Manchester City begin Premier League defence with Southampton fixture

• Manchester United at Everton on opening day
• Newcastle face Tottenham, West Brom play Liverpool
 

Press Association
guardian.co.uk

Manchester City will begin the defence of their Premier League title with a home fixture against Southampton. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

Manchester City will begin their Premier League title defense with a home match against Southampton face Nigel Adkins's newly promoted side on 18 August at the Etihad Stadium.

United, pipped on the final day of the 2011-12 season by Manchester City, open with a match at Everton before taking on Fulham at Old Trafford the following weekend.

Arsenal, who finished third, start with a home game against Sunderland, before taking to the road with trips to Stoke City and Liverpool.

Two Europa League rivals meet on the opening day at St James' Park, with Newcastle taking on Tottenham Hotspur, currently managerless after the sacking of Harry Redknapp.

Roberto Di Matteo's career as the permanent Chelsea coach starts with a game at Wigan Athletic. Their first home game is against Newcastle.

Brendan Rodgers's Liverpool open at West Bromwich Albion, although the first three Anfield fixtures are more eye-catching, with Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United the visitors. The team Rodgers left, Swansea City, now managed by Michael Laudrup, begin at Queens Park Rangers.

West Ham United's return to the Premier League starts with a home match against Aston Villa, now under the leadership of Paul Lambert. Their fellow newcomers Reading will also have home advantage in their first top-flight game for four years, with Stoke the opening-day opponents.

The other first-day match sees Fulham and Norwich City meet at Craven Cottage in Chris Hughton's first competitive game since replacing Lambert as the Canaries manager.

Boxing Day sees Manchester United face Newcastle, while Sunderland and City meet at the Stadium of Light.

Newcastle against Arsenal is the most notable of the 19 May fixtures, when West Ham and Reading play for what could be three priceless points at Upton Park.

HULL SET TO APPEAL BOATENG RED

Hull City manager Phil Brown is considering appealing the red card shown to George Boateng during Wednesday's 1-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers. 

The veteran midfielder was shown a straight red card by referee Lee Probert following a 40th minute aerial challenge with Morten Gamst Pedersen at Ewood Park. 

Afterwards Rovers boss Sam Allardyce conceded the red card had been harsh on the Tigers and Brown was similarly bemused by Probert's decision. 

He explained: "To say it is a nonsense is an understatement. The problem I have with it is he had two to three minutes to make the decision while George was knocked out. 

"But the players told me he already had the red card out of his pocket within seconds of the incident. 

"It is clearly a clash of heads and a brave challenge by both players. If I am going to jump I am going to bring my arms up. 

"If you look at George Boateng's history, he's had 14 years in the Premier League and two red cards. 

"It is a good career record for me for a combative midfielder whose involved in tussles and tackles."

Nani's moment of madness leaves Sir Alex Ferguson seeing red

Sir Alex Ferguson received a major blow to his offensive options at Villa Park, a straight red card given to Nani, awarded by referee Peter Walton for a studs-up tackle on Stiliyan Petrov, meaning that the winger will suspended for the next three domestic games, including his side’s Carling Cup final against Villa at Wembley later this month.

By Sandy Macaskill

He will also be required to sit out of United’s next two Premier League matches, a trip to Goodison Park and a home fixture with West Ham, which after the draw in the west midlands have assumed even greater importance as United strive to wrest the lead of the table from Chelsea.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time for either the 23-year-old or Ferguson. In recent weeks Nani has been the king to Wayne Rooney’s ace, and he has been rewarded with a starting place in United’s last five games, running amok against Hull, Manchester City, Arsenal and Portsmouth.

Finally the Portuguese has been able to show what he can do now that he is no longer obscured by Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow.

The midfielder has been the target of some criticism since his £18 million move from Sporting Lisbon in 2007. Too often the attempts at trickery seemed nothing more pale imitations of his more illustrious team-mate, his free-kicks well regarded, but nothing on the master, and it earned him the unfortunate nickname ‘Ronaldo lite’, and rumours Ferguson would sell him come summer

Yet Ronaldo’s departure to Real Madrid, Antonio Valencia’s failure to step into his boots, and Dimitar Berbatov’s inability to emerge from obscurity since his move from Spurs have left Ferguson casting for alternatives to provide cutting edge, and Nani has emerged as the solution.

