• Frenchman claims there is no ill feeling with Hull manager
• Victory could move London club to Premier League summit

Arsène Wenger will offer Phil Brown his hand prior to kick-off at the KC Stadium tomorrow afternoon despite confrontations between Arsenal and Hull City having proved fractious over the last two seasons.

Both clubs were fined by the Football Association in December for failing to control their players as tension boiled over into a 21-man brawl at the Emirates after Samir Nasri appeared to tread on Richard Garcia’s ankle. That followed on from last season’s fractious FA Cup quarter-final when Brown accused Cesc Fábregas, sidelined with injury at the time, of spitting at his assistant Brian Horton at the end of the game. The Spaniard later admitted he had possibly spat on the ground. The FA found the allegations unproven.

Wenger had refused to shake Brown’s hand at the end of that fixture – “He never does,” the Hull manager said at the time – though the Frenchman maintains there is no antipathy lingering between the clubs. Asked whether he would shake Brown’s hand, Wenger replied: “Yes, of course. We have had tight games and the tension has been higher. That is my only explanation [for the incidents]. I have nothing against Phil Brown. I feel there is respect there.

“We do not focus on bad blood. We just focus on our game and try to play well. In fact, if you look at what happened, there was not a lot. Nobody was injured. There was a little brawl at one stage and we got punished, them as well, but the game itself was not dirty. Hull are fully committed and they play as well as they can.”

Arsenal travel to Hull two points from Manchester United at the top of the table having reasserted their challenge in stunning fashion since losing to the top two in successive games at the end of January and beginning of February. Wenger’s side has conceded all the points in collisions with those above them this term, with the basis of their challenge built on an ability to capitalise in contests with the also-rans. Only seven points have been shed to clubs in the bottom half of the table, their former vulnerability in meetings with the lesser lights apparently a thing of the past.

That bodes well given the Londoners’ run-in, with Arsenal’s most daunting remaining fixtures arguably against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, currently fourth and fifth in the table. “We have done exactly the opposite to last year,” said Wenger. “We lost against Chelsea and Manchester United because we didn’t turn up and, against the rest of the teams, we have been quite consistent. We have lost six games – four against United and Chelsea – so, overall, we have been quite consistent against the other teams. That’s why it’s important that we continue to achieve that until the end of the season.

“The consistency is down to a bit more maturity. It was important, for example, that we won at Stoke. That we won at places where we used to have big problems. That is a sign that belief is in the team and that we can deal better with the physical side of the game. But we need to perform at our best. Hull are a team that can play very well against anybody and that’s everywhere in the Premier League. People say we have easier fixtures than Chelsea and United because they play each other but Chelsea lost at Wigan. So did Liverpool. It is like that in this league.”

ArsenalArsène WengerHull CityPhil BrownPremier LeagueDominic Fifieldguardian.co.uk

Today’s piffle loves the smell of Dulux in the morning

Woo-woo. Dum-chum de-de de-de de. Woo-woo. Please allow The Mill to, er… Dum-chum de-de de-de de. Woo-woo. Something about driving a tank when the bodies stank. Dum-chum de-de de. Woo-woo.

For reasons that aren’t immediately clear, this morning the Mill feels a little different about the biggest story in the history of not-that-big stories painfully overinflated by righteous and self-serving gusts of hot air heated solely by the heart from hot air generated by pure hot air.

Whereas yesterday The Mill felt itself ranged squarely shoulder-to-shoulder, cheek-to-cheek alongside Cheryl, handsome dancer Derek, the dirty-looking blonde one from Girls Aloud and the perfumed-handkerchief-dabbing moral arbiters of the filthy red-tops. Today it has started to feel a slight dilution of its frothing indignation towards the world’s most evil left-back.

The Mill suspects it has something to do with this morning’s Sun. One of these people going about their business in a French medical clinic is behaving really quite strangely. But which one?

“ASHLEY Cole refused to say sorry for betraying Cheryl yesterday after The Sun tracked him down to a swish sports clinic in south west France. We asked him the question the whole nation wants to ask: “How could you?” But the shaken Chelsea star could only reply: “I just can’t talk about that.”

