Arsenal played poorly at Manchester United on Wednesday but escaped with a 1-0 defeat that leaves them still in with a chance of reaching the Champions League final.

When you consider that they haven’t conceded a goal at home in the competition all season, the situation doesn’t look half bad. After all, they have already beaten United in north London this season and there is no reason why they can’t do it again.

First though, their big performers need to turn up, because they went missing at Old Trafford. Theo Walcott barely got a kick, Emmanuel Adebayor was subdued and Cesc Fabregas was overwhelmed in midfield.

It will also help if Robin van Persie is fit after missing the first leg. Without the Dutchman, and the ineligible Andrey Arshavin, they looked lightweight in attack.

United were not at their best either and will be frustrated at not putting the tie to bed. However, they did not allow Arsenal an away goal and so will start clear favourites to reach Rome and a possible re-match with Chelsea.

Remember, they were in far worse shape after drawing 2-2 at home with Porto in the quarter-final, first leg. And with such a plethora of attacking options, Alex Fergsuon’s side will be confident of breaching Arsenal’s Emirates fortress.

PHOTO: Manchester United’s John O’Shea (C) celebrates with Darren Fletcher (L) and Rio Ferdinand (R) after scoring during their Champions League semi-final, first leg against Arsenal at Old Trafford, April 29, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

PHOTO: We are half-used to seeing former Hammer Frank Lampard in a West Ham shirt (see this Ian Hodgson pic from 1998) but John Terry?

That shirt? Well yes it suits you sir, but looks a little strange ….!

 There are certain things you simply don’t expect to see in football like John Terry in a West Ham shirt or … and this one is for older fans …. Alfredo Di Stefano in Barcelona’s red and blue rather than the all-white of Real Madrid.

The news this week that Terry, who trained with the Hammers until he left for Chelsea at 14, has agreed to play for West Ham in a testimonial match for their academy director Tony Carr sets the imagination racing.

Somehow, try as hard as you like you just cannot imagine Mr Chelsea himself in a West Ham shirt.

But some images are even stranger to behold. I saw Liam Brady, one of Arsenal’s best loved heroes who scored an utterly astonishing goal against Spurs at White Hart Lane in 1979, in a Spurs shirt in 1984 playing in a testimonial for departing manager Keith Burkinshaw. It was almost surreal.

Diego Maradona also played for Spurs once in a testimonial for Ossie Ardiles. Kenny Dalglish also played in a testimonial for Spurs as well. Imagine Dalglish in a Spurs shirt. Hard isn’t it ? Even weirder was seeing Glenn Hoddle and Paul Gascoigne line up in an Arsenal team in a testimonial for Paul Merson.

And try as hard as you like, images of Denis Law in a Manchester City shirt at the end of his career or Bobby Moore and George Best in Fulham shirts never looked quite “right” somehow.

There are rare photos of all sorts of players who later became big stars playing for teams while on loan as teenagers.

David Beckham in a Preston shirt, Frank Lampard in the all-white of Swansea … or Ryan Giggs in a Manchester City youth team line-up. Fascinating.

Equally strange is Di Stefano, whose career in Spain began in controversy when he signed briefly for Barcelona and appeared in some friendlies before becoming the greatest player in Real Madrid’s history.

There are plenty of others obviously, so what is the most unlikely player in a shirt you’ve ever seen … ?

Chelsea will feel they are within touching distance of the Champions League final after holding Barcelona to a goalless draw a the Nou Camp in the first leg of their semi-final.

The Chelsea performance oozed professionalism, with Guus Hiddink’s players showing terrific resilience to leave Barca coach Pep Guardiola bemoaning Chelsea tactics and the performance of the referee.

“Five or six players in defence, a lot of players back, physically very strong,” said Guardiola. We tried to attack, we created chances and we presented a good image to people around the world but playing football is always difficult when one side doesn’t want to.”

Neutrals may have some sympathy for Guardiola, but Hiddink would be entitled to look at those comments as evidence that his team did just about everything right.

There were no gifts of the sort they enjoyed in the quarter-final against Liverpool, hence no away goal, but they will go into the second leg at Stamford Bridge with no fear … and against Barcelona that’s half the battle.

What do you think? Are we looking at another all-English final?

PHOTO: Guardiola shakes hands with Hiddink at the Nou Camp, April 28, 2009. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Bayern Munich’s decision to sack Juergen Klinsmann five rounds before the end of the season with the team just three points out of first place might end up working out for the club, with the title still very much up for grabs, but it’s sad news for the Bundesliga.

It is also sad for fans of the exciting, attacking style of football that the former Germany striker brought to Munich. Klinsmann had won myriad new enthusiasts for soccer in general and Bayern Munich in particular with his innovative approach — quite an achievement considering Bayern were probably the most hated club in Germany outside Bavaria.

Under Klinsmann, Bayern’s insatiable appetite for goals could make them a joy to watch going forward. Unfortunately for the coach, the defence also seemed to enjoy seeing goals scored too and let in far too many.

Bayern were brilliant on some nights: their 5-1 win over VfB Stuttgart in the German Cup and the one-sided wins in the Champions League against Sporting Lisbon (5-0 and 7-1) spring to mind.

