In another eagerly anticipated weekend in the Premier League where there is sure to be high drama, goalmouth action and controversial issues to be witnessed, what is likely to ensue in midweek will appear a dreary damp squib.

Yes, you guessed it, it’s the international break. Though thankfully, not a two-week break which makes us put a cross in our calendars every day until some exciting football returns to our screens, but just the unnecessary international friendlies that, in an environmentally turbulent (no pun intended) culture, tens of thousands of air miles are clocked up just so that substitutions can be made every time the ball boy goes to fetch the ball from the empty stands and we can be reminded in the comfort of our armchairs what a Mexican wave looks like.

Therefore, as England travel to Sweden on Wednesday to grace the Scandinavian country’s new stadium, it is hardly any surprise that Arsene Wenger has once again voiced his frustrating regarding Jack Wilshere’s inclusion in Roy Hodgson’s squad. In the past the Arsenal manager’s constant gripes over his players jetting off to play for their respective countries have become annoying. However, whether you love or hate Arsene Wenger, surely in this instance he has a point.

Wilshere is a world class talent and an invaluable member for both his club and country. After seventeen months out of action due to various injuries and niggles, it has been obvious in his three games back, in which he was only completed the full 90 minutes in one of these games, that he is not 100 per cent fit. In fact, arguably his sending off in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United was evidence that his match fitness wasn’t quite there as he toiled to keep up with the defensive duties that were imposed on him in a one-sided affair.

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Therefore, in fairness to Wenger, the question does have to be asked, how much can Wilshere actually benefit from playing in Sweden? The Frenchmen believes that he has arrived at a diplomatic solution with Roy Hodgson with the England manager telling Wenger on the phone that Wilshere has been selected so that  he can, and I quote,  ‘connect with the group’.

I find it hard to believe that the England manager is willing to fly Wilshere all the way to Sweden, so that he can gel with a 23-man squad, of which five haven’t won an England cap yet and are realistically unlikely to play when the World Cup does come around in two years time.

While there is nothing to benefit from Wilshere turning out for England next Wednesday, there is plenty to lose, and it would bring about a sore financial irony for Arsenal and Wenger, and here’s why. As Wenger has said himself, it is clear that these international fixtures in November act as preparation for World Cup qualifiers in March; this is what the friendlies in February are for. So the friendlies are quite clearly a money-making scheme in order to fill the pockets of the football authorities and the European governing bodies. To this extent, the friendlies are less about football and more about economics.

Therefore, if Jack Wilshere were to suffer a reoccurrence of one of the several niggles he has sustained during his lengthy delay, and if it were to keep him out for a sustained period of time once again, then the financial implications for Arsenal would be great. Wilshere is the type of player who can really have an impact for the better on Arsenal’s season. If he were to be out as a result of playing in a meaningless friendly, Wilshere’s injury could impact on the money they receive for finishing in the Premier League, merchandise on Wilshere, and dare I say the financial implication of not qualifying for the Champions League. This may seem a little far-fetched to surmise at this moment in time, but still true nonetheless.

Looking at Wilshere’s call-up from Wenger’s point of view, it is surely also a case of once bitten, twice shy for the Arsenal manager, following the injury sustained to Abou Diaby on international duty for France in World Cup Qualifiers against Finland and Belarus. Wenger had pre-warned the French Federation about the midfielder’s lack of fitness before the Finland match and consequentially Diaby hasn’t been available for Arsenal since thanks to France’s ignorance.

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For the risk of contradicting myself, I do think the Diaby situation was different in the sense that there is a void of importance between World Cup Qualifiers and friendlies. France are well within their rights to field an important player who may provide the assist or goal to win an important game for his country, whereas with Wilshere’s situation, there is no way his current fragile condition should be risked for a meaningless friendly.

So it will certainly be interesting to see how many minutes Wilshere gets on Wednesday, and while we’ll be dozing off as the 23rd substitution comes onto the pitch with just four minutes on the clock, Arsene Wenger will be edged forward on his sofa, biting what nails he has left, covering his eyes with his beret and praying that his starlet will pull through and be available for the north London derby just three days later.

