Center Holds It

ARSENAL

Arsenal's Johan Djourou knocked for 6 months - Daily Mail

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott set to return from injury against Manchester City - Telegraph.co.uk

Youngster Bendtner and Denilson sign "long-term" deals - BBC Sport

Will Sounders star Freddie Ljungberg return to Arsenal after MLS season? - Seattle Times

ASTON VILLA

Villa duo fights for Lions place - Birmingham Mail

BIRMINGHAM

Maik Taylor keen to regain Blues jersey - Soccer365

Alex McLeish delighted to have landed Teemu Tainio at last...

A couple tidbits for the Holiday weekend:


It looked as if Middlesbrough - near the beginning of the transfer window - was going to hold on to its most prized assets as they prepared for life once again in the Championship. The last two weeks have been an eye-opener, however, with Sanli Tuncay and Robert Huth heading back to the EPL with Stoke City, Stewart Downing finally getting his move away from the club to Aston Villa, and Afonso Alves, ultimately a huge bust after a high-profile move from...

1. Pablo Campos (Real Salt Lake)
Many were thinking - especially after their recent trades - that Chivas USA would snap out of their funk and move on back up the Western Conference standings. Not the case early on in the week and certainily not the case to close it out. Pablo Campos was the man behind the continuation of the Goats' nasty trend. His goal right before halftime helped open up the floodgates. It was - surprisingly - his first in an RSL uniform. He didn't let that settle, putting up the game...

ARSENAL

Wenger brands Man United tactics as "anti-football" - ESPN Soccernet

UEFA charge Arsenal striker Eduardo - CNN International

ASTON VILLA

We must get over Martin Laursen, says Stiliyan Petrov - Sunday Mercury

Gabby Agbonlahor helps Villa to first home win of the season - Times Online

BIRMINGHAM

Birmingham chief Karen Brady set to quit club - Daily Mirror

Lee Carsley: Toughen up, Birmingham City - Birmingham Mail

BLACKBURN

Blackburn Rovers boss defends cautious approach...

The transfer deadline is fast approaching and some big teams are scrambling to get deals done. Everton - still trying to figure out how to fill the gap Joleon Lescott's exit to Man City has left - went for a temporary solution in Sylvain Distin. Despite rumored and probably a bit exaggerated Manchester United interest in oft-injured Real Madrid winger Arjen Robben, Bayern Munich settled the uncertainty by swooping in to grab the Dutchman. Real Madrid wasn't done shedding Dutchmen just yet as they also sent Ajax product Wesley Sneijder to Inter Milan. The rumors say a five-year deal has been reached...

1. Darrius Barnes (New England)

Forget his own goal given as simply a consolation goal in the last five minutes of a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake. The Revs have been on a tear since the All-Star break and you have to point out the fact that two rookies and a newcomer are the ones manning an impressive backline (kind of like the Galaxy with Gonzalez, DeLaGarza, and Berhalter). New England should have had two shutouts in week 23 - a 1-0 squeeze by Seattle and the dominant win over Salt Lake and Barnes...

ARSENAL

Arsenal 4, Portsmouth 1: Wenger's masterplan beginning to bear fruit - Daily Mail

Arsene Wenger admits surprise over Thomas Vermaelen impact for Arsenal - Guardian.co.uk

Arsenal likely to be without Cesc Fabregas for Manchester United contest - Telegraph.co.uk

Arshavin: We should spend - SkySports

ASTON VILLA

Villa target Newcastle defender Steven Taylor - Daily Mirror

Martin O'Neill urges Villa fans to lay off the boos - Guardian.co.uk

Brad Friedel urges Aston Villa not to panic...

Jozy Altidore's Hull City got their first win of the young season with a 1-0 win over Bolton. And Altidore, after a long wait and some complications, got his chance to play. Coming on in the 59th minute for striker Caleb Folan, Altidore immediately made an impact providing an acrobatic assist to fellow newbie Kamel Ghilas for the gamewinner. If his EPL debut was any indication of what to expect this season from Altidore, there's a lot to get excited about. The Tigers will need him and a couple...

The Galaxy prevailed yesterday and Seattle/New England is going on right now but neither have anything to do with Week 22. Zakuani was the star of the week as Seattle dismantled the tough Galaxy defense and regained some momentum.


1. Steve Zakuani (Seattle)

He has tied it up with Chris Pontius as top Rookie of the Year candidate and his play vs. the Galaxy warrants that jump. Although he calmed down a bit in the second half, Zakuani's pace and acceleration...

...these guys did just that.



1. Charlie Davies (Sochaux)


If you read Greg Seltzer's very recent interview with Davies, you'll see his goal is to be a striker that Sochaux - relegation battlers last season in Ligue One - can't live without. With both goals in Sochaux's 3-2 loss to defending champs Bordeaux, he has certainly already made an impression. Scoring a goal in Mexico will do wonders for the confidence. Sochaux, last season, were mostly stuck right in the thick...