“Cole, having treatment on his broken ankle at the clinic in Capbreton, a seaside town near Biarritz, tried to hide behind an exercise machine when challenged by our reporter. And wearing a supportive sandal on his injured foot, he hobbled away on crutches after refusing to comment further.”

The Mill asks you. You get the bleeding Eurostar. You blag your way in through the gates. You then accost a weeping man on crutches and distract him from flexing his toes repeatedly while listening to sad power ballads on his chrome-plated iPod. And all you get in return is a polite refusal to discuss the most traumatic few days of his life.

Also, there’s this:

“LOVE rat Ashley Cole has blamed his mother-in-law over his marriage break-up. He told pals that life with Cheryl went downhill when her mum Joan, 50, moved in to keep an eye on her.

“A source close to Ashley was last night reported to have said their sex life dwindled to virtually nothing.
They added: “It’s a bit of a passion killer to have your mum in the house.”"

The Mill was rather surprised to read these words and would like to extend a personal invitation to Joan Tweedy to infiltrate The Mill’s own dank and cobwebbed crawl space in the eaves of fashionable .Co.Uk Integrated Towers in London’s horrible Kings Cross any time she fancies it. Blurry mobile phone photographs of The Mill’s ancient, sodden, mildewed sewn-in smalls are available on request.

Meanwhile in the world of almost non-existent actual concrete flimsy football tittle-tattle The Mirror says Arsène Wenger is “keeping tabs on” the 18 year-old Ajax starlet Christian Eriksen, who has been recommended by Dennis Bergkamp.

Arsenal have also given a trial to the 17 year-old Icelandic Whizzkid Ingolfur Sigurdsson, who plays, sadly, not in goal for, but inmidfieldfor Knattspyrnufelag Reykjavikur. Robin Van Persie is going to be fit for the last six games of Arsenal’s “title push” according to Bert Van Marwijk, who says: “I spoke to Robin on the phone last week and he is improving all the time and feeling better. You can hear it in his voice that he feels he is improving.” Hopefully this involved him saying at some point “I feel I am improving”.

Wayne Bridge is “in turmoil” over his expected England call up this weekend. He’s still too cross to kick a ball around next to John Terry, because Terry had sex with his ex-girlfriend, who had previously split up with Wayne Bridge, reportedly in part because of his own “philandering ways”.

Next week: fur singlet-clad Wayne Bridge drags woman through village by her hair because that shirt’s not going to iron itself. Roberto Mancini says his job is completely safe. “I don’t feel under pressure at all,” he said, speaking from beneath a small nest of antique stain occasional tables.

Neil Warnock is being “coy” over whether he’s about to leave Crystal Palace. “Can I deny speculation about going to QPR? No,” he said, before taking to the stage to sing “Happy Birthday Mr President” in a strapless ball gown while making a range of creepily child-like cooing kissy kissy noises.

In the Daily Mail Hull’s Kamil Zayatte says he’s going to leave in the summer. “I see myself at a bigger club than Hull. If I could land a move to Manchester United, Arsenal or Chelsea it would make all Guineans proud of me,” he said, making all Guineans feel at first amused and slightly protective and then perhaps even a little worried. In an EXCLUSIVE it turns out Bridge will refuse to shake hands with Terry when Man City play Chelsea this weekend.

The Mirror also reports that Rafael Benítez was asked why he’s so fat by Romanian journalists yesterday. One cheeky scamp asked: “Mr Benítez, the last time I saw you was at the 2005 Champions’ League final, and your, erm, silhouette seems to have changed since then. Why is that?”

Benitez replied: “It is the stress of having to answer so many questions from the press. Thank you and goodnight,” before clearing the soup bowls away, and going into the kitchen to flob in the beef Wellingtons. Jermaine Pennant has been sent home from training by Real Zaragoza after arriving late for the third time in two weeks. And the Portsmouth defender Dusko Tosic is going to leave on a free transfer having never played in a league game, which is probably all for the best.

In The Sun Ryan Babel has “vowed to knuckle down after a heart-to-heart with boss Rafael Benítez”. Babel said: “I have had a good talk with the manager and I know what I have to do.

“That is what I am going to concentrate on. I just have to try to be patient, keep working hard and doing my best.”

Landon Donovan has “hinted” he might like to make a permanent move to Everton. “I think it’s been an incredible experience and away from football, the people have been extremely nice,” he said, implying that English football might contain people who are something other than “incredibly nice”.

