As the end of the transfer window drew nearer on Tuesday, Arsenal fans were becoming increasingly forlorn as their hopes of signing a goalkeeper dwindled by the minute. It became clear early on that Arsene Wenger would not be conducting any business on the final day of the transfer window, but some fans still had a faint hope that the manager would rectify what is a glaringly obvious weak point in his side.

At the start of the summer their were two priority positions that needed strengthening; central defence and goalkeeper. The former was solved, with Wenger bringing in French defenders Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci. It seemed for a long time that the goalkeeping problem would also be solved, with Mark Schwarzer being heavily linked with the club and the Australian himself announcing his desire to move to the Emirates. As the deadline grew closer though, no moves were made and Gunners fans grew more and more concerned at the lack of a signing. Their fears were well founded, and Wenger has taken a huge gamble this season by not signing a new goalkeeper, and it may well be one that comes back to haunt him.

Manuel Almunia has never been a fans favourite, and for a number of years now the vast majority have concluded that he is simply not good enough for a team that should be challenging for the top honours. If his poor form in previous seasons was not enough to convince Wenger, one only had to look at his abject display against Liverpool to be satisfied that the Spaniard should be replaced. Almunia’s immediate understudy Lukasz Fabianski has also failed to impress in his Arsenal career to date, picking up the unfortunate nickname ‘Flapianski’ for his entirely unconvincing performances. Arsenal’s other goalkeepers, Vito Mannone and especially Wojciech Szceszny are tipped for big futures but are still very young, and Wenger obviously does not think they are ready for a season of first team action.

The signing of a goalkeeper was seen by many as a given, surely Wenger could not ignore his current crop of goalkeepers’ shortcomings any longer? Apparently he could. Though for some time it did look like Arsenal fans wishes would come true, with the club being linked to moves for Mark Schwarzer and Shay Given. Given especially would have been a fantastic signing, no longer first choice at Eastlands surely a solid bid would have been considered by Roberto Mancini. Schwarzer is not getting any younger but his performances for Fulham last season were excellent, and he would have been a definite improvement on Almunia. The transfer of a goalkeeper never materialised however, and now Arsenal fans will be desperately hoping Almunia can show some better form than he has done previously.

Arsene Wenger is much loved and rightly so by Arsenal fans, but even his most ardent admirers will be questioning the Frenchman’s decision not to sign a keeper come the end of the season if Arsenal have gone another year without a trophy. Wenger obviously has faith in Almunia, but the Spaniard will have to show a real turn-around in form if he is to justify this. Fabianski and Mannone will have chances to impress this season, but maybe Arsenal’s hottest goalkeeping prospect should be given a chance; Wojciech Szczesny is very highly rated but is only 20 years old. However, Spain number one Iker Casillas started playing regularly for Real Madrid at the age of 18 and if a player is good enough, it does not matter how old they are. In the absence of a top-quality senior goalkeeper, giving Szczesny a chance may be the best way forward for Arsenal this season.

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Carlo Ancelotti is ready to rotate his Chelsea players following Sunday's 4-0 rout of Blackpool.

The Blues maintained their 100 per cent record at the top of the Premier League table by seeing off the newly-promoted Seasiders with ease at Stamford Bridge.

Two goals from Florent Malouda and further strikes from Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba wrapped up three comfortable points for the champions.

Speaking afterwards, Ancelotti revealed he is ready to rotate his squad in a bid to keep them fresh for the remainder of the season.

John Terry and Frank Lampard both sat out Sunday's game alongside Nicolas Anelka but all three are expected to return against Manchester City next weekend.

"We will need to use all of our players," said Ancelotti."The squad is so strong that we can change players to offer something different to the team or change the shape if we want to.

"We want to show, during this season, that we can adapt to any game – this can be our strength."

Speaking about upcoming challenges, he added:"We know the next game in the league will be more difficult.

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"It is an important test for us next week but it is also an important test for them.

"We have not played against the top teams but we are playing well. It is necessary for us to do it against the top teams."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

England international Ashley Cole could miss Chelsea's Champions League clash at Spartak Moscow on Tuesday because of an ongoing ankle problem.

Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti is considering whether to risk playing Cole on Spartak's plastic pitch.

Former Arsenal star Cole often does not train for two days after a game in an attempt to manage his fitness and Anceotti admitted:"He needs more days to recover.

"For a year, he has had a little problem with his ankle. After the game you maybe have to give him two days of recovery instead of one.

"I played for ten years with a problem with my knee. To play a lot of games in a season is a lot of stress for your body.

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"It is the same for (Michael) Essien. After training, we will take a decision. If he is comfortable on this pitch, he'll play. If he is not comfortable, he will not."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

He sounds like a Brazilian, but rising star Gervinho is actually from the Ivory Coast. The flying Lille forward has recently been linked with Aston Villa as Gerard Houllier looks to put his stamp on the team and make them a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League. It is imagined that Gervinho would cost around £8 million, not exactly a bank breaker in the days where good value is hard to find. Aston Villa are certainly going to need some investment in playing staff in the near future if they are to stand a chance of keeping up with the likes of Tottenham, and Gervinho could be the ideal man to add something new to the Villa attack.

Gervinho is a versatile player who can play anywhere in the attack, his favoured position is that of a winger but he is also capable of playing up front as a striker. The Ivorian is fast, skillful and can score goals and has all the qualities required to make an impact in the Premiership. Gervinho currently plays for French outfit Lille, who signed him in the summer of 2009 from after he impressed for Le Mans.

His first season was a good one, Gervinho became a key player for a side that finished in the very respectable position of fourth, in a league which is becoming increasingly competitive. Gervinho also found the net on a number of occassions, in 32 Ligue One appearances he scored 13 goals, and so far this season he has 4 goals in just 8 league outings. Gervinho’s age is also attractive, he is only 23 years old and thus he still has a lot of potential to improve as a player.

Gervinho certainly looks like a player who is going places and I think he would suit Aston Villa nicely. Ashley Young and Stewart Downing are both good players, but I see them more as creative wingers who will provide assists rather than offering a consistent goal threat, which is something Gervinho can do. Villa’s frontline could do with bolstering also, Gabby Agbonlahor is the club’s top striker and has proven he is an effective player, but John Carew seems to be fading somewhat and Emile Heskey, although recently re-energised, cannot be relied upon to score goals frequently.

Gervinho would give Villa options going forward, and he offers something a bit different to what the club already have. With exciting young players such as Marc Albrighton and Nathan Delfouneso also breaking through, Villa would have real strength in depth in attack and this will be needed if the club are to push onwards and improve.

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In my opinion the appointment of Gerard Houllier as the club’s manager was a good one, it may not have been greeted with universal enthusiasm but the Frenchman is vastly experienced and has a superb knowledge of the game. Houllier certainly made some gaffe’s when signing players for Liverpool, but he also brought in some real gems and he will have learnt a lot from his experience at Anfield. If he did decide to bring Gervinho to Villa Park, I think it would definitely go down as one of his better acquisitions.

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After another virtuoso performance against Inter Milan on tuesday, Spurs winger Gareth Bale’s stock continues to rise and rise. As van der Vaart noted after the game, “Everyone is scared of him (Bale). Maicon is the best right-back in the world – he killed him.” Performances such as this and his previous one against Inter tend to get you noticed across Europe. Of course, this will lead a number of clubs to look covetously in Spurs direction. Despite the fact that Bale has mentioned he aims to see out his contract at Spurs, William Hill are currently quoting 10/3 that Bale will have left Spurs by the first day of next season. Spurs fans will have their fingers crossed that this won’t happen, but with every good performance he puts in, it becomes more and more likely that a big club will make Spurs an offer they can’t refuse.

Naturally, Barcelona have gone public with their interest in Tottenham’s most prized asset. Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta spoke to COM Radio confirming the club’s interest. “He is an interesting footballer with a different style which could be positive for La Liga. But I need to make it clear I have not spoken to anyone.”

