Hardman midfielder Christian Poulsen has signed for Liverpool from Juventus, paving the way for Javier Mascherano’s exit from Anfield.

Poulsen completed a medical at Liverpool’s Melwood training ground on Thursday after the Premier League and Serie A giants agreed a £4.5million fee, which could rise to £5.5million depending on how the Dane performs in a Red shirt.

Mascherano, meanwhile, refused to speculate on his future when questioned following Argentina’s 1-0 win over Republic of Ireland on Wednesday, but it highly likely he will leave the Reds.

The former West Ham midfielder’s preferred destination is European Champions Inter Milan, where former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is now in charge, but the two clubs are yet to agree on a fee.

Liverpool want around £25million for Mascherano, but the Serie A champions are unwilling to meet those demands until they have offloaded a number of fringe players from their squad.

Barcelona are also tracking Mascherano’s situation after missing out on Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas, who has once again put an end to doubts over his future by opting to remain with the Gunners for another season.

Poulsen, 30, is renowned for his no-nonsense play and has earned a reputation for provoking opposition players into aggressive confrontations. Mascherano is no stranger to indiscipline, but his Danish replacement is arguably a cut below in terms of quality.

The former Sevilla player has played in Germany, Spain and Italy, so the Premiership will not phase him, but the cheap alternative to Mascherano may draw cause for concern for some Liverpool fans.

One thing is for sure, the Premier League has inherited a player who is likely to draw attention in the upcoming season should he continue to display his renowned style of play in England.

Indeed it was Poulsen who was involved in a spat with Francesco Totti during an international between Denmark and Italy in Euro 2004. The new Liverpool midfielder was spat at by the Roma legend, who was banned for four games for his act, and he blamed his counterpart for incitement.

The prospect of seeing Poulsen go head-to-head with fellow Premier League midfield hotheads such as Joey Barton, Michael Essien and Nigel De Jong is mouth-watering, and he admits he is looking forward to the challenge.

“With this move here I have a lot to prove. If you come to a club like Liverpool, you have to deliver. I will hopefully show I can be a good player for Liverpool,” he told the club’s official website.

“I like also to play technical football. I see myself as a player who tries to play football but I can also make a tackle.

The move represents a full circle for Poulsen, who was handed his big break a decade ago by new Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson, who was in charge of FC Copenhagen when the midfielder made his debut.

“I had two good years with him so I hope to carry that on, and hopefully he’ll be satisfied with my qualities,” said Poulsen of Hodgson.

“He’s a manager who’s been all over the world and has a lot of experience, so of course I have a lot of respect for him.

“Roy didn’t have to say that much because Liverpool Football Club is known all around the world, and for people in Denmark, Liverpool are the biggest club in England.”

Poulsen will wear the number 28 shirt and is expected to be named in the squad to face Arsenal at Anfield on the opening weekend of the Premier League this Sunday.

Arsenal captain, Cesc Fabregas, fears he has a surface break of his right leg after the 2-2 draw with Barcelona in the Champions League.

Fabregas scored the penalty, which put the two sides level on a night where Barcelona should have put the match to bed. This news will rock the club and fans who will now see their Premier League title hopes virtually finished.

Furthermore Fabregas would not have been allowed to play next week in Spain because he picked up a yellow card, which means he will be suspended for the return tie.

He said: “We have to wait for tomorrow, but I hope I can wear the Arsenal shirt again this season. I fear the worst, which is that I have broken something. I do not think it is going to be good news, but still I hope there will be.”

“When I took the penalty, I was quite strong, but after, when I went to get the ball, I could not walk any more. It is the fibula. I think I put my leg between [Carles] Puyol’s when I was fouled, and kicked it. Until the penalty I was feeling quite good.”

Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger, added: “I give a lot of credit to my players because they kept themselves in the tie even at 2-0 down against a team like Barcelona. If you have no mental strength, you can go down but we came back to 2-2.”

“I believe the whole team was mentally unbelievable tonight because we kept going and kept going, and against an opponent that was class. I am still convinced that we can make life difficult for them in the second tie and that we have a chance to qualify. The biggest regret I have tonight is that we gave two cheap goals away. I believe the way we gave those goals away was beyond understanding.”

Although Arsenal are still in the tie, it is very difficult to see how they are going to get a result in the Nou Camp. Barca virtually played them off the park on their own ground and should have had a much stronger lead after this tie.

Arsenal will feel lifted by the fact they could play so badly in the first half and still be in the game at a level point. However, the fact Barca went on to score two goals means that Arsenal must score in Spain to get through.

Barca could easily sit on their two away goals but this is not how the Spanish champions play. Although they will have to change both of their central defenders next week, the rest of the team can easily take pressure away from this area.

