Super Eagles lack maturity and character – Garba Lawal

Former Nigeria midfielder Garba Lawal has attributed the mixed results in recent international outings on lack of maturity and character on the part of the players. He noted that “Football is about winning. We defeated South Africa easily both home and away in international matches especially in qualifiers but that has changed as we now play a draw with them. Anyway, If Uganda could secure a win in Nigeria, then playing a draw against Bafana Bafana means we were very lucky and I don’t really know where we are going," He lamented the inability of Daniel Amokachi’s men to beat Bafana Bafana despite going a goal up with less than five minutes to the end of the game, insisting that the country’s senior national team is far from super.

SA coach Mashaba warned players of Ahmed Musa’s threat

South Africa coach Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba said he warned his side of the danger posed by Nigeria forward Ahmed Musa ahead of Sunday’s friendly match in Nelspruit. The Bafana Bafana coach has spoken highly of the CSKA Moscow forward who captained the Super Eagles and scored their only goal in Sunday’s draw. The CSKA Moscow striker sent the visitors ahead against the run of play in the second half before Bongani Zungu equalized deep into added time. Musa, 22, who captained the Super Eagles in the absence of goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, scored the opening goal in a 1-1 draw against Bafana Bafana. bBafana coach Mashaba said he warned his players about the Nigerian forward who ended up punishing them with a superb curling shot outside of the box which left goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune glued to his spot.

Wenger: Arsenal gunning for Manchester City

Arsene Wenger has his sights set on chasing down second-placed Manchester City and believes Arsenal can leapfrog the champions if they improve their consistency. The Gunners moved up to third place in the Premier League table after beating Everton 2-0 on Saturday and now lie just four points behind Manuel Pellegrini’s men after City lost to Liverpool. The French boss has not given up hope of overhauling the champions, while midfielder Aaron Ramsey returns to the squad to face QPR on Wednesday. With 11 matches left to play this season, Wenger has not given up hope of finishing as runners-up – a feat the north Londoners have not managed since the 2004-05 season - though he admits they are "nowhere near" to winning the title.