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The battle between the two GQs resumes

Transfer windows are always silly season but they pale in comparison to the sort of collective psychosis and paranoia engendered by El Clasico.

The hysteria before tomorrow's Copa De Rey semi-final first leg has gems like if Mourinho plays Pepe in the midfield then Real has a winning record in the Clasicos. Barca counters with Puyol as being a lucky charm with the Catalan defender participating in five of their winning encounters and the only time they lost he was out with an injury. The big question is whether Guardiola is going to shake hands with Jose Mourinho? If Mourinho wears white with rhinestones then the handshake is on, if he wears a black trenchcoat and devil's mask then it is eternal bitterness and rancour between the two men.

Barca are now jumping on the referees. Yesterday, Xavi got into the act, accusing the referees of harming them with adverse calls. Iniesta and Valdes also climbed on the blame the referees bandwagon. A blatant hand ball by Raul Rodriguez ignored by the referee in the Espanyol derby which could have resulted in a Barca penalty has triggered outrage. More dismay ensued as Iniesta was booked for diving in the Real Betis match while the midfielder felt he had been fouled.

All sorts of fouls that have not been called has left Barca questioning this season's refereeing. Last year it was good, this year they are being victimized. Accordingly, a complaint has been lodged with the Liga's technical committee.

All of this is perfectly timed just before El Clasico at the Bernabeu tomorrow. We all know what happened in the first encounter last season when all hell broke loose with Real going all industrial and Barca diving like narcoleptics.

Guardiola, the consummate diplomat refused to be drawn into the refereeing controversy (its amazing how Barca manages to get players to shill for them) saying in his four years he had never made it an issue. In fact, he had no idea who would be officiating the match.

Jose Manuel Pinto is starting as goalie for the Blaugrana. Pinto is famous as the goalie who simulated a referee's whistle in a Champions League match in 2010. The Merengues may not have the services of Angel Di Maria who was knocked out in yesterday's training session.

AC Milan were the better attacking team and should have been deserving winners but the crossbar came to Inter's rescue. Soccer is cruel. Javier Zanetti proving at the age of 38 years he has a full tank of gas busts down the right and then diagonals all the way towards the direction of Diego Milito. What should have a simple collection for Ignazio Abate turns into a comedic air ball with Milito plundering the unexpected offering to finish perfectly as his slanted shot hits the far post past Christian Abbiati to nestle in the net.

Wesley Sneijder's career is on the wane. The Argentinian Ricardo Alvarez was a starter ahead of him. At the other end Alexandre Pato looked like he was just happy being in Milan after escaping the PSG transfer scare as he did nothing really to justify his presence. Inter turned in a fine defensive performance; if not in the same calibre as the immense performance against Barca a few years ago, good enough to stop whatever Milan had to throw at them including a very good Stephen Al Shaarawy.

A word of warning to Arsenal. Kevin Prince Boateng will be an immense player in their Champions League encounter. He has a wicked long range shot and plenty of movement in midfield to pose a myriad of problems. Boateng's ascension to trequartista is a story of dreams with his career rescued from the wreckage of Portsmouth's fiery descent to bankruptcy.

Can we say Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the most over rated striker in the world? Pretty please.

The achilles tendon: A vital "push off" that helps change the body's position

When does one go from saying that a single instance is happenstance, two is a coincidence, to three or more is a bloody epidemic? Add ankle injury to the list of eventualities an Arsenal player must face including taxes, lack of titles, departure, and death. Or so it would appear. Throw in a gratuitous red card too.

Thomas Vermaelen is out for six weeks after undergoing surgery for a achilles tendon injury of his left ankle. This is the rather optimistic picture presented by his father. In reality, it could be three months or even more.

Last season a similar injury to his right ankle required surgical intervention after his return dragged out eight months. Vermaelen showed no after effects back on the pitch. He had three stellar outings before the Udinese second leg where he suffered the present injury problem diagnosed as an ankle tendinopathy. Which is better than a tear but could become a chronic problem.

He joins Craig Eastmond, Abou Diaby, and Jack Wilshere in the foot and ankle injury list. Arsenal lead the list in injuries afflicting this anatomical structure. In the present side, seven other players have spent considerable periods of time out with ankle problems. Aaron Ramsey, Andrey Arshavin, Robin Van Persie, Johan Djourou, Alexander Song, Tomas Rosicky, and Kieran Gibbs. These are not squad players. They are the line up. At this point, these injuries are not a matter of conjecture as much as a parliamentary inquiry or the subject of medical research.