Unfortunately for United fans he was unable to deliver on the promise that “I am sure I have the quality to be one of the best in the world," – as he said this week – his only contribution of note before he was escorted down the tunnel to a cheering Villa Park a vicious free kick, which almost bamboozled Brad Friedel with a late swerve.

Martin O’Neill, meanwhile, has been left fretting over the fitness of Petrov, who left the scene injured in the 65th minute, to be replaced by Steve Sidwell. The Bulgarian has been the linchpin of Villa’s season, operating in a holding role in front of the celebrated back four.

With the likes of James Milner and Ashley Young plying their trade in the same midfield, Petrov’s contribution often goes unsung – but should the injury prove serious it would be a major blow to Villa.

Arsène Wenger: Arsenal will make sure Premier League goes to the wire

Arsène Wenger believes the Premier League title race will go to the wire after seeing his Arsenal side's ambitions boosted by the 1-0 win over Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.

By Telegraph staff

Arsenal had started the day nine points adrift and seemingly no longer genuine contenders following successive defeats to Manchester United and, on Sunday, Chelsea.

However, the deficit was narrowed to six points after Abou Diaby's header earned the three points against Liverpool, United drew 1-1 at Aston Villa and leaders Chelsea lost 2-1 at Everton.

"I believe we will fight until the last second of the season, and that's what we want to continue to do," said Wenger.

"We believe we have a chance and you could see again that Chelsea lost, Manchester United dropped points, so it is open for everybody."

Wenger, though, warned more hard work lay ahead and is focusing only on the immediate future.

"It can change quickly, but for us it is more important for us to focus on winning our next game than speaking about the title because we had a big shock in our last two games," he added.

The victory may have not been a vintage performance by his young side, but it reinforced Wenger's faith following a difficult couple of weeks.

The Arsenal manager added: "Nobody realises what it is to play Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool on the trot - physically and mentally it is very demanding, especially with two massive disappointments.

"We have shown good togetherness, good discipline and then we got that little goal which makes a massive result for us."

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was left fuming, claiming his side should have had a stoppage-time penalty when Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas appeared to handle the ball from a Steven Gerrard free-kick.

Referee Howard Webb waved away Liverpool's appeals, and television replays appeared to suggest there was doubt whether the hand was in the box.

Wenger denied Liverpool should have had a penalty, saying: "It was a controversial situation.

"The free-kick against us was harsh. Steven Gerrard didn't deserve the free-kick he got and afterwards Cesc Fabregas maybe touched the ball with his hand, but it shouldn't have been a free-kick."

One sour note for Wenger was that Russian midfielder Andrey Arshavin limped off with a hamstring injury and Samir Nasri was substituted with a head injury which left him nauseous.

Both will be assessed ahead of the Champions League trip to Porto next week, which will be the Gunners' next match as they are no longer in the FA Cup.

Ferguson has no complaints as Nani sees red

By John Percy (AFP)

BIRMINGHAM, England — Sir Alex Ferguson belied his reputation as a referee-baiter by insisting he had no problems with Nani's sending off in a 1-1 draw away to Aston Villa.

Wednesday's result left champions United a point behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.

It also meant Nani, shown a straight red card for a two-footed challenge on Stiliyan Petrov, would be suspended for United's next three matches, including this month's League Cup final against Villa at Wembley.

Ferguson, who earlier this season received a two-match touchline ban for criticising referee Alan Wiley's fitness, had no complaints with Peter Walton's decision to reduce United to 10 men in the 29th minute at Villa Park.

"It's a red card, Nani went in double-footed and he can't do that," Ferguson said. "It was a naive tackle and the referee had no option.

"But Nani is not a malicious player.

"He has been doing so well for us and we'll now miss him for the League Cup final.

"He's also missing two league games which is just as important."

