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WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015 SPORTS Slick Arsenal top style charts, not the league LONDON: If honors were handed out for Arsenal have collected nine wins from 10 Five consecutive last-16 exits in the without the ability to grind out results the missing ingredient before the start of stylish football Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal Premier League matches, drawing the Champions League offer more ammuni- when off form and, more importantly, next season which will start, should they would clean up. The Gunners were at other one 0-0 at home to champions tion to those who say Wenger’s tactics are before the pressure is off. beat Aston Villa in the FA Cup final, with a their irresistible best at times in a 3-1 vic- Chelsea. It is title-winning form and they inadequate when up against the game’s He talks about “quality” as being para- Community Shield curtain-raiser against tory at Hull City on Monday that guaran- are playing with a panache that Chelsea smartest coaches. mount, whereas Mourinho’s simple Chelsea? teed an 18th consecutive season in the have not matched this season-all with the Wenger points to injuries early in the mantra is “winning”. “The target is always “I’m not a prophet. That is unpre- Champions League. likes of England trio Jack Wilshere, Theo season to explain his side’s slow start quality,” Wenger said. dictable and nobody knows how strong With the impish Santi Cazorla con- Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on which ultimately left them too far behind “We work very hard to get the quality the team will be at the start of the sea- ducting an orchestra containing the likes the sidelines nursing injuries. Chelsea to make a real fight of the title. of our game very high and I do not see son,” Wenger said. of Chile’s Alexis Sanchez, Welsh wizard Yet, there is a nagging sense of “same However, those kind of excuses for the myself telling the team that we don’t “What’s important is that you go out of Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil, Arsenal old Arsenal”-the team belatedly firing on bad spells that afflict Arsenal at some want quality. It can happen that you play the season by thinking we have made picked off a struggling Hull side with a all cylinders long after the title race was stage every season are wearing thin. well and don’t win the games but after 38 progress, we have moved forward and degree of nonchalance few teams can won at a canter by a meaner, more street- games the quality always dictates the that the confidence is high. match. Sanchez’s second goal, and his wise outfit. There was evidence in FANTASY FOOTBALL result. “Not always but most of the time.” “We need to start strong again next side’s third, just before halftime was Arsenal’s tame performance against Wenger knows that for all the fantasy Should they pip Manchester City for the year. Who will be there fighting for the Arsenal’s 100th of the season. Since losing Chelsea last week that they are still light- football his side are capable of, they will runners-up spot it would seem to largely championship next season? It’s difficult to to Tottenham Hotspur in February, weight when up against the very best. not get the better of Mourinho’s Chelsea justify that comment, but will Arsenal find know.” — Reuters Cruel exit for Wanderers BEIJING: Holders Western Sydney Wanderers Shuhei Akasaki after eight minutes only for were cruelly knocked out of the AFC Lee Woong-Hee to equalise before half-time. Champions League yesterday when they beat FC Seoul then took the lead six minutes favourites Guangzhou Evergrande but were into the second half after Osmar Barba’s undone by an injury-time winner elsewhere. header was deflected into the Kashima net Tony Popovic’s men, who lifted the title off defender Gen Shoji. last year on debut, looked to have extended Kashima’s Gaku Shibasaki restored parity their Asian fairytale when goals from Mark in the 79th minute but with both teams chas- Bridge and Tomi Juric gave them a 2-0 upset ing the winner they needed to go through, win. With Kashima Antlers and FC Seoul Molina was the hero when he struck in the locked at 2-2 on the final evening of Group H, first minute of injury time. the Wanderers seemed to have done enough Meanwhile in West Asia, UAE’s Al Ahli to prise themselves off the bottom and reach joined their Saudi namesakes in the last 1with the last 16. late games from Group D after a thrilling 3-2 And there were broad smiles when the victory over Iran’s Tractorsazi Tabriz at the Al- final whistle sounded in rain-sodden south- Rashid Stadium in Dubai. ern