EVEN by his standards, Arsene Wenger looked impressively unruffled as he conducted what will probably be his last round of press conferences and television interviews before Arsenal are crowned champions. The top flight’s two longest-serving clubs meet for what promises to be a momentous occasion tomorrow at Highbury, where victory for Arsenal would complete the first leg of a remarkable double and send Everton perilously close to relegation for the first time in 47 years.
Wenger would have little time for Everton’s plight even if Arsenal did not want the three points so badly. Under Portuguese law, if they are not paid by 5 May they will be entitled to pull out of their contracts.Benfica also owe around 6bn escudos in back taxes, as well as pounds 2m to Manchester United for the purchase of Karel Poborsky.Coached by Graeme Souness, they need just one point from their last three league games to clinch a place in the Champions’ League.. A LISBON court has frozen Benfica’s bank accounts and set a deadline of 10 days for the Portuguese club to pay its outstanding loan instalments.

Bailiffs will begin seizing Benfica’s assets on 10 May if the club does not meet its obligations to Finibanco. The Portuguese bank granted Benfica a 620m escudo (pounds 2.1m) loan, but repayments have fallen behind schedule.
The club has built up massive debts and players have not been paid since February. Players are being signed up for huge packages and clubs are paying pounds 20m for players who just can’t play.”Equally well known as a hell-raiser during his halcyon days, Best conceded: “Players like Ryan Giggs and David Beckham are protected by their clubs nowadays and are less likely to ruin their careers through outside influences.”The only positive side to the current state of football, according to Best, is “the introduction of the Premier League, the influx of television money and the exposure given which has started to heighten the presence of the game”.. The physical side of the game has now all but gone.”Best no longer plays football following a knee operation but joked he was “thinking of making a comeback now you don’t have to tackle and be tackled”.Best was also not enamoured with what he described as “the money side of the game” He said: “It has gone beyond belief.

The former United legend, speaking in Hong Kong during a visit to promote a new sports betting club, also claimed the Red Devils had been paying too much attention to the Champions’ League and had suffered in the Premiership as a result.
Best, 52, said lifting the European Cup “has become a bit of a Holy Grail”. He added: “They have got into Europe so many times in recent years and Alex Ferguson must be sick of reading about the 1968 side.”Not only was Best less than complimentary about his former club, but he criticised the state of football in general “Rule changes have made it a game for softies,” he said. “If you’re telling someone you can’t tackle it’s ridiculous and stupid, unbelievable in fact. GEORGE BEST has made an extraordinary attack on his Manchester United successors, saying that players like striker Andy Cole “couldn’t play” and “weren’t worth the transfer fee”. “As long as we don’t do anything silly we should be all right because Hibs are five points behind,” he said.. WITH the leaders, Celtic, not playing Dunfermline until tomorrow, Rangers hope to move to the top of the table today with victory over Kilmarnock. The defending champions have Lorenzo Amoruso back from suspension, and his fellow Italian centre-back Sergio Porrini fit again.