Am I missing my patriotic fuse or does Wenger have a point? You can also voice your opinions on Twitter @matt_of_the_day

It is a mammoth task to compile just 10 of the many legends that have walked through the door at Arsenal. From the foreign purchases to home grown talent, the underlying factor has been the Arsenal supporters and their waving of the sword to signify a new hero at either Highbury or Ashburton Grove.

The current group of players and the trophy drought may make it seem difficult to remember a time of rampaging midfield generals and exquisite forwards, but the halls of Arsenal are forever filled with the names of those who have made the club great.

There are disappointments in that many of the recent stars of Arsenal have not gone on to fulfil their roles as undoubted legends of the club, seeking riches elsewhere and losing touch with the importance of the club. But regardless of their actions, it shouldn’t take away from the very real but often disguised figures in the team who are likely to go on to fill in their names alongside the greats of the club.

 Click on Ian Wright to unveil the top 10

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Barcelona appear to have taken the upper hand in the race for Brazilian starlet Neymar, with his international team-mate Dani Alves urging him to join the Nou Camp outfit.

Manchester City and Chelsea are reportedly willing to splash the cash to bring the 20-year-old to the Premier League, but it is believed that the encouragement of one of his follow countrymen may sway his decision.

The right-back has openly encouraged the Santos attacker to join Barca, saying that it will be the best possible move to further his career:

“Obviously anybody would want to play for Barcelona.” He is quoted by The Metro.

“If Barcelona are interested in Neymar and if next month, next year or in two years he comes, I don’t know.

“I hope he does come here because, as I’ve already said, he would get better as a player and he would also improve the team.”

If he were to join the Catalan giants, it’s likely that he would be playing alongside Lionel Messi, in what would be a fearsome attack.

Reports have circulated that Alves has put Neymar in contact with the Argentine, however he denies this.

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Neither of the English duo are out of the race for highly-rated youngster, with both club’s able to offer him an extremely lucrative deal to join them.

Big spending Russians Anzhi Makhachkala are also interested, as are Real Madrid.

Norwich manager Chris Hughton celebrated the character shown by his players following their 1-1 Premier League draw with Southampton.

The Canaries fell behind to a Rickie Lambert effort, but came back through Robert Snodgrass, whose free-kick evaded Saints goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.

Norwich are now without a loss in their last seven games following a disappointing start to the season and Hughton feels the grit they showed on field displayed why their form has improved:

“The players are doing something right.” He told SkySports.

“When you look at the latter part of the game and we’re still attacking, still pushing forward trying to get the win, it shows the character.

“I’ve got a squad, particularly a bench, that is desperate to play. We have real competition for places and, at the moment, that is the key.

“Points in this division are very tough to get. At the moment, we are getting them.

“We’ve kept the run going. The performance warranted the result. I saw them play on Sunday and they played very, very well against Newcastle.

“They’ve got a lot of very good footballers in the team and you have to defend very well against them.”

However, there was one sour not for the manager who saw captain Grant Holt storm down the tunnel following his substitution, but he played down the situation:

“It’s not about the captain – it’s about a group of players that I’ve got that are totally committed,

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“I certainly don’t want to see players that are happy not to play and are happy to be brought off.

“My responsibility is to look after the squad and try and get the best out of them.

“If that means players showing a little bit of passion and desire, then I can certainly settle for that.”

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has ruled out the possibility of Gareth Bale leaving the club during the January transfer window.

The Welsh winger has been linked with Real Madrid, with some believing that a partnership between the Galacticos and the Premier League club could see a £56m transfer agreed.

However, Villas-Boas has moved to scrap these reports by claiming that it would be “impossible” for the 23-year-old to leave in the New Year:

“It is completely impossible he will leave in January.” He is quoted by the Daily Mail.

“The transfer window always gives you the opportunity to strengthen your squad. Teams will lose players to African Cup of Nations, but there is a chance to strengthen a little bit. Ideally you’d prefer to avoid it. It’s for us, we should plan our season, stick to players we see in summer, define our season in our season plan and go on from there.”

