There is much here in which England deserve to revel, but the most gratifying aspect of all must be that they did not let Germany limit them to a galling draw. While a misunderstanding between the captain John Terry and the substitute goalkeeper Scott Carson allowed an equaliser, the visitors pulled out of any descent into self-pity. They clinched a fully merited win against feeble opponents.With six minutes left, Terry more than atoned for any error. The captain climbed to head home a free-kick from the outstanding Stewart Downing. The team had been on the verge of re-establishing the lead before that, when Shaun Wright-Phillips hit a post from 20 yards. In one form or another, the whole side was predatory. Few had supposed that Gabriel Agbonlahor's debut here would come with a place in...

The best pictures from around the world in the last 24...

7:40pm: "The stakes are not as high as a big World Cup or European Championship confrontation," smarms Steve Ryder on ITV. You see, that's why they pay him the big bucks. 7:35pm: "That looks like a mighty light German squad," bellows Tarek Hamze. "Who the hell is Compper? Jones isn't even a regular starter at Schalke. Friedrich and Mertesacker are little more than immovable marble columns, with impassive expressions that fit the bill too." 23-year-old Marvin Compper is one of Hoffenheim's wunderkind's, I believe, and tonight is his debut.7:30pm: "Well the banter has started early, with the German TV analyst saying that as it's a friendly they are robbed of the usual fun of the penalty shootout," reports Xavier Vermeren. "The pundit on German TV is 'laugh-a-minute' Oliver Kahn by the way....

If I had to single out the one quality above all others which I admire in [him] it would be his abiding faith in youth. The words from forty years ago resonate down the ages. In his 1969 book Arsenal From The Heart, former Club Secretary Bob Wall was talking about Sir Matt Busby. No doubt that Arsene would have found favour with Wall in view of his current policy of developing young players in the first team. Unlike any manager before him, the current run has been polarising opinion amongst the support. Interestingly, the overwhelming majority still backs him as the right man for the job; it is his methods which are under scrutiny. I believe it is a methodology that will bear fruit in the long term. Does that make me more or less of a ‘loyal’ supporter than anyone else. No....

Theo Walcott has become the latest casualty of a friendly international already denounced as meaningless by some Premier League managers after the Arsenal winger dislocated his right shoulder in training last night. The youngster will play no part against Germany tonight and, if the injury requires surgery, will face up to 10 weeks out of the game.The teenager fell awkwardly under challenge from Scott Parker on a sodden pitch and, although he was initially able to continue with the practice session, the shoulder popped out of its joint shortly afterwards. He was helped to the touchline and eventually carried from the arena on a stretcher with England's medical staff holding the damaged arm above his head. The shoulder was put back into place at a local hospital and a decision will be made...

BBC says,'New Argentina boss Diego Maradona will not lose any sleep if Terry Butcher refuses to shake his hand at Hampden. Scotland assistant Butcher said he will never forgive Maradona for the infamous "Hand of God" goal which helped knock England out of the 1986 World Cup. "No, I will not seek him out," Maradona said. "I don't understand why Butcher has this attitude. "England won a World Cup with a goal that never crossed the line, so it's not fair that people should judge me." 'Let me tell my least favorite football cheat the difference.England's goal was judged by the official's to have crossed the line.We scored one more anyway. It was not all over after the questioned goal.WE DID NOT CHEAT TO SCORE.We did not blaspheme...

Wenger believes that the managers suffer more after defeats: It is much harder [for managers]. You look at the tape again but it is always very difficult after the game. Those first 48 hours are very difficult for every manager. Judging by some reactions of supporters, he must be suicidal right at this moment in time. Presumably Mrs Wenger has the number to hand, of her local Samaritans. Either that or has a few bottles of red lined up for his homecoming, locking away the cat to save it from one hell of a kicking. Arsene has always hated international week, stopping him from building on a victory or in this case, snapping the players out of the lethargy that was evident in the performance against Villa: It is frustrating we can’t pick them up because of the international week. At some...

Alan Shearer is ready to accept the manager's job at Newcastle United and may even be prepared to work for Mike Ashley, the club's controversial owner. Rob Lee, Shearer's closest friend and confidant, said yesterday that although the former Newcastle and England forward has been until now reluctant to swap his role on Match of the Day for the dugout, Shearer has had a change of heart.Lee's comments are highly significant and can be interpreted as coming directly from Shearer. Lee, who played for Newcastle for almost a decade until 2002, could expect to be offered a senior position should the latter succeed Joe Kinnear at St James' Park. Shearer is far too proud to risk losing face by touting for the job himself and then being rebuffed but Lee is unlikely to have spoken so frankly without...

