It has been quite a 2008 for Manchester United. They won their second straight EPL title, won the UEFA Champions League, and just recently were crowned World Champs.  I think that they will contend for the title at the end of the season.  They definitely have enough talent to contend, the one thing that I think might hold them back is their schedule.  They just finished playing in the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, they have the Carling Cup Semi-Final match coming up and the F.A. Cup is coming up, not to mention the Champions League knockout stages. They have a lot on their plate but I still believe that Manchester United will still contend for their third straight title.

The other teams that I predict to be in the thick of the championship race is Chelsea and Liverpool.  Both sides are very hungry for the title.  Liverpool haven't won the Premiership since 1990, and you can bet that they and their supporters will be very hungry to end their drought in the Premiership. Chelsea will also be very hungry to take back the title which was stolen from them by the current champs Man United.

This might be the year that the "Big Four" is broken up. Aston Villa have been in great form this season, and I think that they will overtake Arsenal for the fourth spot and a Champions League spot next season. The main problem will Arsenal is that they are too young and inexperienced. With the youth comes the inconsistency, and if your team is inconsistent throughout the season then you stand almost no chance of bringing home the title.

I think in the end that Manchester United will pull off the three peat, with Liverpool finishing second, Chelsea finishing third, and Aston Villa finishing fourth.

Manchester Utd v Aalborg
Manchester Utd are through to the knockout stages of the Champions League for the 12th time in their history. Only Real Madrid have fared better. If they at least match Villarreal’s result, they will top the group.
Manchester Utd are unbeaten in their last 18 CL games (11 wins, seven draws). Their last defeat in the competition dates back to May 2007 (0-3 v AC Milan).
Aalborg on the other hand have never won away from home in the CL (four defeats, one draw).
The Red Devils have the best defensive record in this season’s CL with only one goal conceded, keeping four clean sheets.
They have also had the most shots in the CL this campaign, 77.
Aalborg have only kept one clean sheet in their Champions League history –at Celtic Park back in September (0-0).

Lyon v Bayern Munich
Both Lyon and Bayern are through to the last 16. Bayern have to beat Lyon if they are to top the group ahead of the French team.
This is the sixth consecutive time that Lyon have qualified for the knockout stages of Europe’s premier club competition.
Lyon have won their last three CL games, scoring nine goals in the process.
Claude Puel’s side has hit the woodwork four times, a CL high this season.
The French side has also fared well against German opposition, winning six of their last eight encounters and drawing the other two.
Only Barcelona (16) have scored more goals than Lyon (12) this season in the CL.
Lyon have conceded the most headed goals – 6.
No side has had more shots on target than Bayern Munich – 35.
Bayern have scored in their last 12 CL games on the road.
The Munich side has never scored more than one goal against French opposition in the CL. Its only CL victory in France dates back to December 2001 when they won in Nantes (1-0).
Frank Ribéry has completed the most dribbles in the CL this season – 22.

Steaua Bucharest v Fiorentina
A draw will suffice for Fiorentina to qualify for the Uefa Cup. However, a defeat in Romania would see Steaua overtake the Florence club in third place.
The Bucharest side has not won in the CL since September 2006, a run stretching back 16 games (12 defeats, four draws). 
Fiorentina have won only once on the road in the CL, way back in October 1999 (1-0 v Arsenal, at Wembley).
The team from Florence has failed to win any of its last eight games in the competition (four defeats, four draws). Its last win stretches back to March 2000 (1-0 v Valencia).
No side has picked up fewer points than Steaua Bucharest in this season’s Champions League (1). 
The Romanian side has conceded 10 goals in its last three CL games.
La Viola has had the most headed attempts in the CL this season – 19. Alberto Gilardino has scored all three of his goals with his head.

Dynamo Kiev v Fenerbahce
Dynamo Kiev are guaranteed third place while Fenerbahce have nothing to play for, as they can only finish bottom of the group.
Kiev have only won one of their last 18 CL games (13 defeats, four draws).
Dynamo’s last home win in the competition dates back to November 23rd 2004 (2-0 v Roma). Intriguingly enough, Fenerbahce’s last away win in the CL was also on that same date. They won 1-0 away against Sparta Prague.
The Turks are without a win in their last six CL games (four defeats, two draws).
The Ukrainians keep it tight in the first-half. Along with Shakhtar Donetsk, Dynamo Kiev are the only other side in this season’s CL who have yet to concede before half-time.

