ARSENAL will have to overcome Manchester City if they are to continue their bid to reach a second successive Carling Cup final.

HE has waited in the shadows while teammates such as Mario Balotelli, David Silva and Sergio Aguero have stolen the early season headlines but Edin Dzeko is increasingly wearing the mantle of a man destined to have a large say in the fate of this season’s Premier League title.

FOLLOWING a 6-1 victory over Manchester United and an average of four goals a game in recent weeks the comparisons between Manchester City and Barcelona, which seemed so frivolous at the start of the season, are now beginning to appear rather more justified; so could this be City’s year not only at home but also in Europe?

NORMAL service has been resumed, but was there ever any doubt that Alex Ferguson’s demand for a reaction from his Manchester United players would fail?

THE script was written long in advance. It is one of the sadnesses of modern football that whenever a (relatively) small side does well, all the talk is not of their success but of where their members may go next.

SWANSEA manager Brendan Rodgers believes the 3-1 victory over Bolton could prove a defining result in his team’s maiden Barclays Premier League campaign.

ALEX FERGUSON is banking on Wayne Rooney brushing off the usual hostile treatment from Everton fans today as Manchester United look to put the shock of their 6-1 defeat by Manchester City behind them.

LIVERPOOL boss Kenny Dalglish feels striker Luis Suarez is a “great ambassador” for the club.

MANCHESTER CITY manager Roberto Mancini has enjoyed the afterglow of last week’s stunning derby triumph but now claims it counts for little.

THERE was plenty of forward thinking from Giovanni Trapattoni yesterday as his press conference to announce his European Championship play-off squad was dominated by the injury concerns ahead of next month’s games against Estonia.

ARSENE WENGER yesterday issued an impassioned rallying call at Arsenal’s AGM — urging everyone at the club to stay united behind the team.

MANCHESTER CITY made 11 changes from the team that routed Manchester United 6-1 at the weekend but the goals flowed again last night as they demolished Wolves 5-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup at Molineux.

JOHN TERRY will remain England captain for next month’s friendly double-header with Spain and Sweden if the investigation into his alleged racist slur against Anton Ferdinand has not concluded.

ON Thursday night, in his regular slot on Off The Ball, John Giles ventured the opinion that on the strength of his performances against Everton and Galati, Wayne Rooney was the best central midfield player in the Premier League.

THE grief-stricken uncle of two little brothers who lost their lives following a fire told a requiem Mass heaven now has “two extra angels”.

IT was merely a month ago when Wayne Rooney said Anfield was still the most daunting place to go to in the Premier League.

RYAN TAYLOR scored a goal his six-week-old son will be hearing plenty about in the years to come to cemented Newcastle’s place among the Premier League’s top three.

THIS has been a week about statistics, about dwelling upon the past, for Alex Ferguson and Manchester United as, arguably, the greatest manager in the history of British football reached 25 years as the supreme commander at Old Trafford.

WILLIAM GALLAS has urged his Tottenham team-mates to go and out deliver a win for manager Harry Redknapp against Fulham tomorrow.

ALEX FERGUSON plans to repeat his trick of winning the league with youngsters as he looks to repeat the famed “Class of ‘92”.