Life back at the top of his game is proving revelatory for Darren Bent. The Tottenham Hotspur striker had drifted aimlessly through his first year at White Hart Lane, his confidence drained by a manager who clearly had no faith in his ability. "Juande Ramos said about four words to me in a year," he said yet, on his first evening back among the England set-up, Fabio Capello pulled him to one side and detailed precisely what will be expected of him in Berlin tomorrow. The Italian was supposed to be distant, almost aloof. Compared to the taciturn Ramos, Bent has found it hard to squeeze a word in edgeways.Bent returns to the national set-up scarred by last season's toils under the Spaniard but toughened by life as an outcast. Ramos's four words might as well have been "thanks, but no...

GO on. Go on, run onto the football pitch. Go on. It’ll be great. When you get there, what then..? Don’t worry about that. Just do it. Go on. Go on… It’ll be greeeeeeaat…...

Didier Drogba has admitted a charge of violent conduct after throwing a coin at Burnley fans at Stamford Bridge last...

Nigel Worthington’s Northern Ireland team faces Hungary on Wednesday night in an uninspiring friendly fixture. With well over two months to go before World Cup qualifying resumes in San Marino, it is difficult to see how the match could yield anything useful, other than a chance for the manager to have a get together with his players. Already a number of pivotal members of the team have been made unavailable by their clubs. Captain Aaron Hughes is the most high profile absentee, and with Craigan, McAuley and McCartney also missing, Northern Ireland’s defence will assume an unfamiliar look. At least we will be spared (at the back in any case) the idiosyncratic choices which Nigel Worthington often inflicts on the starting eleven. Only four recognised defenders remain in the squad....

…time for divorce proceedings. ‘Arry was right it was as far as he could take them, a bottle of ketchup, an arm round the shoulder, a pep talk and telling someone to run around a bit is all well and good but it’ll get you nowhere against the likes of Fulham Confidence, it’s a funny thing in football, Spurs needed it and needed it desperately but it reaches a level where it’s a detriment to the team as it moves into arrogance and it’s quite easy for your average footballer to end up there. More man management is required because it’s losing points to the likes of Fulham, who while having an excellent home record and the jinx over us in the last few years, that will keep Spurs in the relegation mire - back down to second bottom. But divorce...

The injured Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard will be replaced in Fabio Capello's England squad by Jimmy Bullard and Scott...

Goood Morning, Good Morning and thrice Good Morning. Everyone got it out of their systems? It is another week, the Villa game over and done with, the same problems remain and there is absolutely nothing that can be done about them because of a marvellously scheduled international week. Good ol’ Sepp and his buddies. Manuel Almunia took stock of the situation: We have to continue doing our job. First of all because of respect for the fans. Anything is possible but we have to change many things from today. We are the same team [as last Saturday] but each player has to analyse his performance because today’s game was Arsenal’s worst for a long time. It is very disappointing because after the penalty I thought the team would be more excited and grow with desire to win the game. But...

Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton will be sidelined for up to eight weeks after damaging his knee...

Fabio Capello risked straining his relationship with the Liverpool manager, Rafael Benítez, last night by insisting that Steven Gerrard link up with the England squad at their Hertfordshire hotel despite the midfielder having apparently been ruled out by his club for up to 10 days with a torn muscle in his right leg.Gerrard, who sustained the injury at Bolton, reported to the 23-man squad and will be assessed by England's own medical staff today, with the likelihood of him travelling to Germany tomorrow for Wednesday's friendly at the Olympic stadium in Berlin still slim. A statement released by Liverpool suggested a scan undertaken yesterday had revealed "a tear in the adductor magnus muscle in his right leg", a prognosis the Football Association's medical team will look into today.The...

Stephen Ireland scored twice as Manchester City drew 2-2 with Hull at the KC...

