Reise-Forum » . A tired Arsenal back line switched off late in the

Riyad Mahrez lost out to Leicester City team-mate Jamie Vardy for the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award on Monday. Adam Bate explains why Mahrez got his vote… Everyone loves a winger. David Ginola and Gareth Bale were both rewarded with the FWA Footballer of the Year award. Riyad Mahrez wont be joining them just yet, but hes already set to do what those two did not do - propel his team to a Premier League title. Vardy wins FWA award Jamie Vardy named Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year for 2015/16. The numbers tell some of the story. Mahrez has scored 17 goals and provided 11 assists, putting him level with Jamie Vardy as the most effective player in the Premier League. Its difficult to overstate his importance to the team. Champions need flair as well as functionality. Even Watford have a dogged defence, having conceded the same amount of goals as the Foxes as recently as February. But they didnt have a Mahrez.In a team full of heroes, he still stands out. Both Vardy and NGolo Kante have been integral but Leicester have actually coped without them. Without Mahrez on the pitch in this seasons Premier League, they have conceded twice as many goals as theyve scored. Mahrez impact Player Dribbles Player Clear chances created Wilfried Zaha 127 Mesut Ozil 26 Riyad Mahrez 117 Riyad Mahrez 17 Ross Barkley 111 Dimitri Payet 13 He ranks in the top two in the Premier League for dribbles and clear-cut chances created. Hes twisted and hes turned. Hes sold the dummies and the defenders have just kept buying them. Hes been fun to watch and given the impression it was even more fun to play.I was a street footballer, he told Sky Sports recently. Every day, I was on the street dribbling, doing skills. I wasnt in an academy till I was 19. The lung-busting hunger of Vardy might be more conspicuous but Mahrez has his own story too.Perhaps the journey from Sarcelles - a dangerous ghetto, according to the man himself - doesnt evoke the same everyman qualities for English audiences, but it should. Mahrez battled for an amateur contract in Frances fourth tier. A trial at St Mirren didnt work out. Jamie Redknapp highlighted Mahrezs all-round game after the 4-0 win over Swansea As recently as 2014, one month shy of his 23rd birthday, he was with Le Havre in the French second division. Those spindly limbs didnt convince everyone of their capacity to cope in tougher conditions but Leicesters technical scouts looked at the stats and took a chance.Nigel Pearson trusted his talent but Mahrez was still an unused substitute on numerous occasions last season - most notably in the April win at Burnley that lifted Leicester out of the bottom three. Hes a more effective player now and that owes much to his dedication to improve.In the wake of Mahrezs PFA Player of the Year award, manager Claudio Ranieri said: I am very proud because Riyad is a very humble man. He asks every time, What can I do to improve? That is fantastic. He is a genius, our light. Mahrez has found a unique role for himself in Claudio Ranieris team In a recent interview with LEquipe, Mahrez spoke of the headaches brought about by Claudio Ranieris attention to detail on the tactical work. The instincts of the street footballer remain. I want so much be that player, the player who improvises, he admitted. But hes worked at it.Its been reflected in his efforts. While the compact team shape has been a feature of Leicesters success and theres a beauty in the simplicity of the roles of many within the line-up, the onus is on Mahrez to do something different. He has to pick his moments to gamble. Mahrez scored in a 3-1 win away to Manchester City in February We know hes a wide player, Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports. But the amount of times he finds himself between the lines, hes not just a headless chicken going in there. Its being in there and being decisive at the right time. Thats understanding. Thats reading the game.More often than not hes read it right. Mahrez scored in the first three games of the season - a brace against Sunderland, the winner versus West Ham and what turned out to be a significant late equaliser at home to Tottenham. Those goals alone were worth five points.By March, his goals had earned the team 20 points - and it wouldve been four more but for a couple of penalty misses. During the run-in, there were fine finishes in 1-0 wins over Watford and Crystal Palace. A brief dip followed but Mahrez has done it when it mattered. Needing to deliver with Vardy suspended, Mahrez opened the scoring against Swansea, settling the nerves and leaving Leicester on the brink. There was no goal against Manchester United on Sunday but his second-half dribbling relieved the pressure nevertheless.You were wondering whod step up, said Carragher of that win over Swansea. There was no need. Mahrez has been the decisive figure at the decisive time in the team of the season. Maybe even bigger things await, but this will always be his year - Leicesters year. He deserves every award going. Also See: Vardy wins FWA award Souness in awe of Leicester WATCH: Did Leicester get lucky? WATCH: LVG, Ranieri respect Derwin James Chargers Jersey .twitter.com/xBTpoAKLJk — Daryl Zerr (@darylzerr) May 