24 Football

Emirates Stadium is Arsenal’s new stadium, situated just five hundred yards from the old Highbury stadium. The new stadium sits in an area called Ashburton Grove, an industrial estate that was transformed into one of the best stadium complex in the UK.

The actual construction of Emirates Stadium began in February 2004. The estimated construction cost was set around £300 million, but the actual construction work was completed with a total spending of £390 million. Until today, improvements and other additions made the total investments put into the Emirates Stadium £490 million.

When the stadium was first opened in July 2006, everyone was excited. It was one of the most beautiful and carefully designed stadiums in the world, filled with modern features and tons of supporting amenities. The stadium itself has a seating capacity of 60,361 plus 152 executive suites.

The naming of this stadium originated from a sponsorship deal. In 2004, Emirates Airline signed a 15-year sponsorship deal worth £100 million, hence the name Emirates Stadium. Emirates Airline’s logo also appears in Arsenal’s shirt starting the 2006-07 season.

Although the stadium is officially known as the Emirates Stadium, many Arsenal supporters and fans still refer to the stadium as Ashburton Grove or simply “The Grove”. This stadium is noted as the second largest football club stadium, losing only to Manchester United’s Old Trafford.

A lot of historical moments – including Ajax’s Klaas-Jan Huntelaar becoming the first player to score a goal at the stadium and Thierry Henry scoring the first ever Arsenal goal during the opening match – are what make this stadium special.

When it comes to UK football, Ryan Giggs is certainly one of the most recognized players in the history of Premier League. Ever since Giggs started his professional career with Manchester United in 1990, the midfielder has banked a lot of awards and accomplishments. We are going to take a look at some of them right here in this article.

By the time the Premier League was formed in 1992, Giggs has already secured a firm position as a regular left winger for Manchester United. Until today, Giggs has played a total of 611 Premier League matches for Manchester United, scoring a staggering total of 110 goals in the process.

He is also the only Manchester United player who helped the team won all 11 Premier League trophies. Since Giggs stayed with Manchester United throughout his career, he also played in 11 successive UEFA Champions League seasons; to make it even better, Giggs is the only player in the world that scored in 11 successive seasons.

The list of accomplishments doesn’t stop there. In 2008, Ryan Giggs also helped Manchester United won the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup. The same year, Giggs acquired Honorary Master of Arts degree from Salford University for his contributions to football and charity work in developing countries.

In 2010, Giggs became the 22nd person to receive the Freedom of the City of Salford. He is only 2 matches away from matching David James’s record for most Premier League appearances as well, a record he will certainly break this season.

The 2010-11 Premier League seasons is certainly an interesting one for Newcastle United, especially since it is their first season back in the Premier League. Their current squad is not to be underestimated as well, with top players filling every position in the team.

Steve Harper is the final defense of Newcastle United, an experienced goalkeeper capable of blocking attacks from even the toughest strikers in the league. Tim Krul is also playing as a goalkeeper for the team, ready to take Harper’s position whenever necessary.

Filling the defense line, we have top players including Sol Campbell, Jose Enrique, and Tamas Kadar. With Campbell experiences in playing against the toughest teams in the Premier League, it is only natural to expect Newcastle United’s defensive players to be rock solid and hard to break.

Helping team strikers construct their attacks are Newcastle United’s midfielders. Team captain Kevin Nolan will be leading from the midfield, with Dan Gosling, Alan Smith, and other top midfielders assisting him every step of the way. Nolan’s ability to spot opportunities – and create them – will certainly help Newcastle survive their first season back in the Premier League.

Of course, intuitive strikers such as Peter Løvenkrands, Shola Amoebi, Nile Ranger, and Phil Airey will be the ones scoring goals for the team. They are all very capable in breaking through defense lines and turning opportunities into goals for the team.

Will this squad be good enough to help Newcastle United survive their first come-back to the Premier League? Only time will tell.

It is always interesting to discover the small trivial facts surrounding a football league, especially if the football league we are talking about is the Premier League. In this article, we are going to take a look at several interesting facts in the history of this British football league. Let’s get started, shall we?

Do you know that the professional football player who appeared in most Premier League matches is British? The player holding this particular record is David James, who played for top teams such as Liverpool and Manchester City during his time in the Premier League. David James appeared in a total of 573 Premier League appearances.

Ryan Giggs, currently still playing for Manchester United, is tailing James closely with a total of 571 Premier League appearances. Since Giggs is still playing in the Premier League, it is not impossible at all to see this Premier League legend claim the record for most Premier League appearances very soon.

Alan Shearer, on the other hand, is holding the record for most Premier League goals. He scored a total of 260 Premier League goals throughout his career. Andrew Cole, who scored 187 goals, is the second Premier League top scorer to date.

As for the most successful team in the history of Premier League, Manchester United is certainly the titleholder. Not only that Manchester United has never been thrown out of the top 3, the team also won a total of 11 Premier League trophies since the 1992-93 season.