Theo Walcott’s crisp finishing quite rightly dominated post-match discussions after Arsenal safely negotiated their trip to bandit country, or at least the part of the world where football sometimes resembles rugby, though Arsène Wenger seemed to attach greater significance to the contribution Cesc Fábregas made in his first start of the season.

The Arsenal captain looked slightly surprised to be withdrawn after 68 minutes, not long after helping to create his side’s winning goal, but his manager is determined to get the best out of him over the course of a whole season. “He didn’t know he would be coming off before the end, but that was his first appearance since the World Cup final,” Wenger said.

“As long as we look after him I don’t think there will be any problems in getting him back to the player he was before. I don’t think he is the type to give anything less than his best, just because he didn’t get a move. He may have wanted to join Barcelona but he loves Arsenal as well, and that’s why he made his decision. I am happy because you always want to keep your best players and it was vital for us to keep Cesc. There is a trust and confidence on both sides. He has given enough to the club and the club has given a lot to him in return.”

Wenger is well aware that Javier Mascherano has just ruthlessly engineered his own move to Barcelona by effectively refusing to continue playing for Liverpool, but he has no fears Fábregas would try to do the same. “I don’t know everything about the Liverpool situation, maybe there was a financial problem, but I do know it is difficult to legislate once a player says he is unhappy at a club. But Cesc has not said that. He is still our leader and I am looking forward to having him back.”

If Arsenal were not quite at their free-flowing best at Ewood, that was due in part to Blackburn’s wholly legitimate tenacity. The home side rallied after Walcott’s opening goal and managed to finish the first half on top, though Sam Allardyce was willing to concede that Arsenal were a superior side. “You know when you play them that you have to take your opportunities to get your nose in front,” he said. “Because if you don’t you only need switch off for a split second and they will punish you.”

Blackburn did switch off momentarily in letting Bacary Sagna escape down the right to set up Arsenal’s winner. Fábregas’s shot came back off Walcott for Andrey Arshavin to beat Paul Robinson to the rebound, though not even Allardyce could bring himself to point the finger at his defence for the first goal. “I wouldn’t necessarily want to blame my defenders because I’m not sure what they could have done to deal with such accurate first time passing,” he said. “When you have that sort of quality it is very hard to stop.”

Blackburn’s only hope, once Robin van

Today’s little white lies are big in Andorra

Entirely sensible and plausible soccer-crazy tycoon type Ahsan Ali Syed wants to buy David Beckham for Blackburn Rovers. “I was 26 when I started following the Premier League,” the 26-year-old said yesterday. “I used to like Blackburn back then and also used to follow Manchester United’s fortunes because of David Beckham,” he added, remembering to add the first bit.

Wigan have said sulking jinker Charles N’Zogbia can go as soon as someone stumps up £10m. Sunderland, Birmingham and Marseille are all thinking about it. “Until then Charles remains a Wigan Athletic player and it is a partnership that has worked really well,” Roberto Martínez said, hiding his breaking, bleeding heart behind a veil of painted smiles.

Chelsea have offered twig-thin 18-year-old doomed Premier League cannon fodder Brazilian whizzkid Neymar a five-year contract worth £55,000 a week. Santos are desperate to stop him doing something awful until he has stayed in Brazil for at least three years drinking protein shakes and spending four hours a day at home with his abdomadiser machine.

The Brazilian club held nine hours of talks on Tuesday “with just a short break for lunch” but still haven’t talked him into signing a new contract. Maybe a slightly longer break for lunch and a walk round the shops next time.

Rangers are about to “steal” Manchester City winger Vladimir Weiss from under the noses of Celtic, which will probably be fine and everyone can just laugh it off and get on with life without any regrets or lingering grudges that last for hundreds of years and have their own dedicated threatening commemorative song.

Edgar Davids may yet sign for Crystal Palace. The 37-year-old TV pundit and Hoxton-type shades dude is expected at the training ground today.

Former West Ham baldie and dinosaur-type Eggert Magnusson has been seen screeching and flapping and leaping over boulders in the vicinity of Sheffield Wednesday. The Icelandic businessman is fronting a consortium that wants to buy the Owls. The agent of Ghana midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah still thinks he’s going to sign for Arsenal.

Arsenal are close to signing Sevilla defensive hulk Sébastien Squillaci. French TV station Canal Plus reported Squillaci being pulled out of Sevilla’s Champions League qualifier to be primped and buffed and blow-dried and placed in an attractive mahogany display case for inspection by Arsène Wenger.

