English Premier League

Arsenal 6-1 Everton

Arsenal produced a stunning opening-day performance to underline boss Arsene Wenger's belief his young stars can win the title.

The Gunners exposed Everton's frailties in defence and the hosts' lack of depth.

The last time Everton lost 6-1 at home was back in 1958, and Arsenal did the damage that time as well.

Their passing, movement and finishing left Everton in shreds, and the north Londoners were three up at the break through Denilson, debut defender Thomas Vermaelen and his centre-back colleague William Gallas.

Everton boss David Moyes had suggested beforehand the Joleon Lescott saga had destabilised his team, but few would have predicted to this extent.

After the interval Cesc Fabregas struck with two fine goals, the result maybe suggesting Moyes should sell Lescott with Manchester City still interested, and spend the money on re-vamping his squad.

Everton included Lescott despite the ongoing saga of Manchester City's attempts to sign him, which prompted Moyes' angry outburst yesterday at the Eastlands club's tactics.

Brazilian striker Jo had recovered from an ankle problem, while Steven Pienaar was passed fit after knee trouble.

Arsenal gave their new Belgian defender Vermaelen his league debut, but were without Theo Walcott (back), Abou Diaby (groin), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) and Johan Djourou (knee).

But their absences did not seem to matter as they systematically took Everton apart at the back.

Moyes got a heroes' reception from the Goodison Park faithful, and Lescott's name was greeted with far more cheers than jeers from a sell-out crowd.

But Moyes then had to sit and watch as his usually reliable rearguard, admittedly missing the excellent Phil Jagielka, fell apart before his eyes.

Arsenal were sharp from the start and their passing game was quickly on song. And when Phil Neville misplaced a ball in midfield, the Gunners flowed forward before Nicklas Bendtner drove a shot over the bar.

Then Bendtner headed down for Robin van Persie to see his shot on the turn deflected wide by Lescott.

Everton were having to work tremendously hard in midfield to contain the tempo of Arsenal's game and the Toffees barely created a chance in the opening half.

The goal Arsenal had been threatening arrived after 26 minutes. Bendtner surged in from the left before flicking a pass to Cesc Fabregas, who instantly turned the ball into Denilson's path.

The pace of the move left Everton floundering, and the fine strike from the Brazilian from just outside the area dipped and curled into the top corner.

Everton's response was predictably furious and they had Arsenal hemmed into their box for a spell.

Only a goal-line clearance from Denilson following Marouane Fellaini's header from a Leighton Baines corner stopped an equaliser.

Arsenal, though, were cutting through Everton with movement and accurate passing, and after 37 minutes they were two ahead.

Van Persie's free-kick from the right found Vermaelen beyond the far post, and the defender headed back into the bottom corner for a fine debut goal.

Everton's marking for that was dreadful, with Fellaini and Joseph Yobo seemingly at fault. But four minutes later when Gallas headed home another free-kick, this time from Fabregas, the defending was even worse.

The Frenchman had a free run into the six-yard box to guide his header home completely unmarked. Goalkeeper Tim Howard appealed for cover as colleagues stood motionless.

Everton were shell-shocked, and it got worse three minutes after the interval.

Everton were caught by a pitch-length move from Arsenal that ended with Fabregas cruising into the box to send his shot past Howard.

Denilson had started the surge deep on the left and found Van Persie before a neat pass left the Arsenal skipper to do the rest.

Moyes then made a triple substitution. Saha replaced Leon Osman, Dan Gosling came on for Tony Hibbert while Jack Rodwell took over from Jo.

The reshuffle included Neville reverting to full-back from midfield, where he had struggled. Rodwell, Fellaini and Pienaar both had chances as Everton struggled to get some pride back.

Arsenal sent on Emmanuel Eboue for Bendtner after 63 minutes, the game long won.

But Fabregas was not finished. After 69 minutes he collected a throw from Manuel Almunia and ran from inside his own half without facing a tackle to drive home the fifth.

Their jobs done, Arsenal took off Fabregas and Van Persie, sending on Aaron Ramsey and Eduardo.

With the ground emptying fast, and the Gunners' fans in full song, Everton just wanted this embarrassment to end as quickly as possible.

But Eduardo still had time to score the sixth, netting from close in after Andrey Arshavin's shot had come back off a post with two minutes to go.

Everton finally got onto the score-sheet in injury time when Saha netted after Pienaar's shot had been blocked.

Teams:

Everton Howard, Hibbert (Gosling 58), Yobo, Lescott, Baines,Osman (Saha 58), Neville, Cahill, Pienaar, Fellaini,Jo (Rodwell 58).

Subs Not Used: Nash, Vaughan, Duffy, Baxter.

Goals: Saha 90.

Arsenal Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy,Fabregas (Ramsey 72), Song Billong, Denilson,Bendtner (Eboue 63), van Persie (Eduardo 72), Arshavin.

Subs Not Used: Mannone, Silvestre, Gibbs, Merida.

Goals: Denilson 26, Vermaelen 37, Gallas 41, Fabregas 48, 69,

Eduardo 88.

Att: 39,309

Ref: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).

Man City 2-0 Blackburn Rovers

Manchester City launched themselves into what they hope will be a golden era with a victory at Blackburn that answered many of the questions that have been asked of them over the summer.

