Mikael Silvestre believes that next season's title challenge can start at Old Trafford on Saturday. Sunday's defeat against Chelsea means that the Gunners will definitely finish fourth in the Barclays Premier League this season and will have to qualify for the Champions League proper in August. Some could argue that the season is effectively over now and Arsenal have nothing to play for in their final two matches of the campaign. Not Silvestre. The ex-Manchester United defender thinks that victories at this stage of the season, especially against next season's potential title rivals, can only help the 2009/10 League tilt. He said: "Saturday's game at Man United is a good chance to prove to ourselves that we have got what it takes to fight and be on top of the league for next season. All the players now have to fight for their spots and show the boss they deserve to be there and have the will to defend Arsenal's colours. It is always a game to look forward to. It will be tough going back there. We need to play like we started against Chelsea and make sure it goes our way when it is about scoring goals."

 Manager Martin O'Neill refused to blame fatigue as the reason behind the team's recent slump in form.Villa crashed to a 3-1 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday and would have surrendered fifth place in the Barclays Premier League to Everton had the Toffees not drawn at home with Tottenham. Villa have now won just once in their last 12 league matches and Everton are only a point behind them in the race to finish in the top five. O'Neill's side have had a gruelling season but he does not blame tiredness, and said: "That is just too easy an excuse. There are contributing factors, as there always are at a football club. Yes, we have been on the go a long time, yes, like Fulham, we don't have the largest squad in the world. The two teams have played the least number of players in the Premier League. I do accept that it takes its toll, I accept all of those things and maybe that is something we can learn from this season. But for us to be contesting European football this season, you do need quality in the squad and quality is hard to come by. That is something we would have a look at in the summer if it is at all possible. I accept all of those points."

 Sam Allardyce feels his Blackburn side are vastly underrated. When he arrived at Ewood Park in December, Rovers were second bottom of the table and heading for relegation. Fast forward six months and they are almost certainly safe following a 2-0 victory against Portsmouth. He said: "My players have not been given as much credit as they should have. It has been a terrific effort since I arrived. What they have done has been magnificent, considering we have lost half a team through injuries. We deserved this victory and I do not think we will be caught now. But we must not rest yet. What I want now is to finish in style. We should start looking up, not down."

 Manager Gary Megson has been pleased with the return to fitness of Mark Davies. The midfielder stepped off the bench in the draw against Sunderland following a knee injury. Megson said: "He made a huge difference. He hadn't played for two months so he was fresh and wanted to get involved. He is terrific on the ball but the big thing is he hasn't been playing, so he is desperate to get a game."

 Ashley Cole says Chelsea's 4-1 drubbing of Arsenal proved once again they have the character to bounce back from footballing adversity. The Blues inflicted Arsenal's heaviest home defeat for 32 years just days after crashing out of the Champions League. Chelsea clinched an automatic place in next season's competition thanks to goals from Alex, Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda and a Kolo Toure own goal. Cole said: "Against Arsenal we showed how good we are. We didn't get in too many battles or too many fights this time. The lads have done well. A lot of people would have thought we'd all be down and out, but we showed a lot of character. At times we defended really well and now we've clinched third spot. Everyone's disappointed when you lose in the semi-final of the Champions League. It's life and there is nothing we can do about it. The players here have got great character. I have played with a lot of big players, but at Chelsea they seem to be able to motivate themselves very quickly. It showed against Arsenal and it had to show."

 Everton's teenage star Jack Rodwell could be heading towards a Cup final appearance at Wembley - with an ear-bashing from skipper Phil Neville. The 18-year-old will almost certainly be a substitute for Everton's Wembley date with Chelsea on 30th May. But if Everton's injury problems do not improve, the Birkdale-born midfielder may even find himself in the starting line-up. Rodwell had only his eighth start of the season in Saturday's 0-0 home draw with Spurs, with skipper Neville switching to right-back in place of the injured Tony Hibbert. And Rodwell revealed that it was Neville's voice he could hear throughout the match. He said: "I had Phil Neville screaming down my ear all game. As the captain he's trying to give everyone advice, which is good. I had experienced professionals all around me and they do their best to help the youngsters like and Dan and myself, so to have them alongside us is good."

