Just Arsenal News

The papers this week have all been full of the the news that Arsenal are preparing a massive offer worth over £5m to secure the services of Cesc Fabregas for the future, but, according to the Spanish paper Sport, he has already decided to refuse the £125,000 a week offer in favour of moving back to his home town of Barcelona.

The Spanish international has continually pledged his support to Arsenal in the face of intense pressure from Barcelona, but he has always maintained that he wants to stay and win trophies at Arsenal. This likelihood seems to have slipped away in the last few weeks, and Sport reports that he is now fed up of waiting and believes he has more chance of winning some trophies with Barcelona. Read the full article here

The Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes that his team can add to Arsenal’s misery on Wednesday by keeping another clean sheet at the Emirates.

Liverpool beat Everton on Saturday and made their fourth clean sheet in a row. They have finally moved back into the top four after a disatrous start to the season, and Carragher thinks that they are now nearly back to their best form.

“Over the last four or five years defensively we’ve been as good as probably any team in the world. Read the full article here

The Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack was dismissive of Arsene Wenger’s comments yesterday, when the Arsenal manager said: “The best team lost.”

“I think he always says this when he loses. When he loses he always finds an excuse.

The Germany captain feels that his team’s tactics were perfect to counteract Arsenal’s attacking style, and despite the Gunners having the lions share of possession, Chelsea were in control of the match. Read the full article here

It has been revealed this morning that Arsenal, as well as the other nineteen Premiership clubs are going to share in a £1 billion TV rights package currently being negotiated by Richard Scudamore.

A report in the WorldFootballInsider said this morning. English Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore is close to announcing a 1 billion pound ($1.6bn) for global TV rights to screen league matches, according to The Sun newspaper. Under the deal, the 20 EPL clubs each stand to get 50 million pounds. Negotiations are still to be completed for major markets such as China and Russia. The new deal marks a significant increase on the current £645m contract which runs out at the end of the season. Read the full article here

The seemingly never-ending saga of Marouane Chamakh’s move from Bordeaux to Arsenal is now looking more and more certain. Chamakh admitted last week that if he had the choice on where to move in the summer, he would choose the Emirates, and it seems that Wenger has now confirmed that he still likes the Morroccan striker, but fell short of admitting it was a done deal.

When asked on French television about Chamakh’s desire to join Arsenal, Wenger said: “In life you have should achieve your dreams, above all you should try for them,” Read the full article here

The Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that his team completely dominated the match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge yesterday, but the league leaders defended well and got two breakaway goals to win the game.

He was quite pleased with his team’s peformance despite the defeat, and considers their play a vast improvement on last weeks defeat to Man Utd. Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger thinks that Theo Walcott’s head has been muddled by the constant switching from the full England side to the Under 21’s, and the pressure on him was too much at such an early age.

Wenger said: “It’s very important for a player to know where he is.

“And when he goes to national teams and he is moved up and down, he gets uncertain and insecure and you lose him at both levels.

“When you are a football player, you want to know you belong here. Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger has sprung to Manuel Almunia’s defence after the Spaniard has been blamed for Arsenal’s defensive problems in the last couple of games, but especially in the defeat against Man Utd.

He thinks that Almunia is being made a scapegoat, and he says that if he really thought he was to blame then he would have no problem in sacking him.

“I am not afraid to make a tough decision,” he says. “My only target is to make the right decision for the club. But after a game like Sunday we have to believe in our players rather than change half of the team. Almunia has done very well recently. People always look for a scapegoat when you lose a big game, you know.” Read the full article here

The Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh has been angling for a move to the Emirates ever since Arsene Wenger made an unsuccessful bid for him last summer, and now, as he approaches the end of his contract, he again has admitted his choice is to join Arsenal.

Chamakh told L’Equipe today: “My future? Well, I hold all the cards, I have no reason to be under pressure but everyday passing by, I am a little less a Bordeaux player, my choice is to join Premier League and if I could choose, I will go to Arsenal. Bordeaux has brought me so much. I will soon clearly state things so the club can prepare to find my replacement peacefully.” Read the full article here

The Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp believes that if Arsenal lose tomorrow at Chelsea, then the race for third place in the Premiership will still be wide open.

He admits that Arsene Wenger’s team will still be favourites, but thinks that his own team, Tottenham, Liverpool, Man City, and even Aston Villa could all be challenging Arsenal for the other Champions League spots.

“It is going to be tight,” Redknapp said.

“If we would have beaten Birmingham last week when leading 1-0, and we should have had the game over, then we are suddenly not so far away from Arsenal. Read the full article here