Stormy ride

Cruising in league, Gunners face Blues in FA Cup final

LONDON (AP) -- It looks like a casual stroll to the Premier League title for Arsene Wenger's Gunners.

But a stormy ride to the league and cup double.

Monday's 2-0 victory at Bolton Wanderers opened up an easy route to the league title with Wenger's team needing just one point from its last two games to win the title for the first time since 1998.

It may even have the satisfaction of clinching the league and cup double at Old Trafford, home of defending league champion and biggest rival Manchester United, next week.

With one hand on the Premier League trophy, the Gunners have a far more difficult task when they face Chelsea before 74,000 fans at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

Chelsea is a traditionally strong cup team and has a 51-goal strike partnership in Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (29 strikes) and Eidur Gudjohnsen (22) as well as former Arsenal midfield favorite Emanuel Petit playing in midfield.

The two London teams have to leave the country and go to Wales to play the English cup final because Wembley, the competition's traditional venue since 1923, has been closed since October 2000 and plans to replace it haven't yet been finalized after months of prevarication and wrangling.

Last year, Arsenal appeared on course to winning the cup when it led Liverpool with seven minutes to go only to fall 2-1 thanks to goals by England striker Michael Owen.

After three successive second place finishes in the Premier League, Wenger's team is tired of finishing runner up.

"There is a team spirit amongst the players after the frustrations of the last two to three years, and they said 'we want to be first this time,'" Wenger said.

"We have not done it yet, but we are close now and we will win it -- and we want to do it as quickly as possible, no matter where it is.

"It is a long, hard season and we want to do it if we can at Old Trafford, and I think we can. It is a big, big game for both teams but we want to finish well away from home because we have had a remarkable season away from home."

Before that, it's Chelsea in a glamorous final of two teams packed with talent from overseas.

Although Robert Pires is absent because of knee surgery, Arsenal has other French World Cup stars -- striker Thierry Henry, forward Sylvain Wiltord and midfielder Patrick Vieira -- Dutch forward Dennis Bergkamp, Swedish goalscoring midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg, English defenders Sol Campbell, Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Ashley Cole and veteran goalkeeper David Seaman, Cameroon defender Lauren, Ukraine's Oleg Luzhny and Nigerian striker Nwankwo Kanu.

Chelsea's lineup has a similarly cosmopolitan mix.

It includes Iceland's Gudjohnsen, Frenchmen Petit, Marcel Desailly and William Gallas, Italy's Gianfranco Zola, goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini and Sami Salla Bona, Dutchmen Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Boudewijn Zenden and Mario Melchiot, England's Frank Lampard and John Terry, Denmark's Jesper Gronkjaer, Yugoslav Slavisa Jokanovic and Spanish defender Albert Ferrer.

There's also the chance it could unleash a likely star of the future, 6-foot-3 (1.90 meter) striker Carlton Cole, who scored on his debut in Saturday's 2-0 win at Middlesbrough. Coach Claudio Ranieri is so impressed by the 18-year-old, he offered him a five-year contract the day after his scoring debut.

Only three of the last nine finals have involved neither Chelsea nor Arsenal. The Blues lost 4-0 to Manchester United in 1994, beat Middlesbrough 2-0 in '97 and Aston Villa 1-0 in 2000. The Gunners edged Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 after a replay in '93, downed Newcastle United 2-0 in '98 before losing to Liverpool last season.

Although this is Arsenal's record tying 15th final and Chelsea's seventh, it is the first time the two London clubs have met in the final. Neither have they met in the less prestigious League Cup final.

The Blues will be trying to be the first club since World War II to win the title at three different venues. In 1972, it beat Leeds United in a replay at Old Trafford and had two triumphs at Wembley.

Digital channel set to close

LONDON -- The digital TV channel whose collapse has put up to 30 soccer clubs in danger of bankruptcy was set to shut down Tuesday.

ITV Digital went into administration a month ago still owing 178 million pounds (US$260.6 million) to the 72 Football League Clubs having last year signed a three-year deal to broadcast their games.

The League said that the clubs had budgeted for that outstanding money and that up to 30 stood in danger of collapse themselves if the cash didn't materialize.

Launched four years ago, ITV Digital flopped badly, failing to attract the number of subscribers and advertising revenue it had anticipated. At the time of its collapse it had 1.3 million subscribers compared with 5.7 million of its main rival, the satellite service BSkyB.