Our best centre back is out which means Per Mertesacker given his experience has to assume the mantle of organizer in chief before we can say schnell. He will partner Johan Djourou or Laurent Koscielny in another rendition of defensive refurbishment. A further prolongation of our long standing defensive banes of never having the luxury of a settled pair in the heart of defense.

What does this mean for Vermaelen? For the uninitiated the achilles tendon is the vital bio-mechanical link between the calf muscles and the foot. The tendon helps in "pushing off" the ground when we walk, run, or jump. Any event that compromises the integrity of the tendon or its attachments results in disruption in these cornerstones of physical functioning. A centre back like Vermaelen relies on intact ankle and foot structures to generate the explosive power to elevate himself above or around to deal with a Christopher Samba setpiece threat. It allows him to accelerate into a sliding tackle that would take the ball away from Luis Suarez. Or help an unsighted, out of position Sczeszny with a last minute goal saving toe poke.

David Beckham who suffered a complete tear of the achilles tendon but came back after 7 months to fit right into the Galaxy attack shows no ill effects. He's the high profile set piece man in the lower gear MLS which is just what the doctor ordered. Vermaelen has no option but to go back to the grinding wear and tear of his job responsibilities and the unflagging pace of the Premiership. Unfortunately, this is looking to be a recurring pattern of injury time outs that further compromises Arsenal's shaky back line. A winter transfer would be the obvious remedial action but this is Arsenal where such considerations are secondary to the bottomline.

England overcame World War II buoyed by the bulldog spirit of Winston Churchill, the perfect choice for a war time leader. Yet, it was Clement Atlee who was voted to rebuild an England recovering from the war's aftermath and the decline of empire. 50 years later these two men rank in the list of greatest leaders. Two very different personalities but both provided the proper leadership needed for their country for their times. Those who believe Wenger's departure will be apocalyptic will be well advised to remember this example.

Arsene Wenger led Arsenal to heights never touched before. It led to the cult of AKB for all the right reasons. But something happened on the way. He got too close to the board and co-opted their message. There was no firewall. No separation of pitch from boardroom. Before long he was opining on the shareholding fight and the composition of the board. One doesn't quite know when the shift from managerial duties to a mouthpiece began but the drift has been going for long. It's now a cozy relationship without expectation.

Wenger's present avatar is now one of fiscal responsibility. His transition to an activist has been a natural fit because of the club's own belief in living within its means. It also means putting aside a wishlist which could pose a serious potential conflict of interest with the austerity that is being practiced at the Emirates.

Look at Roberto Mancini's frustration at his board (an entity that can buy the world fifty times over) at their perceived foot dragging on Samir Nasri. Today, Nasri delivered a stinging vindication of Mancini's desire to have him on the board. Manciini's first responsibility is to deliver City's first Premiership title and not a philosophical point. Sir Alex provided Wenger with strong words of support but he's never laboured under the illusion of being any more than the manager of Utd even after a record 20 titles. Juan Mata wasted no time in making an impact after Andre Villa-Boas showed the requisite alarm in not having a wide game. Ditto for Kenny Dalglish with Luis Enrique for Liverpool.

Arsene Knows F**k All (AKFA) might be a bit harsh but there are chinks in the armour.

Rennes midfielder Yann M'Vila has been linked with Arsenal

Arsene Wenger might finally bring in a late cavalry charge to add quality to the midfield.

Yann M'Vila the highly rated holding midfielder from Rennes is a £15million target, although there are reports of Rennes denying any such link.

Further upfield Arsenal is linked with Lille's Eden Hazard once again to provide the creative spark. His transfer fee is in the region of £20m. Another player in the same role on the short list is Marvin Martin, Sochaux's eye catching attacking midfielder who may come at a more reasonable price.

The usual linkages to Phil Jagielka are still doing the rounds.

The caveat is all of this will have to hold till after Wednesday because a major attraction playing for Arsenal is the prospect of Champions League participation. If they are able to overcome Udinese then Arsenal goes into negotiations for potential transfers with the upper hand. If they are eliminated then it becomes a tougher sell as personal terms and the transfer fee in the absence of a direct appeal figure more prominently.

