SOCCER: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson would block any attempt by Roy Keane to come out of international retirement it was revealed yesterday.

Comments by the 32-year-old midfielder on Thursday led to widespread speculation that he was reconsidering his decision to concentrate exclusively on his career at Old Trafford but sources at the club revealed yesterday that Ferguson intervened swiftly in the event that any serious move towards a return materialised.

The United manager, like Brian Kerr, kept his silence regarding the situation yesterday but senior officials at the club maintained that nothing has changed in the year since Keane was apparently persuaded to abandon plans at a comeback by medical advice that suggested he would find the additional strain difficult to cope with.

Keane, who had initially told Kerr he would return to the international squad when the two men met to discuss the situation last February, said subsequently that he had taken the decision to confirm his retirement because of the need to avail of the opportunities for rest that international dates would allow.

Ferguson was adamant at the time that Keane should follow the advice of the club's doctors to avoid further problems with serious injury and prolong his top level club career for as long as possible. The United skipper has previously required surgery for both knee and hip problems and now requires considerable rest between matches to maintain his fitness.

With Keane still struggling from time to time to cope with the demands of United's schedule of premier league and Champions League games, a senior club official expressed the view that he would not be capable of adding international games to his current workload and that, if required to, Ferguson would act to prevent his doing so.

Meanwhile, Ferguson believes Arsenal's unbeaten Premiership record may work against them in the championship race run-in.

"The incentive they've got now is being undefeated so they'll all be charged up to make sure they don't lose a game," he said. "That's a big thing to carry, that. It's a big burden to carry. With that five-point lead over us, we hope that they now start dropping points." Arsenal had a similar advantage last season before stuttering and allowing United to win the league for the eighth time in 11 years.

Arsenal, who have won 18 and drawn seven of their 25 league matches and have 13 fixtures to complete, visit third-placed Chelsea today.

Wenger, though, refused to be drawn into the mind games, joking that "we love the weight" of the "burden".

"We just want to win our next game," he insisted. "We have enough experience to know that what is important is what we do and not what other people say. What we do is to produce on the pitch. If you're at a big club then some people try to destabilise you, others try to help you. What counts is how good you are tomorrow."

"We try to be as good as we can," he added. "What I'm very proud of is that the players do their job properly and give everything every week. I can accept that the run will end one day but what we want is to become a better team and we can do that as the players have the right attitude."

United midfielder Paul Scholes, however, agrees with his manager Ferguson and believes it will be hard for Wenger's side to become the first team to go through a Premiership season without losing.

"We have got to win all our games and rely on teams beating Arsenal, or at least Arsenal slipping up and maybe drawing a few games," he said. "They are looking strong at the minute but I'm sure they're not going to go the full season without losing."

World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane will remain at Real Madrid for an extra two years after reaching an agreement to extend his contract until June 30th, 2007, the Spanish club has revealed.

The France playmaker signed a four-year deal with Real in July 2001 after leaving Italian side Juventus for a world record fee of €52 million. He will be 35 when his Real contract expires.

"I'm delighted," Zidane told the Real Madrid website. "It was what the club wanted and what I wanted. For me the most important thing is to play football and doing that here at Real Madrid is the greatest pleasure I could have."