Carling cup blow could be fatal for Arsenal

Three years ago, a sickening injury inflicted on Arsenals Eduardo coupled with a William Gallas meltdown torpedoed any aspirations the Gunners had of a Premier League title. The draw, while costly points-wise, wasn’t fatal but the manner in which Arsenal and Gallas folded left a psychological scar that never healed.

No points were dropped yesterday in their pursuit of Manchester United on top of the Premier league but a similar blow may have been inflicted. The manner in which Lorient Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny conspired to lose yesterday’s final was another example of Arsenal’s white line fever.

United and Chelsea used the Carling Cup as a takeoff to the big ones. Arsenal, as ever, remain on the runway.

Rooney needs to keep his head

It was six years ago that Wayne Rooney suffered his first sending off in a Manchester United shirt. A childish clap at a referee decision an a 0-0 draw with Villarreal. It was an impetuous act of youth that was quickly forgiven if not quickly forgotten. Rooney matured as the months under Alex Ferguson passed and contrary to some opinion his disciplinary record has been good since.

That very nearly came to an end on Saturday as he appeared to catch Wigan’s James McCarthy in the face with a raised hand. Roberto Martinez certainly felt it was a red card and on repeated viewing it is hard to disagree with the Wigan manager.

Rooney scored, and played his part in the other three United goals in a performance that may finally suggest he is approaching form at a crucial juncture for United.  But one suspects that John Terry and Jamie Carragher will test his temper in the coming week. United need him to keep it in check.

Brilliant Dortmund rout Bayern

The game of the week in Europe more than lived up to its billing as Jorgen Klopp’s Broussia Dortmund comprehensively defeated Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena to move into a seemingly unassailable position on top of the Bundesliga.

Dortmund were a joy to watch especially in a frantic opening 25 minutes in which they took a 2-1 lead. Nuri Sahin used his wand of a left foot to score the goal of the game and Bastian Schweinsteiger in particular will have nightmares about the first half as Dortmund relentlessly pressed him into making mistakes.

Jorgen Klopp deserves all the praise for moulding such an impressive unit. He needs a new pair of glasses this morning though. Should have gone to Specsavers.

Serie A and Sanchez show their class

Alexis Sanchez is perennially linked to Europe’s big club. With good reason. The Chilean is lightening quick with devastating quick feet. He scored four goals in Udinese’s 7-0 win at Palermo on Saturday and should he continue to perform like he is, one of those big clubs will make Udinese an offer they can’t refuse.

Sanchez wasn’t the only star in Serie A to sprinkle their magic. A crazy game in the Olympic stadium in Rome saw Roma lose a two goal lead to Parma. Amauri got them back on track with this special finish.

Serie A has come in for some criticism recently given AC Milan’s inept performance against Spurs, but it definitely can’t be called boring.

Celtic lose the big Mo’

It was election weekend of course and the phrase coined in America of candidates gaining momentum in the polls is the big Mo’. Celtic arrived at Motherwell with it yesterday, they swatted aside Rangers last week to negate their games in hand and were playing with a freedom and confidence of potential champions.

A week is a long time in politics and even longer in football. Charlie Mulgrew hesitated in the second minute and John Sutton pounced to score. Defeat. Rangers won comfortably. The momentum may have shifted.