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Adriano gets the Blaugranas started after Cesc Fabregas does all the brilliant spadework. Well into the second half, Pedro is brought down in the box and Messi who comes off the bench scores from the spot. The little maestro is at the right place at the right time to sweep into goal Montoya's cross for his brace.

Getafe get one back as their goal comes after a bizarre double deflection off Xavi and Javier Mascherano. The last laugh belongs to Barca as David Villa gets Barca's fourth and final goal.

Messi it is said was given a bit of a rest after a grueling schedule of internationals with Argentina which also included their bus getting pelted by stones in Peru for the World Cup qualifier.

Barca continue to be in first place and are now eight points ahead of 10th placed Real Madrid.

szólj hozzá: Arsenal vs Southampton 6:1 MOTD

The only imperfection in an otherwise perfect outing for the Gunners was the display of Wojciech Szczesny who could not preserve a clean sheet. A minor detail it would appear but an irritating one nevertheless. The rest was quite stellar.

Arsene Wenger did not start any frontline striker opting to go for Podolski, Gervinho, and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain. In place of Abou Diaby, Frances Coquelin got his start. And Vito Mannone made way for Szczesny. It was on the front foot for the Gunners right from the start with Santi Cazorla ably backed up by Mikel Arteta as the two Spaniards began to run the show. Lovely touch football in the tightest of spaces as players interchanged positions fluidly and freely.

Dare we say it? In the four matches played so far Cazorla has shown himself to be a notch above Fabregas as a creator. He is so compact with the ball showing an incomparable ability to diagram plays and execute them with nary an extraneous pass. Podolski showed great tenacity and determination to claim the ball back and drive past defenders to feed Kieran Gibbs whose shot was turned into an own goal. His free kick was even better. Lacing the ball with plenty of power and movement to fool Kelvin Davis. Cazorla and Arteta linked up and the latter scooped the ball over to find Gervinho running hard and finishing superbly. The pair connected again a few minutes later as Cazorla put Gervinho through for the Cote D'Ivoirian to find Gibbs steaming from the left to slam his shot which once again deflected into goal.

A merry band of Gunners running riot over the hapless Saints and looking for more. However, the first half ended on a bit of a sour note as Szczesny could not hold onto a routine cross by Jason Puncheon and dropped the ball right in the doorstep of Danny Fox. The Polish goalie looked out of sorts with his goal kicks and throws proving nightmarish ventures. With the side playing solid and mistake free team defense, the last thing one needs is the last line looking shaky and conceding silly goals. You have to love the sight of the Gunners regrouping to run back in numbers and maintain that defensive shape. The Saints counterattack was going nowhere with all the gaps and players covered till Szczesny had that brain freeze.

The second half saw the Saints rustling up a bit more ambition pushing forward and seeing more of the ball. But the Gunners after a lull answered through Aaron Ramsey who had an excellent game. His first touch after receiving the ball from Cazorla was impeccable and set up a sequence of movements with his shot flicked through hitting the upright. Gervinho was at hand to clean up. Oliver Giroud came on and one thought his goal drought would end when Theo Walcott broke through with pace to created a two on one situation. But in a familiar routine, wisdom was jettisoned, and he decided to over elaborate allowing the defense to recover and then twisted and turned into a cul de sac. Walcott did get Arsenal's final goal when Cazorla dinked a rebound into the path of the former Saints player and he crashed the ball into the net. Muted celebrations followed. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, the other Saint in the midst was a constant threat down the right and came close a couple of times to scoring a goal.

One note. Per Mertesacker. The tall, lanky German had a superb game. He often looks slow but makes up for it with great positional sense. Today, we saw an aggressive Mertesacker imposing himself on set pieces. Usually, it is Vermaelen who takes the lead.

With this result, we go to Montpellier to begin the CL campaign with a good head of steam. Then back to the league to face City and a far more severe test. The scoring seems to be coming by committee which is probably the best way to plug RVP's loss. However, we really don't need a goalkeeping controversy because the last time we had one, there were three choices. Worse, much worse, the worst.

