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Slowly some of those long standing absences are working their way back into the Arsenal squad and not a moment too soon. The latest update has Kieran Gibbs ready and available for next week's Arsenal Champions League first leg against AC Milan if Wenger so desires. Thomas Vermaelen stuck at left back might finally get some relief and relocate to his more familiar centre back role with Laurent Koscielny.

Bakary Sagna also came back last week and it was good to see his strong, active self introduced against Bolton although against Blackburn last weekend it was Francis Coquelin doing the honours on the right channel. Carl Jenkinson should also be available next week and Abou Diaby (remember him?) is expected back by the end of the month. Andre Dos Santos is slated for a mid March comeback.

Jack Wilshere's rehab seems to be going smoothly and the midfielder is hoping he can get to see a good part of the remainder of the season. He will be a refreshing addition to the midfield with Aaron Ramsey looking burned out. Which brings us to the always vexatious question of whether like Theo Walcott before, now Wilshere, and possibly Alex Oxlade Chamberlain in the future, of injuries through overexposure stymieing their full potential.

Wenger talked about putting the brakes on the Ox's appearances capping it at 25 appearances. But with his performance against Blackburn, the teenage phenom appears to be fast tracked to the national team which could potentially overload his participation by an extra 20 games. There is another reason for bringing him on slowly and Arseblog talks a lot about potential nipped in the bud by swollen head syndrome. Think David Bentley.

With a name like Bentley, it was always going to be downhill, from the cusp of regular national appearances, to Blackburn and White Hart wasteland (that was a waste of £15 million good ones), and now on loan to West Ham and cheese with Sam Allardyce. Bentley like Tim Treadwell thought he was indestructible after one Bergkampesque goal inducing Treadwellian like delusions.

There is a reason to bring Ox on slowly, through a mentoring process, and to shut down the media hype that has them comparing him to Rooney, to Bergkamp, and to the man on the silver mountain. It is the David Bentley parable.

On the downside, Emmanuel Frimpong, whose Wolves loan has been an injury disaster is lost for the rest of the season with a torn ACL that will keep him out most likely till September. Nicklas Bendtner is out till the end of February with a repetitive facepalm injury (snark) after missing his twelfth goal opportunity for Stoke.

C'mon 'Arry break out in a smile now!

Harry Redknapp's been found to be as clean as a whistle. The three week trial which took place at Southwark crown courts came to an end as both Redknapp and his former Pompey boss, Milan Mandaric were cleared of tax evasion charges with the prosecution building their case around the Peter Crouch sale which involved two transfer amounts totaling £189,000. Redknapp and Mandaric were charged with not disclosing bonuses related to the sale which would have been subject to taxation.

The conclusion was that the money given by Mandaric was not job related and the first amount given was "seed money" to help his former manager capitalize from profitable investments. The second amount transferred to Redknapp's Monaco account reflected Mandaric's embarrassment at his friend losing money on his bad advice in the stock market.

Redknapp might rue that this case ever came to trial but at least in his case, he's been proven innocent and can now go forward with his ambitions to be England manager without a cloud over his head. In fact, it might happen sooner than later depending on whether the FA can arrest the growing rift between them and Fabio Capello over John Terry, whose racial abuse case should have gone to trial.

Mmm ....... Roland Martin seems quite comfortable in his ascot. Too comfortable.

Roland Martin, CNN's most vocal homophobic bigot gets all frothy and excited over the David Beckham undie ad that aired on Super Bowl. With friends like these, does Obama need any enemies?

He probably thought seeing the ad would turn half of America's menfolk gay. He let loose on Twitter, "If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham's H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!" was followed by "Ain't no real bruhs going to H&M to buy some damn David Beckham underwear!" His political analysis is equally inciteful (sic). Would be right at home at Fox News.

This did not go down well with a number of his followers who criticized him but Martin stuck to his two bit script claiming he was mocking soccer as he routinely does. But really the issue was his homophobia and it got him into trouble with GLAAD, one of USA's largest gay rights group who took him to task.

