The Morning Sports Briefing

Arsenal keep hopes alive

Arsenal kept their slim hopes of progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League for a 16th successive season alive last night with a comfortable 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb at the Emirates.

Mesut Ozil opened the scoring before Alexis Sanchez slotted twice as Arsene Wenger’s side produced a slick display to ease past a conservative Dinamo outfit.

With Bayern Munich routing Olympiakos 4-0 the great escape is on for the Gunners, providing they can win by two goals when they travel to Athens for their final Group F fixture.

Elsewhere Chelsea moved joint-top of Group G thanks to a 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv which was marred by an injury to John Terry and an ugly argument between Jose Mourinho and Diego Costa on the stroke of half-time.

Chelsea will have to wait to secure qualification after Dynamo Kyiv surprised FC Porto 2-0 away from home.

Tonight Manchester United can secure their place in the last 16 with a win over PSV at Old Trafford, while Manchester City travel to play the mighty Juventus.

Claire looking to Shine against Spain

Ireland women take on Spain on Thursday looking to boost their chances of qualifying for Euro 2017 and Claire Shine spoke to Emmet Malone as she looks to pick up her first cap for the national side.

Gordon D’Arcy column

In his column today Gordon D'Arcy looks at the early season struggles of Leinster and the provinces in the Champions Cup, something he believes has largely stemmed from the financial muscle of the Anglo-French clubs and their ability to recruit the world's best without any concern for the health of the national side.

D’Arcy draws parallels between Leo Cullen’s current challenge and the one which faced Michael Cheika in 2005, and suggests the new Leinster boss needs to stamp his mark on a talented squad.

He writes: “The Leinster coaches must get this group to trust each other so they can play for each other.”

“The young talent is there - we have seen glimpses of the levels Garry Ringrose and now Josh van der Flier are capable of reaching - but I believe Leo, like Cheiks, needs time to make his mark, find his team’s identity and develop it.”

Murray a doubt for Connacht clash

In Friday night's other inter-provincial clash Munster welcome Connacht to Thomond Park and Anthony Foley has been a dealt a blow with Conor Murray a major doubt for the top-of-the-table clash after he injured his foot during the Champions Cup win over Treviso.

Muldoon looking for first Thomond Park win

Meanwhile Connacht veteran John Muldoon, who made his debut for the province away at Munster in 2002, is still on the hunt for his first win in Limerick.

“Thomond Park has been a graveyard for Connacht rugby, absolutely no doubt,” he admitted at the Sportsground yesterday. “Would we love to win down there? Absolutely. We beat them in pre-season and I’ve beaten them a couple of times at underage level. Look, when something doesn’t happen too often you cherish those moments.”

International Rules in rude health

In his column today Sean Moran looks at the return to health of the International Rules series following Ireland's resounding win over Australia last Saturday.

He writes that just two years ago the concept seemed to be on its death bed, but now there has been a massive change of heart - something largely driven by Australia fielding two of their strongest ever sides in the last two series.

What to watch out for:

Football

Manchester United can secure their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with victory over PSV at Old Trafford tonight (RTE 2, BT Sport Europe, 7.45pm ko) and Manchester City travel to play Juventus (BT Sport 2, Setanta, 7.45pm ko)