Full-back Gael Clichy fears the club's season will be over within months unless they find consistency. The 23-year-old scored an own goal in the home defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend where Arsene Wenger's men looked a different team to the side which beat Manchester United seven days earlier. Clichy feels Arsenal need to perform every week as they did against United, calling for the right "desire and attitude". "Those are the key words in football today, being consistent and working hard as a team," said the France defender. "It was a great performance against Manchester United and if we do that every week we'll be fine. But we did the opposite (against Villa) and we cannot work like this. There is time and there's a way to go. There is time to catch and for other teams to drop points but if we play like we did (against Villa), after a few months the season will be finished." 
 

 Curtis Davies believes Villa's success in stopping Arsenal's usual passing game was key to victory on Saturday. The centre-back says Martin O'Neill's men set their stall out early and it paid dividends as they recorded a 2-0 victory. He said: "It was a great performance, particularly when you consider how few chances they had throughout the 90 minutes. I thought we kept their attacking players very quiet and in reality, at the other end, we should have won by more than just the two goals. I thought we set our stall out right at the start. From the first whistle we were in their faces and contested everything. If you sit back against Arsenal and let them get into their passing game and their well-known rhythm, where they have 15 and 20 touches, you're going to be in trouble. They can cut you up and make you look very ordinary. But we didn't let them do that and it paid dividends."

 Striker Benni McCarthy has agreed to play for South Africa in a friendly against Cameroon on Wednesday. McCarthy is staying on in the country after attending the funeral of his father Dudley at the weekend. He was given leave of absence by manager Paul Ince to miss the match against Sunderland, which Blackburn lost 2-1. South Africa team manager Sipho Nkumane said: "We allowed Benni to make his decision without any pressure. We understand what a loss he has suffered and would have fully understood if he decided not to play. But he has shown his commitment to Bafana and we are delighted. It is a huge boost for the squad." 

 The reserves turned in one of their best performances of the season but could not prevent a powerful Manchester City side from maintaining their title challenge with a win. City included four full internationals in their starting line-up but needed a 75th-minute goal from Donal McDermott to end Bolton's brave challenge and emerge 1-0. 
 

 The FA has issued the following statement regarding the disciplinary charge against Didier Drogba: "At a Regulatory Commission today, Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was given a three match suspension. Drogba admitted a charge of violent conduct. The charge related to Drogba throwing a missile into the away section of the crowd after scoring during the Carling Cup match against Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday 12th November. Drogba will serve the suspension with immediate effect. The ban means the player will miss the home league fixtures versus Newcastle and Arsenal and the away league game at Bolton." 

 David Moyes has spoken about the injury to Steven Pienaar that led to the midfielder being pulled from the South Africa squad this week. The Bafana Bafana play Cameroon in a friendly fixture this week but Pienaar will not be taking part after aggravating a knee problem. "Steven didn't start our game against Middlesbrough on Sunday because he wasn't fit enough to do so," said Moyes. "We brought him on in the second half but it was clear that he wasn't comfortable and after the game it was a straightforward decision not to send him to join up with South Africa. We notified the South African FA immediately and we will monitor him this week." 

 After Fulham's victory over Spurs last weekend Paul Konchesky says Roy Hodgson's side have the strength in depth to remain in the top half of the Barclays Premier League table this season. "The fans got right behind us against Spurs and being a London derby it was a great win for us," Konchesky explained. "The last two home wins have given us a great lift as a Club, especially with how tight the league is this season. We're looking at the league table and looking up instead of down. We've been playing well, especially at home. It's very hard for teams to beat us at Craven Cottage and we've only lost one at home all season. Beating Spurs gave us a great boost ahead of Saturday's game against Liverpool. This Club doesn't want to be, or deserve to be, in the bottom half of the table and the players we've got here can prove that this season and if we keep going I think we can remain a top ten team." 

 Supporters travelling back from Hull City's match at Portsmouth on Saturday night are advised that the M62 east and westbound carriageways will be closed from Junction 37 (Howden) and Junction 38 (North Cave) for essential maintenance work. The road will be closed between the hours of 8pm on Saturday and 10am on Sunday with the following signposted diversion route in place: Leave the M62 at Junction 37 - northeast on A614 - eastbound on A1079 - southbound A1034 (to South Cave) - join A63 at South Cave Interchange.

 Rafael Benitez hailed the efforts of his backroom staff after the Reds manager was presented with the Barclays Manager of the Month award for October. The Spaniard was quick to highlight the instrumental role played by his staff in the Reds' excellent start to the season. "I am really pleased to be named manager of the month but the award is not just for me, it is good for the club and also my staff," Benitez said. "I think that all managers need to have good backroom staff. Everyone is doing a very good job and that is important. It allows me to concentrate on different things because I know that they will do the job properly." 

 Martin Petrov has had surgery on his left knee and will be out for the next three to four months, it has been confirmed. The winger has had an operation on the meniscus in his left knee, which was injured while he was on international duty with Bulgaria last month. It was hoped that an initial spell of strengthening work around the knee might have prevented surgery, but Mark Hughes' thoughts that an operation would be needed have now come to fruition. Martin is recovering well but it looks as though he will now be out of the reckoning for the next three to four months.  