United's dropping of two points was compounded by the sight of veteran winger Ryan Giggs leaving Villa Park with his arm in a sling after a innocuous collision with Steve Sidwell late in the second half.

Despite the loss of Nani, United should have won this match and knocked Chelsea off the top of the Premier League, with the Londoners surprisingly beaten at Everton on Wednesday.

"Even with ten men we should have won the game," said Ferguson. "We were the better team and tried to get the result.

"Credit to the players, they were absolutely brilliant. Every player worked their socks off.

"We have sent Ryan for an X-ray to see if there is any damage. It is very painful but hopefully he is going to be all right."

United arrived at Villa Park on a revenge mission after suffering defeat at Old Trafford in December.

Carlos Cuellar though headed Villa in front with the club's first home league goal of 2010 before James Collins's unfortunate own goal hauled United level.

But then Nani was dismissed for a moment of madness following a scything lunge on Petrov just before the half hour.

Villa manager Martin O'Neill's bid to record a season double over Ferguson never looked like being successful, however, and even when a man down it was United who appeared the more dangerous side.

O'Neill was left rueing Villa's failure to capitalise on their numerical advantage but insisted this game would have no bearing on the Wembley final.

"That will be a different set of circumstances, a different environment," he said. "When it comes round, we should go into the game with plenty of confidence."

He added: "When they had a man sent-off I was hoping we would be able to take the initiative. In the second half we didn't create enough and make enough use of the extra man.

"If you'd asked me at the start of season would you take four points against United I'd have been pretty happy with that."

The result left Villa seventh in the table, two points outside the top four who will qualify for next season's Champions League.

Although they are fifth, Manchester City are level on points with fourth-placed Liverpool and have two games in hand on their Merseyside rivals.

"Manchester City would have been delighted with the results (on Wednesday)," said O'Neill.

"Considering their resources they would be strong contenders. But we are in the race and we will try our very best."

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

Premier League: Everton 2 Chelsea 1

CHELSEA put a protective arm around John Terry last night after a bad night at Goodison.

Terry was caught out as Louis Saha fired a superb goal - his second of the game after Florent Malouda's opener - to sink the Premier League leaders 2-1.

Sacked as England captain last week, Terry remains under pressure over his private life and has been given the nod to miss this weekend's FA Cup clash against Cardiff. Assistant boss Ray Wilkins said: "You have to give Louis Saha a bit of credit because he's a tough opponent.

"John got caught under the ball for the second one but he's been outstanding for us, so I'm sure it was the slightest of blips."

Everton boss Davie Moyes said: "Not many teams come back from 1-0 down to them."

Thierry Henry handed let-off by ‘powerless’ Fifa

Ron Lewis

Sean St Ledger, the Ireland defender, believes that Fifa has created a dangerous precedent by failing to punish Thierry Henry for the handball that sent France to the World Cup finals at Ireland’s expense.

Henry’s reputation might never recover from the sleight of hand that helped France to earn a place in South Africa after a Fifa disciplinary committee ruled in Zurich last night that it had no power to sanction him.

“I don’t want players to get banned, but [the decision] promotes, ‘If you can get away with it, do it,’ ” said St Ledger, who played in the 1-1 draw at the Stade de France in November.

“I’ve seen [the incident] again today and I still think he intentionally, the second time, handballed it. I still feel a bit hurt from it.”

Ireland had lost the first leg of the World Cup play-off 1-0 in Dublin. They led 1-0 in Paris, forcing the game into extra time, when Henry’s handball led to William Gallas scoring the decisive goal.

The incident caused outrage, with the FAI demanding a replay and then to go to the World Cup as a 33rd team. Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, referred to it as “blatant unfair play”. Fifa dismissed Ireland’s demands but did agree to have another look at the possibility of using video evidence in the future, and referred the handball by the Barcelona striker to its disciplinary body. But a Fifa statement issued last night said that it had no basis on which to punish Henry.

“The disciplinary committee reached the conclusion that there was no legal foundation for the committee to consider the case because handling the ball cannot be regarded as a serious infringement as stipulated in article 77a of the Fifa disciplinary code,” the statement said. “There is no other legal text that would allow the committee to impose sanctions for any incidents missed by match officials.”

