ARSENAL LATEST NEWS

Walcott facing fitness test ahead of Middlesbrough game

2008-03-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

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.

Latest O2 Arsenal Vodcast - FREE download

2008-03-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

The O2 Arsenal Vodcast was launched at the start of the season. Every week the Arsenal.com team will bring you a FREE video bulletin containing the latest news from inside the club and a behind-the-scenes feature.

You can download it from Arsenal.com or via iTunes. It is designed to be viewed on a personal video player or you can simply watch it on your computer.

This innovation builds on the back of the hugely successful O2 Arsenal Podcast which was launched last season. According to the iTunes charts, this is the most popular football club podcast in Britain and has fast become a vital part of the pre-match build-up for every Arsenal fan.

We sincerely hope the vodcast will can create the same niche for itself.

The latest O2 Arsenal Vodcast is now available. See below for details:

TV Online: Van Persie tries hand at table tennis

2008-03-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

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.

“The aim is still the same”

2008-03-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

Eric Abidal admitted that the defeat to Villarreal has made the League more difficult, but he still thinks that Barça are in with a shout in all three competitions.After losing at home 1-2 to Villarreal, Barça are once again eight points behind Madrid. At today’s press conference Eric Abidal described how the players are feeling at the moment. “The result makes things harder for us but we aren’t giving up as there’s still a long way to go,” he said. “The aim is still the same: we want to make a go of it in all three competitions.” Learning from mistakes Abidal said that the team had wanted to beat the ‘yellow submarine’ for Messi: “His injury was a psychological blow and we wanted to win for him.” The defender said that Villarreal had been defensively strong and pointed out that “you have good days and bad days”. The second goal was a “tough blow” and “we need to stop making mistakes to turn things around”. No excuses Abidal played well in yesterday’s game and made a number of attacking runs. “It’s a different type of physical training to what I’m used to but I feel fine,” he said. The former Lyon player said that having a lot of matches recently was no excuse, though he is grateful for having a week in which to get ready for the team’s next fixture. Still alive in all three competitions Eric Abidal said that what Barça need to do now is “to take each game as it comes, win our matches and not keep worrying about Madrid”. The defender thinks the team can catch up with Madrid. “We know we can catch them and there’s still time to cut the gap before we visit the Bernabéu,” he argued. “We aren’t throwing in the towel. They’ve got better results, maybe when we lose or draw they get a bit more confident, but there’s still time to correct mistakes and win title
Praise for Benzema
A French journalist at today’s press conference in the Camp Nou asked Abidal what he thinks about Karim Benzema, an ex-team mate at Olympique de Lyon. In the Barça defender’s view, “Benzema is a young player who’s performing really well. I hope he continues that way.”

Arsenal's Cesc has no Barcelona regrets

2008-03-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas insists he has no regrets over leaving Barcelona - but has not ruled out returning to the Nou Camp in the future
Fabregas began his career at the Catalan club's youth academy, alongside players such as Lionel Messi and Giovani dos Santos, but left to join Arsenal aged 16 in 2004.
Speaking on Catalan television programme 'Gol a Gol' on Sunday, Fabregas said he was happy with life at Arsenal and could not ask for a better coach than Wenger.
"I don't know (if I'll return)," he said. "I'm fine where I am, I'm learning a lot and I'm at the ideal club to grow, with a great coach and good team-mates.
"He [Wenger] is the best coach I've ever had and the more time I spend working with him the more I learn.
"In the future I don't know, but I'm happy where I am.
"Everyone chooses their own path in life. I chose one and I can't complain. I don't know how things would have gone for me at Barca and I'd prefer not to think about it."

Wenger - Eduardo can follow Diaby example

2008-03-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

Arsène Wenger expects Eduardo's road to recovery to follow a similar pattern to Abou Diaby's.
The French midfielder suffered a broken and dislocated ankle at Sunderland in May 2006 and returned eight months later after complicated surgery, a lot of patience and a long, hard rehabilitation. Eduardo faces a similar journey after fracturing his leg and dislocating his ankle at Birmingham 13 days ago.
Wenger told Arsenal TV Online on Thursday that the Croatian striker is "doing as well as he can" at this early stage of his recovery. At his pre-match press conference the Arsenal manager predicted that Eduardo will need slightly longer than Diaby did before he pulls on an Arsenal shirt again.
"We believe the earliest he will play again is nine months," said Wenger.
"That is three months without really putting his foot down and then six months to practise fully, the same as Diaby."

