Arsenal 1-0 Roma

A first-half penalty from Robin van Persie gave Arsenal a narrow lead going into the away leg of their Champions League last-16 clash against Roma.
Arsenal were the better team over the 90 minutes, taking a deserved lead when Van Persie was fouled by Philippe Mexes and then fired in low from the spot.
Fellow striker Nicklas Bendtner struck over from eight yards, while Emmanuel Eboue sent his shot inches wide.
Marco Motta went close for Roma but his 25-yarder was saved by Manuel Almunia.
Apart from that and a John Arne Riise shot that fizzed past the Arsenal upright, the team from Italy's capital did little to excite their band of supporters at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsene Wenger's side dominated for large periods, created many chances and should have added a couple more to Van Persie's solitary effort. Nevertheless, it was a vast improvement on Arsenal displays of recent weeks.
The key to their success on the night came in the form of the trio in attack - Bendtner, Samir Nasri and Van Persie.
None of the three occupied the conventional positions up front which confused Roma's backline from the whistle.
Bendtner largely played on the left but that did not stop him from bulldozing into the area whenever he saw the defensive door left ajar.
His forays almost paid big dividends on a handful of occasions.
The lanky Dane's first effort suffered as a result of mis-control from Nasri's fine ball into the area, a good block inside the six-yard area then denied him a second bite before he smashed wildly over the bar from eight yards after the break.
One man who was more proficient in front of goal, when it mattered, was Van Persie.
The Dutchman's penalty strike came just before the interval, won when he was tripped by Mexes after being played into the area.
Van Persie's low, driven spot-kick gave Doni no hope in the Roma goal.
The second half opened in farcical fashion as Arsenal only had nine players on the pitch when Roma kicked off.
William Gallas was receiving treatment as the players were called out for the restart, but a superstitious Kolo Toure waited for his team-mate as he is always the last man to leave the dressing room.
Luckily it did not cost Arsenal, who had numerous chances to extend their lead in the second half.
Apart from Bendtner's wasted effort, Abou Diaby had a wonderful low strike tipped around the post by the agile Doni before Eboue flashed wide after pouncing on a mistake by Simone Loria.
Roma, who have only won one of their previous 15 games away to English sides, were a better proposition in the second half but provided little threat in attack, with Francesco Totti and Julio Baptista disappointing.
Wenger brought on Mexican left-sided forward Carlos Vela and Welsh youngster Aaron Ramsey in the hope that they could give his side a little bit more to play with at the Stadio Olimpico, but it remained at 1-0 with the promise of a nail-biting second leg.

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Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue (Ramsey 82), Denilson, Diaby (Song Billong 62), Nasri, Van Persie, Bendtner (Vela 67).
Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Djourou, Gibbs, Merida.
Booked: Toure, Nasri.
Goals: Van Persie 37 pen.
Roma: Doni, Motta, Mexes, Loria (Diamoutene 71), Riise, Perrotta, De Rossi, Brighi (Pizarro 56), Taddei, Julio Baptista (Vucinic 82), Totti.
Subs Not Used: Artur, Ribeiro, Tonetto, Montella.
Booked: Mexes, Brighi, De Rossi.
Att: 60,003
Ref: Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark).