Emmanuel Adebayor set them on their way, lashing home Shaun Wright-Phillips' cut-back after just three minutes. Then, with stoppage time approaching and City looking

likely to hold onto the lead provided by their £25million new-boy, Stephen Ireland popped up to fire home after a mazy solo burst.

In between, City were forced to survive periods of intense Rovers pressure. But with Kolo Toure in fine form and Shay Given making excellent saves to deny Chris Samba and Jason Roberts, City were able to celebrate their success with gusto.

Hughes only named three of his six summer signings in his starting line-up, although two more were on the bench - including Carlos Tevez - for the start of a campaign that has been eagerly awaited for so long by so many.

And the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes, two of the men irritated by City's rise, plus a 6,000-strong travelling Blues army did not have to wait long for the first glimpse of what their side are now capable of.

As Adebayor wheeled away to celebrate his first City goal, a few of those fans must have been pinching themselves at the wonder of it all.

Not that they had long to celebrate. City's goal had come on the counter-attack following a Blackburn corner and it soon became evident the home side were going to enjoy a long period of dominance.

Striking duo Roberts and Benni McCarthy proved difficult to subdue, as did El Hadji-Diouf and Morten Gamst Pedersen in wider positions.

However, for all the attackers Hughes has brought in this summer and the continuing fall-out from his pursuit of Joleon Lescott, the Welshman has reinforced his defence as well.

Gareth Barry is a very useful screening player in midfield while Toure is a central defensive rock, who always keeps his head without ever looking like enduring one of those momentary lapses his partner Richard Dunne suffers so frequently.

And behind Toure was Given, a relative veteran having arrived from Newcastle last January at the cost of £6million to force Joe Hart to pursue his England ambitions with Birmingham.

Amid a plethora of Blackburn chances, a couple stood out.

McCarthy cushioned a fine header into the path of Roberts and a Diouf corner that dropped onto Chris Samba's head.

Unfortunately for the hosts, on the first occasion Roberts lashed his shot over. On the second Given flew across his goal to make an excellent save.

Roberts was denied another sight of goal by Dunne's last-ditch tackle and when Keith Andrews had a penalty appeal turned down in stoppage time, Sam Allardyce must have wondered how he came to be giving an interval team-talk to a team staring defeat in the face.

Of course, winning when you are not playing well is a mantra of all top clubs, so Hughes had no apologies to make on his return to Ewood Park.

In fact, City were marginally the better side when the teams returned, with Adebayor looking far more lively than he had done in his last few performances with Arsenal.

Not that Rovers were throwing in the towel. Roberts brought another excellent save from Given with a stooping header.

That attack triggered a response of sorts from City, who went agonisingly close through Robinho.

It was the Brazilian's only meaningful contribution and not long after he had been denied by Paul Robinson's full-length save, his number 10 was flashed up on the board as Tevez waited to be introduced.

As usual, Tevez's industry caught the eye.

Robinson denied him a debut goal before Ireland, collecting Wright-Phillips' crossfield pass, calmly took his time before beating Robinson at his near post.

Teams:

Blackburn Robinson, Jacobsen, Samba, Givet, Warnock,Diouf (Hoilett 86), Andrews (Gallagher 75), Nzonzi, Pedersen,Roberts (Di Santo 65), McCarthy.

Subs Not Used: Brown, Grella, Khizanishvili, Olsson.

Booked: Warnock, Gallagher.

Man City Given, Richards, Dunne, Toure, Bridge,Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Barry, Robinho (Tevez 69), Adebayor,Bellamy.

Subs Not Used: Taylor, Onuoha, Zabaleta, Petrov, De Jong, Weiss.

Booked: Richards.

Goals: Adebayor 3, Ireland 90.

Att: 29,584

Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral).

Chelsea 2-1 Hull City

Didier Drogba's double strike gave new Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti a winning start to his Barclays Premier League career.

The Ivory Coast international grabbed the winner in added time to shatter battling Hull's hopes of a point.

Chelsea had trailed to a 27th-minute goal from Hull's debut boy Stephen Hunt, but Drogba levelled the scores in the 37th minute with a dipping 25-yard free-kick and then grabbed the winner late in the game to secure maximum reward for the home side.

But prior to Drogba's face-saving strike there were worrying echoes of the Luiz Felipe Scolari era.

Chelsea resorted to far too much intricate approach play on the edge of Hull's penalty area and when that failed they opted to punt long balls into the danger zone from either flank.

They were tactics reminiscent of Scolari's ill-fated reign and, just as Chelsea did so often under their former coach, they saved themselves with a late winner.

The home side should have taken the lead as early as the second minute but Drogba fired wide from six yards after Michael Essien's superb cross fell directly at the feet of the unmarked striker.

Hull gave Chelsea a warning in the ninth minute when captain George Boateng shot just wide of Petr Cech's right-hand upright from 20 yards.

Four minutes later a cross from Hunt was headed over by Dean Marney. The Hull midfielder was allowed to ghost into the penalty unmarked and should have done better with his finish.

Cech then had to be alert to save another shot from Boateng as the Tigers began to find some success in the attacking third.

Hull had weathered the early Chelsea storm and had been far from second best.

Chelsea looked impressive going forward in their diamond formation but the same could not be said for the defensive element of the system.

The home side's failure to clear a free-kick in the 27th minute cost them dearly.

