As Arsenal step up their efforts to secure the future of key players and up-and-coming talents, there have been speculations about a few players who have yet to put pen to paper on new contracts. Gilles Sunu and Fran Merida make up part of this list (whose contracts are yet to be renewed), but the major concern has been on a veteran key player in the heart of Arsenal’s defense. William Gallas has been the subject of growing speculation as his contract runs out in the summer of 2010.

Amidst all the uncertainties, the latest piece of rumour reports that Claudio Ranieri, the current Roma manager is extremely interested in bringing the French international to the Stadio Olimpico on a free transfer. Gallas’ past working relationship with Ranieri at Chelsea before joining Arsenal seems to have contributed to the high possibility of this rumoured transfer. Having said that, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will not easily let Gallas go. After all, the French tactician is still a huge admirer of Gallas’ intelligent defensive display week in week out for the North London club.

However, the rollercoaster ride endured by the 32 year old defender during his time at Arsenal might also have an influence on his future. William Gallas first joined Arsenal from Chelsea on a swap deal involving Ashley Cole going the opposite direction after an intense war of words between him and the then Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, claiming that he would “score an own goal” if he wasn’t allowed to leave the club. During his tenure at the Emirates Stadium, he have reached the climax of his Arsenal career by earning the captaincy of the club during season 2007/2008. He led the team to the top of the Premier League for months until the Eduardo incident at St Andrews occurred and took away his captaincy.

Despite that, he stayed on at Arsenal in the following summer and slowly rebuilt his confidence and enhanced his performance for the club. But it was without another controversy, where it was reported that he has fallen out with former Gunner Kolo Toure. This incident has been speculated as the reason for the departure of the Ivorian centre defender. This season though, he has formed a very solid partnership with newly signed Belgium defender Thomas Vermaelen.

Currently, Gallas is still nursing a calf injury for a month after Wenger announced that he has suffered another setback on his journey to recovery. Some Arsenal fansites/blogs speculate that this injury might be the beginning of the end for his Arsenal career but today’s news contradict this speculation. Quoted from the latest article on the club’s official website (as of Thursday), Wenger said the club will try hard to find a solution to the Gallas situation.

Whether he will be at Arsenal in the summer of 2010, it is still a bit early to say. There might be some twists along the way and it now entirely depends on how much the club wants him to stay.

Article By Kelvin

Junior Hoilett is one of Blackburn Rovers stars of the future, since turning down Manchester United at the age of 12 was just the beginning of his rollercoaster. Since turning down a chance to play football at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ the Blackburn Rovers starlet has had to overcome a work permit nightmare, serious homesickness and playing football in five different countries to reach the big stage of the Premier League.

The 19-year-old Canadian who recently signed a deal to stay at Ewood Park till 2010 has earned the chance to establish himself as a regular in the world’s biggest league, but there were times when even he doubted it would ever happen. Like when the government refused him a visa to play in England aged 16, having spent the last three years of his life learning his trade in Rovers’ youth set-up, or when he missed his family so much it would have been easy to have turned his back on his dreams and return to Canada.

Hoilett can look forward to a more settled future but he won’t forget the long and, often frustrating, journey he has taken to get where he has. He said: “I have had to go over a few hurdles but they have all helped me. They have all made me stronger and I feel I am ready for anything. “They have made me stronger as a player and a person. This is just the start but it feels as though I have been through a lot to get here. There were times when I had little doubts and I guess it would have been easy to have taken the easy option and gone home. I have always wanted to be a professional footballer though and that helped me through some difficult times.”

It was a tournament in Wales that was to prove the turning point in his life though as an 11-year-old Hoilett travelled with a Canadian team to play against teams from around the world. He was competing for fun but, by the end of the 10 days, scouts had spotted his obvious potential and his Premier League adventure was just around the corner.

“I didn’t know a tournament that lasted 10 days was going to change my life,” he said. But a Blackburn scout came up to my father, a number of scouts came up to my father actually. They all asked me to come on trial. Manchester United was the first club I came to on trial to but I decided to come to Blackburn and I liked Blackburn so I came here. Manchester United were quite keen on me at the time and asked me back but I had decided to come to Blackburn. The tournament was in July and I came over in March to Blackburn. Then I went back in the summer. They wanted me to move over but I needed a year to think about it.”

