Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says there is no reason why Robin van Persie cannot go on to score 25 goals this season. The Dutchman topped Arsenal's scoring charts with 20 last term and has already netted eight times this campaign. "If you look at the chances he has had since the start of the season you cannot say he won't reach 25 goals," said Wenger. "Robin has taken much more responsibility because he is up front. He has committed himself to the club for a long period and he is at an age, 26, where a footballer becomes really efficient, mature and wants to win things. That is why I believe he can be the best passer in the league and the best goalscorer in the league. When you look at the goals he scores they are always impressive."   

 John Carew was delighted to finally get off the mark this season on Saturday and believes Aston Villa should be happy with a point from their trip to Everton. The Norway striker came off the bench and got the equaliser in Villa's 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. "It was a good point I thought. It is always a battle when you go to Goodison Park," he said. "I'd definitely class it as one of the most difficult games of the season so it was good to get a draw. We have had a few battles with Everton in the past and a draw was certainly not a bad result. I was pleased to come on and make a difference. I was delighted to get my first Premier League goal of the season. It was a good day overall."  

 James McFadden is ready to keep taking Birmingham City's penalties despite his miss in the goalless draw against Manchester City. The Scot's spot-kick proved all too easy for Shay Given to save as McFadden failed to find the corner, costing his side their chance at victory over the big-spending Citizens. But McFadden has brushed off the disappointment and wants to be counted on the next time the Blues get their chance from 12 yards. "It was a poor penalty," McFadden said. "I don't know why but I changed my mind where I was going to put it. But I will be ready to take the next one."  

 Captain Ryan Nelsen believes the performance in the 2-0 defeat at Manchester United has set a benchmark for the remainder of the season. Goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney earned United the points although Rovers were felt hard done by when substitute Nikola Kalinic's goal was ruled out for offside in the dying stages. Nelsen told the club`s official website: "There were a lot of positives to come out of the game. I can`t believe the linesman hasn`t given our goal, it is a ridiculous decision. Niko was clearly onside by a yard. That would have meant 2-1 and we`ve got something to play for for the last few minutes. So the guys are pretty disappointed but there were a lot of positives. We wanted to go out and really compete and we did that. A couple of things didn`t go our way but besides that it was a very good game. We had to step it up and if we play like this for the rest of the season away from home the majority of the results will go our way."  

 Kevin Davies thinks just 60 seconds stood between Bolton and a big result against Chelsea on Saturday. With the score still 0-0, Jlloyd Samuel was sent off a minute before the break at the Reebok Stadium for a challenge on Didier Drogba. Frank Lampard scored the resulting penalty and Chelsea went on to beat the 10 men 4-0 but Davies believes if Wanderers had the held out to the interval, a very different afternoon would have unfolded. "At that point we were playing well and it was just about seeing it out until half time," Davies said. "We'd played really well for 44 minutes, created the better chances and were probably on top. The decision was made but the attack should have been stopped. He should never have got to that position. There was an opportunity on the halfway line to stop the attack and before you know it, it was in the back of the net." 

 Manager Owen Coyle was delighted to see his players answer their critics after Burnley's 2-0 win over Hull on Saturday. Burnley came into the fixture off the back of their first home defeat of the season against Wigan last week but Coyle named the same starting XI and they duly made amends courtesy of Graham Alexander's brace. "I showed loyalty to that group last week and they've come up trumps again," Coyle said. "When the game's on we're all going hammer and tongs to win our respective points. We did that and I thought we were fully deserving of it over the game. I was a little bit disappointed with some of the stuff I heard during the week. We lost a home game for the first time in nine months and all of a sudden everybody that knows how to pick a team was clamouring for changes. I think the so-called experts should stick to what they're doing and let the guys in charge get on with picking the teams and trying to get the best for this football club."    

 Frank Lampard believes that a singular attitude towards matches is key. "We play Manchester United at the Bridge next Sunday and we wanted to be top, but not because we are facing the champions," said Lampard. "You must have a singular attitude to every game. Now we have done well at Bolton, we have a Champions League game before we face United, and these are very exciting times for us. We are top of the league and we aim to create a gap at the top because we know that Manchester United are a good team and they will make things difficult for us if we don't do that. League position or form doesn't count much between the big clubs, it is all about form on the day. There's a danger Manchester United can close that gap, so we must make sure they don't."  

