England U21 3-1 Norway U21

David Bentley scored two as England saw off Norway 3-1. David Bentley is a youngster with a ton of potential and bags of skill. Hopefully Arsenal won't regret selling him!

ANR Relaunched as: Arsenal News Review

The new ANR site (Arsenal News Review) looks really good. I'm sure this new look coupled with continued great content will mean that ANR remains a first stop for Arsenal fans on the net.

Man United win the Micky Mouse Cup

Love it!

(sent to me by a Man U fan I might add)

"Being precautious" - Beckham & Real Madrid

England's 'finest' David Beckham was injured in last night's defeat against Real Mallorca. Beckham has reassured the public that his injury was not serious. But... Soccernet have been too kind to England's captain. When they quoted him they corrected his grammar:

'My back should be fine for Wednesday. There was just a bit of pain. Being cautious, I came off but it will be OK.'

I listened to this interview on the radio today and captain Becks quite clearly said they were 'being precautious, I came off...' hhhmmm being precautious, that's a new one!

Ferguson ready to build new dynasty

You can't fault Moan Uniteds 4-0 win in yesterday's Carling Cup final but claiming that it's the start of a new golden era is stretching things a little too far. I still believe that although Arsenal's position looks poor at the moment the long-term signs look good. Manchester United on the other hand have an aging squad and need to buy in players to rebuild the squad. Their youth team isn't developing the players of the quality of Beckham, Scholes, Giggs etc.

6 pointer? No pointer!

Oh well Arsenal are not going to make the top 4... yes you read it here first! We've become Liverpool!

Saving Private Robben

Who'd have thought a tie with Blackburn would be a '6 pointer'!?

Any split up by Arsenal will see West Ham and Blackburn over take us! On the other hand a win this weekend will see us close the gap with Spurs to 2 points with a head to head still to play. Game on!

Carling Cup Final Preview

This years Carling Cup final should be a pretty interesting game. Wigan will surely be up for this game big time! Equally Manchester United cannot afford to take this game lightly, another season without silverware would be unthinkable. Paul Jewell will be looking to instill a belief in his players that a victory is a real possibility. I think Wigan's tenacity could be enough to overcome the stuttering Red Devils. Ferguson will be looking for a lively performance from the 1st minute.

I should imagine that all non-Man U fans will be cheering for Wigan to win this one. Everyone loves an underdog.

Is Lehmann injured? Poom loan to Everton died on Wednesday

So it's finally been officially revealed that Everton's move for Sander Westerveld was initiated after the deal to take Mart Poom to Merseyside died. Surely this supports the rumour that Lehmann's injury sustained against Real Madrid is serious enough to keep him out of the first team. This would mean Almunia moving up to #1 and Poom sitting on the bench as backup. You can understand Wenger not wanting to take a risk since Vito Mannone is our next keeper down the order after Poom. Mannone is a great talent but nowhere near ready for the first 11. Shame Poom couldn't move though since he obviously could do with a few games to keep him fresh.

Chelsea fans issue internet death threats to ref

That's Jose for inciting your fans to issue death threats. We all know the Chelsea's fans have a rather vicious element. Jose has lit the match of hatred within the Chelsea ranks. He should be ashamed. He got a ref to retire last year. Could he end up getting one killed this year! Let's hope not!

Wenger planning Milan raid?

Arsenal are supposedly looking at Milan youth team midfielder Federico Piazza. Looks like we could get him on a free, ala Lupoli. As always Chelsea are mentioned too but come on what young player would want to join Chelsea right now with the competition in their midfield!?

SHOCK! - Henry stays on Barca wanted list

I rate this with the 'football involves using your feet', 'music fans like music' and any other stupidly obvious facts. Barcelona would be INSANE not to be interested in Henry! Every top club in the world should be interested in him. Of course interest could become poaching if they contact a contracted player without permission.

If Henry doesn't sign a contract this summer he WILL BE SOLD to the highest bidder. Letting him go on a free is not an option. I still think he will sign a new deal. If he doesn't then Arsenal need to cash in and build for the future. Ironically it doesn't really make a big difference either way. With so many talented youngsters Arsenal have a bright future either with or without Thierry Henry.

Sylvinho has been talking up a move for Henry too. Barcelona do have a track record of buying Arsenal players but so far it seems they prefer out ex-left backs (Sylvinho and Van Brockhorst). Certainly if Henry does move to Barca he'll see a few familiar faces there.