Despite making it clear that nobody has been contacted as of yet, a public announcement regarding Bale demonstrates a serious lack of class by Zubizarreta. How can the knowledge that a club as huge and powerful as Barcelona is keeping an eye on you be anything but distracting and unsettling for the 21-year-old Bale?

Of course, Barcelona has something of a history for being disrespectful and inconsiderate in their transfer dealings. Zubizarreta’s talking openly about Bale echoes the Spanish club’s all-too-public courting of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas over the summer. Arsenal fans will know just how frustrating Barcelona can be, choosing to use the press to put the player in an awkward position rather than contend with things in a calm and controlled fashion behind the scenes. Unfortunately, this just seems to be their way and there seems to be little that can be done about it.

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Spurs will be desperate to keep hold of Bale, but it’s clear that there will be no shortage of takers for the prodigious young Welshman after his supreme start to the season. Of course, Spurs would make a huge profit were they to decide to sell, but if Harry Redknapp really wants to be contending for trophies, he’ll have to hold onto players like Bale. In the battle to make Tottenham a team which contends for trophies, Spurs ability to keep hold of their best players may well be the biggest challenge. Barcelona may well be a big draw for young Gareth Bale, whether or not Spurs can provide him with an incentive to stay will be a good signifier of whether they have what it takes to compete at the top.

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There have been some awful misses through the years which every time has caused fans to question how a professional footballer could be guilty of such incidents. Chris Iwelumo’s shocker against Norway for Scotland instantly comes to mind, but in no particular order, here are some of his rivals for miss of the century.

10. Kei Kamara – La Galaxy V Kansas City Wizards

The latest ‘miss of the season’ comes from America. Kamara was first to react to the ball when the Galaxy keeper made a good save, but as he slid in to tap the ball into an empty net, he missed and managed to handball it into the net.

[youtube UNCFIoXBVJQ&feature=related]

9. Illija Sivonjic – Dynamo Zagreb V Cilbalia

Sivonjic’s miss was bad on two fronts: Not only did he manage to get the ball trapped underneath his foot from 3 inches out, but it was going in anyway.

[youtube QIa8UZ1S7yM]

Continue to PAGE TWO for more misses…

8. Fahad Khalfan – Qatar V Uzbekistan

This miss was made even worse as Qatar crashed out of the Asian Games after losing to Uzbeksitan 1-0. 18 year old Khalfan, pounced on a mistake by the goalkeeper, and after dribbling directly in front of goal, he passed the ball, with the outside of his left foot, onto the far post when it was easier to slide it in with his right!

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7. Cristiano Ronaldo – Sheffield United V Man United

For all the good things in football Cristiano Ronaldo does, this was awful. You could argue that the ball took a bobble just before the former United player went to tap it in but seeing how good he is, you can’t have any excuses for this. Still, at least it proves he’s human!

[youtube UhcSTJoaIRM]

Continue to PAGE THREE for more misses…

6. Diego Forlan – Man United V Juventus

This miss pretty much sums up the Uruguay strikers time at United. His uncomfortable left foot attempt followed a catalogue of errors which, combined together, have forced me to put this in my top ten.

[youtube 6_A6QHdWcXg]

5. Rocky Baptiste – Harrow Borough V Waltham Abbey

The much travelled non league striker is a household name to football fans up and down the country because of this unbelievable miss. What makes it even better is the person you can hear laughing at just how bad it was. Baptiste more than made up for it though; keep watching to a stunning strike!

[youtube nvYOA4BXIqk&feature=related]

Continue to PAGE FOUR for more misses…

4. Kanu – West Brom V Middlesbrough

Another one of those unfortunate incidents where you find yourself wondering just how he managed to do it. From two yards out, Kanu not only missed but was able to do most spectacularly by putting the ball over the bar.

[youtube 1jQG73v7X0U]

3. Chris Iwelumo – Scotland V Norway

I don’t think the striker will ever forget this. It looked easier to score! Iwelumo’s miss was subsequently dubbed the ‘miss of the century’ in Scotland. It was pretty bad!

