ARSENE WENGER BOYS ON THE TOUCHLINE 🔥

 

COVENTRY CLINCH PROMOTION TO END 25-YEAR PREMIER LEAGUE EXILE

Coventry secured promotion to the Premier League on Friday as the Championship leaders' 1-1 draw against Blackburn ended their 25-year exile from the top-flight.

Coventry promoted to Premier League© X (Formerly Twitter)

Coventry secured promotion to the Premier League on Friday as the Championship leaders' 1-1 draw against Blackburn ended their 25-year exile from the top-flight. Frank Lampard's side needed a point from their trip to Ewood Park to be certain of automatic promotion. They did it the hard way, trailing to Ryoya Morishita's deflected 54th-minute strike before Bobby Thomas headed the priceless equaliser in the 84th minute. Having led the Championship table for much of the season, the Sky Blues have wrapped up their return to English football's elite with three games to spare.

"It was an incredible moment. This is what it's about," a tearful Lampard said in an emotional post-match interview.

"Coming here and getting a point at this stage isn't easy. We had to see it out and we didn't know whether to attack again.

"Doing this after 25 years? Wow! Wow!"

Backed by 7,500 raucous fans crammed into the Darwen End, Coventry were below their best for long periods of a nervous display.

But their performance will quickly be forgotten, replaced by life-long memories of the promotion party that followed Thomas' glancing header from Victor Torp's free-kick.

Supporters wept tears of joy when the final whistle announced their ascent to the Premier League.

"Amazing, amazing. I couldn't believe it when it went in," Thomas said. "It's been a hell of a season. I feel like we deserve it."

Now Lampard's men can set their sights on winning the Championship title, with second-placed Ipswich 11 points behind with five matches to play.

"This is a serious, serious football club. I grew up with them as a top flight club but I didn't realise," Lampard said.

"To go and get promotion automatically as a non-parachute team with three games to go. These boys have managed to achieve something special and unique."

Fittingly, Coventry's previous promotion to the top-flight in 1967 was also sealed at Blackburn when Rovers drew with Bolton.

That was the start of a 34-year spell in the top tier before relegation in 2001 sparked a steep decline.

Coventry plunged into the fourth tier for one season in 2017-18 and were even forced to play their home games in Northampton and Birmingham for three seasons due to a bitter legal battle between the club and their stadium's owners.

The 1987 FA Cup winners' rise back to prominence was initially piloted by Mark Robins, whose second spell in charge brought promotion from League Two and League One.

Losing the 2023 Championship play-off final against Luton stalled Coventry's momentum and eventually led to Robins' dismissal in 2024.

Hiring former England star Lampard as Robins' replacement proved an inspired move as he revived his career following sackings by Chelsea and Everton.

Lampard led Coventry away from the relegation zone in his first season before losing to Sunderland in the play-off semi-finals.

Fuelled by the pain of that near-miss, Coventry embarked on a relentless march to promotion.

A 7-1 demolition of QPR and a 5-3 win at Lampard's former club Derby in August established Coventry as the Championship's dominant force.

Jack Rudoni's assured presence in midfield, complemented by the goals of Haji Wright, Ellis Simms and Brandon Thomas-Asante, kept Coventry top of the pile as the promotion dream came true.

The Sky Blues' success has also reinvigorated the midlands city, according to Coventry's Lord Mayor Rachel Lancaster.

"It's huge for Coventry football club and the fans, but for Coventry itself as a city, this has been massive," she said.

Coventry owner Doug King added: "The fans have been starved of it for a long time and you can feel it.

"Twenty-five years is a huge amount of time. If you don't bounce back you feel like it's never going to happen.

"Getting out of this league is very difficult but we did it. We got the whole city together. I'm super proud of everybody."

- Agence-France Presse

MOTD | MANCHESTER CITY 5-1 LUTON | POST MATCH ANALYSIS

 

MIKEL ARTETA REACTS TO ARSENAL WIN VS. LUTON TOWN

Getty

 Arsenal reclaimed first place in the Premier League on Wednesday with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Luton Town at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners leapfrogged Liverpool for the top spot in the standings, if only briefly as the Reds will face cellar dwellars Sheffield United on Thursday.

Regardless, Arsenal rode a dominant first half to victory, cruising through the second half as Luton provided little trouble. With it being a midweek match, Mikel Arteta rotated many lesser used players into the lineup, with the likes of Thomas Partey, Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe earning rare starts.