Porto v Arsenal
Assured of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the third consecutive season, Porto have to beat Arsenal if they are to finish top of the group.
Arsenal have qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the sixth consecutive season.
No English side has ever won in Porto.
However, in the three encounters between the two sides, Porto have never managed to score against Arsenal.
Arsene Wenger will take charge of his 700th Arsenal game in this match.
Arsenal have kept three clean sheets in their last four CL games. They’ve also never failed to score in their last five CL away games.
Jesualdo Ferreira’s men have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five CL fixtures, conceding eight goals in the process.
At the Dragao though, no CL visiting team has ever scored more than one goal since Artmedia Bratislava won 3-2 back in September 2005. 
Cesc Fabregas and Gaël Clichy are their sides’ work horses. They have registered 109 and 106 touches per game respectively in this season’s CL. No players have been more active.

Juventus v BATE Borisov
A draw will be enough for Juventus to secure top spot in group H, ahead of Real Madrid.
BATE Borisov are certain of finishing bottom of the group.
The Belarussian side are without a win in this season’s competition (three defeats, two draws) and are yet to keep a clean sheet. They have failed to score in their last two CL games.
Juventus have won 10 of their last 12 CL home games.
The Juve defense are impregnable at home, conceding only four goals in their last 14 CL games in Turin.
All four of Alessandro Del Piero’s goals in the CL this season have been from outside the box.

Real Madrid v Zenit St Petersburg
Real Madrid have to win and hope BATE Borisov beat Juventus to finish top of the group.
This is the 13th time Real Madrid have qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League, a record.
Zenit St Petersburg, last season’s Uefa Cup winners, are guaranteed third place and therefore Uefa Cup football next year.
Real Madrid have only failed to score twice in their last 20 CL games.
St Petersburg have kept clean sheets in their last two CL outings.

Following on from ending Chelsea’s 86 game unbeaten home record on Sunday, Liverpool maintained the top spot position in the league as they secured 3 points against a stubborn Portsmouth team who were adjusting to life without Harry Redknapp. After his surprise move to take over the managers role at Tottenham Hotspur late over the weekend, it was his opposite number Rafael Benetiz who rung the changes from the team that won at Chelsea on Sunday. Despite dominating the lion’s share of possession, the team from the red half of Merseyside laboured until the 76^th minute when captain Steven Gerrard stepped up to slot home a penalty kick awarded after a moment of madness from the Portsmouth midfielder Papa Diop as he handled an incoming corner-kick. The best chance of scoring for the visitors had earlier fallen to the same player who managed to head the ball into the hands of Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal when directing the ball anywhere else would have seen the visitors go up by a goal.

For the teams who found themselves holding onto joint second spot before yesterday’s action, the match played out at Hull’s KC Stadium could have been a tricky encounter for a visiting Chelsea side smarting after Sunday’s loss to Liverpool. As it turned out an early inspired chip by Frank Lampard in the 3^rd minute put Hull on the back foot as they tried to maintain their fantastic start to their debut season in England’s top league. Although the visiting west Londoner’s racked up further goals from Nicholas Anelka and Flourent Malouda, the final 3-nil score-line flattered the visitors as the home said created good opportunity’s before the third and decisive goal. If a Geovanni free-kick or a Daniel Cousin long distance shot had gone in as opposed to hitting the base of the post, Hull could well have been rewarded for the attitude and commitment they poured into this game. As it was the Tigers walked away with nothing to show for their efforts apart from the knowledge that they almost gave as good as they got.