Arsenal 0 - 2 Aston Villa 0 - 1 Clichy o.g. (70) 0 - 2 Agbonlahor (80) After the match, Arsene said: You cannot speak about whether you will be champions or not at this stage but to be champions you need to be consistent - and we are not. That sums up Arsenal’s current position succinctly. Despite inconsistencies, the team lie fourth, nine points behind Liverpool and Chelsea (although ten points is more accurate given the latter’s goal difference) yet on the evidence of recent games, that gap will not decrease. It might not increase either but to beat one of your closest rivals and then lose to a team who are looking to take your place in the cartel in the upper echelons of the table, is not a sign of a serious challenge. Yesterday was quite simply a calamity. Villa came, as...

A leg injury picked up against Bolton means that Steven Gerrard will miss the midweek friendly in...

O'Neill has pointed out previously that controversy about a UK team for the 2012 Olympics is premature. Perhaps it is last night's attendance at Belfast Beer Festival, but I'm really struggling to understand exactly what the story is in this article from Scotland on Sunday.FIFA has been urged to investigate allegations of "political interference" in the row over football's Team GB for the 2012 London Olympics. If Fifa finds Scotland and the other three home associations guilty, it could suspend or even expel them from international competition until the governmental interference stops, as recently happened with the Polish FAThe most glaring error first. Poland has not been suspended or expelled from international competition. On the contrary, Poland is in Northern Ireland's World Cup...

It was a bad day for Fabio Capello, and a much worse one for Arsenal. England lost key players Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand for their midweek friendly in Germany, and Arsenal lost ground in the title race with a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa while Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United all won easily.Sir Alex Ferguson left out Rooney and Ferdinand with calf and back injuries, respectively, but United did not falter as Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice from free-kicks in a 5-0 home win against Stoke. Ferguson then withdrew both men from the England squad who meet today before travelling to Berlin. United midfielder Darren Fletcher, who did start at Old Trafford, was another casualty and will miss Scotland's game against Argentina because of a knee injury.The top two also won...

Thailand's ousted Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, and his wife of 32 years have divorced as the fugitive former leader's woes deepen. Thaksin, 59, and Pojaman, 51, split in Hong Kong on Friday, signing the papers at the Thai consulate.Thaksin's spokesman, Phongthep Thepkanjana, confirmed the break-up yesterday after it was reported that Thaksin told a group of stunned MPs from the ruling People Power party during a dinner in Hong Kong. The couple, who fled to London in August to escape corruption charges, had their British visas withdrawn a week ago as they visited China, leaving them searching for a new home.The Home Office signalled the decision to revoke their visas in an email message to airlines, though no reason was given. Foreign Secretary David Miliband confirmed Thaksin was...

A Gabriel Agbonlahor strike and a Gael Clichy own goal consign Arsenal to a home defeat against Aston...

Goals from Dirk Kuyt and Steven Gerrard helped Liverpool to maintain their momentum at the top of the Premier...

Arsenal's kids face a trip up north in the quarter-final, while Manchester United host Blackburn and Spurs visit...

Luiz Felipe Scolari has moved to deflect criticism from Didier Drogba for hurling a coin back at Burnley fans during Wednesday's Carling Cup tie at Stamford Bridge by calling for swift action to be taken against the supporter who threw the original missile. The Chelsea striker was charged yesterday with violent conduct by the Football Association.Drogba will be available for Scolari at The Hawthorns today as Chelsea, their squad ravaged by injury, attempt to strengthen their position at the top of the Premier League with victory over West Bromwich Albion. The London club have indicated privately that they will not appeal the FA's charge - they technically have until Monday to respond - with television footage of the incident clearly showing the Ivorian picking up an object and flinging it...

Bendtner, Fabianski and Good News On The Injury Front Nicklas Bendtner and Lukasz Fabianski have joined the ranks of, oh, just about everybody and declared that they are happy at Arsenal. Bendtner declared: If the manager picks me I will always do whatever I can. I love the pressure, you could say I prefer it and thrive on it. I love it when people are thinking that this is the guy who needs to score or create something today if we are to win. That’s how I set myself up for every game. It’s good if people have big expectations for you. If people are expecting things from me, then I’m happy to take it. OK so it’s not a “I could be happy”” but it is sort of. Bendtner does not lack in confidence or self-belief and to be fair to the Dane, the only thing missing...

The FA has charged Didier Drogba with misconduct after he threw a coin towards Burnley...

Rio Ferdinand backs proposals to introduce more stringent testing procedures in...