will sell Rooney, and that is the best sign to show you that we have not made any approach for him; the first thing is to phone Manchester United, which we did...
05:59 PM, May 17, 2013
London: The Premier League could go into extra time. After the final round of matches on Sunday, Arsenal and Chelsea could have to contest a play-off to determine who finish third and claim an automatic Champions League qualification place. Chelsea currently have a two-point lead over Arsenal. But if Arsenal beat Newcastle 2-1 and Chelsea draw 0-0 with Everton on Sunday, the teams would be level on points and have...
04:36 PM, May 15, 2013
London: For Arsenal, failure to defeat Wigan Athletic on Tuesday would leave their hopes of a 16th season in the Champions League in severe jeopardy; for Wigan Athletic, anything other than a win would quickly sour the taste of a memorable FA Cup final shock. As end-of-season fixtures go, the clash at the Emirates could hardly have more importance to the two sides involved. "Both teams will go for it,...
05:34 PM, May 13, 2013
Barcelona: Cesc Fabregas's 26th birthday celebrations on Saturday may have been more subdued than usual after Barcelona's Champions League exit to Bayern Munich on Wednesday, the latest in a series of key matches in which he has failed to impress. The former Arsenal captain has struggled to live up to sky-high expectations since returning to his boyhood club in the summer of 2011, even prompting media speculation he may move...
10:02 AM, May 05, 2013
New Delhi: The 2012 EPL champions may be relegated to the third tier of the Champions League after their dismal campaign in 2013, 'The Telegraph' reported. Manchester City are likely to be relegated to the third tier of Champions League seeds next season following their failure to qualify from the group stages of this year's competition, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday. City's woeful run this season has forced them to...
09:59 AM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: Arsene Wenger's 17-year reign at the English Premier League club Arsenal may end as the manager at Emirates is persuaded to leave England and take charge at Paris St-Germain (PSG), The Telegraph reported on Tuesday. "The club's (PSG) proprietors, who have spent heavily on the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Javier Pastore and Ezequiel Lavezzi, and who signed David Beckham on a six-month deal in January, have told friends...
08:35 AM, Apr 30, 2013
London: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that if his team win their last three Premier League games they will qualify for the Champions League, but both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur could yet scupper his hopes. If Chelsea take at least nine points from their last four games, they will finish on 74 points. If Tottenham win their four remaining games, they would also finish on 74 points. However, even if...
04:38 PM, Apr 29, 2013
London: Chelsea kept up their push for a Champions League spot by beating Swansea 2-0 on Sunday with both goals coming shortly before the halftime break. Oscar put Chelsea ahead at Stamford Bridge in the 44th minute and Frank Lampard then doubled the lead from the penalty spot a minute later for his 201st goal for the club, moving him within one of Bobby Tambling's record. Lampard began the game...
12:01 AM, Apr 29, 2013
London: Robin van Persie marked his return to Arsenal by scoring a penalty amid a chorus of boos to give newly crowned Premier League champion Manchester United a 1-1 draw on Sunday that also hurt his former team's chances of making the Champions League. Arsenal fans had already had to watch their team form a guard of honor for Van Persie and his United team before kickoff at the Emirates...
11:27 PM, Apr 28, 2013
London: Arsene Wenger believes English clubs will be challenging strongly again in the Champions League next season after this term's German dominance although his side face an anxious few weeks trying to secure their place. The north London club have been ever-presents in the Champions League for 15 consecutive seasons, but face a scrap with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur to keep that run going. With champions Manchester United visiting the...
07:22 PM, Apr 26, 2013
England: Fresh from wrapping up a 20th English league title for Manchester United, Robin van Persie will make his first return to Arsenal looking to dent his former club's hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League. Van Persie quit Arsenal last August in frustration at the team's lack of silverware in his eight years in London, and has scored a league-high 24 goals in helping United reclaim the Premier...
05:38 PM, Apr 26, 2013
London: Arsenal will keep with tradition and form a guard of honour for new Premier League champions Manchester United when the sides meet at The Emirates on Sunday. "That is part of the tradition of English football and I want that, of course, to be respected," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told a news conference on Friday. I'm French, I work in England and the English tradition should be respected. When...
03:54 PM, Apr 26, 2013
London: Arsenal strengthened their hopes of a Champions League spot on Saturday after Per Mertesacker's header late in the first half secured a 1-0 victory at Fulham, who played most of the game with 10 men but still came close to an equaliser. Arsenal dominated possession throughout the game after Steve Sidwell's clumsy challenge on Mikel Arteta earned him a straight red card in the 12th minute. But the Gunners...
09:34 PM, Apr 20, 2013
Nine-time European champion Real Madrid have ended Manchester United's run as the world's most valuable soccer team, according to an annual survey released by Forbes on Wednesday. The value of Real, a Spanish club owned by its thousands of members, surged 76 percent to $3.3 billion from a year ago, Forbes said in a statement. (www.forbes.com/soccer) United, who have won the English title a record 19 times and are controlled...
10:40 PM, Apr 17, 2013
London: Arsenal missed a chance to tighten their grip on third place in the English Premier League on Tuesday after being held to a 0-0 draw at home by Everton. Both sides have hopes of playing in the Champions League next season, but Arsenal will be left to rue the missed chances after carving out opportunities in both halves for French international striker Olivier Giroud. "We should have won the...
08:22 AM, Apr 17, 2013
London: Everton can take a huge step towards an unlikely top-four finish and Champions League soccer next season if they can maintain their recent run of great form by winning at Arsenal for the first time in 17 years on Tuesday. To do that, Everton will have to overcome opponents who have risen to third in the table on the back of a superb run of results just as the...
09:27 AM, Apr 16, 2013
London: Arsene Wenger would have been forgiven a wry smile on Saturday after Arsenal staged a dramatic comeback to beat Norwich City, displaying the fighting spirit they were accused of lacking earlier in the season. "We needed spirit and we needed nerves as well," Wenger told reporters after his side had come from behind to win 3-1 at home. We have shown both, I think, and in the end got...
12:48 PM, Apr 14, 2013
London: Andrey Arshavin's unhappy spell at Arsenal is set to end this summer, with manager Arsene Wenger saying it is unlikely to offer the Russia winger a new contract. Arshavin is in the final year of his deal at the English Premier League side and has found first-team opportunities hard to come by over the last two seasons, with his work rate often criticized by fans. Wenger says on Friday...
07:58 PM, Apr 12, 2013