The decision means that the 32-year-old former Arsenal player will not face a ban for any of France’s matches in the World Cup finals this summer.

Ireland had been angered even before the match by Fifa’s decision to seed the play-offs, allowing teams such as Portugal and France to avoid each other.

Asked for his opinion on yesterday’s ruling, St Ledger said: “I think it’s a poor one.

“They said they’ve got no legal foundation but they still had the power to change the rules and introduce the seedings. I think if they have got that kind of power to change that rule I don’t understand why they haven’t got the power to make a ruling here. It’s confusing but at the same time not surprising.

“It won’t surprise me if France go on and win the World Cup.”

Henry’s defence yesterday argued successfully that Fifa’s disciplinary code does not give the committee the power to punish such incidents.

The decision will be welcomed by those who argued it was unfair for Henry to be singled out when so many other players commit handball offences and are not punished. Bernard Escalettes, president of the French Football Federation, said he hoped the verdict would draw a line under the incident.

“Thierry Henry not being punished is not astonishing, it is logical,” Escalettes said.

“There is nothing in the Fifa rules permitting a punishment, and Fifa are bound by their rules. I hope that this is the end of the story, I hope so with all my heart.”

Arsenal and Cesc Fabregas revel in turnaround and reveal hunger for the title

By Jeremy Wilson 

Arsène Wenger paused to gather his thoughts when asked recently to name the quality that convinced him of Arsenal's ability to break the Premier League dominance of Manchester United and Chelsea. "Hunger," he said eventually.

It was shortly before Christmas and, at the time, few shared Wenger's confidence. His team had been 11 points behind Chelsea at the beginning of December and the memory of last season's disappointments and internal problems remained fresh in the mind.

Yet, come 9.45pm on Wednesday, Arsenal need only a repeat of Sunday's 2-0 away win over Bolton to be top of the Premier League for the first time since the opening week of the season. It has been some turnaround, particularly in the midst of injury crises both in attack and midfield.

"We refused to give up, continued to fight and believed in our strengths," said Wenger. "The biggest test in our camp was the mental strength and solidarity of the players. We have a great solidarity, a great team spirit. Why should we stop here when we have taken so many points from our opponents? Now we have a chance to keep that momentum going."

Cesc Fabregas has come to embody that increased resilience and, like Wenger, he pinpoints the collective desire within a group of players who, having largely grown up together, are still waiting for their first silverware.

"I'm sure other teams will think the same as us, that they can win the league, but there will be no team that wants to win it more than us, for sure," said Fabregas. "We have to go game by game, take it easy. Let's not get too carried away. There are many, many games where you can lose or win points. We have to be ready for Bolton again – no excuses."

A range of factors explain Arsenal's enhanced staying power. An extra year has left them more able to cope when their opponents adopt physical tactics, while the signings of Thomas Vermaelen and Andrei Arshavin have also brought added steel and quality.

It has contributed to a transformation in the atmosphere at the Emirates, notably among a home fanbase that can be difficult to please. The key, though, remains Fabregas, who is beginning to assume the sort of talismanic influence at Arsenal of Thierry Henry. With 13 goals already from midfield, he is a convincing early candidate for player of the season.

Wenger refuses to join that debate but does regularly pinpoint his captain's extra physical strength and ongoing desire for self-improvement.

Even after a virtuoso display on Sunday, Fabregas was not satisfied. "I am happy with the team's contribution, I will never be happy as an individual because you can always do better but the team was really good," he said.

Yet as the chance to go top of the Premier League beckons, a different sort of pressure suddenly rests on the young shoulders of this Arsenal squad. It is one thing to produce results to get back into contention, quite another to maintain that momentum when the finishing line is coming into sight.

As Wenger has consistently said, capturing that first trophy together will be the most difficult. It will also be the most important and was one of the main reasons why Sol Campbell, a winner of silverware at Tottenham, Arsenal and Portsmouth, was recruited.

Sunderland put block on Liverpool FC's move for Kenwyne Jones

LIVERPOOL’S hopes of signing Kenwyne Jones were effectively dead today after Sunderland refused any attempt to do business.