Wenger has reiterated he wants to buy, but the difficult part is who to buy. He says he's bought quality in his recent signings but it is potential quality and not experience. Plus the jury is still out on whether his recent signings of more experienced players have proven successful. An intelligent ideologue like Wenger is probably going through some analysis paralysis and yet the pressure to act has never been greater.

There are other positions that are uncovered where Arsenal could do with strengthening. One is at left back where the options after Kieran Gibbs is very limited with Armando Traore also out with an injury. Wenger missed a golden opportunity in Luis Enrique who signed with Liverpool and then subdued Walcott in the weekend match. And Arsenal need a genuine target man in front who can take the pressure of RVP. Bendtner is unsettled and Chamakh shows no appetite to be that player.

Emmanuel Frimpong is a unit: Now he needs a bit more control

It's hard to believe we're just three matches old and already Arsenal wears the scars of a full season. The weak of heart need not apply because we really do not how this will all end. A spectacular supernova implosion or a gradual decline into a red dwarf?

The summary: Arsenal were further depleted with yet another defender limping off, the second match in a row a player was sent off, three 19 year olds making their debuts, a comedic own goal which was actually offside, and the genie of Titi Camara that had lived in a bottle for 11 years till Aaron Ramsey decided to rub it on his chest. Yes, include Luis Suarez into that mix. Because he made the difference between another goalless draw and the a 2-0 scoreline in favour of Liverpool. Kenny Dalglish might be rubbished for every other transfer but Suarez makes him look like a genius.

I suspect Arsene Wenger loves these spectacles. It's very Moliere. He sent in Samir Nasri who actually spent time away from Twitter to put in a decent shift. Rumours are that he might not be singing Blue Moon quickly enough for his liking. We shall see.

This new Arsenal will make George Graham perk up with interest. They don't score goals and they look ugly. I sort of forget the number of forays made in the first half that found no one in the middle. No one. Van Persie had to go off his orbit to find the ball because Ramsey is no Fabregas. And there is no one to give him company up top. Andy Carroll may be a lump of clay but compared to Marouane Chamakh he's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Wenger said something about "focusing on the players we have". I don't think Arshavin got the memo. He is a shadow of the player who spent his earlier career terrorizing Liverpool. There appears to be no desire to even try and fill the vacuum left by Fabregas. As a reminder: Arshavin is Arsenal's most expensive signing at £16.5 million. His tongue in cheek comments on his website attract more attention than his exploits on the pitch nowadays.

It's the defense that's gathering all the encomiums. Thomas Vermaelen looks like he's making up for that missed season. Carl Jenkinson playing out of position looked game for the toe to toe. Miguel Ignasi settled after his early jitters. Bakary Sagna was his solid self. Which brings us to Emanuel Frimpong who looks like he could tear a bunny rabbit to bits and send its uncle the bill to clean the mess. The best player in the middle at 19 years but also one who looked most likely to go out of control. Which is what happened and Arsenal's afternoon quickly turned to loose sewerage.

Everyone is baying for new signings. But Wenger always the contrarian, thinks differently. His history boys will make it one of these days.

Headmaster: There's a vacancy in history.
Tom Irwin: [Thoughtfully] That's very true.
Headmaster: In the school.
Tom Irwin: Ah.

I for one welcome the departure of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. Full disclosure, Fabregas is my favourite player at Arsenal and wear his no 4 jersey proudly to all the matches. You will find fewer fans more bereft when he leaves. And yet, there is a sense of overwhelming relief when he finally signs on the dotted line which brings this whole exhausting and none too edifying saga to closure.

To a generation of fans, he will first and foremost be an Arsenal player even as he looks to spend the better part of his career matter at Barca. There is an indelible image of Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini (another player who Arsenal fans cherish) wrestle the ball away from Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra after an epic struggle and moments later Emmanuel Eboue laid a beauty of a cross that Thierry Henry got his head onto for a 2-0 win against Man Utd. That goal was not just a goal as much as it was the infinite possibilities of what the Gunners under Fabregas could accomplish if they set their mind to it.

