Arsenal, Chelsea feeling heat as league resumes

The Premier League title duel between Manchester United and Manchester City could be relegated to sideshow status this weekend as all eyes descend on the turmoil bedevilling Arsenal and Chelsea. With Manchester City facing lowly Blackburn on Saturday and United travelling to Norwich 24 hours later, few will be surprised if City’s two-point lead at the top of the table remains intact come Sunday night. Yet the stakes could not be higher for Arsenal and Chelsea, whose campaigns are teetering on the brink following a series of poor results which have left their managers Arsene Wenger and Andre Villas-Boas facing stinging criticism. Arsenal followed their 4-0 thrashing at AC Milan weekend with a dismal FA Cup exit at Sunderland last weekend, a result that effectively ensured the Gunners’ trophy drought would enter an eighth year. While conventional wisdom suggests Wenger has built up enough reserves of goodwill during his 15 years at Arsenal to be the author of his own exit strategy, the recent chorus of criticism directed at the Frenchman will become deafening if Tottenham prevail in Sunday’s north London derby at the Emirates. Spurs, who beat Arsenal 2-1 at White Hart Lane earlier this season, have not done the double over the Gunners for nearly 20 years. A victory for Harry Redknapp’s side would see Spurs open up a 13-point lead over Wenger’s men, a vast gulf between third and fourth place that underscores the acute sense of two clubs heading in opposite directions. Arsenal defender Johan Djourou has challenged his team-mates to prove that the club remain “the kings of London.” “When you play (Tottenham), you forget the table; it is a battle and the best team will win,” Djourou said. “They are in great shape this season, they have been playing a lot better than before but you have to forget about that and go to war. “At the start of the season some people wrote them off because they lost a few games but since then they have been unbelievable. But it is up to us to show that we are the kings of London.” While Wenger is expected to weather the current storm, Villas-Boas’s position at Chelsea remains shrouded in uncertainty despite the Portuguese manager’s insistence that he retains the full backing of owner Roman Abramovich. The 34-year-old Chelsea boss lurched into another crisis this week as his team slumped to a 3-1 loss at Napoli which has left the Londoners staring down the barrel of Champions League elimination. Villas-Boas’s selection for the match has come under severe scrutiny following the decision to omit Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole from his starting line-up. Several reports have suggested Villas-Boas is struggling to get a grip on a full-scale dressing room mutiny, with headlines this week such as “Bench warfare” and “Battle at the Bridge” highlighting the strained relationship between the coach and his players. Failure to beat relegation-threatened Bolton on Saturday could prove fatal to Villas-Boas, who has won just four of his last 14 games. Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic is adamant that the club needs to unite behind the manager to have any chance of saving their season. “Chelsea has to be the priority for everybody,” Ivanovic said. “We all have to think like this to try to make the position better. “Things like this always happen when you are losing and they always leak out. But it is the manager who decides who plays and then it is up to us players to do our jobs. “This is a critical period for this club and we will only get through it if we stay positive and keep working hard.”Villas-Boas’s Bolton counterpart Owen Coyle meanwhile rallied to the support of his opposite number, backing him to transform Chelsea – provided he is given enough time to do so. “There is no doubt that it is a season of transition at Chelsea because of what he wants to put in place and without wishing to use cliches, Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Coyle said. “Sometimes it takes time, but I do believe Chelsea have got the right man in place to bring all that to fruition. “The one commodity we ask for in football is time. Sometimes it is not given, but if it is – and I believe it will be at Chelsea – then I think they will reap the rewards.”

Park happy to be United’s captain sensible

Park Ji-Sung has revealed his pride at being asked to captain Manchester United but is firmly focused on the Red Devils’ pursuit of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League. The former South Korean international captain was handed the armband by Sir Alex Ferguson for Thursday’s Europa League clash against Ajax at Old Trafford. The occasion was spoiled for Park however after United lost 2-1 on the night yet progressed on 3-2 aggregate. “It was a great honour to be named Manchester United captain,” Park said. “It is not something I ever thought about doing, but I would have preferred the result to be better.” Park meanwhile is keen for United to keep up the pressure on leaders City with victory over Norwich on Sunday. “From now on, every match in the Premier League is important,” he said. “We have to keep pressing Manchester City. “We have experienced this kind of pressure before. It is a big advantage for us that we have that kind of experience. “That is the biggest difference between Manchester City and us and we have to see how they deal with it.”