While lawyers for the league launched a 500 million pound (US$700 million) lawsuit against the owners of ITV Digital -- Carlton and Granada -- the administrators, Deloitte and Touche, were unable to find a buyer.

Though declaring they were not at fault for the collapse, Carlton and Granada provided cash to keep ITV Digital going in the short term but that has run out.

With the broadcaster running out of money, it will cease its paid programs and looks set to undergo a piecemeal sale of its assets, Deloitte and Touche said.

Tuesday's developments may force ITV to reschedule programs on some of its non-sports channels to fit in the remaining soccer games which were due to have been screened on the digital channel, ITV Sport.

Although the regular league season has been completed, the playoffs are only halfway through. If the plug is pulled on ITV Sport the play-off games are likely to be shown on ITV2 or even ITV1, because the broadcaster will be in breach of its contract with the League if it fails to show the games.

Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Tessa Jowell said Friday that the government would do all it could to support the first, second and third division soccer teams affected by the collapse and to help players who find themselves unemployed.

The problem has not affected the country's top teams in the Premier League because it has a deal with BSkyB.

Spurs sign Slovenia midfielder Acimovic

Tottenham Hotspur have signed Slovenian international midfielder Milenko Acvimovic from Red Star Belgrade, the English premier league club said on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old, who has won 39 caps for his country and will feature at the World Cup finals, has agreed to join Spurs on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

"He's expected to be off [to the World Cup] with his national team and here for pre-season. He has signed subject to a work permit being granted," a Spurs spokesman told Reuters.

Acimovic has scored nine goals for Slovenia and was watched by Tottenham boss Glenn Hoddle in the 1-0 friendly win over Tunisia on April 17.

Slovenia have been drawn with Spain, Paraguay and South Africa at the World Cup group stage.

Savage charged over toilet use

LEICESTER, England -- Leicester City midfielder Robbie Savage was Tuesday charged with improper conduct by the English Football Association for using the referee's toilet before a game.

Savage used referee Graham Poll's toilet before the Foxes' 2-2 draw with Aston Villa 10 days ago. The incident was included in Poll's report.

"There is no set punishment to the charge of improper conduct," an FA spokesman told The Sun newspaper. "The disciplinary committee have the right to ban, fine or just rap the player across the knuckles."

Relegated Leicester fined Savage two weeks wages -- around 50,000 pounds (US$70,000) -- after hearing of the incident, but has suspended the fine until after the FA's hearing.

Savage has appealed the club's fine, enlisting the help of the players' union.

Teammate Muzzy Izzet, who is transfer-listed to leave the club, said he thought the fine was "absolutely ludicrous."

"Robbie is not happy about it and the rest of the players are not happy about it. I feel very strongly that he has been hard done by and I hope he wins his appeal," Izzet said.

Izzet said Savage was taking medication for a leg infection which had stomach upsets as a possible side effect.

"That is what happened in this case and, after the warm-up against Villa, Robbie needed to use the toilet," Izzet said.

"We have only two in our dressing room and both were in use so Robbie went to the nearest one he could find -- in the match officials' dressing room. I would have done exactly the same if I was feeling the way Robbie was feeling -- and so would any of the other players.

"To fine him two weeks' wages is just stupid. The club prescribed the medication and the club fined him. Where is the logic in that?

"Players are fined less for doing far more and I hope he wins his appeal. The players are right behind him."

Savage had previously said he wanted to remain with Leicester despite the club being relegated to the first division next season.

Ayr handed points from abandoned Airdrie game

LONDON -- The result of Saturday's abandoned Scottish first division match between Ayr United and Airdrie will stand, the Scottish Football League (SFL) said on Tuesday.

"The result is to stand as a 1-0 win and Ayr have been awarded the three points," a spokesman for the SFL said.

The match was abandoned after 21 minutes by referee Bobby Orr after a section of the Airdrie fans invaded the pitch at Somerset Park and a crossbar was broken after Ayr went in front.

Airdrie fans had threatened to disrupt the match after it was announced that a buyer for the financially stricken club had not been found.

Airdrie, founded in 1878, have been in administration for over a year and there are fears that Saturday's match could be the last in their history as a professional club.

Ayr finished the season third on 52 points, while Airdrie were second on56 points behind champions Partick (66) who were promoted to the premier league.

 

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Reuters contributed to this report.