There has been an increasing call for an improvement in the English game over the last decade with the increase of foreign players into the Premier League and the failings of the English national team, but how are we perceived by people abroad? Well, Spain and Barcelona’s tricky midfielder Xavi has given his opinion on the English game by saying that although it has improved technically, there are still cultural differences that effect the way we play the game. Does he raise some good points or is it a case of stereotyping?

Firstly, Xavi admires English football and the technical players that this country has produced over the years, with the likes of Chris Waddle, John Barnes and Matthew Le Tissier – with also praise for current players like Gerrard and Scholes amongst others. However, despite saying there was a change in style in our game where defenders no longer play hit and hope to the big centre forward, there are some cultural differences compared with his native Spain. He used the example of Jamie Carragher making a defensive clearance into row Z of the stand which would create a cheer from the crowd, but in Spain it would never be applauded.

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It is always great when you hear opinions on our football from abroad, especially when they admire our technical players – with the continuing under achievement of the England national team it is nice to be reminded as an English fan that we do have talent and our expectations are not too high. However, I do agree with the point about the football culture we have compared to Spain.

With the likes of Ian Holloway and his new football philosophy which is based on Barcelona’s, it is a step forward into improving our view on how the game is played. Arsene Wenger has helped us become a nation that admires watching attractive, attacking football compared to the common long ball tactics of the past. But if we are to gradually change our football philosophy in this country is there a case for losing our identity in the process? It’s something that is very important to Xavi, who says that although Inter won the Champions League last season, they lacked an identity by just wanting to win, whereas Xavi and his team mates gain satisfaction for how they play football – it’s important to them as winning is.

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I believe that Xavi’s comments on our game can be taken quite positively. We do have talented English players and with a changing trend in philosophy, we can start to create a better identity in our football future – starting with applause for technical players showing their creativity on the pitch rather than cheering the ‘if in doubt, kick it out’ motto of old. We can still keep our (as Xavi called it) ‘Warrior’ identity, but with a better focus on celebrating our technically gifted players.

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Lazio defender Lionel Scaloni said his side’s experience helped them keep a clean sheet in their victory over Palermo on Sunday in Serie A.The Roman club triumphed 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico, courtesy of a first-half brace to Giuseppe Sculli.But 32-year-old Scaloni said the striker’s defensive capabilities in the clash was just as crucial.”Yes, it was a great match, above all we showed our maturity, because today we played against a great team and a draw would have meant losing fourth place in Serie A, with the derby on Sunday ahead of us,” Scaloni said. “The team played excellently in the first fifteen to twenty minutes, it was clear we wanted to win. That’s why I say Lazio has improved a lot especially in our attitude.””We now start difficult matches differently from last year. We played against a great team and the goals came one after the other. That was important for us. However, it’s also true they created difficulties for us. It was always two against one, (but) luckily (Giuseppe) Sculli and (Alvaro) Gonzales came to help me and we managed to win the match.” The win put Lazio back into fourth place on the table – 10 points from league leaders AC Milan – but Scaloni said the club had more realistic ambitions than dreaming of the Scudetto.”We are on our way. I think we need to take one match at a time. We need to keep playing like we did today, especially the way we played early on in the match. If we play like this for 45 to 60 minutes then we might have a chance to battle for third place,” the Argentine said.

Cardiff blew a golden chance to take second place in the Championship on Sunday after twice relinquishing the lead in their 2-2 draw with Barnsley.Three points would have seen Cardiff leapfrog Norwich and Swansea into second place in the table, and things began brightly enough when midfielder Peter Whittingham handed them the lead after 21 minutes with a spectacular long-range effort.Eight minutes later Barnsley were level, however, when Scottish striker Andy Gray fired a shot past Cardiff goalkeeper Stephen Bywater from the edge of the box.Dekel Keinan found himself on the end of a great cross from winger Chris Burke to head Cardiff into the lead once more, but again it was Gray who equalised with a fine header just one minute from the end to ensure a share of the spoils.The point helped Barnsley climb to 15th place, while Cardiff remained in fourth position, but moved a point clear of fifth-placed Leeds.

Spain will be eager to preserve their perfect record in the Euro 2012 qualifiers when they meet the Czech Republic in Granada on Friday.The defending world and European champions sit atop Group I with three wins from as many games, while their opponents lie in second place, having recorded two victories and a loss.

Spain will be without Carles Puyol, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez for the Friday’s qualifier, with Andoni Iraola, Javi Mart?nez (both of Athletic Bilbao) and Valencia’s Juan Mata being drafted into the squad in their place.

Puyol’s absence is likely to see Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos move into the centre of defence to partner Gerard Pique.

Spain playmaker Xavi will make his 100th appearance for the national team against the Czechs, while David Villa, who has scored two goals so far in qualifying, will equal Raul’s record tally of 44 goals for the country should he score on Friday.

