Roman Abramovich loses £12billion in Russian share plunge

Roman Abramovich has lost £12billion on the Russian stock exchange, it was revealed today.

The Chelsea FC owner has seen his fortune shrink as Russia's Micex Index has gone into freefall.

The decline in value of two of his companies on the Moscow-based index, steel maker Evraz and mining company Highland Gold, has left the 41-year-old tycoon £11.9billion worse off.

It comes just four days after details emerged of the £200million super-yacht Abramovich is having built - set to be the largest private yacht ever constructed.

The massive bill for the boat amounts to just a 60th of today's gargantuan losses for the Russian oligarch.

Abramovich's woes come on a disastrous financial day for London's Premiership football clubs, with the owners of Arsenal and West Ham also suffering from the effects of instability in the markets.

Arsenal's part-owner Alisher Usmanov has lost £7billion on the Micex index, which has declined 61 per cent since its peak in May.

West Ham's Icelandic owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson also said he may sell the club after losing £230million.

Venables turns down Newcastle role

Terry Venables rejected the chance Thursday to step into the hotseat at troubled Newcastle, who have been managerless since Kevin Keegan's abrupt departure earlier this month.

With the club up for sale by owner Mike Ashley, Venables was reported to have been offered the chance to come in as a caretaker manager.

Venables confirmed to The Sun newspaper, for whom he writes a column, that he had been in talks with the St James' Park hierarchy.

But the newspaper's website later Thursday said that the 65-year-old had “turned down” Newcastle's plea to become stand-in boss amid uncertainty over the club's future.

Former England, Tottenham and Barcelona boss Venables was one of the leading candidates to become Newcastle manager when Bobby Robson was sacked in 2004, although the club's then-owners eventually plumped for Graeme Souness.

He also has experience of working in the north-east of England having helped Middlesbrough avoid relegation in 2002 after being brought in to help Bryan Robson manage the side.

A similar salvage operation is required at Newcastle, who are currently second from bottom of the Premier League and were dumped out of the League Cup on Wednesday night following a 2-1 defeat at home to Tottenham.

That match was watched by 20,577 people, the club's lowest crowd in 16 years, which will not have helped Ashley's hopes of a quick sale.

Consortiums from China and Nigeria are reported to be considering bids but there has been no indication that anyone is willing to meet Ashley's asking price of more than 400 million pounds.

Venables's last job was as a part-time assistant to former England boss Steve McClaren. That role came to an end when McClaren was sacked in November of last year following England's failure to reach Euro 2008.

Torres: I Would Never Follow Robinho

The 22-year-old defender is still a fan of the Brazilian's talent but was not impressed with his actions since the end of last season and thinks that he was badly advised.

Madrid president Ramón Calderón blamed Robinho's advisor, Vagne Ribeiro, for holding a press conference where he said he wanted to leave and Torres stated that he could never have done that.

"I would never accept something like that. My dad and my uncle take care of my affairs -the latter is a lawyer-. That says it all," he told AS.

"I do not like commissions and the club knows my family will never treat this as business. I play for Real Madrid; what more could I ask for?

"Robinho is a great player, but we all have to row in the same direction."

Torres was still earning €30,000-per-year after he mhad made 20 first team appearances for Madrid and valued his place in the team more than worrying about a bigger contract.

"There is no merit in it. I value a quality lifestyle, not material things. I prefer to be close to my family, in my own city and on the team I love than to earn a lot of money," he continued.

"I signed for what they offered. I would have signed for even less. Money doesn't rule my life."

Torres was then outraged when asked whether he felt that Raúl was losing his touch and could no longer command a regular place in the first team.

"Of course he is not! He is the most natural guy I have ever met and the player who has given me the most advice. I'm sure he will help Real Madrid return to Cibeles this year."

Lucas Brown, Goal.com

Solskjaer Delighted With Berba Capture

Berbatov was signed in the final hour of the transfer window for a fee of £30.75m, putting an end to one of several drawn out transfers this summer.

Man United had to beat off stiff competition from city rivals Manchester City, who also put in a late bid for the 27-year-old.

The Bulgarian captain was Man United boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s major summer signing, and had been identified as a player the club wanted at the start of the summer.

Former Man United favourite and now coach with the club Solskjaer has hailed the Berbatov signing, believing that Ferguson has signed the right man.

Speaking to MUTV, Solskjaer said: “The saga lasted all summer but we were always confident we'd found the right one.

“I think he's the right one. His performances for Spurs have been great. I knew he was a good player when he played against us for Bayer Leverkusen.

“We're delighted we've got him.”

Despite Berbatov’s frequent sulks, and lack of effort on the pitch at Spurs, Solskjaer believes that Sir Alex is just the man that can handle Berbatov’s temperament and turn him into a club legend in the coming years.

The former Man United star added: “I've often wondered how he's done it, with all the internationals he's had.

“But he's always rotated people and I'm sure we'll see great performances from the front four again.”

Berbatov will have to wait until next week for his debut with United after the international break, when his new side take on Liverpool at Anfield next Saturday.

City's Arabs want promotion - for themselves

There are all sorts of ways of making a name for yourself, but, within the bounds of the law, few are more effective than buying an English football club. Who had heard of Roman Abramovich before he bought Chelsea, the Glazers before they snapped up Manchester United? Within hours of the latest takeover, the world is a lot wiser about Dr Sulaiman al-Fahim and his hopes for Abu Dhabi.

About £200 million, and rising, is a lot to spend on self-promotion, but how better to guarantee headlines from Manchester to Madras than buying a football club and then launching raids for the world's greatest players? Asked why yesterday - why England, why the Barclays Premier League, why City? - al-Fahim cut to the point: “Big exposure for the group and for the city [Abu Dhabi].”

He told The Times: “We want to create Abu Dhabi as the capital of sport and culture in the Middle East, to attract all the important events.”

Chess is his passion (he heads the Abu Dhabi federation), but do not underestimate the scale of his ambition. To become the sporting centre of the region, Abu Dhabi must keep pace with Dubai, its neighbouring emirate, which is putting together a £2 billion “Sports City” to host top football, cricket and, perhaps, the Olympic Games. Those aspirations will have been fired by the global exposure enjoyed by Beijing last month.