US team plans to enter F1 in 2010

The founders of a proposed Formula One team from the United States insist they are ready to enter the sport in 2010.
Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson, the duo behind the scheme, have said the cars will be built in North Carolina and driven by American drivers.
They also confirmed they have finance in place and that F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has given them his backing.
"I told Bernie Ecclestone about this in Brazil 2006, and he just said, 'great, get it done'," Windsor told Autosport.
"He has kept in touch ever since and has always been supportive."
Windsor, a journalist and television presenter, is a former Williams team manager and will assume the role of sporting director while Anderson has many years of experience in both F1 and Indy Car as a race engineer.
The current global economic crisis has forced many teams into cost cutting measures ahead of the new season on 29 March, while struggling Honda are still looking to find a buyer.
Despite this USF1 will not be be backed by a manufacturer or wealthy businessman, with Windsor saying they have put together a viable business plan that will work.
"If you look at the way it's gone in the recent past, it's been either you find a rich trillionaire and have him dominate, or you are lucky enough to be invited by a large car company to set up their F1 operation," he said.
"Ken and I have been around long enough to know we didn't want to do those things.
"We always wanted to do our own team our way. We have got some things we want to bring in.
"The key was not to selling anything more than a very small stake in the team.
"We set ourselves some unbelievably steep hills to climb in a recession, but we only wanted to sell a small part of the team, and, as we sit here now, I'm pleased to say we've done that and we're now two guys that can say we are going to do an F1 team because we have the capital to do it."
F1 has a rich history in north America and can boast two former world champions in Phil Hill and Mario Andretti.
However, races in America and Canada have recently been taken off the calendar and there are currently no US or Canadian drivers competing in the sport.
Danica Patrick, the first woman to compete in the Indy Car series in the US, has been linked with a seat with the new team as have former Torro Rosso driver Scott Speed, and Andretti's grandson 21-year-old Marco.
Anderson has admitted that Patrick would be an attractive proposition for USF1 and is keen to see if the 26-year-old would fancy becoming the sixth female F1 driver.
"Danica's great - she gets a lot of press," he said.
"IndyCar Series boss Tony George would probably be pretty mad with me if I took her out of the IRL (Indy Racing League), but we'll see.
"I don't know if it's something she wants to do. We'd certainly love to test her and go from there."

The balance of the England team

Andrew Flintoff's absence from the England team for the fourth Test in Barbados underlines how big a role he plays.
The tourists, already without their first-choice wicketkeeper, are now without Flintoff, so are thus deprived of their best bowler and a top-order batsman.
Essex batsman Ravi Bopara and Kent seamer Amjad Khan have been drafted in, but England are not allowed to field 12 players so how should the team shape up for Barbados?
Bearing in mind the need to take 20 wickets and level the series at 1-1 with one match to play, who should form the bowling attack?
Steve Harmison has been passed fit, but did not look at his lethal best having been reprieved in Antigua. Would you give him another chance, and hope he can regain the form he showed in the Caribbean on the previous tour, or is his inconsistency too much of a risk in a must-win match?
Should Ryan Sidebottom return to give some balance with his left-arm seamers or has he lost that crucial bit of zip that made him so dangerous against the Windies in the home series of 2007?
Perhaps Khan should be given a chance, having taken five wickets in the tour match preceding this Test, or is it too much of a risk to give him his debut?
There have been fitness doubts over spinner Graeme Swann so who should deputise if he does not make it? Monty Panesar or is it time to give 21-year-old Adil Rashid his debut, particularly in view of his highly-rated batting capabilities?
No discussion about England would be complete without some debate about the batting order, and sure enough the absence of Matt Prior and Flintoff has created some uncertainty.
With Tim Ambrose not likely to be risked above number seven, who comes in at six? Bopara, aged 23, is a hugely talented strokeplayer who could not have done much more than make an unbeaten 124 from 125 balls in the recent tour match.
He also bowls useful medium pacers so should he be first choice to improve a fledgling Test career that has comprised only three Tests, all of which were on a difficult tour of Sri Lanka, when he was dismissed for a duck on four occasions.
There were suggestions that Ian Bell would be handed a recall but would that be a backward step? and would he then have to bat at three, causing further disruption to Owais Shah's hopes of cementing the number three spot? Can Bopara bat at three or is his style of play more suited to the number six slot?
Should Kevin Pietersen move up to three? There are many issues to resolve so please send in your thoughts on the best England line-up for this important Test.