 Striker Diomansy Kamara is delighted to be back among the goals after a spell on the sidelines he described as "the lowest" of his career. Kamara scored twice against fifth-placed Aston Villa on Saturday as Fulham moved up to seventh and kept their European dreams alive. The Senegal international was injured during a World Cup qualifier last June and it put him out of action for eight months. And Kamara said: "Eight months is a very long time to be away from the game. But I'm so happy to be playing again. Football is my life. I can't say enough how much I missed it. As a professional you kick a ball almost every day, so knowing that I wouldn't be able to do that for a long period was hard to accept. It was difficult at first because it is such a long road ahead. Those first few days and weeks were my lowest in football. It happened just before the start of pre-season, which is a time when players are looking forward to starting afresh. That's an important time for us. At the end of last year I scored some important goals and I was looking forward to having a good season for Fulham. So it was a massive set-back for me."

 Defender Andy Dawson is confident his team-mates can rouse themselves for one last push to maintain their top-flight status. The Tigers' nosedive towards relegation continued on Saturday as they were undone 2-1 by Stoke, who guaranteed their own safety in the process, at the KC Stadium. Dawson, who scored his side's consolation against the Potters in injury-time, said: "As a professional footballer you've got to pick yourself up. We've still got two games to go, it's six points. We've got to get as many points as we can and hope it's good enough. We've got to go to Bolton and hopefully get three points and that's all we can concentrate on. We have enjoyed playing in the best league in the world all season and in the last two games we are going to give everything we can. We've got to go out and perform and if we do that to the best of our ability and it`s not good enough, fair enough, but I`m sure if we do do it to the best of our ability it will be good enough."

 Javier Mascherano sees his future at Liverpool. The midfielder's future has been cast into some doubt by suggestions from the Argentina captain he had not ruled out a summer departure from Anfield. Manager Rafael Benitez had previously made it clear he was going nowhere, and Mascherano has now added his voice to that view. Mascherano said: "My future is here. I am here and I will continue to give 100 per cent and it will always be like this. I think we have taken a big step this season, a really big step. In the past three or four seasons Liverpool have lost the league maybe in December or January but this time we are there right at the very end of the season and we still have a chance so this is very important. Our job now is to continue to work hard and to improve because we have shown that we can win against the biggest teams."

 Vincent Kompany has told Manchester United they could be in for a rough ride from their neighbours in the coming years. The Manchester City midfielder is optimistic about the future at Eastlands despite the 2-0 derby defeat on Sunday. "As a club and a team we are making progress and this season is just the beginning," said the Belgium international. "Credit United for the win but in years to come there could be a different story to these games. The competition is going to get tougher for them. The difference was not that great. I am not saying we deserved to win or anything but we had our chances in the game. We were a completely different side to the one in my first derby earlier this season. I think United can get used to us getting better and better and there will be some great clashes in seasons to come."

 UEFA have rejected Manchester United's protest against Darren Fletcher's red card and the midfielder will be suspended for the Champions League final against Barcelona in Rome. Barcelona also had a similar protest on behalf of two players turned down and both Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves will also miss the final. Both clubs have three days to appeal against the decision. 

 Stewart Downing has backed manager Gareth Southgate who has been at the centre of speculation over his future, with Boro spending much of 2009 in and around the bottom three in the Barclays Premier League. But chairman Steve Gibson has stuck by the manager and Downing feels the former England defender has done a fine job considering the resources at his disposal. Downing said: "I do feel for him. Every manager would love to be given £50m to go and do what they want with the team but it's hard for Gareth. It's his third season as a manger, it's tough for him. He's got to use a lot of the youngsters but he has dealt with it quite well. He's built up the confidence, he's good with players and he knows what they need. He has done really well and now he's got to make decisions on players about whether to pick us or not and have a go at us or not."

 Alan Shearer has praised Damien Duff's professionalism in answering Newcastle's emergency call. The 30-year-old Republic of Ireland winger has been employed at left-back as the club's only specialist in that position, Jose Enrique, struggles to overcome a hamstring injury. Duff has been asked to play in a variety of roles since his £5m switch from Chelsea to St James' Park during the summer of 2006, and Shearer said: "We are struggling for options over on that side, we have not got that many. But what Damien has given us is everything he has got, and that's the type of professional he is. He realises it is not his real position, but he has gone in there and done a really good job for us without any complaints."