 Teenager Jack Rodwell says a Europa League revenge victory over Benfica on Thursday will kick-start Everton's season after six matches without a victory. That run includes a 5-0 hammering by the Portuguese giants in Lisbon plus a Carling Cup exit at Tottenham Hotspur. Saturday's home draw with Aston Villa, and winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov's red card which means a three-match domestic ban, did nothing to lift the gloom at Goodison Park. But Rodwell, 18, said: "We feel good about the performance against Villa but not about the result. It is playing on our minds that we need a win and the perfect time to get that is on Thursday at Goodison. The defeat over in Portugal was difficult to take. In the first 45 minutes we were as good if not better than Benfica but in the second half we were not at the races and our heads dropped. Now they have got to come to our ground and we have to show Benfica what a good side we are. We owe Benfica one and we owe it to ourselves. Hopefully on Thursday we can turn it around." 

 Roy Hodgson is realistic about his club's prospects. The manager knows it will be a tough test to repeat the success of last season when the Cottagers finishing seventh and qualifyied for the Europa League. He said: "To be one of the best seven teams in the league is going to be very difficult for us on an annual basis. The club is not necessarily geared for that. More and more money is being spent and the top four is rapidly becoming the top seven in terms of financial power. It would be nice if we could treat our fans to a season when they are not biting their nails into the last two or three games and be a good enough team to occasionally spring surprises like we did on Sunday." 

 New executive chairman Adam Pearson believes he can solve the club's financial problems and is "desperate" for under-pressure manager Phil Brown to succeed. Pearson assessed the situation at the troubled Barclays Premier League club as he began a second spell at the KC Stadium on Monday morning. The Tigers have won just three times in their last 33 league matches since December. The former Derby executive chairman, who enjoyed a successful spell at Hull from 2001-07 and appointed Brown in December 2006 told the club's official web site: "I'm desperate for Phil to win some games and then all this conjecture can go away. He is definitely the manager of this club and he's got a big game against Stoke. But we need wins, we need results. We've got some issues but nothing that can't be solved with a bit of hard work and team spirit. We'll get them sorted, I'm sure. Everything I can see on those accounts looks to me as though it's solvable and I don't think there should be any dramatic panic about our financial situation. Obviously things need tweaking and the wage bill needs looking at but it is not something that frightens or alarms me. I just see it as a challenge. It is normal for football clubs to have debts and there isn't a great deal of that here. I think it is just that the wage bill needs addressing, the squad size needs addressing and obviously we will work harder on commercial revenue streams as well."   

 Liverpool have been boosted by the news goalkeeper Jose Reina is intent on signing a new contract at Anfield. Talks on a new deal are expected to open soon and Reina said: "My aim is to get a new contract in the future and I want to be here for many years. Apparently the club wants the same. It's already my fifth season here and that says it all, really. One of my daughters is a Scouser. I have some friends here and my wife and kids are happy. I have every reason to stay longer and of course I will."  

 Birmingham City keeper Maik Taylor has hailed his Manchester City counterpart Shay Given as one of the world's best and believes he has become even better since his move to Eastlands. Taylor feels Given is currently at the peak of his career, as demonstrated during Sunday's goalless draw at St Andrew's, where the former Newcastle man Given pulled off a series of fine saves, most notably a second-half penalty stop from James McFadden, to earn his team a point. Taylor said: "How good is Given? He was always top quality at Newcastle but, since he has gone to Manchester City, he has almost gone to another level. He really is one of the world's best, not just in the Premier League, and he never put a foot wrong against us. His kicking and distribution were unbelievable and everything is top drawer about Shay at the moment. He is really on song. But he has worked extremely hard to get to the level that he is at now and good luck to him. He broke our hearts but it was a fantastic save from the penalty. It was a decent penalty. He definitely earned them a point and we felt a bit deflated."  

 Former Real Madrid striker Michael Owen hopes he can return to the Bernabeu when this season's Champions League final is held in the Spanish capital. "It's everybody's dream (to win the Champions League] and coming to a club like Manchester United you're always competing at the top level," he said. "That's one of the things you look at when you're first asked to join the club. It's one of the big things that stuck in my mind - playing in big European games and top League games is everybody's dream. It's very difficult to win these competitions but it's our aim to do that and it's exciting to be part of it."  