Fabregas would have done anything to get himself fit and playing in the important matches that Arsenal have coming up. He would have taken great satisfaction in scoring against the club he has been constantly linked with.

Arsenal captain, Cesc Fabregas, has revealed that he has been acting like a little boy in the run up to the club’s Champions League clash with Barcelona.

Fabregas says he has been looking forward to the quarterfinal tie against one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Barca are also a club that the Spaniard has been constantly linked with over the last few seasons.

Arsenal have got a huge task on their hands and will have to play out of their skins in order to win the match. The ultimate strength of the Barca side may be something, which turns out to be too great for them.

Fabregas said: “Ever since the draw was made I’ve dreamt about this game and I am desperate to play in it. I’ve never disguised my affection for Barcelona, it’s where I was brought up and where I learned so many beautiful things about football.”

“But Arsenal have the same principles and this is our chance to show the world that we can stand shoulder to shoulder with Barcelona and emerge triumphant. You can’t imagine how much I want to be part of that.”

“Football is all about moments like this, all about challenges and this is a big challenge for Arsenal and for myself. Individually you want to prove yourself against the biggest players in the world. And that’s Barcelona – they are a team packed full of some of the best players in the world.”

“So you want to show you can play against them, there’s nothing better. To be honest this is the most exciting time of my career and now I want to make it brilliant. You know the next few days are going to be so good because the most important games of the season are coming. Yes, Barcelona are the best team in the world, so if you can avoid them until the final then it is definitely much better. But we are not scared of anyone.”

Barca go to the Emirates with some relatively rocky recent La Liga form. Although the club are still heading the way, alongside Real Madrid, they have seen a large lead slip, allowing their rivals back in.

Arsenal need to play perfect football and ultimately it will be a clash of two sides who like to get the ball down and virtually pass it into the net. The winner will be the side that manages to do this more efficiently.

Barca have a number of match winners who Arsene Wenger would have been worrying about. Lionel Messi is one such player, a player who has defined football brilliance in recent weeks, scoring about a zillion goals in Barca’s last few matches.

Barca also have one of the most gifted midfields in Europe, which will be problematic for Arsenal’s relatively inexperienced side. Andres Iniesta and Xavi are two such players, players who Fabregas has been tipped to replace within the next few seasons.

Arsenal will have to claw back a one goal deficit if they are to beat Porto and make it into the quarter final stages of the Champions League.

The Gunners currently trail 2-1 in the tie against the Portuguese side and will need to work hard to get back into the game quickly.

They have the advantage of an away goal but they still have a number of key players missing from the clash who would have been vitally important. Cesc Fabregas has said that he intends to be involved even though he is carrying a painful injury at present.

The other big worry for Arsenal is not have William Gallas to play in defence. Porto have a very talented attacking team and that was displayed during the first leg of this exciting game.

Arsene Wenger said: “I do not think anyone will be complacent. We know it will be a tricky game, but we believe we can do it. We have good confidence, we are in a good position, so let’s go for it.”

Jesualdo Ferreira added: “We know what our qualities are and we are confident. This will be a very difficult match, but we have the weapons which make it tough for Arsenal. You need to be able to adapt tactically, but we are always playing to win. We will try to do the same what we did at Estadio do Dragao.”

Arsenal will just have to mix up their team a little bit until they find a combination, which will be effective enough to get through the Porto defence that comes to visit the Emirates.

Arsenal will also want to eradicate the memory of the first leg, which saw them give away a bizarre goal from an indirect free kick.

This was the goal, which has put Porto ahead and they will be high on confidence after recent visits to England. They managed to get a draw against Manchester United in the same stage of the competition last season and then narrowly missed out in Portugal during the second game.

The game plan for Arsenal is really quite simple. They need to go out and get ahead in the game very quickly. This will allow them to start expressing themselves and play the football they are famous for.

If they try to pass the ball into the net then it could be a very long night for them. Porto will look to come and defend their lead first, which will mean a well organise defence that is hard to break down.

They also need to keep things tight at the back because if Porto get ahead early in the game then it will be a pretty big mountain that they have to climb.

If you’re a betting person you would probably put your cash on Arsenal as they should be good enough in their own ground to do what they need to get through.

Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, has had time to reflect on his comments over the weekend and it seems as though he is sticking to them.

Wenger reacted furiously to a challenge from Stoke player, Ryan Shawcross, which left gifted young midfielder, Aaron Ramsey, with a badly broken right leg. Shawcross was shown a straight red card but Wenger believes the problem runs much deeper.