It took Thierry Henry eight matches to open his scoring account for Arsenal, a period so fraught with self doubt that the winger turned striker admitted he had to be "re-taught everything about the art of striking." The drought ended on 18 September 1999 against Southampton, as Henry losing his marker, finds a sliver of space and curls his shot without any further elaboration. The rest they say is history. Arsenal's topscorer finished with 228 goals (and possibly counting) breaking Ian Wright's previous record by 43 goals.

Wright did not have to wait that long. His first league appearance was against Southampton on 28 September 1991, and it turned out to be a stunning debut as Arsenal scorched the Saints, 4-0 with Wright scoring a hat trick on his way to winning the Golden Boot. Three years later, Southampton were at the receiving end of another Wright hat trick losing by an identical margin. The former Crystal Palace striker ended his Arsenal career with five hat tricks and lead the club goalscoring six of his seven years.

The highly anticipated arrival of Dennis Bergkamp, a rising star on a record fee of £7.5 million from Inter was expected to pay immediate dividends. Instead, Bruce Rioch's signing struggled to adapt to the Premier League. On 23 September 1995, Southampton came knocking and Bergkamp, the butt of merciless ridicule by the press, scored a brace in his fifth appearance. He went on to score 11 goals that season helping Arsenal to fifth place in the league. Bergkamp ended his Arsenal career giving the English language, "sublime." .

Robin Van Persie, his career blighted with injury till last season, lived up to his full throated promise when he showed what he was capable of if healthy. Arsenal shot to third place after their worst start in fifty eight years as the Dutchman top scored with 30 league goals. RVP came to Arsenal from Ajax in 2004 and his first brush with the Premier League was marred by competition from Antonio Reyes, immature outbursts, and injuries. He was a sparingly used sub coming in late for either Reyes or Pires and it was his fifth match coming off the bench as Arsenal trailed Southampton, 1-2. With a few minutes left on the clock, RVP drew Arsenal level with a left footed curler for his first Premiership goal on 30th October. The Saints turned out to be a familiar target once again on their Premiership return, as RVP scored a first hat trick for his new club, Man Utd.

Oliver Giroud should take heart. His movement has been good and he's been getting chances in front of goal. He doesn't have to overthink things. Admittedly, all four players who scored against the Saints were not exactly centerforwards but were either wingers turned strikers or were comfortable playing in the hole. Giroud's best bet still remains positioning himself out on the posts for set piece service or second attempts. He has to use his height and physicality to create chances for him and for others in and around the box. Tomorrow might be the day to end his scoring frustrations. If he does, he's in excellent company.

The first half was a virtual lockdown of Jamaica in their own half as the USA created a blistering barrage of scoring chances that met either structural failure (upright, crossbar), Dwayne Millers's spectacular saves, or Nyron Nosworthy's blocks. In all, the USA could have easily gone up at least three up and made this a no contest.

The goal came from an almost anti-climactic goalkeeping error in the second half as Miller's late reaction to Hercules Gomez's free kick wasn't enough to keep the ball from deflecting into goal. All that brilliance undone in a moment of ineptitude. Unfortunately for the US, it also seemed to signal a loss of ambition as suddenly they took the foot of the accelerator and allowed the Jamaicans to creep back into the game. The next 20 minutes were quite nervy but fortunately for them Jamaicans also lacked ideas once they got into the scoring third.

Klinsmann made five changes. Graham Zusi had a phenomenal start and the Kansas City winger settled in with Steve Cherundolo also back from injury as both created havoc with their off ball movement and service down the right channel. Zusi's rasping shot which hit the crossbar set the tone for the first half. Klinsi also introduced Danny Williams ahead of Maurice Edu and the US capitalized on his added injection of speed which was lacking in the Friday game. Captain Carlos Bocanegra also got the nod partnering Geoff Cameron in the heart of defense.

