Arsenal’s bid to win the English Premier League title threatens to be derailed by a lengthening injury list with manager Arsene Wenger currently without nine first-team players.
Striker Robin van Persie (ankle) and Johan Djourou (knee) seem set to miss the rest of the season but there are a growing number of players at the Emirates who have shorter-term injury problems.
The latest feature midfielders Aaron Ramsey (thigh) and Samir Nasri (hamstring), who were both injured in training before Sunday’s 2-0 victory away to Bolton – a win that moved the Gunners to within three points of leaders and London rivals Chelsea.
Both Ramsey and Nasri are set to be out for three weeks each and will be among the Arsenal players missing from Wednesday’s hoem match against Bolton, where a victory would see the Gunners go top of the table on goal difference.
Egypt’s Amr Zaki is set to return to the English Premier League in a loan spell with Hull until the end of the season, subject to receiving a work permit, the top-flight strugglers said Monday.
Zaki, who scored 11 Premier League goals for Wigan during a loan spell last term, will be joining from Egyptian club Zamalek if the deal is approved.
Hull manager Phil Brown will hope Zaki’s latest stint in England is as productive as his last as the Tigers look to climb out of the relegation zone.
Zaki said he was looking forward to playing in the Premier League again.
Henry touched the ball with his left hand and arm before passing for William Gallas to score the decisive goal in a playoff in Paris last November. France drew the match 1-1 after extra time to beat Ireland 2-1 on aggregate.
Thierry Henry won't be punished for his hand ball before the goal that helped send France to the World Cup instead of Ireland.
FIFA said Monday that its disciplinary panel decided it had no legal right to consider the case under its rules. The governing body said a hand ball offense is not classified as "a serious infringement" necessary to prosecute Henry under the Disciplinary Code.
"There is no other legal text that would allow the committee to impose sanctions for any incidents missed by match officials," FIFA said in a statement.
England midfielder David Beckham insisted yesterday that he will play on after the 2010 World Cup.
The Sun newspaper reported that the AC Milan player was planning on retiring and returning to England once the competition in South Africa is over.
"I've always said I'd love to carry on playing after the World Cup and that isn't going to change," Beckham said. "I don't know where the reports have come from, they definitely haven't come from myself."
Beckham, 34, is on loan at AC Milan from the Los Angeles Galaxy. He has started all three games since returning to San Siro for a second straight season on loan, playing all 90 minutes of Milan's 4-0 win over Siena yesterday.
With Joe Cole out of contract at Chelsea in the summer, there’s no surprise in there being a few Premiership Clubs ‘poking their noses’ into the status of the current situation regarding the player at the moment.
Negotiations are currently under way between Joe Cole and Chelsea, with Cole wanting around £50,000 extra on top of the £80,000 a week he is currently on. However, Chelsea are rumoured to be only willing to add a £20,000 increase.
Therefore, it is no wonder Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham are eyeing up the winger, who was out of football for 9 months earlier this season with a knee injury. With negotiations currently stalled, and neither side willing to back down, it looks as if things are about to get interesting.
City, United and Spurs are long-term admirers. But the Eastlands club, who failed in an audacious bid to land Chelsea and England captain John Terry last summer, are more confident that they can fulfil Cole’s current wage demands. With Cole being out of contract in the summer, City wouldn’t have to pay any compensation to Chelsea, meaning Cole wouldbe the big earner. And in the current economic climate it seems both United and Tottenham will find it impossible to match a City offer that would include a £5m signing on fee and wages of about £150,000 a week.
