Emmanuel Adebayor admits the club are in the middle of a demanding week. The Gunners beat Blackburn Rovers 4-0 last Saturday, travel to Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Wednesday night and visit the Reebok Stadium to play Bolton Wanderers on Saturday. "It's big," said the Togo international. "It's the first time we're going to play three times away in one week. We've won at Blackburn so we have to play away again. We know it's important to win especially when you play the first leg of the Champions League away and then we travel to Bolton so yeah anyway we are just taking game after game. We go to Kiev. Let's win that game then we can talk easily about the game at Bolton."

 Craig Gardner says he is delighted to have signed a new four-year deal with the club. "I am ecstatic - really buzzing," he said. "It is fantastic to sign for another four years. Sometimes I have to pinch myself - coming through the academy ranks and playing for the club I support. It's a fantastic place to be."

 Carlos Villanueva admits he is 'living the dream' after joining the club on a season-long loan. "I always dreamed of playing in Europe and to play in the Premier League, which is the most important league in Europe, is an amazing feeling so I'm really glad to be here," he said: "I know there hasn't been many players from Chile who have played in the Premier League before so it would be great to do well and see Chile get recognised.

  Gary Megson has praised Jussi Jaaskelainen for his performance in the 2-1 defeat to Fulham last Saturday. Megson was critical of the performance of his players, saying only a couple did themselves justice. However, he said: "We've watched it again, and at the time I only said that we had two players who played well, but I think I did Jussi a disservice because he played well too. It was a poor performance and we got what we deserved because you can't play like that at this level and expect to get anything." 

 Luiz Felipe Scolari was unhappy with certain aspects of his side's display despite a convincing 4-0 win over Bordeaux in the Champions League opener. "We did not play very well," he said. "We made many mistakes when we had the ball. When you play in Champions League and you are winning 2-0 at half-time, you need to work more and more. Today we did not control much of the second-half. We played many times the wrong ball in the middle and maybe other teams arriving in front of our goal more quickly and with more quality than Bordeaux would be dangerous for us."

  Marouane Fellaini has warned his team-mates to be wary of former club Standard Liege in Thursday's UEFA Cup opener. The Belgian club only lost 1-0 on aggregate to Liverpool in the Champions League qualifiers and Fellaini believes they will be dangerous. "If you want to know the strengths of Standard, all you have to do is look at a DVD of the game against Liverpool," he said. "I don't talk about Standard as being 'we' any more. They are my ex-team and there is only one result that I want this week. But I know from being part of that set up how the manager (Laszlo Boloni) will have the players fired up for this challenge."

  John Pantsil has urged the Cottagers' travelling supporters to get behind the team once again as they take on Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. He said: "It's been a good start but we haven't done it alone. The fans have given us everything possible to win games and we do appreciate everything they do. We will need them more than ever for our game against Blackburn this weekend. I'd like to see them come in their numbers on Saturday." 

 John Welsh scored twice in the final three minutes to earn the reserves their first point in the Barclays Premier Reserve League North with a 2-2 draw against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Tuesday evening. A Tom Craddock doubled had seemingly given Boro the points before Welsh's late intervention.

 Steven Gerrard scored twice against Marseille in the 2-1 Champions League win and then claimed that the Reds did not meet the standards required. He said: "We played well in the first half but in the second half they pinned us in and the real heroes were our 'keeper and back four. We were hanging on more than we should have been. To be under pressure for 45 minutes - we need to look at that. We stopped playing in the second half when we never passed it."

  The reserve team lost away at Everton on Tuesday night in their second Barclays Premier Reserve League North fixture of the season. Lukas Jutkiewicz scored the only goal after 68 minutes.

 Red Devils legend Peter Schmeichel is backing United and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar to impress this season. He said: "I'll be supporting United and I'm sure they'll have a great season. Edwin has been fantastic at Manchester United," Schmeichel said. "There have been many goalkeepers at the club in recent years but nobody has really stepped forward - but Edwin has shown when he plays there is no issue. He's made a lot of players better. Take Rio Ferdinand: he's a better player because he trusts the goalkeeper behind him. The way Edwin plays is ideal for the team. He's the exact goalkeeper for United."

  Boro fans have the chance to nominate three former players to receive a dedicated place on the Boro Brick Road, the popular feature outside the Riverside Stadium featuring inscribed bricks dedicated to over 5,000 supporters and more than 50 former stars and managers of the club. Fans can choose which of the 30 former players nominated by the club they feel are most deserving of a place on the Boro Brick Road. The players receiving the most votes via the club's official website will be given dedicated bricks when the next phase is laid before Christmas.

 Academy director Richard Money will take charge of the reserve side for Wednesday's match against Bolton Wanderers. Money has been assisting Chris Hughton with first-team affairs during the past ten days in the wake of Kevin Keegan's departure. The Magpies will be hoping to bounce back from their opening-match defeat against Sunderland at St James' Park two weeks ago.

  With six matches in eighteen days, including UEFA and Carling Cup ties, Portsmouth have been making a concerted effort to help their injured players back to full fitness. Trio Glen Little, David Nugent and Kanu have all made one giant leap in the right direction, getting through a full 90 minute reserve match in Pompey's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal. Reserve team coach Paul Groves said: "We've got plenty of games coming up - every three or four days. You need a squad to deal with that and you need plenty of people fit."

 Academy 'keeper Brodie Holland has raised over £300 for charity after cutting his hair in honour of his friend Thomas Knight, who died in a car accident in March. The 11-year old shot stopper has donated the money raised to the air ambulance that attempted to save Thomas's life. Tom's mum Lesley, a hairdresser, cut Brodie's hair, with the gesture making his family and his club very proud of him.

  Roy Keane's squad enjoyed a team-building exercise on Tuesday at a North Yorkshire outdoor activity centre. Paintballing and assault courses were the order of the day, with players and staff taking part in a bid to unite the new look squad. All 10 of the Black Cats' new signings attended the action-packed day, as four groups of Sunderland stars pitted their wits against each other. Visit the club's website for a look at the exclusive photo gallery.

  Gareth Bale thinks team togetherness will be key in helping Spurs recover from a disappointing start to the season. With four matches gone in the Barclays Premier League, Juande Ramos' men are still looking for their first win of the season and are in bottom spot. Bale is targeting victory against Wisla Krakow in the UEFA Cup on Thursday night to give their season a boost. "It's very frustrating," he said. "We wanted to get on top straight away and we didn't. We just have to stick together and pull through this as a team now. Another game so soon after a defeat like this is important because we need to get things right on the pitch. Hopefully this can start our season off."

  Tony Mowbray says former Aston Villa pair Scott Carson and Luke Moore have nothing to prove in Sunday's derby match at the Hawthorns. Moore, a product of the Villa youth system and Carson, who spent last season on loan with Martin O'Neill's side both joined the Baggies on permanent deals in the summer. And Mowbray is pleased to have successfully enticed them away from their local rivals. He advised: "I don't think anyone has anything to prove - only to themselves as footballers. They just need to do their jobs and continue to improve. Don't look to prove other people wrong, just look to yourself and try and be the best you can be."

  New first-team coach Steve Clarke was at Chadwell Heath on Tuesday morning for his first training session since signing for the Hammers. He joined Gianfranco Zola and the squad and quickly set about helping the manager in getting his ideas across. Clarke brings a wealth of experience with him having won several major honours as a player and coach.

  Steve Bruce is delighted to have secured the services of former Birmingham City goalkeeper Richard Kingson. The Latics manager said: "He's a really decent keeper, you don't play nearly 60 times for one of the top 20 nations in the world without having something about you and I think he'll add real competition to the squad here."