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It would be so easy to laugh at Arsenal right now. In fact, I have, in the not so distance past. Financial restrictions, injuries at the most inconvenient times and your star player wanting to leave. The truth is, it could so easily be us in Arsenal’s place right now.

A couple of important things happened in 2005.

Arsenal won their last trophy and The Glazers took full control of our club, placing a massive debt on to us. Then, in 2006, Arsenal moved from Highbury to The Emirates Stadium, which also put Financial strain on them. At the time, Manchester United and Arsenal were the two teams in the league who were battling it out for the title and the trophies, year in, year out. Chelsea had just started to find their feet after the injection of Abramovich’s cash and won the league in 2005. The difference in Manchester United’s and Arsenal’s fortune since 2005 has been like night and day. While Arsenal have not won anything, Manchester United have won 4 Premier League trophies, 3 Carling Cup trophies and 1 Champions League trophy. Arsenal have not spent much since their last trophy win (if Manchester United had spent as little, I am sure we would be struggling too) They have instead decided to give their young players a chance to shine. This is an ideology shared by both Manchester United and Arsenal.

Whether the lack of spending is down to Arsene Wenger or the Arsenal board, you have to say, it is a problem. The Glazers have taken a lot of stick since they took control of our club. Personal abuse, TV documentaries and fan protests about how they run the club, have been common place over the past couple of years. However, the way they run the club since, is the difference between us and Arsenal. Well, that, and of course, the absolute brilliance of Sir Alex Ferguson . Despite the huge debt we have, the Glazers have made sure that we have kept competitive, not only in the Premiership, but also in Europe. They have made a lot of money available to buy some of the best young players in the world. They allowed Ferguson to spend £30 million on Berbatov, while we still had Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez at the club. They have even allowed Ferguson to take risks in the transfer market, with the signing of Bebe being the biggest example of this.

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While Arsenal still boast to have the best young team in the Premiership, they have slipped behind on this front too. They have two of the best young mid-fielders in the world in Jack Wilshere and Arron Ramsay, but beyond that, and the possible emergence of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wojciech Szczesny, you have to say that Manchester United have the better young players. Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans, Fabio Da Silva, Anderson, Nani, Ashley Young, Danny Wellbeck and Chicharito would each walk in to the Arsenal first team, with David De Gea and Tom Cleverley probably on a par with Arsenal’s first team. The future off the pitch also looks great for Manchester United. With the sale of a relatively small percentage of the club, it looks as though the huge debt on our club, may be cleared.

This would probably mean even greater power in the transfer market for years to come. It would also mean that the Glazers would own the majority of a club, and in the end, not paid any money. In fact, they may have even made a profit. While Arsenal have fallen behind over the past few years, Chelsea, and now Manchester City, have emerged as our main rivals. While Manchester United and Arsenal both used the money gained by their success to get by, Chelsea and Manchester City are both bankrolled by their rich owners. That is why I have a little soft spot for Arsenal. If you get past the dislike for some of their players, they are a club a bit like Manchester United. Giving youth a chance and using success as a springboard for even more success is the way football should be done.

As a Manchester United fan, I miss fighting for the title with Arsenal. I would much rather have them as our main title rivals, than Chelsea or Manchester City. I find their recent demise really sad, and, although I don’t like to admit it, I really hope they turn things round.

Article courtesy of Stockport Red from the excellent Red Flag Flying High

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The arrival of David Luiz at Stamford Bridge has been the most unheralded of the big money transfers which rained in on the Premier League in the closing hours of the transfer window.

With the acquisition of a new, young central defender, Carlo Ancelotti has been at pains to stress that the new addition will mean regular squad rotation for his key defenders, captain John Terry included; “Everyone knows that in the top teams there is competition for places, that is normal.”

Competition for places is not, however, always normal at Stamford Bridge. For years, come poor runs of form or injury, Terry has essentially picked himself. So long as Chelsea’s talisman wants and is able to play, he has slotted into the starting line-up.

Ancelotti’s statement, however intended, will raise inevitable questions. Is Luiz meant as a direct replacement for a Manchester City bound Terry? Does such a high profile addition to the squad represent a concession that the defence organised by the former England skipper, has not been up to scratch?

Ancelotti would be foolish to alienate Terry – he only needs to see how Luiz Felipe Scolari’s reign at the Bridge ended for evidence of the power the Blues’ captain still possesses.