But on other occasions they were pretty dreadful, like when they lost 2-1 against Cologne and 5-1 at VfL Wolfsburg — to say nothing of the humilating 4-0 defeat at Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

So why didn’t Bayern bosses hold tight and wait and see how the season played out? Five wins from their last seven Bundesliga matches had left them just three points behind Wolfsburg and one behind Hertha Berlin — two teams with no experience of a pressure-packed title run. Surely Bayern’s chances were pretty good.

Perhaps pressure from the German media, particularly the relentless criticism from Bild newspaper, just became too great.

There will certainly be many enjoying a sense of Schadenfreude after the move but there are plenty who will be saddened as well.

“Man trifft sich immer zweimal im Leben” is a German phrase that basically means “what goes around, comes around”. Don’t be surprised to see Klinsmann on the bench of another top European club before long. And don’t be surprised if Bayern live to regret firing Klinsmann.

Maybe even by next month.

It is becoming a familiar trend in Argentine domestic football. The home team is winning by a single goal, the clock is ticking….and suddenly all the balls have disappeared and visiting players have to go searching for them.

The latest incident happened on Sunday during River’s match at home to lowly Gimnasia-Jujuy. One of the ball boys took his time in returning the ball to visiting goalkeeper Gaston Pezzutti, who angrily hurled it at the youth and was sent off.

It was a four-edged punishment for Gimnasia, who had to bring on a substitute keeper, reshuffle their team, play with a man down and lose precious seconds.

No action, however, was taken against River apart from the dismissal of the ball boy.

A similar controversy blew up earlier this month in the derby between Gimnasia-La Plata (the first division has two clubs whose full names are Gimnasia y Esgrima, one from La Plata and one from the northern city of Jujuy) and Estudiantes.

With Gimnasia 1-0 ahead in the second half, the balls mysteriously went missing. The referee added on six minutes of injury-time, Estudiantes equalised with the last kick of the game and Gimnasia even had the cheek to protest about the amount of time added on.

Ball boys are currently supplied by the home teams and are often apprentice professionals, as was the case at River on Sunday.

The idea of neutral ball boys has been discussed. Some say the fourth official should make sure there are enough balls and others have suggested that ball boys who are sent off should be suspended from youth level matches.

But, with nearly one coach losing his job a week in the first division alone, the demand for success in Argentina is so high that teams are almost certain to think up even more cunning ways of gaining an advantage if the current practice is stamped out.

I’m not exactly sure why, but I’m not as excited as I should be given it’s the Champions League semi-final first legs this week.

Both ties should be making my mouth water. Manchester United v Arsenal is always a decent game in the Premier League and with Alex Ferguson’s men still wearily battling for the domestic title, Arsene Wenger’s boys have the perfect opportunity to spring a surprise.

Barcelona and Chelsea have a big recent rivalry too. Their contrasting styles could make for interesting viewing over the two legs with the majestic magic of Messi coming up against the sheer physical power of Drogba and Co.

Despite all this, I sense a slight feeling of apathy towards the games. I cover sport for Reuters in Italy but I’ve been in England over the weekend and I barely heard anyone talk about the Champions League or saw any hyped-up publicity.

In fact, the Italians seem equally as excited as the English despite having no teams left in the competition.

A factor for this malaise is obviously the dominance of English teams of late. It is just another semi-final. Back when United were battling to re-establish themselves as a European force in the mid-nineties, a Champions League semi-final was a really big deal.

Chelsea overcame Liverpool after a quite amazing quarter-final second leg, yet still I don’t feel in semi-final mode.

Maybe it’s because it’s the first legs or perhaps I feel the semis have come too quickly after the quarters, where the two legs were played straight after each other.

Maybe a bigger gap would help build the anticipation.

Right now it’s just a barrage of domestic league, Champions League, domestic league, domestic cup semi, Champions League. I wouldn’t begrudge a player if he couldn’t motivate himself 100 percent every time but surely this week they must.

So come on Messi, Lampard, Ronaldo, Fabregas - put on a real show this week and make me fall in love with the Champions League again.

PHOTO: Chelsea captain Frank Lampard celebrates after their Champions League quarter-final second leg soccer match aggregate win against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in London April 14, 2009. REUTERS/Toby Melville

So the thousands of fans chanting “Klinsmann out!” at the end of Bayern’s 1-0 defeat at home to Schalke on Saturday have got their way.

Bayern announced on Monday that Klinsmann was being relieved of his post with immediate effect. The man to replace him, at least until the end of the season, is Jupp Heynckes (officially the unluckiest coach in European football).

For Bayern to sack Klinsmann now, with the team just three points behind leaders Wolfsburg and with five games left to make up the difference, serves as a reminder of just how ruthless Bayern can be. Other clubs might have hung on until the chance of the championship was gone … but not the Bavarians, who probably had the right to expect more from the new training regimes, the army of backroom staff, the philosophising and the supposed new commitment to attack (see this Spiegel article in English for a feel of what Klinsmann’s coming was like) .

