Fixed: The bombshell that will continue to rock football

How many people in football can be swayed by a certain amount of this?

World football was rocked by the news this week from Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency, of a match-fixing scandal on an unprecedented scale. Whereas previous match-fixing scandals have appeared far away from the average English football fan, this one is much closer to home with World Cup qualifiers and even a Champions League match staged in England implemented in the ongoing investigation.But this revelation has been on the cards for a long time and the difficulties of tackling the issue will be in the news for many a month to come.

Well documented cases of match-fixing in European football include that of Bernard Tapie's Marseille - conquerors of the inaugural Champions League in 1993 yet who were stripped of their French title that same year, and the Calciopoli scandal which engulfed Italian football in 2006. This latest controversy puts both of those footballing disasters into perspective as a staggering 425 players and officials from over 15 countries are under suspicion. However, those who follow European football have been aware of this ticking time-bomb for some time.

Back in 2009, a match-fixing ring based in Asia was exposed after fixing or trying to fix up to 200 matches across Europe. Andreas Bachmann, based in Bochum, Germany, lead the police investigation and 14 people were convicted, ending up with combined prison sentences of 39 years. It is the result of further investigation into this that this week's announcement was made. More arrests are expected to be made as the investigation continues into the ring, which is apparently based in Singapore but with facilitators across Europe and beyond. While 380 European matches are under investigation, a further 300 from Africa, Asia, South America and Central America are also under the spotlight. 

With a huge world-wide betting market these days, including countless methods of betting in-play on relatively minor incidents such as yellow cards and corners, it is possible to envisage how money can be made from afar by these criminal networks. As thousands of people bet on all sorts of outcomes, it can be difficult to spot suspicious betting patterns, and this explains why the investigation has been running for so long to bring these criminals to justice.

Many think the Premier League is safe due to players being on high wages and the intense media scrutiny which covers every minute of every game. Yet it is a game staged at Anfield between Liverpool and Debrecen in 2009 which is reported to be the English-staged Champions League game under investigation, and that is the home of one of the most scrutinised football clubs in the world. While top class players, earning up to £250,000 a week, may be difficult to bribe, those at the lower end of the wage bill, plus match officials could be susceptible to financial offers.

One only has to look at Italy, where in 2012, the undoubtedly well-paid Lazio captain Stefano Mauri was arrested as part of a match-fixing scandal and Juventus manager Antonio Conte was given a lengthy touchline ban for failing to report match-fixing while at a previous club, to see that the highest level of football can certainly be affected by these criminal syndicates. The fixers have reportedly made a profit of €8m and with individual payments of up to €140,000 to corrupt players or officials, it is easy to see how the weak-minded and greedy may be tempted to turn their back on the morals of fair play in football.

Today Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballer's Association, put his neck on the line by claiming the Premier League is free of match-fixing and he may well be right. But how many lower league players could be tempted by the thought of earning tens of thousands of pounds just by conceding a yellow card or making a sloppy defensive error? Taylor admits the PFA, through FifPRO, the international players' union, work with betting companies to ensure action can be taken over every any irregular betting patterns. Allied with the fact the Premier League are pushing the Government and  European Union to make bookmakers pay them a compulsory fee which would go towards betting integrity measures, it is clear England's footballing authorities are well aware of the serious danger of match-fixing.

Spanish football may be particularly vulnerable to financial incentives. Outside the skewed, Hollywood world of Real Madrid and Barcelona, many clubs are in major financial difficulties and struggling to pay wages on time. Malaga, through to this year's Champions League knockout phase, are banned from next year's competition due to unpaid bills. In July, the club were in trouble for not paying the squad 40% of the previous season's wages. The financial situation in many other European leagues is similar, and with English clubs coming up against teams from these leagues regularly in continental competition, ensuring the Premier League remains free of match-fixing could be a perilous task.

UEFA and FIFA were not informed by Europol before Monday's announcement but are set to be consulted before they take their own action. But FIFA's head of security Ralf Mutschke insists a law-change is needed to make sure fixers are imprisoned for longer when caught. His point is a valid one, as while FIFA can ban players and officials involved in fixing for life, a sizeable punishment for a professional, the ring-leaders of the syndicates are not necessarily employed within football. Therefore, unless there is the strong deterrent of a major prison sentence, the vast financial incentive will continue to convince criminals to try and profit from the world's most popular sport. With the huge numbers involved, it's going to take a long time before the full implications of this scandal are felt and a lot longer before justice is brought to those involved. For the sake of fans across the world, we can only hope that justice is brought at all.