As was reported in later editions of last night’s ECHO, the Reds spent the weekend trying to thrash out a deal to bring the Trinidad & Tobago international to Anfield on loan until the end of the season and were hopeful of doing so.

With Fernando Torres facing a spell on the sidelines due to a knee injury, boss Rafa Benitez wanted to bring Jones to Anfield to give his strike force a physical presence and increase competition for places.

Yet despite the player wanting to switch Wearside for Merseyside, Sunderland would not entertain any thoughts of a loan and insisted the only way the Jones would leave the Stadium of Light during this window was in a cash deal.

The Reds, of course, are not flush with cash at present and had no intentions of meeting Sunderland’s asking price of well in excess of £10m for Jones, who has scored 25 times in 85 appearances for the Black Cats.

Benitez, who is also in the race to sign Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh, is unlikely to give up his search to bring another forward in before the window closes and has vowed to keep “working hard” to find the right man.

“We will see if we can do something more in this window,” he added. “If we cannot we will stick together for the next challenge. We have a good team, a good squad and are not as bad as people think.”

A more immediate priority, though, is tomorrow night’s Anfield showdown with Tottenham Hotspur and the Reds’ boss wants to see his team show the same attitude and resilience as they did at Stoke on Saturday.

But, more importantly, he has urged them to develop a ruthless streak in order to prevent more precious points slipping away.

“We are in a position where we have to kill off games,” he said today. “Even in the last two games when we haven’t played well, we could still have won them.

“If we can do what we did against Wolves and Aston Villa, the confidence will be there. We might not have been doing well but still we can be close to where we want to be.

“That has to be the message to the players. We are still in there. We have to approach every game thinking that we need to get three points.

“The main thing is to be strong, be solid and if we can score, let’s try to kill the games. We haven’t been doing this enough. Against Reading, we started the second half really well but couldn't get the last pass right or find the player.

“Had we done that, we’d be talking about a totally different situation. We know that we have to improve but we have a game soon to do that.”

Paper Talk: Harry eyes Ruud loan deal

Ruud van Nistelrooy continues to be linked with Tottenham, while Wayne Rooney could be presented with a tempting offer by suitors Barcelona.

DAILY MIRROR

David Beckham has told Manchester City he would never play for the club, no matter how much they offer him.

Chelsea are desperately trying to get Michael Essien back to London amid growing fears the Ghana midfielder's season is over.

Gary Neville says Sir Alex Ferguson was right in refusing to sign Carlos Tevez - because the striker was not worth the money.

Younes Kaboul is now a £10million target for French club Lille - with Portsmouth desperate to sacrifice the Frenchman to raise cash.

Jermaine Beckford is planning to walk out on Leeds this summer to join Everton.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is ready to sign Kenwyne Jones from Sunderland in a £12million deal.

Gianfranco Zola is in fear of being axed as West Ham manager.

Hull are ready to move veteran Kevin Kilbane on to Sheffield United in a money-saving transfer.

Fulham's loan move for Roma striker Stefano Okaka has collapsed.

Owen Coyle's bid to sign Jack Wilshere for Bolton is on hold because of Arsenal's injury problems.

Southampton have had a £200,000 bid for Southend striker Lee Barnard accepted.

Burnley have flown in Monaco striker Frederic Nimani for talks ahead of a possible loan move.

Newcastle boss Chris Hughton is preparing a £750,000 bid for Sheffield Wednesday defender Mark Beevers.

DAILY MAIL

Harry Redknapp is negotiating a deal to take Ruud van Nistelrooy on a loan deal to Tottenham from Real Madrid.

Arsenal have held talks with the father and agent of Spanish whizzkid Sergio Canales over a potential move from Racing Santander.

Wolves are trailing £3million-rated Stoke striker James Beattie.

Everton are giving a trial to Norway left-back Knut Olav Rindaroy, 24.

DAILY EXPRESS

Michael Essien will fly back to England in the next 48 hours with Chelsea fearing he could be out for up to six weeks with knee ligament damage.