Martin finally backtracked but he covered himself with his soccer = gay sport defense. Not his own I hate gays bigotry. Here it is:

" It was meant to be a deliberately over the top and sarcastic crack about soccer; I do not advocate violence of any kind against anyone gay, or not. As anyone who follows me on Twitter knows, anytime soccer comes up during football season it's another chance for me to take a playful shot at soccer, nothing more."

Martin who is about 100 lbs overweight but with a decidedly undernourished brain should get a scissor kick in his gonads. When he spits them out of his mouth and has a voice resembling a frog on helium, he can go and play pat a cake. But hey, maybe this is all a deflection from what he really is.

Update: CNN has suspended Martin. Their statement:

"Roland Martin's tweets were regrettable and offensive. Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated. We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being."

Mirandes, the giant killing third division Liga club bowed out beaten by Athletic Bilbao, 6-2, in the second leg of the Copa Del Rey (8-3 aggregate). Fernando Llorente showed why he's on the wishlist of some of the world's biggest clubs by scoring a brace. Athletic also got goals from Iker Muniain, Markel Susaeta and defender Jon Aurtenetxe. The last goal was an own goal by Fernandez Cesar Caneda.

Mirandes managed to claim a couple through Aitor Blanco. The third division club beat Villarreal, Racing Santander and Espanyol to make it to the semi-finals but were no match for Athletic who find the Copa Del Rey happy hunting grounds entering their 36th final of which they have won 23, second only to Barca's 25 titles.

Barca will meet Valencia in the second leg tomorrow having tied the first edition, 1-1 at the Mestalla.

The world's most over rated striker receives a three match ban for slapping Napoli's Salvatore Aronica. To be fair Aronica also indulged in some extra-curricular activities against Antonio Nocerino but Ibra's was a reputation call. He will miss crucial matches against Udinese and Juventus.

Fabio Capello showing what he thinks of the FA's decision to nix Terry's captaincy

The FA and Fabio Capello are increasingly at odds with each other over John Terry's captaincy. The Italian was vocal in his support of the Chelsea defender using the cover of the deferred legal case as a presumption of innocence till proven guilty. The FA increasingly under pressure for botching the whole racial abuse case from the get go sought a more moral imperative. Terry's continuation as a captain would prove divisive and distracting to the team.

The FA rode over Capello's objections and axed Terry. The England manager unsurprisingly did not take it well. He went on Italian TV and vented his frustration. Very unwisely, one might add.

"I told (the chairman) that I don't think someone can be punished until it becomes official," Capello told RAI. "The court will decide. It's going to be civil justice, not sports justice, to decide if John Terry committed that crime that he is accused of. And I thought it fair that John Terry keeps the captain's armband."

A public denouncement which did not go down well with the FA. They are in short very incensed.

"It is being taken very seriously by the FA because it may be that Fabio Capello has breached his contract," former FA executive director David Davies told the BBC on Monday. "You have to ask what his motive is. You have to suspect he wants to prevent John Terry retiring as a player before Euro 2012, but there are wider issues. You could have what some of the media are calling a morality circus while England are trying to win the second major tournament in football."

Today, Gordon Taylor, the CEO of the Professional Footballers' Association, called Capello's stance "bizarre and disappointing". Taylor also said that Capello should have held his counsel because the new captain would know he was not his manager's choice, creating a situation not conducive to locker room unity.

This is not the first ill conceived move made by Capello. His Capello index set up prior to the World Cup gave his own England players some very unflattering ratings which set off a firestorm of criticism and caused it to be yanked off forcing Capello onto the defensive. The current situation is far worse because he finds himself increasingly isolated and viewed with suspicion by many in the FA hierarchy. There is a familiar feel to these run of events just before one of the world's most prestigious competitions bringing back a reminder of why Capello's continuation was secured amongst uniform public disapproval.

It's quite telling that some of the more outspoken footballers have not come to his defense. But that would mean implicitly supporting a John Terry captaincy which one suspects is the last thing anyone wants.