Aguero's absence unlikely to halt title defence

Mancini has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal

Manchester City fans at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday would have been forgiven for fearing the worst after Sergio Aguero fell down injured and was substituted early in the first half of the 3-2 victory over Southampton. The Argentine forward was one of Roberto Mancini's key men last season, netting 23 goals, including that late winner against QPR, on the way to claiming City's first title since 1968 and many would expect him to be sorely missed if out injured for any extended period. But would it really effect the Citizens that much? In fact, with the expensively assembled strike force Mancini has at his disposal it may even prove to be a blessing in disguise.

As it happens, Aguero's injury is only set to rule him out for four weeks. As there is an international break in this period that means he is only likely to miss Premier League clashes with Liverpool, QPR and Stoke City. The 24-year-old should be in contention in time for Arsenal's visit to the Etihad on 23rd September, a fixture in which the Argentine bagged the winner last season. The games Aguero will miss should aid Mancini in being able to provide additional playing time for his other big name strikers. With Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko all fit and available City are even in a position to allow promising young Swedish forward John Guidetti, who netted 20 goals in 23 appearances for Feyenoord last year, go out on loan again, or perhaps be sold.

The three strikers who will be looking to fill the void for City all have their own tales to tell but it is undisputed that they are exceptional talents in their own right. Tevez seems to be a rejuvenated man at the start of this season and is already off to a flyer after netting in the Community Shield against Chelsea and opening the scoring against the newly-promoted Saints. After his disgraceful, self-enforced absence from the City squad last year, he returned in time to contribute to the title victory, scoring a memorable hat-trick at Carrow Road along the way and appears to have settled his differences with Mancini. As seen in the past, the former City captain has fire-power in abundance and he found the net 52 times in his first two seasons at the club following his controversial signature in 2009. With compatriot Aguero out of action, Tevez will see this as an opportunity to re-establish himself as the Citizens' main goal threat and with the likes of Samir Nasri, David Silva and Yaya Toure in the squad he should have plenty of service.

Then of course, there is Balotelli. The young Italian is never far away from the headlines although he is not always in Mancini's starting line up. An impressive Euro 2012 tournament for his country, the highlight being his man-of-the-match performance and brace in the semi-final victory over Germany, did great things for his reputation this summer and he will be hoping to establish himself as one of the Premier League's finest attacking talents this season. Again, Aguero's absence could give him the boost needed in terms of playing time to make himself first choice under Mancini. Now 22, the former-Internazionale forward needs to curb his temperament and maverick behaviour and focus all of his energies into playing football. The screamer he scored in that semi-final against Germany, as well as his over-head effort against Ireland in the group stage exemplified the qualities he can offer, but his embarrassing behaviour in the away fixture at Arsenal last year is still fresh in the memory. Mancini gave the impression that Balotelli may have played his last City game back then but clearly, as he has done with Tevez, the manager has valued the talent of the player highly enough to give him another chance.

Having said that, Balotelli wasn't the first choice substitute to partner Tevez once Aguero had been substituted on Sunday. That honour went to Dzeko, sometimes the forgotten man at City, but somebody who did have a huge reputation of his own before joining up with Mancini's squad in January 2011. The tall 26-year-old arrived from Wolfsburg in Germany for £27million and having earned the accolade of, alongside Brazilian Grafite, beating Gerd Muller and Uli Hoeness's record of most goals scored by two team-mates in a Bundesliga season (2008-09). He also finished as Bundesliga top scorer in 2009-10 and showed he had more to his game by adding ten assists in both of those seasons. Yet since he arrived in England he has struggled to nail down a position in the starting line-up, in no small part down to the quality of competition that City have for their striking berths. The Bosnian has had his moments at City, with a four-goal haul at White Hart Lane early last season chief among them. A goal in the crucial last day win over QPR last season and another in Sunday's victory over Southampton show that City's number 10 does have plenty to offer Mancini and like Balotelli and Tevez, he will be hoping that Aguero's absence gives him more of a chance to make an impression. With such an embarrassment of riches available to him, the Italian manager may actually be relieved that his selection dilemma is made slightly easier each week with the absence of his star striker. If two of the other trio can perform to their best over the next month, then the ex-Atletico Madrid man might not walk straight back into the first choice XI after all. Manchester United may have added Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa to their ranks, and Chelsea have brought in Eden Hazard and Oscar, but what is certain this season is that City are going to take some beating.

Van Persie's departure need not spell doom and gloom for Gooners

van Persie had said goodbye to Arsenal, but Wenger's squad can push on to future success

After yet another long drawn out transfer saga involving Arsenal, Robin van Persie has finally completed his move to Manchester United. While the Dutchman is undoubtedly a fantastic addition to Sir Alex Ferguson's artillery, the move has piled the pressure on his former manager at Arsenal. The captain's departure from the North London outfit has yet again left people questioning whether Arsene Wenger is taking the club in the right direction. But while I have often disagreed with Wenger's policies and philosophies over recent seasons, I feel that this time, all is not lost for Arsenal. As long as the exodus ends now. 