[youtube tQJtViqs1Bo]

Continue to PAGE FIVE for theTop Two misses…

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2. Ryan Giggs – Man United V Arsenal

There have been more glaring misses, without a doubt, but the importance of this FA Cup tie means the Welsh winger has earned himself a place in my top ten. At 0-0 Giggs was clean through, and after rounding David Seaman all that was left was to place the ball into an empty net. Needless to say he missed, Arsenal went on the win the game and Alex Ferguson kicked a boot into David Beckham’s eye. Why did he use his right foot?

1. Ronny Rosenthal – Aston Villa V Liverpool

Ronny Rosenthal looked certain to score for Liverpool after rounding the oncoming Villa keeper. He looked like he had done everything right, up until he smashed the ball against the cross-bar, that is.

[youtube kiVq5-u7MH0]

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Didier Drogba missed a late penalty as Chelsea missed the chance to get back to winning ways against Tottenham.

The striker, who had been left out of the starting line-up, came off the bench to score the Blues' equaliser to cancel out Roman Pavlyuchenko's first-half opener for Spurs.

However, Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes redeemed himself for a couple of blunders – including the goal and the foul which led to the decision to award a spot-kick – by saving Drogba's weakly struck effort.

Elsewhere, Bolton's excellent season continues as they climbed to sixth in the Premier League following a 2-1 win over Lancashire rivals Blackburn.

Mame Biram Diouf looked to have rescued a point for Rovers with three minutes remaining when he popped up in response to Fabrice Muamba's first goal of the season.

The Trotters though had other ideas, and within 60 seconds of the 87th minute equaliser, Stuart Holden went down the other end and scored the winner.

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Stephen Hunt boosted Wolves' survival chances as he scored the only goal of the game against fellow strugglers Birmingham at Molineux.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

This weekend truly is a Super Sunday and there’s only one way that you can make it even better! By playing LIVE fantasy football and winning yourself some cash by proving that when it comes to fantasy football you know your stuff. If you’ve never played Picklive before then Sunday is most definitely the time to start, as you can play during the Liverpool v Everton Merseyside derby and then fulfil your fantasy football fix by playing during the Tottenham v Manchester United game, too!

New to Picklive? Worried it might be a bit complicated? Fear not, as all you need to do is signup, select the THREE players that you think will do best during the match and then watch your points rack up. So your sole task is to pick the players that you think will perform best, but who should you select for Sunday’s games?

To give you a helping hand, here’s who have been each team’s shining lights in Picklive this season. Starting with the Merseyside Derby, unsurprisingly Liverpool’s top Picklive points scorer has been by far and away Steven Gerrard, with an average of 67 points (but the Liverpool captain will be suspended against Everton). Next up are Raul Meireles and, you may be shocked to hear, left-back Paul Konchesky. Taking recent form into account, Pepe Reina scored a massive 92 points against Manchester United in the FA Cup, head and shoulders above any other Liverpool player.

For the blue half of Liverpool it’s a similar story, with Mikel Arteta romping away at the top for Everton. The Spaniard is averaging 81 points, ahead of the hugely impressive Leighton Baines on 65 and Marouane Fellaini on 63. These three players will be key against Liverpool on Sunday and you’d be hard pressed to select any other Toffees player in your Picklive Trio.

The second match on Sunday at White Hart Lane should be just as keenly contested and will see Harry Redknapp try and bring an end to Manchester United’s unbeaten Premier League run. He’ll be looking to Gareth Bale to help him do that, who alongside Benoit Assou-Ekotto, is averaging 56 points a game. One other man to look out for is of course Rafael van der Vaart, who will be looking to improve his tally.

Sir Alex Ferguson may well be able to welcome back his top Picklive points scorer this season, Paul Scholes. The Manchester United midfielder is back in training following injury and should be in your selection if he makes the Red Devils’ starting XI. The same goes for Nemanja Vidic, while against Liverpool Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra both broke the 100 points barrier and are players you couldn’t go far wrong with.