William Gallas is “very interested” in joining Spurs. Gallas is a free agent having left Arsenal in the summer but, the Mill believes, is still likely to qualify for full Judas privileges under the relevant EU directive.

Ragged-trousered, high-kicking penniless big-dreamers Cardiff want Derby County striker Rob Hulse to play up front alongside – and potentially become embroiled in a training ground canteen text message bust-up walking stick brandishing finger-wagging chair-hurling furore with – Craig Bellamy.

The Sun reports that Roy Hodgson is “ready to dig his heels in” like a tiny little brave cockney-inflected mountain goat in a hillside snowstorm and let Javier Mascherano leave Liverpool for nothing in two years. “I’m very happy he remains with us … His problem is a familiar one that his wife doesn’t come to Liverpool, so when he’s here he lives alone,” Hodgson said, eating a fried cheese sandwich straight out of the frying pan while watching Cash In The Attic in his dressing gown.

Harry Redknapp needs to “move fast” if he wants to sign tedious summer newspaper saga Loïc Remy. Marseille have offered Nice £11.5m and a sense, ultimately, of closure. West Brom have made a £3m bid for FC Twente’s Ivory Coast midfielder Cheick Tioté, whose mother wasn’t quite sure in the registry office, leading to a minor misunderstanding but at least he has a funny story to tell.

And according to Goal.com Milan’s sporting director Ariedo Braida has “hinted” he may be after indolent goal ace Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Barcelona, Sweden and YouTube. “The arrival of Ibrahimovic is possible but it does not solely depend on him, but everyone connected to him,” Braida told Corriere dello Sport, raising his eyebrow significantly, peering over the top of his newspaper, and making covert but unambiguous references to a secretive ruling cabal of lizard-like alien creatures capable of assuming human form to start wars and control oil and things like that.

Manchester United target Raúl Meireles has been left out of Porto’s Europa League play-off squad, because either (a) he’s off; or (b) he’s not very good.

Blackburn RoversDavid BeckhamTransfer windowBarney Ronayguardian.co.uk

• Liverpool manager covering-up deficiencies, says Allardyce
• ‘I don’t like him and the feeling is probably mutual’

Sam Allardyce claims Rafa Benítez’s criticism of him is a cover-up for how bad Liverpool are and claims the Reds have all but blown their chance of finishing in the top four.

Benítez last week mocked Allardyce’s behaviour and Blackburn’s style after their match at Anfield, suggesting that the European champions Barcelona were going to model themselves on Rovers: “He is a model for football all around the world. I am sure he is a model for behaviour and for kids all around the world. I am sure Barcelona are thinking of copying this style now too.”

But the Blackburn manager has hit back by claiming he has managed to get under the skin of Benítez and that the Liverpool boss was just covering up for how badly his team played despite the Reds’ 2-1 win.

“It was a good cover-up by Rafa because he knows how bad his side were and that was repeated against Wigan on Monday night,” said Allardyce. “He’s got personal with it for many, many years now. That’s why I don’t like him and the feeling is probably mutual. I don’t get personal with him; I get into him and under his skin, yes, but that’s all part of the game.

“The tit for tat between me and Rafa will probably go on until one of us is no longer a Premier League manager. I’ve managed to psyche out one or two here and there and that’s how the Premier League has evolved over the last 20 years. But no, Pep Guardiola has not been in touch yet.”

He also believes Liverpool’s result at Wigan leaves Benítez’s side unlikely to finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League.

He added: “The last time one of the big four didn’t finish in the top four it was Liverpool – Everton got that spot – and I think this time it looks pretty difficult having lost against Wigan. They are having to rely on other teams slipping up now.

“They have a wealth of experience and that may be a telling factor when the nerve ends start jangling. We saw what happened to Tottenham a few years ago with the famous ‘poisoned lasagne’ scenario – which was obviously never the case – and they let it slip.

“But I think it might be more difficult for Liverpool this time around because there are more teams involved. There’s Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham in there and if Everton keep rolling on you might be surprised to see them making a late run.”

Meanwhile, Vince Grella will miss Blackburn’s match at Tottenham on Saturday due to a calf injury picked up in training but David Dunn is available after coming through a reserve match without any problems.

Sam AllardyceBlackburn RoversRafael BenítezLiverpoolPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk