Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Portsmouth could lose on-loan Algerian midfielder Hassan Yebda because they cannot afford the £4m it would take to buy him from Benfica.(The Daily Mirror) 
But Pompey could be in the running for former Blackburn striker Shabani Nonda, who has been released by Galatasaray on a free.(The Daily Mirror) 
Sunderland have not given up their interest in Paraguay striker Salvador Cabanas in the summer - despite the player being in hospital at the moment after being shot in the head last month.(Daily Star) 
Manchester United are interested in bringing Benfica's Brazilian Under-20 international defender David Luiz to Old Trafford.(The Daily Mail) 

OTHER GOSSIP

The Premier League could advance Portsmouth their end-of-season payment to help the club stay afloat, provided the other Premier League clubs all agree.(The Daily Mail) 
Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole is drooling over his old club's performances this season and says Wayne Rooney is in the form of his life.(The Daily Mirror) 
Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland, 23, feels liberated under new manager Roberto Mancini because he feels he was played out of position by previous boss Mark Hughes.(The Daily Mirror) 
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan says he is glad his mind games have worked after the team responded to talk of a pay cut with their first win of the year when they beat Birmingham on Wednesday night.(The Sun) 
Former Notts County director of football Sven-Goran Eriksson could be on his way to the World Cup as Nigeria and North Korea both want the Swede to take over as manager.(The Daily Mirror) 
Wayne Bridge has been warned he can forget about going to the World Cup if he boycotts England's next game against Egypt on 3 March.(The Independent) 
England's home weekend international fixtures could be moved to Friday nights from the autumn onwards.(Daily Express) 
Hibernian defender Sol Bamba says his Ivory Coast team-mates wanted to pull out of last month's Africa Cup of Nations after receiving death threats after the attack on the Togo team, and only the nation's president persuaded them to take part(Daily Record) 

AND FINALLY

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher says the fact their second-top scorer this season is own goals by opponents - 10 goals - is because they put opponents under so much pressure.(The Sun)
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Arsenal 1-4 Chelsea

Chelsea secured a top three Premier League finish and entry into next season's Champions League group stages with a comprehensive win at Arsenal. 
Alex powerfully headed Chelsea in front and Nicolas Anelka thundered in a 25-yard strike to dobule Chelsea's lead. 
Arsenal's Kolo Toure put Ashley Cole's cross into his own net before a Nicklas Bendtner header pulled it back to 3-1. 
The Gunners rallied but Chelsea wrapped up the win when Florent Malouda slotted in after Anelka's shot hit the post. 

Arsenal will now be left to negotiate an open draw qualification for next season's Champions League, which could potentially pit them against a team from the German, Spanish or Italian leagues. 

Both teams were coming off the back of elimination from this season's competition in midweek and, while the win will provide some consolation for Chelsea, Arsenal's misery will only be compounded by the loss.It was a defeat that seemed unlikely when Arsenal burst out of the blocks and seemed set to score as they swarmed all over Chelsea.

Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Toure, Silvestre, Gibbs, Walcott (Adebayor 68), Nasri, Song Billong (Denilson 67), Diaby (Bendtner 59), Fabregas, Van Persie.
Subs Not Used: Mannone, Ramsey, Djourou, Eboue. 
Booked: Fabregas. 
Goals: Bendtner 70. 

Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa (Ivanovic 77), Alex, Terry, Ashley Cole, Essien, Mikel, Lampard, Anelka, Drogba, Malouda (Ballack 88).
Subs Not Used: Hilario, Di Santo, Kalou, Belletti, Mancienne. 
Goals: Alex 28, Anelka 39, Toure 49 og, Malouda 86. 

Att: 60,075 
Ref: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).

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Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP 

Barcelona have warned Chelsea and Manchester City that Argentine superstar Lionel Messi is not for sale at any price. (The Sun) 
The Spanish side are also hoping to fend off interest in Thierry Henry by offering the French striker a new three-year contract. (The Sun) 
AC Milan have reignited their interest in Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor after failing to land him last summer. (Daily Express) 
Liverpool are favourites to sign £20m-rated Spain midfielder David Silva after Valencia indicated they would prefer to sell him abroad. (Various) 
West Ham are prepared to break their transfer record by bidding more than £9m for Atalanta striker Sergio Floccari. (Daily Mirror) 
Tottenham have been told by Genoa to forget about signing their Argentine striker Diego Milito, saying £10m would not even buy his ear. (The Sun) 
Aston Villa have been alerted to the availability of Standard Liege midfielder Steven Defour. (Daily Mirror) 
David Beckham will stay at AC Milan rather than return to LA Galaxy when his loan spell ends in May, according to his Milan team-mate Paolo Maldini. (Daily Mirror) 
Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has insisted he "does not want to go anywhere at this point" despite him being linked with Chelsea. (Daily Express) 
Stoke want to sign Manchester City striker Benjani and will move for him at the end of the season. (Daily Mirror) 
Burnley striker Ade Akinbiyi is heading to the US to tie up a deal to play for MLS side Houston Dynamo next season. (Various) 
Doncaster striker Jason Price is set to join Millwall on loan for the rest of the season. (Daily Star) 
Brighton's top scorer Glenn Murray will snub a summer move to Cardiff and stay with the Seagulls, even if they are relegated to League Two. (Daily Star) 
Spanish outfit Sevilla are set to cast an eye over Celtic winger Aiden McGeady at Saturday's Republic of Ireland international against Bulgaria. (Daily Express) 
Rangers have targeted the twin brother of Manchester United's Brazilian sensation Rafael de Silva to solve their left midfield problem. (Various) 

OTHER GOSSIP 

Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has stepped up his bid to sell his 50% stake in the club, instructing financial giants Merrill Lynch to find a buyer. (Daily Mirror) 
Sir Alex Ferguson will quit as manager of Manchester United next year, according to his son Darren. (Various) 
Manchester United are in advanced talks with Saudi Telecom to replace shirt sponsor AIG. (Daily Mail) 
David Beckham has warned England coach Fabio Capello that he will not be able to curb the temper of striker Wayne Rooney. (Various) 
Capello has told his England players not to treat Saturday's clash with Slovakia as just a friendly. (Daily Mirror) 
Arsenal are on a collision course with Togo, who have vowed to play Emmanuel Adebayor against Cameroon on Saturday. The striker has not played for his club for six weeks because of a hamstring injury . (Daily Mirror) 
Gunners striker Robin van Persie has revealed he almost joined Rangers before he switched from Feyenoord to the Londoners in 2002. "I sat by the phone, hoping it would ring and that it would happen," he said. (Daily Star) 
Japanese business tycoon Yasuaki Kagami is set to take control of Plymouth when his real-estate form raises its stake in the club past the 50% mark in a seven-figure deal. (The Sun) 
Former Hearts defender Christophe Berra looks set to start for Scotland against Holland on Saturday in Amsterdam (Various) 
Cash-strapped Livingston failed to pay their players' wages on time again on Thursday, sparking further fears about the club's financial stability. (Daily Record) 
Brian McLean reckons Motherwell will bag a European slot after going on a run of sparkling form recently. (Daily Record) 
Dundee's financial future looks secure after welcoming one of Scotland's richest men, Calum Melville, to their board of directors. (Daily Record) 
Meanwhile, East Stirling have welcomed local businessman Hugh Henderson to their board to represent fans. (Daily Record) 
Robbie Winters is set to sign for Clyde in a bid to help the club win their fight against relegation from the First Division. (Daily Record) 
Queen of the South star Stevie Tosh says Aberdeen fans should lay off Jimmy Calderwood after calling for the manager's head this week (Daily Record) 
St Mirren keeper Chris Smith could be out for a year with a cruciate ligament injury. (Various) 
Robin Van Persie claims he almost signed for Rangers when Dick Advocaat was manager in 2002. (Various) 
Hearts sporting director Anatoly Korobochka has returned from a whistle-stop tour of Europe hunting for a pre-season training camp. (Daily Express) 
Fifa has ordered the four home nations to come to an agreement over a Great Britain football team for the London Olympics in 2012. (The Scotsman) 

AND FINALLY 

The Premier League's biggest clubs unveiled early designs for new kits for next season to negative reactions from supporters. Manchester United's shirt was described as "vulgar" and a "disgrace", Chelsea fans said their club's new kit would make them look like "muppets" and an Arsenal fan said his side's new shirt would be "one of the most unpopular ever". (Daily Star)

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