Manchester City To Overtake Arsenal

The Etihad Stadium is set to be expanded to hold 62,300 spectators, while a familiar but surprising face showed up at Battersea Park last week for a game of five-a-side MANCHESTER CITY STADIUM EXPANSION TO TRUMP ARSENAL Manchester City lodged formal planning applications with council officials on Saturday to make the Etihad Stadium the second biggest ground in Britain. The Etihad currently holds 47,500 but a plan to add new tiers to the north and south sections of the stadium in the spring is set to take the capacity up to 62,300. The €102 million building project will see the Etihad overtake Arsenal's Emirates Stadium as the largest ground outside of Old Trafford - the home of Manchester United. City also plan to expand further to take the Etihad closer to Old Trafford's 75,000 capacity. Building will not affect the current capacity of the stadium, which will be ready for the start of the 2015 season and the rugby World Cup. - Paul Clennam BECKS STEPS IN FOR PRINCE WILLIAM A five-a-side team in Battersea Park got a surprise last week when they came up against a side with some high-powered connections. A team made up of Prince William's friends were one short for their match - and although the Duke of Cambridge was unavailable to step in for his mates, he sent down a friend to make up the numbers. It was David Beckham. - Greg Stobart