Christano Ronaldo playing for Manchester United against West Ham United put in another performance which helps explain why this week saw him pick up the FifPro World Player Of the Year award, in addition prior to kick-off the Golden Boot for netting 42 times last season in United’s double-winning campaign. Although the Portuguese winger came close to scoring a hat-rick for the second time in the Premiership, the game will be remembered for a piece of divine skill which helped set-up the player’s second goal. Dimitar Berbatov showed exactly what thirty and a half million pounds will buy you as the forward produced a touch and pirouette which had the West Ham United defender in front of him routed to the spot. Whilst Collins was left pondering about what exactly had just taken place Berbatov strode away and slid an inch-perfect ball for Ronaldo to slot home from six yards. Despite winning their first two games under new Italian manager Gainfranco Zola, West Ham’s form of late has seen them loose their last four encounters, and with only 12 points from 10 games a pick-up in form is sorely hoped for.

Back in north London, the 143^rd derby between Arsenal and Tottenham will remain long in the memory for the one-sidedness of delightful Arsenal play, and a 4-4 score-line which saw Tottenham rescue a point in the dying moments of an eventful game. Buoyed by Sunday’s victory under new manager Harry Redknapp, Spurs set about their historical enemy as if their poor early season form under Juande Ramos was already a long distant memory. David Bentley got proceedings under way with a sublime 13^th minute effort against his former club, which saw him cushion a chest down from Jermaine Jenas on the instep of his boot and in one fluid movement strike the volley from the edge of the centre circle and in to the Arsenal net via the fingertips of Almunia in goal. Stung by their opponents early promise, what was to follow was wave upon wave of Arsenal pressure as their goal tally racked up. At 4-2 and thinking a satisfactory night’s work was already done, Arsene Wenger brought off two of the Tottenham‘s main tormentors for a well-deserved rest. However, what came after could quite possibly haunt this gifted but ‘naïve’ Arsenal team when final league standings come about next May. First on 89^th minute Jenas, again captaining the team in Ledley King’s absence, produced a superb curling effort to set up the rip-roaring finish, which then saw Aaron Lennon score of a rebound in the games dying moments.

Elsewhere in the Premier League Andrew Johnson racked up his first goals since signing for Fulham as he passed the landmark of 100 league goals scored, as Wigan were consigned to their fourth successive league defeat, Steve Bruce’s worst run of results sign taking over as manager at the club. Everton’s record signing, Marouanne Fellani from Belgian side Standard Liege, scored his third goal in four games as the away side secured victory in a dour game at Bolton Wander’s Reebok Stadium. Short of goal mouth action, Bolton remain rooted in the bottom three after another display that exposed their lack of a cutting edge which has seen them score only eight goals from ten league games.

Aston Villa despite playing three games in six days, made it three wins out of three as they took on a determined Blackburn side at home to go into fourth spot in the Premier League. Although the away side opened and closed the scoring in this fixture first with a Stephen Warnock long-range strike and a marvellously taken free kick by Bret Emerton in the 90^th minute, it was the work produced by Ashley Young and James Milner on the wings which went a long way to addressing those scores. The later “worked a miracle” in the words of manager Martin O’Neil to create an opening for Gareth Barry which saw the England midfielder score his third goal in three games. Points were made safe as Gabriel Agbonlahor struck in the 87^th minute to keep alive those Villa aspirations of securing a Champions League place finish.

Manchester City, despite unofficially being crowned the ‘wealthiest club in world football’ are still not the finished article as they lost two nil away to Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium. Where talking points abound in this game, most notably goals from Alfonso Alves and Gary O’Neil, the two-fingered gesture of Shaun Wright-Phillips in the general direction of ‘Brough manager Gareth Manager as he left the field after being substituted could well lead to further consequences for the in-form England wide player.

In the final game of the night, Stoke City moved away from the bottom three as they took on at home a Sunderland team who continue to infuriate their fanatical support with their in-and-out form. After walking away from the North-East derby with Newcastle over the weekend with victory, the visiting team put in a performance which showed where they had left their heads. With an approach of play which sees Stoke try to make the most of dead ball situations, it was unsurprisingly a missile of a throw from Rory Delap which saw Ricardo Fuller head home from close range. This seemed however to spur the home team onto a passage of play which ranks amongst the best they have produced thus far this season.

