Arsenal still seeking Mr right

It's five months since Keith Edelman departed as Arsenal's managing director and there is still no sign of a successor at Emirates Stadium. Having been rebuffed by Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell, who topped their original shortlist, the club have now gone back to the drawing board and instructed their headhunters to find new candidates. At least one leading City executive was sounded out last week and there are hopes the current financial turmoil could lead to greater interest from high-fliers keen to leave the Square Mile. Arsenal's board are being very particular about the qualities desired for the £1m-a-year position, having decided Edelman's style was not right for delivering their business plan.

Nick is twice the fan he was

Taking a break after party conference season, BBC political editor Nick Robinson witnessed a different kind of red-blue contest at Griffin Park on Saturday. The journalist was spotted in the stands for Brentford's 1-0 victory over Macclesfield Town. Robinson was born in Macclesfield but describes himself as a lifelong Manchester United fan. Nothing wrong with backing two teams, as Brentford chairman - and Robinson's old BBC boss - Greg Dyke could have told him. Fellow United fan Dyke once stated: "There is no conflict of interest in supporting both Brentford and Manchester United."

Charlton's Monday mourning

Football paymaster Sky is under fire again over fixture changes for TV. After the outcry from Chelsea when their trip to Everton was brought forward during last season's title run-in, Charlton are the latest aggrieved party. Their match with Derby has been switched from Saturday 13 December to the following Monday, in a move which will rule out key defender Linvoy Primus, whose loan deal from Portsmouth expires that weekend. A Charlton spokesman said: "We are exploring options with the Football League, it's particularly frustrating as the two clubs discussed the length of the loan to ensure Primus could play as many games as possible." A League spokesman said: "We have a duty to our broadcast partners to fulfil our contract and that can necessitate moving games."

Arshavin's whiter than white

If Tottenham fans have the hump over the club's poor start, then transfer target Andrei Arshavin can sympathise. The Zenit St Petersburg star, whose club rebuffed Spurs' interest last summer, has had a baby camel named in his honour by staff at a zoo in the Russian city of Nalchik. "A young female camel Juliette gave birth to the unusually white camel in Nalchik Zoo," reported a Russian news agency. "First the name Snow White was considered but the success of the Russian team at Euro 2008 corrected the plans and he has been called Arsha." Rumours that a nearby animal sanctuary named a baby donkey after Roman Pavlyuchenko are wide of the mark.

Sharing the disappointment

A sour cocktail of the credit crunch and awful results has seen the value of shares in Tottenham Hotspur slump by a third. Following the club's Carling Cup Final triumph last February, the share price stood at 181p, but the stock was this week worth around 124p. The slide is a further financial blow for Spurs' ultimate owner, the Bahamas-based billionaire Joe Lewis, who was also a significant investor in collapsed US investment bank Bear Stearns.

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