BBC: Fears grow for Sissoko eyesight

Poor guy, this is a nasty injury. In many ways it's worse that Alan Smith's horrific injury at the weekend. Sissoko has serious damage to his eye. Really right now you have to hope he doesn't lose his vision on one side completely. Forget football for a moment and think about the poor guy. Chances are he will keep his sight but his career might be over. That's tough. What a sad sad accident, midfielder Beto caught Sissoko accidently with his boot.

Copa Libertadores: Corinthians 2-2 Universidad Católica

"Tinha tudo para ser uma festa e uma nova goleada. No entanto, os 32.600 pagantes saíram do Pacaembu preocupados e com pelo menos uma certeza: o time precisa acertar sua defesa seja com contratações, treinamentos ou um milagre. Em sua primeira partida em casa pela Libertadores 2006, o Timão incorporou a raça ao seu futebol técnico, mas perdeu a chance de matar o jogo no primeiro tempo e acabou surpreendido."

Com certeza o Corinthians preciso dum tipo Kolo Toure na defesa. Um jovem zagueiro com raça e abilidade. O MSI esta procurando o Rodrigo ex-Sao Paulo atual do Dinamo Kiev:

Mourinho: Sending off changed everything (for the better)

This article on Soccernet: Mourinho admission: "I'm a moaning git" has really wound me up. Jose blames the ref for sending off Del Horno! Ha! Maybe he should ask his players to to fly through the air feet first at opposition players. Face it Jose you failed to get under the ref's skin in this one, unlike last seasons' contest. It's a recurring theme of big Chelsea matches. A club with this much money should not need to gain the 'advantage' by ruining their pitch and whining at the referee.

Will failing to win the Champions League for the 2nd season running mean that Mourinho will be on his way from Chelsea this summer? Possibly! The stakes are really that high.

Chelski 1 Barcelona 2

Chelski 1 Barcelona 2

"Chelski is owned by one Russian."
Barcelona is owned by 135,000 members.
Which do you prefer ?
Exciting game tonight, as I knew it would be."

No way Jose! Chelsea 1 - 2 Barcelona

That's it game set and match. Really I cannot see Chelsea coming back from 2-1 down in Spain. 2 away goals is a huge advantage for Barcelona. Barcelona only need to score 1 goal and Chelsea would need to score 3 to win. Defensive Chelsea will not be able to overcome this defecit.

Tchau Tchau Jose! Ate ano que vem!

George Lucas close to joining Real Betis

I'm pretty sure this player was mentioned in the chapter about Brazilian names in Alex Bellos' wonderful book Futebol - A Brazilian Way of Life.

Marcelinho Carioca is back at Corinthians

Marcelinho assina, time desbloqueia contas e irrita MSI

O 'Pe do Anjo' esta de volta ao Corinthans depois do 5 anos fora do clube.

“A alegria é muito grande por voltar para cá. Nunca me senti fora daqui”, disse Marcelinho, que prometeu não causar polêmica no elenco e nem com seu antigo desafeto Ricardinho. “Sou funcionário do clube e venho para ajudar”, afirmou o Pé-de-Anjo.

Mas como sempre o Marcelinho Carioca traga polemica.

This is why I love Brazilian football! 35 year old Marcelinho Carioca is the all-time idol of the Corinthians fans but even so his return to Corinthians was unexpected at best. He's signed a deal that will see him stay at the Parque Sao Jorge until December 2007. Neither the falling out with Ricardinho (another ex-Corintiano who's returned this year) or Roger wearing the #7 shirt seem to have stopped this deal.

The question remains though, where will he play? Corinthians have Ricardinho, Mascherano, Roger, Carlos Alberto, Marcelo Mattos to name a few of their midfielders. Surely Marcelinho is coming in to add some experience, he has an aura about him that's for sure! He's also a god of free kicks. Well it'll certainly be interesting to see how Corinthians got on in the Libertadores this year now they've added a ton of creativity to their midfield. Tevez and Nilmar should get plenty of service.

Arsenal Prospect - Philippe Senderos

You can't really call Senderos a prospect anymore. It's amazing to think that Philippe Senderos has only just turned 21 but has already played nearly 50 senior games for Arsenal. He's not the finished article yet but all the pieces are in place for Philippe to replace Sol Campbell in the Arsenal defense. Senderos is a meat and veg centerback, he's good defensively but not so good going forward. That's what you need though and it makes him a good foil for the energetic Kolo Toure.

