Just Arsenal News

Arsene Wenger is struggling to get his Arsenal team to produce some consistency in the race for a Top Four spot in the Premiership, but he insists he will not sacrifice the chance to win the FA Cup by resting his key players against Swansea this weekend.

A trip to Wales is by no means an easy way to start the competition and Wenger insists he will be taking it seriously. “We play at Swansea; it’s a difficult tie, but of course we want to come out on top,” he maintains. “The FA Cup is something special because it is exciting, it is watched all over the world. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger refused to get into a discussion about Demba Ba’s contract situation before the game, but the Newcastle striker didn’t let the Arsenal rumours affect him and scored two great goals as the Toon restricted Arsenal to 3 goals apiece in the first hour of yesterday’s match.

That Arsenal scored an extra four in the last 20 minutes was probably not a fair end score as Newcastle got tired towards the end, and Wenger admitted that it wasn’t as easy as the scoreline suggests. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger is well aware that Arsenal seem to have a mental block when it comes to facing Stoke at the Brittannia Stadium, and have won their just once since the Potters were promoted to the Premier League, but after a disappointing opening draw to Sunderland last week the Gunners really need a win to show they are contenders this time around.

It would seem that Wenger has been buying big, strong players recently to counter the threat from “rugby” teams like Stoke, and now is the chance for him to prove he has got it right. “At Stoke it is a question of being strong enough to dictate your style,” Wenger said. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger is well aware that Jack Wilshere should not have played around 50 games in his first season at Arsenal, which has led to him being injured for the whole of this season, and he is worried about making the same mistake with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The Arsenal manager said: “That’s what happened to us last year with Jack Wilshere, it was exactly the same.

“At the start of the season you think, ‘I will play him 20 games, maybe 25′.

“But when they deliver a performance like Saturday’s they play 45 and then they play for the national team and then they get injured. .......Read the full article here

When the FA Cup draw was made, people obviously picked out Manchester United vs. Manchester City as the biggest match with Arsenal vs. Leeds United as the other big match. While it is fair to say that there is no real “rivalry” between Arsenal and Leeds geographically or in competing for trophies, there is no doubt that the match will be a tight and exciting one.

Last season, we were rather fortunate to escape the match with a 1-1 draw at home (Last minute Fabregas penalty) although the replay that finished 3-1 in our favour was a very different affair. .......Read the full article here

The Gunners defender Thomas Vermaelen, who has now missed nearly the whole of the season with an achilles injury, has revealed that he has suffered SIX relapses since the original problem he suffered with the Belgium national team last August.

Vermaelen explained the problem: “I feel no trouble in the Achilles tendon itself, but the muscles around it still need to be made stronger,” he said. “I do not know when I will be back.

“At first they said I would need four or six weeks after the operation. But it soon became apparent that it would last longer. I’m not even in training. I’m still working on my exercises to come back. This is a tough mental test.” .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger has announced that he has no intention of buying any more players in January despite the never-ending injuries in the Arsenal squad.

He said: “We already have fantastic players, international players, who are not getting enough games. Our squad is as good as Manchester United and Chelsea‘s – that’s what we want to show in the second half of the season.”

One position I am very surprised that he refuses to look at is the centre-back problem. Thomas Vermaelen only played a few games at the beginning of the season, and ever since then he has been poked and prodded by the Gunners medical team, but they still don’t know what his problem is! That tells me that he is going to miss most of the season…. .......Read the full article here

There have very many noises coming out of the Emirates this season about how much Wenger is desperate to win a trophy, even if it is the Carling Cup. And he has backed up his words by playing what looks like stronger teams in every round.

Well he said again yesterday that he still intends to use a strong team in tonights match against Wigan, but then followed it up by saying it will still be a young team, but an experienced young team!

“We will play with a strong team,” Wenger said. “But don’t forget that we have played every three days for one and a half months so I have to see how we recover and who I rest on Tuesday. .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal winger Theo Walcott is aware that Man City will be very difficult to beat at the Eastlands today, but he thinks that in this years Premier League this season anything could happen!

“Man City have some fantastic players, but we have just to take the positives from the Shakhtar game and I am sure we will be fine,” he said. “They are starting to gel now and so only time will tell where they can be.

“Beating Chelsea at their place shows City are very strong, and against Blackpool they showed that they can grind out a result. Hopefully, though, we can stutter their season and try to get a win for us.” .......Read the full article here

The Gunners are nigh on invincible at home, and despite the lengthening injury list that seems bever-ending, Arsene Wenger still has the personnel available to field a very strong team against West Brom.

Having scored 16 goals in the first three home games, Arsenal will be looking to extend that record, and with Chamakh as the lead striker, and Arshavin and Nasri on either side, they shouldn’t really have many problems creating the usual glut of chances to score.

Okay Fabregas would be a loss to any side in the world, but the good news is that Alex Song is returning from suspension, hopefully rested and raring to go. He can boss the midfield along with the young terrier Jack Wilshere, and another pair of fresh legs in Denilson. .......Read the full article here

The young Aaron Ramsey, whose leg was so cruelly broken last season, is well on the road to recovery now, and thinks that he will come back stronger sooner rather than later.

He also feels so confident that he is sure that he won’t be worried about going in for strong tackles again when he is back on the pitch for Arsenal.

He said: “No, I won’t have any second thoughts,”

“I’ve seen the X-rays, I’ve seen the scans and the leg is strong so I won’t be thinking about the injury when I go in for a challenge. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger believes that his team is much stronger now than when they lost at Ewood Park last season, and although he intends that Arsenal will play their normal game, they are also now mature enough to give as good as they get from Sam Allardyce’s team.

“It is always important that you’re strong away from home,” Wenger said yesterday.

“We had a difficult first game at Liverpool and now we have this second away game at Blackburn.

“In this one it is vital we deal with their strengths – good commitment, an efficient game – but we must not forget to play our game too. It will be a little bit a confrontation of two styles so it’s important that we dictate our style. .......Read the full article here