That was in 2007. For Fabregas the cast of characters who could share in those magical moments melted away in front of his eyes over the years. Even as he grew in stature to become one of football's leading lights one sensed a feeling of loneliness on the pitch and even despondency with each year bringing little success. On the pitch he had his best season in 2009-10 despite struggling with injuries and the additional responsibility of team captain. Who can forget Fabregas and his heroics in the dying minutes of the first leg of the CL quarterfinals against Barca? Taking a penalty with his broken leg and immediately after the adrenaline surge had worn off collapse in pain.

A year later his failed backheel against Barca was described less charitably as a moment of subversion. It was clear this was a deeply unhappy player who had been persuaded by Wenger to stay on with promises that this year would be different. It turned out to be the same. Their close father- son relationship was further damaged with Fabregas's strong insinuations in a Spanish publication that Wenger would have been fired if he had been in La Liga for his lack of success. A shocked Wenger insisted his captain was probably misquoted and Fabregas did backtrack even as he left the essence of his accusations intact.

That backheel embodied the increasing ambivalence felt by fans towards Fabregas. He is Arsenal's most gifted player by far, yet at the same time, his questionable half throttle performances were becoming more obvious, the result of injury or more cynically, by design. Would Wenger, by a miracle manage to keep him on for another year, expect his protege, the 16 year old stripling who first came to Arsenal in 2003, to leave aside his sense of betrayal and perform as if nothing had changed?

With all the water under the bridge the chances of Fabregas Twittering a la Joey Barton about his sense of frustration with transfers and lack of faith in his coach would be a far more realistic possibility. Further shredding every shred of dignity. At least we're spared that unseemly outcome and he departs with the very best wishes of every fan proud to call themselves Gunners. He goes to a club where "All players are equal, but some players are more equal than others". Animal Farm analogies aside at Barca he would be unburdened by the crushing expectations of pulling a rabbit out of the hat.

Now there is no recourse but to give Arsenal a badly needed shot of rejuvenation. Even the most die hard AKB fans will have to acknowledge that the present status quo is untenable.

The latest offer tabled for £33m for Cesc Fabregas has been rejected by Arsenal. The actual amount was £28m with over £5m in variables. That figure comes from bonuses based on appearances made and titles won. This is still about £7m short of the price the Gunners are demanding for Fabregas. They are also clear they want a clean deal without backloaded payments.

Peter Hill- Wood on Barca's bid. "The offer is not close to what we are looking for. It is very simple from our point of view. We have told them what we want and we are holding to it."

"Barca are offering variables depending on all sorts of fantastical things, but we are not interested in that. We want them to pay what he's worth."

Tomorrow is also the deadline for filing the list of players appearing for the Champions League playoffs which according to reports Fabregas is resisting because it could mean being cup tied. However this might be moot given he's been ruled out of the Newcastle opener because of match fitness issues. He might be entered but there are practically very little chance of him playing the CL playoffs till this is all resolved.

The problem really is Fabregas's valuation comes from the understanding he wants to go back to his boyhood club. What Arsenal should do at this point is if his transfer does not work out is to declare it open from next season and negotiate with the highest bidder. Then we'll see whether Barca wants him or not.

FC Porto reports Andre Villas-Boas has resigned. The check for €15m needed for his buyout appears to be in the mail. Chelsea should announce his hiring in the next few days.

Will AVB's first locker room gesture be to embrace John Terry? You've to get in good with the Chelsea captain otherwise as Jose Mourinho found out things can get quite sticky. The other thing is the rumours surrounding a Falcao arrival. Which would mean an exit for Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka.

Every data point (pass, cross, offside, out of play etc) mapped in these two hemispheres (one for each half) between Man Utd and Barca in the Champions League finals.

Simon Kuper's fascinating article in the FT about how the data revolution is slowly changing the face of soccer. There might be a time when quants will emerge from their gray shadows and take their rightful place on the cover of Four Four Two.

Michael Lewis's book Moneyball made famous Billy Beane's use of statistics to transform the underrated Oakland Athletics into giant killers. Some of the more savvy soccer managers read the book and wanted to know if it could produce similar results. It led to a number of clubs like Chelsea and Spurs brainstorming Beane on how soccer data could be used to improve performances and make the correct transfer choices.

Damien Comolli now at Liverpool first crunched numbers in 2005 while at Spurs with his input directly responsible for the hiring of Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, and Dimitar Berbatov. He had befriended Beane as had Mike Forde, Chelsea's performance director. Both men kept up the contact with the Oakland A's manager whose passion had now turned to data crunching and analyzing soccer matches.

