Arsene Wenger considers bringing a hugely talented young striker to the Emirates.

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Romelu Lukaku: Arsenal to Seal Late £9.

Hull are facing a fight to hang on to wonder kid Tom Cairney.

The teenage sensation is already being tracked by Premier League big guns - after just five senior starts for the Tigers.

Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton are monitoring Cairney's progress and are ready to slug it out for his signature in the summer.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has insisted he would not swap Fernando Torres for anybody, not even Wayne Rooney.
Manchester United's Scouse star has shot through the stratosphere with 32 goals already this season, a return which has led some pundits to dub him the best striker in the world.

The League Cup trophy on parade before the kick-off
Nothing on the final itself, as I actually blogged this entry before I headed down to the ground.
Universally, it is always agreed that the "League Cup" in whatsoever format or name around the footballing world has always been the "poor cousin" of the more prestigious League Championship and the "main" Cup competition.

Hats off to these top performers from White Hart Lane, Eastlands, Stamford Bridge, Craven Cottage and beyond!

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GK Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham)

What a transformation. The bungling Brazilian must have been considering his future at White Hart Lane after a series of high profile gaffs but Harry Redknapp worked his man management magic on the former PSV man who turned in great performance after great performance.

Supplied by Adam Zdroik of RotoExperts
Most people know of the big guns entering the World Cup like Argentina, Brazil, England and Spain. But what about the rest? What about the other teams that can make an impact come tournament time? I already covered Nigeria here, let's look at some more.

With so many of the 'big guns' misfiring at this summer's World Cup, I thought it was high time to take a look at some of the 'lesser lights' that have sparkled in South Africa.

Below are the 20 players that, although having seen their sides crash (some more spectacularly than others) out of the tournament prematurely, can fly home from whichever luxury hotel they may have chosen to hole up in, with their heads held high safe in the knowledge that their careers are very much on an upward trajectory.

Just as Messi, Ronaldo and Rooney failed to perform their is always a few players who will take over their mantle as the best performers of the tournament there is only one player in my hit list which would have been on the short-list at the start of the season that being David Villa. Here's my best six hits at the 2010 World Cup.

Before the World Cup there were a lot of people waxing lyrical about Uruguayan Luis Suarez. England's big guns were tracking the striker who has an outrageous scoring record for club and country this season, so the World Cup has given me a chance to form my own opinion and it's not positive.

Javier Hernandez Manchester United
Alex Ferguson looks set to give the young Mexican a valid chance to prove himself in in the first team this season. Having scored against EPL Champions Chelsea and World Cup Champions Spain in the last week, it seems that he might just bring a different dimension to the Man Utd attack!

Steve McClaren, now managing at German side Wolfsburg, probably knows about new Newcastle signing Cheick Tiote, more than most. Cheick Tiote - technically good player and very reliable That's because Steve managed the Ivory Coast International last season at FC Twente, beating out the big guns of Feyenoord, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven to the Dutch title [.

Tomorrow Chelsea make the trip to Eastlands to take on Manchester City in the biggest game both sides have had to face so far this season. We have had the build up and people have had their say, now it's time to focus on the game itself. With City's defensive problems and Chelsea welcoming back the big guns in our strongest eleven (minus Frank Lampard) the sign's before the game look good for Chelsea.

As someone who has played the beautiful game for many years in a blue shirt with the No.8 on the back, I can honestly say that I have never torn my adductor muscle, much less figured out if I am in possession of one. In fact, the closest I have come to injuring my groin involves a hostel roof top, a spontaneous, yet accurate reproduction of Jay-Z's Girls Girls Girls, an attempt to pee off said roof top and a particularly angry bird which I do no injustice in describing as my a wood pecker.

Carlo Ancelotti confirmed last night after the Spartak Moscow game that Florent Malouda will miss Chelsea's trip to Anfield on Sunday. He said:

"Malouda has a twist on his ankle, not a big problem but he is not able to play against Liverpool, the week after yes!".

Right now I am thinking its a blow to lose Malouda for the game as he has been one of our most consistent and influential players so far this season.

Barcelona 3 - 1 Villarreal
They say in elite football it's the smallest details that mark the difference between the good and the great. Villarreal put up one hell of a fight in the Camp Nou, but commeth the hour, commeth the man, with Lionel Messi stepping up to the plate to rescue Barcelona from a precarious situation and set them on the way to what was eventually a convincing win.

MADRID — Argentine Lionel Messi made it a century of league goals for Barcelona with a hat-trick as the champions crushed Almeria 8-0 on Saturday in the perfect warm-up for their first Clasico showdown with title rivals Real Madrid at Camp Nou in nine days time. Barca were 5-0 up at half-time as they maintained [.

Spanish giants Real Madrid will have been relieved to have avoided some of Europe's big guns in the Champions League second round, but they need no reminding of how tough their next opponent will be. Roma, Inter Milan and Arsenal were all avoided but the draw of Lyon will bring back memories of last year.

Carlo Ancelotti has spoken ahead of tomorrow. He said:

"Arsenal knows very well our skills and ability, and we also know their ability, their skills. Obviously we want to try the same game we played against them and reach the same result.
Arsenal has fantastic ability to play fantastic football, maybe they concede something defensively and we have to use our ability to find the right space to create difficulties in their defensive line.

Saturday 2nd January
17:00 Reading v Liverpool, FA Cup Third Round, ITV1/HD
And so the big guns enter the arena with the arrival of the FA Cup Third Round. Here, Liverpool make the trip South knowing that the chances to win silverware this season are starting to dwindle. Johnson and Mascherano are missing from their squad today, but this should be a relatively straight-forward affair against a poor Reading side.

