EPL

Arsenal have received some great news with manager Arsene Wenger hinting he'll sign a new contract after 2014. Despite a tough season, Wenger is still a world class coach and the right man to lead Arsenal back to trophies.

The Gunners' boss has brushed off rumors linking him with a move to uber-rich French giants Paris Saint-Germain. Wenger is quoted in The London Evening Standard reaffirming his commitment to Arsenal and his belief the Gunners are primed for a revival.

For many such a revival is long overdue after eight trophyless seasons, the last two of which have been particularly brutal. Since moving from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal have gradually settled into a cycle of sustained mediocrity.

The life source of that cycle has been an inability to compete in the transfer market and a penchant for behaving like a selling club. Wenger hasn't been able to match the spending power of the likes of Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs.

With just three games of the Premier League season left to go, David Moyes and Everton have the opportunity to finish the season ahead of next door neighbours, Liverpool, for a second successive campaign, a feat not achieved by the Toffees for over 50 years.

While the Reds have ridden a rollercoaster of uncertainty and change on and off the pitch over the last few years, their counterparts from across Stanley Park are the model of consistency and stability. Both clubs go into this weekend’s Merseyside derby at Anfield with the confidence that they can put one over on the other in the race to be the city’s top dog.

Lukas Podolski will continue playing as a central striker, according to Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. It's a major gamble from the Gunners' boss in the club's race for a top four finish.

Arsenal.com quoted Wenger endorsing Podolski's ability to lead the attack through the middle. Podolski has only been deployed centrally twice since joining Arsenal last summer.

He played as the main striker on the opening day of the season against Sunderland. He failed to make a credible impact in a 0-0 draw.

His next foray as a central striker came in the recent 1-1 home draw with new champions Manchester United. Again Podolski was quiet for much of the game.

It's been easy to assume Podolski belongs in the middle for Arsenal. After all he is an assured finisher with a prolific international record.

However, those who expected Podolski to step in and fill the void left by Robin van Persie, missed the point. That's because Podolski has rarely been used through the middle.

Chelsea fans and Sky Sports, who it seems are also Chelsea fans, have been almost orgasmic this week because of some off the cuff comments from Mourinho in the heat of the moment after being dumped out of the Champions League yet again by Borussia Dortmund. The self-proclaimed `special one` has spent the last few days making tangential comments about his future, leading gullible Chelsea acolytes trembling with anticipation that he will return like Lazarus and lead them once again to the promised land, helped no doubt by a few more hundreds million pounds of sociopath owner, Abramovich`s money!

Arsenal are set to make an increased bid of €28 million to seal a transfer for Fiorentina forward Stevan Jovetic. Such a bid pours cold water on the recently reported rumors that a deal sending Jovetic to Arsenal is as good as done. It would also be highly out of character for Arsenal to spend so much to land one player.

Reports in Italy suggest the Gunners will make what would be for them a lavish offer, once they seal a UEFA Champions League place for next season. Website Forzaitalianfootball.com cites an article in La Nazione claiming the Gunners are ready to improve the terms of their offer.