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So there are the stats, but once you’ve signed up to Picklive, what players are you going to select on Sunday? For your two trios I would go for Reina, Meireles and Arteta at Anfield, and Bale, van der Vaart and Evra at White Hart Lane. What do you think? Which players will ensure you’re the live fantasy football winner?

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Former United striker Louis Saha did something he hadn’t done for the best part of a year on the other week. The 32-year-old’s goal for Everton against Spurs was his first in the league since 10th February 2010.

On that occasion he struck twice against Chelsea to earn the Toffees a 2-1 home win, and that was the margin of victory against Harry Redknapp’s side at Goodison Park on Wednesday too.

Despite enduring such a barren run in front of goal, however, Saha’s goal average for Everton still stands at one in three. With Wayne Rooney having only recently ended his own ten-month gap between goals in a red shirt (from open play), the occasionally goal-shy Frenchman’s time at Old Trafford deserves a little reassessment.

Saha was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson for £12.8m in January 2004 on the back of the striker’s brilliant form for Fulham. A far from prolific goal scorer as a youth player at Metz, nor during a loan spell at Newcastle in 1999 when he was 20, Saha was a revelation during his three-and-a-half years at Craven Cottage. Saha’s goals fired Fulham into the Premier League in 2001 and he went on to score 65 times in 142 games for the club before earning his move to Old Trafford.

Tall but graceful with it, Saha arrived in Manchester to relieve Ruud van Nistelrooy of some of the scoring burden. He succeeded immediately, bagging seven goals in a dozen league appearances by May. Although it wasn’t enough to prevent United from finishing third behind Chelsea and champions Arsenal, Saha undoubtedly gave the team a different dimension in attack. He was more accomplished on the ball than van Nistelrooy and did more work outside the box than his new strike partner too. Van Nistelrooy was still United’s main man up front and scored 30 goals in all competitions himself – including two in the FA Cup final, for which Saha was ineligible – but the contrasting styles of the two forwards would eventually leave Ferguson with a decision to make over who was his preferred player.

After his bright start a couple of injury-interrupted campaigns followed for Saha. He was restricted to 33 league appearances during the two seasons in which United struggled to match the fluency of Arsenal and the efficiency of José Mourinho’s Chelsea. There was suddenly more competition for places at Old Trafford too.

The 18-year-old Wayne Rooney arrived at the beginning of the 2004/2005 season and promptly scored a hat-trick on his debut. As improbable as it might sound now, Alan Smith was another attacking option following his move from Leeds just a few weeks before the acquisition of Rooney. Diego Forlán did depart in the summer of 2004 but Ole Gunnar Solskjær was still at the club, although the Norwegian was a long-term injury casualty throughout Saha’s first full season, in which he scored just twice.

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While Saha battled knee and hamstring problems on-and-off for a little over twelve months, injury also beset not only Solskjær but Smith and van Nistelrooy too. Rooney was United’s only consistently fit striker during 2004/2005 as the club again finished third in the league. However, although Saha missed the first three months of the following season too, he was ready to make another comeback in November 2005. It was between this point and the end of the season that Saha enjoyed his most prolonged spell of fitness as a United player. The forward seized his opportunity.

Saha’s form upon his return was so good that it contributed to the sale of the previously untouchable van Nistelrooy at the end of the season. The prolific Dutchman, who increased his goal tally for United to a mighty 150 in 219 games by the end of 2005/2006, was nonetheless left on the bench for the League Cup final against Wigan. Saha played instead and scored the third in a 4-0 win. It was his sixth goal in the tournament and by the season’s end he had amassed 15 in all competitions. With rumours circulating that van Nistelrooy had been involved in separate fallouts with both Ferguson and the increasingly influential Cristiano Ronaldo, the striker’s eventual transfer to Real Madrid was precipitated by Saha’s selection ahead of him for a number of league games.

Usurping van Nistelrooy was probably the high-water mark of Saha’s United career. His technical ability, pace and prowess in the air were all major assets at a time when single-striker formations were becoming ubiquitous. Saha could have been one of the finest centre-forwards of the decade but, although he contributed valuable goals in United’s next two triumphant Premier League campaigns, injury again made him an intermittent presence on the pitch.