Now there are TWO ways to feed your fantasy

This is where we are at. Less than 20 years after Michael Knighton failed to scrape together the £20 million to buy Manchester United and the national game was blighted by hooliganism and atrocious stadiums, English football clubs are a prized part of the business portfolio for Russians, Americans, Arabs and, no doubt before long, the Chinese.

English clubs are investment opportunities for those seeking to make themselves even richer (the Glazers, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr), those who want the ultimate executive toy (Abramovich), or men seeking to sell themselves as munificent benefactors. City have had two of the last in Thaksin Shinawatra and now al-Fahim.

Pursued by charges of corruption, and worse, Thaksin never convinced the British public. Some of the muck stuck to him and there were alarming stories in recent weeks of him running out of ready cash. That seems highly unlikely in the case of the Abu Dhabi United Group, whose investors include the al-Nahyan royal family of the United Arab Emirates, for whom al-Fahim is going to prove an entertaining front man.

Happy to interrupt a busy day of shifting billions for a chat on the phone yesterday, he took the opportunity to plug his television show, a Middle Eastern equivalent of The Apprentice, in which he is the tough-talking Sir Alan Sugar. The trailer shows him cruising around in a garish, yellow Lamborghini, intercut with shots of Western destinations such as Harrods and Hollywood. He is going to enjoy rubbing shoulders with the famous footballers he attracts to City.

Yesterday he willingly entered into speculation about who would be the next big-money arrival. “My favourite footballer? That is Ronaldinho,” he said. “Hopefully, we can bring him to Manchester.”

Then there was Cristiano Ronaldo, for whom he said that he is willing to break every transfer record by spending £135 million. “We have not bought the club just to sit on it,” he said.

Such excitable talk suggests that Mark Hughes may be manager of the team in name only, although al-Fahim was insistent yesterday that Hughes would have a significant say on purchases. Sorry to be cynical, but Abramovich's advisers said something similar.

Whether watching the football brings as much pleasure as hogging the headlines remains to be seen, with al-Fahim unable to guarantee that he would attend more than once a month. He will start with the home fixture a week on Saturday against Chelsea.

Whether he knows his Arshavins from his elbow is questionable, but a deep knowledge of football has never been a requirement of ownership, even in the days when it was local English businessmen who ran the boardroom.

Yesterday al-Fahim ticked off all the usual clichés - “the Premier League is the best in the world”, “Manchester City has a proud history”, “we want the fans to touch the trophy again” - but he and his fellow investors have not bought for long-term fulfilment, but for immediate impact. Patience may be in short supply, in inverse proportion to the splurging on brilliant Brazilians.

Anger and confusion at St James' as Keegan is driven to the brink

At the end of one of the most baffling days in Newcastle United's history Kevin Keegan's future as the club's manager looked increasingly untenable last night. As his second stint in charge of the club seemed poised to end in disillusion and no little anger, Keegan is understood to have spent the evening inside a Manchester hotel in the company of his lawyers.

After a day of rumours that Newcastle had sacked their manager, and during which Keegan told friends he had been fired, the club issued a confusing statement shortly before 7pm which stated that the former England coach had not in fact been dismissed but failed to confirm that he would continue in his job.

Although Newcastle claim he is expected at training this morning, Keegan and Mike Ashley, the club's billionaire owner, appear to be wrangling over his severance demands. It is understood that a clause in the manager's contract makes him liable to pay Ashley more than £1m should he resign but Keegan feels he has a strong case for constructive dismissal and believes he should be paid £8m in compensation.

Suggestions that Keegan and Newcastle were parting company less than eight months after he returned to the club began surfacing yesterday morning when, instead of supervising training, he headed for a 10am meeting with board members.

Friends of Keegan were soon insisting that he had been dismissed and a militant, increasingly vocal, crowd began gathering outside St James' Park. Chanting "Ashley out" and hoisting placards in the much-loved manager's honour, their fury was palpable. Meanwhile the silence at St James' Park remained deafening until that 7pm statement was finally released.

It read: "Newcastle United can confirm that meetings between members of the board and Kevin Keegan have been held both yesterday and today. Kevin has raised a number of issues and these have been discussed with him.

"The club wants to keep progressing with its long-term strategy and would like to stress that Kevin is extremely important now and in the future. Newcastle United value the effort and commitment Kevin has shown since his return to St James' Park and want him to continue to play an instrumental role as manager of the club.

"For the avoidance of doubt the club has not sacked Kevin Keegan as manager."

With lawyers representing both parties already heavily involved, the wording is deliberately careful but Ashley will surely have been taken aback by the ferocity of the fans' reaction. However, despite his habit of wearing a replica shirt emblazoned with "King Kev" on the back, the relationship between Newcastle's owner and manager has long been unravelling.

Indeed things have never been quite right between them since late January when, two weeks after Keegan's installation, Dennis Wise was appointed to a director of football role. Relations between that pair have long been strained.

It is understood that this long-festering discontent on Keegan's part came to a head on Monday, with the vexed subjects of Joey Barton's and Michael Owen's futures having a tinderbox effect. The board allegedly tried, but failed, to sell both players behind Keegan's back on deadline day and that move apparently inflamed a manager working with the thinnest of squads.

Just last Friday Keegan - who saw James Milner sold to Aston Villa against his will last week and is unhappy with the way the club have handled negotiations over a new contract for Owen - predicted he would be greeting four new signings before midnight on Monday. He hoped Bayern Munich's midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger would be one.

Instead Newcastle's manager had to be content with two recruits from La Liga he had seemingly never seen play - Xisco, the Spain Under-21 striker, from Deportivo La Coruña in a £5.6m deal and Ignacio González, a Uruguayan midfielder, on loan from Valencia. There was, though, no sign of the specialist left-back that Keegan had been demanding all summer.

Trouble began flaring early on Monday afternoon when Keegan was summoned to a board meeting and heard his managerial style and record heavily criticised by Derek Llambias, Newcastle's managing director. Like Ashley, Llambias had disagreed with Keegan's decision to keep faith with Barton amid the midfielder's myriad problems and it appears that an attempt, not sanctioned by Keegan, to move the midfielder on later on Monday further inflamed matters. By then the manager's future was in the balance and training yesterday was taken by Terry McDermott, his longstanding confidant.