Williams also had a chance which if it had gone in would have provided a highlight reel on a busy day of international soccer. A blast from 30 yards out that had both tremendous pace and movement and beat Miller comprehensively clanged right into the upright. Up front, Hercules Gomez was a hard working presence and his darting runs behind defenders proved problematic.

A note on Jose Francisco Torres. He got his start and although he did not do anything exceptional, he does bring an organizational aspect to the midfield with his passing which till he was there was slick and one or two touches. When he left and Brek Shea and Maurice Edu was introduced was when USA began to look disjointed and errant in their possession.

Today's results leave the USA, Guatemala, and Jamaica tied on seven points but in a descending order which means goal differences and goals scored could play a very crucial part in qualifying. The USA won which was a great relief but they should have gone all out to add to their tally to ensure a safety net.

There seems to be for the first time a serious debate on introducing salary cap restrictions a la NFL into the Premiership. This comes on the heels of a strengthened TV deal that would generate £3bn to be shared by all 20 clubs towards player transfers and wages.

The bottom line is that increasing and out of control wage demands have eaten into that pie leaving clubs with less to spend. In 2011-12, the Premiership made about £2.5bn in income but it spent 70% of that on wages, up from the 62% paid out in 2001-02. It obviously comes as no surprise clubs like Arsenal and Man Utd are for putting brakes on as they see City and Chelsea's owners underwrite the existence of their clubs with wads of cash thrown their way.

This of course, will weed out the players who want to excel in the top echelons of competition from the money obsessed ones who are sure to be spirited away to the likes of PSG, Anzhi Makhachkala, CSKA Moscow, and the Chinese League. Critics of this proposal will trot out the age old argument that Wall St also uses to retain talent by giving out their employees outlandish sums as bonuses.

Do you want your best and brightest to go to Singapore or to Australia? Will it make the Premiership less competitive? In a rebuke that really hurt, Lucas Moura left for PSG because Man Utd could not compete with the escalation in transfer fees and wage demands. That warning aside, however, the contention also assumes that there are no inherent strengths in the most watched league in the world.

With the rest of its peers excluding the Bundesliga, in economic decline, the Premiership benefits from players leaving those leagues desiring like minded competition with an assured paycheck in the pocket. Tradition, playing style, developing homegrown talent, managerial philosophy become more important drivers and each club will have a better chance to showcase their selling points with wage inflation held equal.

There are other upsides. If there are clearcut guidelines to wage expectations then clubs need only to wrangle on transfer fees. As well as shortening time and effort spent on counterproductive negotiations over contract extensions.

A brake on runaway wages is a long overdue correction from the days since George Eastham's mutiny against Arsenal for refusing him a pay raise following the abolishment of the maximum wage in 1961. Greater transparency rather than limitless amounts might be more desirable as Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka are finding out in Shenhua Shanghai where the club is embroiled in a feud with the principal investor threatening to back out if his shareholding is not increased.

What the Premiership needs to decide if they are serious about salary caps (14 of the 20 clubs have to approve for it to take hold), is how much to cap the salary increases at, say a blanket 10% or whether it is a more case by case determination on expected performances, inflation, or profitability by that club.

Arsenal for example would come off best on an individualized basis not just because of its self sustaining model but because it also has a number of squad players in its ranks with fairly lucrative mid tier salaries who get raises despite making few appearances because of loss of form or injuries. Nicklas Bendtner makes a shocking £55,000 per week despite the fact that he has not played for Arsenal for over a year. This is the reason why Arsenal despite its glass ceiling on top wages continues to be saddled with the fourth highest wage bill in the league.

Beautiful goal by Adriano Correia who was panned just last week for that mindless challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo earning him a red card. Ten man Barca went on to lose the Spanish Super Cup on Real's away goal advantage.

But the story is the plummeting form and minutes of Cesc Fabregas under Tito Vilanova. Against Valencia, he missed two fairly open chances. His former Arsenal team mate, Alex Song made his debut and managed to meet the high expectations of the Catalunyans playing all 90+ minutes.

