Inghilterra

 

Arsenal

Arsenal surprisingly overcomes Manchester and wins the Premiership

 

The most part of the English Clubs spend millions in order to sign the refuses of the Italian League but suddenly, as soon as they get inattentive, some old cunning team re-emerges and wins the Championship.
Alex Fergusonís Manchester Utd got deluded too early. After defeating Juventus in Champions League, they probably didnít think that Monaco and Arsenal would be able to overcome them, both in Europe and in England.
As it seems the French idiom doesnít fit Manchester very well.
After being eliminated from the Champions League by Monaco, the ìGunnersî gave up also the English Title to Arsenal, coached by the French (and former Monacoís coach) Arsene Wenger (first foreign coach to win the Title in England).
Last season was thought to be another triumphal season for Manchester since all its contenders looked unable to keep its pace. (From Roy Hodgsonís Blackburn Rovers to Gullitís and Vialliís Chelsea, from Liverpool to Newcastle).
The black and white team of Kenny Daglish even risked to be relegated to the second division, after qualifying for the Champions League the previous year.
Only the Arsenal of Wenger didnít quit and won as many as 15 games over the last 17 weeks, achieving its 11th Title ever by defeating Everton (4-0).
Actually Wenger didnít have any other option but winning after pushing its Club to spend as many as 50 thousand millions of Italian Lira to upgrade his team.
Wenger shaped Arsenal according to his beliefs and around 6 players coming from his own Country.
He arrived in 1996 after a disappointing stint in the J-League.
During his first season in England, Wenger experienced another bitter ending, when, after a very competitive final rush, Arsenal was overcome both by Manchester and by Newcastle, losing both the Title and the opportunity to play the Champions League.
This year though, Wenger got his revenge.
Even after losing its main striker Ian Wright because of an injury, Arsenal never quitted and Wenger launched two young forwards: Cristopher Wreh (22 years old) and Nicolas Anelka (19 years old).
The first one is a George Weahís pupil while the second one was stolen from Paris St. Germain thank to the Bosmanís sentence.
Another important pillar of last seasonís Arsenal was Dennis Bergkamp.
He still showed those up and down performances that basically ended his experience in Italy (with Inter), but his goals were enough for Arsenal to win the Title an for him to be named ìbest player of the yearî both by the Press and by his colleagues.
Also the defense did its bit.
David Seaman was the goalkeeper, Lee Dixon the right fullback, Nigel Winterburn the left fullback, Tony Adams and Martin Keown the central defenders. (The entire defense was made by English players in their thirties).
The promising Austrian goalkeeper Alex Manniger (just 20 years old) and the French Gilles Grimandi had a very few chances to show off.
The midfield was built around the lungs of Ray Palour and the feet of former Milanís Patrick Vieira.
Along with them, Emmanuel Petit, who emerged as a midfielder after spending his entire career as a defender.
The new position enabled him to play also in the World Cup.
A very important role (especially during the final sprint) was played by the Holland wing Marc Overmars, who showed in London the same talent he used to show with Ajax.
A few opportunities were given to David Platt, who eventually lost his starting role both with Arsenal and with the national team.

 

Top 11 of Arsenal champion

 

Player	role	nationality	date of birth
David Seaman	goalkeeper	inglese	10-9-1963
Lee Dixon	defender	inglese	17-3-1964
Tony Adams	defender	inglese	10-10-1966
Martin Keown	defender	inglese	24-7-1966
Nigel Winterburn	defender	inglese	11-12-1963
Ray Parlour	midfielder	inglese	7-3-1973
Patrick Vieira	midfielder	francese	26-6-1976
Emmanuel Petit	midfielder	francese	22-9-1970
Nicolas Anelka	forward	francese	14-3-1979
Dennis Bergkamp	forward	olandese	18-5-1969
Marc Overmars	forward	olandese	29-3-1973
Arsene Wenger	allenatore	francese	22-10-1949

 

Top 11 of season 1997-98

 

Player	role	nationality	date of birth	team
Peter Schmeichel	goalkeeper	danese	18-11 1963	Manchester United
Matt Elliott	defender	scozzese	1-11 1968	Leicester City
Rio Ferdinand	defender	inglese	7-11 1978	West Ham
Colin Hendry	defender	scozzese	7-12 1965	Blackburn Rovers
Stan Lazaridis	midfielder	australiano	16-8 1972	West Ham
David Beckham	midfielder	inglese	2-5 1975	Manchester United
Nick Butt	midfielder	inglese	21-1 1975	Manchester United
Neil Lennon	midfielder	nordirlandese	25-6 1971	Leicester City
Paolo Di Canio	midfielder	italiano	9-7 1968	Sheffield Wednesday
Dion Dublin	forward	inglese	22-4 1969	Coventry
Michael Owen	forward	inglese	14-12 1979	Liverpool
George Graham	coach	scozzese	30-11 1944	Leeds United

 

Final leaderboard of Premiership

 

Leaderboard	Points	g	v	n	p	gf	gs
ARSENAL (champion)	78	38	23	9	6	68	33
Manchester United	77	38	23	8	7	73	26
Liverpool	65	38	18	11	9	68	42
Chelsea	63	38	20	3	15	71	43
Leeds	59	38	17	8	13	57	46
Blackburn Rovers	58	38	16	10	12	56	51
Aston Villa	57	38	17	6	15	49	48
West Ham	56	38	16	8	14	56	57
Derby County	55	38	16	7	15	51	48
Leicester	53	38	13	14	11	51	41
Coventry	52	38	12	16	10	46	44
Southampton	48	38	14	6	18	50	55
Newcastle	44	38	11	11	16	35	44
Tottenham Hotspur	44	38	11	11	16	44	56
Wimbledon	44	38	10	14	14	34	46
Sheffield Wednesday	44	38	12	8	18	52	67
Everton	40	38	9	13	16	41	56
Bolton Wanderers	40	38	9	13	16	41	61
Barnsley	35	38	10	5	23	37	82
Crystal Palace	33	38	8	9	21	37	71

 

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