Meanwhile speculation as to the identity of Keegan's likely successor swirled around Tyneside, with the name of the currently unemployed David O'Leary quickly thrust into the frame. Other managers mentioned included David Moyes, Avram Grant and Didier Deschamps along with just about every coach in La Liga.

Wise - who left St James' Park for London late yesterday afternoon - has repeatedly insisted he would not relish a return to frontline management. Nonetheless the former Leeds and Millwall manager could serve as a caretaker and it is not entirely impossible that, longer term, he could reprise the coaching double act he enjoyed with Gus Poyet, now Tottenham Hotspur's assistant manager, at Leeds.

Capello names Heskey in favour of Young, Crouch and Bent

The Wigan Athletic striker Emile Heskey has been recalled to the England squad for the friendly against the Czech Republic on Wednesday. The England manager Fabio Capello named Heskey in a 23-man squad, but left out the Aston Villa winger Ashley Young, the Portsmouth forward Peter Crouch and the Tottenham striker Darren Bent. Heskey last played for England against Russia last September, although was picked in Capello's first squad for a friendly against Switzerland in February before withdrawing through injury.

The Newcastle forward Michael Owen is currently injured and was not in the squad named yesterday by Capello. West Ham's Dean Ashton scored twice against Wigan on Saturday but injured a hamstring, leaving Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, Portsmouth's Jermain Defoe and Arsenal's Theo Walcott to compete with Heskey for a place in the England starting XI.

The Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart keeps his place after winning his first senior cap as a substitute against Trinidad & Tobago, and Paul Robinson, recently signed by Blackburn Rovers also earns a recall. Both are understudies to David James, who is expected to start the match in goal.

There are few other surprises, with Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard, David Bentley and Michael Carrick named in midfield, alongside David Beckham, who could win his 103rd cap.

The friendly at Wembley is the final match before Capello will name his first competitive squad, for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia in September.

Full squad

David James (Portsmouth), Paul Robinson (Blackburn Rovers), Joe Hart (Manchester City); Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham United), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur); Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), David Bentley (Tottenham Hotspur), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough); Wayne Rooney, (Manchester United), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Emile Heskey (Wigan Athletic).

Football: Scolari strikes the right note as Chelsea aim to strut with a Brazilian beat

Luiz Felipe Scolari is already bucking the trend. Other top-flight managers, past or present, might have used a first pre-match briefing ahead of a competitive fixture as an opportunity to undermine their rivals' credentials. Instead, the World Cup winner called for hush yesterday and introduced his press conference with words more courteous than caustic. "I want to wish all my colleagues the best," he said. "Some I know, and others I have not yet met, but I wish the coaches and teams all luck for the season."

The Brazilian enters uncharted territory this weekend. The 59-year-old has not coached at club level since he was in charge at Cruzeiro some seven years ago, and he has only ever surveyed the Premiership from a distance. He met six of those with whom he will compete at this week's Premier League managers' meeting, but their conversations were snatched with time precious and the season looming large. Yet his counterparts in English domestic football, not least those in charge of the other usual suspects competing for the title, will soon grow to know the new arrival in their number.

Scolari was remarkably candid yesterday, outlining how he hopes to instigate a Brazilian style of football at his new club but never veering too far from the recognition that pragmatism will dictate his side's approach. He has drilled his side incessantly over the past fortnight in defending set-pieces, the videos of last season over which he has pored having revealed too many frailties for comfort. Regardless, he still expects mistakes to be made in tomorrow's opening fixture against Portsmouth with their barrage of "players who are over 180cm tall". Eradicating those errors will be key to whether his first season yields silverware, yet the veteran of 13 clubs sides and three national teams will not have his focus from the dug-out blurred by any debut nerves of his own.

"When I was younger, the challenge was very different for me," he said. "Back then I needed to prove myself to the players and the men who had hired me to show them I was a good coach and I worked hard. But now it is different. I expect there to be some mistakes from my team against Portsmouth. I know it's impossible to go out on to the field and play at 100% after just six weeks together. We might play well and win. We might play badly and need to change things. But, either way, I won't kill myself if we lose. I am more experienced than that and will make sure my team is in good condition given time.

"The idea, eventually, is to play a game that is as similar to Brazilian football as we can. But I have players here who are made for English football. Their characteristics are different. We'll try to learn new things - about dribbling, controlling the ball, passing, touch and playing one-twos - but I still need to respect the identity of my players. I need to impress on them what I think about football. When it comes to our style, Roman Abramovich is the same as our fans - they want us to play beautiful football and win. But people need to understand that, sometimes, it's difficult to do that. Sometimes it's impossible because our opponents play a different style. And if you don't win, people forget that you played well. You can play well for one or two months then, when you stop winning, people kill you and it's over."

That was accompanied by the Brazilian feigning a slash across his throat, with this having proved the most ruthless of the elite four clubs in recent times.

Scolari has been thrust into direct confrontation with Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger and Rafael Benítez but, while he will sit easily in their company, he anticipates challenges to emerge from all sides. He expects Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth and Manchester City to mount an assault on the top six. Wigan, his team's second league opponents, "will give us big problems".

Mingled in with the man-management skills which have seen him attempt to "put fire" into Nicolas Anelka - "I need to work in his head because he has so much quality" - has been a succession of team meetings this week aimed solely at deflecting Pompey at Stamford Bridge. "I've asked Steve [Clarke] and the players about Harry Redknapp, about how he works," he said. "A team's approach is set by the manager's ideas, so I needed to understand him better. They said some things which made me respect him more than before.

"The managers have a big influence in England because the quality of the players in this league is actually very similar. The top managers are able to get their players focusing on winning and maybe that can be the difference. I have been speaking with Frank [Lampard] and John Terry. It's easier for me to speak with the Portuguese and Brazilians, but I've worked all week on Portsmouth because I respect them. Managers must influence their players' minds each week.