No one would be caught dead with Irina Shayk. Putting up with her is just sad.

The Spanish media is all atwitter about Cristiano Ronaldo not celebrating his goals against Granada. Reports say he is "sad" at Real Madrid. There is talk he feels unloved in the locker room.

Have you ever noticed how Ronaldo can't tear his eyes away from the monitor when he scores goals as he barely acknowledges team mates jumping on his back, hugging him, pinching his cheeks in celebration? Strikers are a supremely narcissistic lot but Ronaldo takes it to another level altogether.

There are two theories and they both involve Leo Messi.

Maybe he overheard Jose Mourinho whispering to Pepe, "Cara, as long as Messi is around, Cristiano is going to suck ass."

It may not be his locker room he's complaining about. He's complaining about every other locker room that puts Leo Messi in front of him.

Whoo! Hat tip to a wonderful collective effort by Arsenal on their trip to Anfield. Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski delivered the attacking goods while Abou Diaby was simply outstanding in centre midfield pushing up. The defense orchestrated by Thomas Vermaelen fell back in numbers keeping their shape as Liverpool recycled the ball repeatedly to try and crack them open. They got close on occasion but Vermaelen and Mertesacker closed down the angles.

The question on everyone's mind before the match was where were the goals going to come from? Luckily, for us, Cazorla and Podolski seemed to harbour no such misgivings. Steve Gerrard's errant pass picked up by the German and relayed upfield to Cazorla saw him sprinting down the left channel all the way to receive the return from the Spaniard and then sweep the ball past Reina to wipe all those fears. Monkey off our backs. Who says Spain can't bailout Germany? Take that Angela Merkel.

The second half saw that same left flank light up again as Podolski fed the pint sized Cazorla this time as the Spaniard showing his winger qualities (Arsene plays him centrally but Cazorla earned his reputation for his bombing runs down the flanks at Villarreal) brought the ball onto his right foot and cracked a low, hard drive straight to Reina. The Liverpool goalie who has a history of mistakes against Arsenal made a complete mess off it deflecting the ball into goal with his hand.

A special note for Diaby. What quick feet for a long legged man. He was a pillar and a fulcrum at the same time. And he played all 90 minutes. If we can keep him healthy, Song's loss will easier to take. Mikel Arteta behind him did great work mopping up with his solid, no nonsense presence. He maybe slow but the man has experience protecting the ball.

Alex Oxlade Chamberlain got his start but it wasn't his best day. For most part he was overshadowed by the nippy Raheem Sterling, who was the best Liverpool player on display. Theo Walcott stayed on the bench and the message was clear. His last year on contract means no free matches. He has to earn every minute. Carl Jenkinson is a bloody good full back and his tackling was impeccable and at the other flank Kieran Gibbs did a solid job going forward with Podolski covering for his more suspect defensive qualities.

A few notes. Arsenal can be better in its crossing ability. If you're going to utilize Oliver Giroud more effectively that area needs to be improved. Which brings us to the Frenchman. It is evident he's having a hard time coping with the faster pace and more physical style of the Premiership. There is no way a 6' 4'' , 194 lbs frame should get bumped off that easily by Jose Enrique. He has to be more assertive, get his feet set more quickly, and use his aerial ability to make an impact.

Vito Mannone made a couple of great saves off Sterling and then Shelvey. He looks good as a shot stopper but there were some nervy moments on the set pieces and long balls. Luckily for him, Liverpool were unable to capitalize on them and when they were in a position to do so, the defense dealt with them decisively. A great away win at a tough, tough place to play and before we pile onto Liverpool too much, they showed they are not a bad side as City escaped with a draw after being outplayed last weekend. This win should do Arsenal's confidence a world of good. We're on our way.

Dempsey will be AVB's new whipping boy

All the smart money was on a move to Liverpool or Dempsey staying put. Liverpool in a bizarre twist offered no better than £5m which was actually worse than Villa's offer of £5m plus £2m at the end of the season. Villa were the first club to start the Dempsey roller coaster in the beginning of the day.