The Portuguese coach went on to suggest that the mid-season transfer window can do more harm than good:

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“I think ideally for managers and clubs it would be a better situation if the window didn’t open or opened for less than one month.

“For players it is important to have that possibility to go and play more.”

Liverpool FC is a club with a proud and decorated history, a tradition stretching back decades, with Anfield a major cornerstone of the club’s strength both home and abroad, but under successive managers now, the teams out on the pitch have come to struggle at their spiritual home. But why?

The club currently sit in eighth place in the Premier League, a full ten points off Tottenham in fourth place and despite expectations being lowered to coincide with the dawning realisation that this is a side in transition, without the world-beaters of yesteryear, there is still a sense that under Brendan Rodgers that they are under-performing on home turf.

Liverpool have picked up a respectable tally of 18 points out of a possible 33 at home so far this campaign, winning five, drawing three and losing three, hitting just 17 goals and keeping six clean sheets. Wins against Reading, Southampton, Wigan, Sunderland and Fulham are precisely the sort that you would expect the team to register, and they’ve disappointed whenever a challenge has been put in front of them through a combination of profligate finishing, bad luck and poor performances.

For every defeat against Arsenal, where the side were outplayed throughout their 2-0 loss, there has been a 2-2 draw against Manchester City where the side should have emerged victorious were it not for a calamitous error from Martin Skrtel. Aligning consistent displays with victories proved to be Kenny Dalglish’s undoing last term, with the side far better than their points tally in the league suggested for the majority of the campaign and they appear to be following a similar inconsistent path to upper mid-table obscurity this season under Rodgers. The 61-year-old Scot managed just 22 points from a possible 57 during his tenure, tasting victory just six times at home which went a long way to contributing to the club’s eighth-place finish, costing him his job.

Rodgers addressed the issue back in August before the home game against City, telling reporters: “There can be a number of reasons why that (a poor home record) can be and sometimes it can play on players’ minds. They certainly had enough opportunities last year where they could have gone on and won games, and through whatever reason it didn’t materialise.

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“It is a combination of everything. If you continually have bad luck and don’t quite get the result your confidence level can be affected.

“When the opponent comes there is a greater motivation than any other ground because of the history around the club and people want to play there. For us you have to fight against that; you have to work harder and give a little bit more.

“We know that if we are going to have any sort of success this year, we’ve got to make sure we can win as many of our home games as we possibly can. Anfield is somewhere we want to make sure is a real fortress and there’s no better game to start working towards that than against the champions.”

Could it be that the pressure and expectation on the players is having a negative effect? Take the 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle back in early November for example, when after a bright start, with Liverpool bossing proceedings, they fell behind against the run of play to a corker of a goal from Hatem Ben Arfa; this saw Anfield resemble a morgue, bereft of atmosphere, with the tense finger-nibbling attitude of the terraces clearly spilling out onto the pitch, with the hosts nervy from then on.

That it took a goal of truly world-class proportions from Luis Suarez to haul the hosts back into the game and preserve their 18-year unbeaten record against the Magpies in front of their own fans spoke volumes for the psychological impact continually outplaying your opponents but failing to secure the results their displays deserve can have on a group of players. It must be disheartening.

Directly after the game against Newcastle, it had seen the club pick up just 29 points from 29 games at Anfield during the whole of 2012 so far. When you compare that to the 51 points gleaned in 2011, the 45 in 2010, 58 in 2009 and 65 in 2008, it is the tell-tale sign of a team in decline and more than a downwards trend which Rodgers has done his best to halt with recent dominant performances during the 4-0 win over Fulham and 3-0 canter over Sunderland.

In the past calendar year Liverpool have suffered defeats at the hands of Wigan, West Brom and Fulham while also slumping to disappointing draws to Aston Villa and Stoke, while the 3-1 defeat in the Capital One Cup to Swansea at the start of the season exposed how fragile and thin the depth of the squad is. The nadir of their loss of invincibility must be the 3-1 home defeat to a truly awful Aston Villa side back in December making sure, if ever there was any doubt, that 2012 has been a year to forget at Anfield.

