David Bentley returns to Arsenal after the weekend’s three big games
On Sunday, the explosive Manchester United will beat the implosive Man City in the derby,
having slipped up at Portsmouth last week.
Chelsea should beat Liverpool, not least because Fernando Torres was injured playing in Spain’s 1-0 win over France.
Rafa badly needs a victory at the Bridge but the best he will do is a 0-0.
And that would suit Arsenal, who play Blackburn in Monday night’s Setanta game.
England’s man-of-the-moment David Bentley comes back to play against the club who sold him.
Few players go on to great things after leaving Arsenal, apart from Ray Kennedy and Niall Quinn, but Bentley has done OK so far
He lacks pace, had an attitude when he was a teenager, and wanted to leave and play first team football, even though Arsene Wenger wanted to keep him.
As England struggled with five in midfield, lacking composure and fluency, Bentley had four crosses blocked at source as he tried to get the ball in early, like Beckham, his hero.
But as the game went on, Bentley showed he is a reasonable technician with two good feet. He can pass the ball as well as cross it. He makes and scores more goals than Rosicky.
Flamini says he will be fit for Blackburn, after suffering a minor thigh injury while playing for France
KOLO TOURE produced some imbecilic defending in the second semi-final of the African Cup of Nations last night.
The first semi was Ghana-Cameroon, where big strong boys cancelled each other out in a scrappy match.
The player I most wanted to see in this tournament was Stephen Appiah, Ghana’s midfield colossus, but he was injured and took no part.
Ghana were captained by Michael Essien, Cameroon by centreback Rigobert Song, who has played in the last seven African Nations tournaments and never missed a game.
The only goal came in 71, a pinball-fast move in which Samuel Eto’o played a perfect pass through for Nkong to score a goal straight out of the Eto’o textbook : raced into the left side of the box, opened up his body, sidefooted swiftly across the keeper into the far corner.
Alain Nkong is 28 and this was his second cap. He plays for Mexican champions Atlante and his goal gave Cameroon their first win over Ghana for 41 years.
When Ivory Coast lined up at 8.30 in an all-orange kit, I looked at Drogba, Kalou, the Toure brothers and thought : If you can’t beat Egypt with this team, you never will.
But Egypt thumped them 4-1.
There was no way back after an incident in 66 minutes.
A hysterical Kolo Toure turned himself inside out by racing back, away from Zaky, who had just scored to make it 2-1. It was crazy defending, Keystone Cops stuff, and quite bizarre to think that Toure, one of the good guys of football, had got himself into such a state that he did what he did here. When it’s 2-1 in a semi-final, you don’t panic and run away from a guy who has just scored, allowing him to rifle another shot through your dodgy keeper !
At 2-1, the game was not over. At 3-1 it was.Then Abou Terika made it 4-1.
When it was 1-0, just after half-time, Drogba rose to meet a right wing corner and sent in a rocketing header that was so hard it hit the keeper on his chest before he could move his arms. What a leap ! What a header!
But it wasn’t Drogba’s day. He had hit the ground with a first half shot, and later hit the keeper’s legs with another header.
On this evidence Egypt, the holders, have enough solidity and creative habits to beat Cameroon on Sunday night and retain the trophy.
Roll on, Monday night – and another three points.