China-until news filtered through of Al Ahli owed the win to their captain Mauricio Molina’s late winner for FC Seoul. Ahmed Khalil who produced two good head- That 3-2 win over Kashima puts Seoul ers in the final 15 minutes to help his team through as the second team in Group H, prevail in a tough match that saw the Iranians behind Fabio Cannavaro’s Guangzhou who twice squander a one-goal advantage. The finish top despite their second defeat of the result eliminated Uzbekistan’s Nasaf who competition. The Wanderers’ exit completed a could only manage a goalless draw against chastening evening for Australian fans, whose Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli who had qualified a national side won the Asian Cup in January, fortnight ago. after Brisbane Roar went out tamely with a 2- Mehrdad Bayrami put already-eliminated 1 loss to Urawa Reds. Playing their last game Tractorsazi ahead in the 21st minute but of Group G, Brisbane needed a big win to Brazilian Everton Ribeiro equalised for the have any chance of advancing, but their UAE side in the 58th before Saman hopes slumped when Shinzo Koroki opened Narimanjahan reclaimed the lead for the visi- the scoring on 24 minutes. tors a short while later. Yuki Muto scored Urawa’s second after But with Khalil first heading home in the half-time and although Brisbane pulled one 78th minute and then again in the 88th, Al back through Andrija Kaluderovic, the night Ahli sealed second place in the group to ended miserably for the A-League champi- make the last 16 for the first time. ons. Beijing Guoan finished top of the group In Group C, Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal beat after a 1-1 draw with Suwon Samsung, who Qatar’s Al Sadd 2-1, while Iran’s Foolad also go through to the knock-outs as the sec- Kouzestan edged past Lokomtiv Tashkent 1-0. HULL: Arsenal’s Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez (left) attempts to shoot past Hull City’s English goalkeeper Steve Harper during the English ond-placed team. Al Hilal and Al Sadd had already secured their Premier League football match. — AFP Much of the night’s drama was in Kashima, last 16 berths, but this win saw the Saudi side where the hosts opened the scoring through top the group with 13 points. — AFP Sanchez double shatters Hull Arsenal on Monday, told Sky Sports: “Of course further behind thanks to another deflected we want to win the title next year (season), but strike. Cazorla’s raking pass from the left-back Hull 1 second place this season is for now the most area was superbly controlled by Ramsey before important thing.” the Wales midfielder’s shot hit Robbie Brady and A run of eight successive wins ended with a spun past Harper and into the corner. goalless draw against Chelsea, but Arsenal man- It got worse for the hosts in first half stop- Arsenal 3 ager Wenger kept faith with the same team from page-time when Tom Huddlestone was caught that fixture and saw his side enjoy a comfortable in possession and Ramsey’s through ball sent victory. This fixture came six days after Hull put Sanchez clear. The forward touched the ball LONDON: Alexis Sanchez scored twice as in an impressive display to beat Liverpool at the wide of Harper before stroking the ball into the Arsenal all but secured a top-four finish in the KC Stadium, their second successive win after a empty net. Hull were in danger of being blown Premier League for the 18th consecutive season victory over Crystal Palace. away but, to their credit, they improved dramati- with a 3-1 victory at struggling Hull on Monday. That six-point haul served to give the Tigers a cally in the second half. Arsene Wenger’s side swept into a three-goal vital boost in the fight for survival, but wins on Bruce sent on David Meyler in place of half-time lead thanks to Sanchez’s double and a Saturday for Leicester, Sunderland and Aston Livermore and the Republic of Ireland interna- strike from Aaron Ramsey before Stephen Quinn Villa did Hull few favours. tional was involved as Hull pulled a goal back in pulled one back for Hull after the break. Arsenal were dominant from the start and the 56th minute. The victory put third-placed Arsenal nine Hull contributed to their own downfall by sur- Meyler forced the ball out wide to Ahmed points clear of fifth-placed Liverpool, who have rendering possession too easily. Sanchez scored Elmohamady and the Egyptian’s cross was head- only three matches remaining and a vastly inferi- in the league and FA Cup meetings with Hull this ed down and into the net by Quinn for his first or goal difference to the Gunners, and effectively season and the Chile winger was the first Arsenal league goal since March 2013.