The Frenchman struck 12 times before Christmas 2006 but then made just 12 appearances after the turn of the year, adding a solitary goal to his tally. Before enduring groin and hamstring troubles in the second half of the season, however, his two goals against Celtic in the Champions League preceded a fine winner against Benfica in Lisbon – United’s first away victory in Europe for almost three years. Saha also scored four in four games going into December, including the opener in a 1-1 draw against title rivals Chelsea.

When United began the 2007/2008 season in decidedly sluggish fashion, winning just one of the their first four league games and scoring only twice, a fit-again Saha emerged from the bench to rapturous applause against Sunderland with the game goalless. He scored the winner. Later that month, Saha won and converted a penalty against Chelsea in a 2-0 win that reaffirmed United’s supremacy over the Londoners in a campaign that would end in a famous match between the two sides in Moscow. Even though he chipped in with a mere three further goals that season, succumbing to injury after Christmas once again, Saha’s early impact upon what was a tremendous year for the club should be acknowledged.

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With the first-choice attacking trio of Rooney, Ronaldo and Carlos Tevéz about to be augmented by the arrival of Dimitar Berbatov from Spurs, Saha was quietly sold to Everton in the summer of 2008 for an undisclosed fee. He was fragile and injury-prone, certainly, but the Frenchman left with a decent record of 42 goals from 124 games – only just over half of which he started – after making a telling contribution to United’s recent resurgence.

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Australia stormed into the semi-finals of the Asian Cup after Harry Kewell’s header deep into extra time sealed a 1-0 victory over Iraq.

Both sides wasted countless chances throughout a see-sawing encounter that seemed destined for penalties before Kewell’s late intervention gave the Socceroos their first-ever semi-final berth at Asia’s premier soccer tournament.

Kewell benefited from a sublime ball from the impressive Matt McKay and nodded home from inside the penalty area in the 118th minute to send the reigning champions out of the tournament.

Lucas Neill gave the Socceroos their real first sight at goal when he hooked a ball into the box that Brett Holman came close to prodding home had it not been for the intervention of Iraq goalkeeper Mohammed Gassid.

Brisbane Roar winger McKay was the next to go close when he pounced on Samal Saaed’s poor clearance only to put his attempted chip over the bar.

Australia continued their early dominance as Sasa Ognenovski headed wide before McKay had another sight on goal but only managed to send his right-footed strike straight at Gassid.

Moments later, despite what looked to be a foul on Salam Shakir from Tim Cahill, Australia were through as Kewell’s sharp turn left him one-on-one with Gassid, but the striker sent his lob over the bar when he should have scored.

Iraq should have had a goal of their own after the interval when Younis Mahmoud released Emad Mohammed whose subsequent shot trickled just wide of the left post.

Australia hit straight back as the impressive Brett Holman, along with Kewell and Mile Jedinak, all produced shots at goal before the hour mark.

The Socceroos had an ideal chance to take the lead after 65 minutes when McKay’s corner was sent across goal by Neill, but Ognenovski could only direct his header from inside the six-yard box straight at Gassid.

Holman was full of attacking intent and twice tried his luck from distance with the second drawing an instinctive save from Gassid after a deflection.

Basem Abbas could count himself lucky not to be sent off for a terrible lunge on Kewell as Iraq threatened in the dying moments, with Mark Schwarzer’s superb intervention denying Mustafa Kareem the winner.

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Ognenovski had the best chance of the first period of extra time when his bicycle kick, destined for goal, was inadvertently headed over by Jedinak.

Neill was lucky not to give away a spot-kick for his last-ditch challenge on Alaa Abdul Zahra while substitute Scott McDonald failed to break his international scoring drought despite heading two attempts at the Iraq goal.

Iraq had chances of their own in the added period, the best coming when Mustafa Karim’s cross was headed straight into the ground by Younis Mahmoud.

But just as a penalty shootout loomed, Kewell rose to meet McKay’s precise delivery from the left to send Australia into the last four.