Wegner was evidently wary of the Turkish side's ability going forward and so flooded his midfield with five players, leaving Emmanuel Adebayor to lead the attacking line alone up front. The Togolese hit man nearly ensured his team got the perfect start after five minutes, but fired just over the crossbar when the ball broke to him on the edge of the box. Fenerbahce's defence had been warned, but after five more minutes they were duly punished, Adebayor timing his run perfectly to collect a sublime Fabregas pass and coolly slot the ball past Demirel for 1-0. Within a minute it would be 2-0, Fabregas supplying Walcott with another beautifully weighted pass and the young Englishman rounded the keeper scored for the second game in a row. With only eleven minutes gone the Gunners were threatening a rout and the boisterous home crowd, so often a twelfth man in European games, were silenced.

The home side threatened to make it a contest after nineteen minutes, the ball cannoning in off a helpless Mikael Silvestre following a dangerous set-piece delivery, but the goal simply provoked Arsenal into scoring again straight away. The impressive Abou Diaby, making his first start since last season's Champions League defeat at the hands of Liverpool, forced his way into the box before firing a left-footed shot into the far corner, restoring his team's two-goal cushion. The tall Frenchman was consistently influential throughout, his touch, strength, passing and delicious trickery baffling the Fenerbahce back line. A moment of genius at 2-0 had nearly led to another goal, as Diaby manipulated the ball past his marker before picking out Nasri through a crowded box, whose goal-bound shot was brilliantly saved.

Arsenal got another goal shortly after the halt-time break to effectively end the contest. Fabregas swung in a deep free-kick and the ball broke to Alex Song, who smashed an unstoppable volley for his first Champions League goal. The game lost much of its verve and urgency after this point, but did provide another two goals, one for each team. Guiza, a constant goal-threat, lobbed Almunia to finally make his mark, before substitute Aaron Ramsey got his first goal for the Gunners, firing a low shot after good work by Emmanuel Eboue for the resulting 5-2 scoreline.

Wenger, his men and the small number of travelling fans were all smiles at the end, but there are still lingering concerns about Arsenal's defensive frailties, and this game could have ended very differently had it not been for their stand-in captain for the night, goalkeeper Manuel Almunia. The Spaniard was one of the London side's best players as he constantly thwarted Guiza and Sahin with some fine saves and his impeccable reading of the game. The talented Guiza could have scored five goals of his own, but a combination of compatriot Almunia and the linesman's flag ensured he only got the one. The gaps between Arsenal's centre-backs and full-backs were sometimes worryingly big, and Fenerbahce's Brazilian passing magician, Alex, found it all too easy to get balls in behind the young defence, prompting Almunia into drastic action. It was the same last weekend against Everton, when Leon Osman was afforded far too much time and space to open the scoring at the Emirates Stadium. Wenger can not expect his side to score five every game and one has to wonder if they are capable to holding out for a 1-0 win if their attack has a bad day. The sooner Gallas and Toure are fit again the better.

This weekend is a big one for those chasing the title as Chelsea and Liverpool prepare to do battle in their first meeting of the season. One or even both of these teams has to drop points and so it is imperative that Arsenal win against West Ham to close the gap. Hopefully, their impressive result in Istanbul can inspire the young squad to go on a good run and ensure the race for the title is a four-horse thriller. One more win in Europe will ensure qualification from the group phase and fans will be hoping for a repeat performance against Fenerbahce in London on matchday four.

(Meanwhile, Manchester United won 3-0 against Celtic at Old Trafford, with Wayne Rooney yet again getting on the score sheet with a fabulously placed strike from outside the box. Judging by current form, is there a better player in the world right now? I don't think so.)

Of course, one could refer to the point earned by CFR Cluj-Napoca after the visit of Chelsea and argue that there is not such a big gap in quality after all, but it would be foolish to overlook the fact that the London side simply had a bad day. Every club is prone to delivering a performance that lacks penetration, as Arsenal duly demonstrated against Hull City last weekend in the domestic league. However, a re-evaluation of the mentality required to win is all it takes to steady the ship when a team possesses that much quality, and the Gunners' slick passing punished Porto's inadequacies on Tuesday night.