NZ cricketers delay Zimbabwe tour

New Zealand's cricket team has delayed its forthcoming tour of Zimbabwe citing "security concerns".
The tour, due to take place in July, has now been shelved until June 2010.
New Zealand Cricket's chief executive Justin Vaughan agreed a deal with his Zimbabwean counterpart at a meeting in South Africa.
"This is a pragmatic solution that allows the situation in Zimbabwe to be monitored over the next year," Mr Vaughan said in a statement.
'Genuine risks'
New Zealand Cricket had faced a heavy fine by the International Cricket Council (ICC) if it cancelled the tour.
"Given that Zimbabwe remains a full member of ICC we have continuing obligations to play them on a reciprocal basis, therefore this agreement is an acceptable outcome for the present time," he added.
New Zealand's government had said it may delay the tour because it was concerned about the security of the team's players.
Zimbabwe's Zanu-PF government, led by the authoritarian Robert Mugabe, has embarked upon a power-sharing deal with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
More than half Zimbabwe's population is in need of food aid and inflation - estimated by some economists at 10 sextillion per cent - has left its currency almost worthless.
"I'm pretty reluctant for the Black Caps to travel," New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said during the weekend. "There are very real, genuine security risks for our players."
He added: "We don't support that (Zimbabwe) regime. We don't support what is happening in that country, and we don't want to give a signal that we do."
After the announcement, a New Zealand government spokesman welcomed the move, the AFP news agency reported.
"It's obviously a good outcome from our point of view," the spokesman said. "We didn't have anything directly to do with it."
New Zealand last toured Zimbabwe in 2005, for two Tests and a one-day tri-series including India, although then-Prime Minister Helen Clark was against the tour.

Premier League v Serie A

This week sees three Premier League teams come up against Serie A opposition in the first knockout round of the Champions League.

Holders Manchester United travel to Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan on Tuesday, while Arsenal host Roma in London.
On Wednesday, Chelsea's new coach Guus Hiddink will lead the side against the Blues' former coach Claudio Ranieri, now at the helm of Juventus.
The domestic leagues in England and Italy have laid claim to being the best in the world.BBC Sport looks at how they compare, focusing on the players, the top two managers, stadiums and attendances, TV money and their European Cup pedigree.

New baby rules Prior out of Test

England wicketkeeper Matt Prior will miss the fourth Test against West Indies after flying home to be with his wife, who gave birth on Sunday.
Prior received the news at 0430 GMT that wife Emily had the couple's first child, a boy.
Prior had said he would fly home if the baby arrived early and was due to leave the tour temporarily on 2 March.
Tim Ambrose will wear the gloves in Barbados, where the penultimate Test gets under way at 1400 GMT on Thursday.
Ambrose, 26, has played 10 Tests for England, scoring 55 on his debut against New Zealand in Wellington and then 102 against the Kiwis in Hamilton.
The Warwickshire wicketkeeper was dropped for the winter tour to India after a disappointing series against South Africa at home.
But he made an impressive 74 and took two catches on day one of England's two-day match against a Barbados Cricket Association President's XI.Prior, who made an unbeaten 126 on his debut against West Indies at Lord's in 2007, has looked assured on this tour and should regain his place for the fifth Test in Trinidad, which starts on 6 March.
The 26-year-old's absence at the Kensington Oval will mean a second alteration for England following the news that Andrew Flintoff is to miss out with a hip injury.
Prior would have been a viable option to bat at number six given his average is in excess of 40, enabling England to retain a five-man bowling attack.
But the selectors are less likely to consider Ambrose for that position, meaning they might be forced into playing four bowlers.
Ravi Bopara, who hit a hundred in the tour match on Sunday, and Ian Bell would be vying for the spare batting berth.
Worcestershire wicketkeeper Stephen Davies is part of the one-day squad but he is not scheduled to arrive in the Caribbean until later this week.
England are bidding to square the series at 1-1 following their defeat in Jamaica and draw in Antigua.

Younus century rallies Pakistan

Younus Khan hit his 16th Test century as Pakistan finished day three of the first Test against Sri Lanka on 296-3.
Beginning the day at 44-1, Pakistan lost Khurram Mansoor (27), caught behind off Ajanta Mendis at 78-2
But Younus, who put on 149 in a third-wicket stand with Shoaib Malik (56) before the ex-skipper was run-out, remains unbeaten on 149 in Karachi.
Misbah-ul-Haq is not out on 20 with Pakistan 148 runs behind the follow-on target of 444.
Younus had survived a close lbw appeal against Ajanta Mendis before he was dropped on 92 by Tillakaratne Dilshan, who spilled a difficult chance at short mid-wicket.
The 31-year-old soon brought up his hundred off Dilhara Fernando batting alongside Shoaib, who in turn scored his seventh Test half-century.
But the all-rounder's demise came shortly after when he attempted a quick single off leg-spinner Mendis, but Muttiah Muralitharan's direct hit caught him just short of his ground.
New batsman Misbah continued the push towards the follow-on total, compiling 72 with his skipper before the close of play.