Chelsea had been upset at the free-kick awarded by Alan Riley when the official insisted that Jose Bosingwa had tugged the shirt of Hunt.

It got worse for the Blues when Andy Dawson sent the free-kick towards the Chelsea penalty area.

It was only half-cleared to Boateng on the edge of the area and his shot cannoned off both Ashley Cole and Mikel before falling to Hunt to apply an easy finish into an unguarded net.

That made it a terrific start to his Hull career for Hunt who was booed all afternoon by the Chelsea fans.

They still have not forgiven the former Reading player for the challenge in an October 2006 match which left Cech with a fractured skull. Cech is still required to wear protective head gear.

The Blues were level in the 37th minute thanks to a superb free-kick strike by Drogba.

Seyi Olofinjana was penalised by Wiley for holding off Mikel 25 yards out and Drogba punished them severely when he sent a dipping shot over the defensive wall and into the right corner.

Boaz Myhill then had to dive low to his left to prevent Michael Essien from giving Chelsea the lead five minutes before the interval.


Ancelotti's side should have gone in front within seconds of the re-start.

Drogba set up strike partner Nicolas Anelka perfectly but the France international failed to beat Myhill from six yards.

In the 56th minute Myhill twice denied Drogba with stunning saves as the Ivory Coast international looked for his second goal of the game.

In the 68th minute Hull replaced Hunt with new signing Kamel Ghilas to a chorus of boos from the Chelsea fans and the Blues substituted Malouda, bringing on Deco.

Essien almost gave Chelsea the lead in the 74th minute but his 20-yard volley was narrowly wide of the target.

Bosingwa then brought a fine diving save from Myhill as his effort looked to creep in.

Substitute Salomon Kalou, on for Anelka, then headed over from Deco's cross as Chelsea chased a winner.

But Drogba scored a vital winner two minutes into added time when he somehow chipped the ball over Myhill and into the far corner from an acute angle.

Teams:

Chelsea Cech, Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole,Mikel (Ballack 46), Essien, Malouda (Deco 69), Lampard,Anelka (Kalou 79), Drogba.

Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Ivanovic, Sturridge, Hutchinson.

Booked: Drogba.

Goals: Drogba 37, 90.

Hull Myhill, Mouyokolo, Turner, Gardner, Dawson,Mendy (Geovanni 78), Olofinjana, Marney (Barmby 44), Boateng,Hunt (Ghilas 69), Folan.

Subs Not Used: Duke, Halmosi, Zayatte, Cousin.

Booked: Mendy, Barmby.

Goals: Hunt 28.

Att: 41,597

Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).

Teenager Jack Wilshere struck twice as Arsenal beat Scottish champions Rangers to win the Emirates Cup.

The 17-year-old was rewarded for a man-of-the-match display when coming off the bench in Saturday's game against Atletico Madrid with a place in Arsene Wenger's starting XI.

Wilshere grabbed his latest opportunity with both hands to fire the Gunners ahead inside two minutes.

Arsenal never looked back, as fit-again Croatia hitman Eduardo soon made it 2-0 before Wilshere, once more man-of-the-match, wrapped things up with another well-taken strike in the second half.

Both teams had named stronger teams than for Saturday's opening games, when Rangers overcame Paris St Germain।

There were starts for regular Gunners goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, captain Cesc Fabregas as well as Andrey Arshavin, who netted twice when coming on as substitute against Atletico.

Rangers brought in keeper Allan McGregor, Kevin Thomson and Steven Naismith, who once had a trial at Arsenal.

It was, though, soon first blood to the English side when youngster Wilshere snatched the lead.

Fabregas' chip into the area found Arshavin, who touched the ball back and it broke for Wilshere.

The 17-year-old calmly struck the ball to the bottom corner, and although McGregor got a hand to it, could not keep the shot out.

Before Rangers could recover, Arsenal were 2-0 up in the 11th minute.

Putting the boot in: Gers skipper Dave Weir (R) looks on in vain as
Croatian striker Eduardo makes it two for the hosts

Arshavin knocked a long ball down to Fran Merida, who had far too much space to run into.

The youngster, once on the books of Barcelona, picked out Eduardo on the right side of the penalty box, and the Croatia marksman opened up his body before stroking the ball into the bottom corner.

The Glasgow side finally made some progress when Pedro Mendes got clear down the right, and his pass across goal was cut out by Mikael Silvestre.

Arsenal, though, remained dangerous and Merida was just off target when he let fly from 25 yards.

McGregor made up somewhat for his earlier handling error when he touched over a delicate chip from Wilshere.

As expected both teams made changes at the restart, Armand Traore and Denilson coming for William Gallas and Gael Clichy, while Rangers introduced Lee McCulloch, Kenny Miller and Nacho Novo.

The Scots had an early chance when Novo broke down the right, crossing towards Naismith, with Alex Song making an important block on the loose ball at the far post.

At the other end, Arshavin was just off target following good work from Fabregas.

Rangers, though, continued to look dangerous on the break.

Naismith sent Steven Davis clear down the right after a slip by Song. The midfielder raced forwards to collect the return pass, but could not beat Almunia.

After 62 minutes, Arshavin was replaced by Nicklas Bendtner, with FA Youth Cup winner Sanchez Watt coming on for Eduardo.