Gerrard wants England captaincy

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard says he would relish the opportunity to captain England at the 2012 European Championships. “If I get offered it, I’ll take it and I’ll be delighted and I’ll be very proud to take it,” Gerrard told BBC’s Football Focus on Saturday. The midfielder added that he believed manager Fabio Capello’s resignation could give the team the necessary lift “for a successful summer”. Talking about the captaincy he said: “It’s not my decision. It’s down to, first of all, who Stuart Pearce wants to lead the team out, then whoever gets the job full time. But I want to be England captain.” Capello resigned after disagreeing with his bosses at the FA over the decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy pending his trial on racial abuse charges, which he denies. After Capello left his role, Pearce was put in charge of the national side for England’s friendly with the Netherlands at Wembley next Wednesday. The former England left-back has admitted he would like to take the side to this summer’s Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. Reflecting on Capello’s resignation, Gerrard said: “Yes, I was surprised, of course. “I thought he would stay until the end of the summer, until the end of his contract and then move on, so it was a bit of a surprise. “I don’t think it will affect the England team. “We’ll get a new manager, it’s a fresh start for everyone. It may be the lift we need to have a successful summer.”

Football: Kean has bodyguard over rovers threat

Kean has faced repeated calls from fans to resign this season as Rovers struggle near the foot of the table. Beleaguered Blackburn manager Steve Kean has revealed that a bodyguard accompanies him at all times following a vitriolic campaign to have him sacked as Rovers boss. Kean, a controversial appointment following the dismissal of Sam Allardyce in 2010, has faced repeated calls from fans to resign this season as Rovers struggle near the foot of the table. The 44-year-old Scot told The Times on Friday that he now has a personal security detail as a precaution. "I was advised that it would be in my interest to have somebody with me at all times," said Kean, whose side faces leaders Manchester City on Saturday. "I was at a restaurant with my wife and children a few months ago and got a text message from a friend telling me to be careful. "There was stuff going out on Twitter from an activist group which identified the restaurant so that people could confront me. "I showed the text to my wife and we decided to leave straightaway. Kean said his bodyguard was a martial arts expert but admitted it was a "surreal" development in his life. "The chap who protects me is a seventh dan in karate, but he is not big or butch or anything," he said. "I think the vast majority of fans are passionate, but non-violent, whether towards me or anybody else. "I also think most of the Blackburn fans are behind me. "It is surreal, though, I cannot deny that." he added.

Wozniacki crashes out of Dubai Open

Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki lost in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, falling to Julia Goerges 7-6 (3), 7-5 Friday. The former top-ranked Dane led 4-2 in the second set before Goerges regained control to close out the match in just over two hours. Goerges will face Agnieszka Radwanska in the final Saturday after the Polish player defeated Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 in the first semifinal. Wozniacki said she struggled with her serve throughout the match, while Goerges never let her find her rhythm once the ball was in play. "I felt I had all the opportunities in the world today and didn t take advantage of them. If you don t take your chances, there is no way to win," Wozniacki said. "It s easy to say I should have done this and could have done that. But, you know, as well for Julia she took her chances. If I came with a weak shot she was there straight away and she punished me." Goerges now has a 3-2 head-to-head record against the former No. 1. "It was a pretty tough match. I mean, it s never easy playing her," Goerges said. "It s always a lot of balls, a lot of rallies. We played over two hours for two sets." Goerges overcame Russia s Svetlana Kuznetsova, Casey Dellacqua of Australia and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the previous rounds. Dellacqua replaced top-ranked Victoria Azarenka, who pulled out of the tournament with an ankle injury on Wednesday before she was to play her opening match against Goerges. "You never expect being in the final when you have seen the draw before," Goerges said. "I mean, it started with a tough first round, expecting another big match in the second round, which unfortunately didn t happen. "But, well, it s nice to be in the final with so many great players in the draw." Radwanska and Goerges last met in Melbourne last month, when the Polish player beat the German 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. "Well, it s going to be a tough one again," Goerges said of Saturday s final. "I mean, she killed me in Australia. Well, tomorrow is a new day, new match, and starts from zero again." The fifth-seeded Radwanska jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set against Jankovic before winning it in 33 minutes. The 22-year-old Polish player faltered in the second when her Serbian opponent broke twice, but then regrouped and wrapped up the win without losing another game. Radwanska said she regained her confidence by breaking early in the third set, causing the eighth-seeded Jankovic to lose focus.