In the past the Italian has tried to appease his skipper, suggesting he can play deep into his thirties in a similar fashion to one time AC Milan legend, Paolo Maldini. “He has no physical problems and a lot of passion,” the Chelsea boss claimed last season. The passion Ancelotti talks of has never been in doubt, however, ignoring the physical effects of being Chelsea’s bedrock for nearly a decade has not been wise.

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The concerns over Terry’s pace and mobility are nothing new – critics have long flagged up the Chelsea captain’s perceived lack of speed – the former England captain has compensated by being excellent from a positional point of view and reading of the play in front of him.

Nevertheless, this season has seen an unprecedented level of weakness from the current domestic champions. Whilst the Blues retain the best defensive record in the league, the months of malaise at the Bridge has had a visible impact on the side’s lynchpin.

During Terry’s time at the club, the Blues have been guilty of complacency from time to time and Ancelotti’s warning that no man is irreplaceable is in stark contrast to Jose Mourinho’s list of ‘untouchable’ players during his tenure.

This may well be a reflection of the way in which the Blues are playing. By electing to address the issue of his captain’s continued selection, Ancelotti is firing a warning to every player in the squad. With the exception of Petr Cech, Ashley Cole and possibly Branislav Ivanovic, none of the first team regulars can be happy with their performances this season.

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The arrival of David Luiz hardly heralds the end of the ‘John Terry era’ at Stamford Bridge – the club captain will continue to be selected for major fixtures so long as he is able to walk. The concern for Chelsea fans has been whether Terry himself will know when to play and when to rest. Ancelotti’s piece of January business shows he is no longer frightened to take that decision away from his skipper.

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Fulham boss Roy Hodgson says there is no chance of him returning to Inter Milan as Jose Mourinho's successor.

Hodgson, who coached the club between 1995 and 1997 before having a second stint as caretaker in 1999, had been rumoured to be set for a third spell in charge, while Fabio Capello and Rafa Benitez have also been mentioned as possible candidates as well as Pep Guardiola and Sinisa Mihajlovic.

However, 62-year-old Hodgson said:"I don't know who could be the coach (of Inter). I saw an interview where Capello said he wanted to stay with England, but in that type of situation it is impossible to know where the truth lies.

"There has been so much speculation on Benitez's future. The last thing I heard was that he wanted to stay at Liverpool, as he still has a four-year contract.

"I haven't spoken to anyone or heard anything from Inter. There is the same type of speculation around my name as you get with Capello and Benitez.

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Liverpool are set to announce the loan signing of Real Madrid star Nuri Sahin on Thursday, according to Mirror Football.

The Turkey international has not made an impact in the Spanish capital since moving to the Santiago Bernabeu from Borussia Dortmund last summer, making only four appearances for Los Blancos last season.

With Luka Modric seemingly on his way to Jose Mourinho’s men, opportunities for Sahin are thought to be non-existent, and the Portuguese trainer has admitted that the playmaker can leave the club.

With Brendan Rodgers eager to instil a footballing mentality to his inherited squad, a move for Sahin is set to be completed, with the creative midfielder moving to Anfield on a year-long deal.

However, the Merseysiders have been thwarted in their attempts to sign Barcelona youngster Cristian Tello.

Liverpool made an approach for the young Camp Nou attacker, but the player has opted to stay and fight for a place in the Catalan side.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has praised Luka Modric and Emmanuel Adebayor, after the duo starred in the London club’s 4-0 victory over Liverpool at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Modric scored the first goal of the rout, with Adebayor grabbing a brace, in what was Spurs’ first home win of the season.

The Croatian midfielder was the subject of a number of transfer bids from Chelsea over the summer, but Redknapp now believes that his playmaker is back focussing on his football again.

“Luka is fine now, he’s just getting on with it,” he told Sky Sports.

“I think the chairman will sit down with him now and discuss his contract. That’s what I’d like to happen. It was a great strike today. That’s why we were offered £40million because he’s a top player.”

Meanwhile former Arsenal striker Adebayor has had an impressive start to his time at White Hart Lane, scoring three goals in his first two appearances, and Redknapp applauded the African’s qualities.

“I asked William Gallas about him, who came to us from Arsenal, of course, and he told me he was a fantastic player. Gallas won our fans over – he was close to being player of the year last season – and this is a great chance for Adebayor.

“At Wolves last week, he held the ball up, brought people into play, scored, and looked a real handful. He’s got to prove that just because it didn’t work out for him at Manchester City, he’s still a top drawer striker. It’s great chance for him – and a no-brainer for me to take him on loan.