Merida then was substituted for Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey - another promising youngster in the Arsenal squad.

The three young Gunners combined to make it 3-0 on 71 minutes.


Watt chased down what looked a lost cause as Madjid Bougherra attempted to shield the ball out of play.

However, the forward managed to hook it back to Ramsey, who then picked out the run of Wilshere at the far post, the 17-year-old smashing in his second of the game.

The match over as a contest, Arsenal made another change when Rosicky, fit again following some 18 months of injury problems, replaced Fabregas.

There was still time for Kenny Miller to drag a shot wide when put into the penalty area - which just about summed up Rangers' afternoon.

Manchester City are preparing a take-it-or-leave-it offer of around £22million for Everton defender Joleon Lescott as manager Mark Hughes sizes up two other targets.

Hughes may switch his sights to Newcastle's Sebastien Bassong and Chelsea's Alex if Everton remain resistant to City's money.

City have also lodged a £10m offer with Leeds for their much coveted England Under 21 midfielder Fabian Delph, 19.

England player Lescott is interested in City's offer but is reluctant to rock the boat at Everton and seems likely to abide by Goodison manager David Moyes's stance.

But Hughes, despite paying over the odds for several players, insists he is determined to walk away from deals when they exceed their true value and he believes £22m is around the optimum price for Lescott.

Tottenham have also shown interest in signing Bassong, as have Arsenal as a possible replacement for Kolo Toure, who completed his move from the Emirates Stadium to City this week.

Bassong, 23, was born in France but called up by Cameroon in May. Brazilian Alex, 27, first joined Chelsea in 2004 from Santos but failed to get a work permit and spent three years on loan with PSV Eindhoven.

Yet he attracted interest from City last season and is back on their list of targets.

City have had bids of £15m and £18m rejected by Everton for Lescott and although Hughes has not completely given up, he is unwilling to go much higher for a 26-year-old who cost £5m when he moved to Merseyside from Wolves three years ago.

Hughes said: 'We've walked away from situations where we feel our worth and the value we place on players has been exceeded.'

Everton still need a centre half themselves to step in for the injured Phil Jagielka.

Real Madrid are today preparing to change their bid for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso after weeks of speculation regarding the player’s future.

The Spanish international has been continuously linked with a move to the Bernabeu all summer long, however Real have, as of know, failed to meet Liverpool’s asking price of £30 million.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has always maintained his desire to keep Alonso, 27, at Anfield, however it now appears unlikely that Alonso will still be wearing red next season after he handed a transfer request earlier this week.

It has been claimed today that Real will offer Liverpool cash plus Rafael van der Vaart in a bid to push through a deal. I personally think that if Liverpool managed to get £19 million plus Van der Vaart in exchange for Alonso they would be doing extremley well.

Even the most ardent Liverpool will admit that it’s only a matter of time before Alonso is on his way out of the club so it’s crucial that they get the best deal they can. I have always been a huge admirer of Van der Vaart’s and I would just love to see how he would cope with the pace of the Premier League. It will be fascinating to see how this one pans out over the coming weeks...

It was days before the Champions League final against Manchester United and Pep Guardiola had just finished an exhausting 80-minute Press conference conducted in four languages.

Though eager to get away, when the Barcelona coach heard that Sir Bobby Robson had written to his former player to wish him luck in the forthcoming final, he made sure he had time to chat.

Guardiola, now the most exalted coach in world football after leading Barcelona to their treble of Spanish League, Cup and European Cup, was touched by the gesture.

‘I’m going to make sure I read this immediately,’ he told me with an engaging smile, before inquiring of Sir Bobby’s health and insisting on passing on his best wishes. ‘He is a very good man and a great coach.’

Sir Bobby had said, as he handed over his letter: ‘You tell Pep that if he’s half as good a manager as he was a player for me, then he’ll do OK.’ Guardiola smiled again when the tribute was relayed.

The same response was always forthcoming from Jose Mourinho whenever Sir Bobby’s name was mentioned. The tension would ease, the bravado would drop for a
moment and a smile would come over the face of the Special One.

For Mourinho, as he acknowledges, owes everything to Sir Bobby, the man who gave his interpreter a break in Portuguese football and set him on the path to becoming the
iconic coach he is today.

And it is a measure of his magnitude that even now the two most distinguished and admired coaches of the younger generation, in Guardiola and Mourinho, were forged by Sir Bobby.

While the master never won the European Cup, a feat which both of his apprentices have already achieved, he had a profound influence upon them.

Yesterday Guardiola reflected again on Robson. ‘It was a privilege to spend a year with him. It was a fantastic year. He was a very experienced trainer with clear ideas,’ he said. In reality, they were ideas with which Guardiola sometimes disagreed. Sir Bobby himself would often laugh and confide that his most profound memory of
Guardiola was of the arguments they had over tactics.

Guardiola, who had been schooled by Dutch maestro Johan Cruyff, insisted that 4-3-3
was the way to play; Sir Bobby, English to the bone, would not be moved from his 4-4-2.

Nevertheless, in that year the pair established a bond that overcame their initial differences — Guardiola had been disappointed when Sir Bobby failed to make him captain on his arrival in 1996 — and blossomed over the years.

Mourinho, too, had his disagreements with Robson. He was annoyed when his mentor took him to task in the pages of this newspaper, writing an open letter to the then Chelsea manager, urging him to become truly great by toning down his combative antics.

