Reuters Soccer Blog

from Left field:

Va-va-voom. Vintage Henry scores on Arsenal return.

The clock said 68 minutes, and no one at the Emirates Stadium in north London was looking at the action on the pitch as the fourth official held aloft his lit-up board to signal the re-introduction of Thierry Henry to English football.

Ten minutes later and he'd scored the game's eventual winner. Comebacks don't get this good this often.

14 to replace 15 shone the bright numbers before the goal, but alas Henry's former number has since been taken by young English talent Theo Walcott, who idolises the French great.

Now, for six weeks and six weeks only after which he will return to the United States with the New York Red Bulls, Henry can be seen wearing an Arsenal shirt with the number 12, the same as his France days during which he won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship.

The only numbers Arsenal fans will care about are 228, 229 and who knows, possible even into the 230s.

With a trademark movement of his right boot, Henry had added to his record Arsenal tally of 226 having watched his new teammates spurn chance after chance against Leeds United in the third round of the FA Cup.

Arsenal fans out there, does this worry you? Would you like to see Arsene Wenger bring in another striker in the January transfer window given the lack of goals?

Manchester City will struggle to offload pricey Tevez

It is quite conceivable Carlos Tevez will still be at Manchester City in February.

For all the talk of his City career being over, after the Argentine was accused by manager Roberto Mancini of refusing to come on in a Champions League game in September, no concrete offer has been forthcoming.

AC Milan are interested in cover for Antonio Cassano, out for months after heart surgery, but are keeping a lid on spending and only want a loan deal in the January transfer window.

City only want to sell Tevez and Milan’s proposal does not appeal. But City don’t have many other options if they want to recoup tens of millions of pounds in transfer fees.

Inter Milan could do with another forward and president Massimo Moratti said “we’ll see” when asked about Tevez.

Inter too are reining in costs with Financial Fairplay on the horizon and Moratti doesn’t want to spend big, seemingly ruling out his club in the pursuit of Tevez unless City relent and accept a loan with a view to a permanent move.

Juventus have yet to show their hand but with the side finally riding high in Serie A again after two seasons of woe, it could be dangerous to upset the apple cart in January by recruiting a personality like Tevez. How much Juve have to spend is also in doubt.

Balotelli courts maturity not Milan

Mario Balotelli has got into more scrapes than a bad teenage skateboarder but the maturing Italy striker has finally found some inner peace and his game is therefore flourishing.

A goal and commanding performance in Friday’s 2-0 friendly win in Poland followed other good displays for Manchester City, notably the 6-1 hammering of Manchester United at Old Trafford.

After scoring in that derby he revealed a T-shirt which read “Why always me?”, a question the colourful character also used to pose while playing at Inter Milan.

He is rarely allowed to speak publicly by PR men scared at what the 21-year-old will say next but in one post-match interview in Serie A in January last year, the forward made himself a comedy hero among many Italian fans.

“These things always seem to happen to me,” he said after picking up a needless yellow card in an Inter game at Chievo Verona which meant a suspension.

His self deprecation pricked ears and TV viewers across Italy thought he might finally be growing up.

However, in what was then typical style and with the interview apparently over, Balotelli suddenly lurched back into the shot and said: “I want to say one thing. Every time I come here to Verona this crowd disgusts me more and more.”

Soccer Break Monday – season already over?

Anyone else feel as though all the excitement and potential late drama for this season has disappeared?

Manchester United took less than 40 seconds to score against title rivals Chelsea, all but killing the game and the Londoners’ hopes of retaining their Premier League crown, while in Italy AC Milan made it 18 Serie A trophies with a 0-0 draw at AS Roma. Barcelona took a giant stride towards a third straight La Liga title with a 2-0 win over Espanyol. Click on this link for our European roundup.

Champions League finalists United and Barca both need a point to clinch their respective league titles, though for the Catalans three wins will be their priority. Why? Nine points plus 91 equals 100, which would set a new record for points scored in a La Liga season.