Fulham are closing in on Lincoln's rising young Scottish star Graham Hutchison.

Portsmouth manager Avram Grant has put himself on a collision course with the club's owners after promising David James he will be played while he is still at Fratton Park.

THE SUN

The Glazer family have gone cap in hand to Manchester United's players - effectively asking them for a multi-million pound loan.

David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady are celebrating after closing in on their West Ham dream.

Fernando Torres has urged Rafa Benitez to buy a top Spanish striker - as the Liverpool boss weighs up a £12million swoop for Kenwyne Jones.

Birmingham have been told they can have Celtic winger Aiden McGeady - at the right price.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has strongly denied making a bid for Manchester United keeper Ben Foster.

DAILY STAR

Barcelona are ready to offer Wayne Rooney £8million a season - after tax - to lure him from Manchester United.

David James has been told: drop your wage demands if you are so desperate to get out of Portsmouth to save your World Cup dreams.

Hull boss Phil Brown has challenged bad boy Amr Zaki to prove his critics wrong after signing the striker on a five-month loan deal from Egyptian club El Zamalek.

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is ready to sacrifice Kieran Richardson in a bid to land Maynor Figueroa.

David Gold and David Sullivan are expecting to complete their takeover of West Ham - and will assure Gianfranco Zola his job is safe.

THE TIMES

Chelsea face an anxious wait to learn the extent of a knee injury to Michael Essien amid fears he could be out for the rest of the season.

Gary Neville has declared Carlos Tevez's financial demands made it impossible for him to stay at Manchester United.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

The Glazer family could take out more than £600million from Manchester United's revenues over the next seven years in dividends, interest payments and fees arising from the club's bond issue.

Portsmouth's owners will discover whether they have been successful in overturning a winding-up order issued over unpaid tax by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

THE GUARDIAN

The Glazer family can take almost £130million cash out of the club next year alone if enough lenders sign up for the bond they have launched to borrow £500million for United.

THE INDEPENDENT

Manchester United captain Gary Neville has reopened the debate surrounding the loss of Carlos Tevez across the city last summer, suggesting ahead of the keenly anticipated Carling Cup semi-final first leg at Eastlands on Tuesday night that the financial demands of the Argentine's representatives were too great for him to stay.

DAILY RECORD

Celtic number two Mark Venus has claimed Aiden McGeady could be sold in January - if the price is right.

Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson has slammed critics who claim he has been slow to appoint a new boss.

David Gold and David Sullivan complete £100m takeover of West Ham United

David Gold and David Sullivan have completed their takeover of West Ham United.

The former Birmingham City owners will take a 50 per cent stake in the club after meeting CB Holdings’s £100 million asking price and are expected to have the final say on all club matters.

The takeover comes with a threat of a change in the dugout at West Ham, who have debts of £80 million resulting from the collapse of Landsbanki, the Icelandic bank in which Björgólfur Gudmundsson, the former owner of West Ham, held a 41 per cent stake. However, Gianfranco Zola, whose team lie fifth from bottom of the Premier League, has vowed to confound his critics and received backing from Carlton Cole, the England forward.

Gold and Sullivan left Birmingham City in November after Carson Yeung, the Hong Kong businessman, completed his buyout. 

The package offered by the pair was preferred to a series of other offers, including interest from Intermarket, an investment company, who made the highest bid but was unable to prove that it had sufficient money for a takeover. An American group, favoured by the banks that are owed nearly £50 million by West Ham, withdrew because its request for exclusive talks was rejected. While Tony Fernandes, a Malaysian airline entrepreneur, failed to deliver.

Straumur, the Icelandic bank that owned the club, had begun talks to sell a part or a full stake after realising it could become exposed to liabilities should the club be relegated this season. Had a deal not gone through, West Ham would have had to find about £10 million by April to meet other liabilities, such as transfer payments and may have been forced to sell players.

The club's ownership was transferred to CB Holding, standing for "Claret and Blue" in June last year when Gudmundsson, the club's then owner, went bust. Straumur, a Icelandic bank, held a 70 per cent stake in CB Holding, with the remainder owned by Byr/MP Banki and Landsbanki, which together are owed about £16 million by Gudmundsson. They claimed to have a three-year plan to run the club, aiming to recoup the money it is owed when the financial climate improves.