Yet, with Sir Bobby, all was soon forgiven and forgotten and Mourinho could not have been more generous in his tributes.

‘Bobby Robson is one of those people who will never die, not just for what he did in his career but for everything that he gave to those who, like me, were lucky to know him and walk by his side,’ said the current Inter coach.

‘It was hard for me [to hear the news] because I didn’t want to think that he was dying, it wasn’t that image of Bobby Robson that I wanted to keep forever. I wanted, and I will always keep it with me, the Bobby Robson of every day, a man with an extraordinary passion for life and football, with extraordinary enthusiasm.’

That two young managers, both so completely obsessed with modern tactics and systems, were schooled by Sir Bobby is a supreme irony for those who would lambast him as England manager for not being open to tactical innovations.

‘To be honest, he had no real interest in tactics,’ said former Dutch international Stan Valckx, who played with him at PSV Eindhoven, followed him to Sporting Lisbon and spent last weekend with him at the charity football match Sir Bobby had organised.

‘Some people think tactics win games but the point about Bobby was he was such an admired manager that every player was prepared to go the extra mile for him,’ said Valckx. ‘That was the difference between him and other coaches. The most important thing for him was that we didn’t let the team down, which meant running, fighting, giving everything.’

They are qualities which now permeate the teams of Guardiola and Mourinho. This
weekend, all around the world, some of the great names of football will be revisiting their own memories of Sir Bobby.

‘He was loved all over the globe,’ added Valckx. ‘And I don’t think he had any
enemies, which is very rare in this crazy world of football.’

Mourinho and Guardiola would both concur. Sir Bobby never ceased to be relevant and the fact that two such acclaimed young coaches owe so much to him is a fitting tribute to a remarkable man.

Andrey Arshavin came off the bench to net a late double as Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid in the Emirates Cup.

The Russian, introduced in the second half, produced two superb finishes as the Gunners maintained their promising build-up to the new campaign.

There was also a welcome home return for Czech winger Tomas Rosicky, who had been out of action for some 18 months with a string of niggling injuries - and his availability for the build-up to the new campaign will be welcome boost to manager Arsene Wenger following the loss of Samir Nasri to a broken leg.

Wenger had named a mixed side, which included Vito Mannone in goal and Robin van Persie, last season's leading scorer, as captain with Cesc Fabregas one of 10 substitutes.

The Gunners have seen Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure depart for Manchester City, but eventually made their dominance pay when Arshavin slipped in a late winner.

The Spanish side, who started with former Gunner Jose Antonio Reyes in attack and were captained by ex-Manchester United forward Diego Forlan, could yet face Wenger's men again in competitive action next month in the Champions League play-off.

Following a period of appreciation for former England manager Sir Bobby Robson, who died yesterday, aged 76, Madrid midfielder Tomas Ujfalusi hit the post with an early far-post header, before Arsenal asserted control.

Rosicky's previous appearance at Emirates Stadium came back on January 26 2008, against Newcastle in the FA Cup, with the complicated knee and hamstring problem first ruling him out of the European Championships then all of the last campaign.

The pacy Czech wideman, though, looked sharp and had a well-taken effort ruled out for offside after seven minutes.

Emmanuel Eboue, who has been linked with a move to Fiorentina, looked dangerous down the other flank as the hosts pressed.

Following a flowing counter-attack, when the ball was switched across field to young Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey, van Persie fired a half-volley wide.

Atletico made a change just before the break, when Florent Sinama-Pongolle, who had spells in England with Liverpool and Blackburn, picked up an injury and was replaced by Maxi Rodriguez.

Eboue had switched flanks to the left, and forced a good reaction save from the Madrid keeper when he cut inside the penalty box.

Rosicky was given a well-earned breather, one of three players substituted at the start of the second half, replaced by youngster Fran Merida, with Gael Clichy and Jack Wilshere coming on for Armand Traore and Eboue respectively.

Arsenal started brightly as van Persie saw his clever back-heel cleared off the line by John Heitinga before Nicklas Bendtner fired over.

A slick move from 17-year-old Wilshere on the far by-line saw the ball pulled back for Ramsey, but the Wales midfielder shot straight at the keeper.

With 24 minutes to go, Arsenal made another triple substitution, with Fabregas replacing Ramsey, Eduardo coming on for Bendtner and Arshavin for van Persie.

The Gunners continued to press, with the impressive Wilshere the main outlet.

However, Rodriguez almost caught them out when he latched onto a loose ball and dashed into the right side of the Arsenal box only to drag his shot wide.

Substitute Borja Baston then tried his luck from 25 yards, with Mannone almost left red-faced as he spilled the wet ball just past the post.

The Gunners looked to have snatched a winner with just four minutes left when Fabregas lofted the ball over to the back post from the right, where Arshavin arrived to volley past Sergio Asenjo.

However, German Pacheco beat the offside trap, somewhat dubiously, to slot in an equaliser.

There was, though, just enough time for Arshavin to latch onto a poor backward header from Ujfalusi and tap the ball round the keeper before sliding it into the net from the tightest of angles.

Arsenal play Rangers tomorrow, with the Scottish champions having beaten Paris St Germain in the Emirates Cup opening game.

