Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/283655
23 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 26 MARCH 2014 Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Partly cloudy with variable amounts of high clouds becoming rather cloudy in the afternoon, with the possibility of some light showers at times in the evening VISIBILITY: Generally good. WIND: West Northwest force 4 to 5 locally force 5 to 6 at times, backing Southerly during the day and becoming South to Southwest force 5 or 6 locally force 6 to 7 in the evening. Sea Temp: 15 °C A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 White to play and mate in four moves A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Last week's solution Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. PARTLY CLOUDY 18 º C / 10 º C UV INDEX: 4 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits g6+ Kf8 d8=Q+ Qe8+ Ne6+ Nxe6 Qf6+ Qf7 Qxf7# TO say that Arsene Wenger's 1000th game in charge did not go to plan would be the understatement of the millennium. A 6-0 thumping at Stam- ford Bridge cut deep and the red card only served to pour salt into the open wound. Arsenal took the Premier League by storm this season and as usual all their hard work got unraveled towards the end of the season. It's the same old story, same old Arsenal, and after a thousand games in charge, frankly we are getting tired of the run of the mill. Needless to say Arsene Wenger is arguably one of the best managers we have seen in the Premier League era and the fact that he is now the long- est serving manager is a testament to that. We all grew to love Wenger and his invincibles and his early signings made the Premier League shine. In his era he brought the likes if Den- nis Bergkamp, Marc Overmars and perhaps the most memorable Thi- erry Henry to the Premier League. Under his guidance Arsenal evolved into a double winning team, however his disinterest in English footballers raised a few eyebrows. With the deterioration of the Ar- senal invincibles came the slow and steady decline of Arsenal FC. No doubt we still see them feature in the Champions League however the fact that no trophy has been won in nine seasons has now raised the other eye- brows. Fans are now desperate for a trophy, yet their currently philoso- phy will not see them get one. Many applauded Wenger before his 1000th game against Chelsea, however those applauses were far and few between after the mauling. Going against the run of the norm, Wenger's transfer policy changed from the last few seasons as Mesut Ozil was brought in from Real Madrid in one of the summer's most exciting deals and he was an instant hit at the Emirates. Fans felt he was the glue that could patch that midfield together and that with his experience Arsenal would go all the way this year. He started off as brightly as the whole team did how- ever in typical Arsenal fashion faded as the months dragged on. In an ever-competitive league it is hard to see when Arsenal will at last be crowned Champions again. As the rich get richer I wonder if they can keep up with the likes of Chel- sea and City in the financial leagues. Those two clubs seem to have endless amounts of money and with them fa- vorites this season I wonder how long it will be till the likes of Arsenal (or indeed any smaller club) will win the Premier League. Hand of Ox Perhaps the most remarkable ele- ment of Saturday's early kick off was not the final score but the controversy surrounding Alex Oxlade-Chamber- lain, or as Andre Marriner calls him: Kieran Gibbs. As Chelsea looked to stretch their league the Ox produced a stunning save to force a corner, and yes you read right: something is wrong with that sentence. Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain threw himself in a spec- tacular dive any goalkeeper would be proud of in order to block a shot which was seemingly going wide anyways. The result: a penalty and a red card for Kieran Gibbs. Again, nothing wrong there according to Andre Marriner. In a case of mistaken identity the referee saw fit to send off the wrong Arsenal player, despite Oxlade-Chamberlain admitting to him that he was indeed the culprit. The doors of debate were blasted open faster than a pair of floppy sa- loon doors. First question: should he have seen red if the ball was travelling wide? Secondly, how on Earth did the referee manage to send the innocent Gibbs off? Replays show you that the ball is go- ing wide, however as Mourinho put it simply: the rules have not changed, wide or not wide no player has the right to throw his hands at the ball anywhere on the pitch. Arsenal fans arguing otherwise on the phone-ins afterwards must have had a few too many: six, to be precise. As for the referee, replays again show you he was well-positioned and what they also reveal is that he was never even going to blow the whistle un- til harassed by the men in Blue. This suggests that he himself did not see the incident clearly, in which case no foul or penalty should have been given in the first place. The linesman kept his flag down, so a corner would have been logical according to the officials. Thankfully the Chelsea players bought a decision from him as a hand- ball like that should not go unnoticed. Many once more look to the technol- ogy argument; however once more I do believe that having two more as- sistants on the goal line would help, as proved in European competitions. The penalty was indeed given and converted and somehow the Premier League will not be suspending Andre Marriner for his error in sending off the wrong player. An automatic ap- peal will go through and it does look as though Kieran Gibbs will be able to play next weekend. OPINION Mark Strijbosch A messy millennium Across 1. Style of painting (13) 8. Member of a senate (7) 10. Medley (7) 12. Continent (6) 13. In good spirits (8) 15. Something that pollutes (9) 18. Bring about (5) 21. Refined iron (5) 22. Luxurious car (9) 27. Away from the shore (8) 29. Cosmetics (4-2) 30. Drape (7) 31. Companion of Aeneas (7) 33. Inhabitant of Pennsylvania (13) Down 2. Dog of mixed breed (7) 3. Long-tailed rodent (3) 4. Speaks publicly (6) 5. Employees (5) 6. Dormant state (6) 7. Goalkeeper (6) 9. Salt of oleic acid (6) 11. Scrutinize (4) 14. Harvests (5) 16. Not in (3) 17. City in West Yorkshire (5) 19. Transgression (3) 20. Vast (6) 21. Caress (6) 23. Notion (4) 24. Sluggishness (7) 25. Uncover (6) 26. Mimics (6) 28. Physical power (5) 32. Female fowl (3) Arsene Wenger's 1000th match as manager of Arsenal was a nightmare