Comolli and Forde were following in the footsteps of Arsene Wenger and Sam Allardyce who were pioneers in the use of data. Wenger used computer programs in Monaco and brought his mathematical background to Arsenal changing the guts and glory ethos of George Graham. Big Sam used his data points to forge Bolton into one of the toughest defending units while relying on set pieces to score goals.

Claude Makelele is cited as a prime example of how statistics can go beyond the human eye. He was let go by Real Madrid as Fiorentino Perez was unimpressed by the holding midfielder's lack of pace and technique which resulted in faster players overlapping him. The CEO also believed he lacked any meaningful distribution skills.

Makelele went on to spend five fruitful years with Chelsea while Real's fortunes nosedived. Statistics later proved that Makelele was one of those players who thrive when the opposition has the ball. More than anyone else he was responsible for snuffing out attacking moves because he would raise his intensity levels to extra-ordinary levels.

The football data revolution is catching on and it might be one way to keep smaller clubs competitive by hiring smart quants to decipher how to deal with their wealthier opposition. The challenge is to make statistics smarter, i.e., correlative, to find factors that can significantly impact outcomes, in this instance, goals. For e.g., total distance covered does not really influence matches but the distance run at top speeds does. Which made Thierry Henry so lethal. Soccer's free flowing nature makes gathering discrete data points challenging but a new generation of computer programs, motion capture software, and analysts are overturning these precepts. Unleash the quants.

The world's oldest football competition will be sponsored for the next three years by the "King of Beers". The competition is to be grandiosely re-branded as the FA Cup with Budweiser.

The FA of course gets some serious business. For the more finicky it's a measure of the beer's quality when the Budweiser ads generate more buzz than the taste. Here is ratebeer.com's take on its flagship product. Six of the 10 worst rated beers in the world are made by Anheuser Busch.

The less than ringing endorsement from the beer cognoscenti has not dampened Anheuser Busch's appetite to team up with other global brands of which there is no bigger behemoth than FIFA. Budweiser is proudly touted as FIFA's beer for the last 25 years which is a lot of water under the bridge. Maybe the association with Sepp Blatter is apt - the self styled "King of Beers" meets "The Emperor with no clothes." True that.

Simon Kuper's new book "The Football Men" tries to take us beyond what we know of the football superstars on TV and media.

Some insights. Most of them glorify their family turning it into a warm cocoon which is a reaction from a later life governed by mercantilism and ulterior motives. Growing up they know very little outside of football. Certainly, school holds no charm for them and only Frank Lampard is mentioned as having a remote interest in academia.

Professionally, they undergo a "culture shock" when they sign for clubs with a global following. Suddenly their life and locker room is filled with people who are removed from their culture and upbringing. It leads to a sort of separation anxiety with lingering suspicions. In Steven Gerrard's case he gives voice to his grudges that foreign players are basically cheats and they foul, dive, and whinge too much.

Perhaps it is their early turning to the sport that gives them their precociousness. But most of them instinctively realize that football carries far more weight than a misplaced loyalty to their boyhood club. They're able to break with their past fairly comfortably which invariably leads to much angst amongst fans who denounce them as traitors. In Ashley Cole's case it was because of Arsenal's recalcitrance to offer more than £55,000 a week in salary that proved to be the breaking point.

Stardom though seems to bring no real joy. In Carragher's case his idea of relaxing is to soak in a hot tub after a grinding match. And Rooney's favourite hobby is sleeping and sports betting. Kuper also mentions the lack of self awareness and insight most of them seem to have barring Carragher and Gerrard. For Lampard the sight of Roman Abramovich's yacht has aspirational value and puts into perspective his lack of personal wealth.

Nationalism is over rated too. Most of them expressed disappointment in failing to take England further in 2006 but it was almost always compared to the anguish felt if the same had happened to their club. The period of mourning if it could be called that was very brief. This lack of emotion is at odds with the widespread belief that England will eventually win the World Cup.

The FT has an excerpt >>

Jose Mourinho will watch the second leg of the Champions League in a hotel room. Aitor Karanka, his assistant has been delegated on the pitch but it did not stop Mourinho playing his pre-match mind games.