Read here for a look back at the Premier League season and five key moments for United. The first was the signing of Javier Hernandez, who darted through Chelsea’s defence on Sunday to give the home team their explosive start. Another key performer, seemingly in big games, is South Korean Park Ji-sung.

AC Milan’s latest scudetto will come as a relief to their fans but the Italian giants face tough times ahead. Read our analysis on the future for the Rossoneri.

The only league that looks like serving up any kind of late season drama is Ligue 1, where serial past champions Olympique Lyon are making a late title surge. They have the referee to thank mind you. But bring on the drama in France. And the Netherlands, where the Eredivisie will be decided this weekend.

Back to France, and the latest on the racism row. Should coach Laurent Blanc stay or go?

Soccer Break Friday – titles at stake

The week is ending but the drama is just cranking up. Yes, the weekend is almost upon us, and that means loads more football action around Europe where there is still plenty at stake.

European competition is almost over for another season after Braga and Porto booked their places in the Europa League final in Dublin.

Borussia Dortmund became the Bundesliga champions last weekend, and AC Milan need just a point against AS Roma to lift the Serie A title on Saturday.

In Spain, should Real Madrid lose at Sevilla on Saturday and Barcelona grab a point at home to Espanyol on Sunday, the Catalans will be La Liga champions.

Things are a little tighter in the Premier League and Ligue 1, where two or three clubs in each league have a decent shot at glory.

All eyes will be on Old Trafford come Sunday, where leaders Manchester United host Chelsea. A United win, and they would need a mere point from their two remaining fixtures.

A Chelsea win, and both sides will be level on points though the Londoners would hit the top of the table due to a better goal difference. Who would have thought it after Chelsea’s woeful run of form in the middle of the season?

Soccer Break Tuesday

AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi seriously believes he can sign Cristiano Ronaldo in the next transfer window. Where did that one come from? Probably because of his frustration with Zlatan ibrahimovic for being sent off for swearing and banned for three games (see Wayne, the punshment is even worse in Italy).

Of course Berlusconi has no chance of landing Ronaldo but he’s a politician and positive thinking can do the world of good.

Speaking of which, Andy Carroll scored a couple of crackers for Liverpool against woefully inconsistent Manchester City last night. How the man he replaced, Fernando Torres, would love to replicate that for Chelsea at Manchester United tonight in the only Champions League quarter-final still open.

Talking of the Champions League, how Bayern Munich would love to be there next season but it is looking jittery in the Bundesliga. Can interim boss Andries Jonker do the job?

Finally, has anyone seen that video of LA Galaxy’s David Beckham kicking balls into distant bins on the beach? Surely some camera trickery????

Discuss all these topics and other stories in world soccer on the Reuters Soccer Facebook page. And please feel free to send us recommendations for your pick of the day’s stories

Soccer Break Friday

How can the upcoming domestic matches beat this week’s European action for goals? 19 were scored in Thursday’s four Europa League quarter-finals, with a further 18 coming in the four Champions League last eight ties on Tuesday and Wednesday.

What the top leagues around Europe do have however is drama, with most leagues set to go down to the wire, whereas only two out of eight of next week’s quarter-final second legs are in the balance.

Do you think the goings on in Europe will affect any title races? Will Inter Milan’s confidence be so badly shattered that they may as well leave Napoli to pursue Serie A leaders AC Milan?

Fan chanting made an unwelcome return to the spotlight this week, while Wayne Rooney’s swearing on camera was dealt with by the FA. Too harsh a penalty?

This time of the year some teams are already looking ahead to the next season, take for example Liverpool. They have nothing much to play for apart from an outside chance of a Champions League berth by finishing in the top four. Captain Steven Gerrard has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, however. Will that knock Liverpool off course?

Now for some transfer gossip. After another fine performance for the ‘Yellow Submarine’ of Villarreal in Thursday’s 5-1 humbling of Dutch champions Twente Enschede in the Europa League, Giuseppe Rossi is again being talked about.

