Manchester United’s Brazilian twin full-backs Rafael and Fabio da Silva revealed they were approached by a man claiming to represent the Gunners. Even though they were only 15 at the time, he asked them to betray their Brazilian club Fluminense, who had already agreed to let the brothers move to Old Trafford. Rafael, now 18, said: “We were not too happy with the way he approached us. The scout said he was from Arsenal and invited us to come and train. At that time we had already been to see Manchester United and train once with our club’s permission. But this man wanted to take us to England and say nothing to Fluminense. We disagreed with that principle. Fluminense was where we started, we had been there for years and they looked after us.”
Ian McGarry, The Sun
The twins' story isn't the only controversy surrounding Arsenal in today's newspapers. The Gunners have joined United, Everton and opponents Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals by beating Hull City 2-1 - but William Gallas' winning goal was scored from an offside position, according to raging Tigers' boss Phil Brown: "We’ve not been beaten by Arsenal, we’ve been beaten by the referee and the linesman. It’s disgraceful." (Quoted in The Sun)
The Times suggests United's Ben Foster may force his way into the next England squad after performing brilliantly in the Carling Cup final. "(Fabio) Capello has an unwritten rule that he will not consider players who are not appearing regularly for their clubs, but he will ponder making an exception of Foster," writes Oliver Kay.
The Times also reports a call from Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese to switch United's cup semi against Everton from Wembley to "Eastlands or Anfield or Villa Park? Unfortunately, that's not going to happen because this is all about the FA filling their coffers and not thinking about the fans."
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