Dempsey rejected a move to Villa which is when Liverpool came knocking or should we say came to stick their tongues out and go nyah nyah. Fulham would not be insulted which is when Spurs came up with a late offer and it has been accepted. Dempsey cost Spurs £6m, which in all likelihood will turn out to be a very good signing.

One had hoped Arsenal would have been in the mix but this transfer deadline has seen them barely register a pulse.

The only interest was Michael Essien going on loan to an undisclosed club. Undisclosed? Arsenal sold Song the other day, Diaby is about a tackle away from being stretchered off for his 1870th consecutive season with an injury. It's Arsenal, its got to be. But Roberto Di Matteo said he would not sell to Arsenal. His club get torn a new hole by Atletico in the European Super Cup and in a revenge motif written by Quentin Tarantino he sends Essien to Atletico's crosstown rivals, Real Madrid.

James Collins scored a hat trick at the impregnable fortress, the Britannia stadium which saw Arsenal labour to a scoreless draw over the weekend. Seven goals were scored, three in extra time, as Stoke came back twice to level. Collins had the last answer in the 118th minute right after Peter Crouch equalized for the Potters. Later Paolo Di Canio praised his side saying they played like Barcelona at the Britannia.

Eh, what happened to the "But can you beat Stoke away on a rainy Tuesday night" that you keep hearing about?

With the clubs poised at a tantalizing 1-1 in the 83rd minute, a black cat streaks across the Toronto FC half of the field just in front of goal. In the next 10 minutes, Toronto concedes two more goals to lose the match, a CONCACAF Champions League group encounter, 1-3, to Santos Laguna at home.

Hopefully the kitty was not harmed by security although she might have left some of the fans feeling blue.

szólj hozzá: Man City vs Southampton 3:2 HIGHLIGHTS

What an absolutely engrossing match. City showing the fortitude and strength to dig deep to come back to equalize and then score the winner gives an indication of how hard it will be to stop them from repeating as Premiership winners. This was on a continuum from the last match of last season with the title on the line against QPR and then Sergio Aguero producing that immortal moment in the very last minute.

Aguero unfortunately had to be stretchered off in the 13th minute after brutally twisting his knee. It did not look good. City should have gone ahead after Hooiveld brought down Carlos Tevez spinning around after receiving a clever little backheel by Samir Nasri but the Saints were let off when Silva completely botched the penalty. The Spaniard had one of his poorest games which should put this win in context. But City have the luxury of Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri, two players who can turn things around as they did.

Nasri hoofed the ball to a marginally offside Carlos Tevez who benefited from a lenient linesman and the quicksilver Argentinian darted to the outside and sent in a low shot near post which Kelvin Davis should have dealt with instead the ball squirted through an inviting gap left between him and the post.

Nigel Adkins who reminds one of a slightly less ruddy Sir Alex Ferguson brought in Ricky Lambert, puzzlingly left out from the starting line up after the half and the Saints quickly had their best spell as the Championship top scorer equalized with a familiar killer instinct. It got better as former Rangers midfielder Steven Davis on his debut and his first touch buried the ball past Joe Hart after Adam Lallana laid it off nicely for him. It quieted down the Etihad instantly and as the camera panned over, it showed faces creased with worry.

This was a Saints side who had come to play. But just like they did against QPR, City were able to equalize after a goalmouth melee saw the ball come to Edin Dzeko who poked the ball through. Thereafter, it was end to end action with the Saints coming close to adding a third but they were stopped and City broke on the counterattack with Mario Balotelli finishing off the move with a shot that hit the sidenet. The big man should have done much, much better. A Yaya Toure's free kick had Davis in all kinds of trouble but he managed to bat the ball away and the Saints defense crowded out Silva.

