TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Sunderland v Everton: match preview Read a full match preview of the Premier League game between Sunderland and Everton at the Stadium of Light on Saturday Dec 26 2009, kick-off 15.00 GMT. telegraph.co.uk |
Solo Goal of the Week - Week 21 North Queensland Fury striker Dyron Daal chests a pass from Robbie Fowler before executing a powerful shot past Melbourne Victory goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak. foxsports.com.au |
Ten-man Jets overpower Victory Newcastle Jets showed their A-League championship potential with a hard-fought 3-2 win over reigning premiers Melbourne Victory at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Sunday. foxsports.com.au |
Juventus goalkeeper Buffon on the mend Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is ready to play Juventus again following knee surgery. cbc.ca |
Our next four games are crucial, admits Wenger • Manager hails his young side's strength of character• Four games are 'opportunity to strengthen our position'Arsène Wenger has called on his Arsenal players to maintain their self-belief as the Gunners head into what could be a defining period of the Premier League campaign.Arsenal – knocked out of the FA Cup at Stoke City on Sunday – travel to Aston Villa tomorrow night, before a home match against Manchester United, which is swiftly followed by a trip to Stamford Bridge and then the visit of Liverpool. Just two points separate the top three, although leaders United have played a game more than Arsenal and two more than Chelsea.The Gunners, who were 11 points adrift following home defeat by the Blues at the end of November, have hauled themselves back into the title race with seven league wins in nine matches.Wenger feels that strength of character can serve his young squad well for the challenges ahead over the next three weeks. "It is an exciting period for us, because we are in a very good position," said Wenger. "We have a good level of confidence and know that with so many big games, psychologically it is important to go in with a high level of confidence, so every result has an influence on the next one."Is it make or break? I make it a good opportunity to strengthen our position in the league. That is how I see it … We have taken 23 points out of the last nine games so let's keep our momentum going. We are on a strong run and we have a good opportunity to extend it and strengthen our position in the league tomorrow night. We want to take advantage of that."United's 4-0 win over Hull at the weekend means all three teams now have the same goal difference – plus 34. Wenger believes this season's battle for the championship could come down to such small margins. "It could be that tight," he said."Let's go well through the next four games and then we will see what the situation is. The goal difference is an indication of the quality of the teams – it is 34 for the top three and after that it goes down to 20."Wenger said: "There is always another way [to play], but the way we have chosen is to score goals. The fact that we have a good goal difference speaks well for us."Arsenal are the league's highest scorers with 59 from 22 games, but have conceded more – 25 compared to 19 for United, from 23 matches, and Chelsea's mean 18 in 21. Wenger, though, believes the Arsenal defence, with the regular centre-backs Thomas Vermaelen and William Gallas set to return tomorrow after being rested at Stoke, is now a more compact unit. "I believe we are improving our defensive record, even if we conceded a few goals recently. I feel we are stable enough to go into big games and keep clean sheets."Arsenal's injury list has shortened in recent weeks, with the midfielder Samir Nasri and striker Nicklas Bendtner both back in full training and in contention for the weekend. Alex Song and Emmanuel Eboué are set to return from international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations after Cameroon and Ivory Coast went out in the quarter-finals.Wenger is likely to give Song some extra time to recover, and maintains his squad have coped well without the defensive midfielder. "We will see how he comes back. I must say he looked tired in the game yesterday," the Arsenal manager said. "I believe you focus always on the players who play. We won twice against Bolton, so we cannot complain. You want all your best players here, but I believe we did quite well."ArsenalArsène WengerPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |