Just Arsenal News

We have had confirmation from all sides that Arsene Wenger has been trying to secure a new goalkeeper this summer. Peter Hill-Wood announced right at the beginning of the summer break that Arsenal had had an offer for Mark Schwarzer turned down, and since then the Gunners have been linked with every available goalkeeper from here to Siberia.

It was admitted by Cagliari that Arsenal had made a bid for Federico Marchetti, so much so that he asked them for a transfer and prepared to leave, but the deal fell through because the two sides couldn’t agree on a valuation. .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal defender Armand Traore has been looking for a new club since Arsene Wenger told him that he could leave last month, and despite being very close to being transferred to Benfica a couple of weeks ago, we have heard nothing since.

It was reported by Sky last week that Juventus were in the process of making a bid, but it is only today that the Italian giants have confirmed their interest.

Juve sporting director Beppe Marotta said last night: “Yes, Traore is one of the players we are interested in,”.

“We will see what happens.” .......Read the full article here

The Everton defender Phil Jagielka was strongly linked with a move to Arsenal all summer, and Everton reportedly turned down a £10m bid for the fringe England international, but there was never any concrete proof that an offer was on the table until today.

Jagielka admitted that David Moyes had discussed the offer with him, but he never felt any compunction to push Everton to let him leave.

“I’d like to think I’m grounded.” he said today. “I love playing football and I love being at Everton, and I’m not going to try to bully my way into getting a transfer. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger was extremely pleased with his team’s performance in beating Blackburn today, but admitted that they needed a little bit of luck to get them through. But he was quite adamant that any team that has aspirations to win the Premier League needs to beat teams like Blackburn.

“I’m convinced we have more experience in the box – but no matter who you are, Blackburn give you a strong test.

“We were a bit lucky at some stages but overall we showed really good commitment.

“If you have ambition in this league you have got to win at Blackburn. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger was asked about the upcoming game with Blackburn Rovers this week, and was reminded about how angry he was after least season’s defeat and his criticism about Blackburn’s agressive tactics. Wenger used the opportunity to remind the referee’s what are allowed in the rules……

“When a team plays long ball and head the ball and become physical I accept that completely and I respect that – but it has to be in respect of the rules,” said Wenger. “I believe everybody looks at his squad and tries to find a way where the game is most efficient and we developed one way. It is not the only way, I respect every other way as long as the referees get the rules respected. .......Read the full article here

The Blackpool manager Ian Holloway saw his team literally torn apart by Arsenal this afternoon, and although the Seasiders lost 6-0, it could easily have been a cricket score if some of Arsenal’s players had been a little more accurate with their shooting.

“It was going to be a tough day for us anyway. he said. “Their bench was pretty scary never mind who was on there, but I thought we started quite well,” .......Read the full article here

Ever since the beginning of the transfer window, Arsenal have been linked with just about every available goalkeeper in Europe and beyond, but rarely have any of the alleged offers ever been confirmed.

The first real indication that Wenger was really looking for a new keeper was when Peter Hill-Wood revealed that they had had a bid for Mark Schwarzer turned down, but today we now have evidence that Arsenal were serious about buying Federico Marchetti from Cagliari.

Their President, Massimo Cellino, said yesterday: “Arsenal, Fulham and Aston Villa have tabled bids in the past, but the deal won’t go through because no club is willing to pay the right price for our asset,” .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal legend David Seaman doesn’t think that Arsenal can win the Premiership title this season, and expects Man Utd and Chelsea to yet again be fighting it out at the top. Many people, including Arsene Wenger, has said that this season could be the hardest Premiership race ever, but Seaman disagrees.

He said: “I’m desperate for Arsenal to do well, but they need to be more consistent. They’ve got to play ugly at times, sneak a few results when they’re not playing well. .......Read the full article here

Last weeks competition didn’t produce a winner, so there is a new competition this week on the result of the Arsenal v Blackpool game.

Twelve people (out of 246 entries!) predicted the 1-1 scoreline on Sunday, but no-one got the lone goalscorer for Arsenal, Pepe Reina (og).

The correct score was predicted by Sammy Folliard, CAZ, Kirtan, Kieran and Chinedu, Slim, Petros Demetriou, Nathan, Girma, Alex Eaton, Jay and Brazilian Gooner. I feel sorry for Alex, Chinedu and Kieran, who all picked Chamakh as the scorer (So close!), but even sorrier for CAZ, who predicted a 1-1 draw with Arsenals goal scored by Carragher (og). How much closer can you get! .......Read the full article here

The Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has no qualms about bringing William Gallas to White Hart Lane, despite that he has spent the last few years at Spurs’ great rivals, Arsenal. He believes that the Lilywhites fans will accept anyone, as long as they play well….

He said: “I like Gallas. I think he’s a great free transfer. It is a possibility. His people have rung up and we spoke about it.”

“He is an experienced player. He has played at the top level, he won championships with Chelsea. .......Read the full article here

Well, Well, Well, I must apologize to all my readers as I was absolutely certain that the rumours about Mark Schwarzer wanting to move to Arsenal was a load of tosh. In fact I didn’t even believe that Arsene Wenger was seriously intending to buy another keeper. But it seems I was wrong…..(for a change lol!)

The Australian Telegraph has interviewed the Australian international keeper after their 2-0 friendly defeat to Slovenia, and has got some direct quotes which seems to indicate that it is very very likely to happen after all. .......Read the full article here

As a warning to football hooligans the police are cracking down on thugs ahead of the new football season, and they have scored their first success against two Tottenham “fans”.

Danny Scriven, 26, and Kali Hagenstede, 21, were amongst a gang of more than 20 Spurs hooligans who attacked Arsenal fans as they drank in The George, in Holloway, after the Gunners had destroyed Tottenham 3-0 at the end of October. Both of them admitted violent disorder and were jailed for 15 months each, and banned from attending any football matches for six years. .......Read the full article here