Yesterday's declaration by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered Adrian Mutu to pay over €17 million in compensation to Chelsea for "breach of contract".

The Romanian tested positive for cocaine after a doping test in 2004, but has put his career back on tract with Fiorentina after a brief spell with Juventus.

His team-mates are now rallying around him, and the club captain Dario Dainelli has announced that they will give him both personal and financial help.

"It is obvious that Adrian cannot be very happy," he said, according to Tuttomercatoweb.com.

"However, we are trying to joke about it with him and, together with the rest of the squad, we will raise some money to help him."

The 30-year-old formed a lethal partnership with Alberto Gilardino for Fiorentina last season, and hopefully for the Gigliati faithful, the show of solidarity from his team-mates will spur the Romanian on to a similarly successful season next year.

Former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu has lost his appeal against Fifa's ruling that he must pay the English club 17 million euros in damages for breach of contract.

Mutu, who cost the the club £15m in 2003, was sacked a year later after he tested positive for cocaine, and was given a seven-month worldwide football ban.

After being axed by Chelsea and serving his ban, the Romanian joined Juventus in January 2005, and at the end of the following season he moved to Fiorentina.

In May last year, Mutu was ordered to pay the damages by Fifa's Dispute Resolution Chamber but the player lodged an appeal against their decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

However, the CAS today dismissed Mutu's appeal and confirmed that the player must pay 17,173,990 euros in compensation to Chelsea.

A statement released by CAS read: "The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has today dismissed the appeal filed by the Romanian football player, Adrian Mutu, against the decision rendered by the Fifa Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) on 7 May 2008 in which he was ordered to pay 17,173,990 euros compensation to his former club, Chelsea FC, for breach of contract.

"It is the third decision rendered by the CAS in this matter. In 2005, the CAS confirmed the decision of the Football Association Premier League Appeals Committee finding that, because of a positive doping test, Mutu had committed a breach of the employment contract without just cause.

"In 2007, the CAS set aside a first decision by the DRC denying jurisdiction and referred the matter back to Fifa to determine and impose the appropriate sporting sanction and/or order for compensation arising out of the dispute.

"Then, the DRC issued its decision on compensation which generated this third CAS arbitration. In his appeal to the CAS, Adrian Mutu sought to set aside the DRC decision and establish that no compensation was due to be paid by him to Chelsea FC.

"The CAS Panel concluded that the appeal brought by the player was to be dismissed and the measure of damages, as awarded by the DRC, was to be confirmed. Adrian Mutu must therefore pay EUR 17,173,990 to Chelsea FC."

When Fifa announced its verdict last year, Chelsea called it "a very significant decision for football".

The Chelsea statement at that time read: "Not only did the Dispute Resolution Chamber make us a very significant monetary award, it also recognised the damaging effect incidents involving drugs have on football and the responsibility we all have in this area."

Mutu's fine was based on lost earnings and was calculated on the length of time his contract had left to run. It was the highest ever handed down by Fifa.

Darren Bent will be fined £120 ,000 b y Tottenham despite issuing a grovelling apology for his foul-mouthed blast at chairman Daniel Levy.

Bent used Twitter to vent his frustration after his move to Sunderland stalled yet again, and the attack has cost him two weeks' wages.

It has also left the club demanding that all their players disclose whether they are members of social networking sites such as Facebook or the one used by the striker.

Bent's Twitter page 'db10thetruth' was taken down early yesterday but only after a series of his angry posts had been published in Sportsmail.

Spurs are determined not to be embarrassed in the same way again.

Among his posts the striker wrote: 'Do I wanna go Hull City NO. Do I wanna go Stoke NO do I wanna go Sunderland YES so stop f***ing around levy.'

Ironically, Stoke were undeterred by Bent's ill-judged comments and are understood to have topped Sunderland's most recent offer of a £9million down-payment with further instalments up to £14m based on performance related bonuses.

But just as Portsmouth were forced to accept £3m less from Spurs than Sunderland were offering for Peter Crouch, who preferred a move to White Hart Lane, Levy may have to bend on the Bent transfer fee.

Sunderland are just as frustrated as their top transfer target, and manager Steve Bruce wants the signing completed by the beginning of next week. Chairman Niall Quinn made a third attempt to strike a deal last night.

Bent's frustration is based on the lack of progress over the transfer even though on Monday he was ordered to get off.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has spoken out in defence of the north London club's decision to sell striker Emmanuel Adebayor and centre-back Kolo Toure to Manchester City, with both players moving for large transfer fees in the last couple of weeks.

Many had criticised the Frenchman's choice to sell the duo to City, a club some observers perceive as being Arsenal's main challengers for a Champions League spot this season.

"I always say when you come to the decision to sell a player you can’t on top choose who you want to sell them to," he told the Gunners' official website.

"If you decide to sell he can choose where he wants to go, otherwise it would be completely unfair.

"If they are becoming a main rival I cannot stop it with a decision to sell a player or not. If they don’t buy from you they buy another good player from someone else. Nobody can stop a club fighting for the top four and if they are a rival they will be the same for Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea. What is most important is we stay strong.”

The Frenchman also intimated that there was perhaps more to the deals than had been made public, with him asserting that he would not be openly divulging his specific reasons.

“This kind of process depends always on the players you sell, on the number of players you have behind, the overall quality of the squad and you do not want to go public too much why you make these decisions," he added.