Arteta was pleased with the way his new-look team responded, putting in a professional performance and keeping another clean sheet for the league's stingiest defence.

"We managed to rotate and freshen the team up a bit," the Arsenal boss told BBC Match of the Day. "Those who came in did really, really well.

"We scored two very good goals and in the second half, credit to Luton they are a really good side and difficult to play against but overall [we earned] a win and another clean sheet and in a couple of days we play again."

Arteta singled out the squad players for the job they did on Wednesday, stressing the importance of having a strong bench during a crowded part of the schedule.

"To have a squad they have to play," he said. "We have to make those decisions. The contribution they make to the team was very good.

"Now we recover and go again because we have Brighton away [on Saturday]."

LUTON VS. MANCHESTER UNITED | TALE OF THE TAPE

 

NEWCASTLE 4-4 LUTON | POST MATCH ANALYSIS

MOTD | CHELSEA VS. LUTON | POST MATCH ANALYSIS

 

THIS IS WHAT WINNERS DO! | STEVE NICOL REACS TO ARSENAL WIN VS. LUTON | ESPN FC

ARSENAL 4-3 LUTON | POST MATCH ANALYSIS

 

ARSENAL MOVE 5 POINTS CLEAR IN PREMIER LEAGUE AFTER LAST-GAP WIN BUT RAYA'S FORM REMAINS A CONCERN

AP Photo

As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya sprinted the length of the field to celebrate the last-gasp winner with his jubilant teammates.

No player will have been more relieved than Raya to see Declan Rice's glancing header creep into the corner and seal a chaotic 4-3 victory over Luton in the Premier League on Tuesday.

While Rice is proving value for money after his club-record signing in July, Raya — another offseason recruit — remains an issue for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta as the team bids to win the league title after last season's near miss.

Arsenal moved five points clear with its fourth straight victory in the league, overcoming errors from Raya that led to two goals for Luton by netting in the seventh minute of stoppage time through Rice at Kenilworth Road.

“The spirit of the team — how we fought, showed our quality in the right moments and never gave up,” Arteta said. “We went for it and got our rewards.”

Arteta chose not to talk about the mistakes by Raya, which looked like they'd be costly for Arsenal.

The team was leading 2-1 in the 49th minute when the Spanish goalkeeper was beaten in the air at a corner by Elijah Adebayo, who powered in a header for an equalizer.

Eight minutes later, Raya allowed a shot by Ross Barkley to go under his body as he dived to his left.

Luton, a promoted team likely to be battling relegation this season, was suddenly 3-2 ahead and Raya didn't know where to look.

RICE SCORES LATE WINNER FOR ARSENAL IN 4-3 VICTORY OVER LUTON IN PREMIER LEAGUE AFTER RAYA'S ERRORS

AP Photo 

LUTON, England (AP) — Declan Rice scored in the seventh minute of stoppage time to earn Premier League leader Arsenal a wild 4-3 win over Luton and spare the blushes of teammate David Raya on Tuesday.

Raya made errors that led to two goals for Luton, leaving Arsenal on the cusp of dropping two points at Kenilworth Road.

However, with the clock having run past the six allotted minutes of stoppage time, Rice got on the end of Martin Odegaard's cross and glanced a header into the bottom corner for a victory that lifted Arsenal five points clear of second-place Liverpool.

“Those are the moments you look back on,” Rice said. "What a game — to score the winner is an honor.”

Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus scored either side of Gabriel Osho’s equalizer for Luton as Arsenal led 2-1 at halftime, with Mikel Arteta’s team going in search of a fourth straight victory in the Premier League and sixth in a row in all competitions.

Then came Raya's mistakes.

LUTON 3-4 ARSENAL | PREMIER LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS

 

MOTD MANCHESTER UNITED VS LUTON | POST MATCH ANALYSIS

MANCHESTER UNITED VS. LUTON TOWN | HIGHLIGHTS

MOTD LIVERPOOL 1-1 LUTON | POST MATCH ANALYSIS

LIVERPOOL 1-1 LUTON | POST MATCH ANALYSIS

WEST HAM VS. LUTON | POST MATCH ANALYSIS

 

LUTON 3-2 GILLINGHAM | CARABAO CUP 2023

CHELSEA 3-0 LUTON | POST MATCH ANALYSIS

BRIGHTON 4-1 LUTON