The fact that Arsenal and Liverpool, the 3rd and 4th best teams in England respectively, defeated FC Porto and PSV Eindhoven, league champions in their own nations, shows the superiority of the English Premier League over other countries. Of course we are already aware of this gap in class; three of the last four teams in last season's Champions League hailed from England. The other was Barcelona, who offered nothing in their semi-final against Man Utd and are relying heavily on a combination of dodgy refereeing decisions and the mercurial talents of Lionel Messi to guide them through the opening stages of their league and European campaigns.

Both Mourinho's Inter Milan and Juventus, giants of the Italian game, could only muster draws in their games whilst Bayern Munich and Lyon played out a 1-1 draw, with both teams looking out of sorts in these opening stages of the competition.

So what does this mean for European football? An English club has graced the final of the Champions League in each of the last four seasons, most notably with the all-English affair between Chelsea and eventual winners Manchester Utd last season. It is seen as a disappointing failure in this country if any one of the "big four" does not make it to the quarter-finals at the very least. There has not been this sort of domination of Europe by a nation since the late 1970s when English clubs won the competition five years running from 1977-1982. Would another run like that make the competition stagnant and less enjoyable?

One of the chief beauties of a football game is that the best team does not always win (once again, I refer to Arsenal vs. Hull City). It is this unpredictability that draws people to the game. However, over the course of a season or a lengthy competition such as the Champions League, the best team (or at least one of the best teams) does invariably win. And rightly so: if a club is made up of the most talented players and they play to the best of their ability then no-one can hold that against them. Did anyone begrudge Roger Federer winning Wimbledon five times in a row? No, because he had put in the hard work to become a good player and then simply exercised his talents to achieve his goal. So in a purely footballing sense, I fully welcome English clubs having continued success in European competition.

The only frightening part of English clubs dominating Europe is the financial implications. None of the other nations would be able to keep up with the wealth of the Premier League, but the greater worry is closer to home: the money earned from European success would propel the "big four" even further away from all the other clubs in the football league in terms of both trophies and financial resources. If that were to happen - and it is a distinct possibility -then the only hope of breaking that monopoly would be for the billionaire investors to come and throw their oil money at clubs such as Manchester City or Aston Villa. Then we are left with an on-going transfer merry-go-round as the world's best players arrive with hugely inflated wage demands and quash any hopes of young local talent coming through. This in turn would basically ensure that the England national team would never compete for a championship ever again.

So with that in mind, let us all hope for a surprise package to cause some upsets in the Champions League this season. I am hopeful of further success for FC Cluj, the team from Romania. With four points from their opening two games against Roma and Chelsea, they have shown they have the bite to potentially be the final nail in the coffin for one of the title hopefuls.

At the start of 2008 the future looked very bright for Arsenal. They were looking good to claim their first title in four years. Chelsea were in disarray and United seemed to be lacking a top class marksman. On top of this the likes of Hleb, Flamini, Adebayor and Walcott seemed to be coming good whilst new signing Eduardo was looking very much like the “fox in the box” Wenger has had on his wish-list for so long. Fast forward eight trophy-less months and Aresnal fans are more than a little worried about what the future holds. Christiano Ronaldo has proved that he can consistently score enough goals for united not to need an out and out marksman. The problems at Chelsea seem to have settled down and they finished last season with the kind of long unbeaten run that Mourinho would have been proud of.

A greater worry to Arsenal fans though is the departures of Hleb and Flamini. The midfield duo's search for a larger pay packet elsewhere seems to have set a precedent. Whether they like it or not Arsenal are beginning to get a reputation as a selling club. Adebayor's head also seems to have been turned by the promise of more money elsewhere. As the season draws nearer it's now looking as if he will stay put but whether or not his heart is really in it is another matter.

Arsenal's other attacking options aren't ideal for a number of different reasons. Van Persie is undoubtedly one of the premierships finest talents but he has been injury prone for the past couple of years. Eduardo suffered an injury so horrific that no one knows what kind of player he will be when he returns. Although never really prolific, Alan Smith was a regular goal-scorer before a similar injury and he has only scored once in two years since his return. Theo Walcott is still a bit hit and miss and he is more of a provider than a goal-scorer and Nicholas Bendtner is a no more than a squad player.