Spain boss Vicente Del Bosque has labelled his Friday opponents “one of the best teams in Europe in recent years”.

“They are our biggest threat. They have great physical and technical qualities,” Del Bosque said.

The Czech Republic welcome back Galatasaray forward Milan Baros from injury; the former Liverpool ace is expected to provide a much-needed scoring outlet.

The 1996 European Championship runners-up have registered only three goals in qualifying so far and will be eager to have Baros back in the fold.

The fixture will pit Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech against his new club team-mate Fernando Torres, and Cech was keen to point out he has never finished on the winning side when facing the former Liverpool favourite.

“He (has) beat me in every game we played in as opponents,” Cech said. “I hope it will be different on Friday.”

Czech coach Michal Bilek stressed the importance of neutralising the Spanish passing game by keeping a compact shape when the World Cup champions are in possession.

“They are beatable from time to time, it is possible to achieve a reasonable result against them,” Bilek said.

“We need to tighten up the space in our own half and make it impossible for their key players to pass the ball. We will aim for quick counter-attacks after winning possession.”

%image% Stan Kroenke’s attempt to take control of Arsenal looks set to falter after Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov refused to sell his shares.American businessman Kroenke increased his stake in the English Premier League club to 62.89 per cent this week after agreeing to purchase the shares of board members Danny Fizsman and Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith.

The deal obliged Kroenke to make a cash offer for all remaining shares in the club.

Usmanov, who has previously expressed an interest in a full takeover of his own, appears unlikely to part with his 27 per cent stake in the club.

“I’m not going to sell my stake,” Usmanov said.

“I love Arsenal, that’s why I’m a shareholder.”

Usmanov’s investment company Red and White Holdings bought into Arsenal in 2007 after purchasing the 14.65 per cent held by former vice-chairman David Dein for 75 million pounds.

He increased his stake further in 2009.

The Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST), which opposes sole ownership of the club, welcomed Usmanov’s stance.

“AST welcomes Red and White Holdings’ (Usmanov’s investment company) commitment to Arsenal and calls on all shareholders to work together,” AST said in a statement.

“Their priorities should firstly be making Arsenal a successful football team, secondly placing no leveraged debt on the club or taking dividends and management fees out of the club, and thirdly helping supporters be directly involved in the club’s shareholding.”

“Arsenal is too important to be owned by any one man.”

Kroenke already owns NBA franchise the Denver Nuggets, MLS team Colorado Rapids, NHL outfit Colorado Avalanche and NFL club St Louis Rams.

He agreed to purchase Fizsman’s 16.1 per cent and Bracewell-Smith’s 15.9 per cent for 11,750 pounds per share, or 234 million pounds in total.

The deal values the club at 731 million pounds.

There is a lot of hype over the approaching summer transfer window in world football with clubs expected to spend and improve on their squads, especially in the English Premier League. But whilst the media constantly generate rumours on players going here, there and everywhere in multi million pound transfers, there isn’t so much focus on any potential bargains.

A number of players are out of contract come May/June 2011 and it appears most of them are waiting to see what offers come in before they put pen to paper with their current club or a new club altogether. In some cases, it’s the club that don’t see a future for the player and they’ll be hoping to impress other managers with the run-in of games to the end of the season.

But what are some of the best potentially free agents that could turn up at your club this summer? Last year we saw the likes of Tottenham Hotspur gain the experience of William Gallas for free and despite his Arsenal and Chelsea connections, he’s certainly proved a bargain.

So join me for the Top 10 out of contract players this summer, there’s certainly a variety in class. Of course there will be an honourable mentions list but for any omissions, please feel free to comment below. Don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter too.

Click on Robert Green to see the top TEN Bosman deals to be had this summer

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Barcelona can wrap up a third successive La Liga title on Wednesday, needing only a draw at 10th-placed Levante to be crowned champions.With three games remaining, Barca are eight points clear of fierce rivals Real Madrid but even if Real win their home match with struggling Getafe on Tuesday, a point would be enough for Barcelona to retain the title because of their superior head-to-head record against Jose Mourinho’s side.

Should they be successful on Wednesday, Pep Guardiola’s side would become the first team to win three successive La Liga titles since the exceptional Barca side of the early 1990s, which won four successive Primera Division titles between 1991 and 1994.

And if they can win all three of their remaining games, Barca could become the first side to reach the 100-point mark in a La Liga campaign, breaking their own record of 99 set last season.

Other interest will centre around the top of the goal-scoring charts – with Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo scoring four in his side’s 6-2 demolition of Sevilla on Saturday to move to 33 league goals for the season, two ahead of Barca superstar Lionel Messi.

As well as Real’s clash with Getafe, other games on Tuesday see Deportivo La Coruna host Athletic Bilbao at Estadio Municipal de Riazor.

Deportivo are desperate for a win to escape the drop zone, while fifth-placed Bilbao need a win to help them hang on to their Europa League qualifying berth.

