Walcott facing fitness test ahead of Middlesbrough game

Theo Walcott will undergo a fitness test on Friday ahead of the Premier League game with Middlesbrough at Emirates Stadium.
The Arsenal winger injured his thigh a week ago in a behind-closed-doors match against Colorado Rapids and missed last Sunday's draw at Wigan. Arsène Wenger gave the 18-year-old only a small chance of being involved this weekend.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Eboue is available again after missing the last three domestic games with suspension but Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) and Abou Diaby (calf) will have to wait a little longer.
"Tomas is still out and Abou is still out," Wenger told Arsenal TV Online on Thursday. "There is a little chance of Theo being back for Saturday but he has not practiced with the team yet. We will have a test tomorrow."
Eduardo is out for the season with a broken fibula and an open dislocation of his ankle. However the Croatian was at the training ground on Thursday and his manager was heartened by his early progress.
"Yes, we saw him today," said Wenger. "He came in and it was fantastic. He looked good. He is positive in his mind and a strong boy mentally.
"Of course we are sad to lose him for the season. But we are all pleased at the way he is dealing with it. Everybody who has been in this situation knows how difficult this is to take."
Arsenal TV Online subscribers will be able to see the full interview on Friday morning. In it, Wenger talks about: the upcoming Champions League draw, the possibility of facing an English side, whether an English side will win it this season, the effect that playing Chelsea or Man United could have on the title race, Chelsea's continuing title challenge, the possibility of going into Saturday's game in second place, comparisons with previous title races, the defeat at Middlesbrough earlier this season, their ambitions to improve.

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TV Online: Van Persie tries hand at table tennis

It is said, often by himself, that Robin van Persie is Arsenal’s king of the table tennis table.

So, to test just how good the Dutchman is, the Arsenal matchday programme arranged for Robin to spend an afternoon at Southall Sports Centre, home of leading British side London Progress, for an afternoon of coaching and competition with three-times Commonwealth champion Matthew Syed and 18-year-old prodigy Darius Knight.

Robin was put through his paces with a range of serving and returning drills before finishing with with two sets against Knight, the Under-21 national champion. Urging his opponent to operate at full throttle, Van Persie managed respectable defeats of 3-11 and 4-11, hitting clean winners for several of his points.

The Gunners man was later presented with a brand-new professional bat to take home and admitted afterwards that he had learned a lot in just one afternoon’s play.

Arsenal TV Online subscribers can now watch highlights of Robin’s day at Southall Sports Centre as well as an interview with the Dutchman. In the interview he discussed:

• his own competition-sized table at home
• why he loves table tennis
• what he had learnt
• how good the afternoon's mentors were
• other Premier League hot-shots

Subscribers can now watch this footage on Arsenal TV Online. If you don't subscribe to TV Online, click on the red button on the gold panel opposite.

Wenger - Flamini and Fabregas are the best

Arsène Wenger rates Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini as his finest midfield partnership in more than 11 years at the Arsenal helm.

That is a bold statement from a man who nurtured the Patrick Vieira-Emmanuel Petit axis soon after arriving in North London in 1996. The French duo were a driving force behind Arsenal's Double triumph in 1998 and helped their country to World Cup glory the same year.

Fabregas has been a fixture in Arsenal's midfield since Vieira left for Juventus in 2005 but this is Flamini's first season as a regular after waiting patiently for his chance. Nonetheless, Wenger believes that the current incumbents have the edge on their illustrious midfield predecessors.

"Yes, this is the best partnership," said the Arsenal manager.

"Going forward they [Fabregas and Flamini] are technically good and very mobile. Before we had players with impact and now the players' strength is in mobility.

"Maybe they are less physically strong in the challenge than Vieira and Petit but they have a good understanding and they cover each other well."

Fans and pundits alike were urging Wenger to invest in an established midfielder after the departure of Vieira three years ago but the Frenchman stuck to his guns and stuck with his young Gunners. Fabregas, and now Flamini, have benefited from Wenger's policy and the Frenchman feels vindicated.