It is an embarrassing fall from grace for Gudmundsson, who stepped down as chairman and who has lost about £500 million because of the effects of the credit crunch. He had hoped that his takeover would lift West Ham to Champions League contention, but the club paid a heavy price for overspending on transfers and wages.

Manchester City Will Sell Robinho If He Does Not Train Well - Roberto Mancini

'Mancio' throws down the gauntlet...

By Adithya Ananth

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has challengedRobinho to train harder or risk being sold to another club.

The Brazilian was called into action early on during the recent 2-0 loss to Everton at Goodison Park, as Roque Santa Cruz had to be taken off due to injury. But the diminutive hitman was himself substituted on 51 minutes, adding further to the speculation surrounding his future with the Citizens.

Mancini did little to cover for his player, insisting that the £32.5 million signing must earn his stripes on the training ground if he wishes to continue plying his trade in a Sky Blue jersey.

"All players try to work hard during the week in training and that is the most important thing," Mancini is quoted in the Daily Mail as saying.

"If he wants a future here, then, yes, that is what he has to do.

"I thought Robinho could have been a big player for us here, but sometimes a player is on form and sometimes he is off.

"I wanted to change the situation in the second half and if that means taking him off, then I will. I cannot worry about him, only about the result."

We can sustain title bid - Wenger

Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal's 2-0 win at Bolton proves they are relishing being surprise title challengers.

The Gunners seemed to be out of the title race going into December, yet a two-goal home win against the Trotters on Wednesday will see them move top.

"We are in a quite interesting position where nobody expected us to be," the Arsenal manager said ahead of a second clash with Bolton in a week.

"Our motivation will be 100%. We have the belief and we want to have a go."

Sunday's win ensured Arsenal remain three points behind leaders Chelsea and two behind second-place Manchester United, having played a game less than Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

"We are a big club and when you are a big club the most difficult thing is like what happened last year, when in October you know you will not fight for the title," added Wenger.

606: DEBATE

" The nerve, attitude and the appetite to bounce back after drawing 2-2 Vs Everton in my opinion was an ingredient that at times has lacked at Arsenal "

Kampala_Gunner

"Now we have a chance to fight for it so let's have a go."

After suffering a 3-0 home defeat against Chelsea on 29 November, Wenger's side have responded by dropping just four points in their next eight matches.

The Blues have dropped nine points in their seven matches since that emphatic win over their London rivals and defending champions Manchester United have dropped eight points during the same period.

In contrast, Arsenal have taken 20 of 24 points available since losing to Chelsea, culminating in Sunday's win at the Reebok Stadium and Wenger will hope his side can show the same ruthlessness when the sides meet again on Wednesday in a return meeting rearranged because of recent bad weather.

However, the match is likely to be another stern test of Arsenal's title ambitions, with Bolton appearing rejuvenated as Owen Coyle took charge for the first time at the weekend.

Arsenal took the lead through returning captain Cesc Fabregas midway through the first-half but were then forced to repel long periods of pressure from the home side before Fran Merida's 78th minute goal sealed the victory.

"We are a team that likes to go forward and it was important not to make mistakes when we went ahead," said Wenger.

"It was important for us not to get to the last 15 minutes only one goal up and the second goal killed the game.

"There is still more to come, because we are still a young team and we have more personality during the difficult points of game."

Wenger enthused over the performance of Fabregas, who capped his return after three games out with a hamstring injury with a fine all-round midfield performance and his 13th goal of the season.

"Fabregas likes to go forward but he has improved defensively as well," said Wenger.

"What is very interesting for us is Cesc gets stronger and stronger and has more personality on the pitch, like the whole team.

"He grows. He will be 23 this year - he is just starting."

At 19, Merida is yet another young Arsenal player making his mark thought he might not have been given his chance to play at Bolton had it not been for injuries to fellow midfielders Samir Nasri (hamstring) and Aaron Ramsey (thigh).