"I will get to know the other coaches here. I don't know [Sir Alex] Ferguson yet, we're not friends from before, as I've only met him two or three times. I don't know his ideas. It's impossible for me to know how he works after only meeting him that many times, but he's a fantastic manager - he's not a 'coach', but a manager - and an intelligent man. He's won many times with Manchester United and other teams, but there are other very good coaches and managers in England. In this country you need to prove every day just how good you are because, in this league, if you're not up to it for a minute then you lose.

"To be champions here is not about winning one or two big games, but about being consistent. You can't be at the top of your game one day, at 9/10, and then slip to 4/10 the next. You need to be at 7/10 every game at least. We have to win the league. But, if we don't, it will not be because we have not worked hard enough. It will be because another team has done better, and that does not make me a bad coach or my players bad players." The Premier League tends to distort perspective. The first Brazilian to manage in its ranks will hope to make a lasting impression.

Dimitar Berbatov signing to guarantee title race has competitive edge

This will be the signing that gives us a title race rather than a title procession. Without Dimitar Berbatov, I am convinced that Manchester United would watch Chelsea cruise to the Barclays Premier League title by a good ten points. With him, it will be a tight contest because the striker has the talent to make a huge impact, as Eric Cantona, Dwight Yorke and Teddy Sheringham did at Old Trafford.

United will feel that they are overpaying for Berbatov by as much as £8million - he may cost £28million. But Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager, would argue that they have little choice and that the outlay will be worth it if United retain their title. It is the only move that gives them a chance to keep pace with Chelsea.

Cristiano Ronaldo is injured and Wayne Rooney is recovering from illness, but United cannot afford to wait for them to regain top form. Ferguson's team need to show a cutting edge immediately. They are away to Liverpool and Chelsea on successive weekends in September and the risk of being six points behind after five weeks is too great not to act, despite the price.

For the longer term they have signed a star, a 27-year-old whose best years are to come. A fit, motivated Berbatov - what an asset. He may not have Cantona's aura or toughness, but he is better technically. Berbatov is as talented as Marco van Basten, and if he does not quite have the Holland striker's speed or the workrate of a Carlos Tévez, he will be surrounded by quick, willing runners. It will not matter if he does not bust a gut chasing back and supporting the team when they are defending.

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United are the perfect team for Berbatov. Imagine his movement and creative potential alongside Rooney and Ronaldo, fed by Paul Scholes. The Bulgaria striker unlocks defences with his intelligent, precise passing and creates space with his smart running. And do not forget his goalscoring. It is not only that he is prolific: Berbatov offers an aerial threat, unlike Rooney and Tévez.

There will be doom and gloom at White Hart Lane. Tottenham Hotspur's two key strikers, Robbie Keane and Berbatov, gone in a summer. Spurs should look to Goodison Park for inspiration. Everton lost Rooney to United in 2004 and what happened? They went on to finish fourth.

David Moyes adapted. He is a manager who knows how to manage change. At Arsenal, Arsène Wenger coped with the loss of Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry, three mainstays, over three years. Last season Gareth Southgate kept Middlesbrough up despite losing Mark Viduka and Yakubu Ayegbeni, which was one of the finest achievements of the season. Tottenham have looked good in pre-season and Juande Ramos, the head coach, will hardly have been taken by surprise at the vanishing of his strikeforce. He will find a way for his team to cope and to thrive.

Besides, Tottenham fans should realise that had Berbatov stayed, he would not have been at his best. Unhappy players tend to underperform. But a motivated, excited, healthy and happy Berbatov - that is some prospect. His presence will be felt at Stamford Bridge as well as Old Trafford.

Steve McClaren's flight of fancy grounded by Arsenal

 FC Twente 0 Arsenal 2

teve McClaren’s brief return to English football in two weeks’ time will be little more than a formality. As a contest, this tie is over. FC Twente gave Arsenal a fright, as McClaren hoped they would, then succumbed, as McClaren feared they would. His aspiration was that the contest would still be live for its London leg, but not even his impressive reserves of optimism will indulge that fantasy now. In reality, this was always going to be Twente’s best chance and they did not take it.

Having been outplayed for large periods of the game, despite Arsène Wenger’s insistence that his Arsenal team were technically superior, the makeshift visiting side snatched two second-half goals and, with them, almost certainly a place in the Champions League group stage. It would take a miracle for McClaren’s team to progress now; and miracles have hardly been his forte of late.

Wenger was genuinely worried about this fixture, with injuries laying waste to his midfield, but he need not have lost sleep. The superiority of the Barclays Premier League is such that Arsenal’s reserves are still too strong for one of the best teams in the Netherlands and the few old-stagers that were sprinkled through Arsenal’s starting line-up pulled them through.

William Gallas, the captain, scored the opener thanks to some laughably inept defending from a set-piece and Emmanuel Adebayor, whose worth if sold would eclipse that of the entire Twente team, slotted in a simple second.

McClaren, by then, looked as powerless as he did on the touchline at Wembley when as England head coach, his energy, like that of his team, was spent. At the end, he just seemed glum. “You don’t get many chances against the top teams in Europe and we had to take one,” McClaren said. “I thought Arsène Wenger looked rattled after about ten minutes, but key moments showed our inexperience in Europe. At times we opened Arsenal up, but we were missing our best two strikers.”

McClaren had told his team that the key word for the night was belief, yet, if anything, this was what was missing from their game. Twente believed that they could play football to match that of Arsenal, they just did not believe that it would beat them. From one end of the pitch to the other, they were assured, confident and technically impressive, as the Dutch always are; in front of goal they went about their mission like Champions League virgins, nervous as hell and too damn quick. Marko Arnautovic, 19, and standing in for Blaise Nkufo, their suspended top scorer, was the worst culprit.

Arnautovic was simply not up to the task. On one occasion he was clean through with only Manuel Almunia, the Arsenal goalkeeper, to beat, on another he was in an excellent position to advance on goal, but panicked both times and did not even come close to scoring. A better team would have punished Arsenal; next season when England’s pre-qualifiers are pitted against clubs of similar status from other strong European nations, a performance such as this could be fatal.