 Younes Kaboul is confident Aruna Dindane will prove a handful for opposition defences. The loan signing from Lens scored a hat-trick in the club's 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic and Kaboul said: "He is strong, he's a danger for the defence and if he continues like this, he will score more goals. When you win you feel happy. Your life is different. You wake up in the morning, you smile. You only feel like this when you win. You're happy. It's simple."  

 Abdoulaye Faye feels Stoke are still capable of clinching a top-half finish this season. The Potters achieved that feat last term, in their debut Premier League season, to silence those pundits who had tipped them for the drop. The aim now to build on that impressive showing and establish the club as a top-flight mainstay. Tony Pulis' side remain on course to repeat their 2008/09 effort, with a steady start to the current campaign seeing them to ninth place in the table. Stoke were disappointed to see a two-goal lead slip against Wolves on Saturday, in a 2-2 draw at the Britannia Stadium, but Senegalese centre-half Faye says spirits remain high in the Potters camp. "I am disappointed with the result," he said after a Jody Craddock brace rescued Mick McCarthy's men. "Last year we scored from many set-pieces but now we have a problem. I need to work hard at them, it is important. But our ambition is still to finish in the top 10." 

 Andy Reid praised Sunderland manager Steve Bruce for making Saturday's thrilling fightback against West Ham a possibility. The Black Cats went 2-0 down and, after Reid's superb free-kick reduced the deficit, Kenwyne Jones was sent off just before half-time. Sunderland were still the better side in the second half and secured a point through Kieran Richardson. "We owed the gaffer a performance on Saturday after the way we played at Birmingham," Reid said. "Last season, never mind 2-0 down, if we'd gone 1-0 down I don't think we would have come back. That was the mentality around the place. The new manager has given us a new lease of life. He's been brilliant. He's been straight, he's been fair. At times he's been fun and at times he's been hard. All the things a manager needs."      

 Defender Sebastien Bassong still believes Tottenham can break into the top four this campaign despite their 3-0 defeat at rivals Arsenal on Saturday. "We have big quality in the squad and if we improve and work hard we can take a top four position," said Bassong. "We need to keep working and work every day because that game on Saturday showed you can never stop at that level. If you don't work, you are going to be disappointed again and again. To be in the top four, we need more."   

 Scunthorpe United have snapped up West Ham defender Bondz N'Gala on an initial month-long loan deal. N'Gala made his Hammers debut against Bolton in the Carling Cup in September and had a spell on loan at MK Dons last season. He has now been allowed to link up with Scunthorpe, who also have another Hammers youngster in Jordan Spence on the books. Spence is confident that his team-mate can make an impact at Glanford Park and has outlined the qualities N'Gala will bring to Nigel Adkins' squad. Spence said: "I played with him for about five years, so I know him very well. He and I are quite close back at West Ham, so it will be nice to have him up here and I know he certainly has a lot to offer. I'll let him show that in his performances, but he is a good solid player with massive potential. I think he will work great with the boys, he is a good honest professional and, like a lot of us, is just trying to make his way up through the ranks." 

 Wigan's inconsistency is a concern to manager Roberto Martinez. Their performance in a 4-0 defeat at Portsmouth was far removed from victories over Chelsea and away at Burnley. Martinez said: "There are reasons for that. We are a new group with a different philosophy of playing. Sometimes you need to get through these painful lessons to learn. We went to Arsenal and could not be ourselves and then we beat Chelsea. The important thing is we learn from painful lessons and become a stronger and better team. That is the challenge."  

 Karl Henry hailed the spirit of his Wolves team-mates after they took a point against his former club Stoke. Wolves fell two goals behind but rallied to secure a 2-2 draw against their rivals thanks to defender Jody Craddock`s double. "It was a great comeback," Henry told the club's website. "Their goals were good from their point of view but disappointing from ours. We should have nailed (Matthew) Etherington before he had the chance to turn and then set up the first when we should also have cut out the cross. With the second goal he was unmarked when the ball came out and you can't afford to do that with players of his quality. It was disappointing to be two goals down but we responded by showing great character to come back."