"They are always difficult decisions but that’s part of our game and we lost two great players, but we have as well, great players [left] behind and that’s up to us to show during the season that we still have the quality to fight at the top level."

As for any arrivals at the Emirates this summer, Wenger was evasive as to whether Bordeax's Marouan Chamakh would be coming to the club, stating, "He is responsible for his statements. I wouldn’t like to commentate on any phone calls I made during the day because, at the moment, I have a hundred phone calls. The only thing I can say is that we are nowhere near to signing anybody at the moment."

There was some hope though, according to the 59-year-old, that Patrick Vieira would make a somewhat surprising return to north London.

"I speak to Patrick. I speak to many players who have been here because I keep good connections with them," he explained.

"He has gone through a difficult period in the last season and I am aware that he wants to come here.

"I think Patrick is a legend here and he would always like to come back to this club. That would be his first choice.

"He is a professional footballer with emotion and you always like the club where you’ve spent time. But as a professional as well, you always give 100 per cent for whichever club you sign for.

"At the moment we need to look at the level of experience in our squad to make this kind of decision. There is a football decision and then there's the psychological impact of a player of that stature coming in.

"We are nowhere near to making a decision like that. But it is a possibility. We don't rule it out and we don't say we will do it. That's my decision at the moment."

On a slightly different tack, the coach did confirm that he was still unhappy with the way in which Gunners forward was used by both the England senior side and the Under-2s over the summer.

"I was not in fairness a supporter of his experience with the Under-21s for one simple reason: the youth teams are there to promote the players into the first team," he went on.

"Once they are there, especially at national level, I don’t see why they go back again to the Under-21s.

"The target is not to promote the players from the first team to the second team, they are supposed to be promoted from the second team to the first team."

Wenger also paid tribute to Sir Bobby Robson, who today passed away after succumbing to Cancer at the age of 76.

"It was a shock because Bobby was a man of exceptional stature and someone I loved because he had an optimistic view of mankind and a positive vision for football," he said.

"We will miss him badly because people miss people of his stature and vision. It’s a very sad day for English football but football overall."

1933: Born February 18, in Langley Park, County Durham.

1950: Joins Fulham. Makes 152 appearances, scoring 68 goals. Moves to West Brom, scoring 56 goals in 239 games.

1958: Plays for England in World Cup in Sweden. Wins 20 caps for his country and one under-23 cap.

1962: Rejoins Fulham, making 193 appearances and scoring nine goals.

1967: Leaves Fulham in May to join Vancouver Royals as manager.

1968: Takes over as Fulham manager in January. Sacked in November.

1969: Appointed manager of Ipswich.

1978: Ipswich win FA Cup with 1-0 victory over Arsenal.

1981: Ipswich win UEFA Cup with a 5-4 aggregate victory over AZ Alkmaar.

1982: Appointed England manager.

1986: England reach World Cup quarter-finals, losing to Argentina 2-1, thanks to Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' opening goal.

1990: Football Association reveal Robson's contract as England manager is unlikely to be renewed even if he wins World Cup. Robson announces he will be taking over at PSV Eindhoven after tournament. England beaten on penalties in World Cup semi-final by West Germany.

1991: Wins Dutch league with PSV.

1992: Wins Dutch league before taking over as manager of Sporting Lisbon.

1993: Controversially sacked in December after a UEFA Cup defeat.

1994: Appointed manager of FC Porto, with whom he wins Portuguese Cup.

1995: Guides Porto to Portuguese league title.

1996: Steers Porto to second successive league title before resigning to take over at Barcelona.

1997: Presides over Barcelona's Cup Winners' Cup-winning campaign but eventually surrenders coaching reins to Louis van Gaal and moves upstairs as Barcelona's general manager in charge of scouring Europe for talent.

1998: Rejoins PSV as coach over the summer.

1999: February - Offers to take over as England boss on a temporary basis after the sacking of Glenn Hoddle.

September 3 - Appointed manager of Newcastle.

2000: February 18 - agrees a new 12-month rolling contract with Newcastle on his 67th birthday.

October 21 - Rules himself out of the running to take on the England job for a second time.

2002: Leads Newcastle United to fourth place in the Premiership to put them into the qualifying stages of the Champions League.

June 15 - Knighted in Queen's Birthday Honours.

2003: May - Newcastle finish the season in third place and qualify for the Champions League qualifying rounds, where they are beaten by Partizan Belgrade.

2004: August 1: Chairman Freddy Shepherd confirms he will not extend Robson's contract when it expires at the end of the 2004-2005 season. Robson admits Shepherd's comments had been a surprise.

August 14: Leaves Kieron Dyer on the bench after the England man refuses to play on the right wing against Middlesbrough.

August 28: Robson chooses to start captain Alan Shearer on the bench as Newcastle lose 4-2 at Aston Villa.

August 30: Newcastle reveal Robson has been "relieved of his duties" as manager.

2005: October - Admits his interest in taking over as Hearts manager to replace Ipswich protege George Burley.

November: Hearts appoint former Chelsea coach Graham Rix as head coach.

2006: January - Named as international football consultant to new Republic of Ireland manager Steve Staunton.

August 5 - Treated in hospital after being taken ill during the first half of Ipswich's clash with Crystal Palace, at which he had been named honorary club president.