This time it was Franck De Bleekere getting singled out. The Belgian referee is officiating the match and was the target of Mourinho's ire when he sent off Thaigo Motta in last year's semi-finals between Inter and Barca. That decision was part of a long list cited as evidence that UEFA favoured the Catalonians. For his part, the referee stated "this was all about football."

For Real to have any chance they need to attack from the get go. Karim Benzema their hottest striker in the Champions League should partner Cristiano Ronaldo. Ozil and Angel Di Maria form the supply line and will have to do a better job of finding the two strikers than the first leg. On the bench Karanka can turn to Gonzalo Higuain, Kaka, and Adebayor to bolster the attack. One thing is for sure, this is not the time to turn to anti-football.

szólj hozzá: roberto carlos debüt

The ageless Roberto Carlos who many thought would finish his career in Corinthians made another U turn when he joined Anzhi Makhachkala, a Russian Premier League club based in Makhachkala, the capital of the North Caucasian republic of Dagestan.

The club is bankrolled by billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, the 118th richest man in the world who made his fortune in metals, oil, real estate, and banking. Kerimov took over the club in January 2011 and immediately set about changing the face of the team with a decidedly Samba touch. Roberto Carlos was lured with a huge paycheck and his move was followed by fellow Corinthian Jucelei, part of Mano Menezes new look Selecao and Genk's Joao Carlos. Diego Tardelli, Atletico Mineiro's standout striker and on Dunga's reserve list for the 2010 World Cup is the newest arrival in this turnaround.

Kerimov might be able to pull of an Abramovich and vault Anzhi Makhachkala to the top of the Russian league. As Domm Norris points out, "the influx of South American talent to Makhachkala has inevitably made people stand up and take notice of a side who finished last season rooted in mid table mediocrity."

On April 24th, Roberto Carlos scored his first goal against Dynamo Moscow through a penalty and the spring in his step during his celebration shows he is game for another two seasons. He may never have heard of his new club but he's ready to lead them to trophies. They're currently 6th in the table behind better known Zenit St Petersburg and CSKA Moscow.

There are different reasons for getting energized by these developments but one maybe the tongue twisting delight in saying Anzhi Makhachkala rapidly. Makhachkala's etymology is rooted in the city's homage to the Dagestani revolutionary Mahomet Ali Dakhadayev (in Dagestani, Makhach means Mahomet) and Qala/ Kala is Armenian for fortress. Anzhi is soil.

But does he love Arsenal? God is a Man Utd fan

96 minutes of almost nothingness. Then a dodgy penalty call and RVP scores for Arsenal. This being Arsenal you knew they would look for ways to shoot themselves in the foot in the remaining minutes.

And sure enough it was Emmanuel Eboue, a footballer whose mental fortitude is that of a fruit fly, barging into Lucas Leiva when all he had to do was shepherd the Liverpool man out. Leiva milked that moment and Andre Marriner did not hesitate to point to the spot. Dirk Kuyt's equalizing penalty sounded Arsenal's death knell.

Except for the penalty, Van Persie resembled Nicklas Bendtner in his utter failure to be effective. Cesc Fabregas contribution was going down cheaply to Jay Spearing, theatrics that earned them a penalty. Its been ages since the Arsenal captain looked sharp. Samir Nasri dazzled with his inventive foot skills but was often isolated out on the left. Even Jack Wilshere, a usually industrious presence in midfield was missing.

Andrey Arshavin, often derided for ennui on the pitch, cut a lonely figure in his enterprise and zeal when Wenger brought him on late in the second half. It was heartening to see his lively presence on the wing and his enthusiastic tracking back - probably the only positive note in this otherwise drab affair.

With Liverpool's most experienced defender Jamie Carragher gone knocked lights out after a head butt by his own player and Fabio Aurelio departing earlier to an injury, the back four sported an unfamiliar look with teenagers Jack Robinson and John Flanagan. Top scoring threat Andy Carroll was subbed off with a knee strain.

Yet, Arsenal could not press their advantage despite Liverpool's lack of experience in key areas. For all the possession there was the familiar litany of scoring chances laid waste, crosses that found no one, or one dribble too many. Arsenal's woeful set piece capabilities let them down too. Laurent Koscielny came close when his header off a corner struck the crossbar. There was always Pepe Reina to clean up those close chances as he did stopping Van Persie's low shot.