Senderos is prone to one major fluff up per game but it's something he can work out of his game. His performance against Real Madrid was pretty solid, he looked quite comfortable shepherding Ronaldo. If he adds a little more steel to his strength he should become an Arsenal great.

Prospect Rating - Graduated

Real Madrid 0 - 1 Arsenal

Arsenal were simply superb tonight. As I had hoped the position of underdog gave them a ton of heart. Arsenal's lack of midfield bite didn't matter because Real had the same problem. Arsenal were intercepting passes well with Fabregas playing out of his skin. Fellow Spaniard Reyes also looked happy to be playing in his native Spain. Arsenal's three best players were Fabregas, Henry and Reyes but the other 8 players were not far behind. At times they played Real off of the park and made Real look very unReal.

So that's 50% of the job done. If Arsenal hold their nerve they should be able to finish off Real at home. Could this be Arsenal's finest hour? Just when they were being written off too...

Oh no! Nobody in our midfield can tackle, big night for Hleb

Arsenal Starting Line Up:

Jens Lehmann
Emannuel Eboue, Kolo Toure, Philippe Senderos, Mathieu Flamini
Alexander Hleb, Gilberto, Cesc Fabregas
Freddie Ljungberg, Jose Reyes
Thierry Henry

Hleb will be looking to play balls over the top for Reyes, Ljungberg and Henry. I'm worried that Flamini will be found out tonight.

Countdown to the big kickoff...

I have a bad feeling about this one but that said Arsenal have gone into big games at full strength and been a let down so maybe a weakened side will show some spirit. Let's just hope Real don't get an early goal and that Arsenal can play on the break. I'm looking forward to this match but I'm not hopeful of Arsenal taking much away from this one. Anyhow... the beer is in the fridge and the TV is fixed. All set for the match. Live on ITV from 7:30pm.

Bling, Bling Edu to feature on MTV's Footballers Cribs

Edu vira atração de 'reality show' na televisão britânica

Edu's signed a deal to feature on MTV Europe's Footballers Cribs TV show. The contract was signed with the same production team who produced a show about Edu that featured Edu back in 2004. Edu has to have something to do since he's injured so often he doesn't get to play much football.

Arsenal Prospect - Arturo Lupoli

Goals! Goals! Goals! That's what Arturo Lupoli is all about. He arrived from Parma two years ago with a reputation for setting scoring records in all Parma's youth teams. It didn't take Lupoli long to find his scoring form in the Arsenal youth and reserve teams. Over the last two seasons Lupoli has totalled 45 goals in nearly as many games. This season has seen Lupoli make his mark in the first team. His performances in the Carling Cup helped Arsenal reach the semi-finals. For his efforts Lupoli has been awarded the Carling Cup New Talent Award 05/06.

What for the future? If he keeps on scoring then he's got a good chance of making it. Next season will probably see him loaned out to another Premiership side. Hopefully he can make an impression because if there's one thing this lad knows it's how to score goals.

Prospect Rating - 7/10

Pictures: Arsenal FC Emirates Stadium & Wembley

Want to see how construction is coming along at Arsenal's new stadium? Then check out these pics:
Arsenal FC Emirates Stadium

There is also a page of pictures of the new Wembley Stadium but as we now know things aren't going quite so well there. You can see why it won't be ready by May 5th, not even close! The site looks really messy in comparison to the Emirates Stadium. I wonder if Arsenal will be playing in their new stadium before England?

Soccernet forget about how to use paragraphs!

How many one sentence paragraphs are there in this article:ESPNsoccernet.com - England - Wenger counting on captain marvel Henry???

Who does the grammar checking and the fact checking for ESPN Soccernet? Just recently they've been making loads of mistakes.