Blackburn Rovers and a new life in East Lancashire it was then, albeit not before a year of soul searching for him and his family about him leaving home in pursuit of a professional football career. Mother Ingrid took three months off work to help Junior settle in but, while Hoilett senior also regularly flew back and forth to support his middle son, life was far from plain sailing in those early days. He said: “The first year was very difficult but I got used to it. Everyone supported me and it showed with my football.”

But since then Hoilett has made a big impact in Blackburn Rovers’ Premier League Season making 10 appearances for the team Holiett has made improvements to the team in vital moments but will he continue to do so well next season? Only time will tell.

Article By Charlotte

Javi also known as ‘El Chicharito’ is a 22 year old Mexican forward who plays for ‘Chivas’. The Hernandez name is as famous in Mexican football as Maldini is in Italian football. With both his father and grandfather being Chivas legends with the former playing in the 1986 world cup it is easy to see why. With 19 goals in 22 appearances this season he currently is the in form forward for the national side and looks set to follow his father’s footsteps with a trip to the world cup.

After being selected by Javier Aguirre to face Bolivia last Wednesday, he repaid the call up with a brace and an assist he added to his international goal tally against New Zealand with a goal minutes after coming on to the pitch as a substitute. With the world cup in just under 100 days, Javi is ‘the’ Mexican player to be watched in the run up to the World cup as he is an extreme threat in front of goal with the ability to score with both feet as well as being a competent header of the ball too.

Despite his goal tally being continually added to, many people assume that this has only been reached to due to him playing against inferior opposition. However unlike his team mates who play in Europe, his goal scoring form is consistent for both club and country, which has led to reports in Mexico that a deal for a transfer to Barca after the World cup has been agreed. As things stand it’s hard not see Javi on that plane to South Africa; but as we all know, in football nothing can be taken for granted

Article By Marissa

Jamie Carragher hopes Fernando Torres can enjoy an injury-free spell to help fire Liverpool into the Premier League top four.

The Anfield defender saw the Spanish striker celebrate his first Liverpool start since January by scoring the winning goal as his side beat Blackburn 2-1 in the Premier League at the weekend – although the game was marred for Carragher as he gave away a penalty to allow the opposition back into the match.

The victory made sure Liverpool remain in the battle for fourth after a weekend which saw rivals Manchester City and Spurs both record wins.

As a result Liverpool are now one point behind Spurs who are in fourth place, although they have played more games than rivals City and Aston Villa. However, the Premier League odds make Liverpool favourites to secure the final Champions League place.

Torres was absent for six weeks of the season and Liverpool missed his goals during this time. Indeed, he remains the side’s top scorer with 13 goals in 17 Premier League appearances.

Carragher admits is “goes without saying” that Liverpool miss the forward as he is a “special player” who can make a real difference in games.

“He’s a big, powerful lad, who is right up for the fight, and he’s ideally suited to English football,” the defender said.

“He makes a big difference and you can see we are a much better team when he is with us.”

Liverpool face Wigan in their next Premier League game before resuming their Europa League battle later that week against Lille.

For his part, Torres will be looking to ensure he is in peak condition going into the World Cup.

The World Cup odds make Spain favourites for the competition and Torres should play a key part in their tournament.

Wayne Bridge’s decision to step down from the England squad is seen as a damaging development for Fabio Capello ahead of the World Cup. With Ashley Cole facing a race to be fit for the finals, England face the prospect of starting their bid for glory in South Africa with a left back who currently shares the record for the shortest England career – eight minutes.

That is sure to change, as Stephen Warnock will be given as much chance in the forthcoming friendlies against Egypt and Mexico to settle in. Nonetheless, the 2010 FIFA World cup betting suggests that the tournament will still be a deep end to be thrown into.

However, this is the least of Capello’s problems. Bridge’s withdrawal comes as a shock, as the manager recently stated his belief that Bridge would play alongside John Terry. The boss has been caught off-guard, albeit momentarily, but the fact the Manchester City man hinted at possible factions in the camp will concern him.

