Sports

EPL: Arsenal Begin Season on Winning Note, Beat Palace 2-0

Published

3 years ago

August 5, 2022

Eric

Arsenal opened the Premier League season with a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace on Friday, thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s first-half header and Marc Guehi own goal at Selhurst Park.

The Gunners avoided a repeat of their 2-0 defeat at Brentford on the opening night of last year’s season for a perfect start as they aim to reach the Champions League for the first time in seven years.

Arsenal ensured there was no repeat of their disastrous start to last season as Mikel Arteta’s men saw off Crystal Palace to open the 30th season of the Premier League.

The Gunners were beaten 2-0 at Brentford on the opening night of last year’s season, which triggered their worst start to a league campaign for 67 years.

But they backed up their blistering pre-season form as Gabriel Martinelli’s first-half header and a late Marc Guehi own goal made amends for a 3-0 defeat at Selhurst Park in April.

That defeat sparked a run of five defeats in the final 10 games of the season to cost Arsenal a place in the Premier League top four for a sixth straight year.

But the board has kept faith with Arteta and backed the Spaniard with over £100 million to spend in the transfer market.

Gabriel Jesus’ arrival to fill the need for a centre-forward has been Arsenal’s marquee signing of the summer and the Brazilian nearly marked his debut in style after just four minutes.

Jesus slalomed through the centre of the Palace defence and when his initial effort was blocked, Martinelli should have done better than slot the rebound wide of the target.

The visitors were utterly dominant in the opening quarter, but it took a set-piece to make the breakthrough.

Another debutant Oleksandr Zinchenko nodded a corner back across goal and Martinelli’s header had just enough power to beat Vicente Guaita.

Palace had suffered a far more problematic pre-season with a number of key players left at home during a tour of Australia due to their coronavirus vaccination status.

The Eagles took half an hour to find their feet, but will be disappointed not to have at least taken a point once they got to the tempo of the game.

Arsenal were guilty of causing their own problems in raising the Palace fans from their slumber as a clearance from Aaron Ramsdale was charged down and fortunately for the England goalkeeper rebounded to one of his own defenders.

Ramsdale made amends before the break with a fine stop to deny Odsonne Edouard’s header levelling before the French striker had another effort deflected inches over the bar.

Palace penned Arteta’s men back in the second period, but again failed to take their chances when they came along.

Eberechi Eze was the most guilty as he fired tamely into Ramsdale’s body with just the Arsenal number one to beat.

Arsenal had barely even threatened on the counter-attack in the second half, but got lucky to give themselves breathing space for the final five minutes.

Bukayo Saka’s driven cross caught his England teammate Guehi off guard as the Palace centre-back’s header flew into his own net.

Sports

Anthony Joshua Defeats Jake Paul in Sixth-round Knockout

Published

10 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Eric

Former heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, delivered a dominant performance on Saturday morning, stopping YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul with a sixth-round knockout in their heavyweight bout in Miami.

Although Paul exceeded expectations by lasting beyond the early rounds, Joshua’s superior power and experience proved decisive, according to The Athletic.

The British boxer dropped Paul twice during a chaotic fifth round, setting the stage for the finish.

Joshua sealed the victory in the sixth round, unleashing a sustained combination of heavy punches that left Paul unable to continue, prompting the referee to halt the contest.

Speaking after the fight, Joshua turned his attention to longtime rival Tyson Fury, challenging him to step into the ring.

“Put down (your) Twitter fingers and put on some gloves and come and fight me,” he said.

Paul, who later revealed he suffered a broken jaw in the bout, declined to name a future opponent.

Instead, the boxer said he would take a break from boxing following the loss, which marked the second defeat of his professional career.

Paul, who is ranked as the No. 14 cruiserweight with the WBA, has defeated back-to-back former boxing world champions.

He comfortably beat a 58-year-old Mike Tyson in November 2024 on Netflix’s boxing debut and most recently outpointed a 39-year-old Julio Cesar Chávez Jr. this past June.

Sports

FirstBank Elephant Girls Win in Zone 3, Qualify for WBLA Final Round

Published

2 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

Eric

FirstBank Basketball Club of Nigeria, popularly known as the “Elephant Girls”, have secured their spot in the final round of the Women’s Basketball League Africa (WBLA), scheduled to hold in Cairo, Egypt from 5-14 December 2025.

The Elephant Girls put up a commanding performance at the FIBA Africa Zone 3 Qualifiers in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, winning all three games. Representing Nigeria as the country’s sole team in the tournament, they overcame fierce competition from Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Benin Republic, Ghana, and Togo in the Zone. Their undefeated run included a 66–55 upset against home favourites CSA of Côte d’Ivoire and a thrilling 63–59 comeback win against FBA of Côte d’Ivoire, after trailing by 20 points in the second quarter.

The remarkable performance, marked by resilience, discipline skill, and mental strength, earned the team a triumphant return to continental basketball after a six-year absence. Emerging as champions of Zone 3 and the only English-speaking team to advance, the Elephant Girls have reaffirmed FirstBank’s long-standing commitment to promoting women’s sports in Nigeria and across Africa.

Speaking on the qualification, FirstBank’s Group Head, Human Capital Management and Development and Chairman of the Sports Council, Olumuyiwa Olulaja, said: “We are incredibly proud of the Elephant Girls for their outstanding performance. They have once again shown the world the strength, resilience, and excellence that define FirstBank.

“At FirstBank, we are committed to continuing our support for sports in Nigeria and Africa, and this victory is a significant step forward in our mission to promote excellence in sports on the continental and global stage,” he added.

The Elephant Girls had advanced to represent Nigeria at the WBLA Qualifiers for FIBA Africa Zone 3, following an impressive Silver Medal finish at the Zenith Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) Women’s Premier League.

With their place secured in Cairo, the Elephant Girls are poised to showcase their talent on the continental stage once again, carrying the pride of Nigeria and the FirstBank brand as they aim to make history in the Final Round of the Women’s Basketball League Africa.

Sports

Morocco’s Hakimi Wins Africa Football Player of the Year Award

Published

1 month ago

November 20, 2025

Eric

Morocco and PSG defender Achraf Hakimi has been crowned the Confederation of African Football Men’s Player of the Year Award for 2025, edging out finalists Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool) and Victor Osimhen (Nigeria/Galatasaray).

The announcement came on Wednesday during the glittering CAF Awards ceremony in Rabat, Morocco, where Hakimi, the Paris Saint-Germain right-back, was the only finalist in attendance, adding to the electric atmosphere.

This marks a historic breakthrough for Hakimi, after finishing as runner-up in both 2023 and 2024 (behind Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, respectively), the 27-year-old has finally claimed Africa’s top individual football honour.

It’s also the first win for a Moroccan since Mustapha Hadji in 1998, and only the fourth for a defender in the award’s modern history.