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Wenger's position at Arsenal came under question again this week after his side bowed out of the FA Cup to Blackburn and suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Bayern Munich in the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League.

With Arsenal now rank underdogs to progress in their tie against the Bundesliga giants, the only competition they can still win is the English Premier League.

The 32-year-old was a reported January target of Queens Park Rangers because of his relationship with manager Harry Redknapp, who he has previously worked under at Southampton, Portsmouth and Tottenham.

While Crouch admits he is close to Redknapp and has a soft spot for his boyhood club, he insists leaving Stoke has not crossed his mind.

He told This is Staffordshire: "Everyone knows that I have got a good relationship with him. I think he is a fantastic manager and QPR are a club very close to my heart.

Despite an uncertain start to the campaign, AC Milan have won five of their past seven matches – a run which has seen them move into the Serie A top three and take control of their Champions League last-16 tie with Barcelona.

And AC Milan's sudden upturn in results has led their president to believe that a late tilt for the domestic title, as well as a potential charge for European glory, is not beyond the realms of possibility at this stage.

"(The title) is between us, Juventus and Napoli. We are now third in the standings and can go even further," he told Corriere dello Sport.

"We were written off immediately after the first matchday of the season. Some even said that we'd struggle to survive.

The Santos forward will be out of contract after the 2014 World Cup but is expected to pen a new deal with the club before departing.

Hoeness says it is unlikely the Bundesliga giants will splash the cash to capture the 21-year-old.

"I do not think that in the next few years we will buy a player that is more expensive than (Javi) Martinez," he told tz-online.de. 

The Bundesliga leaders broke the German transfer fee record last off-season when they triggered a buy-out clause of 40 million euros in Martinez's Athletic Bilbao contract and have no plans to spend big again.

 "ეს ძალიან დიდი დანაკლისია. ბოლო ექვს თვეში ნიკამ აჩვენა, რომ ვითარდება და წარმატებას აღწევს. არავისთვის საიდუმლო არ არის, რომ პირველი ეტაპის ბოლო ტურებში, მან გუნდის წარმატებისთვის გადამწყვეტი როლი ითამაშა. მოსამზადებელ პერიოდშიც ერთ-ერთი საუკეთესო იყო.

When asked to choose between the two best players in the world, Rooney declared Messi as the best ever, while team-mates Tom Cleverley and Jonny Evans were not so sure.

Rooney said in a Google hangout with DHL: "They're two different players. But I think Messi's incredible. I think he's the best ever, so I'd have to say Messi.

"But Ronaldo has been a bit unlucky because, in any other time, he'd be winning all the awards Messi has. But they're two of the best players of all-time."

The Italian has come under increased pressure after allowing the gap to rivals Manchester United at the top of the English Premier League table to grow to 12 points.

With the club also exiting the Champions League earlier in the season, speculation has seen several high-profile managers linked with taking over at the Etihad Stadium in the off-season.

Malaga boss Manuel Pellegrini is the latest name to be mentioned but Mancini dismissed the rumours in spectacular fashion and insisted there is no reason for him to lose his job.