Wenger says he is afraid that many Premier League teams are not able to cope with the talent, pace and movement of his younger players. The only way teams apparently deal with this is to be very physical in all aspects of the game.

Wenger said: “We had today in midfield Nasri, Fàbregas, Ramsey and Eboué. Up front Bendtner is 22 years old. What these guys do, at that age, is absolutely remarkable, but of course if you destroy them, they might not be football players.”

“What is most terrible for me is Ramsey starts his career with a double [break] and you never know what kind of consequences this will have on his physical side of the game and his psychological side. It’s just scandalous.”

“It will be of course tight to the end, but it gives us one more reason to be strong mentally and to be united and to fight until the end and to do it for him.”

Shawcross said after the incident: “There was absolutely no malice in the challenge. I would never, ever go out to hurt a fellow professional. I am deeply upset that Aaron has suffered such a bad injury and my thoughts are with him. I would like to send him my best wishes for a speedy recovery.”

The break on Ramsey’s leg was so bad that TV producers banned controllers from showing replays of the tackle during live play. It also prompted a number of Arsenal players to physically turn away from their teammate who was in obvious stress and pain.

Arsenal’s captain, Cesc Fabregas, said that the number of career threatening injuries he has witnessed during his time at Arsenal is far too high and also says that it cannot be just coincidence that Arsenal players are the ones getting hurt on a regular basis.

Ramsey is only very young so he should not be worried about the prospect of never being able to play the game again. His injury will heal a lot quicker than were he of an older age.

Arsenal have hinted that they may try and get Shawcross’ ban extended for the severity of the tackle and the incident but it would prove fruitless. The injury has taken place now and all that Ramsey can do is listen to the best medical advice and be sensible with his rehabilitation over the coming days and months.

Thoughts are with him and surely everyone in the football community wishes him a speedy recovery. It would be a shame if something like this ended the career of someone so talented.

Barcelona have stated that they will not be making an attempt to sign Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas any time soon.

Joan Laporta, Barcelona president, has denied that the club have already started negotiations with the Spaniard in order to bring him to the club during this summer’s transfer window.

Fabregas has been linked with a move to Barcelona on and off for months now and the news will hopefully put a little closure on proceedings. However, Fabregas’ father stated in the same media groups a couple of weeks ago that his son was already receiving offers from a number of clubs.

Laporta said: “Arsenal came fishing for our young players. One of them was Cesc. Now he is playing very well at Arsenal. I can’t say any more about this.”

“It’s the market which fixes theses situations and it is a question of the ability the clubs have to engage the player.”

“We are developing a policy for our youth players so they make the first team. It is showing results because half our first team are from the youth team, like [Victor] Valdes and [Carles] Pujol. We explain that money is not everything. We want them to love Barca.”

“He has done very well from the beginning. He is a gentleman. We appreciate him for his skills as well as a human being.”

There are many reasons why a move to Barca would be a good idea for Fabregas. It is thought that the club are searching for a replacement that will take the place of Xavi when he retires.

Xavi is a key figure in the Barca team and has been rated as one of the best living players for the last few years. He is now in his 30s and Fabregas is the only real high calibre player who can get close to the same levels of quality and fitness.

However, hard line Barca fans will argue that there can be no point in signing a player from Arsenal who cannot even get into his national side. Fabregas still has a lot of work to do to move a number of established Spanish players and his best chance could be staying the main man at Arsenal.

He has a number of key jobs in North London and as captain of the club, he has been given a responsibility that he would not even dream of were he at Barcelona.

This is not the first time that Laporta has come out in the media and said that his club will not be signing a particular player. Then just a few months or weeks later that player walks through the Barcelona front doors.

So read into this story what you will but they appear at a rapid rate every single day. Some will say Fabregas is better where he is, others will say his only chance of breaking into the Spanish team is a move to Barca.

Various members of the Arsenal team have been left furious after a first leg defeat in their last sixteen tie against Porto.

Arsenal lost the match 2-1 amid some very controversial circumstances that have left many connected with Arsenal fuming. They gave away the lead after a fumble by the goalkeeper and then Porto grabbed a chance to go ahead when the referee appeared to be in Sol Campbell’s way as he tried to block a quick free kick.

The goal was awarded and Arsenal were furious. They were also denied a very good penalty shout at the other end and missed a number of great chances to come out of the tie level.

Sol Campbell said: “I accidentally touched the ball back to [Fabianski] and he’s picked the ball up. They have gone to take it quickly and [Hansson] has picked the ball up. But afterwards the referee is in front of me and basically giving them an advantage. It’s not good.”

“I can’t get in front of the ball. He’s basically blocked me to get to the ball. It was better than a penalty because there was no goalkeeper in goal, what can I do?”