 Portsmouth remain keen to land Hamilton teenager James McCarthy this summer. The 18-year-old midfielder was named Scottish Young Player of the Year after an impressive breakthrough season. Hamilton revealed Pompey had a £500,000 bid for the teenager turned down, and caretaker boss Paul Hart has said they are continuing to monitor the situation closely. Hart said: "I am director of the youth academy and he is a youngish boy, so I can get involved in those sort of things. But I am not looking any further than next Monday and the Sunderland game. That is the way I`ve been doing it since I`ve come in."

 Manager Tony Pulis is not planning to ease up over the last two matches even though his side's safety is now assured. City, pre-season favourites for the drop, guaranteed themselves Barclays Premier League football for a second season with a 2-1 win at Hull City on Saturday. But Pulis said: "We`ve got a big game on Saturday against Wigan and that is our last home game. I think our supporters deserve a performance because they have been brilliant for us. We will be working hard next week."    

 Ricky Sbragia has urged strikers Kenwyne Jones and Djibril Cisse to adapt in order to shake off the shackles placed on them by opposition teams. The two frontmen have been tamed in recent weeks and have scored just once each in the club's last 11 matches after being given special attention by defenders. A debate over whether or not Jones and Cisse can play together is ongoing on Wearside, but Sbragia, who started with the Frenchman on the bench as he opted for a 4-5-1 formation at Bolton on Saturday, believes their problems have been compounded by the efforts of opponents to stop them playing. He said: "What's happened, teams are closing down the width of the game. There's not a lot of space behind them, so they are finding it difficult to go behind, especially Djibril. He has to adapt his game a little bit more and he is finding that difficult. One of Djibril's major strengths is going forward. If you were playing against him, you would want him to be coming towards the ball. As a pair, they can probably get a little bit closer. Kenwyne did really well last year and when he came back from the injury, he was excellent. But he has not repeated that performance enough. It's a case of just persevering with them and getting on with it. You hope all the good things they did early-season will start coming back again."

 Gareth Bale was delighted to return to first-team action at Everton. It was his first start since the UEFA Cup tie at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on 26th February and his first start in the Barclays Premier League since Portsmouth at home on 18th January. The Welsh international was right at home employed as a wing-back as Harry Redknapp switched to a 5-3-2 formation in the goalless draw at Goodison Park. He said: "It was great to be back out there and playing again. You get that lift from the noise of the fans and I really enjoyed it. The system suited me as I was able to get forward. We controlled the first half, created a few chances and could have scored. The second half was difficult and they started to pin us back a bit. Overall, a draw was a fair result."

 Tony Mowbray remains optimistic about his side's survival chances - even though their next opponents are title-chasing Liverpool. The Merseysiders have scored 27 goals in their last eight league matches but may be consigned to second place by the time they kick-off at the Hawthorns if Manchester United take four points from their two matches beforehand. Mowbray said: "Liverpool went to the Riverside and lost 2-0 (to Middlesbrough) so there is plenty of hope. But we understand they are one of the best teams in the world and it a huge challenge for us next Sunday. I can imagine Liverpool with their world-class players will have enough of the ball to push us back and make us defend but it won't be a plan to go out and defend with lots of numbers. If we play well against Liverpool we will create some chances, whether we are good enough to beat them we'll have to see."

 Midfielder Mark Noble feels Steven Gerrard deserves a title winners' medal in his career for setting an example to other players in his position. Noble, who swapped shirts with Gerrard after the 3-0 defeat at Upton Park on Saturday, said: "He's the best, isn't he? Let's put that straight. In my eyes, with the praise he does get, I still don't think he gets enough. He's obviously labelled one of the best in Europe but with the goals he scores, how he is for Liverpool, I'd say he is the best. He has stayed at his own club all these years. The really big teams are all interested in him but he pledged his future to Liverpool. For his sake, I hope one day he wins the title. For him and for Liverpool. Everyone wants to aspire to being that good. He's got a fantastic brain but he is also an athlete - he's strong, powerful and quick. He's got everything. If I can be nearly as good as Stevie Gerrard I'd be pleased."

 Manager Steve Bruce has told his side they need to improve their goalscoring record. Hugo Rodallega's deflected strike in the 3-1 defeat at West Brom was only their eighth league goal since the turn of the year. He said: "We got to 41 points with eight games to play and the mentality, no matter what I have tried, has been one of 'oh well, we've done it'. I'm a little bit disappointed that we are not finishing the season strongly. There isn't a lot wrong, we just need to score."