City were rampant by now. Edin Dzeko came close with his header eliciting lots of oohs and aahs and you wondered how much of this the defense could take. Finally, it did crack as Clichy sent in a perfectly weighted cross that Daniel Fox should have glanced away for a corner. He provided a perfect assist heading the ball straight into Nasri's path and the Arsenal turncoat had no complaints with that kind of service. He celebrated by running to the sideline peeling off his jersey and his undershirt read Eid Mubarak which got him a booking.

There was a fair bit of defending to do with about 10 minutes to go but City's experience saw them through. Full marks to the Saints for entertaining the neutrals with a hard fought match against the champions. But City with this display showed they will be tough to knock off as favourites to repeat as Premiership titleholders.

Eid Mubarak to all the millions of Muslims at Ramadan's end.

No retreat, retweet

The FA has spoken. Rio Ferdinand is to be fined £45,000 for re-tweeting "choc ice" used to describe the sense of betrayal when Ashley Cole took the stand to defend John Terry in his racial abuse trial against Rio's brother, Anton Ferdinand.

There are a few ways of looking at this away from the abuse angle.

First, getting docked £45,000 for a crime by association. Rio became notorious for a force multiplier effect by picking on the "choc ice" derogation which was not even his and spraying it to a large army of followers. It became polarizing because of his colour, connection to the sport, and to the plaintiff. Otherwise it would have been just another witty observation.

Second, it serves as a reminder that even in this post racial society, one has not completely turned the page away from the ghetto-ization of race and colour. We live in a world where tribal allegiances rule and perceived betrayal is swiftly punished.

Third, this would have never been if Ashley Cole and John Terry were not such easy targets outside of Stamford Bridge. If we look at it from that point, £45,000 is a small amount to pay. Both have a long list of transgressions that left copious amounts of slime. Cole defending an indefensible Terry brought to the fore, more of that same ooze.

Fourth, there is a glaring lack of professionalism in soccer. It is getting easier and easier with the use of more powerful social media toys at one's disposal to air out instant grievances to even larger segments of population. This feeds into the second point.

Fifth, this is Ashley Cole. Choc ice? You want a fully loaded package? That's just an add on to money grubber, adulterer, liar, and diver.

One current Arsenal player and a former one contributed to Spain's 2-1 winning score. Santi Cazorla swung a ball which had all kinds of movement past the Puerto Rican goalie and then Cesc Fabregas hit a full blooded volley to get Spain's second. Marc Cintron scored a consolation for PR.

Lukas Podolksi returned to his former club and scored a brace, the first through a penalty, and then sweeping in a second from a cross by Kieran Gibbs. Thomas Vermaelen opened Arsenal's account heading in a corner and Gervinho provided an exclamation point spurning his usual instincts to pass up a scoring opportunity and actually score himself.

All the new signings were on view and they turned in good performances. Oliver Giroud can consider himself unlucky not to score with Koln's goalie denying him two clear chances. Santi Cazorla took over as the creative hub in the middle and Arsenal's attack flowed through him. He looked very, very comfortable. One gets the feeling we might be singing his praises very often in his debut season.

RVP made a significant second half appearance wearing the captain's armband. His contribution was secondary to a growing belief that he will stay on despite the rumours of a hotline chat between Sir Alex with Wenger over a possible deal. Arshavin and Gervinho's presence on the pitch continued the overweighting of the left channel which resulted in three of Arsenal's four goals. With Alex Oxlade Chamberlain shifting centrally, Arsenal now rely on Theo Walcott as a consistent threat to provide a counterbalance between the flanks.

The mighty Rojas are done for. Well, at least their U23 team plus Adrian Lopez and Juan Mata.

Los Catrachos, the Olympics version sent Spain crashing out of the tournament with a 1-0 win as Roger Espinoza who plies his trade for Sporting Kansas City mailed in a cross that was met by Jerry Bengtson of the New England Revs for a perfectly placed header past David De Gea.

Spain who had a hard time getting it done on the pitch then turned ornery. Juan Soto Arevalo, the referee got jostled around, when they were denied a PK after Rodrigo Moreno was brought down in the box. Simple, brute soccer won over tiki taka, finally.

szólj hozzá: Ibrahimovic aprít a PSG-nél

Are you a zlatan for punishment? Blaise Matuidi, Jeremy Menez, and Nene find out against Ibrahimovic in training for their match against DC United. Body count high.

