Just Arsenal News

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

Arsene Wenger has re-iterated yet again that he will not be buying a striker, and he is cheered by the return of Samir Nasri and Nicklas Bendtner to the Arsenal squad for tonights game against Aston Villa, although he admits that they are not yet fit enough to start the match.

He says there is no strikers on the market better than the players he has already, which must mean Bendtner, Eduardo and Vela.

“If I don’t find better than what we have then I will not buy,” said Wenger. “At the moment we have not found that. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger feels that he was right to rest Thomas Vermaelen, Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna (amongst others!) for the FA Cup defeat at Stoke City today, and regards the next four league games as much more important, starting with the match against Aston Villa on Wednesday.

He had previously said that the FA Cup would become a problem when the fifth round arrived, as it was just before a Champions League match. Well he doesn’t have to worry about that any more!

So he didn’t sound too bothered when he was asked if he wished he had picked a stronger team today. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger saw his Arsenal team move even closer to the top of the Premiership with the 3-0 win over Aston Villa, and he believes that Arsenal can go all the way if they keep up their consistency against the smaller teams.

“It makes it interesting now.” he said. We are in a strong position. We can have belief but it’s a long way to go and we have to keep our feet on the ground and continue to improve together.

“I could say we would win the games but you couldn’t predict that our opponents would drop the points. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal go into todays extremely crucial match against Aston Villa level with their opponents on points, and Arsene Wenger knows how crucial this game is to Arsenal’s assault on the Premiership title.

If Arsenal win, they will be just four points behind the leaders Chelsea, and with a game in hand.

“It is a game where if you look at the table you will come to a conclusion very easily how important it is,” Wenger said.

“It is a game where we can strengthen our position in the league so that is why we will be completely focused on that.” .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is not happy about missing this weekends match against Hull City after he had to be taken off during the 1-1 draw with Burnley last week, and is left annoyed with his recurring hamstring problems.

Fabregas, when fit, has had an immense contribution to Arsenal, and has scored ten goals in the games he has played in, including one against Burnley before his injury.

He is now keen to get himself fit again in time to face Aston Villa, who are level on points with Arsenal in the Premiership. .......Read the full article here

The Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has warned Arsenal that Aston Villa could be a danger to their place in the top three in the Premiership, and thinks that the Midlands side has got such a great record against the top clubs this season that they could even challenge for the title!

“Aston Villa are a very dangerous team,” said Ancelotti. “They won against Chelsea and Manchester United. I think Martin O’Neill is doing a fantastic job with this team. Maybe we have to pay attention to them because nobody spoke about Aston Villa in the top four but now we have to pay attention to this team. I think Arsenal have to pay attention to them.” .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal midfielder Fran Merida was given a straight red card in last nights Reserve League top-of-the-table clash with Aston Villa, and will now not be available for the Carling Cup clash against Man City.

Arsenal were 1-0 up through Sanchez Watt just past the half-hour mark, when Merida gave him a perfectly placed centre from a freekick 25 yards out, but within four minutes Arsenal were educed to ten men.

Merida claimed that he was slapped in the face by Aston Villa midfielder Fabien Delph, and after a little argument the two players set about each other, and it is thought that Merida aimed a punch at Delph’s head. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger seems to think that the Premiership is becoming more and more competitive, and there could be eight or nine teams possibly challenging for the Champions League places this season.

“There’s no rule that forbids it,” he said. “You can never say that Man City will not be in the fight, you cannot say that Aston Villa will not be there, maybe Tottenham can have a good season, Everton always, and there is always a surprise. So we have a top eight or nine. The most competitive race? Certainly. But at this stage of the season we race for the top one.” .......Read the full article here