Robert Lewandowski (Poland)

Talk about making an impact.

Poland 1 Russia 1

From Spain, all the old worries; from Italy, all the old strengths.

Not for the first time, an air of dissatisfaction hangs over Russia.

Arsenal’s defensive ranks could be boosted by the return of Carl Jenkinson for this weekend’s north London derby against Tottenham.

THE last minute of the game at the Emirates and Arsenal fans who have made for the exits can’t quite bring themselves to leave.

IT was not vintage Manchester United but still a performance of champions, digging out victory when it looked like they were losing ground in the Premier League title race.

HE MAY have been able to ride to their rescue in the FA Cup, yet Thierry Henry can now be under illusions that the Arsenal of now is in no better shape than the one he left.

THE celebrations didn’t all belong to the Russians in Zilina last night — just the football ones as the Skrtels prepare for a big family gathering on Merseyside.

MORE than the luxury hotels, upmarket stores, eye-popping skyscrapers, top-of-the-range cars and crippling prices, perhaps the most dramatic measure of how much Russia has changed over the past 20 years is that Moscow is a tough place for an atheist like myself to be these days.

THEY already have some imposing statues in the capital of Russia but they may have to make way for one of a man from Tallaght after this minor miracle in Moscow.

THREE games to go in European Championship Group B qualifying and, according to Giovanni Trapattoni, that translates into “three cup finals” for Ireland.

Leeds 1 Arsenal 3

Cesc Fabregas has criticised referees for inconsistency claiming Arsenal were denied a last-minute penalty at Wigan for exactly the same offence as he was penalised for against Tottenham.

FT: Wigan 2 Arsenal 2

DICK ADVOCAAT has admitted his surprise at how well Aiden McGeady had settled in at Spartak Moscow.

HIGHER examination time in the Premiership and, once again, it was a fail for Arsenal and honours for Chelsea.

Angel Di Maria hit a late winner for Real Madrid at Auxerre as the Spanish giants jumped to the top of Group G.

ARSENAL star Andrei Arshavin says his Russian side must now come to Dublin and win next month following their shock Euro 2012 defeat to Slovakia in Moscow on Tuesday night.

RAFAEL van der VAART’S £8million move to Tottenham from Real Madrid was the most high-profile of the transfer deadline-day deals to be ratified by the Premier League yesterday afternoon.

Tottenham today confirmed the £8m signing of Rafael van der Vaart from Real Madrid after the Premier League gave them the green light to add the Holland midfielder to their squad.

Tottenham were today hopeful of being given the all clear over the signing of Rafael van der Vaart after technical problems saw them struggle to complete the £8m move before the transfer deadline.

TWO things we learned from last night’s action in the Nou Camp: don’t score first against Barcelona ‘cos you’ll only annoy them and, if Best was the most perfect name in football, Messi must be the most inapt.

ARSENE WENGER sunk to the ground after Kevin Phillips scored an added time strike that thwarted Arsenal’s pursuit of the title.

ARSENE WENGER was always confident Nicklas Bendtner had what it takes to make a big impact at Arsenal.

ARSENE WENGER maintains there can be no excuses if an injury-hit Arsenal squad fail to deliver the result needed against Porto in their Champions League clash at the Estadio do Dragao tonight.

AS ONLY Sky can, they blasted yesterday’s big match coverage to, well, the sky.

ARSENE WENGER became the latest Premier League manager to defend his right to field a weakened team but surely this surprise FA Cup defeat will be rendered irrelevant if he can deliver a first Premier League title in six seasons.

ARSENAL midfielder Tomas Rosicky has signed a new contract at the Emirates Stadium, the club have announced.

ARSENE WENGER has reassured Arsenal fans he can understand their love affair with the FA Cup, but insists the Gunners must not compromise their fight for the Barclays Premier League title.

ARSENAL showed that if they had turned a corner with their gritty win at Liverpool, it was straight into a cul-de-sac, as they buckled and threw away a chance to keep touch in the title race by giving away a great position at Turf Moor.

ARSENE WENGER admits even he has been surprised by the speed and determination with which his Arsenal youngsters have marched back into the Barclays Premier League title race.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi has won the prestigious Ballon d’Or.

TOMAS ROSICKY believes how Arsenal respond to the bitter disappointment of defeat to Chelsea will shape the remainder of their campaign.

Bono teamed up with some of the world’s top footballers as he aimed to “turn up the heat” on politicians over the HIV and Aids crisis in South Africa.

WILLIAM GALLAS is a major doubt for Arsenal’s crunch clash with Chelsea on Sunday.

RUSSIA and Slovenia are both at full strength ahead of today’s World Cup qualifying play-off first leg in Moscow.

ARSENE WENGER is glad his Arsenal squad are confident they can deliver both Premier League and European glory this season – but warned not to confuse that with “arrogance”.

ARSENE WENGER insists his preparations for today’s north London derby will not be affected by Emmanuel Adebayor’s claims that Cesc Fabregas could leave Arsenal.

FOR one horrible moment, history appeared intent on repeating itself. An Arsenal attacker lay stricken on the turf, felled by a clumsy tackle from a defender clad in blue and white; on the sidelines, Arsene Wenger watched on, his brow furrowed with anxiety.

GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI is too smart to express a preference in terms of Ireland’s World Cup play-off opponents, although it’s a pretty safe bet that he wouldn’t be wholly in disagreement with Marco Tardelli’s choice of Greece.

PORTUGAL booked themselves a place in the European play-offs for next year’s World Cup after an easy 4-0 Group One victory over Malta.

Azerbaijan 1 Russia 1