Twente were impressive early on, combative and tight in defence, fluid going forward and when Romano Denneboom slipped Arnautovic in after 35 minutes, they looked certain to score. The unconvincing Johan Djourou, deployed as a result of injuries to Kolo Touré and Philippe Senderos, was sucked in, Gallas played his man onside and suddenly Arnautovic was five yards clear. At that moment, he seemed almost to go weak at the knees, losing his balance and control of the ball, and allowing Almunia to mop up with the minimum of fuss.

Just six minutes later, Gaël Clichy played a desperately poor pass that found Arnautovic on the edge of the area, but this time he did not even give himself time to stumble before wasting the chance with a wild shot. He had another one-on-one in the second half, but by then Arsenal were leading and the locals had long given up hope.

What is certain after this is that Wenger will increase his attempts to sign a central midfield player. He cannot entertain a Premier League campaign with a squad this thin and he may not even get away with it against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday unless he gets bodies back. McClaren was right in saying that the Frenchman looked agitated on the touchline, but Wenger’s blood pressure must have returned to normal once Gallas as good as ran Robin van Persie’s free kick into the net in the 63rd minute.

Twente lost their way after that and a break by Theo Walcott was completed by Adebayor in the 82nd minute.

Wenger left Arnhem in a hurry, like a man anxious to make a few telephone calls. McClaren left knowing that his first test as coach of Twente — albeit a tough one — was on the brink of failure. Twente devotees are known as The Tuckers. For a man once christened “the Wally with the Brolly”, potential rhymes if his luck does not change do not bear thinking about.

FC Twente (4-1-4-1): S Boschker 5 - L Wilkshire 6, R Wielaert 6, Douglas 6, E Braafheid 6 - C Tiote 6 - R Denneboom 8, W Brama 7, T Janssen 6 (sub: J Heubach, 90min), E Elia 6 (sub: S Huysegems, 85) - M Arnautovic 5 (sub: P Gerritsen, 90). Substitutes not used: C Paauwe, R Zomer, N Wellenberg, T Chery. Booked: Janssen.

Arsenal (4-4-1-1): M Almunia 6 - B Sagna 7, W Gallas 7, J Djourou 6, G Clichy 6 - E Eboué 5, Denilson 5, A Ramsey 5, T Walcott 6 (sub: M Randall, 82) - R van Persie 7 (sub: N Bendtner, 88) - E Adebayor 6. Substitutes not used: L Fabianski, C Vela, J Wilshere, J Hoyte, K Gibbs. Booked: Denilson, Van Persie.

Referee: A Undiano Mallenco (Spain).

Ribeiro To Miss 12 Months Of Action

Promising defender Christian Ribeiro made his first team debut for Bristol City in Tuesday evening’s Carling Cup First Round game against League One side Peterborough. However, it was an unfortunate start to the youngster’s career as he suffered a terrible injury in the 26th minute.

It did not look good when the player went to ground and the news that damage has been done to his anterior cruciate ligament will be a big blow for the young starlet. Now he faces up to, and possibly longer than, 12 months on the sidelines.

The Welshman, who normally operates at full back, is only 18. It is hoped, then, that he can make a full recovery and go on to enjoy a successful career. He has already attracted the attention of Premier League giants Everton.

Despite the injury to Ribeiro, City went on to win the game against Peterborough 2-1. They now face Crewe Alexandra in the Carling Cup Second Round, news that will alert Robins striker Nicky Maynard.

Maynard signed for City from Crewe this summer for a club record £2.25million. The forward scored 32 goals in 59 appearances for the Railwaymen becoming something of a fans favourite. Now he will return to Gresty Road, where he should receive a good reception from Crewe fans, looking to add to his Bristol City tally.

United win Community Shield

Premier League champions Manchester United beat FA Cup winners Portsmouth 3-1 on penalties after a goalless draw to win the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium overnight.

United, who also won the traditional curtain-raiser to the English season on penalties against Chelsea last season, should have wrapped the match up far earlier, after dominating for most of the 90 minutes. No extra time was played.

Carlos Tevez, Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick all converted for United while Jermain Defoe scored for Portsmouth. Lassana Diarra fired the first penalty over the bar while Arnold Mvuemba's shot was saved by Edwin van der Sar before Glen Johnson handed United victory by firing over the bar.

United, who also took the Champions League final against Chelsea in Moscow in May on penalties, have now won the shield 13 times outright since it was first staged 100 years ago.

Reuters

Three is the magic number

The big conclusion to be drawn from the second round of men's matches at Beijing 2008 is that Argentina, Brazil and Italy are a cut above the rest of the field, one of the main reasons for that being the classy forward lines the three giants can call upon.

With so much attacking firepower on display it was no surprise to see the goals fly in, with the eight games throwing up a total of 25 in all. Among the sides on the receiving end were Honduras and Japan, who saw their quarter-final hopes vanish into the rainy skies hovering above China. FIFA.com rounds up all the news from another intense day of Olympic football action.

The big game
Few defences would be able to blunt the attacking trio of Ronaldinho, Alexandre Pato and Anderson and, after feeling their irresistible force in Shenyang today, the New Zealand rearguard are not about to disagree with that assertion. The Manchester United midfielder set the Auriverde on their way before the Milan duo got to work on besieged Kiwi keeper Jacob Spoonley. Pato showed he is just as deadly in the air as he is on the ground, while Ronaldinho scored his first competitive goals since 12 December 2007 with a trademark free kick and a typically clinical penalty. Rafael Sobis completed the rout in injury time as the Brazilians qualified in style.

The other games
Two other leading contenders with potent attacking tridents of their own are Argentina and Italy, who swept into the next round after seeing off Australia and Korea Republic respectively. The Albiceleste front line of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Ezequiel Lavezzi had the Olyroos' defence chasing shadows for most of the afternoon, although Lavezzi's solitary strike was all the South Americans had to show for their efforts. The Azzurrini had a somewhat easier time against the Koreans, with Giuseppe Rossi and Tommaso Rocchi chipping in with a goal apiece, ably assisted by fellow front man Sebastian Giovinco.

Not to be outdone, Côte d'Ivoire can call on a useful triumvirate themselves in Gervais Yao Kouassi, Salomon Kalou and Sekou Cisse, the latter scoring his second goal of the tournament to help the Elephants to a 4-2 win over Serbia. Nigeria's strike trio of Victor Obinna, Solomon Okoronkwo and Victor Anichebe helped break Japan's resistance on a day to forget for the Asian contenders, among them hosts China, who had two men sent off as they succumbed 2-0 to Belgium despite the support of a passionate 45,000 crowd.

