Sunday, 26 May 2013

Arsene Wenger was in no-win situation against Olympiakos

Arsenal knocked out of the FA Cup

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was in a no-win situation when it came to naming his squad for the Champions League match in Athens, Greece this week with Olympiakos. The Gunners took a 1-0 lead, but ended up dropping the game by a 2-1 score. They had already qualified for the next stage of the competition, [...]

Backpage Roundup: Arsenal Playing For Victory in Athens, Wenger Won’t Quit, Arteta Understands Anger of Boo-Boys, Szczesny Wants Gooner Support and More

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Arsenal Playing for Victory against Olympiakos – Gervinho Gervinho has revealed that Arsenal will be playing for a win against Olympiakos on Tuesday night despite the fact that their place in the knockout stages is already confirmed. Coach Arsene Wenger is expected to rest a few players for their trip to Athens but Gervinho says [...]

Backpage Roundup: Wenger Won’t Quit Just Yet, Cazorla Rues ‘Inconsistent’ Form, Hill-Wood Suffers Heart Attack, Winning UCL Group Means Nothing and More

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Wenger Won’t Quit Arsenal Just Yet Arsene Wenger has declared that he won’t quit Arsenal just yet but will evaluate his options at the end of the season. The Gunners lost out 2-0 to Swansea at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, after which calls for Wenger’s sacking intensified. While the Frenchman hinted that he might leave [...]

Backpage Roundup: Koscielny Blow for Arsenal, ‘Deadly’ Walcott Delighted with Personal Form, Wenger Satisfied with Everton Draw, Frimpong Gets FIFA Clearance and more

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Koscielny Blow for Arsenal Laurent Koscielny picked up a groin strain in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Everton on Wednesday and is now expected to be sidelined until Christmas. The French centre-half was substituted just four minutes into last night’s game at Goodison Park and the club manager Arsene Wenger later revealed that he would need [...]

Backpage Roundup: Wenger Won’t Splash Sponsorship Cash, Zaha Confirmed As Arsenal Target, Moyes Praises Arteta and More

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Wenger Hints At More Conservative Spending Despite Cash Boost Arsene Wenger has declared that despite having some major cash at his disposal through the new sponsorship deal with Emirates, he will be tentative with his spending in the transfer market. The Gunners recently signed a contract extension worth £ 150 million with their shirt sponsor [...]

Backpage Roundup: Wenger Wants Liverpool’s Downing, Wilshere’s Injury Nothing Serious, Giroud Dreaming Of Henry Reunion, Jenkinson Targets Victory over Everton and More

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Wenger Wants Liverpool’s Downing for £10 Million Liverpool’s incredibly out-of-form winger Stewart Downing is a winter transfer target for coach Arsene Wenger, according to a report published by the Daily Mail. The publication claim that Wenger wanted to sign Downing as Samir Nasri’s replacement last year but failed to do so due to Liverpool’s big-money [...]

Backpage Roundup: Arsenal Ready to Spend Big, PL Still the Best for Wenger, Gunners Receive Arshavin Enquiries, Walcott Urged to Sign Da Ting and More

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Gazidis: Arsenal Ready to Spend Big On Transfers and Salaries After Arsenal FC announced that they have secured a contract extension worth £150million from main sponsors Emirates, the club’s chief executive Ivan Gazidis claimed that the Gunners will soon be able to spend big in the transfer market. Emirates, who are not only Arsenal’s shirt [...]

Backpage Roundup: Wenger Sings Ferguson’s Praise, Henry’s Return in Jeopardy, Huntelaar Rumour Rubbished, Rosicky Not Leaving for Roma, Sow Claims Arsenal Snub and More

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Wenger Sings Ferguson’s Praise Arsene Wenger has paid a glowing tribute to his arch-rival Sir Alex Ferguson ahead of Friday’s scheduled unveiling of a statue of the Manchester United manager at Old Trafford. The Arsenal boss and his long-serving Red Devils counterpart have had numerous clashes with each other in the past 16 years but [...]

Would re-signing Thierry Henry be a step backwards for Arsenal?

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The big news around the Emirates this week, other than the 2-0 Champions League win over French side Montpellier on Wednesday, concerns Thierry Henry and the possibility of him returning to Arsenal for another loan spell. The news broke on Nov. 21 that the Gunners’ legend could come back to the club yet again in [...]

Backpage Roundup: Henry Set for another Arsenal Return, Mertesacker Recalls Debut Season Struggles, Gunners Won’t Be Complacent Against Montpellier, Bendtner Unsure About Arsenal Future and More

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Henry Could Return Again Arsene Wenger has refused to rubbish media speculation that Arsenal legend and New York Red Bulls superstar Thierry Henry could be back playing at Emirates once again in January. Henry, 35, originally left the Gunners for Barcelona in 2006 but returned for a successful short-term loan deal last season and scored [...]

Spurs have caught up, but whose fault is that?

Arsenal knocked out of the FA Cup

Our own ‘noisy neighbours’ Tottenham Hotspur have closed the gap on us – that is the official line. You can’t argue with that, I suppose, if the pinnacle of their achievement is finishing just one place behind us in five of the last seven seasons – a marked improvement on their previous exploits – then [...]

Arsenal and Spurs set to battle it out

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Two of Arsenal’s biggest matches this season, like every other season, will be against arch rival Tottenham Hotspur in a pair of North London derbies. The first of these highly-anticipated showdowns takes place at home at Emirates Stadium on Sat. Nov. 17. With seventh-place Spurs ahead of the eighth-place Gunners in the league table and [...]

