Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been reflecting on his side's 3-0 home win over Wigan Athletic in the Carling Cup. Two goals from Jay Simpson and a third from Carlos Vela gave the Gunners a comfortable lead, and Wenger was pleased with the performance. He said: "I enjoyed every minute of it because it was a big test for such a young team with many Under-18 players involved. I believe we stood up to the test and it was a remarkable combination of desire, energy and quality. From the first to the last minute we looked up for it and were relentless in having a go at Wigan. In the end it was a fantastic win."  

 Martin O'Neill hopes to have Stiliyan Petrov and Luke Young back for the tough clash with Arsenal on Saturday but John Carew is a serious doubt. Petrov and Young will return to training this week ahead of the Gunners encounter while Carew is seeing a specialist about his back and thigh problem. O'Neill said: "Stiliyan and Luke are making decent progress. They are going to be training this week with a view to Saturday. I will have a better idea later in the week. John is really struggling at the moment. The discomfort seems to have moved from his back to the front thigh area. He is in discomfort. We will see. He had scans yesterday that have come up pretty decently. He is going for tests now with the specialist. We will see accordingly." 

 Paul Ince has urged Fabio Capello to recall goalkeeper Paul Robinson to the England team for the friendly against Germany a week on Wednesday. Ince believes the fixture in Berlin is the ideal stage for his £3.5m summer signing from Tottenham Hotspur to showcase his skills. Robinson, 29, has yet to start under Capello, having been replaced as number one by Portsmouth's David James, but was impressive in the defeat by Chelsea on Sunday. Ince said: "I think he deserves a chance. It is a friendly, so why not? I know David James has the shirt but since Robbo came here, he has been outstanding. It was a great bit of business bringing him in. As far as I am concerned, he is the best goalkeeper in the league - and he can get better. He had a lack of confidence at Tottenham due to not playing. He wanted a fresh start and he has his head screwed on. He is really focused on his job and you can see that in his performances." 

 Gary Megson believes that the versatility within his playing squad allows his team to successfully adjust to different tactics and formations. Against Hull City at the weekend, Megson altered Bolton's traditional 4-5-1 formation to a system involving two centre-forwards, with Matthew Taylor occupying a position on the right-hand side of midfield and Ricardo Gardner on the left.And Megson was delighted at the results as Taylor struck the all-important match winning goal at the KC Stadium. He said: "We have got a team that is adaptable. Hull's manager was on the television commenting about how we would play and go with one up-front and he was wrong. We had two forwards up-front and we played in an entirely different manner to the one he was describing. We can change players in positions during and before games without a huge amount of turmoil."  

 Striker Didier Drogba is set to start for the first time in six weeks with Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari ringing the changes for the visit of Burnley in the Carling Cup. Drogba has been sidelined with a knee injury suffered against CFR Cluj in the Champions League on 1st October and has been forced to watch Nicolas Anelka seize his chance to become the club's main goalscorer. "Hopefully Didier faces quite a fight to get back into the side because that's what being at a big club is all about," said Chelsea assistant coach Ray Wilkins. "Didier trained very well on Monday and so he's back in the squad. That's very pleasant from our situation." 

 Everton are hoping to have their first-choice strike partnership available this weekend to boost their push for European football. The Toffees, who have won their last three Barclays Premier League games to rise from the relegation zone to seventh place, could have Louis Saha and Ayegbeni Yakubu together up front against Middlesbrough on Sunday. Yakubu missed last weekend's win over West Ham with a heel injury and Everton physio Mick Rathbone said: "Yak has had a badly-bruised heel for three or four weeks and we have kept him going, but we knew eventually he would have to miss a game. He has been doing some light training and having missed the game against West Ham he feels a lot better now. He has a 50/50 chance of playing on Sunday." 

 Simon Davies says Fulham must secure all three points against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday in what is turning out to be the most competitive season in Premier League history. "Apart from the Wigan game I think we've won or lost every game by the odd goal," Davies explained. "All the teams from the top six down are very similar to be honest. They're all hard working teams with good strikers who can change games. All the matches have been very edgy and very tight and it's been late goals that have won them or lost them. The home games are vital at this stage of the season to pick up the points because the away games get more difficult as the season goes on."

 Dean Marney has signed a new three-year deal that will keep him at the KC Stadium until 2012. He said: "My initial deal was due to be up next summer, so it's nice to get things sorted out and now I can just concentrate on trying to stay in the team. There was never any doubt that I wanted to stay. We're a Premier League club and I would be mad to think about leaving. I'm settled here now and I'm enjoying my football."

 Rafael Benitez has confirmed both Steven Gerrard and Robbie Keane will definitely be rested for Wednesday's Carling Cup fourth-round tie at Tottenham. And he has intimated Jamie Carragher, Dirk Kuyt and Xabi Alonso could also be left out. Benitez's decision means Keane will not be able to face his former club, having left Spurs for Liverpool during the summer in a £20m move. 