August 20 - Announces he needs operation to remove a small brain tumour.

2007: May 6 - Vows to "battle as I've always done" following the start of chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with cancer for the fifth time.

November 15 - Indicates his health may mean he has to retire.

2008: February 16 - Embarks upon a campaign to raise £1million to fund a cancer trial research centre at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital.

August 7 - Admits he will lose his long battle against cancer "sooner rather than later".

October 30 - Joined by Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Robson at a gala event to raise money for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

December 8 - Granted the freedom of the city of Durham.

2009: February 20 - Accepts a cheque for £75,000 from England boss Fabio Capello on behalf of the Football Association, their contribution to his charity fund.

April 24 - Announces the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy clash between England and Germany on July 26.

July 26 - Attends St James' Park for England v Germany clash in a wheelchair and is given a guard of honour. Also presented with the Emerald UEFA Order of Merit award.

July 31 - Robson dies at home at the age of 76.

Source:- Sporting Life

Former England manager Sir Bobby Robson has died at the age of 76.

Robson died at his home in County Durham following a long battle against cancer - it was the fifth bout he had fought in 17 years. His wife Elsie was by his bedside.

The son of a Durham coal miner, Robson trained as an apprentice electrician at the colliery before signing for Fulham as a 17-year-old.

He went on to play for West Brom - and England too, 20 times - but it was as a manager that he really left his mark on the game, with Ipswich, Barcelona and Newcastle among others, and of course England.

He was England's most successful manager after Sir Alf Ramsey. In the 1982 World Cup his side fell victim to a complicated second group stage and exited the tournament without losing a single match.

In the 1986 World Cup England were defeated by Argentina in the quarter-finals, thanks in large part to Diego Maradona's infamous 'hand of God' goal.

Four years later, Robson took England to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Italy before losing on penalties to West Germany.

After England, Robson managed abroad, at PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon and Porto before Barcelona beckoned. At Sporting, he plucked Jose Mourinho to be first his interpreter and then his assistant, and he followed Robson to both Porto and Barcelona before establishing a career of his own.

Robson's first managerial job had been with Fulham in 1968, though it was at Ipswich - whom he joined a year later - where he emerged as one of the greats, leading them to FA Cup and UEFA Cup triumphs.

Yet it was not until 1999, 31 years after he first became a manager, that Robson took the job he always seemed destined for: Newcastle United's manager.

A successful five-year spell saw the Magpies qualify twice for the Champions League but in 2004 he was dismissed after a poor start to the season.

Robson had beaten cancer on a number of occasions - bowel cancer in 1992, a malignant melanoma in 1995, and a tumour in his right lung and a brain tumour, both in 2006. Last year he launched the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation to raise money for cancer research.

A statement issued on behalf of his family said: "It is with great sadness that it has been announced that Sir Bobby Robson has lost his long and courageous battle with cancer.

"He died very peacefully at his home in County Durham with his wife and family beside him.

"Sir Bobby's funeral will be private and for family members only.

"A thanksgiving service in celebration of Sir Bobby's life will be held at a later date for his many friends and colleagues.

"Lady Robson and the family would very much appreciate it if their privacy could be respected at this difficult time.''

More than 10,000 "Red Shirt" supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra rallied Friday as organisers said that one million Thais had signed a petition asking for a royal pardon for the fugitive former premier.

Thousand of ''Red Shirts'' supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra rally in a park in Bangkok in January, 2009. More than 10,000 "Red Shirt" supporters rallied again as organisers said that one million Thais had signed a petition asking for a royal pardon for the fugitive former premier.

The protest in Bangkok took place despite warnings from the government that a pardon could only be sought by Thaksin himself or by his relatives. Billionaire Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006.

"There are more than one million people who have signed their names to support for Thaksin. I hope more and more people will show up before we close down at midnight tonight," protest leader Jatuporn Prompan told AFP.

Police said more than 10,000 people had gathered at the Sanam Luang parade ground in downtown Bangkok by late afternoon. Nearly 3,000 police were at the rally site, police commander Lieutenant General Worapong Chiewpreecha said.

Thaksin fled Thailand last August to escape a two-year jail term for corruption. His backers aim to gather the signatures to present to the country's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who came to power in December, on Thursday warned Thaksin's supporters against signing the petition.

"The royal pardon should be his (Thaksin's) own individual initiative or that of his family members and it's not reached that stage because Thaksin has not yet served the sentence," Abhisit told reporters.

He said that those behind the document were "manipulating innocent people."

State-owned television is to run a segment with a legal expert late Friday to remind the public that it was improper to involve the monarchy in politics.

Thaksin said in a March interview that he had written three letters to the king seeking to be allowed home.

The Red Shirts launched the campaign last month following months of sometimes violent street protests and political conflict in Thailand between supporters and foes of Thaksin.

Thaksin supporters forced the cancellation of a major Asian summit in April and then rioted for two days in Bangkok.

Twice-elected Thaksin still enjoys huge support among Thailand's poor, particularly in rural northern parts of the country, but is hated by the Bangkok-based elite.

Thaksin is currently being tried in absentia on a separate corruption charge relating to 2.2 billion dollars of funds that were frozen by an anti-graft body soon after the coup.

Thailand's royal family is treated with almost religious adulation and protected by strict defamation laws.