29, 2014 @BarDown I give to you the @SquirrelsNCHL aka the Fighting Squirels. Kellen Winslow Jersey . "There are a lot of things that are going very well in this organization. Im not coming in here to rip things apart," Nicholson told reporters Friday. "I know what Hockey Canada was when I started, and I know where this (Oilers) organization is today. http://www.chargersauthenticofficialonline.com/authentic-philip-rivers-jersey.html . Louis still looking for a way out of Tampa Bay, the 38-year-old NHL veteran isnt showing his cards. Nasir Adderley Chargers Jersey . THE MICHAEL JORDAN FLU GAME First this famous basketball moment. The story goes like this. “Game 5, known as "The Flu Game", was one of Michael Jordans most memorable. Drue Tranquill Chargers Jersey .4 seconds left and dribbled up court, weaving through Pitts defence.LONDON -- Second-half goals from Toni Kroos and Thomas Mueller gave holder Bayern Munich a 2-0 victory over 10-man Arsenal and a firm grip of their last 16 Champions League tie on Wednesday. Kroos scored in the 54th minute with a stunning strike, curling the ball past Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who came on after Wojciech Szczesny was sent off for fouling Arjen Robben. An unmarked Mueller scored with a powerful header from close range in the 88th. Both teams missed penalties in the first half, with Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil shooting straight at Manuel Neuer, and Bayern midfielder David Alaba clipping a post. Szczesny was sent off in the 37th minute for following through on Robben. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was clearly frustrated by the sending off, saying it was a great game until halftime. "It killed the game," Wenger said. "The game until then was top quality. The second half was boring. It was one-way traffic." He said Szczesny went for the ball and suggested the decision would have been different had it been a Premier League match. Bayern coach Pep Guardiola disagreed with Wenger, saying he thought it was a penalty and a sending off. Guardiola acknowledged, however, that Arsenal were the better team in the first 15 minutes and that the sending off worked to his sides favour. "The game changed completely," the former Barcelona coach said. "They had nine players in the box and we had to wait patiently." With the odds clearly stacked against the London side, Arsenal can only hope it repeats last years 2-0 win at Bayern in the second leg on March 11. In the nights other match, Atletico Madrid forward Diego Costa scored a late winner to beat AC Milan 1-0 at San Siro. At Emirates Stadium, the match was breathless until the sending off, with both sides attacking and trying to gain an advantage. Kroos nearly opened the scoring for Bayern in the third minute when he forced Szczesny to make a flying save with his fingertips. Arsenal wasnt unnerved and starting to dictate play with chances for surprise starter Yaya Sanogo and Santi Cazorla. Bayerns defence started to panic and Ozil won a penalty in the eighth minute when centre back Jerome Boatteng clattered into him as the German swiveled past.dddddddddddd However, the playmaker failed to convert the spot-kick and Neuer palmed the ball to safety. It was Ozils second penalty miss in the Champions League this season, after misfiring against Marseille in the group stage. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain created problems down the right for Bayern, but the five-time European champion settled down and started to stretch Arsenals defence as the first half wore on. Robben won a penalty in the 37th, when he jumped to control a ball, which bounced off his knee and appeared to be going out of play. But Szczesny was sent off when he clattered Robbens shin on the follow-through. Fabianski came on and Alabas spot kick clipped the outside of the left post. Bayern dominated the second half and despite resolute defending from Arsenal, the home side finally caved in. The first goal came out of nowhere with a simple exchange of passes on the right, but Kroos was given too much space and he unleashed a shot from about 20 yards (meters). A tired Arsenal back line switched off late in the second half, with Philip Lahm finding Mueller whose header bounced into the ground past Fabianski. Kroos nearly made it 3-0 with a low shot that struck a post in stoppage time. Bayern won the treble last year under Jupp Heynckes, and his successor, Guardiola is on course to replicate the teams domination of European football. The Germans are unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season, winning 19 of 21 league matches, and are 16 points clear at the top. Guardiola was without injured attacking midfielders Franck Ribery and Xherdan Shaqiri. The only surprise in team selection was Wengers decision to start Sanogo over striker Olivier Giroud, who recently was accused of having an affair with a model at a hotel before Arsenals 5-1 loss to Liverpool. Wenger insisted he wasnt punishing Giroud, just resting him. "I decided to give him a breather for one, two games," he said. Giroud, who issued an apology at the weekend after the accusations were reported, tweeted on Tuesday: "Ultimate precision with respect to my apologies...Yes I made a mistake but not I have not committed adultery! Things are clear..." ' ' '