Gunners grab cup glory

Arsene Wenger's side were stunned by Hull, who scored twice inside the opening eight minutes, first through a reaction flick from James Chester before Curtis Davies cooly slotted home from a tight angle.

Santi Cazorla reduced the deficit soon after with a long-range free kick with Laurent Koscielny equalising 19 minutes from time before Ramsey claimed the cup in the closing moments.

Fabianski kept his regular cup berth between the posts, despite doubts over his future with the Emirates Stadium club, while Chester recovered from a hamstring injury in time to step into a new-look Hull back line.

Chester's inclusion proved to be an inspired decision from manager Steve Bruce as the defender stunned Arsenal fans into silence by breaking the deadlock in the fourth minute.

A low 20-yard strike by Huddlestone fizzed towards Chester's feet, and his touch in the centre of the penalty area was enough to send the ball beyond an outstretched Fabianski, finding its way in off the left-hand upright.

In the absence of cup-tied forward pairing Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic, it was Hull's defenders running riot in the opening stages.

Fabianski leapt to his left to keep out an Alex Bruce header, before fellow centre-back Davies rifled home from a tight angle, though question marks were raised over the positioning of the free-kick that led to the goal.

Another Alex Bruce header from a corner threatened to make it a defensive hat-trick for the underdogs, but Kieran Gibbs came to Arsenal's rescue on the goalline.

There was no let-up in the action, and Arsenal were right back in the tie in the 18th minute.

Cazorla curled a 25-yard free-kick into the top right-hand corner of the net - Hull keeper Allan McGregor wrong-footed by the Spaniard's stunning strike.

There was a nervous edge to the match after the break, and Giroud felt he should have been awarded a penalty in the 58th minute after having his shoulder held by Huddlestone.

Further penalty shouts followed as Jake Livermore appeared to handle from a Yaya Sanogo header and Cazorla was felled by Davies, but referee Lee Probert was unmoved by the appeals.

After looking the more likely to find the net in the second period, Arsenal finally pulled level, Koscielny turning the ball in from close range in the aftermath of a contentious corner.

An unmarked Gibbs should have sealed the trophy for Arsenal in the 79th minute, but the full-back blazed over from close range when it appeared easier to score, and McGregor got down well to deny Giroud from 18 yards three minutes later.

Substitute Sanogo sent a strike whistling wide of the left-hand post before the end of 90 minutes, and Giroud rattled the crossbar in the opening stages of the additional period.

The match looked to be heading for penalties as the tempo of the game dropped, but Ramsey popped up to end nine years of hurt for Arsenal and Wenger, though Fabianski's late charge off the line had many a heart in mouth as Sone Aluko's effort drifted agonisingly across the face of goal.

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Atletico Madrid- Spanish champions

Atletico Madrid ground out a 1-1 draw at the Nou Camp to claim their first Primera Division title since 1996.
It was not always pretty, but Diego Godin's headed equaliser early in the second half was enough to deny Barca in a tense title decider.
The hosts had taken the lead with a stunning strike from Alexis Sanchez but it was a rare sight of goal for the hosts, with Lionel Messi cutting a frustrated figure and Atletico's defence standing firm.
Gerardo Martino sprung a surprise in his team selection with Barca's most decorated player Xavi Hernandez left out as Cesc Fabregas and Sergio Busquets started alongside Andres Iniesta, while Pedro Rodriguez was preferred to record signing Neymar.
Atletico started with former Barca man David Villa alongside Diego Costa, with Raul Garcia among the substitutes.
Tension was high from the start with Atleti making a bright start and Gerard Pique earning an early yellow card for fouling Koke.
Barca were having most of the ball but could not find a way to test Thibaut Courtois while Atletico's breaks looked dangerous as Jose Pinto was hesitant in goal.
Atletico's hopes suffered a huge blow in the 14th minute when Costa pulled up with a recurrence of his hamstring injury, leaving the pitch in tears with his chances of playing in the Champions League final in the balance.
It got even worse moments after when Arda Turan followed him off after taking a blow from Fabregas, and the wind was in Barca sails as Pedro headed a good chance over.
Alexis' wonder-strike put them ahead in the 34th minute, with the Chilean rifling a shot into the roof of the net from an acute angle before Courtois had a chance to move.
Atletico were in danger of losing their cool in the moments after as Godin and Tiago collected yellow cards in quick succession but they hung on until half-time without suffering further damage.
Diego Simeone worked some kind of magic in the dressing room and his side started the second half on fire, with Villa striking the post 45 seconds after the restart before Godin headed them level in the 48th minute, rising highest to power a header into the bottom corner of the goal.
Injuries then began to strike at Barca, with Busquets forced off. Alex Song was the man to replace him as Xavi remained on his seat, and a second substitution soon after saw Neymar replace the ineffective Pedro.
Messi hammered the ball into the roof of the net in the 64th minute but from a clearly offside position.
The Argentinian had another chance from a free-kick soon after following a wild swipe from Filipe Luis but blasted it into the wall.
Xavi came on to replace Fabregas with 12 minutes to go as Barca went into all-out attack mode, and Courtois palmed over a powerful Alexis strike as the game moved into the final 10 minutes.
Pinto did not seem to know much about his 83rd minute save from an Atletico corner but Barca survived, and the breathless action continued as Pique was demanding a penalty in vain after being eased over by Godin.
The tension levels rose but Barca could not find a way past the dogged Atletico defence, who huffed and puffed but never lost their heads as they played the ball out of trouble to frustrate their hosts.
Pinto raced up for a stoppage-time corner, but Atletico pumped the ball clear and seconds later their celebrations could begin.
Barcelona's fans stuck around to applaud, a fitting end to a pulsating title race.