Backpage Roundup: Arsenal Tracking Shakhtar Donetsk Star, Huntelaar Undecided on Future, Gerrard Talks up Wilshere Quality, Giroud Targets 15 Goals and More

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Gunners Linked With January Move For Shakhtar Star Arsenal are purportedly interested in signing Shakhtar Donetsk star Luiz Adriano and have been scouting him for more than a year, according to a report published by The Daily Mail. While Manchester City and Chelsea have been tracking the Ukrainian powerhouse’s more well-known duo of Willian and [...]

Wenger in State Of Denial; Claims Arsenal Still In Premier League Title Race

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Even the most optimistic of Arsenal fans or Arsene Wenger supporters would find it hard to agree with what “Le Professeur” has just told the press. The Gunners sit 11 points behind league leaders Manchester United, their defence has leaked 12 goals in the last four games and morale is at an all-time low, but [...]

Backpage Roundup: Walcott Injures Buttock, Cesar Rejected Arsenal, Wenger Laments Lack of Defensive Urgency, Wilshere Surprised By Quick England Return and More

Theo Walcott scores against Udinese

Walcott Suffers Buttock Injury   Theo Walcott injured a buttock muscle in Arsenal’s 3-3 draw with Fulham on Saturday and so his participation in England’s upcoming friendly game with Sweden is doubtful. The 23-year-old winger made his first PL start of the season against the Cottagers and created two goals for his teammates before being [...]

Backpage Roundup: Double Injury Boost for Arsenal, Podolski Wants Central Role, Jol Supports Wenger, Jenkinson Set for England Call-Up and More

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Double Injury Boost for Arsenal There is some good news for Arsenal fans on the injury front as goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny started in their under-21 side’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham United on Friday and showed no ill effects of the ankle injury that has limited him to just two appearances so far this season. [...]

Backpage Roundup: Walcott’s Bench Role Not a Punishment, Sagna Wants Maximum Wins, Gunners Lacking Confidence, Wenger Criticises Santos, Holtby Not Arsenal-Bound and More

Theo Walcott scores against Udinese

Walcott’s Demotion to Bench Role Is Not About His Contract – Wenger Arsene Wenger has once again denied media accusations that he is keeping Theo Walcott out of Arsenal’s starting line-up due to his contractual disputes with the club. Walcott, 23, was a regular for the Gunners until last season but has started just one [...]

Backpage Roundup: Parlour Blasts ‘Joke’ Santos, Tony Adams Dismisses Arsenal’s Title Chances, Wenger Unhappy With Vermaelen’s Error, Bender Not For Sale and More

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Arsenal Can’t Win With Current Transfer Policy – Tony Adams Arsenal legend Tony Adams has said that the club’s policy of selling their best players is why they cannot win the Premier League title anymore. Adams, who played 672 games for Arsenal during his professional career, also criticised the club’s habit of letting contract renewal [...]

Backpage Roundup: Wenger Wants Respect for RVP, Arsenal Announce Jakarta Friendly Plans, Gervinho Out for Three Weeks and More

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Wenger Wants Gunners to Respect RVP Arsene Wenger has said that Arsenal’s upcoming league game against Manchester United isn’t just about proving to Robin van Persie that he made a mistake by leaving them. On Saturday, the Dutch striker would come face to face with his former teammates for the very first time since joining [...]

Backpage roundup: Frimpong not fully fit, Gallas disagrees with Wenger, Arsenal losing N’Koulou battle, Szczesny set to return and more

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Frimpong Still Not Fully Fit Emmanuel Frimpong feels that his fitness is not at a level yet where he can play regular football for Arsenal’s senior side and he needs a few more under-21 matches to get back in proper shape. The 20-year-old midfielder has recovered from a serious cruciate ligaments injury that he suffered [...]

Backpage roundup: Wenger and Fergie equally great for RVP, Wilshere to miss Reading game, Gnabry tipped For greatness and more

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Wenger and Fergie Are Equally Great – RVP Robin van Persie feels that his former mentor Arsene Wenger and current manager Alex Ferguson are both equally great and there is nothing to choose between them. The Dutch striker spent eight seasons at Arsenal under Wenger before leaving for Manchester United in the summer and therefore, [...]

Arsenal goalkeeping: Crisis what Crisis?

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When it comes to the goalkeeping department, Arsenal has never been accused of being the strongest Premier League club in the past several seasons. The club’s last world-class keeper was David Seaman and Jens Lehmann could probably be considered an adequate or good goalie. However, since Lehmann’s departure, the goalkeeping hasn’t kept up with the [...]

Arsenal goalkeepers – cause for concern?

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  In the recent past, Arsenal has had problems finding a perfect goalkeeper. Of the quartet currently known as the ‘Big Four,’ Manchester United relied upon the solid Edwin van der Sar, and now have the duo of David de Gea and Anders Lindegaard. Chelsea has Petr Cech and Manchester City has Joe Hart, who [...]

Backpage roundup: Jenkinson trains with England, Wenger plotting moves for Llorente and Lopez, Fulham want Arshavin, Ox’s relief and more

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Jenkinson Trains with Three Lions Squad Carl Jenkinson trained with the England squad on Sunday although it wasn’t an official call-up and he won’t be a part of the Three Lions squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifier against Poland. England were using Arsenal’s London Colney training ground on Sunday and so Hodgson decided to [...]

Backpage roundup: Wenger better than Guardiola, Cazorla eyes more improvement, Ox dreams of England century, Akpom’s pro deal and more

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Wenger Better than Guardiola – Hleb Former Arsenal midfielder Aliaksandr Hleb regards Arsene Wenger as a better coach than Pep Guardiola and says that the former taught him more than the latter. The 31-year-old Belarusian, who now plays for his hometown club Bate Borisov, spent several years under both Wenger and Guardiola earlier in his [...]