SEPP BLATTER COMES BACK

   Meet Sepp Blatter. Still the most powerful man in the world's most popular game, scandal be damned.

You could also call the 79-year-old Swiss national a survivor, after he clung to his job as FIFA's president Friday. He won a fifth term despite a week marked by arrests, investigations in the United States and Switzerland and questions about whether he was the right man to rebuild the reputation of soccer's governing body.

It wasn't a slam dunk, and Blatter failed to get the required 140 votes in the first round of voting to prevail. (He got 133, compared to 73 for Jordan's Prince Ali bin al-Hussein.) But with the writing on the wall -- since Blatter would only need a simple majority of votes in the next round to win -- Prince Ali conceded.

"I take the responsibility to bring back FIFA," Blatter said, promising he would leave after his four-year term ends. "And I am convinced we can do it."

Just how did Blatter survive?He is a masterful political operator and his knack for getting off clean amid scandal -- or at least without being directly tied to wrongdoing in the soccer world -- is uncanny.

FA CUP FINAL 2015: LAWRO'S LOWDOWN ON ARSENAL VS ASTON VILLA

They could not buy a goal under previous boss Paul Lambert but, under Tim Sherwood, attacking has become Villa's strength.

Surely they will not want to just sit deep and wait for the Gunners to come at them, because I don't think they will hold out for long if they do.

The more men they commit forward, the more dangerous Villa look.

It is the same for Arsenal - we know Arsene Wenger loves to play expansive attacking football and hopefully both teams will go for it to give us an entertaining final.

Attack-wise, Arsenal look very strong. They also have a lot of competition for places, which is something you cannot have enough of.

Theo Walcott was played up front and down the middle in the Gunners' final Premier League game of the season against West Brom and scored a hat-trick.

But I would still stick with Olivier Giroud up front against Villa. He gives Arsenal a presence up front that none of their other players can offer and hold the ball up much better than Walcott could ever do.

I can see Walcott as playing as a central striker and sometimes on his own, but he is more suitable for that role in away league games, when Arsenal are seeing less of the ball.

They should have more possession than Villa on Saturday and, if Wenger goes with Giroud, he can pay different people off him - including Walcott.

I know Giroud gets criticised for missing chances but all strikers do that. People also say he is not an Arsenal-type of player but I don't think that is right.

He is exactly the sort of player they need, because he gives them something different.

People say Villa striker Christian Benteke is such a threat because he is so good in the air and can also score with his feet.

But the same can be said for Giroud. He might have missed a few chances in the Champions League against Monaco but, in the Premier League, he has scored more goals in fewer starts than Benteke.

 Benteke has scored 12 goals in his last 12 games for Villa after only managing three in his previous 21

The big Belgian striker is in good form and can obviously hurt any team. Arsenal are right to fear him.

But he will need service on Saturday - without it, he cannot hurt the Gunners.

Villa need to find some width and whip some crosses in for him but my worry is whether they will get enough possession in those areas to do that sort of damage.

Aston Villa - FA Cup final facts
Only George Ramsay (six with Aston Villa between 1887 and 1920) has won the FA Cup as a manager more times than Arsene Wenger.
Villa have played in the FA Cup final 10 times, winning seven, making them the fourth-most successful side in the competition (Tottenham have won eight finals).
Villa's last appearance in a final was in 2000 when they lost 1-0 to Chelsea. Villa last won the FA Cup in 1957.
Christian Benteke has scored three goals in his last three appearances against Arsenal.

They have threats from elsewhere, though. One of the biggest compliments I can pay Sherwood for the difference he has made since taking over is that stopping Villa is no longer just a case of stopping Benteke.

Tom Cleverley, Jack Grealish and Fabian Delph all look to get forward from midfield, and Gabriel Agbonlahor's fitness is also a big boost for them.

Including Benteke, Villa have five players who are good enough to win lots of games for them.

Whether they are good enough to beat Arsenal in the FA Cup final will depend on how much of the ball they have.

What would FA Cup defence mean for Arsenal?

 

 Wenger has lifted the FA Cup five times - in 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2014

  

Retaining the FA Cup would mean more than just winning another trophy for Arsenal and their manager Arsene Wenger.

It is a competition that Wenger has always valued - he won the 1998 FA Cup to complete the Double  in his first full season in English football.

Victory on Saturday would make him the first post-war manager to win the FA Cup six times but it would also give his side a real platform for more success to come.