Sporting Gijon travel to Malaga, and Racing Santander host seventh-placed Atletico Madrid who will be keen to keep the pressure on sixth-placed Sevilla and Bilbao in the race for the Europa League places.

Joining Barcelona in action on Wednesday, Villareal can make sure of fourth and a spot in the Champions League qualifiers with a win over already-relegated Almeria, and Valencia – who are five points clear of Villarreal – can claim third on their trip to Espanyol.

Hercules need maximum points when they host Mallorca if they are to avoid relegation that has looked likely for much of the campaign, and Real Zaragoza could be in the bottom three if they fail to win at Real Sociedad.

Sevilla need three points from their visit to Osasuna if they are to maintain their Europa League push, while Osasuna are just two points clear of the drop zone.

West Ham United must claim at least a point when they travel to Wigan on Sunday to have any chance of avoiding relegation.The relegation six-pointer pits the English Premier League’s two bottom sides in a match sure to entertain with both clubs playing for their future, and although a point could mathematically keep them alive, the three points are what is really needed by the Hammers.

West Ham trail Wigan by three points and are four points away from safety, meaning a victory is essential ahead of their final match of the season, at home against Sunderland.

“I think yes, we have a chance to stay up of course, but first we need to win against Wigan. If we get maybe one or two goals (we can do it),” manager Avram Grant said.

“Wigan is the most important game, we need to win. I know they also want to win and they’re playing home. (Staying up) depends on other results, so we need to see if other results are as we want it to be.”

“We have to win against Wigan and I think we can do it.”

West Ham will be desperately hoping captain Scott Parker will return from an Achilles injury while Matthew Upson could also feature at the DW Stadium, but they are likely to be without Mark Noble and Kieron Dyer.

Gary O’Neil and Junior Stanislas are long-term absentees for West Ham while Wigan could be without Mohamed Diame, who is battling a foot injury.

The reverse fixture between these two sides saw West Ham run out 3-1 winners at Upton Park in November, but the Hammers have not won in eight and are going to need to turn things around dramatically, and get a slice of luck, if they are to remain in the Premier League.

FC Utrecht have parted company with coach Ton du Chatinier after the club missed out on Europa League qualification.Du Chatinier took over at Utrecht in October 2008 and the 53-year-old guided the club into European competition the following season with victory in the Eredivisie’s 2009/10 Europa League playoff.

He was unable to repeat that achievement this season – the team bowed out of the Europa League in the group stages and could only finish ninth in the Eredivisie, missing out on the playoffs.

“Ton accepted the position as head coach two years ago in very difficult circumstances and deserves a lot of respect for that,” Utrecht Sporting Director Foeke Booy said.

“It’s a shame that our collaboration comes to an end like this, but we did not see any foundation to continue working together.”

Former Feyenoord coach Erwin Koeman has been touted as a potential replacement for Du Chatinier at the Stadion Galgenwaard.

Arsene Wenger has never been one to do all of his transfer deals as early as possible, but it is of paramount importance that he changes that attitude for this particular summer.

Since Arsenal finished fourth this season, just over the horizon lies a Champions League qualifier which, under the new UEFA rulings, shall be infinitely harder to win than some of the games the club has had in previous seasons against the likes of Sparta Prague and Dinamo Zagreb. Now, Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Fiorentina haunt the draw.

Therefore, Arsenal need to move quickly. There should be no anxious waiting up on August the 31st in eager anticipation of a deadline day bargain. Regardless of the players whom one thinks the club should be signing, the fact is that they should arrive in June, in order to give them the best possible chance of settling into the side before the early start of the season.

There is very rarely any negative attached to signing players early in the summer. For example, whenever Manchester United need to inject new life into the squad, they immediately bolster the team by announcing signings as early as June 1st. This was exemplified by when they signed Anderson, Nani and Hargreaves in quick succession in the summer of 2007. Arsenal need to take a leaf out of their book; no more deadline day deals in order to shave a couple of hundred thousand of pounds off the price, the purchases have to be made quickly and forcefully.

The added bonus of getting the transfers done as early as possible is that a feel-good factor surrounds the club in the build up to the new season. This is particularly relevant this season, given that the season ticket prices have increased, and there are real doubts about the power of the club in the transfer market, and whether the ambitions of the board mirror those of the supporters.

Should the Champions League qualifier at the Emirates arrive without any kind of marquee signing having been purchased, the atmosphere around the stadium will match that of the last few games of the season just gone; songs of ‘six percent, you’re having a laugh’ will inevitably be replaced with chants of a somewhat more positive nature.

So this summer is extremely important for a number of reasons; not only does the squad need to be strengthened considerably in various areas, but the rebuilding work needs to be done sooner rather than later, not only to increase our chances of Champions League qualification, but also to state intent for the season to come, and to put Arsenal back on the map.

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Read more of Alastair Bayliss’ articles at Gunnersphere

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