The French defender joined Arsenal on a two year deal from Manchester United for an undisclosed fee in August 2008.

Silvestre (31), an experienced and versatile player, had been with Manchester United since 1999 winning a host of domestic honours including four Premier League titles, one FA Cup winner’s medal and a League Cup winner’s medal. Silvestre was also part of the UEFA Champions League winning side of 2008 and made a total of 361 appearances for the Manchester side, scoring 10 goals.

Silvestre, who debuted for French national side in 2001, has made a total of 40 appearances for Les Bleus. Highlights of his international career so far are winning the Confederations Cup in both 2001 and 2003 and reaching the World Cup Final in 2006. 

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger said when signing the player: “We have a strong squad but a young squad and Mikael’s versatility, experience and calibre will provide the extra depth we need to reinforce our challenge for honours this season. His defensive adaptability will serve us well and it’s a big plus that Mikael has top level experience and a great understanding of football in the Premier League.”

Saturday was bad day at the office for Arsenal but Arsène Wenger believes the negativity towards the Club needs to be kept in check.

Criticism of the 1-0 reverse at Craven Cottage has been widespread and while Wenger understands it is part of the industry he is in, the Frenchman is adamant his squad has the required strength to bounce back.

“We live in a world now where you have to accept the critics and a definite conclusion from everybody,” said the manager ahead of the Champions League tie with FC Twente.“We had a bad game at Fulham and credit to them because they played very well”

“No matter how good you are in life, players are human beings and have been away for the whole of last week. When you have an away game, it can happen that you are caught for 20 or 30 minutes.

“But I know my squad is good, my team is good, our spirit is good. We are intelligent enough to know we did not play well , but we know as well we have the needed quality to respond.

“Your desire is to play well and win. No matter how much experience you have, if you don’t play well you have more chances to lose than to win.”

Mexico forward Nery Castillo is set to end his injury-plagued spell at Manchester City and join Spanish club Real Betis.

Castillo, 24, has been on a year-long loan with City, due to run until January, from Shakhtar Donetsk.

He will have a medical on Tuesday if Betis can reach a deal with Shakhtar.

"The Betis offer is very important for Nery because he will be an important player there," said Castillo's agent, Juan Carlos Padilla.

Castillo paid a significant sum of his own money to join City but his time has been badly interrupted by injury and Padilla said the player had come to the conclusion it was time to move on.

Liverpool are holding talks with Espanyol with a view to signing left-sided midfielder Albert Riera, BBC Sport understands.

It is believed a decision will be reached on Wednesday.

Reports in Spain suggest the fee would be in the region of about £9m for the 26-year-old, who has also been courted by Merseyside rivals Everton.

Riera, who spent a spell on loan with Manchester City in 2006, has also played for Real Mallorca and Bordeaux.

This week, Espanyol's sporting director Paco Herrera claimed that the club had received two offers, believed to be from Everton, who met their valuation for the player, and Liverpool, who are understood to have offered less.

However, reports suggest that the Spain international does not want to move to Goodison Park.

"There is a team which is offering what we have asked and another one which isn't, but the player is interested in the one which is offering the least," Herrera told Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo. "We will not lower our asking price."

Arsène Wenger took Saturday’s defeat to Fulham on the chin.

Speaking exclusively to Arsenal TV Online after the game, the Frenchman suggested the team did have enough resources to have won at Craven Cottage.

He also talked about:

• What went wrong on the day
• Hangeland’s strike
• The need to buy now
• The players that can come back into the squad
• Having an immediate response on Wednesday.

Anderson may have lost some of his hair while he's been chasing a medal in China but unlike Samson he's lost none of his strength.

The midfielder missed the opening weeks of United's season while helping Brazil to achieve a bronze medal at the Olympic Games.

But after arriving back at five o'clock on Sunday, he was ready to play again at eight on Monday, much to the respect of his Reds' team-mates including captain Rio Ferdinand.

"Anderson did well... until he got to 60 minutes and started blowing!" laughed Rio on MUTV.

"No, we have a little joke with him about that kind of thing. But he's a fantastic footballer with great abilities and we've not seen the best of him yet, I'm sure."