Finally, a sending off for Brazilian Neymar in comical fashion. Agree with the referee or sometimes should the officials ease up on the rules?

Former Gunner Gallas relishing life at Tottenham

By Mike Collett in London

If things had turned out differently, William Gallas could well have been facing Champions League heartache with Arsenal in Barcelona rather than glory with their arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur this week.

The 33-year-old France midfielder is one of only a handful of players down the years to have moved across the North London divide — and is absolutely delighted he did.

After a naturally hesitant baptism at his new club at the start of the season, Gallas has played a huge part in Spurs success and played a vital role in their goalless last-16 second leg draw with AC Milan on Wednesday that put Spurs into the quarter-finals with a 1-0 m aggregate victory.

With 26 minutes played he saved a certain Milan goal with a goalline clearance and along with skipper Michael Dawson was at the heart of a defensive masterclass that echoed that of Liverpool or Arsenal themselves in their glory years.

Gallas is unique in that he is the only man ever to have played first team football for London rivals Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham and with 88 UEFA club appearances to his name, is the most experienced European campaigner at Spurs.

He believes he has now shown Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger, and anyone else who doubted him, that he is still at the top of his game.

Soccer Break Thursday

Breathe in. Breathe out. The Champions League is over for this week after a tense two days of last 16 drama. And now for Europa League action on Thursday with yet more top sides in action.

First of all however let’s dissect the Champions League from Wednesday where underdogs Tottenham Hotspur and Schalke 04 progressed past their more fancied rivals, AC Milan and Valencia respectively.

The fact Spurs, who lie fifth in the Premier League compared to Serie A leaders Milan, and Schalke sit 10th in the Bundesliga as opposed to their La Liga third-placed victims, can overcome such stiff tests is yet more testament to how unpredictable and ultimately fascinating a competition the Champions League is.

This blog argues AC Milan are becoming the new Real Madrid by their constant failure in the world’s biggest club competition. Agree?

Anyway, bring on next week. What excites you more, the Champions League business end or your national league?

Arsenal’s defeat to Barcelona on Tuesday continued to fill the pages on Wednesday, small wonder after manager Arsene Wenger and midfielder Samir Nasri were charged for improper conduct after the match.

The Europa League perhaps gets a little forgotten after the thrills and spills of its big brother, but not here. Some of Europe’s most decorated sides, Liverpool, Ajax Amsterdam and Porto will be in action later on Thursday. Only first legs mind, but any predictions out there?

Serie A is not as good as it thinks it is

Serie A leaders AC Milan visit Juventus this weekend in one of the showcase matches of the Serie A season but hardly anyone is expecting a “good game”.

I can count on one hand the number of top class matches in Italy this term where excitement, technical proficiency and flair have won the day.

The rest of the season has been largely turgid and although Milan look like snapping up their first scudetto since 2004, their struggles in the Champions League show they are not a patch on some of the remarkable Rossoneri sides of the past. 

Milan are shaky at fullback, currently have three ballwinners playing in midfield who struggle to find that defence-splitting past while upfront Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho, Alexandre Pato and Antonio Cassano are all very good but none are “great”.

Once mighty Juventus are enduring another horror season and look like finishing outside the Champions League places again. Their 1-0 win over champions Inter Milan last month should have reignited their campaign but they then went on to lose 2-0 to Lecce and Bologna.

That game against Inter underlined everything that is wrong with Serie A at the moment. Juve doggedly battled for a 1-0 home win but there was no guile on show at all from either side. It was attritional, like Serie A has always been, but the difference is that in the 1990s there was quality as well with the likes of George Weah and Roberto Baggio pulling the strings.

Last weekend’s top-of-the-table-clash between Milan and Napoli turned out to be a damp squib with the Rossoneri winning 3-0 and Napoli barely having a shot. The amount of misplaced passes especially in the first half was unreal. Yes it was raining but these are meant to be the very best players.