Ronaldo Injured Again, Feared Out Of Arsenal Clash

AC Milan star Ronaldo has picked up yet another injury and is in serious doubt for next week’s Champions League game at Arsenal, according to reports in Italy.

El Fenomeno has had a disastrous season on the injury-front and only featured in one game before Christmas.

It seemed that the striker was working his way back to fitness when he scored twice against Napoli, and then impressed against Udinese last month.

Unfortunately the injuries then returned, although he was back in action during yesterday’s 1-0 win over Siena.

The 31-year-old only lasted the first 45 minutes, and it has been revealed that he is suffering from physical problems.

The striker is almost definitely out of this Wednesday’s Serie A match with Livorno, and he is also a big doubt for the weekend trip to Parma, and more worryingly next week’s Champions League tie in London against Arsenal.

This will come as a blow to Milan, who are also struggling to get Alexandre Pato and Kaka fit for the game.

Better news for the Rossoneri was the return of Filippo Inzaghi who played the whole 90 minutes yesterday, as well as the performance of 18-year-old Alberto Paloschi who scored with his first touch in Serie A football, and who many believe has a very bright future ahead of him.

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Ivorian duo in contention for Old Trafford tie

Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue are in contention for Saturday's FA Cup tie at Manchester United.

The Ivorian duo returned from the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday and are due to report for training today. Neither Toure or Eboue played in their country's final game in Ghana, the third and fourth place play-off against the hosts on Saturday, but they could feature at Old Trafford.

Arsène Wenger admitted before the Blackburn game that he was down to the "bare bones" thanks to injuries and international commitments. Manuel Almunia, Abou Diaby, Tomas Rosicky, Robin van Persie, Denilson and Johan Djourou were all sidelined for Arsenal’s 2-0 victory but Rosicky could return at the weekend.

"Kolo and Eboue came back today [Monday] so we hope to see them tomorrow to see if they're not injured," said Wenger at his post-match press conference.

"Rosicky, he looks better. Van Persie looks better, but he is still a few weeks away. But Rosicky maybe has a little chance for Saturday."

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Milan stars to recover before Arsenal match?

The AC Milan injury saga continues. Will Gattuso, Kaka, Pato and Ronaldo play against Arsenal, or not?

In the recent days we had reports that AS Milan's stars are badly injured, and we had reports that they will be redy in time for the big Champions League derby against Arsenal. With reports coming in and out, the Ancelotti's team for Arsenal clash still remains a mistery.

Gattuso, who was pricted to recover in four-to-six weeks, healed surprisingly fast according to Ancelotti: “Gattuso is fine, he has recovered very quickly, also thanks to the great application that he had during treatment. He is a great professional,”

In the matter of other AC Milan injured stars the coach said: “Pato is a bit behind Kaka. Ricky will be available against Parma.”

"Ronaldo? It’s a condition not a physical problem. There is the possibility of making him work well this week and propose him against Parma.”

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Chelsea's Cech: Fixtures handed Arsenal advantage

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech says Arsenal were handed a big advantage this weekend by playing - and winning - against Blackburn Rovers last night.

Cech said: "It is hard coming back from internationals for a Premier League game because you have to travel and we have had a lot of games.

"But you can't use that as an excuse because the other teams, Liverpool and Manchester United, have a lot internationals. Arsenal have one day extra which is better but they have a lot of internationals also.

"When you are playing for a big team you have to be aware of this and get through. We were unlucky against Liverpool but in the end we dropped two points."

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83 Goal A Season Spanish Midfielder Linked

Arsenal are reportedly keeping tabs on CF Getafe’s Spanish wonder-kid Esteban Granero, the 20 year old play-maker is currently on loan from Real Madrid after failing to make the grade with his home town club.

Things started off very brightly in football for Granero, he joined the Real Madrid Academy aged just eight years old, in the Under 10 league he bagged 83 goals in just one season as they won the under 10 league title, subsequently he was made skipper of the Under 12’s and led his team to victory in the International Football-7 Tournament held in Barcelona, his goal in stoppage time beat the hosts Barca 1-0, he also picked up player of the tournament award to add to his already bulging trophy cabinet.

He then joined the Madrid C side aged 17, and worked his way into the team, his amazing passing skills and goalscoring ability led to call up to Real Madrid Castilla, Madrid’s B team, in a match against Albacete, in which he set up a goal.

