Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor has made a bold, if possibly half-joking, claim that should the Gunners fail to take the title this season then he will quit the game (various). Clearly it’s more a statement of intent that shows the Togo striker's desire to succeed at the Emirates, so top-flight clubs can forget about trying to take him at his word.

In-form Manu announced: "If we don't win it, I will take my shirt off and call Arsene Wenger. I'll say 'Boss, I want to stop playing football' because I have a lot of ambition and part of my ambition is to win the title. As a player, if you don't have an ambition, I don't know why you are playing or what you stand for. I have a lot of dreams and ambitions with Arsenal and I know they will come true."

Thankfully for Arsenal and Adebayor, it seems the engravers have already written Arsenal’s name as this season's champions after an awesome start which has seen them drop just six points thus far.

'The fee for Edmilson would be nominal and that would be suitable to Benitez as he tries to appease his American board'

Jack of all trades Edmilson is determined to leave Barcelona (DiarioSport). Frank Rijkaard is keen to keep the 31-year-old Brazilian at the Nou Camp but he has apparently alerted a number of clubs, including Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool, by saying he won't sign a new deal and wants to leave as soon as he is fully fit.

A move to Newcastle did appear to be on the cards for the former Lyon man, but given the tough time that Sam Allardyce is having at St James’ Park, Edmilson would be likely to turn down a move to a team that may be looking to change managers. Both Rafa Benitez and Juande Ramos could do with his experience and determination in either of his established roles as defensive midfielder or centre-back. The fee would be nominal and that would be suitable to Benitez as he tries to appease his American board.

It has been picked up by the over-active grapevine that West Ham manager Alan Curbishley is attempting to grapple Manchester United's Darren Fletcher from under Sir Alex Ferguson’s nose (various). Apparently the Scot is keen to get first-team football and sees his future away from Old Trafford. A fee of £6m has been mentioned which seems like a decent price for a player with bags of potential. A move to West Ham would at least give Fletcher a good shot at a decent run of regular first-team action, something he has never managed in seven years at United.