The Gunners only finished third in the Premier League this season but they are getting better - they have improved since last year and Wenger has become more and more adventurous with his signings over the last 18 months or so.

If he is as ambitious again with the players he brings in this summer, then they will be a lot closer to the title next season.

WHO WILL WIN?

 

PREMIER LEAGUE

Premier League Fixtures

Sunday 24th May 2015

	BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Show last 5 matches and coverage	Fixture	Kick-off	Status
	ArsenalvWest Brom	15:00
	Aston VillavBurnley	15:00
	ChelseavSunderland	15:00
	Crystal PalacevSwansea	15:00
	EvertonvTottenham	15:00
	HullvMan Utd	15:00
	LeicestervQPR	15:00
	Man CityvSouthampton	15:00
	NewcastlevWest Ham	15:00
	StokevLiverpool	15:00

Please note: All times UK. Fixtures are subject to change.

Barcelona beat Atleti to secure La Liga title, Ronaldo hits hit trick vs. Espanyol

Lionel  second-half winner sealed the Primera Division title forBarcelona, who claimed a narrow 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon on Sunday.

The Catalan side dominated for the majority of the first half but took until the 65th minute to open the scoring and clinch the three points needed to seal their 23rd Spanish title with a game to go.

Barca had goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to thank for holding the hosts at bay as they held on in the second half, where efforts from Messi and Neymar could have doubled their margin of victory.

A Cristiano Ronaldo hat trick helped Real Madrid to an easy win against Espanyol.

A hat trick from Cristiano Ronaldo in a 4-1 win at Espanyol could not keep Real Madrid in the title race.

Madrid's win was rendered meaningless by Barcelona's victory at Atleti. Coming at the end of a week in which Madrid crashed out of the Champions League, watching their rivals secure the title was another bitter, if unsurprising, blow.

Ronaldo did his bit, with three more goals taking his league tally for the season to 45, but the task was out of their hands.

Vicente Iborra scored twice in the space of five minutes to give Sevilla a 2-1 winover 10-man Almeria and all but condemn the visitors to relegation.

Thievy Bifouma had given Sergi Barjuan's side the lead in the first half but their hard work was undone in the second half by Iborra's deadly strikes from inside the area, and their task was made even harder as Angel Trujillo was sent off with 15 minutes remaining.

Sevilla move to just one point behind Valencia in the race for fourth spot thanks to this win, but Almeria drop from 16th to 19th and now need a miracle to avoid relegation. They must beat Valencia next week and hope other results also go their way.

Valencia came from behind to earn a draw with Celta Vigo that keeps them fourth with a week of the season to go.

Visitors Celta, safe from relegation and playing without pressure, took an eighth-minute lead through Pablo Hernandez, but Nicolas Otamendi's equaliser was the least Los Che deserved.

With Sevilla winning, it was an important result for Valencia who are a point ahead of the Andalusian side in the race for a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds.

Eibar ended a run of six straight defeats in the nick of time as they kept their survival hopes alive by coming from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at Getafe.

Borja netted the equaliser after 36 minutes to cancel out Fredy Hinestroza's opener just three minutes earlier and earn his side their first point since early April.

The draw kept the visitors in the bottom three, but they are only two points from safety and know a win in their final game of the season at home to relegated Cordoba could keep them up.

Granada's incredible turnaround under Jose Ramon Sandoval continued as they beat Real Sociedad 3-0 to move out of the relegation zone.

Youssef El Arabi broke the deadlock at Anoeta in the 73rd minute from a quick counter and Robert Ibanez appeared to wrap up the victory four minutes later.

However, there was still time for Ruben Rochina to score a spectacular third goal from just beyond the halfway line, inflicting the heaviest home defeat of the season on David Moyes' side.

Rayo Vallecano's hopes of qualifying for the Europa League are effectively over despite completing a 2-1 victory at relegated Cordoba.

Rayo climbed into 10th place when Adrian Embarba pounced with a 79th-minute winner at the Nuevo Arcangel.

The Madrid club took the lead in the 22nd minute through Raul Baena, but Cordoba equalised early in the second half when Luso found the back of the net.

Malaga's European hopes suffered a blow with a 2-1 loss at Villarreal.

Substitute Gerard Moreno scored twice in the final eight minutes for the hosts and though Sergi Darder pulled one back in injury time, there was no way back for Malaga, who dropped to eighth in the table as Athletic Bilbao staged a late rally to win 3-2 at Elche.