Arsenal name squad to face Real Madrid

The full 18-man squad:

Jens Lehmann
Abou Diaby
Robert Pires
Freddie Ljungberg
Jose Antonio Reyes
Alexander Hleb
Thierry Henry
Cesc Fabregas
Mathieu Flamini
Alexandre Song
Gilberto
Philippe Senderos
Manuel Almunia
Emmanuel Eboue
Kolo Toure
Sebastian Larsson
Theo Walcott
Johann Djourou

Possible XI from this squad:

Lehmann
Eboue, Toure, Senderos, Flamini
Fabregas, Gilberto, Diaby, Reyes
Ljungberg
Henry

I'd like to see this line-up as it would give good cover for the defense and options going forward on the break. Reyes and Ljungberg could interchange and work both flanks. Diaby and Fabregas could also make forward runs on the break. The biggest weakness will be the left side where Flamini will be very exposed if Reyes plays in front of him. Another possible change if you wanted to be more defensive would be to move Flamini to midfield at the expense of Reyes and bring Djourou into the defense, it would be an untested combination however. It'll be interesting to see how Wenger plays it. One thing is sure, if we play Ljungberg & Pires WE WILL LOSE and heavily too!

On another note I'd love to see Walcott come off the bench to score his debut goal! (can't see Wenger going for it though). Lehmann is going to have to be on top form once again!

Corinthians get back on track with 5-1 win

Nilmar brilha, Timão goleia e divide show com Tricolor
MOGI MIRIM 1 x 5 CORINTHIANS

O Timão venceu o Mogi Mirim por 5 a 1 e chegou a 18 pontos, dois a menos do que o São Paulo e quatro a menos do que o líder Noroeste. Nilmar marcou quatro gols e continua isolado na artilharia com um total de 11.

Corinthians beat Mogi Mirim 5-1 and now have 18 points, two less than São Paulo and four less than the championship leader Noroeste. Nilmar scored four goals and remains the leading scorer with 11 goals.

More on Nilmar:

He's a really skillful little striker who moved back to Brazil after an unsuccessful time at Lyon. Alongside Tevez he's really starting to show the promise that took him to Europe in the first place. I bet Chelsea are keeping a close eye on him. They were close to signing him before he moved to Lyon and their connections with MSI surely mean they'll get a first option on him.

Jeremie Aliadiere - Thrown to the Wolves?

ArseWeb Newsreel: Unlucky laddy airs Arsenal hopes

Jeremie Aliadiere's prospects of making it at Arsenal are hanging in the balance. This season has a big feel of deja-vu about it. Injuries are a recurring theme for Aliadiere. He's been on loan at Celtic and West Ham this season without success. If his recent move to Wolves doesn't see Jeremie scoring goals I can't see how he'll get another chance at Arsenal.

Aliadiere prospect rating - 7/10

Jose explains the Stamford Bridge pitch

"Sometimes you see beautiful people with no brains. Sometimes you have ugly people who are intelligent, like scientists, our pitch is a bit like that. From the top it's a disgrace but the ball rolls at normal speed." - Jose Mourinho

Oh come on! This pitch is a mud bath, that's not good for the beautiful game. Of course that's no problem for Chelski who play the money game not the beautiful game.

Good news for England - Alan Smith will miss the World Cup

Looks like Alan Smith will miss the World Cup after suffering what can only be described as a grusome injury, a broken leg and dislocated ankle (did he almost lose a foot then!? ouch!).

As much as I dislike Smith as a player this is a pretty nasty injury so I hope he makes a full recovery.

Pires - Nearly 4 Years On From 'That' Day

I was there at Highbury for the FA Cup 4th round replay against Newcastle. It was a lovely sunny fresh March 2002 morning. The Newcastle fans were in fine voice as ever but I knew who I was there to see. Robert Pires, he was in such a fine vain of form, a key part of France's World Cup team even with Zidane at his peak. Pires was lighting up grounds around the Premiership with his skill. As well as skill going forward he was putting in a ton of work, some people had doubted his spirit but at that time he was really fighting for every ball (not a Vieira but not shying away from a scrap).

The game was going along nicely, it was a lovely sunny day and I fancied an Arsenal win. I clearly remember what happened next, Pires was chasing a loose ball down on the opposite end of the pitch to where I was sat in the lower part of the North Bank stand. As he went in for the ball he was caught by the Newcastle defender. We way Pires fell you could tell it was bad. He didn't make a meal of it, there was no need. His knee ligaments were badly torn, a terrible injury. From that moment I knew we'd seen the last of those great Pires days.

Sure Pires came back and he's been a key man for the Gunners but he's no more than 75% the player he was before this injury. He thinks twice before chasing a lost cause, he's lost a lot of his pace and sadly he's lost any fighting spirit he had.

Robert Pires should bow out this season along with Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp. He could go on and give a few years more to a lesser team where he'd be better appreciated.

