The story

London is a city used to playing host to the festival of football matches, home to five clubs in the English Premier League alone, not to mention a myriad of smaller clubs from lower divisions, it seems the next game is just around the corner; sometimes literally. But even for this soccer-saturated town, the last seven days were a bit special with the hosting of not one, but two Champions League semifinals.

Two of the capital's biggest clubs, namely Arsenal and Chelsea, would play host to the second and decisive installments of their gladiatorial, last-four fight-outs with holders Manchester United and Spanish hot-shots Barcelona respectively.

The final to decide the 2009 winner of the biggest prize in European football will be held in Rome and both sides had good reason to dream of a trip to the Eternal City come the end of May; for Chelsea, a chance to avenge last year's cruel final defeat on penalties, for Arsenal, an opportunity to prove growing critics wrong that Wenger's side is lacking the necessary steel of previous silverware-winning sides. Read full article »