Elsewhere in the team the back four look solid enough and Fabregas, Nasri and Rosicky provide plenty of craft in midfield.

Who have they signed?

Samir Nasri is the great white hope of French football. He broke in to the Marseille first team at the age of seventeen and soon became their most important player. After Ribery left to join Bayern Munich nasri was given even more responsibility but handled it well. After a slow start Marseille changed their manager and under the new man (E.Gerets) Nasri shone as Marseille climbed from the relegation places to eventually finish in third spot. It will be interesting to see how well he combines with Cesc as they are similar players and both like to be the main playmaker.

Who should they sign and why should they sign them?

Arsenal need three or four top additions to get close to the strength in depth that Manchester united and Chelsea have but two positions in particular need filling. In goal; Almunia shouldn't be considered a number one at the top level and Fabianski is still very inexperienced. Marco Amelia is way too good for recently relegated Livorno and would be well within Arsenal's budget. P.S.G's Micheal Landreau would be another option whilst Celtic's Artur Boruc deserves a chance to play in one of the top leagues.

Arsenal also need a holding midfield player, twelve months ago Arsenal were linked with Zaragoza's Alberto Zapater (nicknamed the bull). With Zaragoza having been relegated Zapater should now be available at a knockdown price. For those that haven't seen him play; Zapater is very strong and physical (hence the nickname) and he would add much needed balance to Arsenal's midfield. With Inter Milan having just signed Muntari it might also be worth inquiring about the availability of Esteban Cambiasso who is a similar kind of player.

28 year old Brazilian striker and attacking midfielder Ronaldinho transferred from Barcelona to AC Milan after 5 great years in Barcelona. Ronaldinho was the pupil of ardent Barcelona fans. AC Milan has paid 25 million euros for the transfer of him to club Barcelona. Next season, he is gonna play for the victory of Milan. I am sure he will do his best and become victoriuous.

Deco is another man leaving Camp Noi. He played for Barcelona FC between 2004 and 2008 years. He scored 13 goals in 4 years but made many assists to his friends. He also played a great role in the success of Portugal National Team in Euro 2008. Chelsea signed a three-year contract on June 30, 2008. Chelsea bord announced that club has paid 7.9 million pounds for this transfer. Chelsea is more powerful with coming of Deco this year. I am sure they will play very well with another midfielder Michael Ballack.

Hleb stared while he was playing for Arsenal. He participated Arsenal in 2005 and played for Arsenal for consecutive three years. He increased the dynamism of the team. On July 16, Hleb was transfered to Barcelona with a fee of 11.8 million pounds. Barcelona board announced that Hleb signed a four-year contract. I am sure he is ready to be the new pupil of the supporters.

Guiza is the top scorer of Spanish league in 2007-2008 season. He scored 27 goals in 37 match with no penalty kick. This transfer was completely surprising for both Spanish club and Fenerbahce. Next season, he will play for Fenerbahce in both national league and Champions League if Fenerbahce beats the opponents in qualification matches. I believe he will be a nightmare for the goalkeepers. Fenerbahce has paid 14 million euros for Guiza. He is the most expensive foreign player to be transferred Turkish league.

A while back just before the start of the quarterfinals I had rated my top 10 of the Euros as follows (in no specific order).

1. Luka Modric - Croatia
2. David Villa - Spain
3. Lukas Podolski - Germany
4. Wesley Schneider - Holland
5. Nihat Kahveci - Turkey
6. Christiano Ronaldo - Portugal
7. Adrian Mutu - Romania
8. Ajjren Robben - Holland
9. Zaltan Ibhramovic - Sweden
10. The Coaches

With it's nearly been a week since the Euros were done and dusted with .So it's time to reassess the stars that shone the brightest in the tournament thiis year. Hence, in no specific order here is the finalized list of my 10 best players.

