MANCHESTER, England, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Brief news ahead of
this weekend’s Premier League matches (times GMT):

* Liverpool will be missing midfielder Raul Meireles for
Saturday’s home game against Bolton Wanderers (1630) after the
Anfield club confirmed he would be out of action for up to a
fortnight with a collarbone injury.

MANCHESTER (Reuters) – Alex Ferguson once called Arsene Wenger “the worst loser in football” but the Manchester United manager spoke out in defence of his old adversary on Friday, suggesting a lack of patience from supporters was to blame for the growing pressure on his Arsenal counterpart.

Wenger has faced unprecedented criticism from some Arsenal fans during a summer that has brought the departures of key midfielders Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, with criticism focused on the Frenchman’s perceived failure to address his team’s weaknesses in the transfer market.

MANCHESTER, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Alex Ferguson once called
Arsene Wenger “the worst loser in football” but the Manchester
United manager spoke out in defence of his old adversary on
Friday, suggesting a lack of patience from supporters was to
blame for the growing pressure on his Arsenal counterpart.

Wenger has faced unprecedented criticism from some Arsenal
fans during a summer that has brought the departures of key
midfielders Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, with criticism
focused on the Frenchman’s perceived failure to address his
team’s weaknesses in the transfer market.

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Sergio Aguero may have to wait a little longer for a starting place at Manchester City despite making a two-goal debut as a substitute earlier this week.

Aguero, the club’s record signing from Atletico Madrid last month, made an immediate impact with a second-half double in Monday’s 4-0 rout of Swansea City in the Premier League.

MANCHESTER, England, Aug 20 (Reuters) – Sergio Aguero may
have to wait a little longer for a starting place at Manchester
City despite making a two-goal debut as a substitute earlier
this week.

Aguero, the club’s record signing from Atletico Madrid last
month, made an immediate impact with a second-half double in
Monday’s 4-0 rout of Swansea City in the Premier League.

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Manchester City were hopeful on Friday of securing Samir Nasri’s services “quickly” while the signs from his current club Arsenal were that any transfer might not be quite so rapid after naming him in the squad for this weekend’s match against Liverpool.

City’s lengthy and public pursuit of Arsenal midfielder Nasri is not yet complete with 12 days remaining before the transfer window closes and manager Roberto Mancini has been frustrated by the club’s dealings in the market.

MANCHESTER, England, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Manchester City were
hopeful on Friday of securing Samir Nasri’s services “quickly”
while the signs from his current club Arsenal were that any
transfer might not be quite so rapid after naming him in the
squad for this weekend’s match against Liverpool.

City’s lengthy and public pursuit of Arsenal midfielder
Nasri is not yet complete with 12 days remaining before the
transfer window closes and manager Roberto Mancini has been
frustrated by the club’s dealings in the market.

LONDON (Reuters) – The lure of the Premier League has brought many of the world’s biggest names to play football in England — and it also draws huge numbers of fans from abroad to watch it.

More than 750,000 visitors to Britain attended a match last year according to figures from national tourism agency VisitBritain, underlining the global appeal of English football.

LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) – The lure of the Premier League
has brought many of the world’s biggest names to play football
in England — and it also draws huge numbers of fans from abroad
to watch it.

More than 750,000 visitors to Britain attended a match last
year according to figures from national tourism agency
VisitBritain, underlining the global appeal of English football.

LONDON (Reuters) – When Romelu Lukaku visited Stamford Bridge on a school trip to London, he bought himself a Chelsea shirt with his name on the back as a souvenir.

At the time Lukaku was already playing for Anderlecht and a full Belgian international. Two years later he has a new Chelsea shirt and this time he is being paid to wear it.