A corollary to that would be if Terry would like to continue in the national team, which is possibly the reason why Capello made him captain heading off a potential retirement. Terry has not indicated he feels any differently, but a voluntary retirement would mean the FA and Capello get to save face. Otherwise, indications are Capello might have to re-consider his future as manager. The biggest thing in his favour is Harry Redknapp, the prohibitive favourite to take over as England manager could be a convicted felon by the time his court case gets over. Tomorrow, David Bernstein and Capello are set for a very important meeting to repair this breech.

szólj hozzá: Liverpool Tottenham HIGHLIGHTS

Who let the cat out? A tabby provided the most excitement in the Liverpool vs Spurs match, a cagey affair. Luis Suarez came on in the 66th minute after his nine match ban and promptly plonked Scott Parker on the abdomen with a scything foot, an accident more than anything else, but with Suarez the line is finely drawn. The Uruguayan was booked but escaped more severe punishment.

Wayne Rooney, now an expert on red cards promptly tweeted his instant verdict.

"If ref sees that kick from suarez and books him for it it should be red," tweeted the Manchester United striker.

He got a reaction from Kenny Dalglish, the same as he did with Roberto Mancini. May not be the wisest move before that big Liverpool vs Man Utd game this weekend. For his part, Dalglish stuck to his guns reiterating the wrongness of Suarez's ban. In the mishandling of the John Terry racial abuse case, he may just have a point.

Spurs for all that attacking talent could not get much. Maybe they were missing Harry Redknapp who's preoccupied with fighting his tax evasion charges and missed his flight to the match after his plane developed engine trouble. It was their defense providing the biggest moment as Michael Dawson (how about an England spot in place of John Terry?) made a great tackle to take the ball away from Andy Carroll with the striker set to shoot. Liverpool's scoring drought has seen them score 14 goals in their last 12 matches with Carroll unable to take up the scoring slack in Suarez's absence.

Co-hosts Gabon looked like it was going to be headed to their best showing in any ACN when Eric Mouloungui shot them into the lead in the 55th minute. But Mali had other ideas as Cheick Diabate equalized in the 84th minute. At the end of extra time, with the two teams deadlocked, the fate of the match was decided on PK shootout.

The Panthers were found wanting when St Etienne's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, missed his PK as Mali proved flawless in finding the back of the net with Barca's Seydou Keita scoring the winning spot kick.

The semi-finals line up: Ivory Coast, the overwhelming favourites face off against Mali, while Ghana are pitted against the overachieving Zambians. The smart money is on an Ivory Coast vs Ghana final, which would be a repeat of the 1992 ACN final with the Taranga Lions emerging victorious after a marathon PK shootout 11-10, over the Black Stars. But this is football, upsets are part of the sport's fabric.

Captain John Mensah puts Ghana ahead through his third international goal. Saber Khelifa equalized after beating Samuel Inkoom to a lofted ball. The match headed to extra time and in the 110th minute, Abedi Pele's son, Andre Ayew scored the winner after Tunisia's goalie, Aymen Mathlouthi coughed up Inkoom's cross right into his path. The 2-1 win puts Ghana in the semi-finals pitting them against the surprising Zambians.

Ghana last won the Africa Cup of Nations in1982. Andrew Ayew's father, the legendary Abedi Pele was part of that victorious team.

Inter's wheels are coming off. After such a strong push to within sniffing distance of Milan and Juve, they have lost to lowly Lecce, drew Palermo and yesterday, Roma took the lumber to them. Juan gets the Giallorossi on the board, Fabio Borini's lovely brace follows, and the Bojan Krkic finishes emphatically to give Roma a thumping 4-0 victory. Where was that steel trap defense that reached its heights in that victory over Barca in the CL semi-finals two years ago?

The Nerrazzuri lie in fifth but are adrift by nine points from top club Juve. They trail Milan, who lost to Lazio this weekend, by eight points. Udinese and Lazio are ahead of them. Roma follows closely behind for that crucial fourth spot. And Claudio Ranieri is under pressure again.

Today, owner Massimo Moratti warned the players, "they have to give their soul" and "some of the players must understand that the Serie is not over yet, there is a very long way to go."

szólj hozzá: Chelsea v Man Utd 3:3 MOTD

This was one of the most gripping matches in the season. United improved immeasurably when Paul Scholes was introduced in the 64th minute, one of the key moments of the match. On the other hand, Andre Villas- Boas went negative when he took Daniel Sturridge off for Oriol Romeu in the 71st minute playing it safe protecting a 3-2 lead. A bad mistake in hindsight.