1. Fernando Torres - Spain

   The "El Nino" storm took some time to gather but when it did no one was left standing. Scoring the only goal in the final of a Euro is good enough to get you into any super 11 team. Torres came into the tournament with a big reputation and was destined to be tied down with some eagle eyed marking. With sheer strength and quickness of mind he switched to the role of a shadow striker and hence provided acres of running space to the talented David Villa. With his confidence at an all time it looks like good times ahead if you support the team from Anfield.
   

2. Cesc Fabregas - Spain

   The Arsenal midfielder won the "Super Sub Of the Tournament" tag hands down. In spite of making it to the starting 11 only once, Fabregas advertised why he is one of the brightest young talents around every time he came onto the pitch. His vision, intelligence and sense of player movement are exquisite. Some of the passes he was able to execute were breath taking. If he continues at this rate he is sure to play a big part in Spain's world Cup challenge.
   

3. Marcos Senna - Spain

   The Brazilian born mid fielder gave an absolutely enthralling performance. Some of his one-twos in the middle of the field were eye candy. At 31, Senna some might say is well past his prime but he was the lynchpin on whom Spain built some of those waves like attacks. He has the ability to switch from defense into attack within seconds. In the near about 450 minutes he clocked he rarely looked tired and out of breath. Not surprisingly as per a lot of pundits he was the "working man"s' player of the tournament.
   

4. Jans Lehman - Germany

   There are few who would argue that St.Iker of Spain was the goalkeeper of the tournament but spare a thought for the grumpy ex-Arsenal goalkeeper. At 38 some of the saves he made would have made any youngster worth his goalkeeping gloves a bit threatened. I lost count of the number of saves he made in the knock out stages through to the finals. A triumph at the Euros would have been a fitting end to the grit and determination he showed. But that was not to be. Farewell Jens - from an Arsenal fan.
   

5. Lukas Podolski - Germany

   He had a dream start to the tournament scoring 3 goals in the first two matches.Unfortunatley; a problem in his left foot slowed him down during the knockout stages. His incisive runs through the left hand side in combination with Philip Lahm caused major problems for most of the opponents the Germans played. He looked a bit lackluster in the finals but considering he played more than 500 minutes at blistering place through the tournament he can be forgiven.

6. Wesley Schnider - Holland

   The 23 year Old Dutch number 10 looked all set to have a great tournament until the Dutch were outfoxed by a brilliant Russian side. Schneider fitted right into the attractive total football that Van Basten brought in which, had most of the football lovers round the globe excited. His excellent temperament, presence of mind and unselfish play was wonderful to see. This midfield dynamo will definitely be the one to watch in the La liga this season.

7. Andrei Arshavin - Russia

   Russia's challenge looked to be done and dusted in the first match itself when they were absolutely bamboozled by the free flowing Spanish.Arshavin joined the squad two games late in the make or break game against Sweden. As if it was written in the script the new guy scored. He was also responsible for scoring the final nail in the coffin against the Dutch. Arshavin gets a mention purely on how his introduction into a side that was nearly out of the tournament in the group stages itself galvanized itself into a semi finalist.

8. Luka Modric - Croatia

   Tottenham Hotspurs fans the world over will be excited about seeing this player at White Hart Lane this season. Scorer of the fastest goal in the Euros (though it was via a penalty), Modric's "maradonaesqe" play is what made him stand out. He has a low centre of gravity and is slightly built but he has learnt to cleverly use this as an advantage. The way he was weaving past the bulky German and Polish defense was almost as if he always had a few extra seconds on him in comparison to his opponenst.In my opinion, Modric was one of the few players who lived upto their pre-tournament hype.

9. The Coaches

   Bilic, Low, Fatih Terim, Scolari, Aragones, Van Basten and many more. This year was almost like an all-star coach confrontation. Thanks to TV replays, the close ups of their reactions after a missed penalty, scored goal or bad decision added to the flavor of watching the games. Perhaps the only no shows in the coaching department were Domenech (France) and Donadoni (Italy).

10. Deco - Portugal

    Another player whose probably played his last Euros (he'll be 34 next time round).The unsung hero of Portuguese football had just an average tournament some might say but a closer investigation will reveal that this is just a "taken-for-granted" type syndrome. Deco is one of those quiet footballers who are neither glamorous nor scandalous. He plays the game with his head down and feet moving. The number of passes and untiring runs he has made in all parts of the field were credible. A hardworking, efficient and wonderful passer of the ball Deco is sure to be a hit in Scolari's version of the Chelsea brigade this season.