Stephane Mbia's Cameroon side picked up their first win of the competition at the expense of Honduras, whose bravery could not make up for their technical deficiencies. The USA showed plenty of spirit as they came back from an early Ryan Babel goal to lead the Netherlands 2-1 with just seconds remaining. The Dutch had the last laugh, however, Gerald Sibon conjuring up an equaliser deep into added time.

The player
Having regained his rhythm against Belgium, Ronaldinho was back to his best against in Brazil's emphatic 5-0 defeat of New Zealand. A pivotal influence in all his side's best moves, the new AC Milan star found the back of the net twice and was all smiles as he dedicated the win to a very special spectator. "I'm delighted to have scored a couple of goals, and I'm sure my father was very happy watching this match from up there in heaven."

The stat
8 - The number of wins Argentina have now strung together in Olympic matches. Six consecutive victories in Athens took them to the gold medal four years ago and the Albiceleste have now added two more in China.

What they said
"If it hadn't rained today, we would have won for sure." Asked by a reporter if the wet conditions were the cause of his side's defeat to Argentina, Australia coach Graham Arnold comes up with an ironic response, much to the amusement of the assembled press corps.

"I love playing attacking football and seeing my players in constant movement. I can promise you the same style when I take over as China coach." Côte d'Ivoire coach Gerard Gili proves a big hit with the Chinese journalists.

All the results
Argentina 1-0 Australia
Serbia 2-4 Côte d'Ivoire
Nigeria 2-1 Japan
USA 2-2 Netherlands
New Zealand 0-5 Brazil
Belgium 2-0 China PR
Cameroon 1-0 Honduras
Italy 3-0 Korea Republic

Villalonga's Amazing Valencia Plans Revealed

The ambitious plans were all part of the rebuilding project put into place by the man that replaced Juan Soler at the helm of the Che club at the end of the season.

Villalonga wanted to think big and his ideas would have had the fans celebrating before a ball had even been kicked if he had been allowed to carry them out, according to Marca.

Ronaldinho knew of Valencia's interest and that they were ready to offer him more than Milan, while Van der Vaart was familiar with the club having posed in their shirt last year.

Whether or not Villalonga would have been able not pull off any off his plans is hypothetical now that he has been ousted and replaced by the far more conservative Vicente Soriano.

Finances were promised and along with assurances that David Villa and David Silva were staying, there were reports that Güiza and Aragonés would be tempted to return from Turkey only weeks after going to Fenerbahçe.

Added to that Dudu Aouate would have been signed from Deportivo and Czech international Václav Svěrkoš was wanted and an approach had already been made to Banik OStrava about him.

The curretn reality is completely different at Mestalla with the current board having no such ambitions and instead want to focus on whether Villa and Silva remain as the debts continue to cause concern.

Villalonga left Valencia after Soler, the club's majority shareholder, refused to agree to increasing the capital, putting paid to the new man's plans even starting.

Lucas Brown, Goal.com

Arshavin praying for Spurs move

Andrei Arshavin has revealed he wanted to join Tottenham Hotspur after the club's manager Juande Ramos called him personally and the continuing impasse over his proposed transfer had left him frustrated and praying for a "miracle".

The Zenit St Petersburg playmaker also said that he had met a representative from Spurs to agree personal terms and lamented the club hiking his price to more than £20m to "frighten off" his suitors.

Arshavin wanted to insert a buy-out clause into his last contract at Zenit but the administration, who have since departed, said that it was not necessary as he had their word that he could leave if a serious offer were to come in. That gentleman's agreement, though, has cut no ice with the new president, Alexander Dukov.

Even the Zenit fans, who appreciate what Arshavin has done for them, have given their blessing to his transfer, holding up banners at recent matches urging Dukov to "Let Shava Go". Arshavin has even considered the last resort of going on strike; he will decide today whether to fly to Kazan for tomorrow's showdown with the league leaders Rubin.

"When Tottenham made their offer, I was sceptical at first," said Arshavin. "But after Ramos called me personally and told me that they were selling Robbie Keane and that he wanted me in his side, the situation changed. When a coach shows an interest in you, especially such a renowned and strong coach, then that is already half of the success of any move. I also like the way Tottenham play so I agreed in principle to join."

A row has broken out between Chelsea and the Football Association after the London club were prevented from holding a charity match this weekend involving players from their women's team and a side made up of former male stars.

The FA said the fixture, which was to take place in Surrey on Sunday and involve the likes of Dave Beasant, Kerry Dixon and Ray Wilkins, breached its rules prohibiting mixed football over the age of 11. Chelsea are furious, not only because the match was intended to raise money for its Past Players Trust, but also because of the late notice of the cancellation - they were only told on Thursday.

"It's a real shame that our men and women have been prevented from enjoying a friendly game which its sole purpose was to raise money for ex-players and staff members who have financial or health difficulties," a club spokesman said.

Stamford Bridge officials point out that mixed football matches are allowed in other European nations and that some of the Chelsea Ladies players who were going to feature on Sunday have already played against the opposite sex - when the England women's team took on a Chinese U18 men's side prior to last year's World Cup.

Chelsea hopes to play a rearranged charity match in the future but as yet, has no dates, or participating teams, in mind.

Ferguson Laughs Off Scolari Threat

Ferguson, who pipped the Blues to the Premier and Champions League titles last season, is confident his side can repeat the feat, despite claims to the contrary from the media that this may be Chelsea's time.

The Pensioners have replaced the relatively unproven Avram Grant with World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari, whose credentials are exceptional and pedigree respected worldwide.

Sir Alex remains confident that, despite having not made any signings this summer, his squad has what it takes to retain its titles and has laughed off suggestions Scolari's experience will prove the difference in this upcoming campaign.

"I read that Scolari is more experienced than me. What have I been doing for the last 34 years? I must have missed something or been asleep somewhere," the Scot sarcastically quipped.