Good bit of skill and a nice finish from the most expensive player in Ligue history. Afterwards, Ibrahimovic talks about the goal, PSG's future, and his preparation. Here is Dwayne De Rosario's PK equalizer.

Gervinho was excellent. So was Theo Walcott and Abou Diaby. But in a familiar refrain, the defense was shambolic. Arsenal gave plenty of leg up to a very enterprising local team through Ignasi Miquel's giveaway and then flailed about in a losing attempt to clear the ball. Can't quite believe we only have only one more pre-season warm up left, against Koln.

Steve Bould has his work cut out to get this defensive unit ready for the match against Sunderland in just three weeks time. Hoo, boy!

There is talk as per Marca.com that the 23 year old Turkish midfielder who has found playing minutes hard to come under Jose Mourinho maybe on his way to the Premier League on loan, possibly Arsenal. Sahin was left out of Real's pre-season match against Benfica sparking transfer rumours.

As the recently concluded pre season match against City demonstrated, Arsenal had plenty of ball but again lacked that killer bit of midfield creativity to unlock the defense. One of Wenger's priorities on the tour is to find a promising youngster to promote to the first team. Thomas Eisfeld, Chuks Aneke, and Benik Afobe are all in consideration but they could still be a season or two away from breaking into that bracket.

Jack Wilshere's return is still up in the air and Tomas Rosicky is recuperating from tendo-achilles surgery with his return pushed back to end September. Meanwhile, the news out of Malaga is that they are holding fast to Santi Cazorla and demanding more than the £16m, the Gunners have to offer for him.

Sahin is amongst the Borussia Dortmund lineage of creative attacking midfielders that helped propel that club to the top of the German league. The 2011 Bundesliga player of the year was on the top of every serious club's transfer wish list before joining Real. He would be a welcome addition to Arsenal.

Arsenal has dug its heels in deep and the asking price of £25 million for RVP is proving too much for the Bianconeri. Out of the three clubs in the race, Juve had come closest to matching Arsenal's price reportedly in the region of £16m which is £4m more than what Utd and City had to offer. Their personal terms were also favourable with the Italian side ready to plonk down £190,000 good ones every week to match whatever City had in mind.

The Gunners have obviously seen what playing hardball can get you with what is happening at White Hart Lane over Luka Modric, who has even less reasons to leave, having signed a 6 year contract in 2010. Real Madrid is balking at Daniel Levy's demand of £40m and now there are signs that Modric is cooling off on a departure. He rejoined training and also apologized to Andre Villas-Boas for missing out on the US pre-season tour.

Utd have their hands full with the Lucas Moura deal now spiraling out of control and City still to off load their boatloads of bench warming strikers. There is some talk about a Edin Dzeko swap and some cash to boot but Milan is probably the Bosnian striker's preferred destination.

All this complicates a Van Persie departure and there is a growing feeling Arsenal maybe better off holding his feet to the fire and see him play out his final year on his contract. Its risky but then Van Persie will be approaching 30 and he will have to deliver if he wants to go to his choice of club or else re-sign at lower wages with Arsenal.

Earlier this month Megan Rapinoe came out and discussed her sexuality in Out Magazine. She has been in a relationship with an Australian soccer player for three years.

"I feel like sports in general are still homophobic, in the sense that not a lot of people are out," she says. "I feel everyone is really craving [for] people to come out. People want -- they need -- to see that there are people like me playing soccer for the good ol' U.S. of A."

We are shattered. In a good way. What's not to love about Megan? 110% on the pitch and proud about her sexuality. That's the way its supposed to be, isn't it? The same can't be said about men in soccer where coming out is fraught with danger and all kinds of taboos.

Back to Megan. Anyone who is a fan of Tilda Swinton cannot do any wrong in our book.