11. Carlos Puyol - Spain

    For some reason, I felt that a majority of the matches this year were won by smart midfielders. The defenders in my opinion had precious little to do in comparison to the midfielders. In terms of defenders Puyol's selection is purely a reflection of the number of goals that the Spanish defense let through to the tournament. Since Puyol was the driving force and additionally the captain of a team that went on to lift the trophy, he gets a mention.Pepe and Lahm were the other defenders who caught my eye.

All and all a wonderful tournament and it proved to be a great advertisement for the most beautiful game in the world. While we slowly return to the normalcy of every day life, here a few tips to keep you going before the football season begins.

Cheers

Joe Cole ( Chelsea )

Joe Cole was watched by Barcelona as a schoolboy, trained with Arsenal and sat on the Manchester United team coach alongside Eric Cantona on the way to the 1996 FA Cup Final. But he chose West Ham United, played in their 9-0 Youth Cup Final win over Coventry in 1999 and was fast-tracked into the first team at 17.

Wayne Rooney ( Manchester United )

Wayne Rooney was five days short of his 17th birthday when he became the Premier League’s youngest scorer (since surpassed by James Milner and James Vaughan) for Everton against Arsenal. Excelled for Liverpool Schools before joining his boyhood idols aged 11.

Theo Walcott ( Arsenal )

Theo Walcott was 16 years and 143 days old when he made his Southampton debut. Still aged 16, he joined Arsenal in a STG 12 million deal. He was the shock name I the England 2006 World Cup squad and become the youngest England player at 17 years and 75 days when he came on in the 3-1 win against Hungary in May 2006.

There is no disputing Arsenal's defensive frailties this season. The inability to keep clean sheets, deal with the high ball, poor back up (Senderos), the constant conceding after going in front are just a few examples of why Arsenal need to sign at least one Centre back if not two.

My Pick: Vincent Kompany

He has all the necessary ingredients Arsenal miss in the heart of the defence. He is big, strong with good technical ability to boot. Most importantly he will give the defence aerial presence.

Defensive Midfield

Mathieu Flamini's departure has left arsenal's holding midfield position thread bare to say the least. Diaby, Song, Denilson are all capable of filling the role but none make me feel super confident. Diaby has far more attacking instincts than defensive. Denilson and Song are top talents for the future but for Arsenal to be successful next year we need a holding midfielder with proven pedigree.

My Pick: Yaya Toure

The younger brother of Toure is the complete central midfielder; he has the tenacity of Flamini, the bulldog spirit of Lassana Diarra, the composure of Makalele, the ability to score the spectacular long range goal, a real box to box player with strength, speed and technical ability.

Attacking Midfield

With Alex Hleb almost certain to leave the Emirates this summer he not only must be replaced but moreover an additional player who can play on the flanks is a necessity as we are clearly short in that department. Walcott, Rosicky, Nasri (Probable) are the only main options in wide positions. I don't feel the likes of Eboue and Diaby will be playing in wide positions next year as they lack the necessary qualities to play in those positions. Evoke should be a back up right back, with Diaby being a back up central midfielder.

My Picks: Samir Nasri & Aaron Ramsey

Labeled the new Zidane in many quarters, Nasri looks to be on his way. He will have no problem with coming off the touchline the way Hleb did and play a little more infield as he has all the qualities to be a threat through the middle with super dribbling skills to get past players, along with the ability to pick the right pass to unlock the oppositions defence. He also will not have a problem shooting from distance, something Hleb was not too keen on.

Aaron Ramsey is an up and coming Welsh starlet currently playing his trade for Cardiff City, he will provide top quality back up to the likes of Walcott and Nasri with his superb vision and range of passing. He has been likened to Steven Gerrard.

If these positions are rectified this summer with the players mentioned or those in a similar mould, I will definitely be convinced we will be set for a thrilling season with Arsenal challenging the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea all the way in the fight for the title and Champions League.