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“He has been flying in training. You think he’s going to run out of petrol but he doesn’t. He trains like someone’s wound him up. He always has a smile on his face. Let’s hope it continues,” he concluded.

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Javier Mascherano was saddened by the response his former teammate Fernando Torres received from Liverpool fans when he signed for Chelsea.

Torres signed for Chelsea on Monday in a deal worth 50 million pounds, a move which angered many Liverpool supporters, some of whom vented their feelings by burning shirts with Torres’ name on the back.

Now-Barcelona midfielder Mascherano is uniquely placed to know what Torres was feeling, having been on the receiving end of similar treatment from the Anfield faithful after his own controversial move to Barcelona last year.

“When I left Liverpool there were no shirts burnt, but it seemed as if I had killed someone,” Mascherano said.

“It is sad and nothing new, that people like Fernando have done a lot for Liverpool – not winning titles but enjoying good form – have to leave via the back door.”

“Besides being a move that one feels is a step forward, it is something that the press and the club want to make seem as if the players are the guilty party.”

“I spoke to Fernando and he doesn’t have anything to worry about as he did very well for Liverpool. He played when injured in order to help the club, so he has no reason to worry.”

Meanwhile, Mascherano is wary of the threat Barcelona face from a struggling Atletico Madrid outfit in Saturday’s La Liga clash.

Quique Sanchez Flores’ side visit the Nou Camp sitting in seventh place in the league, and the Europa League champions have won only once in La Liga this year causing supporters to voice discontent at the team’s form.

Barcelona, meanwhile, are on a 19-match unbeaten run and they secured a berth in April’s Copa del Rey final with a 3-0 second-leg win over Almeria on Wednesday, yet Mascherano insists they cannot afford to take the visitors lightly.

“I think that this is the most dangerous thing, when a big team like Atletico Madrid are hurt they present a bigger threat,” he said.

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“They have a very good team, who won an international title last year in the Europa League.”

“This year they were in the Super Cup against the World Champions, so we can’t underestimate them.”

“Maybe they haven’t had good results in the last few games, but they are still a big team. When a big team is hurt, then they want to have a good game against Barcelona – the league leaders.”

For someone who has provided us with two consecutive summer transfer sagas, you would think most Madridistas would be preparing to welcome Luka Modric with open arms, however you would be about as right as when Ronaldo decided to be penalty taker number five in the Euros.

After watching yet another pre-season game involving Real Madrid, and yet again being impressed with the performance Kaka produced – despite being told he is not wanted, the linking of Luka Modric to Real Madrid  is stronger than ever, with Mourinho stating that the Spurs player is the only one he wants this summer, and will happily get rid of Kaka to enable this.

It makes you wonder if Mourinho has been drinking too much fine wine – or not so fine if you take Fergie’s account of the stuff Jose drinks – over the summer, because it seems strange that Jose should want Modric so much when he has a player who is a great deal better in Ozil and one who is about the same in Kaka – if you had a Ferrari, it is perhaps understandable to buy a Range Rover in case the Ferarri breaks down, but why would you do that if you already had a BMW X5 sitting in the garage?

Luka ‘tug of love’ Modric is no stranger to these summer fights for his affection and time – even Cesc Fabregas must think Luka has a hard time in the summer months, and we all know how the battle between Arsenal and Barcelona took its toll on his health, so perhaps if Modric is so in demand – being the top of Jose’s wish list no less – he is better than I am giving him credit for.

Now do not get me wrong, I have not been on the wine, I know Modric is a brilliant player, and can make a difference in games, certainly against the lesser teams in the league, but it is hard to see the point of luring a player for so much money when you already have a couple who can do the same if not better.

Obviously there must be something in the playmaker that Mourinho feels could add something to his side and help them not only retain the title but also get that Champions League trophy, yet in 159 appearances for Spurs the player has managed 15 goals – if Real Madrid want goals clearly Modric is not the man to go for, and it seems strange they want someone who will provide assists, but not as many as Ozil or Di Maria.

Modric has provided 24 assists in 159 games with last season being a stellar one producing 5 goals and 6 assists– Ozil alone produced 8 goals and 21 assists last season. Kaka, with his paltry amount of games produced 8 goals and 13 assists in all competitions last season. Even Di Maria with all his injury issues produced 9 goals and 16 assists alone. This is not even considering the Castilla boys such as Morata and Jese who have been so prolific pre-season, or Callejon who had a brilliant season last time out and will be fully expected to build on this.

