Match of the weekend: Arsenal v Birmingham

The Carling Cup final gives Arsenal the chance to win their
first silverware for six years. It is a trophy drought that will be playing on
the minds of a few fans on Sunday, but I can't imagine it will affect the
players. For one thing, the squad has changed almost entirely since they won
the FA Cup final in 2005. More fundamentally, most football players do not
think about the 'big picture' stuff that preoccupies fans. In most cases,
players live up to all the clichss about taking each game as it comes. Arsene
Wenger has ruled out Cesc Fabregas,

For the first time in a while the press are not on anyone's back following an England game. Perhaps they could have beaten Wales by more than two goals, but overall the players did their job properly and didn't allow any opportunity for an upset.

However, it is important not to get carried away by one decent performance against inferior opposition. The next big test in a meaningful match will come when they host Switzerland in June.

Jack Wilshere claimed a lot of the plaudits on his first competitive start, albeit by playing against a midfield which was mostly of Championship standard.

His

Arsene Wenger was wrong to criticise Ryan Shawcross for the challenge which broke Aaron Ramsey's leg and should apologise to him.

Sometimes your emotions get the better of you. Sometimes when it happens to a team-mate or a player in your team you need to take a step back, have another look and think about what you say.

You have a young player like Shawcross involved in an incident and Wenger, the manager of Arsenal, responds like that: other young players will see how reactive he is and perhaps follow his lead.

Wenger thinks that this kind of thing only happens to Arsenal and comes out with

It is no surprise to see Harry Redknapp spending big again
to bring Peter Crouch to Tottenham, but I am not sure he is the right signing
to take them into the top four.

Crouch is one of the best English strikers, although at the
moment that isn't saying much, and
would be a good buy for most Premier League teams. I have no problem with him in terms of his ability or goalscoring record.

However, in Spurs'
case I wonder if they now have too many players battling for too few spots in
the first team.

It is difficult to see how Redknapp is going to juggle his
resources, with Crouch, Jermain Defoe,

I'm embarrassed by Arsenal and Arsene Wenger's reaction to what happened in the 3-1 Champions League defeat to Barcelona.

Whenever Arsenal lose a game Wenger fails to be complimentary to the team that beat them - it's always about 'decisions' - and this time he's gone on about it well beyond the post-match interview, when you can be forgiven for letting rip.

Obviously it's not just him, everyone's at it, but he is one of the worst. To say that the Robin van Persie sending off changed the outcome of the game? Come on. Arsenal are the best passing team in the league yet they barely strung two

Match of the weekend: Chelsea v Manchester City

This will be a huge fixture in determining the final reckoning at the top end of the table this season, which is just as well. There aren't too many other games this weekend which - on paper at least - will raise the pulse too much.

Sadly, I can't see this being a classic, but the implications of the result are enough to make it worth watching.

The way both sides played in midweek does not bode well for an entertaining match. Whoever can get the upper hand in an attritional midfield battle will come out on top in this one.

I see that side being

The FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Manchester City will obviously be a huge game for both clubs, but especially for City.

Given the resources and playing staff at their disposal, City are in danger of being the season's big underachievers.

I am not sure that even winning the FA Cup or the Europa League - regardless of whether they finish in the top four or not - will be enough to keep Roberto Mancini in a job.

When you look at what a poor Premier League it has been this season - in terms of United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all performing below their best through the

Liverpool deserve all the credit they get for their dominant 3-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday.

They showed right from the kick-off that they appreciated what a big game it was for them, and looked a completely different side from that which was humbled 3-1 at West Ham in their previous game.

United did not play like a team on the cusp of winning a record 19th league title, which would see them surpass the record they currently hold jointly with Liverpool. Kenny Dalglish's team used that as their prime motivation, whereas Alex Ferguson's side played as though it was just another game