Wenger has placed his faith with his strike pairing of Dennis Bergkamp and Ian Wright, despite their recent barren run. Arsenal are still cashing in on Hartson's success - in a deal initially struck with the Hammers at pounds 3.3m but bringing them regular additional payments tied to the Welshman's performance. Meanwhile, their former striker Tomas Brolin has joined Crystal Palace for a two-week training spell.Andy Hunt, West Bromwich Albion's leading scorer, may be going to the World Cup finals in France this summer, after contacting the Austrian Football Association saying he is eligible to play for them because he has an Austrian grandmother.. Arsene Wenger insists he has no fear of embarrassment tonight at the hands of John Hartson, the in-form striker Wenger allowed to leave Arsenal for West Ham last February. Bryan Robson has fined the player and banned him from training.Leeds United have agreed to sell Pierre Laurent back to Bastia for pounds 500,000 - double the fee they paid for him. Although both Shearer and his manager, Kenny Dalglish, have refused to put a date on his likely return to action, he could be back by late January or early February, at least a month ahead of schedule. Andy Hinchcliffe wants a signing-off fee from Everton before he joins Tottenham. The defender has asked his club to settle the loyalty payment in his contract, as he believes that, as he has not asked to leave, he should be compensated. If Hinchcliffe had not signed a new contract, he would have been a free agent this summer and therefore, he argues, leaving now for a fee would bring Everton a big profit.Another unsettled Goodison player is Gary Speed, who may make the move to Hillsborough after Sheffield Wednesday offered pounds 5m plus Graham Hyde, as well as doubling Speed's wages, although the midfielder may yet opt for a move to Newcastle.Despite the controversy surrounding his decision to end Saturday's match just before Wimbledon scored, the referee Steve Dunn will take charge of their FA Cup replay with Wrexham on 13 January.Stevenage Borough plan to double the capacity of their ground in order to keep home advantage for their FA Cup fourth-round match with Newcastle.The GM Vauxhall Conference club intend to install an extra 6,000 seats for the match, which is scheduled to be televised live by Sky Sports on Sunday 25 January.After failing to return on time after his Christmas break in Brazil, Emerson may find himself on a permanent holiday from Middlesbrough.

Alan Shearer has given a boost to both Newcastle and England supporters after resuming training yesterday. The striker has not played this season after injuring his right ankle in early August. I have spent a lot of time ashore lately and I had forgotten how great sailing really is."The fleet has essentially split into two groups on the 1,270 mile dash across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand, with Toshiba leading the southerly bunch of Swedish Match (Gunnar Krantz), Merit Cup (Grant Dalton) and Brunel Sunergy (Roy Heiner).To the north, Paul Cayard and his crew on EF Language have slipped from first place to fourth and lead the other contingent of the British entry Silk Cut (Lawrie Smith), Chessie Racing (George Collins), Innovation Kvaerner (Knut Frostad) and EF Education (Christine Guillou).Like the hard-fought third leg, this race is producing constant place changes and a close finish is expected on Friday.WHITBREAD ROUND THE WORLD RACE (Fourth leg, 1,270 miles, Sydney to Auckland): 1 Toshiba (US) D Conner 801.5 miles to finish; 2 Swedish Match (Swe) G Krantz 3.7 miles behind; 3 Merit Cup (Monaco) G Dalton 4.9; 4 EF Language (Swe) P Cayard 5.5; 5 Silk Cut (GB) L Smith 5.7; 6 Chessie Racing (US) G Collins 7.9; 7 Innovation Kvaerner (Nor) K Frostad 21.3; 8 Brunel Sunergy (Neth) R Heiner 35.7; 9 EF Education (Swe) C Guillou 73.. Conner blundered in Sydney Harbour on Sunday when he crossed the start line early. He had to re-start as the backmarker of the nine-boat fleet, but the four-times America's Cup winner has since clawed his way up the order.

He hit the front by going from 5.5 miles behind the early leader, EF Language, to grab a lead of 3.7 miles over second-placed Swedish Match. The 55-year-old Conner, who made himself skipper after his American boat had failed to live up to her promise under Chris Dickson and Paul Standbridge, said: "We were back in the thick of the battle, otherwise I am sure my name would be mud with the crew. Dennis Conner's expertise and determination not to be second best was much in evidence yesterday when, barely 24 hours after making a disastrous start, he steered Toshiba into the lead on the fourth leg of the Whitbread Round the World Race. The IAAF said it was impossible under its six-year rule to scrap performances from the 1970s and 80s, even if athletes admitted to taking performance- enhancing drugs. If East German coaches are found guilty in a forthcoming civil trial of harming athletes by giving them banned steroids, there is certain to be pressure on the International Olympic Committee to take medals away. However, the IOC is also unlikely to scrap results from the Olympics of that period, since it is believed that doping was also common in the West and other performances could be questioned.. Britain's hopes of persuading the International Amateur Athletic Federation to strip world records or titles from former East German athletes who used drugs were dashed by the sport's governing body yesterday.

I think I have no longer any motivation to lead Pakistan."Pakistan's future fixtures include a tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe, after a triangular tournament in Bangladesh this month.. "It's very sad that after serving the country with so much dedication and distinction, you get such a treatment," he said.Wasim, 32, the only player to take 300 wickets in Tests and one-day internationals, added: "Whatever cricket is left in me, I would love to enjoy it as a player, but certainly not as a captain of Pakistan. Wasim, a veteran of 77 Test matches and 238 one-day internationals, hopes to carry on playing at the highest level. "These [match-fixing] allegations have taken a toll on me," he said. "I am a human being, too, and there is a limit to everything. I can't sustain the pressure any more."Wasim, who led Pakistan in 17 Test matches, winning nine and losing four, said that when Pakistan lose he receives death threats from fans.