It is absolutely essential that Arsenal do not follow up their defeat away at Norwich on Saturday with another loss at home to Schalke in the Champions League on Wednesday night, but the signs are not looking promising for Arsene Wenger's side.

They have hit a mixed run of form with two defeats in four but most worrying was their performance at Carrow Road at the weekend when they looked listless and short of ideas.

It was a huge shock to see them lose away at Norwich - a team without a victory in the Premier League up until that point. Everyone must have had them down as dead certs. But in

Jack Butland helps Danny Rose off the pitch after England U21's 1-0 win in Serbia

What happened in Serbia with England's under-21s last night was disgusting, but Danny Rose cannot complain about getting sent off in the melee afterwards.

Danny had managed to keep his head during 90 minutes of racial abuse from the Serbian fans, so I just don't understand why he felt the need to kick the ball into the crowd as players and staff jostled on the pitch afterwards.

As a first generation black player in Europe, I suffered all kinds of horrendous abuse as a player - and not just abroad, where you expect it, but at home.

Elland Road was probably the worst for it, they would sing

There is a big fanfare today as the FA's National Football Centre at St George's Park is opened, but there is a horrible feeling that this is all missing the point.

To spend £120 million on the coaching hub and 'skill-enhancement' centre seems an astonishing waste of money given how the money could better be invested in the game.

We have been crying out for more investment in the grass roots of the game, and this does not solve the problems that still exist at the bottom.

It is only going to be a select few youth players who are going to get to train and develop at the facility, and that is

Sir Alex Ferguson is right: foreigners do dive more than British players. It might be unpalatable to some but it is the truth.

I have to agree with Sir Alex that it is something that has come from the foreign game. Over-exaggerating fouls, over-exaggerating contact: these have come in more and more with the influx of players from overseas.

This debate was sparked once again by Sergio Aguero, who said on Monday that he believes it is harder for foreign players to get decisions from referees, provoking Sir Alex's response. I would have believed it if an Englishman had said it in Spain or in

Whatever the whys and the wherefores surrounding John Terry retiring from international football, it is a decision which should benefit England on the pitch.

I find it strange that he has waited until now to quit when he knew the FA hearing was coming for a while. If he really believes that the FA made his position "untenable" as he puts it, then that is just as much the case now as it was when they took the armband away from him for a second time before Euro 2012 and when he was found not guilty in his trial back in July.

Terry is one of the senior players who should not really be in

Roberto Mancini says he has upgraded from a Fiat to a Ferrari ahead of this season's Champions League, but I'm not sure where he thinks the extra horsepower has come from.

I don't feel he has done enough to improve his squad this summer, and I would be surprised if City qualified from the group.

Yes, they spent £50 million in the summer, but I'm not sure Javi Garcia, Jack Rodwell and Matija Nastasic are the sort of players to turn them into genuine contenders.

I don't think I have ever seen a group as hard as City's - it features the champions of four major football nations, with Real Madrid,

I know that Roy Hodgson was forced into making some last-minute call-ups for his England squad to face Ukraine but I cannot agree with them.

I think selecting Raheem Sterling, a 17-year-old who has made just two starts in the league for Liverpool and has not even made an appearance for the Under-21s yet is foolhardy. It's madness.

Hodgson may think that it's a good way to get a highly promising young talent to experience the senior international set-up early in his career to stand him in good stead for the future, but I think there is just as much chance of it ruining his development.

He has

I was disappointed to read Cristiano Ronaldo's attention-grabbing comments about being unhappy at Real Madrid this week, but for me the whole saga demonstrates why he is inferior to Lionel Messi both as a player and as a person.

After refusing to celebrate a goal against Granada Ronaldo told the press he was "sad" due to "professional issues", but then refused to elaborate further and left the juicy issue hanging in the air for the world's media to pounce on. It was a transparent ploy to court attention and pretty pathetic in my opinion.

I think it is all about ego and it is disappointing