The Red Devils drew 1-1 at Birmingham City on Saturday, a result which follows on from an FA Cup exit to Leeds United and Premier League defeats to Aston Villa and Fulham.

But the 35-year-old is confident that experience and determination can turn things round for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men.

“You thrive on adversity, the more it happens the better it is for us. We have probably been written off at some stage every season and this year is going to be no different. We just have to prove people wrong again.” Scholes said.

And Scholes is optimistic about the Red Devils’ chances of claiming some silverware this season.

“There is no disaster yet. I wouldn’t say we were bullish. But we are a point behind Chelsea, which is not a bad position even though we have played a game more, We are also in the last 16 of the Champions League and have that important League Cup semi-final against Manchester City. Okay, we had the disappointment of Leeds but every side has one of those every now and then. The fact is, we are still on the hunt for three major trophies. Hopefully we can win at least one.” he asserted.

The 27-year-old Alcaraz joined Brugge from Beira Mar in the summer of 2007 and has since developed into an important first team member for the club currently sitting second in the Belgian Jupiler League.

“We’ve met with Antolin and his agent several times, as we were keen to extend his stay at the club. However, we lack the financial resources to meet his demands, no clubs have approached us about a winter transfer so far, but I cannot rule out a January move. You never know what will happen in the world of football.” said Club Brugge sporting director Luc Devroe.

Temuri Ketsbaia

World Football News – After sacked by Olympiakos about two months ago, Temuri Ketsbaia has been appointed as coach of the Georgian national team.

Previous national team coach Hector Cuper parted company with the Georgian Football Federation earlier this week after collecting just three points from their qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The Georgian FA did not need too long to find their man, as Ketsbaia has swiftly been ushered in as his replacement. He has signed a deal until December 31, 2011 that comes into force on January 1 next year.

“I am happy to be given a chance to help Georgian football,” said the former international midfielder, who was capped 49 times, to uefa.com.

“We have decent resources and if we use them in a proper way we can play good football. I will not promise to guide the team to a major tournament in two, four or six years, but we will fight for it. I want a call-up to the national side to be a joy for all the players, not torture.”

Arsenal (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Champions League Football News – Arsenal moved one step closer to the Champions League knock-out stages with a comfortable 4-1 over AZ Alkmaar at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsene Wenger’s side dominated the contest from the offset, and it came as no surprise when captain Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring with a shot from outside the AZ area which Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero will be disappointed to have conceded at his near post.

The home side came out looking to impose themselves from the opening whistle, with Robin van Persie trying his luck with a right-footed effort from distance that flew just wide of  Romero’s goal in the third minute.
Having set a quick tempo early on, Arsenal were able to dictate the play throughout the first half with a slick passing game that left their opponents chasing shadows for long periods, and an opening goal seemed inevitable as the Gunners began to turn possession into chances – the best of which fell to Abou Diaby, who couldn’t make the most of Emmanuel Eboue’s pacey cross from the right side.

The deadlock was broken on 25 minutes when Fabregas dribbled inside from the left wing and caught Romero off guard with a poked effort that crept past the Argentine International to give the home team a deserved lead.

Samir Nasri, making his first Champions League appearance of the season, doubled Arsenal’s advantage on the stroke of half time. The France midfielder wrong-footed his marker and produced a composed finish after getting on the end of a sublime through-pass from Andrey Arshavin, giving the Gunners a two-goal cushion going into the half-time break.

Despite a comfortable lead the home side showed no signs of allowing the tempo to drop after the interval, with Russia captain Arshavin again playing the role of creator as he linked well with Diaby before releasing Fabregas, who finished coolly to put Arsenal out of sight with his second of the game on 52 minutes.

Abou Diaby capped an all-action individual performance by putting the finishing touch on a vintage Arsenal move to make it 4-0 on 72 minutes. Substitute Eduardo set Arshavin away with an exquisite back-heeled pass before the Russian picked out the lung-busting run of Diaby, who steadied himself and fired past Romero as Arsenal all but guaranteed their qualification from Group H.

There was still time for AZ to grab a controversial consolation ten minutes later, with Jeremain Lens breaking free of the Arsenal defence and beating Manuel Almunia when it looked like the recently re-instated goalkeeper could have done better. The goal came just moments after Arsenal had a penalty appeal turned away when an AZ defender appeared to handle the ball while defending al corner. The referee dismissed the home side’s protests, and Lens broke away from the resulting clearance and appeared to surprise Almunia by taking his shot early, beating the Spaniard at his near post.

The result leaves Arsenal in a commanding position in Group E, needing just a point from their remaining two fixtures to secure passage to the knock-out stages. While Arsene Wenger may be disappointed with the manner in which his side conceded late in the game, he will doubtless take great satisfaction from the style and incision that his players displayed from start to finish.