^ ^ Wesley Sneijder makes astonishing Arsenal vs PSG prediction for Champions League final

Sneijder believes the Gunners can spring a surprise, however (Picture: Getty)

Wesley Sneijder believes Arsenal could lose 4-0 in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.

The Gunners booked their place in the final last week against Atletico Madrid and are chasing a magnificent double under Mikel Arteta with the Premier League title within their grasp.

But they come up against perhaps the most dangerous side in European football in defending champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Their semi-final with Bayern Munich demonstrated the extent of their strengths, putting on a show of scintillating football in a thrilling 5-4 victory in the first leg before shutting down the opposition with a resilient rearguard performance away in Germany in the second.  

The French champions recorded the biggest ever final victory when they trounced Inter Milan 5-0 last year.

Sniejder, who won the competition with Inter in 2010, believes Arsenal’s full-backs will be key on the night, believing the presence of Jurrien Timber will be vital if the Dutchman can recover from injury in time.

While not ruling out an ‘ugly’ win for the Premier League side, the former Netherlands international believes Luis Enrique’s men can run riot in Budapest.

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PSG ran riot in last season’s final (Picture: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

‘If I have to say who I think will win, I’d say PSG. But Arsenal are not conceding goals easily. They have a very strong defence with the two central defenders with top quality,’ Sneijder told Hard Rock Bet.

‘I don’t believe the full-backs are the best players in the Champions League, and that’s where PSG have power, especially on the left side.

‘Everybody with an Arsenal heart hopes Justin Timber will be back and recover for the final. Otherwise, it’s going to be very hard for them. But Arsenal also know how to double up, with Declan Rice dropping back into defence.

Jurriën Timber has missed the last 12 games (Picture: Getty Images)

‘It’s going to be an interesting one. I think it could be similar to the Inter Milan final last year. I believe it could be [5-0]. Before the game, I thought PSG had the advantage but Inter with a strong defence, and with the way they play on the counterattacks. 

‘Maybe it can be [an upset] and 1-0 to Inter but it could also be a very hard night for Inter as well and it’s the same feeling I have now [for Arsenal]. It can be ugly, 1-0 to Arsenal, and I don’t say ugly in a bad way because to stop PSG scoring is a huge performance. But that’s really hard.

‘If Arsenal manage it and win 1-0, then it’s a great job. But I believe it will be very hard not to concede against PSG. So, it can either be 3-0 or 4-0 to PSG, or 1-0 Arsenal.’

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^ ^ Paul Scholes names Arsenal star who ‘suits’ playing right-back as injury crisis looms

Scholes compared it to one of his old teammates taking up a similar role (Picture: Getty Images)

Paul Scholes believes Declan Rice is ‘suited’ to playing at right-back with Arsenal facing an injury crisis in that position for the final weeks of the season.

Arsenal have been without Jurrien Timber since mid-March with Ben White deputising again on Sunday in the Premier League clash with West Ham United.

When the England international was forced off with a knee injury, Mikel Arteta called upon Martin Zubimendi from the bench, moving Rice from his midfield role to right-back.

Rice did help his side keep a clean sheet with the Gunners taking a huge step towards title glory but the positional change left Arsenal vulnerable on the transition with West Ham getting back into the game after the change.

Arteta made more changes at half-time with Cristhian Mosquera coming in at right-back with Rice returning to a more familiar role.

Rice did play the full 90 minutes at right-back against Brighton in December, excelling in that role that afternoon.

With concern for White and no indication if Timber will be back for the final weeks of the Premier League season and the Champions League final, Arteta may have to consider more emergency options.

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Rice dropped into a right-back role against his old side (Picture: Getty Images)

Speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, Scholes and Nicky Butt recalled how Roy Keane filled in at the back during his second season at the club with the former agreeing Rice can do a similar job.

‘Roy Keane played right-back for two thirds of a season,’ Butt said.

White was forced off in the first-half against West Ham (Picture: Getty)

Scholes replied: ‘He played there loads because United had Bryan Robson and Paul Ince.

‘Roy played there loads and was brilliant. Declan Rice looks like he would suit playing at right-back to me. He can play there. He’s not a big creator anyway.’

With Timber missing his side’s last 12 games, White could also be set for a spell on the sidelines with Arteta admitting it ‘doesn’t look good at all.’

It leaves Arteta with a problem at right-back although Mosquera has proved reliable when shifted out wide this season.

Arsenal return to action at home to Burnley on Monday night.

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^ ^ Roberto De Zerbi blames Arsenal game for Spurs vs Leeds referee not being ‘calm’

Roberto De Zerbi has accused someone else of not being calm (Picture: Getty Images)

Roberto De Zerbi felt the referee in Tottenham’s draw with Leeds was ‘not calm’ and he reckons Arsenal’s win at West Ham could be to blame.

Spurs continued their battle against relegation when they hosted Leeds on Monday night and that fight will continue after a 1-1 draw with the Yorkshire side.