Arsenal team news for Real Madrid game

There's no denying that Arsenal's injury crisis shows no sign of easing. No players will return for the Real Madrid game on Tuesday with the exception of Reyes who has a 'slim' chance. The real worry for me is the continued presence of Flamini at left-back, he'll be badly exposed against Real's pace and skill.

Adding to our problems is the fact that Adebayor is cup-tied. Surely Diaby needs to come back into the middle to add some grit.

The full injury list: Robin van Persie (toe), Dennis Bergkamp (calf), Gael Clichy (foot) , Sol Campbell (ankle), Ashley Cole (thigh), Pascal Cygan (hamstring), Lauren (knee) and Kerrea Gilbert (back).

My bet for the starting XI:

Lehmann
Eboue, Toure, Senderos, Flamini
Fabregas, Gilberto, Diaby, Pires
Ljungberg
Henry

Arsenal will need to see Diaby, Fabregas and Ljungberg making good forward runs but without leaving the dangerously lopsided rear guard exposed.

Diego unhappy at Porto - Off on a free??

Diego should be available on a free at the end of the season! Yikes! Arsenal should work hard to sign him. Arsenal could do with some more creativity to feed the front men. Diego is an incredible talent and on a free how could Wenger not be interested??

Dump Pires, sign Diego!

Tostão Interview

O Blog do Alex is featuring an interview with Brazil legend Tostão. He doesn't sound too hopeful regarding Brazil's chances however:

"The chances of one of the other teams winning is more than the chance of Brazil winning."

He has a fair point about Brazil's chances since the World Cup is being played in Europe.

O Blog do Alex

Check out O Blog do Alex Bellos for all the latest news surrounding the Brazilian national team in the run up to the World Cup.

Troubled Forest part company with Megson

The City Ground club have since failed to mount the sustained challenge for promotion out of League One demanded by supporters. Last night's 3-0 defeat at Oldham left the former back-to-back European Cup winners a mid-table 13th, 11 points adrift of the top six and four points above the relegation zone.

Poor old Forest! Poor old Dave! Good thing he doesn't read my blog. I can't see Forest making their way back to where they belong unless they uncover another Brian Clough.

Corinthians vence o Deportivo Cali

No primeiro jogo da Copa Libertadores o Corinthians venceu Deportiva Cali com um gol do Ricardinho. Com certeza a experiencia e a habilidade do Ricardinho ajudaria o Corinthians.

In the opening game of the Libertadores Cup Corinthians beat Deportivo Cali with a goal from Ricardinho. It looks like the addition of Ricardinho will really help Corinthians this year.

Match Report

*What's the deal with Soccernet!? They keep making really stupid mistakes. Somehow Richardinho is firing down the Mexicans although he helped his team to a win against a Colombian team!

Lehmann prevents Liverpool rout!

Well that went just about as well as I'd feared! With Pires, Fabregas, Gilberto & Ljungberg in midfield Arsenal had no bite at all. They had no way to win the ball back when they lost possetion. Flamini at left-back was suicidal too, talk about lost! Lehmann played what was probably his best game since joining the Gunners. He made about 3 suberb saves in the first half including a penalty save from Gerrard. Same again in the 2nd half. Sadly his save on the 87th minute wasn't enough and Luis Garcia was first to the rebound to give Liverpool the win.

Unsurprisingly Wenger has now conceded that top two is beyond our grasp. The problem is that if he keeps playing such a soft team away from home then 4th will be out of reach too! Diaby should have been in the middle with Gilberto. Fabregas should have been on the right with Ljungberg playing on the left. Pires is a spent force and should not start away from home. A stronger midfield would have meant less pressure on Flamini at left-back. Surely Eboue, Djourou, Toure & Senderos would have been a stronger read guard.

Next up Real Madrid who beat Zaragoza 4-0 last night but lost 6-5 on aggregate.

Liverpool vs Arsenal

Doh! Djourou's been dropped and Fred & Bob both play (groan).

Wenger's obviously looking to experience for this one BUT... Flamini has looked weak at right-back and Ljungberg & Pires are too lightweight to both play away from home. We'll be lucky to get a draw! The key man will be Adebayor. What's the betting our old friend Robbie Fowler will steal a goal or two? This one is gonna be a nail biter!