Liverpool looked sharp when Luis Suarez had the ball and the Uruguayan with his twisting runs and change of pace clearly troubled Arsenal's defense especially in the second half. But both teams looked unlikely to score even with 8 minutes of added on time counting for Carragher's injury. Till the late, late dramatics kicked in.

This result crystallizes a few things - Arsenal has a monkey's chance of winning a title with the current crop of players. It's not that they aren't good, it's that this team is mentally fragile. But they are also made hapless by a manager whose persecution complex grows with every passing game as he assigns blame to circumstances beyond his control. Arsenal also have clear structural goalscoring issues for such an attack minded team. It's ironical Wenger whose knowledge of the game is exemplary has these huge blindspots when it comes to his own team. The defense in this case was not the maligned party.

Former Arsenal director Danny Fiszman passed away after a long battle against throat cancer.

He was Arsenal's largest shareholder till September 2007 before gradually disinvesting his stake to Stan Kroenke. He sold the remaining 16.11% shares to Kroenke just two days before his death.

Fiszman will always be known as instrumental in Arsenal's move from Highbury to Ashburton Grove. A lifelong Gooner, he was also involved in bringing Dennis Bergkamp, Robin Van Persie, and Cesc Fabregas to Arsenal. And during his time on the board, Arsenal won two Premierships and three FA Cups.

Arsenal Chairman Peter Hill-Wood said: "Danny Fiszman was a visionary Director, a gentleman and a true Arsenal fan.

"We are all deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend Danny. His voice, wisdom and presence around the football club he so dearly loved will be sorely missed".

RIP Danny. A true friend of Arsenal. You shall be missed.

Before we say Raul and make no mistake this was all the former Real Madrid man, we've to say this Inter defense was exposed once again. What a difference a year makes.

Schalke was obviously the brighter of the two teams but Jurado slipping a pass to Raul through a defense hopelessly caught out of position and the striker feinting past a stumbling Julio Cesar did not make for a pretty picture. Thiago Motta got a consolation equalizer but a desperate Inter were undone as Raul slipped a nice pass for Howedes to outrun the defense and score.

It is Man Utd and Schalke in the semi-finals and if past records are any indication then the Red Devils will have their hands full against Ralf Ragnick's team. German teams have had their way against the Mancusians.

The biggest news over the weekend was 41 year old Jens Lehmann's return and the commanding difference he made in goal. It was supposed to be a quiet segue into a week of preparation before the all important Liverpool match.

But today, Stan Kroenke or "Silent Stan" made waves completing a virtual takeover of Arsenal excepting for Alisher Usmanov's 27% share. Unlike other takeover's this was done from the inside with Kroenke steadily adding to his share since 2007 leaving him a hair trigger away from the 30% needed for an automatic bid. The more relevant question is how has he secured this financing and more worryingly, will he do a "Glazer" and use the clubs assets to finance debt? Nothing prevents him from using the club's multi-billion pound dividends or its cash reserve to pay down debt.

He did not offer an answer to his source of funds other than an assurance: "The offer will not be funded by way of any debt finance .... for which the payment of interest on, repayment of or security for any liability [contingent or otherwise] will depend on the business of Arsenal."

The takeover took place with an implication of trust in Kroenke's integrity. Nina Bracewell-Smith and Danny Fiszman, two of Arsenal's oldest hands agreed to sell off their shares. It is hard to imagine them being a party to this agreement without the reassurance the US billionaire was using his own assets to secure the £731m needed for full control. In addition, he's been a board member since 2009 unlike Usmanov.

Kroenke is Walmart's scion (he's married to James Walton's daughter). His personal fortune is assessed at $2.6b (130 on the Forbes 400 rich list) with wife, Ann coming at 99th with a $3.4b with estimate.

Over the years, he's transformed his initial real estate and retail success to building a thriving sports empire. He became a full owner of the NFL's St Louis Rams (valuation $929b) , the 2000 Super Bowl champions after transferring his ownership of the Denver Nuggets, a regular NBA playoff contender and the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, two time Stanley Cup champions to his son. Last year, his soccer team, the Colorado Rapids won their first MLS title. He also owns an Arena football team and a lacrosse team.