And according to Goal.com Kansas City Wizards wizard Luis Gil has been signed by Real Salt Lake.

“Real Salt Lake provides a prime environment for the development of young players,” says the excitable, blazered wise-cracking, golf-playing, sample-carrying, Cadillac-driving, wife-flirting, squirtie-water-flower-wearing overly friendly American man in a suit Garth Lagerwey.

“The dream of venturing onto the Rio Tinto Stadium turf will surely inspire Luis to work hard every day in training. We have a talented, veteran team and we have no expectation that any young player will easily crack our championship lineup, though our hope is that Luis is eventually able to earn minutes in the years ahead,” he added, sounding like a demented alien.

ArsenalChelseaAjaxHull CityLiverpoolCrystal PalaceQPRBarney Ronayguardian.co.uk

• ‘If he needs a holiday I will give him a holiday’
• ‘He continues to play a very good game’

Carlo Ancelotti has cleared the way for John Terry to take a break from playing for Chelsea by saying that if “he needs to have a holiday I will give him holiday”, following allegations about his captain’s private life.

Ancelotti insisted after Chelsea dropped two points in the title race by drawing 1-1 at Hull City last night that the furore surrounding Terry had not become a distraction for his team. But he left open the possibility of the defender flying to Dubai in 10 days’ time and missing the FA Cup fifth-round tie against Cardiff City to visit his wife, Toni.

She is in the Gulf state reportedly considering whether to end the marriage following allegations that her husband had an affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the former girlfriend of the England left-back Wayne Bridge. Terry’s position as England captain is in the balance because of the matter.

Ancelotti said: “This is an issue for me and John Terry; it’s not your problem. You will see the line-up for Cardiff. If he needs to have a holiday I will give him a holiday. If he doesn’t need a holiday he will play against Cardiff.” It is understood that Terry, who was booed by Hull fans whenever he touched the ball last night, does wish to make the trip but he is conscious that it is his manager’s decision.

Terry should discover whether he will retain the England captaincy when meeting Capello on Friday. Ancelotti refused to reveal whether he has had a specific discussion with Terry regarding the matter. “No. I don’t like to speak about this,” he said. “This is not a question that I want to speak [about] here.”

Despite what was an uneven performance from his team, which included his captain being partly at fault for Steven Mouyokolo’s 30th-minute opener from a corner, Ancelotti denied the affair was affecting his players, who equalised through Didier Drogba shortly before half-time but wasted the chance to move four points clear of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League.

He said: “No, I don’t think so because the atmosphere is the same, it’s not changed. Nothing can disturb our concentration – the Chelsea team is focused [for] every game. Sometimes we play good football and sometimes we have more difficulty but the concentration is always on top.

“For him [Terry] nothing changed – he continues to play a very good game, every game he is living a very good moment, he is doing every game the best.”

Chelsea’s next game is Sunday’s visit to Stamford Bridge by Arsenal. Ancelotti knows that if Manchester United can defeat struggling Portsmouth, who are bottom, the previous day, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team will lead by a point. That will place the emphasis back on Chelsea to beat Arsenal, who are desperate for a win to maintain their own title challenge.

Ancelotti, though, denied the draw at the KC Stadium had been two points dropped. “I think we are in a very good position now,” he said. “We’re in the top [of the league], we know very well that Manchester is a very good opponent [and] it will be a long race until the end of the season. We weren’t at our best [tonight] but it was a tough game.

“I think Hull played a very good game, with quality. It wasn’t our best but I think it is a good result, we don’t have to be disappointed because sometimes this can happen. We have two points [lead] at the top of the table. So we have to look forward.”

Drogba marked his return following his participation for Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations with a goal from a free-kick. “It is an important moment and we need to have all the players in condition until the end of the season,” added Ancelotti. “Now every game is very, very important. Every game can decide the future of the season.”

Hull’s manager, Phil Brown, was happy with a valuable point as he fights to avoid relegation. He said: “I was disappointed with the goal we conceded. But we played some great football too, we put them under pressure — no doubt. We fully deserved a point and maybe all three.”

John TerryCarlo AncelottiChelseaHull CityPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk