SOCCER: In temperatures associated more with cricket than football, it was appropriate that Arsene Wenger reached a half-century yesterday. Francis Jeffers's red card was the 50th collected by Arsenal under the Frenchman but will still go down as a rarity in one respect.

Wenger has a habit of pleading innocence or myopia when it comes to his players' dismissals but accepted that Jeffers had to be sent off for kicking Phil Neville. Perhaps it was the heat, or maybe the manager was just glad Ashley Cole and Sol Campbell avoided red cards when they too could easily have been sent off.

Wenger claimed it would have been "harsh" to dismiss Cole for a kick at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, which came with the full back on a booking. He added he had not seen Campbell's reaction to a foul by Eric Djemba-Djemba. Jeffers' lapse he put down to the pressure the striker feels every time he comes on.

"He knows he made a mistake," Wenger said. "He's an intelligent boy and he will learn from that. He wants to show when he comes on the pitch how good he is.

"I feel he missed one or two touches before (the incident) where he got frustrated a bit, so he was not happy. A guy who comes on like that feels under pressure to do well."

Alex Ferguson resisted the temptation to wade into the disciplinary argument but Jeffers admitted his guilt. "I made a silly reaction to the initial kick by Phil Neville," he said. "It was done in the heat of the moment and I apologise to the boss and to my team-mates."

Wenger scarcely seemed bothered to have lost on penalties to Manchester United and declared himself "confident and happy" for the new season.

His description of Arsenal's defence as "solid" was overstating matters because Kolo Toure and Cole had difficult moments but he senses all-round improvement ahead.

"We played a 1-1 and we know we have many players behind fitness-wise," he said. "For Thierry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord and Robert Pires it was the first 45 minutes for five weeks. They had just 10 days' training and they will be much sharper in two to three weeks. his is Patrick Vieira's first week playing for three months." Vieira is coming back from a knee operation and Wenger gave Henry, Wiltord and Pires time off after this summer's Confederations Cup for fear of them suffering fatigue or injury during the winter. The manager believes his team showed only 80 per cent of their potential and can do far more going forward. "I expect us to be much better next week," he said.

Wenger also expects a tight championship race, dismissing suggestions that Manchester United will be his team's only serious rivals. "You have to consider that Chelsea have bought one or two players and they finished fourth in the league," he said. "They have spent a few pounds to strengthen their side. You cannot say you don't count Chelsea.

"Liverpool bought (Harry) Kewell and (Steve) Finnan, which I think are two good buys as well. Newcastle bought Bowyer and were already up there and have a very young side. I don't place Manchester United above anybody else. I think there are five teams."

Alex Ferguson said the heat here meant this game offered little gauge of what might lie ahead but stressed he was delighted with United's pre-season and was looking for a successful start in the league.

Hemust decide whether to keep faith with Tim Howard, who made two saves in the shoot-out. The manager was not pleased with Howard's three-man wall when Henry scored - "He learned today this is not America" - but feels the keeper has settled in quickly.

Phil Neville (hamstring) and Quinton Fortune (groin) are doubtful for United's opener against Bolton.

Guardian Service