"They are saying because of Scolari's experience Chelsea are going to win the league. I do not understand that.

"I have exactly the same squad as last season and I have to be confident it is not deteriorating, I cannot see how that can possibly be the case.

"I would have concerns if my team was full of players the same age as Ryan Giggs. But it is not.

"In people like Anderson, Nani and [Carlos] Tevez, we will see a lot of improvement.

"And the older ones have looked after themselves. Their concentration levels are still good and so is their desire.

"If anything, Paul Scholes' passing is the best it has ever been.

"It will not be easy. You expect Arsenal and Liverpool to improve and you would think Chelsea, with their experience, will be there.

"But I have to feel this team can defend its title."

Concerns have heightened over the last week as the Red Devils are having to deal with an increasingly long list of absentees, but Ferguson has clarified that he is not overly concerned by the situation.

"At this particular time, we are not in the best position fitness-wise but it doesn't concern me unduly," he said assuringly.

"There is a great quality in the squad and a great enthusiasm. A lot of them are exhilarated by winning the European Cup."

He also seemed more optimistic than he had previously been regarding the fitness of Wayne Rooney, hopeful that he will be fit for the first game of the Premier League season against Newcastle United. "The medical reports from Wayne [show] he is clear of the virus. He has returned to training and hopefully we can get him ready for Newcastle," he said.

Brian O'Ryan, Goal.com

Legendary Sir Bobby Will Die 'Sooner Rather Than Later'

Robson has been battling the disease since 1991, but all the operations in the world could not prevent him from leading the likes of Porto and Barcelona to trophies.

The former Fulham forward was diagnosed last year with his fifth bout of cancer, after tests revealed that malignant nodules had appeared in his lungs.

And at 75 years of age, Robson admitted that this will be his final fight with the foe he has held at bay for the past 17 years.

However, the ex-Newcastle boss is adamant that he will not let the illness ruin his last days on Earth.

He said in The Sun: “I have accepted what they have told me and I am determined to make the most of what time I have left. I have been fortunate to survive this long. It is thanks to my doctors and their dedication.

“My condition is described as static and has not altered since my last bout of chemotherapy. They have arrested the growth of the tumours on my lungs and I have my next scan shortly.

“I am going to die sooner rather than later. But then everyone has to go sometime and I have enjoyed every minute. I don’t even think about it and my biggest problem today was unrelated, just old-fashioned laryngitis.”

Just as he refuses to let his health problems impede his lifestyle, Robson's renowned generosity has remained similarly unaffected.

Indeed, only yesterday the man who led Ipswich Town to European glory donated £500,000 to help fund a state-of-the-art cancer research centre on Tyneside.

“I am not going to sit around at home thinking about what might or might not happen," Robson added. “I have always found it difficult to turn down good causes and invitations from people I know.

“My family and close friends have always said I should say ‘No’ more often and now is no different."

Mike Maguire

Terry Prepared For Mourinho Reunion

Chelsea have certainly been no strangers to amazing coincidences in recent times where European draws are concerned.

Following their controversial exit at the hands of Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League semi-finals, the Blues have been paired against the Reds at the same stage every year since.

Avram Grant's men broke the pattern last season to earn a final berth in Moscow, and Terry predicts that the club will be thrust into a new rivalry under Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Forward

"All the lads are already saying we’ll get Inter in the Champions League and you just know we probably will meet them," the England defender said on Chelsea TV.

Mourinho left Stamford Bridge in September 2007 after three successful seasons at the helm, during which he led the Londoners to two Premier League crowns, two League Cups and an FA Cup.

Terry remembers his time under the Special One fondly. However, those days are well and truly in the past, and the 27-year-old insisted that he and his team-mates are focused solely on what lies ahead.

"Jose was a top manager and someone I loved working with," he continued. "But it was a change the club made so we’ve moved on and moved forward."

Different

The inescapable comparisons between Mourinho and Scolari have only added to the potentially fierce rivalry, as the English media have highlighted the wit, charisma and aura the managers each possess.

But the new Blues boss has made every attempt to distance himself from the ex-Porto coach, insisting both his character and his methods are different to those of his counterpart at San Siro.

And Terry vouched for the difference in his new manager's approach, claiming it bears resemblance to that of the Italians who preceded Mourinho.

"Pre-season has been very different this year," he said. "Under Jose we never did any running but with Scolari we’ve had our trainers on and done 1,000 metres, which is similar to the Vialli and Ranieri style of thinking.

"Now we all feel really good and well prepared for our opener against Portsmouth.

Terry added: "Scolari understands football and the lads. I was really pleased when Peter Kenyon phoned to tell me they were going to announce his appointment.

"I first met him at a game he came to watch and chatted for 15 minutes. I was phoning people afterwards telling them that I’d met him and what a great guy he was. Then it turns out some time later that he’s our new boss."

Mike Maguire

Premier League preview No5: Chelsea

guardian.co.uk writers' prediction: 1st Odds: 15/8

He might not think he's all that special, but Chelsea fans are confident that life under Luiz Felipe Scolari will be more than just so-so. Last season the Blues came within two points of the title and one shanked penalty of winning the Champions League with a manager whose methods were "25 years behind the times". How, then, might they fare under the guidance of a World Cup winning manager?

Recent revisionism has seen Avram Grant's reign cast in a more favourable light, yet his tactical naivety cost Chelsea at crucial moments last season. Chelsea's inability to close out a win at Tottenham in March - where they led 1-0, 3-1 and then 4-3 before drawing 4-4 - was a damning indictment of Grant, but it was in Moscow where his inexperience was most painfully exposed. He wasn't the only one caught off guard by Manchester United's return to 4-4-2, but it was foolish to assume - as Grant very publicly did - that Sir Alex Ferguson would have no surprises in store after his team had been outmuscled and outplayed less than a month earlier at Stamford Bridge.

Scolari's supposedly combustible personality has already led to much speculation about how he will handle Ferguson's "mind-games", yet Chelsea should be more concerned with how they approach games against lesser opponents. Last season they beat United and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge yet still contrived to draw seven times there in the league, including matches against Wigan, Bolton and Fulham.

