Just Arsenal News

The young Arsenal striker Jay Simpson has been told that he can leave the club if a suitable offer comes in for him, and is currently in talks with the Cypriot Champions Omonia Nicosia.

The 21 year-old has just had a successful season on loan at QPR, where he scored 13 goals, but, according to todays Daily Mail, has been deemed surplus to requirements at the Emirates. Simpson is a local boy from Islington and has been with Arsenal since he was nine years old, but has spent the last three seasons out on loan, gaining valuable experience at Millwall and West Brom before moving to QPR. .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri is certain that if they had managed to have a fully fit squad all season, they would definitely be top of the Premiership, and probably still competing for the Champions League trophy as well.

“It is annoying. The work we do is not getting the credit it deserves because we are not winning silverware,” Nasri said. “It is unfair because I think we have more merit as a club than those who have built their teams with millions of pounds whereas Arsenal have brought in young footballers, who have come here to play a certain kind of football and who have developed. .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal defender Gael Clichy thinks that the extended English season, withour a two-week break like other leagues over Christmas, means that Premier League clubs are more likely to be suffering from injuries in the second half of the season. He believes that this fact is giving an advantage to the other leagues in the later stages of the Champions League.

“I think it is a blow for English football not to have a representative in the Champions League but at the same time we are the only championship in Europe who are not having a rest during Christmas,” Clichy said. .......Read the full article here

The fantastic Champions League draw against the reigning champions Barcelona looks like a difficult tie on paper, but the Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas says that his team will be going to the Camp Nou to play the same way they always do – to win!

“If you want to win this competition, you have to beat everyone who is coming,” he said.

“If we had been drawn against Bordeaux or Lyon we would have taken it the same way.

“Barcelona is a great team, but we always go with the same mentality and that is to win,” .......Read the full article here

The Barcelona striker Thierry Henry has admitted that the only club he wants to avoid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League is his beloved Arsenal.

The draw will be made this afternoon, and he refused to say which team he would prefer to face, but only would prefer not to have to face the club where he spent his eight best years.

He said: “Let’s say there is one team that I don’t want to play and that is Arsenal.

“That’s because of my affinities there and because of my love for the club. But after that you know you can never tell. .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal defender Gael Clichy is not keen to play Manchester United in the next round of the Champions League, but only because it doesn’t seem like a European tie if you play another Premiership club.

He said: “I’d like to avoid an English team. Not because they’re strong because at this stage of the competition whoever you play are really good.

“But because you want to play a French team, a Spanish team, an Italian team – you want to taste this Champions League perfume. .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal winger Theo Walcott thinks that his team’s demolition of Porto at the Emirates last week will have sent a message to Man Utd that the Gunners will not be so easy to beat if they get drawn against them in the Champions League.

“We’ve had disappointments in this competition over the last couple of years – Manchester United in the semis last year. We need to build on results. Hopefully, if it comes to it we’ll learn from our mistakes and try to go one step further. .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen is totally convinced that Arsenal can go on and win the Champions League, even if they are drawn against Chelsea or Man Utd. He thinks that the Gunners will prove everyone wrong who predicted that Arsenal couldn’t win a trophy this season, and expects them to win two!

“It’s possible that we can play Manchester United in the Quarter-Finals but it’s just a different game,” Vermaelen said. .......Read the full article here

It is nearly certain that Arsenal will be without their captain Cesc Fabregas for the return leg of the Champions League against Porto this week, as he has damaged the same hamstring the same hamstring that kept him out for a month earlier in the season.

Arsene Wenger said about Fabregas last night: “He has a hamstring problem and we don’t know how big the damage is yet because it is too early. We’ll see tomorrow or Monday. We have to make a late decision over whether he plays on Tuesday, certainly. It is the same hamstring he hurt before.” .......Read the full article here

The Porto goalkeeper Helton has revealed that his Porto team have been closely monitoring Arsenal’s recent form, and they believe that Arsene Wenger’s team is not as strong in attack as they have been in recent years.

After losing Robin Van Persie, Arsenal will now have to visit Portugal without Andrei Arshavin as well, and Helton believes this will enable Porto to keep a clean sheet in the home leg.

He said: “We’ve been watching ­Arsenal’s last few games closely and they’re not as strong as they’ve been in recent years. That can be to our advantage. .......Read the full article here

There is yet another Arsenal youngster coming through the ranks with great promise, and he must suely be guaranteed stardom with a name like Tom Cruise.

But when Arsene Wenger was asked if he had “star quality”, like the famous actor, Wenger said he only knew of one Tom Cruise, his one!

“You’re used to it,” he said. “For me, there’s only one Tom Cruise – and he is the one who plays for Arsenal!”

“If you’re in his boots you don’t think for a second at the start of the season that you’ll play in the Champions League. I believe he’s a very good footballer.” .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal midfielder Andrei Arshavin has been his usual full and frank self, and has spoken about how upset he was that his transfer to Barcelona fell through before Arsene Wenger snapped him up for Arsenal.

“The most beautiful football isn’t here, but at Barcelona,” Arshavin said. “But after them, perhaps Arsenal.”

“We are probably missing two top players.” .......Read the full article here