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For the money Real Madrid are offering it seems surprising Spurs are trying to hang on to such a want away player who has now resorted to training on his own, and if Levy had any sense he would be packing both Luka’s bags and the player on a one way flight to Madrid, which seems the most likely outcome to the saga, and I more than anyone would love to be proved wrong in thinking that whilst Modric could be a star at United or Chelsea, even AC Milan, Real Madrid simply do not need him.

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Tottenham travel to the Black Country after defeats in both of their games thus far to face an in-form Wolves side who remain undefeated after picking up two wins and a draw in their opening three games.

Mick McCarthy, who will be delighted with his side’s positive start, named an unchanged team for the recent draw against Aston Villa and there are again only expected to be one or two enforced changes for Saturday. Winger Matt Jarvis is a huge doubt after picking up an ankle injury in training and Sylvain Ebanks-Blake will continue to sit out with a knee injury. The good news for Mick is that Adlene Guedioura could be in line to make his return to the first-team after missing most of pre-season through injury and he is expected to make the bench on Saturday.

Tottenham have a long list of injuries with Aaron Lennon, Ledley King, William Gallas, Niko Kranjcar, Rafael van der Vaart and Steven Pienaar all unavailable for selection for the game at Molineux. However the good news is that new signings Emmanuel Adebayor and Scott Parker are likely to go straight into the first team to make their respective debuts. Spurs fans will also be interested to see how Luca Modric gets on after Levy forced him to stay at the club until at least January.

Wolves look a strong attacking team this season and have a deadly duo up-front in Doyle and Fletcher who can both provide goals but they may miss the productivity of Matt Jarvis. Harry will hope that Spurs can kick on with their season and I think if Adebayor can find some debut form we could be looking at an entertaining score draw similar to last year.

Key Men

Steven Fletcher – The Scottish international has formed a formidable partnership with the excellent Kevin Doyle and the in-form striker will be a real menace to the Tottenham defence again this weekend.

Jermain Defoe – Defoe netted twice at Molineux last season in their exciting 3-3 draw and with Van der Vaart out for a long period of time, he now has the perfect chance to show his worth to Redknapp and guarantee a place in the first eleven, starting on Saturday.

Verdict: 2-2

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Porto’s march to the Liga Sagres title continues unabated after the runaway leaders toppled Nacional 3-0 on Wednesday.

Benfica won the league in 2009/10 to end four consecutive title-winning years for Porto, and Andre Villas-Boas’ side seems intent on making amends this season.

With their comprehensive win over Nacional at Estadio Do Dragao, Porto are now 11 points clear on top of the league table.

They were set on their way in just the fourth minute, when irrepressible frontman Hulk scored his 27th goal for Porto in all competitions this season.

He improved that tally when he doubled his side’s advantage in the 33rd minute, with 19-year-old Columbian midfielder James Rodriguez – a 5.1 million euro signing from Argentinian club Banfield in July 2010 – rounding out the scoring 12 minutes later.

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Despite the loss, Nacional’s season remains a positive one. The Madeira club remain sixth on the table, though they have played one more game than many of their closest rivals.

Aston Villa have announced that they have completed a deal to bring Morocco international Karim El Ahmadi to the club from Feyenoord.

The midfielder becomes new Villa boss Paul Lambert’s first signing at the Birmingham-based club, and has put pen to paper on a year-year contract.

The 27-year-old has spoken of his delight at moving to the Premier League and is looking forward to competing for Villa.

“I’m very excited about coming here to a massive club and I’m looking forward to playing here,” El Ahmadi told the club’s official website.

“I’m very happy that the manager wants me and that the club wants me and I’m looking forward to starting training again.

“It’s nice that I am the manager’s first transfer and I am looking forward to doing good things with the team and with the club this year.

“This club should be competing in the top half of the table and I am looking forward to achieving that with the team.

“I came to this club and spoke to the people here and they gave me great confidence in what we can do this year, so I have chosen to come.

“As a player, I always want to have the ball and that is my main quality. I always want the ball and to dictate the game. That’s what I did at Feyenoord and hopefully I can show the fans, the club and the manager my quality,” he concluded.

Lambert is also glad to have made his first purchase as Villa boss, and has stated that the new man will bring competition for places and extra quality to the squad.

“Karim will help the team, I have no doubt about that.

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“He’s a really good footballer and he’s played well in a good team, a big team, and I’m looking forward to working with him.

“In fact, I’m really looking forward to getting things going on Thursday when the lads will report back for pre-season,” he revealed.

By Gareth McKnight

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