His sports company Kroenke Sports Enterprise (KSE) also owns Pepsi Center, home of the Nuggets and Avalanche) and is a co-owner of Dick Sporting Goods Park, the Rapids soccer specific stadium. In recent years, he has branched out into sports merchandising and TV media.

This is a businessman with considerable assets diversified over a myriad of successful professional teams. He also has considerable clout in the real estate and retail sector by his personal association with the Walmart family. There is a history of long term investing, prudent decision making, and a passion for improving his teams. An unobtrusive persona maybe his biggest virtue as there is rarely a mention of his interfering with the players, administrators, and coaching staff.

Ivan Gazidis, Arsenal's CEO was also quick to point out that Kroenke who he knew in his MLS days would not interfere in Arsenal's daily business.

" So I don't think we will see dramatic changes. At the same, I do think that Mr Kroenke brings experience in the sports arena. He's got tremendous experience in the United States and also experience now over here in England."

The gut feeling is that Kroenke will not use Arsenal to load his personal debt like the Glazers and Tom Hicks, both took over Man Utd and Liverpool in highly leveraged buyouts without ever gaining the fans trust. And he has reposed faith in Arsene Wenger. So far the Arsenal Supporter's Trust has not commented on these significant developments but one suspects it will not be an unfavourable assessment of the situation when they finally do. It appears a good marriage between self made man with an eye for detail and a penchant for maximizing opportunities with a conservative spending club with a self sustaining business model in prime condition to negotiate FIFA's financial fair play rules.

Kroenke in his own words:

"All of my mentors told me to find something I loved to do and try to be the best at it. Personal recognition isn't something I have thought much about - I think if you work hard and are honest, then good things will happen."

The only thing one has a quibble with is the timing. With Arsenal's title hopes delicately poised and dependent on their remaining performances, this could prove an ill afforded distraction as momentous as this one. On a related note, there is every indication Arsenal may start touring the USA in their pre-season and tap into an audience hungry for a taste of soccer different from say that of Man Utd and Chelsea.

Liverpool fans can expect NBA superstar LeBron James to be present in their midst at Anfield taking in a game sometime in the near future.

LeBron is joining hands with John Henry, chairman of the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) who own Liverpool. As part of the deal, LeBron gets a minority stake in Liverpool while FSG partners with his sports marketing company to become his exclusive world wide representative.

The WSJ reports that this is the first time a professional athlete at the top of his game has taken an ownership interest in a team with the size and prestige of Liverpool, one of the biggest and most storied names in football.

The deal marks FSG's serious intent to become a power player in the world of sports marketing through their subsidiary Fenway Sports Management. LeBron marks their biggest capture and it is hoped that the tie up with FSG will open up his marketing potentially on a global scale wherever Liverpool is popular, especially Asia.

These are optimistic times for Liverpool as Damien Comolli, director of football has indicated that the purse-strings will be opened up in the summer for some high priced transfers. John Henry wants to augment the squad and openly fretted that the high wage bill reflected poorly on its quality and depth. Their priority like many before them, to win their first Premiership.

LeBron was left admiring Liverpool's eighteen league titles although one should have told him the last one came in 1990.

Nice write up in the NYT magazine about 16 year old phenom Indi Cowie, whose family is originally from Glasgow but now settled in North Carolina. This clip gives an overview of her amazing freestyle skills which are entirely self taught. And she is not a half bad player on the pitch dazzling everyone with her dribbling and scoring loads of goals.

Not surprisingly, she is not too popular with her school mates who think she is a ball hog. But that single mindedness is celebrated in all the top goalscorers including Mia Hamm, who Indie recognized as a kindred spirit when she saw her score a goal. Like Hamm before, Indi too is set to go to UNC and possibly takeover both mantles of greatest soccer player as well as freestyle artist.

Veteran Andriy Shevchenko, the former Milan and Chelsea striker showed quick thinking and quick feet to give Dynamo Kyiv the lead in the 25th minute. And in the 77th minute Oleh Gusev added a second as Kyiv ran out victors, 2-0.

Roberto Mancini looked stunned. He also had to deal with second half theatrics served up by Mario Balotelli who tottered in late and then developed all manners of facial tics. He had to be taken off looking quite ill. It was apparently an allergic reaction brought on by the grass on the pitch which caused his face to swell up. Edin Dzeko was a non-factor.

The action swings back to the Eastlands and City have their work cut out to overcome a two goal deficit.