With three holding midfielders the Chelsea side gave up the middle ground as Scholes precise organization in central midfield provided the vital link up with Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck.

Chelsea went one up with Jonny Evans conceding an own goal before the first half all created through Daniel Sturridge's endeavours. Immediately at resumption, in an all Spaniard telenovela, Fernando Torres doing little of note as a striker provided a sublime on the dime cross for Juan Mata to slam the ball on the volley past David De Gea. The other David, Chelsea's loose cannon, taking advantage of a porous defense provided a third as his header took a nice little deflection off Rio Ferdinand. The Utd central defender was the target of a parochial Stamford Bridge crowd which booed him throughout the match.

This is Utd. It may be trite to say this. But they never give up. Daniel Sturridge, one of the bright sparks in the Chelsea attack showed defensive naivety bringing down Patrice Evra in the box. There was no hesitation from Howard Webb. Rooney making no mistake wrong footed Petr Cech completely. Sir Alex sensing a rabbit out of a hat moment sent on Scholes. A few minutes later Welback in an artful piece of trickery stuck his leg out at Ivanovic and went down. From Webb's angle the Chelsea defender had deliberately fouled the Utd striker. A second PK and once again it was Rooney on the spot sending Cech the wrong way.

With Utd rampant, the midfield their turf, and a Chelsea defense proving to be as generous as Utd's, all signs pointed to a result displeasing to the home crowd. They did not have long to wait as Antonio Valencia using his speed fled by Essien, feeding Rooney churning down the middle, who unleashed a shot parried by Cech to the flanks. Ryan Giggs collected the ball, looked up, found an unmarked Javier Hernandez, and the Mexican whose head and neck are homing devices made no mistake.

The Utd faithful loving every minute of this amazing turnaround were in full vocal throttle. The rest of Stamford Bridge fell silent as they chewed various body parts in distress. Would Chelsea fall, keep the status quo, or desirably get a face saving goal. There had been opportunities before that would come back to haunt them.

A few minutes before the equalizer, Torres wasted a golden chance to become an instant hero, when he had the Utd defense exposed with De Gea completely at his mercy, and he dawdled on the ball too long. His Chelsea career has been one similar such frustrations. Michael Essien's piledriver was tipped over by De Gea, who had a very good game. He was even better just before the end as he launched himself at Juan Mata's precisely driven free kick heading for the upper right corner of goal to deny Chelsea a last minute winner.

Lovely game. The comeback was ferocious. The defenses were exposed on both teams. AVB playing it safe understandably subbed off Sturridge for Romeu which took off the attacking edge. Chelsea could have also done with Terry's leadership qualities. Sir Alex brought on Scholes, a key change that improved Utd considerably. Rooney was immense and De Gea should quieten his critics. All in all very tasty build up to the Super Bowl which also proved to be equally compelling.

Joey Barton's reaction to the FA's handling of the John Terry racial abuse case

A series of Tweets from Joey Barton on the John Terry racial abuse saga has England's Attorney General breathing hard down his neck. Barton's tweets summed up:

"This John Terry saga, has turned into one of the most hideously managed spectacles I have ever known. WTF is going on...... We all know what was said. Its there on TV for all to see. Do I think hes a racist? No. I think hes said something really stupid in the heat of battle/argument. This should of been dealt with instantly (Like Suarez or more games) and put to bed. The longer it goes on, the worse it is for the game. Racism needs to be stamped out. We all agree on that. This is now affecting England as well as those involved."

" Once the issue went out of the FA's control, it was always going to get messy. They should have dealt with it instantly. Now its a farce.."

After Barton got wind of the AG's investigation of his tweets, he said he welcomed being a martyr for free speech.

" What is the point of living, if you cannot express your opinion. Not having an opinion is not living, its surviving. "

We dismiss Barton because he really is a tiresome individual who devotes his energies to 140 word soundbytes as if they matter rather than focusing on QPR's chances of remaining promoted. But on this he is absolutely right. And it his team mate who's in the eye of the storm waiting another five months for closure. There are definitely double standards being applied here.