Arsenal captain, Cesc Fabregas, added: “After the second one we were too soft. We were not strong enough to stand up. I have no complaints about the second goal. Maybe I would have done the same. When you let in goals like that, I’m sorry, you cannot go anywhere.”

“We have nothing to complain about. Sometimes we’re not strong enough to lift ourselves and that’s what happened.”

“It is going to be hard for us in the second leg, but I am still confident we will prevail in the end. We will just have to see who’s strongest on the night. We knew Porto had a very quick and talented team, but the truth is we allowed them to score two very easy goals. You just can’t let that happen at this level. Now we are 2-1 down and we are going to have to fight our way back.”

Arsenal should not feel too down in the dumps because they have grabbed a crucial away goal thanks to a Campbell header. Many would fancy them to run rampant against Porto on their own ground and with many big first team players expected back by the return tie, they look good to make good the disadvantage.

Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger, may soon find himself in trouble with UEFA after the way he reacted to the second goal. Wenger had to be calmed down repeatedly by the fourth official and went off on an almighty rant when the referee had to go over to the dugouts and tell him to calm down.

Porto will be pleased by the result but they will know that they have to be a lot tighter if they are going to stand firm when they travel to North London.

With Cesc Fabregas almost certain to leave Arsenal for Barcelona to replace Xavi, Spaniard Manuel Almunia, has stress the importance of trying to keep him in London.

Almunia gave an interview earlier this week, in which he described the midfield player as the most important player in the Arsenal team. At the same time, the good old Spanish media were pestering Fabregas’ Dad in Spain, who said that his son was open to offers from Spain’s biggest clubs.

Believe who you will but it was a member of the Ronaldo family who first spoke of a desired and almost done deal over a move to Real Madrid. The news just goes to show that when there is reported interest in a player from Spain, it is now probably true as opposed to probably rubbish.

Almunia said, “For the supporters, Cesc is a symbol of the club. For the people, he is the best. I have no doubts that he loves the club and Arsenal in general.”

“If he has to go, he will be very sad. That is if he has to leave — I don’t know anything. I think nobody has any doubt that Cesc gives everything to the game. He makes tackles and fights and this is the only thing that the people can expect from him.”

“Arsenal is a big club and we deserve to be criticised because we have been playing for many years without fighting for the title. The team is growing up and everybody accepts it because we cannot say anything when we don’t play well.”

“Against United we were not on our game at any time. Against Chelsea we played well, I thought, but as soon as we switched off a bit, we lost. There are small points we need to improve, not technically or tactically but personally — little things that we have to show more.”

Barcelona have doubtlessly been keeping tabs on Fabregas ever since he emerged as the next big thing from the ranks of the Arsenal youth team. Xavi and Andres Iniesta pull all of the strings in the Barcelona team but inevitably, one will have to fall to age sooner or later.

Step in Fabregas to fill the gap. Barcelona are not a stupid club and know exactly what they’re doing. Arsenal are not a stupid club and know exactly what Barcelona are doing.

Arsenal fans just need to accept that this is something that is more than likely going to become a certainty in the coming months. The London club just need to make sure they can get something out of the deal, which will help them develop as well.

The Spanish media does not do rumours, so when transfer stories appear or quotes are captured from a player’s relatives, there is going to be some truth somewhere. If Fabregas does go then it will be a huge gain to La Liga and another sign of the Spanish league taking over.

Arsenal secured their place in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League for an impressive seventh consecutive season thanks to goals from Samir Nasri and Denilson.

In reality it was a contest that the North Londoners rarely looked in any danger of losing and the victory meant top spot in Group H with one more game to go.

It’s a result that sees them go six points clear of Greek Champions Olympiakos after their goalless draw against AZ Alkmaar.

Both goals were scored inside the first forty-five minutes to stop Liege in their tracks and forget any hope of causing an upset. A slip by Liege defender Landry Mulemo allowed Nasri to slip in for the opening goal after 35 minutes and Denilson fired home a wicked 30 yarder at the end of the first half.

Nasri and Fabregas were outstanding in the centre orchestrating Arsenal’s play from the very beginning as Arsenal took complete control of the game.

Fabregas was picked out by Nasri after only five minutes but his effort was saved by Standard goalkeeper Sinan Bolat, while Felipe was forced to make a block as Carlos Vela closed in on goal.

Standard had been second best by some distance, but they wasted a chance to give themselves hope six minutes after the break when Axel Witsel could only turn a tame effort into the arms of Almunia from six yards after Arsenal failed to clear a free-kick.

The score could have been much higher if it was n’t for some lax play by the Gunners. None more so than when Arshavin saved from Vermaelen during a goal mouth scramble.

