On This Day: Bayern & Milan won Champions League titles; Emery took over Arsenal

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (May 23rd) in football history. If you have more stories and news that happened on this day in history, feel free to post them in the comment area and share them with AFers.

On This Day in 2001 - Bayern won 4th UCL title defeating Valencia on penalties

Valencia drew first blood quickly, benefiting from a handball in the Bayern box to earn a penalty in the 2nd minute. Valencia's captain, midfielder Gaizka Mendieta, took the shot and scored, putting the Spanish side ahead 1-0.

Bayern then received a penalty call in the 6th minute, as Valencia's French right back Jocelyn Angloma fouled Bayern's captain, midfielder Stefan Effenberg, on the edge of the area. Midfielder Mehmet Scholl took the shot, but it was saved by Valencia keeper Santiago Cañizares. Bayern got another chance in the 49th minute, however, as Valencia left back Amadeo Carboni was flagged for a handball in the box. This time, Effenberg took the penalty and converted it.

The teams were deadlocked at 1-1 for the rest of the second half and all of extra time, forcing a decision by penalty kicks. Through the first five kicks, each team had missed two, sending it to sudden death. The match ended when Bayern keeper Oliver Kahn guessed correctly, lunging to his right to stop the shot from Valencia's Argentinian center back Mauricio Pellegrino. Bayern won by the score of 1-1 (5-4).

On this day in 2007 - Milan won 2-1 against Liverpool in the Champions League Final in Athens. 

Pippo Inzaghi struck twice as AC Milan gained revenge for their 2005 Champions League final defeat against Liverpool with victory in Athens. Inzaghi scored a freak opener in first-half injury time, unwittingly deflecting Andrea Pirlo's free-kick past a wrong-footed Pepe Reina. Steven Gerrard missed a glorious chance to equalise before Inzaghi slid home a second eight minutes from time. Dirk Kuyt pulled one back with a header with a minute left, but time ran out.

On This Day in 2018 - Unai Emery took over Arsenal as the managerial successor to Arsène Wenger

Unai Emery declared his intention to turn Arsenal into “the best team in the Premier League and also the world” after being confirmed as the managerial successor to Arsène Wenger on a three-year contract.

Emery spoke in English at his unveiling at Emirates Stadium, which was a surprise – it was decent enough – and he described the challenge in front of him as a 'dream come true'.

After a year, Emery's Arsenal played 57 games with 35 wins, 8 draws and 14 defeats. And now they are preparing for the Europa League final against Chelsea on the coming Wednesday.

On This Day in 1984 - Tottenham Hotspur won the UEFA Cup

The 1984 UEFA Cup Final was a football tie played on 9 May and 23 May 1984 between R.S.C. Anderlecht of Belgium—the defending Champions—and Tottenham Hotspur F.C. of England. Tottenham won 4–3 on penalty kicks after the tie finished 2–2 on aggregate.

On This Day in 1997 - Liverpool startlet Joe Gomez was born

Joseph Dave Gomez began his career at Charlton Athletic, breaking into the first team at 17 and playing one full senior season before joining Liverpool in June 2015. Gomez has represented England at every level and played every minute of every match when England won the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He made his senior debut for the England team in November 2017, at the age of 20.

On 20 June 2015, Premier League club Liverpool signed Gomez on a five-year contract for a fee of £3.5 million. He made his debut against Stoke City on 9 August, starting as a left back in a 1–0 win, assisting Philippe Coutinho's match-winning goal in the 86th minute.

Gomez prefers to play as a centre back but can also play as a full back on either side. He has been described as a complete footballer and composed ball-playing centre back with his style of play being compared to that of Rio Ferdinand whom he idolised growing up. Gomez is also noted for his athleticism and strength; he is able to produce powerful and dangerous runs up-field on the counter-attack and in defence is rarely physically dominated by an opponent