The FA dropped the ball in the first place by failing to investigate John Terry when they should have done the same as they did with Suarez which allowed Terry to escape similar punitive measures. When Fabio Capello announced Terry as England's captain, they kicked the can down by deferring the case till after the Euro 2012 on the convenient presumption of innocent until proven guilty. This is legalese which did not sit well in the locker room if Rio Ferdinand's furious reaction is anything to go by. The FA did some retroactive damage control by nixing Terry's captaincy but it is now in a collision course with the England manager who is unhappy with all the second guessing. More salient is Terry's form. At this point does he really deserve a spot in the English side with his dastardly displays?

Demba Cisse the most expensive player in the January transfer and the other half of the Senegalese strike force alongside Demba Ba, provided an instant impact as he scored a majestic goal on his debut. Majestic.

Ba and Cisse were away on ACN duty and how they were missed, especially Ba, who gave Newcastle the lead in the 30th minute for his 16th Premiership goal. Villa looking good in spells managed to go into half time with the equalizer through Robbie Keane, whose Premiership loan return has been quite spectacular too.

The magical moment belonged to Demba Cisse (Papiss Demba Cisse) if you must in the 71st minute who latched onto a cross by Jonas Gutierrez after Villa failed to clear and the Senegalese striker chested the ball down and slammed it on the half volley giving Shay Given no chance at all. Automatic. No hesitation. No second guessing.

In Jonas Gutierrez, Newcastle have an immense, unflagging motor, who never gives up. A force of nature. Yoann Cabaye's place was taken by Danny Guthrie, a very underrated player who kept the midfield metronome going through his nice through balls and chips into the box, creating scoring opportunities for Ba and Cisse. The Geordies paid a price through ugly injuries to Leon Best and Ryan Taylor, the latter's looked far worse as he was stretchered off.

Villa did no favours to Arsenal, as Newcastle climb to fifth with Chelsea making ground over Spurs, looking good for the win against Man Utd. Tomorrow Liverpool take on Spurs, in another defining match for the race at the top.

Alex McLeish looked like broiled lobster on the sidelines screaming his head off.

szólj hozzá: Arsenal Blackburn 7:1 HIGHLIGH

In which RVP scores a sublime hat trick. In which the Ox is unleashed. In which Song continues to find his passing groove. In which Thierry Henry scores his first Premiership goal on his return. In which Theo Walcott made the right choices. In which Frances Coquelin showed why the flanks are so important. In which Kos outsprinted Junior Hoillet in a foot race.

The sub headers were many. But they all pointed to a day when Arsenal played like the side they are capable of. The passing was crisp, incisive, and most tellingly the finishes were lethal. Arsenal were also able to slice the Blackburn open because of the meaningful movement down the channels. In one match, Arsenal solved their eternal conundrum of passing the ball to death without anything to show for it. The greatest feeling was to get the Emirates crowd back into it and by the end of the match on one of the coldest days, there was plenty of warm feelings going around. Not a moment too soon, a look around the stadium revealed many empty seats and whether it was the weather, the spotty train service, or a general malaise towards the club over their recent performances, the fact was Arsenal needed a giant size boost.

The margin also goes a long way in erasing an adverse goal differential which if the race continues to tighten up will be key in deciding who lands that coveted fourth spot. Arsenal are back in fifth awaiting Chelsea, Liverpool, and Newcastle. But the nuts and bolts can wait.

Today, RVP got things started in the first minute and a half flicking in Frances Coquelin's finely placed cross.

Morton Gamst Pedersen's very nicely struck free kick broke the one way flow. Wojciech Szczesny was able to get his fingertips on the ball but not enough to push out of the way. Just when Blackburn looked like getting a toehold on the match, Gael Givet was red carded as he clattered into RVP with a mindless two footed lunge clipped RVP, a deserved sending off. To his credit, the French defender made amends by signaling his contrition to Wenger as he walked off the field.