Sylvinho blasts woeful Stamford Bridge pitch

'I cannot believe it. I have heard they are making the condition of their pitch worse.I played in England for two years and I've heard many complaints about the pitch.'

Couldn't agree more! Their pitch is a disgrace. Reminds me a lot of Wimbledon's old pitch back in the good old long ball days. It's a pretty sad reflection on Chelski that they need to stoop this low.

Let's hope that Sylvinho can repeat his cracking goal that he scored against Chelsea on Sept 6th 2000.

Boro beat Chelsea 3-0... Come again!?

Man oh man I thought Middlesborough were down and out. The 7-0 drubbing they took agains Arsenal looked like the nail in the coffin for their team. Football is a funny old game though and pride comes before a crash. There's no team more proud than Chelsea's bigheads. They crashed in flames losing 3-0 to a average Middlesborough side. Hopefully Chelsea will treat the clash against Barcelona with the same contemptable attitude. Chelsea were strolling in this one and couldn't get out of neutral. A promising sign!?

Does the 1-1 draw mark a turning point?

There were two very important 1-1 draws this weekend.

Surprisingly Arsenal managed to scrap and scape out a 1-1 draw with Bolton. The invisible man Gilberto coming up with the goods. Also Arsenal were playing long-ball at the end of this one, Adebayor really does give us options.

Also equally surprising was Sunderland managing a point against Spurs. Thanks to some Arsenal style defending from Salteri! That means it remains status quo in the race for 4th. Spurs, Arsenal and Bolton all have a good shot at it. Can't wait for the '6 pointer' with Spurs, that'll be a cracking match!

---update---

Gilberto has signalled a rallying cry. It's about time some of the experienced players stand up and show the way for the youngsters.

Rooney confident England will win World Cup

Come on Wayne, you're good but are you really good enought to win the World Cup on your own? If England win the World Cup then I'm the King of Spain!

Paolo Vernazza - It's a long way down from the top

Ah I remember back in 1998 when Paolo Vernazza was playing for the Arsenal he was widely viewed as Arsenal's best hope for the future. Of course after a loan spell with Ipswich in 1998 and then Portsmouth in 2000 he moved to Watford. Between 2000 and 2004 he made 71 starts and 24 substitute appearances. The summer of 2004 saw him move on a free to Rotherham. Obviously things haven't worked out well there, Rotherham are in fact on the verge of closure now! November 2005 saw Paolo move to Barnet of Football League 2. Since then he's made 8 apprearances for the Bees.

Check back as I dug up another ex-Arsenal Academy player.

Arsenal Academy - Part 1

This picture on the back page of yesterday's Sun newspaper caught my attention. James Harper is in the process of scoring Birmingham's winner against Graham Stack in the Reading goal. Both Harper and Stack are players who came through the Arsenal Academy. How many other ex-Arsenal Academy players are there in the top leagues around the world?

Here are a few I can think of:

Harper, Pennant, Upson - Birmingham
Bothroyd, Thomas - Charlton
Bentley - Blackburn
Taylor - Aston Villa
Volz - Fulham
Sidwell, Harper - Reading
Juan - Fluminense (Brazil)
Quincy - Moscow (Russia)

How good are Arsenal's current crop? Do they have a better chance of making it at Arsenal than the players listed above? What ever became of Paolo Vernazza? Come back soon for the answers...

Real Madrid take a 6-1 beating!

Beckham - "doh"

Real Zaragoza 6 -1 Real Madrid

"Diego Milito smashed in four goals as Real Zaragoza continued their devastating form in the King's Cup with a 6-1 demolition of Real Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final on Wednesday."

A lot of people have been writing off Arsenal's chances against Real Madrid but surely this result must give Arsenal hope. I've always felt that although Real have some great power going forward they are really weak at the back. That makes them rather similar to Arsenal.

Also 2 of the goals in this game were scored by ex-Corinthians forward Ewerthon. He's a really quick forward which might indicate that Real can be exposed at the back by pace.

Em Portugues

Guarani 1x1 Palmeiras - Manager Arrested

Yet again Brazilian football has been overshadowed by violence. Current Palmeiras manager and former Brazil goalie Emerson Leão was led away by 5 policemen at the end of yesterday's 1x1 draw with Guarani. During the half-time break Leão was involved in a scuffle with reporter José Henrique Semedo (reporters will always interview players and managers during the half-time break in Brazil). Leão has claimed he was an innocent victim in the incident and was led away to the local Campinas police station along with the reporter.
It'll be interesting to see what comes of this incident. The way the Brazilian media invade the pitch to get interviews during and after the game is pretty shocking. Also the police have a reputation for siding with the home team in these kinds of incidents.