Arsenal boss Wenger confident seeing off Man Utd

2008-03-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

Arsenal chief Arsene Wenger remains confident his side will beat Manchester United to the Premier League title despite their blip over the last few weeks.
A goalless draw at Wigan on Sunday was the third successive league match the Gunners had been held and their lead at the top is just two points.
United, because of their FA Cup action at the weekend, have a match in hand and currently look the side most capable of finishing strongest.
In contrast, the formerly free-scoring Arsenal have seen their goals dry up with three in their last three drawn games.
"I am sure we will take off again. We have gone through a difficult patch. We have to keep our calm and focus and belief," he said.
"Four points (have been) dropped in the last three league games. Against Aston Villa a point was just what we deserved but Birmingham and Wigan were four points dropped.
"You go through a patch like that and the negative is a deficit in points. The positive is we didn't lose a game but there was room for us to take more than that.
"But I am very confident we still have good chances to do it (win the league)."
Arsenal face another relegation-threatened side in Middlesbrough at the Emirates next weekend, and Wenger is looking for his side to lift themselves out of their current dip against Gareth Southgate's team.
"You keep calm, focused, determined, and you go from game to game and give everything," he added.
"We want now to come back to winning habits straight away next Saturday. I am still very confident."

TV Online exclusive: Wenger on draw at Wigan

2008-03-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

Arsène Wenger watched on as Arsenal were thwarted by a stubborn Wigan side. Nevertheless the point earned at the JJB extended the Gunners' lead at the top of Premier League to two points. After the game, the manager spoke to Arsenal TV Online. Wenger discussed:
taking only a point at the JJB Stadium
the pitch
the effect on the title race
the fatigue factor from the Champions League in Milan
giving Wigan credit
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.

Drogba determined to win Chelsea shirt contest

2008-03-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

Chelsea star Didier Drogba has been buying dozens of his own shirts - hiking him up the club shop sales league table.
The Ivory Coast hitman has reportedly shelled out thousands of pounds for replica number 11 shirts in a bid to try and convince his team-mates he is just as much a crowd favourite as they are, reports the Daily Mail.
The £24 million striker was lagging in shirt sales behind the likes of John Terry and Frank Lampard who would often taunt him about it on the training ground.
One Chelsea insider claimed Drogba visits the club shop up to 10 times a week and on one occasion walked out of the store with 40 shirts each costing about £45 a pop - or £1,800 at one fell swoop.
The first-team regular could get all his shirts for free but the £70,000-a-week centre forward is shelling out the cash to force up his shirt sale stats.
A Stamford Bridge source revealed: "Dids is never out of the club shop. He is spending a fortune.
"He is on first name terms with the staff and is easily their best customer.
"The competition to be the most popular is massive and Didier hates losing.
"He has been buying loads of copies of his number 11 shirt and must be up there with the club's top sellers by now.
"Dids has been sending all his replica shirts to his mates back home."

Edelman - Our style will help keep our stars

2008-03-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

Keith Edelman believes that Arsenal's style of play will help to keep their young stars at the club.
The only downside of that wonderful win at the San Siro last week is that it will have alerted Europe's top sides to the talent emerging at Emirates Stadium. As Managing Director, Mr Edelman holds Arsenal's purse strings, including the funds available to improve contracts, but he believes the footballing environment at a Club is sometimes more important to a player than a few more percentage points on his salary.
"I think we do play with a unique style," he said. "There is more to life than just money and a lot of our players like being here. These kinds of players want to play that way.
"The club is very stable. We've always delegated the playing side to Arsène and he has always had a lot of freedom there. In a lot of other clubs, there is not as much clear water as there is at Arsenal."

Arsenal history: On this day... March 10

2008-03-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

1906A brace by Bert Freeman and a solo strike by Tim Coleman earned the Gunners a 3-2 FA Cup Fourth-Round win at Manchester United
1964England Under-23 wing-half John Barnwell joined Nottingham Forest. Later he played for Sheffield Unite before becoming a manager
1993Arsenal eased into a Coca-Cola Cup Final with two goals against Crystal Palace at Highbury for a 2-0 aggregate win
2000England Under-21 midfielder Stephen Hughes was sold to Everton. He scored four times in 49 Premier League games for Arsenal
2001Sylvain Wiltord, Tony Adams and Robert Pires netted in the Gunners’ 3-0 FA Cup Sixth-Round win at home to Blackburn Rovers

TV Online: Gilberto on Wigan and the title race

2008-03-10T19:47:00.000-07:00

Gilberto started in central midfield as Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw at Wigan on Sunday. Afterwards the Brazilian midfielder spoke to Arsenal TV Online. He discussed:
the performance at Wigan
the pitch at the JJB Stadium
whether the title is now in Manchester United's hands
the performance of Chris Kirkland
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.