Chelsea scored just twice in those three games, and Scolari's testing of a 4-4-2 formation this pre-season is driven by the need to avoid any repeat of that, rather than any desire to "entertain" his owner Roman Abramovich. Scolari's natural preference may be for 4-2-3-1 - though he had little choice but to use it in Portugal, given the country's wealth of attacking midfielders and dearth of strikers - but he also knows Chelsea cannot afford another month like last September, when they failed to score in four consecutive league games and picked up just two points as a consequence.

Chelsea hardly need worry about the defensive implications of fielding one fewer midfielder. Their back four is formidable, and will be all the more so following the signing of José Bosingwa - not only a more accomplished defender than Juliano Belletti, but quicker and more energetic going forward. On the other side, Ashley Cole has quietly increased his consistency after a patchy start to life at Chelsea, and his deputy, Wayne Bridge, remains more talented than all but a handful of other sides' starters.

The greatest move Chelsea made all summer, though, was simply to retain Ricardo Carvalho, who at one point looked set to join Jose Mourinho at Internazionale. John Terry, as captain, may be commonly perceived as the beating heart of Chelsea's back four but the statistics suggest the club's best-paid player is not all that. Last season Chelsea picked up 2.62 points per game when Carvalho was playing, compared with just 1.76 when he was absent, while the club actually gained fewer when Terry played (2.09) than when he didn't (2.47). The latter is an anomaly - caused in part by Terry playing through injuries - but then Chelsea did not miss Terry that much in 2006-07 either, when they gained 2.21 with him and 2.10 without. In the same year they gained 2.35 with Carvalho, and 1.43 without.

Both will start when fit, of course, especially given Alex's at-times-unconvincing displays in their absence last year, but the picture is far less clear elsewhere. Neither formation will permit Scolari to find room for Michael Essien, Deco, Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Jon Obi Mikel in one midfield. Essien's muscular dynamism makes him the most secure - Chelsea were instantly more vulnerable whenever he was removed from midfield to fill in at right-back last season.

Mikel looks ready to replace the departed Claude Makelele as the resident destroyer, but the other three must already be wondering which of them will be playing 2008-09's Steve Sidwell. Deco may have been criticised for losing interest at Barcelona last season, but given the proportion of his team-mates who had done likewise it is tempting to blame the coaching, and he still seemed to save his best for the biggest games. Ballack, meanwhile, was a driving force in Chelsea's end-of-season surge, and it may yet be that Lampard finds himself wishing he had been more receptive to Inter's advances. Either way, Scolari will need to massage a few egos if he is to prevent dressing room unrest.

If Chelsea's luxury of riches appears to give Scolari a pleasant dilemma in the middle, there are more vexing questions elsewhere. Joe Cole, on the field for more minutes than any other Chelsea player last season, was the club's only consistent performer on either wing, whilst Didier Drogba's a sulkiness and frequent absence deprived the club of its only consistent goalscoring striker.

Scolari has named both Florent Malouda and Andriy Shevchenko as players he believes can be rehabilitated and for all that the mere mention of those names provokes groans among some supporters, he is right to do so. Malouda would not be the first player to struggle in his first Premier League season only to go on to greater things, and Scolari believes he can bring more out of the player by relaxing his defensive responsibilities. Shevchenko, meanwhile, was actually the team's most clinical finisher last term. His five goals came at a rate of one goal every 148.2 minutes on the pitch - better even than Drogba (one every 191.1 minutes). Salomon Kalou and Claudio Pizarro each required more than 300 minutes per goal, while Nicolas Anelka's one strike in 14 appearances speaks for itself. Opta stats also show Shevchenko led the team's strikers for percentage of shots on target (59%) and "chance conversion" (23%).

Drogba, of course, has already shown he can do better if sufficiently healthy and motivated, while Anelka, who scored four in a friendly against Milan last week, is too talented not to do better this term. Simply allowing him to play in his natural role through the middle would bring instant improvement. The highly-rated Argentine 19-year-old Franco di Santo may also make an impact before the season is over.

The bookies make Manchester United favourites for the title but Chelsea have a more talented squad and were undone last year only by a United team elevated by Ferguson and the league's best player in Cristiano Ronaldo. This season, Chelsea have a canny manager of their own, while Ronaldo looks set to miss the first two months of the season for United. With the margins at the top as slim as they have been in nearly a decade, Chelsea don't hope to win the league, they expect it. If they don't manage it, Phil Scolari could be out of work come May.

In: José Bosingwa (Porto - £16.2m), Deco (Barcelona - £7m)

Out: Steve Sidwell (Aston Villa - £5m), Hernán Crespo (Inter - free), Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart - undisclosed), Claude Makelele (Paris St Germain - free), Ben Sahar (Portsmouth - loan), Jimmy Smith (Sheffield Wednesday - loan), Ryan Bertrand (Norwich - loan), Tal Ben Haim (Manchester City - undisclosed), Harry Worley (Leicester - free)

Scolari: I'm More Modest Than Jose

The press have been likening Scolari to Mourinho ever since the Brazilian left his post with Portugal to take the reins at Stamford Bridge earlier this summer.
For despite his limited English, the ex-Selecao coach has already displayed in abundance the calibre of wit, authority and presence that characterised the current Internazionale boss' time in west London.
However, Mourinho also drew accusations of smugness, pettiness and general poor sportsmanship while at Chelsea, and the Italian media have begun levelling similar criticisms at the Portuguese as he prepares for his first season at San Siro.
Scolari has already attempted to discourage comparisons with the former Porto boss and is determined to conduct himself in a manner that makes clear just how different he and Mourinho really are.
"I am not Jose Mourinho, so why compare me with him?" Scolari was quoted as saying in The Sun.
"Mourinho says ‘I will win 10 championships’. But I am more modest than that. I am from south Brazil and in my culture I never say ‘I will win this, this or that’. I just say that I will try my best to win all the competitions.
"Maybe Mourinho says ‘I will win this’ and if he does not achieve that promise then it causes problems because it’s not the manager who is on the pitch. It’s the players. So if the team makes a mistake, then you have to say ‘It is the players who are bad’.
"I will never do that. Never. As the coach, you are the man who has to take the responsibility. But Mourinho is Mourinho. He has a different culture to me."
Mike Maguire