Mcllroy, Westwod advance to Match Play quarters

Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood remain on track for a semi-final showdown and a chance at the world No. 1 ranking after comfortable wins in the third round of the WGC Match Play Championship. On a day when only one of the eight round of 16 matches made it to the 18th hole, England s Westwood pumped American Nick Watney 3 and 2 and Northern Ireland s McIlroy managed to take down Spain s Miguel Angel Jimenez 3 and 1. Should either player win the tournament they will usurp Luke Donald as world number one, although currently they are on a collision course for a semi-final clash at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. First Westwood must account for Scotsman Martin Laird who won an all-Scottish battle over Paul Lawrie 3 and 1 to advance. While McIlroy meets South Korean Sang-Moon Bae who continued his charge with a 1-up win over Australian John Senden in the only match to make it to the final hole. Westwood, who had never advanced past the second round before this year, refused to look towards a potential dogfight with McIlroy, saying most people who had done so had been made to look like fools up to this point.

Composed Bairstow lifts England to 150

England 150 for 7 (Bairstow 60*) v Pakistan

Jonny Bairstow revived memories of his brilliant England one-day debut with a maiden international fifty in Dubai to leave Pakistan chasing 151 for a victory that would give them the Twenty20 series.Bairstow's 41 from 21 balls against India in Cardiff on a rainy night last September identified him as a one-day cricketer of immense promise, but it had remained his highest score in eight innings in ODIs and T20s as England awaited confirmation that he could follow up his flash of brilliance by proving that, at 22, he was ready for the international stage.Slow Asian pitches had forced a lot of self-analysis for Bairstow but he came alive against a high-class Pakistan attack. If Cardiff had brought excitement, Dubai, with the ring of fire blazing down, confirmed that it was not misplaced.Bairstow is that rare commodity for England, a power hitter, and after he squirted Umar Gul into the legside to secure his half-century four balls from the end of the innings, he emphasised the fact it by slapping a slow ball from Gul, a shot he did not really middle, over long-on for six.Against an excellent Pakistan attack, his unbeaten 60 from 46 balls were runs well earned. A dead surface added to England's difficulties and left them hopeful that their total would prove adequate, especially as Pakistan had successfully defended 144 for 6 two days earlier.Bairstow was determined to provide impetus from the outset. A flat six into the sightscreen bolstered his confidence and encouraged that, in his examination by Pakistan's spinners, he had at least gained pass marks on the subject of Shahid Afridi's googly.His most exceptional stroke, though, was reserved by Saeed Ajmal, slick footwork to make room followed by a regal off drive. There were muscular sweeps against the spinners and there was fun, too, as he grinned at Ajmal after daring a reverse sweep.Kevin Pietersen had been in domineering form in the first tie so Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan's captain, gave him a new challenge up front in the form of Mohammad Hafeez and Aizaz Cheema, in for Junaid Khan, but it was Ajmal who broke through in the fifth over when Pietersen mis-swept him to short fine leg.Eoin Morgan's' tortured tour continued. He has yet to manage a half-century and, although he briefly hinted at better with two successive cover boundaries against Gul, he poked forward to Hafeez and was lbw. He should have been lbw the previous ball, when he was defeated on the cut, but the umpire Ahsan Raza, unsure whether the ball had hit bat before pad, gave him the benefit of the doubt. Morgan insists that playing spin is a strength of his game, but the evidence that he is deluding himself is irrefutable.When Craig Kieswetter, who had looked more threatening than at any time on tour, holed out at long-off for 31, with four wickets lost by the 10th over, England split their two greenhorns, Bairstow and Buttler, with Samit Patel, himself a veteran of only seven Twenty20s but more proven in these conditions and with a solid T20 record at Nottinghamshire behind him. Patel's run out, eschewing a dive to the crease as Ajmal hit direct with a throw from long leg will not find favour with England's management.Gul at the death - predominantly bowling yorkers with a hint of reverse swing - was again excellent and it did nothing for the reputation of Buttler's trademark shot, the step to leg and horizontal-bat shovel over his left shoulder. As Gul hit the stumps with a low full toss, the shot had got Buttler out on two successive occasions.Even Cheema, who would have been identified by England as the weak link, displayed his skill with a deceptive slower ball to strike Stuart Broad's off-stump. As for Hammad Azam, his bowling had been overlooked by Misbah in the first game on the grounds that the situation was too tight. Presumably he expected this one to be tight, too, because he overlooked it again.