 Vincent Kompany looks set to return to City's starting XI at the KC Stadium this Sunday. The Belgian midfielder's one-match suspension saw him miss last weekend's match against Spurs, but a groin injury that had forced him to miss the preceding Thursday's UEFA Cup tie may have prevented from playing even without the ban, which came after he reached five bookings for the season. However the suspension, plus the fact that the Blues do not play until Sunday, are both factors in favour of Kompany according to City manager Mark Hughes. "We'll check Vincent again today, but we still have a few days and we don't have to quickly get him out onto the field of play to see if he is OK. Hopefully this slight groin injury will resolve itself over the next couple of days, but we're positive on that. He had to miss the weekend but in hindsight that was good for the injury, although not so good for us because we did miss him. However we feel that it's likely that Vincent will be available for Hull."  

 Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted to see his young charges overcome a battling Queens Park Rangers side and book their place in the Carling Cup quarter-finals. Carlos Tevez's 75th-minute penalty was the difference between the two teams, although the visitors had goalkeeper Radek Cerny to thank on numerous occasions as he beat away efforts from Tevez, Nani and Anderson. Sir Alex praised his side's attitude throughout a rain-sodden 90 minutes. "The conditions made things a bit difficult in terms of the ball coming off the surface quickly, but I think we controlled that part well," he said. "We played with good patience and good speed and stretched them really well. QPR haven't lost a lot of goals recently and they defended very well as we expected. So it was always going to be tough. But overall I'm very pleased by the attitude of the players, they worked very hard and we're all delighted to get through."

 Middlesbrough have confirmed they have agreed a deal to sign Slovak starlet Peter Gal-Andrezly. The 17-year-old impressed Boro coaches whilst on trial at Rockcliffe Park earlier this year. Boro at first denied that they had agreed to sign the Kosice midfielder, but have now confirmed there is indeed a verbal agreement in place. Gal-Andrezly will initially join Boro's reserve squad on a loan basis until next summer with a view to a permanent deal. 

 Former Newcastle united defender Craig Moore has been diagnosed with testicular cancer. The 32-year-old Moore was diagnosed with the condition last Thursday but has been buoyed by the positive outlook from his treating urologist. He has now been ruled out of Australia's World Cup qualifier in Bahrain next week after undergoing surgery in Brisbane.

 Manager Tony Adams is continuing to build his backroom staff at Fratton Park after appointing John Metgod as first-team coach. Adams has now promoted Paul Groves from reserve-team coach to assistant first-team coach.

 Tony Pulis admits that Stoke are in the middle of "fantastic times" after progressing to the Carling Cup quarter-final. The Potters swept aside Rotherham United 2-0 to move into the last eight and are having their best top-flight season for more than a quarter of a century. Stoke could now face the likes of Arsenal or Manchester United in the quarter-finals and Pulis is relishing the prospect of a big draw. Pulis said: "Whoever we get now in the last eight we will handle it. The big sides are still there, but we'll not be frightened of that. I just want another home draw, we will enjoy that. It is the first time for a very long time that this club has been in the finals of a major competition. We are 12th in the league and in the league cup quarter-finals, it is absolutely fantastic times for us."

 Roy Keane is considering giving some of Sunderland's young players a chance to shine in the Carling Cup. The Black Cats have a number of injury problems ahead of the fourth-round tie against Blackburn Rovers at the Stadium of Light. Craig Gordon, George McCartney and Kenwyne Jones are ruled out of tonight's match and Daryl Murphy and Martyn Waghorn are doubts. Keane said: "Picking the right team is a balancing act. I made changes in the last round and it almost backfired, it's a tough call for me. I have to pick the team to get us a result but also be aware that we've got a big [Premier League] game in two or three days' time. It's a good opportunity to get two or three of the younger lads involved. I'd have no problem playing these young lads."

 Giovani dos Santos will not require surgery on his sprained ankle and could return to action within a month. The Mexico international, 19, suffered the injury in training last week and had the complaint examined under anaesthetic. A Tottenham statement read: "(Giovani) will now begin his rehabilitation and is expected to be sidelined for up to four weeks." 

 Defender Abdoulaye Meite is hoping to be fit to face Chelsea this weekend. The Baggies' summer signing has been out for more than 10 weeks with a calf problem, having faltered on an attempted comeback, against Aston Villa in September, after the same problem. The defender returned to training this week, though, and manager Tony Mowbray is hoping he can challenge for a starting place as the top flight's bottom club take on the league leaders. Mowbray said: "I think Meite's got a chance for the weekend."

 Youngster Jack Collison insists the players at Upton Park have total faith in manager Gianfranco Zola. The Hammers have not won in six matches and Zola has only recorded two victories since being appointed as Alan Curbishley's successor. But Collison said: "All the boys have complete faith in what the manager is getting us to do and if we can keep performing like we have been, the results will come, we are confident of that."  

 Manager Steve Bruce cut a dejected figure after his side were swept aside 3-0 by Arsenal's youngsters in the Carling Cup. Bruce said: "We simply didn't make it a cup tie. We gave them time and space and freedom to enjoy themselves. They were frightening on the night. The age of them. Arsene says it is the best crop of youngsters he's had and when you think of the young players they have had in the past, that is some compliment. They gave us a torrid evening. We've gone out of the cup with a whimper really. They created more chances against us than any other team this season. We've had our backsides kicked by a very good, young Arsenal team."