In 2008-9, Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool side won 63.1% of their games at home, during 2009-10 it was 68.4% despite the club finishing a lowly seventh in the Spaniard’s last season at the club. In 2010-11 it was 63.1%, which seems relatively healthy considering the short-lived and disastrous reign of Roy Hodgson before dropping off to just 31.%% in 2011-12 under Dalglish. There is a malaise around the place; a cloud hanging in the air based around a desperate need to return to the top which appears to be making some players nervous when things aren’t going according to plan at home.

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There’s no denying that expectations have been lowered and the masses have accepted this fact. This period away from the top four should be treated above all else as an opportunity for the club to get its house in order without the pressure to pursue silverware, the effects of which are already being felt with the emergence of a whole host of talented youngsters into the first-team picture. Rodgers has stated in the past that there is ‘no quick fix’ to the broader, deeper-lying problems at Liverpool and that sustainable, long-term leadership from top to bottom is what’s required and it’s hard to disagree with that viewpoint.

Nevertheless, despite the patience of the club’s fans while Rodgers enjoys his first full campaign in charge, the wider problem of the club’s patchy home form has been prevalent for quite some time and needs fixing. Grinding out results even when the team isn’t playing well is going to be key to Liverpool’s progress over the next few years and will play a large part in whether the side compete for silverware at the higher end of the league.

Arresting the slide into mid-table mediocrity is not only important, it’s crucial to any lofty ambitions both fans and manager may have for the future and the regularity with which opposing forces plunder this once great fortress must be brought under control. It’s not going to happen overnight, but having a clear issue ahead of you to tackle and influence is a start.

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Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert bemoaned his side’s defensive showing as they slipped to a shock Capital One Cup semi-final first-leg defeat to Bradford.

The Premier League outfit were expected to overcome the Bantams at Valley Parade, but found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline.

All three of Bradford’s goals came from set pieces, much to Lambert’s displeasure:

“I’m really disappointed we lost the game, we are in a game now, that’s for sure.” He told Sky Sports.

“We knew what was coming – set-pieces – and we never defended them well at all. That’s definitely what’s hurt us but that’s certainly not good enough.

“We had a lot of the game and yes they were set-pieces but set-pieces are a vital part of the game and you’ve got to defend them. We didn’t do that.”

However, the former Norwich boss was upbeat about his team’s chances of booking a place at Wembley, but insists that they must up their game in the return leg at Villa Park:

“But it’s half-time and we’ve got time to retrieve this. We’ll see what happens in a fortnight’s time.

“We know what we’ve got to do and we’ve certainly got to do a lot better than that.”

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Nahki Wells, Rory McArdle and Carl McHugh netted for the home side, but Andreas Weimann gave the Midlanders a potentially important away goal.

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Spanish giants Barcelona will make an audacious bid to sign Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany in the summer, according to the Sunday Mirror.

The La Liga leaders want the sign the City captain to replace club legend Carlos Puyol who is coming to the end of his illustrious career at the Nou Camp.

The 26 year old Belgian defender has arguably been City’s best player over the past two years, but a possible season without any silverware will have affected morale in the camp.

It would take an astronomical bid from Barcelona to lure City into any negotiations and it is unlikely that Kompany would force through a move away from the Etihad.

Chelsea’s hit and miss centre back David Luiz is also on the shortlist to replace Puyol at the Catalan club and the Brazilian stopper may be available after a slow season in the Premier League that has seen him fall down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.

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Mario Gotze has hinted his long-term future may be away from Borussia Dortmund with Manchester United one of his preferred choices.

The 20-year-old is one of the hottest properties in German football and scored his fifth international goal for Germany in their 4-1 victory over Kazakhstan on Tuesday night. Gotze has been in impeccable form since returning from a January 2012 hip injury. With a rare combination of pace, creativity, and technical skill, the young winger has been attracting attention from Europe’s top clubs

The youngster has enjoyed another excellent season with Dortmund despite the fact that they are some distance behind champions-elect Bayern Munich and has netted 8 goals in 24 Bundesliga appearances.