Hulk smash, Hulk score

Reports today suggest that two of the Premier League big guns will move for 23-year-old Porto striker Hulk. The Brazilian forward has a rumoured release clause of nearly €100 million but a more realistic sum of £15-20 million would surely tempt Porto to sell.

The calm before the storm perhaps?

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The January transfer window will soon slam shut and there has been a distinct lack of Premier League transfer activity. The mid-season opportunity to recruit players is rarely taken advantage of, but things have been even quieter than usual this time around.

Big guns edition with Chelsea and Arsenal in league action and the Manchester Derby Part Deux in the Carling Cup. As always, consider this your matchday open thread.

By 1970's GoonerOnce again Arsenal were found wanting when it came down to facing the big guns. First it was Chelsea at the Emirates with that 3-0 drubbing and now it is Manchester United with another three goals conceded.This was a horrid performance where all Arsenal players were way below par. Some much more than others.

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Not when it's the weekend of FA Cup games and we are not in it!

Yes, we should be in it and as many have said before, this competition is important to us fans, we want to win it again.
Remember how you felt after being outplayed for the whole game in 2005, then going on to win it on penalties – I still do.

One Team In Ireland : Wolves manager Mick McCarthy is resigned to losing star striker Kevin Doyle if one of the Premier League's big guns come in for him at the end of the season.
The £6.5million signing from Reading has impressed McCarthy with his all-round play, despite only scoring six goals this season.

1. Just incredible

   Watching Roger Federer win his 16th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open yesterday I was struck by a singular thought; do sports fans truly appreciate the genius of the Swiss master? What I mean by this is have we come to the stage now that we just take his achievements for granted, expecting him to sweep up all the big prizes in sight?

By AVI CREDITOR

It's an odd week in the Barclays Premier League. John Terry and Wayne Bridge will be sharing the same pitch at Stamford Bridge, there are two relegation battles (Burnley-Portsmouth, Bolton-Wolves) and Tottenham hosts Everton in an intriguing match.

For eleven first-half minutes, Rafael Benitez must have feared the worst. Thankfully the Spaniard's attack-minded approach paid off and Liverpool move on to the Europa League's last 16 with relative comfort, after a 3-1 win over Unirea Urziceni in rain-soaked Bucharest.
It had looked worrying for Benitez and his side when Ricardo Gomes was allowed to rise unchallenged to meet an 18th-minute corner and draw Unirea level in the tie, but Liverpool's response was as clinical as it has been all season.

Chelsea take on Manchester City at Stamford Bridge tomorrow in a game that has been overshadowed by the John Terry v Wayne Bridge story that has dominated the press in recent weeks . Its a shame really as because of Bridge's statement yesterday, it has only hightened tension of the situation and the public feeling towards John Terry.

Last week was International Friendly week, with some of the big guns getting good wins Spain were particularly impressive with their 2-0 win over France. Crouch also shined for England in their 3-1 win over Egypt. The feud between John Terry and Wayne Bridge continues with all eyes on a handshake.

This tie is a first in Champions League history that pits two french teams against each other in the quarter-finals. It is fitting that these two teams were paired together. Lyon knocked out Real Madrid and could potentially knock out other big name opponents. They were a team that others wanted to avoid if possible.

Let's preview The Premier League's upcoming weekend / week but first, don't forget to check out 11kicks' amazing work creating the platform for the first ever Never Captain Nicky Butt Fantasy Challenge. Sign up today to check out the latest and greatest fantasy footie game to hit the market- by our buddies 11kicks - and play in our very own Never Captain Nicky Butt environment.

Africa's adoptive football outfitters celebrate a homecoming Puma is to African football what Burberry is to chavs. So it is only natural that with a World Cup in Africa looming they would want to roll out their big guns. And that is exactly what they have done.

So for the entire 2009-10 season of the Champions League coverage on Fox Soccer Channel, soccer analysts Bobby McMahon and Warren Barton have worked incredibly hard to hone their skills, study the teams and deliver some of the best homegrown soccer analysis we've ever seen on television Stateside.

Much interest is always taken in Group A. Not necessarily because it offers much excitement, but because it offers us the opening game, which we have far too long to build up to. As traditional, it will be the hosts, and South Africa will face off against Mexico.

This draw might just have left the Bafana Bafana weeping into their Vuvuzelas, though.

COS contributor Oliver Davies takes a closer look at the World Cup groups and starts quite rationally with Group A!

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Much interest is always taken in Group A.

Following on from yesterday, the rest of the squad - rated and reviewed:
David Bentley - 7
Thrust into action by injury to Aaron Lennon, Bentley finally got his chance to prove his worth after months on the bench and whilst he wasn't electric, he was a capable deputy.

Good Afternoon! Another beautiful day here in RBNY land and the Red Bulls are back in action @The Cathedral of Football. This time they're taking on La Vecchia Signora di Torino. That's right, the Old Lady herself - the mighty Juventus of Turin, Italy - with her Talisman (and a frequently rumored Red Bulls target) Alessandro Del Piero (pictured above) - is here to take on a Red Bulls team coming off three straight MLS losses.

Toronto secured their first road win with yet another solid performance in San Jose. They are now in 2nd place in the east and are really coming together as a team. So who deserves the credit for the turnaround this season? Here are my thoughts, but it would be great to hear yours in the comments section below:

First I think that (although there were some early doubts) Preki has to be commended now as his tactics are certainly working and the players are for the most part executing what he wants them to do.

Bradd Pitt teaching the kids some footy skills

They have brought in the big guns in order to bring the World Cup to the United States. Yes Brad Pitt has officially joined the Board of Directors for the USA Bid Committee, which hopes to bring the FIFA World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022.