I read over the weekend that the heavy defeat against Barcelona in the Champions League was making the coach’s position uncomfortable but I suspect it was the club’s domestic form that was really causing the board consternation. Anyone can lose heavily to this Barcelona team, but Bayern should not be looking so sheer bloody ordinary in the Bundesliga.

So what next for Klinsmann? Will he try his luck at another big European club (I’m sure there’ll be plenty willing to take a chance) or will he return to California and steer clear of coaching? I certainly hope that’s not the last we see of him … even if his teams haven’t always lived up to their promise, football’s more interesting with him around.

PHOTO: Juergen Klinsmann runs ahead of Italian forward Luca Toni and French midfielder Franck Ribery during his final training session as Bayern Munich coach, April 26, 2009. REUTERS/Alexandra Beier

I nearly fell out of my chair on Sunday night when I realised the identity of the Real Madrid player who had surged into the box and sent across a perfectly-weighted centre for Raul to score the equaliser against Sevilla.

Christoph Metzelder? What on earth is he doing up there?

The 28-year-old defender is trying to win back his place in the German national side but has only played in eight of the Spanish champions’ 33 league matches this season and has said he is considering moving on if he doesn’t get more time on the pitch.

The 10-match ban handed to Pepe last week is his chance to impress. And judging by his performance in Sunday’s 4-2 comeback win he is determined to take it.

As well as creating the first goal, he looked to have rediscovered something close to the form that made him such an effective central defensive partner for Per Mertesacker at the 2006 World Cup.

He had looked nervous and clumsy when used by Real this season, but Germany coach Joachim Loew is sure to have noticed his impressive showing alongside Fabio Cannavaro on Sunday, with the pair comfortably keeping Sevilla strikers Frederic Kanoute and Luis Fabiano at bay.

Despite, or perhaps because of, his lack of first-team action, Metzelder has settled well into the Spanish capital and has learned very good Castellano that wins him praise at press conferences and for his appearances on radio and television.

“We defended quite well and I managed to provide an assist,” he said after Sunday’s match, which puts Real almost within touching distance of Barcelona. “My job is to defend and try to help the team in that but sometimes there are attacks in which the central defenders can provide an assist.

“I was lucky to get the ball and the result was a goal. I was quite happy with the match. I had to come in and help the team and I managed it.”

PHOTO: Real Madrid’s Raul celebrates with Cristoph Metzelder after scoring against Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, April 26, 2009. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo

Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs was voted Player of the Year for the first time by the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) on Sunday.

Giggs has only made 12 Premier League starts this season, scoring a single goal, so I guess we really have to look at this award as recognition for his long years of service at United, for whom he’s made just shy of 800 appearances.

United players dominated the shortlist for the award and there will be no complaints from Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo or Edwin van der Sar. Perhaps Steven Gerrard has reason to be disappointed but in a season without the sort of candidate you just can’t argue with, perhaps a touch of sentimentality in the award is no bad thing…

And it will look good on the mantlepiece next to the 11th league championship medal that seems a certainty after Saturday’s thrilling win over Spurs.

PHOTO: Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo (L) positions the ball before taking a shot in front of his teammate Ryan Giggs during their Champions League soccer match against Inter Milan at San Siro stadium in Milan February 24, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

When former Germany keeper Jens Lehmann said earlier this month he wants to play at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, many said it was just another provocative statement by the 39-year-old at the twilight of his career.

Even Germany coach Joachim Loew and national goalkeeping coach Andreas Koepke ruled out a return, saying there were four talented keepers in the squad already, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Rene Adler, Hanover 96 keeper Robert Enke, Manuel Neuer who plays for Schalke and Werder Bremen’s Tim Wiese.

Lehmann, who retired from the team after their Euro 2008 final loss to Spain, kept at it, saying he wanted to come back. “If the national team has the need for a keeper like me then they will approach me,” the former Arsenal and now VfB Stuttgart keeper said this week.

After Werder Bremen and Leverkusen qualified for the German Cup final, Lehmann could actually be right.

Germany are on an Asian tour from May 29 to June 3, but it now looks like they are fresh out of keepers. Wiese and Adler will play in the May 30 Cup final, Neuer will be at the U21 European championships and Enke could be locked in a relegation play-off with his club.

That leaves a few other options but none as attractive as Lehmann.

Arminia Bielefeld’s Dennis Eilhoff has had a very good season but just like Dortmund’s Roman Weidenfeller, is not as big a name and crowd puller as Lehmann for such a tour. Former Germany keeper Timo Hildebrand has had an injury-plagued return to the Bundesliga after signing for newcomers Hoffenheim late last year after a fruitless spell in Spain.

With several other big names missing from the squad — captain Michael Ballack will be with Chelsea at the FA Cup final, Real Madrid’s Christoph Metzelder still has league action, Bremen’s Torsten Frings plays in the German Cup final — Lehmann could possibly just sneak in.

PHOTO: Stuttgart’s goalkeeper Jens Lehmann gestures during their German Bundesliga first division soccer match against Herta Berlin in Stuttgart March 21, 2009. REUTERS/Michael Dalder