The hosts were almost in cruise control and Wenger gave England starlet a chance to get in on the action for the last thirty minutes coming on for the superb Nasri.

Walcott almost made it three himself, with a shot that had Bolat beaten before Cyric hit the post for the Belgians to wake the English team up.

Standard did offer some resistance themselves and twice hit the woodwork through Dieudonne Mbokani and Gohi Bi Cyriac once in each half.

The Belgian’s disappointment was compounded in the closing stages as Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez saw red for a needless altercation with Arsenal’s captain Cesc Fabregas.

The downside on the night were the injuries to Gallas and Gibbs both of whom had to leave the field of play with Arsene Wenger very concerned.

Arsenal can now move forward after their star striker, Robin Van Persie, signed a new contract with the club. There had been rumours that Van Persie was on his way out of Arsenal after he was said to be frustrated by the reluctance of Arsene Wenger to play him on a more regular basis.

Van Persie has reportedly signed a deal that could keep him at Arsenal until he is well into his 30s and he is now set to get a pay rise to the level of somewhere around £80,000 a week. This is good and positive news for Arsenal because it means they are keeping one of the club’s best players.

A lot has been said since the close of last season that Arsenal needed to make good a massive gulf in class between themselves and the best clubs in Europe. The only way they were going to do this is by firstly trying to get their best players to sign on at the club and commit their future to the cause.

Arsenal fans will be hoping that other players will follow suit but it is unlikely that Emanuel Adebayor will be sticking around for much longer if a bid from AC Milan does actually make the table. He has made no secret of his desire to stay at the North London club, unlike Van Persie, and will be hoping that a repeat of last year does not happen where he was forced to stay at Arsenal as a deal could not be concluded in time.

Van Persie said: “I have been at the club for five years now and there is a really great feeling at Arsenal. We have a top class manager, a squad full of superb young players and brilliant supporters.”

Van Persie joins Arsenal’s captain, Cesc Fabregas, in stating his intent on remaining at the club and trying to help them get back to an era when they were by far and away the best football side in Europe. Many Arsenal fans will still look back on the era when they were possibly the most feared side in the world and the news of Van Persie’s commitment means that are one step closer to re-achieving this.

What Arsenal now need to do is not conform to what they always do each season in the transfer window, sit on their heels. They have some very good players in the squad and the addition of Andrey Arshavin last January was a superb and clever signing. Arsenal need some big and high calibre players to come into the team.

It has been all too obvious in recent matches that they are missing players that can boss and dominate the midfield, allowing the more creative influences to bomb forward and wreak havoc in the opposition defence. No doubt Wenger probably has a long list of player targets that he is working on but he has to realise that his philosophy of blooding youth in the Premier League needs to be tampered with and helped along because at the moment it is not working.

The other danger for Arsenal is that if they do not act and act quickly then they stand to lose ground to a lot of other sides in the league next season. Manchester City are making huge strides under the leadership of Mark Hughes as they continue to assemble a hugely impressive squad, which on paper looks like it could push for a Champions League spot. This is all not to mention the number of talented managers there are in the Premier League, all trying to break into the top six. For example David Moyes at Everton and Martin O’Neill at Aston Villa will be doing every thing they can to try and take ground away from Arsenal.

So the question is, how long will it be until Wenger gets going and starts bringing in some players that the club has needed for a long time? The answer is unknown but it is something that he is going to have to do soon or Arsenal risk having their worst season in the Premier League since it began, next year.

Arsenal have a lot of young and hungry players that are all very grateful to be at the club they are. However, the point is that this will only take the club forwards to a set point and sooner or later they will be found out on a weekly basis. The news of Van Persie’s commitment should be a sign to the manager and the entire club that Arsenal need to act and show that they mean business.

On their day they are still the best football side to watch in Europe as the passing and play links up perfectly, but the point is that these days are not consistent enough to have any impact on a big competition. Until the right players are brought in, Arsenal will have no chance of making a good go of success. There are too many clubs at the moment better positioned than they are and if they have not realised this yet then there are some very naïve people running the football club.

There has never been a better time for Arsenal to lay out one or two markers of intent and they need to stop trying to buy players when they are in their teens and turning them into the next Thierry Henry, it is not going to happen. The time has come for Arsenal to get out the chequebook and sign three or four high calibre and experienced players.

If they do this then they stand a chance of actually hanging onto their top four place next season but if they do not and Wenger continues with his current vision, which clearly is not working, then Arsenal will slowly slip down the Premier League table and eradicate any immediate chance of knowing what it tastes like to lift a trophy again. It is a sad scenario but it is one that will happen.