Although happy in his present surroundings at the moment, the talented schemer is clearly keen on a move abroad in the future. He did sign a long-term contract with Dortmund last year, but seeing Shinji Kagawa leave for Manchester last year might persuade him to leave.

“Clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United are attractive, and playing in another top league would shape me and help me develop as a player,” he said.

“But I’m not thinking that far ahead at the moment. I’m happy in Germany and am delighted with the way things are going. Anything else is still a long way off.”

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed last week that mercurial midfielder Andrey Arshavin will be leaving the club at the end of the season, but amid links with Borussia Dortmund playmaker Mario Gotze, isn’t it about time that in order to try and bridge the gap on those above them, that they splash out on a genuinely exciting name that could be the envy of the rest of Europe?

With four wins on the bounce in the Premier League against Swansea, Reading, West Brom and Norwich, four games which the club would always expected to have picked up at least 10 points from, Arsenal all of a sudden look guaranteed to make the top four again this season, with an easier run-in than both Chelsea and Tottenham between now and the end of the campaign. Should they go on to secure Champions League football for a 17th successive season now, it makes them a much more attractive proposition and better off financially than many initially feared was possible after the north London derby defeat in February at White Hart Lane.

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This near-death experience from a footballing perspective should serve as a cautionary reminder that Wenger needs to spend more in the market to have an impact at the latter stage of the term. The last time the club made a splash in such a fashion was the purchase of the 31-year-old Russia international back in January 2009, but a move for Gotze could prove to be a real signal of intent and a mark of the club’s ambition for the future; they haven’t shown too many of those lately.

It’s not a coincidence that reports that Arsenal have things such as a ‘£70m transfer war chest’ in the summer to spend happen to always come out around the same time that season ticket renewals are on the agenda after yet another disappointing season. Being treated to such inconsistent and frustrating fare for the highest ticket prices in Europe will only be furthered by the promise of something at the end of the rainbow, with many crying out for Wenger to finally invest heavily in the squad.

Having spent approximately £53m this season on the likes of Olivier Giroud, Lukas Podolski, Nacho Monreal and Santi Cazorla, but after the big money departures of both Alex Song and Robin van Persie to bigger clubs before the season began, that still just takes their net spend to around £9m. The needless penny-pinching ways have to stop if they are to make giant strides in terms of their league performance, otherwise they’ll simply continue to bang their heads against that glass ceiling to the top two.

The main problem that the club has faced in recent years has been not replacing departing players with new faces of the same quality – after Cesc Fabregas left, Mikel Arteta was bought, Giroud and Podolski were added to the squad to make up for van Persie’s exit, while Gervinho has done a ropey job of replacing Samir Nasri. The balance of the side is heavy in certain positions and light in other areas and needs addressing, but this flawed and constrictive approach has coincided with the club finding it more and more difficult to achieve their aims and compete at the top level. A move for Gotze this summer could change all of that.

The issue is whether Wenger, becoming increasingly zealot-like on the subject of Financial Fair Play, will dig deep into the club’s pockets and sanction such a deal. The one thing going in Arsenal’s favour is that for the first summer in the last four years, they don’t have a top player looking to leave to try and win silverware elsewhere, having been cherry-picked by vultures all too regularly. Jack Wilshere remains the crown jewel, and he may one day move elsewhere, but they’ve got him for the foreseeable future and it’s a sad indictment of the lack of potentially world-class players at their disposal.

Instead of treating this as something to be negative about in the long-term, though, it could be used as an opportunity to build from a position of strength, which is what they’ll be in if they make the top four. Arsenal remain an inconsistent beast, held back to some extent by the constrictive fiscal policy of the board, but on the topic of Gotze, given what he could bring to the side and his potential for the future, it’s a no-brainer.

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Spending money is always fraught with risks, but after identifying such a talented player, if they manage to pluck out a Champions League qualification place in a season where so much has gone wrong for them, they should allow themselves this luxury; for a club obsessed with the cost of everything and the value of nothing, the fans at least deserve something to get excited about for a change.

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