Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1029140
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 SEPTEMBER 2018 22 SPORTS FOOTBALL THE 53-year-old Ivan Gazid- is, who helped appoint Unai Emery in May as Arsene Wenger's successor as man- ager, is changing sides and will start on his new role at Milan by the end of next month. Gazidis said that the deci- sion to leave after 10 years at the Gunners was "the hardest of my life". "Change and succession is not only inevitable for a club like Arsenal – it is neces- sary," he said. Raul Sanllehi, who was head of football relations at Arse- nal has been appointed head of football. Meanwhile Vinai Venkate- sham is now moving from chief commercial officer to managing director. Arsenal chief executive leaves club to join AC Milan Ivan Gazidis moves to join Italian club AC Milan Can Juventus lift the UEFA Champions League cup? Since last winning the competition in 1996, few clubs have endured Champions League heartbreak like Juventus IN the two years after that pen- alty shootout victory against Ajax, The Old Lady went on to lose successive finals against Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid. Its luck hasn't changed in the intervening two decades, losing three further finals (2003, 2015, 2017) to reach an unwanted tally of five consecutive final defeats. The run has left Juventus fans wondering if they'll ever see their team lift that famous trophy again, while the feeling persists that the Bianconeri have undera- chieved in Europe's top competi- tion. Now, the pressure of trying to break this wretched run has seemingly fallen almost entirely on the shoulders of Juve's new superstar: Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward last season helped Real Madrid to an unprecedented third consecutive Champions League win, taking his total tally to five. If there is one player with the big-game experience and match- winning ability to take an already star-studded Juve side one step further, it's Ronaldo. The 33-year-old directly con- tributed to half of Real Madrid's Champions League goals be- tween 2009-10 and 2017-18, coming top of the goalscorer charts in each of the last six sea- sons.