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No sack fears for Benitez

Author: Lynda Collins
Date: 06/11/2009
Football betting

Rafael Benitez had admitted that Liverpool now need a miracle to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League but insists he does not fear for his job.

Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Lyon in a match they needed to win to boost their chances of qualifying from Group E has seen the pressure mount on Benitez.

Liverpool, who are also struggling in the Premier League, must now hope that Lyon can defeat Fiorentina in their next match while they themselves must overcome Debrecen and then the Italian club in order to progress from the group stages.

But despite fresh reports questioning Benitez's future at Anfield, the defiant Spaniard insists he is going nowhere.

Can Liverpool bounce back and win the Champions League - Latest Football Betting

Arsene Wenger is confident that the players he currently has at his disposal are ready to achieve 'something special' following Arsenal's 4-1 Champions League win over AZ Alkmaar.

Skipper Cesc Fabregas netted twice, with Samir Nasri and Abou Diaby also getting on the scoresheet as the online betting fifth favourites moved to within one point of qualifying for the last 16 with a comprehensive Group H victory over the Dutch champions.

Wenger's policy of preferring to nurture young talent rather than buy established names was again questioned during the summer, but the Frenchman believes that patience with his current crop is beginning to bear fruit.

Meanwhile, Stan Kroenke has acquired another 200 shares as he edges closer to launching a formal takeover of Arsenal.

Kroenke, who also has an interest in NBA team the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer side, has purchased another 200 shares - half of which came from current chairman Peter Hill-Wood.

The American businessman now holds a 29.9 per cent stake in the Gunners and is on the cusp of the 29.99 per cent mark which would compel him to make a formal offer for the remaining shares.

Elsewhere, all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has signed a three-year contract with Lancashire to play one-day cricket for the Red Rose county.

Flintoff, 31, retired from Test cricket after helping England to an Ashes series victory over Australia during the summer and was widely expected to agree a new contract at Old Trafford as he looks to focus the twilight of his career on the one-day game.

The injury-plagued all-rounder turned down the offer of an incremental central contract from the England and Wales Cricket Board earlier in the year in order to maximize his earning potential as a one-day and Twenty20 player.

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