Last season Esteban became a regular for Castilla, he was the lynch-pin of the team forming an excellent partnership with Rubén de la Red, but despite his amazing talent coach Bernd Schuster , decided at the start of the season, he along with Javi García and Adrián González were surplus to requirements and told they could leave.

Javi Garcia joined CA Osasuna where he is currently team mates with Arsenal Loanee Carlos Vela, Gonzalez joined Gimnàstic, and Granero along with De La Red signed for Getafe, with the latter player’s deal being permanent.

Granero has been excellent for Getafe this term, bagging 3 goals in 15 matches, his amazing technical skills, passing ability and style have caught the eye this season, he is also good friends with Arsenal’s Fran Merida, the pair have been around the Spain’s Youth team’s, and both are rated as huge prospects for Spain in the future.

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PHIL YER BOOTS

ARSENAL 2 BLACKBURN 0 LAST NIGHT'S ACTION Senderos & Adebayor send super Gunners FIVE points clear at top

Arsene Wenger saw his Gunners go five points clear at the top of the Premier League last night.
Philippe Senderos headed a fourth-minute winner - but it was a night of nerves until Emmanuel Adebayor wrapped it up in stoppage time.

Wenger looked unhappy as his team were well below-par and had to weather a heavy Blackburn storm before holding on for a precious victory in the title race, taking full advantage of Manchester United's loss to Manchester City on Sunday

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Adebayor reveals how chats with friend Thierry have motivated his scoring spree

Emmanuel Adebayor revealed the part that Thierry Henry is playing as his personal motivational guru to help Arsenal's push for the title.
The striker was contacted by his former team-mate, now at Barcelona, only minutes after last night's 2-0 victory over Blackburn to congratulate him on his goal as Arsene Wenger's side moved five points clear at the top of the League.

Adebayor says Arsenal legend Henry has been a close confidante during what is turning out to be a remarkable season for the Togolese, who is now level with Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Golden Boot.

He added: "Thierry is like a big brother. A lot of times he is sending me a message saying things like, 'I know you have a lot of quality, you have scored 15 or 16 goals now and you can score more if you put more concentration in every game', so that is what I am trying to do, to listen to the elder players.

"He believes in me, in my strength of character and my quality. I want to thank him as he has helped me a lot. We are in touch always. He talked to me during the summer when he was leaving.

We have a lot in common and get on well."

After Philippe Senderos had given Arsenal an early lead at Emirates Stadium last night, Adebayor sealed the victory with his 13th goal in 11 games. It was the ninth match in succession in which he had scored - Ian Wright holds the record with 11.

Adebayor said: "We knew last night would be very difficult. You cannot say we played the best football but we took the three points and we are extremely happy about that.

"Of course we are feeling closer to the title. Kolo [Toure] is coming back, [Emmanuel] Eboue is coming back and [Alexandre] Song will be back in two or three days. We have done well while they have been at the African Nations' Cup and want to push even more when they get back.

"The title is not finished yet. You know Manchester United can come from behind but we just have to keep our focus and see whether we win the title."

Arsenal have breathing space at the top but their leading scorer recognises there are some demanding tests to come.

Adebayor said: "We have a lot of big games coming up. We go to Manchester, we go to Chelsea, we play at Liverpool as well so it is going to be an exciting.

"The belief is there but the most important thing is to keep our feet on the ground. It is not going to be easy."

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Wenger cautious over Premier League lead

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists his side still have a "long way to go" despite opening up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

Goals from Philippe Senderos and Emmanuel Adebayor at the Emirates Stadium earned a 2-0 win, taking full advantage of Manchester United and Chelsea dropping points.

Wenger said: "We always had the belief from the first day but there's still a long way to go. As soon as you're not at your best at the top, you can drop points.

"We have seen that over the weekend. We have still 12 games to go. We are in a good position. We believe we can do it.

"It's far from being over. We'll have to fight until the last minute of the championship. We still have a hard games ahead of us."

Wenger was pleased with how his side have approached their title challenge recently, particularly with Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Alexandre Song away on African Nations Cup duty.

"I feel we handled the pressure very well each time this year when we've had our backs to the wall," Wenger added.

"Last week we were the first to play, at Manchester City, and we won. This week were the last to play and we won. We've come up with the same answer each time."

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2-0 | Adebayor Goal

1-0 | Senderos Header