Arsenal got back on track as Song's beautifully measured pass that quadrisected (yes, it sliced through 4 defenders) was reeled in by Walcott to find RVP for his second goal. Song is becoming that hidden layer after peeling away the strikers, beyond the midfield supply line, lying deep to which the cover can't get to - his passes were more incisive and visionary than Arteta and Rosicky. The third goal showed the damage a rampant Ox could do as RVP with sublime trickery got the ball onto his left foot to send the ball scooting forward. The winger streaming from the left got a heavy touch and the ball squirted across goal but a burst of acceleration allowed him to recover and squeeze it past Paul Robinson.

Mikel Arteta got into the act as Blackburn could not clear their lines from a corner kick and the ball fell invitingly for the former Everton player to blast the ball on the half volley to get Arsenal's fourth after a helpful deflection. Then it was the Ox finishing off Walcott's heads up play, as the winger showed signs of cognition to match that speed. RVP collected his hat trick and Arsenal's sixth as Coquelin fed him another beautifully incisive cross. By this time a goal by the King would be the cherry on top and it duly arrived as RVP passed up a definite scoring opportunity to oblige Thierry Henry with a pass which he duly put past through Paul Robinson, a familiar victim.

The result lifts the Arsenal faithful whose mood before this match resembled something of a black hole of emotions. Next, a revitalized Sunderland under Martin O'Neill before their Champions League first leg against Milan. No rest for the weary.

Valencia served a reminder of its proud heritage as a football team holding Barca and then denied Leo Messi a PK goal in the Copa Del Rey semi-finals first leg.

Jonas gave the home side the lead at the Mestalla but Carles Puyol who seems to have made a career scoring very important headers equalized for the Blaugrana.

Valencia's goalie, Diego Alves became a hero after he guessed right and stopped Messi's PK awarded after Thiago Alcantara had been brought down.

bolton 0-0 arsenal by Futbol2101

What does it take for any other player other than RVP to score goals? It is now official, he's not pretending any more - Theo Walcott has a mind made of mush in front of goal. Always. Aaron Ramsey is another. The Ox too for all his brightness was presented with a clear chance. He missed.

We have all the supply in the world, in and around, over and beyond, back and forth, to and fro, creating multitudes of opportunities to score. Once again there was that familiar lack of composure in front of goal. Why does Arsenal always pick the worst options?

There will be fingers pointed to the inactivity in the January transfer but surely, that has little bearing on Walcott one on one with Adam Bogdan and no one breathing down his neck for miles prematurely ejaculating 6 yards out straight to the goalie when he could have done practically everything else. A goldfish with two broken fins, flapping on the grass, with its dying breath would have scored. How does one deal with players who seem to be stuck in a developmental cul de sac? This match was ours to win with the squad we had on the pitch.

RVP looked flabbergasted at those misses because he practically spoonfed those passes to Ramsey and the Ox. He also had to deal with a familiar nemesis, the woodwork denying him. Twice. The second a Bergkampesque chip that struck the crossbar.

Nice, bright start as predicted. But the more Arsenal go further where they don't score, triggers a neuroses. Bolton got back into it nicely in the end. David Ngog muffed a simple chance and then there was the heart in the mouth bit where Per Mertesacker pulled Mark Davies outside the box and Wojciech Szczesny dove at his feet but clipped the ball away. A sigh of relief as Chris Foy made the right decision not to give a penalty.

The upshot is we are now in seventh spot with Liverpool and Newcastle overtaking us. This is square in Europa territory as a 4th place finish fades away from us. Blackburn is next and thereafter a good Sunderland side before our attention turns to the Champions League and Milan. Time is running out. March is even harder.

Oh, well we picked our first point in the new year and Wenger avoided his fourth defeat, which would have been a new low for him. Always look on the bright side of life. So which will be your choice? Gun? Rope? A bottle of codeine?

Arsenal can confirm that Jack Wilshere has suffered a small stress fracture to the right foot which is in a different location to his original injury. He will be reassessed in two weeks by Arsenal's medical team. If all goes well (keeping fingers crossed), Wilshere might be back in time for Arsenal's Ides of March schedule.

Meanwhile, today we have a match against Bolton, who are coming in with some real momentum including a shot in the arm performance against Liverpool. The Thierry Henry - Tim Ream match up we were looking for might not materialize because of Ream's work permit issues. He was summoned by Owen Coyle to plug the gap left by Gary Cahill.

