Everton youngster Jack Rodwell swapped shirts with Rio Ferdinand last season and hopes to eventually emulate the Manchester United centre-back.

Rodwell played in a defensive midfield role for England Under-21s against Germany on Monday but has been tipped to drop back into defence, just as Ferdinand did at West Ham at the start of his career.

''I have heard the comparisons,'' Rodwell said. ''It's brilliant to be compared with such a player as Rio Ferdinand. I try to base it on my own game. I do like to play out from the back, so that's probably why they have played me in midfield because I am comfortable on the ball.''

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand will be fit for the Champions League Final meeting with Barcelona, according to manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

The England centre-half was absent from the crucial Premier League victories over Manchester City and Wigan this week and Ferguson was resigned to being without him for the possible title-clincher against Arsenal on Saturday.

But Ferguson hopes that Ferdinand will have recovered from a calf injury sufficiently to take his place in the concluding league meeting of the season against Hull and fully expects him to be available for the trip to Rome on May 27, which will see United attempt to defend their Champions? League crown.

"I'm sure he'll be available for the final but it's one of these calf niggles that usually take 10 days to two weeks," the United boss said Friday.

"But I'm hopeful he'll be fit for next Sunday's game against Hull, which he should be really, and that would be good news for us.

"We're giving him his treatment for these kind of injuries and he's come along but he's not available for tomorrow (Saturday) but hopefully he'll be ready for next Sunday.

"He doesn't train, he's getting treatment but he's doing his work in the gymnasium, cardio work and cycling but nothing more than that."

Now you can send an email to Rio Ferdinand, thanks to a brand new website that delivers all electronic messages to the footballers within days!

Contact The Players.com allows fans to send personal messages - and some footballers will even REPLY!

Check it out - Email Rio Ferdinand.

Rio Ferdinand insists his England team-mates have not considered what they would do if they were subjected to the same racist abuse on Wednesday that they encountered on their last visit to Spain four years ago. Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole, both members of the present England squad, bore the brunt of the abuse last time around.

The Football Association made strong complaints immediately after the game and are believed to have privately informed their Spanish counterparts they would have been uncomfortable with Wednesday’s game being played at the Bernabeu Stadium.

Instead, the contest will take place in Seville in the hope it does not get overshadowed by off-field matters.

As one of the most articulate voices in the England camp, Ferdinand would have been the perfect platform from which the players could express their concerns. Instead, the Manchester United defender claimed minds were purely focussed on the not inconsiderable task of beating the Euro 2008 winners rather than what the Spanish fans might do.

"It doesn’t really faze me," he said. "As players, we are there to play football. Whatever the sideshow is, it is in the back, not in the forefront of our minds."

Ryan Giggs and his Manchester United team-mates may still believe they can win teh quadruple!

United are still in it to win it in the FA Cup and Champions league, whilst they top the Premier League adn are in the final of the Carling Cup!

"Hopefully the latest injuries won't have too much of an impact because we've also got the likes of Patrice, Wayne, Wes and Rio all coming back. So that should help," said Ryan.

"People have been talking about us winning all four trophies, but as players we just get on with things. We've got as far as we can in the League Cup now and we'll look forward to the final when it comes round. Next it's the FA Cup, then it's back to the league.

"We've just got to perform well in every game and make sure we have the right attitude and concentration going into whatever competition we're playing in."

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will have been frustrated by his side's wastefulness, with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo guilty of throwing away obvious openings.

It was United who had the first opportunity when Arsenal keeper Almunia inexplicably picked up a backpass from Mikael Silvestre inside the first two minutes. Arsenal were relieved when Anderson's free-kick was half-cleared and Michael Carrick turned the loose ball wide.

Rooney missed an even better chance for United after 17 minutes, carelessly lofting an inviting ball from Ronaldo over the top when it seemed certain he would score.

Arsenal took full advantage of the reprieve to take the lead five minutes later, when Nasri's shot took a crucial deflection off Neville and wrong-footed Edwin van der Sar. It was a wonderfully open game but Arsenal were playing like a team stung by recent criticism and the sight of old rivals United had only inspired them further.