In the night's other games Corinthians were looking to overcome their bogie team São Caetano. After leading 1x0 at half time Corinthians blew it and lost 2 x 1 to continue their terrible record against the minnows from São Caetano.

Paulista Championship Results for Feb 08 2006:

São Caetano 2 x 1 Corinthians
Guarani 1 x 1 Palmeiras
Santos 1 x 0 Noroeste
Santo André 1 x 3 Juventus
Marília 0 x 2 América
São Bento 1 x 1 Paulista
Bragantino 3 x 0 Rio Branco
Ituano 3 x 0 Mogi Mirim

Hleb says he's happy at Arsenal

Alexandr Hleb is one of Arsenal's key players for the future of this young Arsenal side. He's got a great eye for a pass and can create chances for the forwards. Sure we've not seen the best of him yet but the potential is there, especially with Walcott, Henry and Van Persie making runs in front of him.

In his own words:

"If we would have lost this match in Birmingham, I think it would have been time to talk about a crisis for the FC Arsenal. But as we all hoped, we are back! Your “gunners”, dear fans, still have really good chances to reach the big goal “Champions League qualification”."

2 Great Strikers & 200 Goals Each

So both Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer broke club scoring records on the very same day with 200 goals each. Who'd have thought it!? How high can Henry take his Arsenal scoring? If he signs a new 4 year deal then he could, in fact should top 300 goals for the Gunners. Shearer on the other hand is at the end of his career, so 200 is going to be more or less where he finishes.

Is Alan Shearer England's best ever striker? Is Thierry Henry Arsenal's best ever striker? Could the two have formed a partnership? Who are the greatest strikers of all time?

Turkey get six-game Fifa sanction

After the truely disgraceful scenes that took place at this game between Switzerland and Turkey I feel that these punishments are rather tame. The increasing violence on the field is something FIFA really need to deal with, for the good of the game!

Johnny Herrera o novo goleiro do Corinthians

O goleiro chileno Johnny Herrera, contratado pelo Corinthians para a temporada 2006, vestiu a camisa do clube ontem no Parque São Jorge.

O jogador vai disputar a posição com Marcelo, atual titular da camisa 1, que renovou o contrato até o dia 31 de dezembro de 2007.

Herrera foi emprestado até o fim deste ano pelo Locarno (Suíço), que o contratou ao Universidad de Chile.

Chiliean goalkeeper Johnny Herrera has signed for Corinthians on loan from Locarno (Switzerland). He'll fight with Marcelo for the number 1 jersey.

Libertadores highlights South America's best and worst sides

An interesting article on the BBC site looks ahead at the Libertadores and the good and bad sides of South American football.

I think Conmebol should issue players with these modified football kits in the Copa Libertadores. That way the police could spend more time policing the fans rather than protecting the players!

Oligarks 2-0 Scousers

Yawn! Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool. Chelsea have won the league but that's no surprise. Something else that wasn't surprising was Mourinho highlighting his own great ability. Come on, are we really all that impressed? Eu acho que não Jose! You spent almost £300m, if your team wasn't playing well it would be a shock. There's no need to talk himself up, his team should speak for him. Fact is though that unless Chelsea win the Champions League this season will be a failure.

Match Report:
Soccernet: Chelsea v Liverpool Report

Bergkamp unhappy over Vieira deal

Dennis has come out and stated the obvious, that Wenger should have had a replacement for Vieira lined up before selling him. Of course in the real world things don't quite work that way. Ready made replacements for such an influencial player aren't readily available. The biggest error so far this season was selling Vieira and not changing the way the team plays (a view raised by Miles Palmer on ANR). Also if I were Dennis I'd be more concerned about pulling my own weight and scoring a few goals or at least creating a few chances.

Just Futebol?

Yes just futebol or football if you prefer! My other personal blog was getting overloaded with football so I thought I might as well create a new blog just for futebol! I'm an Arsenal fan who also supports Corinthians so expect a slant that way. How do I feel about Arsenal's current position? What do I think of MSI's investment in Corinthans and the obvious connection with Chelski? The answers to these questions will become known over the coming weeks and months.