The FA Cup gave a snapshot of all of Arsenal's vulnerabilities which Bolton will try and exploit at the Reebok. A set piece goal and a counterattack that left Arsenal exposed at the back. The positive is Bakary Sagna, sorely missed on the right could make his first start. Wenger also has Arteta and Henry to fall back on.

The most we can say off this midfield is Song's emergence as creator du jour. Something that Rosicky, Ramsey, and Arshavin should be doing in their sleep is being taken over by the crab legged Cameroonian who is also our main disruptor. Actually the spine of the team so far has been RVP- Song- Kos- Szcz with the Verminator getting back from injuries to stake his claim. And we have the Ox who is probably the reason why Walcott had a improved game against Villa. Something about competition and comparison that can light a fire under you, eh??!!

A win is an imperative. In fact, all of February's fixtures are before we move to Milan for the Champions League second round. Yesterday, Wolves did not do us any favours as Liverpool went ahead, Chelsea in danger of slipping up were able to salvage a draw against Premiership darlings Swansea.

Arsenal will also be keeping any eye on the Toons as they face Blackburn away. Newcastle is further weakened in midfield after Yoann Cabaye was suspended with a three match ban for violent conduct. Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse will not be back in time from their ACN duty.

Come on ye Gunners!! Make Owen Recoyle!!

Gunners, waiting for Götze? No longer, Thomas Eisfeld, 19 years old, who's supposed to be even more Götze than Mario Götze and comes from the same club arrives at the Emirates for a princely sum of £420,000. Which means dear Gunners, if you're waiting for the real thing, you're doing it at your own hazard. And he's not coming too.

Eisfeld's childhood idol is Tomas Rosicky, also a Dortmund protege which should give an inkling of what to expect on the pitch. He has already started training with the Arsenal reserves.

Arsene Wenger has been tracking Eisfeld at Dortmund's youth team where he has been in impressive form. Six goals and six assists in 12 matches or some eye popping stat like that. He was supposed to have come at the end of the season but his contract was over, necessitating a preemptive move. Wenger on him:

"He is young but has proven to us that he can play, that he has the attitude and technical ability to be a valuable addition to our squad."

Eisfeld is listed as a attacking midfielder but can "can play in a variety of positions" which is nice because of the number of injuries Arsenal suffer.

Did we say injuries? Because he also comes with an Arsenal prerequisite: Injuries. A cruciate ligament injury almost brought his short career to an end in 2009. Arsenal have certified he's healthy and disease free which in retrospect is a poor prognosticator at a club that has had 11 players out this season with injuries. You get the word bubble.

Here is a short clip. Make what you can >>

szólj hozzá: Everton v Man City 1:0 MOTD

Darron Gibson, did his former club Man Utd a huge favour by striking the one lethal blow last evening. Landon Donovan continuing his great assist work. City were undone before one could say Denis Stracqualursi.

Goodison Park is not exactly happy hunting grounds for City, winning only two of their last 15 encounters in that venue. The result leaves City on top edging out Man Utd on goal differential even as they draw level on points.

There was some fond hope that the man handcuffed to the goalpost was making a grandiose statement about the unholy sums of money destroying football (read City). Or maybe he had tried handcuffing himself to a badger the previous evening with unsatisfying results and wanted something different.

It turned out he was protesting Ryanair unfairly terminating his daughter in 2010. John Foley is his name and he had staged other such protests around this issue, just not as bizarre as this.

Anyway, it made for good theatre, but it got Roberto Mancini in a tizzy and he made a sending off gesture which got Wayne Rooney all mad. He later twittered about Mancini being against working class men. The last part is all rubbish. But it could be true.

A few months ago, everything was going swimmingly for City. All they seemingly had to do was to show up for win after lopsided win. But then there was a gradual slide in theor fortunes. At the end of January their season is but a litany of thwarted ambitions. Out of the Champions League in December and by last week, the Carling Cup and the FA Cup, their accelerated program to win the Premiership title seems to have hit a wall and in danger of being snatched by those other pesky Mancunians and the upstart Spurs.