Mathys Tel scored a fantastic opener for the home team early in the second half, only to give away a penalty which Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored on 74 minutes.

There were nervy moments late on as Leeds pushed for a winner, with goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky pulling off a stunning save from Sean Longstaff, but the match ended level.

Spurs also had hopes of a late winner, especially when substitute James Maddison went down after a challenge in the penalty area from Lukas Nmecha.

It was only slight, but it seemed the Leeds forward did get a touch on the ball and nothing was given.

After seeing a penalty given against his side and not one for, De Zerbi offered an unusual assessment of the match officials, suggesting they lacked calmness after the drama of Arsenal’s win at West Ham on Sunday.

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Jarred Gillett gave Leeds a penalty after a VAR review (Picture: Getty Images)

The Gunners picked up a huge three points, partly thanks to a late Hammers goal being ruled out after a VAR intervention.

On the match officials’ performance on Monday night, De Zerbi said: ‘I think they were not calm today, maybe they suffered the pressure of yesterday’s Arsenal game.

‘For sure we suffered the pressure today. We didn’t play with passion with the ball, too frenetic but also the referee was not calm today.’

James Maddison thought he had won a penalty late on (Picture: Getty Images)

He added on Callum Wilson’s ruled out goal against Arsenal: ‘I can’t understand the polemic about yesterday’s VAR because it was 200 per cent a foul, not 100 per cent, 200 per cent.’

With two games to play, Tottenham are 17th, two points and one place clear of West Ham. They also have a significantly better goal difference than their London rivals, which could prove pivotal.

The Spurs boss thought his team deserved to beat Leeds on Monday, but admitted they were not at the top of their game.

‘We didn’t play a great game – we played a good game,’ he said.

Tottenham have their Premier League fate in their own hands (Picture: Getty Images)

‘I think we deserved to win anyway but maybe the pressure, the crucial game, the crucial part of the season, we suffered too much.

‘Anyway I am happy because I watched my players with the right spirit, with the right mentality.

‘We made too many mistakes. If we want to win we have to reduce the mistakes, but we knew before this game it will be tough until the end of the season, until the last game. It is tough for us and tough for everyone.’

West Ham go to Newcastle on Sunday evening and can leapfrog Tottenham with a victory, although anything less and Spurs can put the relegation battle to bed before the final weekend of the season.

Tottenham go to Chelsea on the evening of Tuesday May 19.

The final day of the campaign sees Spurs host Everton and West Ham face Leeds in east London.

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^ ^ Strasbourg manager Gary O’Neil slams Chelsea owners and his own players

Gary O’Neil has been in charge of Strasbourg since January (Picture: Getty Images)

Gary O’Neil is cutting a frustrated figure a Strasbourg manager, saying he is ‘angry’ with his players and telling club owners they ‘messed up’ in the January transfer window.

O’Neil moved to France in January, replacing Liam Rosenior as Strasbourg boss as he left for Chelsea, a job he has already been dismissed from.

It was a good start for the former Bournemouth and Wolves boss in France, but it has tailed off and his team have struggled for results of late.

He has not masked his feelings, telling the board that he needs to sign two strikers in the summer and that they got it wrong in January by not strengthening.

Strasbourg are owned by BlueCo, the same company that owns Chelsea, that is fronted by Todd Boehly.

‘We really need to work hard this summer to be better. We’ve already had meetings about recruitment,’ O’Neil said, via L’Equipe.

‘I need two strikers. The owners want to give me the resources to perform next season. But we also need to improve the club culture, the quality of the players, and the squad depth.

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O’Neil has called for investment in the summer (Picture: Getty Images)

‘We messed up in January, during the transfer window. We weakened ourselves instead of strengthening the team.’

O’Neil’s frustrations have been simmering and boiled over after the 1-1 draw with Angers on Sunday when he had a pop at his players.

‘We didn’t do enough to win, we didn’t have the quality for it. We got what we deserved. Monaco lost and we had the opportunity to close the gap on them. We blew it,’ he said.

President Marc Keller unveiled Gary O’Neil as manager (Picture: Getty Images)

‘It’s kind of a symbol of our season. We can do so much better. I’m angry. I hope the players are too. There are two games left and they have to show me they’re good enough to play with us next year. But with a performance like tonight, we won’t achieve anything playing like that.

‘They disappointed me so much, even more than on Thursday. They have to do better. Football is a shark tank, they need to realize that. I told them we were playing a Cup final and we really didn’t play the way we should have.’

BlueCo have a big decision to make in London in the near future, with a permanent Chelsea boss needing to be appointed.

Xabi Alonso is favourite to be the next Chelsea manager (Picture: Getty Images)

The bookmakers make Xabi Alonso the favourite to be the next permanent Blues manager, ahead of former Chelsea full-back Filipe Luis and Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola.

Calum McFarlane remains in charge until the end of the season but is finding it tough, with Chelsea slipping to ninth in the Premier League table.

With an FA Cup final against Manchester City to come and just two more league matches, there is the very real possibility that Chelsea could not be playing in Europe next season.

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