That could be a big ask as already Alex Song seems to be lining up a move to join another former Gunner, Cesc Fabregas, at Barcelona. But if Wenger can manage to keep him at the Emirates Stadium the Frenchman may finally be able to build a team good enough to challenge for trophies within a couple of seasons. Any sooner than that is simply unrealistic but it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Arsenal could be in the title race again by 2014. How, you ask? Consolidation has to be the way forward. Unlike last season, when Wenger let Fabregas and Nasri depart late on in the transfer window without having much time to sign top quality replacements, Arsenal have already made some astute purchases this summer. Before their 29-year-old talisman left, the squad had already been bolstered by the purchases of Germany forward Lukas Podolski, France striker Olivier Giroud and, perhaps most excitingly of all, Spain midfielder Santi Cazorla. With these three genuinely top notch footballers in the squad, Wenger's men still have plenty of potential.

Over recent years Arsenal have sent out all the wrong messages to their rivals and supporters in the transfer windows. In the past seven years five captains have been sold, as before Fabregas and van Persie the French trio of Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and William Gallas all left despite being Wenger's choice to captain the squad. The latter of those may have been a less important figure as he wasn't the greatest defender Arsenal have had and had caused plenty of controversy with his off-pitch, and sometimes on-pitch, behaviour. But the first two were true legends of the game, let alone the club, and both could have offered at least a couple more years of service to Arsenal. Both went on to win more trophies in Europe, something which we are constantly reminded Arsenal have failed to do since Vieira sealed the 2005 FA Cup with his last kick as a Gooner. In this period the club have fluctuated in form but have consistently finished either 3rd or 4th in the league and been knocked out of Europe by around the quarter-finals or last 16 stage. Solid, but a long way off spectacular.

Of course, it is not only captains that have departed the Emirates stadium with plenty of petrol still left in their engines. Mathieu Flamini, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri have all chosen to leave Arsenal behind them during this period. Unbelievably, the latter four of those have all ended up at Manchester City, illustrating the power shift between the two clubs. Back in 2004 when Arsenal went a whole league season unbeaten, the thought of a club like City, then a mid-to-lower-table outfit, signing so many quality players would have been unthinkable. And for Wenger to regain the credibility and attraction of his club he needs to make sure the likes of City, United and Barcelona don't get their hands on any more of his star players. Podolski has proven himself with Germany, becoming the youngest ever European to reach 100 caps for his country this summer and netting 44 times along the way, despite often being deployed out wide. Giroud, at 25, has plenty to offer and having scored over 20 league goals in two of his last three seasons in France will be expected to pick up van Persie's baton and lead the assault on opposition defences. Cazorla has been in the Spain squad throughout their period of international dominance and while he struggles to start for them (not in anyway a criticism considering Fabregas, David Silva and Fernando Torres are all in the same situation) he has accrued 47 caps over the past five years. These players could form the core of a new Wenger team, and perhaps one that wins trophies again.

Nevertheless, the new boys can't be expected to do it all on their own. They will need the existing Arsenal core to gel with them and play to their maximum. Jack Wilshere's return to fitness is paramount. The diminutive playmaker hasn't played competitive football since June 4th 2011 when England drew 2-2 with Switzerland but he has been handed the number 10 shirt and is pencilled in for an October return to the first team. Theo Walcott and Gervinho need to up their quality of service from the wings and will be expected to chip in with more goals too, but that is certainly within their capabilities. If Song stays, he will be needed to strengthen the midfield with his eye for a good pass as crucial as his positional sense and defensive attributes. If he does leave, Wenger will need to replace him or risk his team really struggling in the middle of the park. New captain Thomas Vermaelen and new vice-captain Mikel Arteta will both play crucial roles in the squad and their fitness is very important. Keep them fit and a solid core of a team is in place. Full back positions are a worry as Bacary Sagna is still injured and Kieran Gibbs is injury-prone while Wojciech Szczesny will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing Euro 2012 where he got sent off in the first match as his country crashed out in the group stage on home soil. But the young Pole's displays last season showed enough ability to warrant being first choice goalkeeper for the foreseeable future.

So it could be the fitness of the squad that dictates Arsenal's performances this season. They lack the strength in depth of their rivals but remain a force to be reckoned with if they are firing on all cylinders. Wenger knows full well that Arsenal have becoming a selling club, but he, and the board, need to bring an end to that situation. Their star striker van Persie is gone, and so are pretty much all of the team that last came close to the title race (2007/08 - they finished just four points off first place), but quality remains and it must be consolidated. If this team play together for a couple of seasons, and if a couple of reinforcements are added each transfer window, Wenger could be king again. While this season's title race looks set to be a three-way tussle between the two titans of Manchester and European champions Chelsea, Arsenal may yet manage to get themselves back in the running next year. They just need to start keeping their best players.