Fabregas had a shot deflected just wide but United were threatening themselves and Almunia needed to save well from Ji-Sung Park.

If there was a frustration for Arsenal, it would have been that the crucial second goal had eluded them, despite their dominance. They did not have to wait long to get it as Nasri doubled their advantage three minutes after the restart. Fabregas was at the centre of affairs again, punishing United for failing to pick up Nasri when he threaded through a perfect pass for the France midfield man to beat Van der Sar with an emphatic finish.

United, uncharacteristically, were lacking a cutting edge and wasted a perfect opportunity to grasp at a lifeline immediately after Arsenal's goal. Park found Ronaldo unmarked at the far post but he dragged his shot across the face of goal with only Almunia to beat.

Almunia then required lengthy treatment after an accidental clash with Carrick as United refused to give up on the belief that they could get back into an enthralling encounter. He carried on but was clearly in discomfort and was replaced by Lukasz Fabianski with 12 minutes left.

United also replaced Rooney with Carlos Tevez and Anderson with Ryan Giggs in what was clearly a last throw of the dice by Ferguson as time ran out. Rafael, who had replaced Neville in the 63rd minute, pulled one back in the final minute with a spectacular left-foot volley from the edge of the box after Arsenal failed to clear a Giggs cross.

Sir Alex Ferguson is confident Rio Ferdinand will see out the prime of his career at Manchester United and says he could well make captain in the near future.

The defender, who was recently named in the FIFPro team of the year, has been at the heart of United's defence since signing for the club from Leeds for £29.1million fee in the summer of 2002.

Ferguson believes his star player will continue his career with the Red Devils after more than six successful years with the club. "Rio's best years are in front of him," said Ferguson. "He is easily going to play for the next five years. He looks after himself and he is very fit so I would expect him to be here for that length of time."

"Rio has leadership qualities and we are really starting to see maturity in his game," said Ferguson. "We always knew that he was good at taking the ball out of defence because he has such wonderful balance and great pace. Now we are seeing more edge to his game and more of a contribution in terms of being voluble towards his team-mates. He is much better at that.

Ronaldo might be benched against Celtic as Carlos Tevez and Anderson are back in contention after missing Saturday's 4-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick miss out of course and they are joined in the stands by Patrice Evra who was taken off with a hamstring injury against West Brom and won't be risked tomorrow night.

He should be OK for Saturday,' Fergie said, referring to Saturday's trip to Goodison Park. The manager also confirmed that he was considering relegating Ronaldo to the bench as he's still not at full fitness and has played a lot of games in recent weeks.

If he won't start then Nani is likely to take his place in the side. Anderson and Carlos Tevez are likely to be handed starts after missing Saturday's win because they arrived back very late from international duty.

Stand-in captain Rio Ferdinand believes England will be halfway to the World Cup if they can defeat Belarus on Wednesday.

The Manchester United star told the Daily Express: "If we can win in Belarus, then it will feel like we're halfway there because we've got a long way to go until the next game after this one.

"If we can get four wins out of four we'll be very pleased and be in a very commanding position."

Midfielder Frank Lampard has vowed England will not rest on their laurels after their 100 per cent start and is eager to make it four wins from four.

The Chelsea ace was part of a three-man midfield with Gareth Barry and Steven Gerrard on Saturday, but Capello may switch to a 4-4-2 formation away from home.

Lampard said: "We are determined to get the job done and earn maximum points."

A brand new website has been launched that lets you send messages to the top players, like Carlos Tevez, Michael Carrick or Rio Ferdinand, and get guaranteed responses!

Around 100 Premiership footballers have signed up to use www.contacttheplayers.com to respond to fanmail - and they get back to you within a week!

The first message is FREE, and after that its just a quid per message!

If the player isn't signed up, they print the message out and send it to the player at his training ground.

Sounds AMAZING!

Head to www.contacttheplayers.com