WALCOTT BELIEVES

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England and Arsenal midfielder Theo Walcott has said that he believes England can lift the Euro 2012 if they can progress past Italy. England have qualified for the quarter-finals stage of the competition as the group winners following their 1-0 win over Ukraine in the final group game. The 2-0 defeat for France meant that they will be having the toughest match in the group stages because they will face current world champions Spain. England, on the other hand, will be up against 2006 world champions Italy. Theo Walcott reckons that if England produce one of the best performances in recent times against Italy, then they will gain a lot of confidence in the semi-final against either Spain or France.

He has also said that England have not been looking to avoid Spain in the quarter-final stage of the competition. The Spanish have been one of the favourites to win the Euro 2012, but they have been far from the best in the group stages of the competition. As a result, Theo Walcott believes that it will be tough to call between the two teams when they face each other in the quarter-finals. He also says that the same goes for the match between England and Italy.

“Did we want to avoid Spain? I think it doesn’t matter. Every team you come against is going to be challenging. Playing the world champions, the European champions, is always going to be difficult but we will take anyone at this moment in time. The Italians will be tough but we’ve got some great players in that dressing room and I think we can go far. I feel we believe we could beat anyone the way we are playing as well,” Arsenal midfielder Walcott said ahead of the match with Italy.

FOCUS ON WEST BROM

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that his players should not be concentrating on the Champions League as of yet, but should only focus on winning the match against West Brom. Arsenal will be making the trip to West Brom on the final day of the season knowing that they can still missed out on the top three positions, which will guarantee automatic entry into the group stages of the Champions League. It is estimated that clubs will receive around £ 25 million just for playing in the group stages, while reaching the semifinals and being successful will almost double the financial advantage.

Arsenal looked to have thrown away their chance to finish in the top three with two matches remaining after suffering a 3-3 draw with Norwich last weekend. However, they were like because Tottenham and Newcastle failed to take advantage of this situation. Tottenham only managed a draw against relegation threatened Aston Villa, while Newcastle were defeated by title chasing Manchester City at St James’s Park. It has now meant that finishing in the top three remains in the hands of Arsenal, but they are yet to win again without Mikel Arteta in the side. Speaking ahead of the West Brom match, Wenger has called for concentration from the side.

“We have a massive game in front of us, but I feel we are focused, switched on. I am confident we will do well. For us it is just to find the right mixture – to be focused, combative and relaxed, and especially be faithful to play our football like we want to. At the end of the day it will be down to playing well, no matter what is at stake. It is a fantastic opportunity for us, that of course we want to take,” said Wenger ahead of the match.

MANCINI NEEDS WIN AGAINST GUNNERS

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Manchester city manager Roberto Mancini has said that his club can lose the title this weekend if they do not win against Arsenal. There are only seven games remaining in the Premier league this season and United currently have an five-point advantage of Manchester city. Given that United play ahead of City this weekend, they are more likely to have an eight point advantage by the time City face Arsenal. In this situation, Mancini reckons that City will be out of the title if they do not win against Arsenal at the Emirates. Arsenal are themselves in a battle with Tottenham and Chelsea for the Champions League position.

The Italian, though, has said that he is not looking at the possibility of losing the title this weekend and continues to prepare with enthusiasm like for every other match. City had a five point lead over United during November, but that has slowly shrunken in the last few months. Since January, City have been extremely poor in the league. The Premier league remains their only trophy they can win this season. Defeat against Swansea and draws against Sunderland and Stoke city have certainly hurt the chances of City lifting the trophy this season.

“If we lose against Arsenal and they beat QPR – yes. I think always positive, I can’t think this. Against Sunderland we didn’t play very well, for me we were so flat in the first half. But we shot 25 times on goal, we had 65 per cent ball possession. Sunderland shot three times at goal and scored three goals. We did some mistakes defensively but we were unlucky,” Mancini said ahead of the match with Arsenal. Arsenal are currently level on points with Tottenham in the table, but crucially ahead due to a better goal difference.