However, the ever-fashion conscious Rio was not as impressed by Anderson's hairstyle.

"His barnet's shocking at the minute! His extensions have come out and he's been in China where he's had nobody with the capability to braid him up. Hopefully now he's back in Manchester he can get hold of the person who normally does it for him!"

Anderson wasn't the only midfielder to be mentioned in the skipper's speech after the victory at Portsmouth. He also had words of praise for Darren Fletcher, a man who's making the most of a mini injury-crisis to stake his claim for a regular place.

"I think it's great that players are posing problems for the manager because they're putting in performances that demand at least a place on the bench if not starting.

"Fletcher's been outstanding in pre season and he's

carried that on at the start of the season, getting into the team to score.

"This win was vital because by the time we play next in the Premier League, we'll be a game or two behind teams and there could have been a big points difference between us if we'd not won. Mentally it would have been a bit of a downer.

"But we put in a good performance and got a good result. Our general play was very good, very fluid, we passed the ball from the back through to the front with a little bit of ease to be honest. Our midfielders were really good on the ball and we opened up Portsmouth a number of times."

Team-mate John O'Shea echoed Ferdinand's comments on Fletcher and Anderson, insisting both deserved great credit for their Fratton Park displays.

"We gave Anderson a bit of stick when we saw his hair!" joked O'Shea. "But he was amazing for us - a star performer. He gets the crowd going and the team - he's just all action. The sooner we have him flying again the better and I'm sure he'll play a vital part in the games we've got coming up.

"It's great to see Fletch doing so well," he added. "He said himself recently that he needs to try and get into the box a bit more and he's doing that with some great runs which are creating a lot of problems for defences. Great credit to him for getting the rewards his hard work fully deserves."

£30m or Dimi rots in reserves
Juande Ramos is prepared to let Dimitar Berbatov rot in Tottenham’s reserves rather than sell him for less than £30million. Ramos has lost both his opening league games but is determined to do it his way — without Berbatov up front. With the transfer deadline looming, Manchester United want to cut a deal at around £24m. Yet Spurs remain insistent they want another £6m on top before they will let their Bulgarian striker leave. The trump card for Tottenham is that TWO Spanish clubs are staying in close contact to see how the situation develops. They will offer cut-price deals of their own to land Berbatov, unless United see off the competition by agreeing to stump up at least that £30m.
Pat Sheehan, The Sun

Sir Alex praised United goalscorer Darren Fletcher's performance at Fratton Park, saying: "Darren was great. He makes tremendous runs and did another one in the second half. He has fantastic energy and I'm delighted he is getting the credit he deserves."

Cristiano Ronaldo says his recovery from ankle surgery has left him feeling miserable. "I've never experienced a situation like this, being two months without kicking a ball. I just want to be fully recovered."

The Mirror says "Dim'll fix it" after United started the season with "Two games, two goals, and little sign of the floodgates opening".

Rooney on the attack
Wayne Rooney admits he is digging far too deep for club and country. Boss Fabio Capello told Roon to drop deep against the Czechs leaving Jermain Defoe on his own. But at times the Manchester United ace was effectively playing as a FIFTH midfielder. Alex Ferguson has already been on at Rooney to concentrate on attacking. And the striker said: “Maybe at times I am a bit too honest and at club level the manager is telling me not to defend too much, to try and save some energy for when we are attacking. Sometimes you just want to win the ball back and work hard for the team. That is just how I play.” Rooney had his pre-season build-up hampered by a virus picked up in Nigeria. He added: “I’ve probably only had seven days training since we came back from Africa. Playing on Sunday and for England will have helped my fitness. Hopefully I can get a few more games under my belt and be 100 per cent fit for the qualifiers.”
Steve Brenner, The Sun

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp isn't too keen for Rooney to concentrate on his striking duties, however, telling The Sun that the United striker should replace David Beckham on England's right wing.

Wherever he plays, Rooney tells all the papers that he and his colleagues are intent on revenge when England face Croatia - who beat them twice in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. “They embarrassed us a bit," says Wayne. "We can’t wait to get over there and beat them."