To add insult to injury, today's loss to Everton was at the hands of Darron Gibson, a former Man Utd midfielder, at a reported £2 million providing with one swing of his leg, a lot more value for money than Edin Dzeko, Samir Nasri, David Silva, and Sergio Aguero combined at £115 million. Roberto Mancini's future now rests on the narrow case of winning the Premiership but the momentum has all but gone, stalled by inconsistency and patchy performances.

City's intransigence saw Carlos Tevez priced out of this transfer market. The earliest, he could move out would be this summer. The transfer negotiations with Milan which proved to the most promising fell apart because City balked at a loan deal and when the Serie club came with an improved deal it was deemed short. In the meantime, Tevez has lost £9.3m in wages, bonuses and fines. A tidy sum of money. He has served his two week suspension and is training with the reserves which is where Mancini envisions him staying till he leaves. That is being disputed by Tevez's man Friday, his agent, Kia Joorabchian who say's he should be integrated with the senior team.

Mancini has said Tevez will never wear the team's colours and the only way he would consider him for first team training is if he apologizes. However, Mancini is also confronted by the fact that his high priced transfers haven't materialized the way they should have. And there is no indication that they will.

The hugely talented Mario Balotelli provides cameos of what he's capable of but more often that not, is overshadowed by his on and off pitch implosions. Both Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero have cooled off their hot streak, Samir Nasri has been disappointing, and with David Silva, the only consistent creative spark, City is leaving a lot of loose ends. The attack needs a proven and consistent goalscorer which Carlos Tevez always has been which ever club he's joined. Plus, he's always been that clutch player who digs his club out of trouble.

Last season, he was the top scorer and in his 63 league appearances he scored 44 goals, better than anyone else. From Tevez's perspective, the longer he remains away from the pitch, the more he takes himself off the market. And deny he might but Tevez is losing a lot of good money he could squirrel away for a nice retirement nest egg. It is in the interest of both to start a dialogue and with a third of the season still remaining there is still plenty of time for Tevez to be productive and help put those creeping doubts away for good. The more Mancini and City make heavy weather, the louder the calls for kiss and make up. That sounds better than the axe, leaving City to pursue Jose Mourinho. Now that would be galling.

Arsenal have signed this guy to partner RVP. Alive and kicking?

If you are an Arsenal fan, your level of excitement should be deader than a dodo.

Wayne Bridge goes to Sunderland and Arsenal can heave a sigh of relief. Ravel Morrison, the Man Utd teenager with a self destructive streak but the skills of a young Paul Scholes, goes to West Ham.

Louis Saha is set to join Spurs as per the buzz if he can get out of bed. Peter Odemwingie, out of favour at West Brom maybe on his way to Fulham to replace Bobby Zamora who is being courted by QPR. Zamora is demanding £90,000 per week which will only happen if they're are bought out by City and PSG together or Mitt Romney, who will want to cement QPR's evangelical vote in time for today's Florida primary.

The chicken farmers at Blackburn are copying Wenger's moves on transfer deadline for those bargain basement deals and have signed Bradley Orr and Marcus Olsson, who they hope will bring them the Champions League.

Andy Carroll, skulking in the basement of his mother's house, has been told he's not wanted at Liverpool but he's also not wanted at City, who are developing a Stockholm Syndrome vis a vis Carlos Tevez. They are set to unveil him as their new signing after consulting with Wenger who reassures Mancini, a player out through injuries or suspension for four or more matches, counts as a new signing. However, they might have to fight Inter who have a sprung a big leak after being dinged badly by Lecce. No, sorry it is the other city club as per Sky Sports who are re-opening talks with City over Tevez.

Hot prospect Wilfried Zaha might not be leaving for Bolton. He obviously does not relish playing for another Championship side. Ryo Miyaichi, the Arsenal teenager will however be joining the Reebok. If he does not break a nose or suffer a facial fracture which is the current craze amongst these Arsenal loaners. Anzhi Makachkala is reportedly in hot pursuit of Andrey Arshavin which should be easy enough. He gets the ball, dashes down the sideline, cuts in to goal, loses ball and interest .... repeat.

For more Jelavic, De Bruyne, and a day that should lighten some purses and add to others, the Guardian has the skinny. They also are having lots of fun dinging Sky Sports.