Many people have criticised Bridge’s decision as a hasty and excessive overreaction, whilst others applaud selfless act – if his presence in the squad was going to be a divisive one, then he has done the right thing.

It seems that the England squad is split between Terry-loyalists and those privately angered by his behaviour. Bridge might think his presence would deepen this split, but his absence might actually increase the effect.

Bridge’s supporters in the camp might become more bitter and angry on his behalf – those who believe Terry has robbed Bridge of his World Cup chance will lose even more respect for the former skipper. It is clear Capello made the right choice in replacing Terry as captain.

Those who think that Bridge has taken his animosity towards Terry too far should be comforted by the fact that the inevitable media circus over the affair will reduce and, more importantly, by the fact that England now have a more in-form, focused and fit left back, albeit an inexperienced one. This is something that may well move the FIFA World Cup betting Odds in the team’s favour.

Things are warming up in the Premier League after a bunch of mixed results over the weekend. The big news was Everton’s win against Manchester United. This gives Chelsea a four point lead at the top of the ladder.

After a slow start, Everton have done very well and have risen to eighth spot. They were unlucky only to draw against Arsenal and then defeated Chelsea so have bounced back to their best as seen previously. David Moyes has got them playing some good football.

Things are very tight for fourth place with just one point separating four teams. Tottenham is there on 46 with Manchester City also on 46. Liverpool and Aston Villa are both on 45. Both Villa and Man City have a game in hand on the other two.

Down the bottom of the ladder, Portsmouth are all but certain to be relegated. You will be hard pressed to find any bookmakers taking more bets on this. With only 16 points from 26 games, they are highly unlikely to get about 20 from their final 12 games. Then there is a huge dogfight down the bottom to see who the other two teams to go down will be.

Bolton and Burnley are currently in the hot seat with 23 and then you have Wolves and Hull just safe on 24. Wigan is on 25, Sunderland 26 and West Ham 27. It is that tight that any of these seven teams could go down to the Championship. Just one win would see one of these teams rise sending someone else to trouble.

It is that close that goal difference could prove to be the ultimate difference between the teams.

In the next round of games, Bolton take on Wolves and Portsmouth travel to Burnley. These are both massive games.

Up at the top of the ladder, Man City meet Chelsea in what should be a pretty entertaining clash.

Tottenham hosts Everton is a game which promises to be the best of the weekend’s action. Last time the two met, Spurs wasted a 2-0 lead to end up drawing 2-2. They had a chance at the end to win it but a penalty was saved. This game was marked as the turning point of Everton’s year and many also said it showed that Tottenham weren’t top four material.

At White Hart Lane, both will have a lot to prove and so should be quite entertaining fare.

Darren Albert writes for this blog. He also writes about online betting.

If 2010 FIFA World Cup betting has Group C down as the easiest to predict, then Group D, comprising Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana, is perhaps the hardest one to pick the qualifiers from. Germany, who have not been knocked out in the first round since 1938, should qualify as usual, but they certainly have no easy games this time around.

The FIFA world rankings are not always a fair representation of teams’ strength, but the fact eight places cover the other Group D participants is a good sign that it is hard to pick the likely qualifier form the three. All are more than capable of taking points off Germany.

Serbia edged out France in qualifying to reach the finals as group winners, but their fans will not be complacent in South Africa – Serbia and Montenegro qualified unbeaten ahead of Spain for Germany ’06 but endured a nightmare tournament, losing all three games, conceding 10 goals in the process.

They have quality throughout, with plenty of Premier League, La Liga and Serie A representation in a strong squad. Radi Antic’s men pose perhaps the biggest threat to Germany and would not be surprise group winners.

Australia fared far better than Serbia in 2006, reaching the second round, where they were controversially beaten by Italy. They qualified from the Asian section unbeaten and a goalless draw with Netherlands in their most recent friendly shows they will be competitive in the summer.