 The FA has banned Sir Alex Ferguson from the touchline for two matches and fined him £10,000 for his conduct towards the referee at the Hull City match. The United manager attended a hearing at the City of Manchester Stadium, after which the FA issued this statement: "At a Regulatory Commission hearing, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was given a two-match touchline ban and fined £10,000. Ferguson admitted a charge of improper conduct in relation to his behaviour towards referee Mike Dean following United's match against Hull City on 1st November. The touchline ban will come into effect from 2nd December. In reaching its decision, the Commission took into account Ferguson's admission of the charge and his previous disciplinary record." The start date of the ban means Ferguson will sit in the stands for two consecutive home matches - the Carling Cup tie against Blackburn on Wednesday 3rd December and the Barclays Premier League match against Sunderland three days later. 

 Emanuel Pogatetz is proud of the way Boro stood up to a physical challenge during their battling 1-1 draw at Everton. The captain endured a busy Sunday afternoon marshalling a defence that had plenty to deal with at Goodison Park and he feels Boro matched the Toffees and could even have snatched the three points themselves. "It was a very tough and physical game and had a lot of crosses into the box, so there was plenty of defending to be done," he said."The team defended very well and looked bright on the counter attack and that's why I think we deserved the draw at least. We always looked bright, they had maybe more attacks than we had, although in the end I think it was fair as they had a few chances but we could also have scored on the counter." 

 The reserves saw their four-match unbeaten run come to an end as an experienced Everton side ran out 1-0 winners at the Halton Stadium in Widnes. The deadlock was broken when Lukas Jutkiewicz (25) guided home a close-range header from Tony Hibbert's chipped pullback. 

 All supporters who applied by the closing date to watch the match at Arsenal on 28th December have been successful. Fans will be sent their tickets in due course for the match which kicks off at 2pm. 

 Tony Pulis admits the absence of Jamaica international Ricardo Fuller for the match against West Bromwich this weekend will be a big blow. Fuller will miss the match after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season in the 5-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford last Saturday. "I think Ric has been the difference between the two teams over the past two years," Pulis said. "So he will be a massive miss for us and we are disappointed. But we will have to get on with it."

 Kenwyne Jones hopes to fire his third goal in eight days on Wednesday when Trinidad & Tobago take on Cuba in a World Cup qualifier. Jones and Sunderland team-mate Dwight Yorke are in Trinidad preparing for the match in Port of Spain. Jones returned from another injury lay-off in the Carling Cup last week to score his first goal of the season as Blackburn beat Sunderland 2-1 at the Stadium of Light. Three days later, the targetman beat Paul Robinson again as Sunderland gained revenge by winning all three points in a Premier League meeting. "For me every game is important and I'm looking forward to tomorrow," said Jones. "I wanted to get back in to get a feel even before, God willing, we do make it to the final round. That's because at this point in time I need the games and it's only going to help me."

 England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce believes Fraizer Campbell has the potential to emulate Arsenal forward Theo Walcott and eventually force his way into Fabio Capello's senior squad. The Manchester United striker, on loan at Tottenham, scored for the Under-21 side in their comfortable 2-0 victory over Czech Republic at Bramall Lane. Pearce said: "Fraizer played well. He was a threat and is a goalscorer and he is one of those players who is a constant danger to defenders because of his pace and his ability to get in behind. When we look at the development of Theo Walcott - he played all the games for us in the campaign and started every match. He got a nice run of form, a nice run of matches and confidence which helped his club scenario and obviously helped his chances in the seniors. If we can give a grounding here - and this is a successful team - whoever comes in whether they are winning their first cap or not they have to pick up the mantle of a winning side. And if the likes of Fraizer Campbell and one or two others can get a goal and go back to the club on Saturday, whether it be a friendly or not, then they are heading in the right direction." 

 Tony Mowbray is hoping Scott Carson's time away with the England squad this week will prove just the tonic he needs after a difficult afternoon against Chelsea in Saturday's 3-0 defeat. Mowbray admits the £3.25m summer signing will have been disappointed with his performance at the weekend and hopes the Germany trip with Fabio Capello's men will boost his confidence ahead of Saturday's visit to Stoke. "It isn't a bad thing for him to be away with England this week in a different environment with a different group of players and different voices to listen to," said Mowbray. "I didn't have an in-depth chat with him at the weekend but I think he will have been disappointed with one or two of the goals because of the high standards he sets himself. But we look forward to him having a good week's training with England and coming back ready to go for what will be a difficult scenario for us all on Saturday." 

 Robert Green has revealed how a frank team meeting last week helped the team produce the solid showing in the 0-0 draw with Portsmouth on Saturday. Green and his team-mates were stunned after conceding three late goals against Everton the previous weekend. "After the Everton game we sat down and talked about what we could work on and how we can approach things," Green said. "Hopefully that was fairly evident against Portsmouth. We had not been playing badly, just bad fortune or mistakes have cost us and it is sometimes difficult to take but everybody did their utmost on Saturday. It was pleasing for everyone involved and a step in the right direction, particularly after the defeat against Everton, which was very hard to take." 

 The reserve side went down to a solitary Daniel Pacheco strike in the 66th minute against Liverpool at Warrington's Halliwell Jones Stadium on Tuesday night.