Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira admitted he is looking forward to another final after the Gunners saw off Blackburn in the first FA Cup semi-final at Cardiff.

Gordon Strachan has urged Scots to unite behind new Scotland manager Walter Smith after missing out on the job himself.

John Barnes has handed Ron Atkinson a chance to resurrect his TV career eight months after he was forced to resign for an on-air racist remark.

Barcelona star Ronaldinho has revealed he would like to play in England one day and hinted Chelsea could be a possible destination.

Gaming group Stanley Leisure today said a winning streak by a “major player” at its casinos had dented its profits.

Arsenal striker Jose Reyes predicts Arsenal can land a Champions League and Barclays Premiership double this season.

Alex Ferguson has revealed that retiring from football is not on his agenda.

Thierry Henry has been appointed as FIFA’s senior ’fair play’ ambassador to campaign against racism in football.

Darius Vassell is aiming to put four months of frustration behind him after making another comeback from a broken ankle for Aston Villa reserves.

Alex Ferguson will assess the extent of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s stomach complaint before finalising his line-up for Monday’s Premiership clash at Wigan.

Fulham could give Bobby Petta, the left sided midfielder signed on loan from Celtic until the end of the season, his debut against Cheltenham in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Middlesbrough will be without Spanish international Gaizka Mendieta for tomorrow’s FA Cup third round clash with Second Division Notts County.

Ruud van Nistelrooy is expected to step out of the spotlight and onto the Ewood Park pitch tomorrow.

The Irish index of shares in Dublin was up 8.04 points, or 0.17%, to 4,724.05 this morning buoyed up by gains in the financials.

In Dublin the ISEQ index of shares closed 4.37 points lighter to 4,716 with a slim fall of 09%, after closing in positive territory for six days in a row.

Fabien Barthez’s chances of playing for Marseille before Christmas were all but ended today when FIFA upheld the decision not to allow him to move outside the transfer window.

Newcastle striker Craig Bellamy is out of tomorrow’s Champions League qualifier against Partizan Belgrade after being sent to see a specialist about his injured knee.

Sammy McIlroy has told his Northern Ireland team to tough it out when they face Ukraine on Saturday in a Euro 2004 qualifier.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has expressed his delight at finally ending his four-month injury nightmare.

Fulham skipper Lee Clark has not recovered from his Achilles’ injury as well as quickly as expected and misses tomorrow’s Premiership clash at Wolves.