Ghana also reached the last 16 last time around. The Black Stars have the potential to at least match that achievement, having finished as runners-up in the recent Africa Cup of Nations. Michael Essien is a key man, whose recent injury problems can ill-afford to return.

Germany are experts at qualifying for the knockout stages of major tournaments and will not be fazed by their tough group. They still have the core of the team that reached the semi finals on home soil in 2006 and have the experience to go far again. They saw off Russia to qualify as group winners and will be once again backed by the 2010 FIFA World Cup Odds to succeed in Group D.

As clubs all across Europe prepare to enter the vital stretch run of the campaign, quite a few managers will have to make some tough decisions and prioritize which matches are the most important for their club. Every season we have managers, especially at the bigger clubs, who frequently will sit key players in matches they feel don’t require their best players for their team to win or simply so that their players are rested for more important matches. Sometimes, this strategy backfires though.

For instance, this season Manchester United and Arsenal have already made shock exits from the English FA Cup due to fielding far less than their best XI. This happens quite frequently in the early rounds of domestic cups as teams underestimate their opponent and look forward to league and European play.

With all of the trophies yet to be decided, it will be very interesting to see where each club’s priorities lay. Liverpool find themselves struggling to reclaim a coveted Champion’s League spot, and even with a possible nine Europa League matches ahead of them (if they make the Final) Rafa Benitez surely will focus his club’s sights on the league. On the other hand, a club like Aston Villa, who haven’t won a trophy in quite some time, may view things a little differently. Martin O’Neill has his men on the verge of a Carling Cup title and Villa also may see an opportunity to win the FA Cup this season with many of the typical favorites gone. But at the same time, Villa sit in 7th in the Premier League and are only three points out of 4th with a game in hand over Liverpool and Spurs. At a club desperate for trophies, O’Neill may find himself focusing on the cups and putting off top four hopes until next season.

In the end, it really depends on the club’s situation. Liverpool have a history of doing well in the Champion’s League and missing out on the top four could be potentially devastating for such a storied club. While in a similar position in the league, Villa make look at the chance to win trophies domestically and say ‘Let’s go for it’ especially with the knowledge that lack of depth and poor quality would probably mean an early exit in the Champion’s League anyways. Furthermore, Spurs have won cups in recent history so they are probably more likely to go for fourth…and so on, and so on…

It will surely be a fantastic finish to an already tremendous season, but don’t be too shocked if you don’t see your favorite players sitting out a match or two or six.

There is one thing I know for sure though, if I was 25 years old, extremely talented, and being paid as much money as players make today playing the greatest sport in the world, I think I’d find the energy to give 100% for 90 minutes every match to do everything I could to help my team win.

By RJ Sepich, Villa4Life11

Alex McLeish has praised on-loan goalkeeper Joe Hart and wants the Englishman to help Birmingham launch an attack on the Premier League big-guns next season.

The Manchester City keeper has made a great impact at St Andrews this season after leaving Manchester City to get first-team action as he was forced to play understudy to Shay Given.

Hart has given his career a real boost with some outstanding performances, helping McLeish’s team to battle to eighth in the Premier League. This included a club record of 15 matches unbeaten before Chelsea ended that run in January.

McLeish has said he would love to get Hart on a permanent deal, but if that was not possible then another season-long loan would be welcomed. The 22-year-old’s efforts mean the Blues’ defensive record this season is only bettered by Aston Villa, Manchester United and Premier League leaders Chelsea.

“Joe loves his team-mates here, he loves the club and the ambience. When you have the feelgood factor, the players can give their best and play without fear,” said the Scot.
“If I can’t get Hart permanently, would I settle for another loan season? Yes.”

The football odds suggested that Birmingham would struggle this season, but the goalkeeper and his team-mates have managed to confound expectations.

Meanwhile, Kevin Phillips, who is at the opposite end of his career to Hart, recently said he believes he can still help Birmingham’s Premier League aspirations this season by getting some vital goals.

The 36-year-old came off the bench to score two goals to help his side beat Wolves and wants to appear more regularly for McLeish between now and the end of the season.

Birmingham face Fulham away next and although the Premier League odds suggest the Blues might struggle, a win is not out of the question.