Wenger revealed that the duo are likely to be sidelined for three weeks, while Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner are likely to be out for a fortnight.

Rafael Benítez under-pressure: should Liverpool give Spaniard more time?

Liverpool's only realistic chance of silverware this season rests on the Europa League following their FA Cup defeat to Reading. Rafael Benítez has been told no decision on his future will be made until the summer but should the club cut their losses and sack him now?

By Emily Benammar

In his first three seasons at Anfield, the Spaniard won the FA Cup and the Champions League and reached a second European Cup final. Benítez broke a record last season after guiding the club to second in the table with 86 points – the highest points tally achieved by a club who did not win the title.

This season, however, has been dismal. Seventh in the league and 12 points adrift of leaders Chelsea means Liverpool have their work cut out if they want to salvage a Champions League place.

Speculation over how long Benítez has left has been rife since October – as has the topic of who could replace him.

Former Liverpool captain Ronnie Whelan believes Kenny Dalglish could help turn the club around.

“The way Liverpool have been playing, they have not been good," said Whelan. "They have lost 10 of the last 20 games. Benítez should have gone a long time ago. They have got to do it now. Do they bring in someone until the end of the season?

"Kenny Dalglish is back at the football club. Could he do it until the end of the season and see what happens?”

Dalglish is currently the bookies favourite to become the next manager on Merseyside at 11/14. He is followed by Jose Mourinho (7/2) and Guus Hiddink (9/2).

With time appearing to be running out for Benítez, Rory Smith adds Englandmanager Fabio Capello, Martin O'Neill and Roy Hodgson to the list of potential contenders.

So should Liverpool cut their losses now or give Benítez until the end of the season?

Realist Roberto Mancini does not believe Manchester City can win the title

Roberto Mancini does not consider Manchester City to be potential Barclays Premier League champions. Not for the time being, anyhow.

The memory of the removal of Mark Hughes as City manager last month has become little more than the smallest of afterthoughts for the fans at the City of Manchester Stadium, whose fond memories of Hughes have been dulled by subsequent victories over Stoke City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League as well as an FA Cup third-round victory over Middlesbrough.

However, behind Mancini’s supposed Midas touch lies a healthy dash of realism and he has moved to quell any over-enthusiasm regarding City’s chances of winning the English top-flight title for the first time since 1968.

Mancini’s new position is in contrast with his claims last month that City could still be leading contenders but those optimistic words appear increasingly like an attempt to appease fans after Hughes’s sacking.

“To my mind there are three teams who can win the league; Chelsea, United and Arsenal,” he said “Football can be strange and things can change in a couple of months. There are other teams who are only just behind so nothing is totally impossible but for me, it is between those three.

“It’s important now that we must play very well and improve game after game, then look at the table in two months. Now there are six or seven teams who can arrive in the top four. It’s a long way away, 18 games for us. It’s important we improve in the future. Now the target is the top four.”

That City have won all their games under Mancini, and conceded only one goal in that spell, would suggest that he has already won the respect of what was a sceptical dressing room only 25 days ago.

Yet the City ointment does contain one fly, in the shape of Robinho. The change in management has again failed to ignite a talent that was supposed to illuminate the Premier League when he arrived from Real Madrid for £34.2 million in the summer of 2008.

Robinho has looked as listless under this manager as he did the previous one. The Brazil forward has not started since a terrible performance against Stoke City in Mancini’s first match in charge and his perceived poor attitude was highlighted by Mancini having to ask him twice to start warming up against Blackburn Rovers on Monday evening.

The player did so begrudgingly but that does not bode well for the future and although Mancini remains convinced that Robinho can improve, he admits that he wants to see more for the considerable sum that City paid.

“How much a player cost is not important,” Mancini said. “What you pay only matters when you are in the act of buying someone. The important thing after that is the player working hard and playing well.

“Robinho technically is top. He has played for Brazil and played for Real Madrid. I don’t want to change his mentality. He is a Brazilian player, they are very technical, [but] I think he can improve in certain situations.”

Mancini also confirmed that he will be allowing Vladimir Weiss, the Slovakia winger, to go out on loan to further his development.