"Fabregas will stay with Arsenal"

Francis Cagigao, an Arsenal scout, believes that Cesc Fabregas will stay with the Gunners beyond this summer.

Cagigao recommended Fabregas to the north London club as part of his duties to scout out talent in Spain and Portugal, and was awed by the then 15-year-old midfield dynamo.

"All the fuss about Barcelona and Fabregas is simply an invention of the press, to engage in this type of speculation is absurd," he told the Daily Mail.

"Even when he was 15 I was captivated by his intelligence. He was mature which is hard to find in young players.

"It seems he has GPS in his head."

Fabregas has already gone on record to say that Barcelona boss Josep Guardiola was his childhood idol, and Cagigao believes Gunners boss Arsene Wenger operates in a similar fashion.

"I think the philosophies of Wenger and Guardiola are similar in shaping what they want on the field," he added.

Inter Milan eye Gerrard capture

Inter Milan will make a new bid for Liverpool's Steven Gerrard once Jose Mourinho extends his Inter contract.

According to Il Corriere Dello Sport, Mourinho has been an admirer of the England midfielder's qualities ever since the Portuguese took charge at Chelsea.

It has been reported that Inter president Massimo Moratti wants to extend Mourinho's contract from 2012 to 2013 and increase his wages to €13m per year.

Once Mourinho signs on the dotted line, he will be given funds to strengthen the squad.

First on the list will be Gerrard, who was linked with the Serie A club last summer.

Gerrard has always insisted he will stay at Anfield but recent poor results and the financial turmoil at Liverpool could force him out of the club.

International Friendlies Review

Spain served notice of their World Cup credentials with a 2-0 win in France in the pick of Wednesday evening's friendlies.

David Villa's cool finish, his 36th goal in 55 international games, was added to in first-half injury time by defender Sergio Ramos' deflected strike.

Ramos' Real Madrid club-mate Gonzalo Higuain scored the only goal in Argentina's 1-0 win in Germany. The striker seized on a rush of blood from home keeper Rene Adler and rounded him to score, Juan Veron almost adding a second when he was narrowly off target with a 45-yard effort.

England came from behind to beat African Nations Cup champions Egypt 3-1. Mohamed Zidan's well-taken opener gave the visitors a deserved half-time advantage at Wembley.

But a brace from Peter Crouch, either side of fellow substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips' effort, earned England an ultimately comfortable win in their first match since John Terry was stripped of the captaincy.

Holland enjoyed a routine 2-0 win over the United States. Dirk Kuyt slotted home a penalty after Jonathan Bornstein pulled Wesley Sneijder's shirt and Klaas Jan Huntelaar added the second via a deflection off the unfortunate Bornstein.

Hull striker Jozy Altidore went closest for the States, who lost Bolton midfielder Stuart Holden to injury in the first half.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi's experimental line-up failed to deliver as the Azzurri were held to a goalless draw by Cameroon.

Lippi used the friendly in Monte Carlo to try out some of his fringe players and despite his team dominating the encounter, they were unable to find the finishing touch.

Uruguay came from behind to win 3-1 in Switzerland. Gokhan Inler's penalty put the hosts in front, but Diego Forlan levelled before Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani struck to earn victory.

Scott Brown earned Scotland a 1-0 win over the Czech Republic in Craig Levein's first game as manager, but there was less positive news for Wales and Northern Ireland.

Bolton striker Johan Elmander earned Sweden a 1-0 win in a low-key clash in Swansea, while Ervin Skela's superb free-kick saw Albania beat Nigel Worthington's side, for whom defender Stephen Craigan twice hit the woodwork, by the same scoreline.

Austria saw off Denmark 2-1 thanks to Roman Wallner's winner, Nicklas Bendtner's well-taken goal having earlier cancelled out Franz Schiemer's fierce drive.

Bosnia-Herzegovina enjoyed a 2-1 win over Ghana thanks to goals from Miralem Pjanic and Vedad Ibisevic, Sulley Muntari responding for the African side.

Portugal won 2-0 against a China side who acquitted themselves well. Hugo Almeida scored the first-half opener but the hosts had to wait until the fourth minute of injury time for Liedson's clincher.

Russia were held 1-1 in Hungary, while Croatia won 1-0 in Belgium thanks to a goal from Niko Kranjcar.

Guirane Ndaw and Mamadou Niang earned Senegal an impressive 2-0 win in Greece, while Turkey beat Honduras by the same scoreline thanks to goals from Emre Gungor and Hamit Altintop.

Lee Dong-gook's fine volley and Kwak Tae-hwi's late header saw South Korea to a 2-0 victory over managerless Ivory Coast in an international friendly at Loftus Road in London.

Jakub Blaszczykowski and Robert Lewandowski earned Poland a 2-0 win over Bulgaria, while Morten Moldskred scored the only goal as Norway won 1-0 in Slovakia.

Slovenia routed Qatar 4-1 thanks to Bostjan Cesar, Milivoje Novakovic, Andraz Kirm, Bojan Jokic, while Yossi Benayoun and Elyaniv Barda earned Israel a creditable 2-0 win in Romania.

Elsewhere, Belarus won 3-1 in Armenia, FYR Macedonia, Georgia and Azerbaijan enjoyed 2-1 wins over Montenegro, Estonia and Luxembourg respectively, Finland came from behind to win by the same scoreline in Malta, Moldova beat Kazakhstan with a solitary goal and Cyprus and Iceland shared a 0-0 draw.

Selected Match Reports

England 3-1 Egypt

France 0-2 Spain

Italy 0-0 Cameroon

Germany 0-1 Argentina

Holland 2-1 United States