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Saudi farmers reason for kissing camels

MERS is very scary. This week, while avoiding the term global health emergency, the World Health Organization announced that the deadly viral infection was both serious and urgent. So far, there have been 571 confirmed cases of MERS; 171 of those people died from the disease.
There's one place, however, where the mood about MERS isn't scaring everyone. It's also the place where the infection was first reported in 2012 and where almost 500 recorded cases have been found so far: Saudi Arabia.
And the skepticism about the virus has taken a strange turn in Saudi Arabia, where people have begun kissing camels in response to MERS.

“Do sneeze in my face,” the farmer says in above video clip, according to a translation from Gulf News. “They claim camels carry the coronavirus," he continues in the video, which has been watched over 11,000 times.
On Twitter, photographs of men kissing and stroking their camels have been accompanied with comments disparaging MERS:

 

It seems a strange protest, but there's something behind it. Earlier this week, the Saudi government began a campaign to stop people from eating raw camel meat and liver or drinking unpasteurized camel milk. Experts argue that Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS' full name) or traces of it have been found in a large proportion of the camels tested in Saudi Arabia, and antibodies from the virus have even been found in camel populations in Spain's Canary Islands, thousands of miles away. Camels may not be the main source of MERS (many experts point the finger at bats), but they certainly seem like one big possibility.
For some in Saudi Arabia, avoiding camels is not such an easy task. One study from 2008 found that there were almost 900,000 camels in Saudi Arabia alone, with almost 15 million across other Arab states. The animals are a source of income for a large number of people, and popular too. "Camels in the kingdom are like dairy cows, beef cows, racehorses, pulling horses, beloved Labradors, and living daily reminders of holy scripture, all in one," Cynthia Gorney wrote for the National Geographic this week, noting that camels are featured honorably in the Koran.
Partly due to this fondness for camels, and partly due to a perceived lack of transparency from the Saudi government about MERS, a lot of people aren't totally convinced by the warnings about camels. Reuters reported from a Saudi camel market on Sunday and noted that only one person was wearing a mask as recommended. Some farmers are pointing out they have worked with camels for decades with no ill health.
Whether it's transmitted via camel or not, MERS is still a worrying situation for Saudi Arabia. It's a coronavirus like SARS, which is believed to have infected 8,273 people and led to 775 deaths in 2002-2003, and while its hard to say for sure at present, MERS may well be deadlier than its predecessor. Given that millions of Muslims are expected to travel to Mecca this October for Hajj, even officials in Saudi Arabia are beginning to wonder if the country is doing enough.

- washingtonpost

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Robin van Van Persie expected to be Louis van Gaal's captain at United- skysports

Van Gaal led Netherlands' final training session before their friendly with Ecuador on Saturday, with the timescale on his highly-anticipated move to United no clearer.
The 62-year-old named van Persie as the permanent captain of the Dutch side 11 months ago and Kamperman expects the former Arsenal striker to succeed Inter Milan-bound Nemanja Vidic as United skipper.
"Yeah I think so because they do have a good relationship," Kamperman told Sky Sports News when asked if he thought van Persie would captain United next season.
"At the beginning when van Gaal took over as the head coach of the Dutch national team they had to find their position a little bit. But after that it went really well and van Persie was very positive about him.
"When van Persie was over here (in Holland) last month because of his injury they talked a lot about the World Cup and the way they like to play in Brazil. So yes he does have a very good relationship with him."
The Dutch squad have two days off after the Ecuador game before they fly to Portugal for a week-long training camp as they step up their World Cup preparations.
It is thought that van Gaal could travel to Manchester in that time to finalise his appointment as David Moyes' successor.
Initial reports at the beginning of the week suggested a deal would be done before that but Kamperman insisted nothing should be read into the delay.
"I don't know exactly of course (when a deal will be completed) but I think some details are still being arranged," he said. "I think he has an agreement but (talks are ongoing) about the staff and new players.
"It might take a couple of hours or a couple of days but it will be a done deal."

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