"We build a team over years being very restrictive about our spending and you are only rewarded if you can keep the team together," said Wenger.

Wenger - Van Persie can make a difference

A fit and fresh Robin van Persie can make a difference in the closing stages of Arsenal’s season, according to Arsène Wenger.

Before his substitute appearance against Wigan on Sunday, the Dutchman had played only three games for the Club since October - the last of which came in January in the Carling Cup Semi-Final first leg against Tottenham.

Now convinced that Van Persie’s problems are behind him, Wenger believes the striker can reignite Arsenal’s title charge after three successive Premier League draws.

“He can make a difference,” said the Frenchman, talking before Sunday’s match. “How much? I don’t know. He has played eight games, we have played 28. To have him back for the last 10 would be patience rewarded.

“[Before he was injured] he played eight games and scored five goals. When you lose a player like that you think of course we are in trouble but we compensated well.”

And what of Van Persie’s thoughts?

“He is desperate to come back and do well,” concluded Wenger.

Flamini - Players have to be ready for a title fight now

Mathieu Flamini refuses to blame the pitch for Arsenal's draw at Wigan on Sunday.
There was plenty of 'surface tension' at the JJB Stadium over the weekend as Arsène Wenger's side saw their title hopes hit by a goalless game played out in difficult conditions.
However Flamini's words afterwards were as no-nonsense as his performance. Yes, the pitch and the midweek trip to Milan were a factor but, he said, "when you want to win the title you have to be ready to fight".
"Of course, it is very frustrating," the 24-year-old commented. "We gave a lot on Tuesday and had to give a lot again at Wigan. It was not easy because it was difficult conditions. But it was important to stay focused defensively and offensively. I think we missed a little bit although we were unlucky.
"The pitch was horrible but what can you say? It was the same for both teams. Of course we like to play and we had to play more long balls so it was more difficult for us.
"But you cannot moan. You just have to score goals and we didn't so now we have to work harder in training and be ready for Middlesbrough [on Saturday].
"It's always difficult especially after big games like Milan, you need to be 200 per cent concentrated. But we had five days to recover.
"We missed a little bit in the final part. But it's like that sometimes. We have the quality and we are strong so we just have to keep going."

RAFA: WE WILL ATTACK INTER

Rafael Benitez insists he will send his Liverpool side out to attack Inter Milan when they face the Italian Champions in the San Siro on Tuesday night.
The Reds go into the match holding a 2-0 advantage from the first-leg at Anfield but the Spaniard does not feel his side must be extra cautious and is instead, hopeful that he has the personnel that can score a vital away goal and book Liverpool's place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. "We were considering different options because maybe we have some players that they cannot cope with or manage," said Benitez. "We will analyse how the team does in the training session tonight and then we will see. "We know that we cannot defend for a long time against a good team so we need to attack and score if that is possible. "I have a lot of confidence we can go forward so my idea is to prepare properly and to win." Liverpool arrive in Italy on the back of a five-match winning streak in which Fernando Torres has plundered seven goals - including two back-to-back hat-tricks at Anfield against Middlesbrough and West Ham respectively. The Spain international gave the Inter defence a torrid time in the first-leg three weeks earlier, with Marco Materazzi receiving his marching orders for two separate fouls on the striker, and Benitez is confident El Nino can terrorise them again in the San Siro and be Liverpool's hero once more. "I think that we know Torres is on fire and his understanding with Gerrard is good," said Rafa. "The team is playing well now so we have confidence and we know that at the end of the day you need to score and Torres can be the key man for us." Ahead of the game the Reds boss has been boosted by the news that Javier Mascherano will be fit after he recovered form the dead leg he suffered against West Ham - but he has also revealed his side will have to cope without the influence of Spanish playmaker Xabi Alonso. "Mascherano is okay and is fit. He will be here." said Benitez. "But Alonso's girlfriend is having a baby so he will not be here. Maybe we will try to change without Xabi. We have the training session tonight (Monday) and then we will decide.