Regarding press freedom, Arbatov agrees with Mr. Medvedev's claim that the Internet gives Russians free access to information.

Now he laughs at the sheer scale of competition at United, where Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernández, Dimitar Berbatov and increasingly Danny Welbeck block his path.

One person involved in the attacks, Javed Iqbal, lived in Barcelona, and Malik declined to give details about his arrest.