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Vermaelen pens new Arsenal deal

Thomas Vermaelen has signed a new long-term contract with the Club.

The Belgium international has been a star performer in Arsenal’s defence during his 54 appearances for the Club and has now put pen to paper on a new contract.

Arsène Wenger said: “We are absolutely delighted that Thomas has signed a new long-term contract. Our plan is always to sign top quality players and with Thomas extending his contract, we have done just that. Thomas is a special player, who has always made a huge contribution on the pitch and we are looking forward to him being a part of our future at Arsenal Football Club.”

Arsenal news round up- Sunday 9th October 2011

'Hicks & Gillett blocked my £20m Arsenal move because they hadn't sold the club' - Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina (Goal.com)

The Spaniard could have moved to the Emirates after winning the World Cup last year but was denied a transfer as he was classed as a vital presence at Anfield

Reina said, "Arsenal made their determination to sign me clear by offering £20M, a phenomenal amount for a goalkeeper" 

Liverpool and Arsenal battle to sign Chelsea striker (The Mirror)

Arsenal and Liverpool will go head-to-head in a battle to sign Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou in a cut-price deal when the January transfer window opens.


REPORTS: Arsenal’s Miss Out On £30m Eden Hazard (footballtalk.com)

It appears that Arsenal may well have missed out on long-term target, Eden Hazard, after the starlet looks set to join Real Madrid.

Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain nearly chose rugby over football (The Sun)

English football's hottest prospect Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has revealed how he could have played for the Irish... London Irish!

My senior school didn't play football. It was a rugby and cricket school and as I was on a sports scholarship I was forced to play rugby,' he revealed.

'I played scrum-half or full-back and I was all right at it. I got a trial for London Irish but couldn't do it because Southampton wouldn't let me.'

Van Persie: We can turn things around at Arsenal

Robin Van Persie is still confident Arsenal can turn their troubled season around.

The Gunners skipper and leading marksman said: “I have every trust in the things we are doing within the club.

“There is only a fine line between winning and ­losing. Just look at our last match against Spurs.

“We could have won that game with the chances we had. There is no need to panic for anyone.’’

Chamberlain Hat-trick v Iceland Under 21s

Vlog- Grant on the Tottenham game

The Arsenal Feed Blog: Arsenal on the up again!

Starting the blog in the most cliché way possible, a week is a long time in football, and this weekend it proved the saying to be be more than true in our case.

The week began off the back of what was quite possibly the worst period I have ever endured as an Arsenal fan; a Man.Utd drubbing, red cards, injuries and a own goal ridden loss to an (effectively) manager-less Blackburn. 

  

Up first was the young guns in the Carling Cup clash against Shrewsbury. Reduced to Arsenal Player live commentary after my fruitless attempt to find a live stream, I was confident a moral boosting demolition job was on the cards. However, with 45 minutes gone I was slightly relieved I didn't have to endure watching obscure footballers dancing with joy as Shrewsbury found themselves one up. United's legion of London based "supporters" had already bombarded me with abusive texts. Surely we wouldn't hit absolute rock bottom? The answer was thankfully no. The only thing we hit in the second half was the back of the net- the pick of the bunch being this Chamberlain screamer. Happy days.

The Premier League is a whole kettle of fish though and come Saturday I couldn't help but feel slightly pessimistic. Even against another team who were completely out of form, deep down I sensed another poor performance ending in a scrappy 1-1 draw. 45 minutes in, it looked to be the most likely result. However, in a week in which both matches were (here comes another cliché) a game of two half's, we turned it around spectacularly.

It was the performance Wenger dreamt about and deserved from his under-performing stars (who have caused unbelievable amounts of pressure on Le Professeur). Van Persie was brilliant, the defence were solid and Rasmsey was pulling the strings like a seasoned Premier League star as we blew away all Bolton resistance.

To make it better, Van Persie cemented his place in the Arsenal history books with his 99 & 100th goal for the club. It presents an amazing turn around for the Arsenal skipper. It's hard to imagine he's the same player as that hugely talented, but highly temperamental youngster that was stupidly sent off (and subsequently dropped afterwards) against Southampton in 2005. Who knows, if injuries hadn't plagued so much of his career he could of been celebrating goal 150 today. Hats off to one of the few remaining genuine world stars in our side.

However, this excellent win will count for nothing substantial unless we can build on it. Next week is another big one for Arsenal, and nothing less than a win against Olympiakos and point against the yids will do. Lets just hope it wasn't just a false dawn for our season. Come on Arsenal!

Arsenal news round-up -26th September 2011

Wilshere out for 4-5 months

England and Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has undergone a successful operation on his right ankle but could be out for up to five months.


Walcott desperate to win trophies (Bettor.com)

He said, "Trophies are the thing you're gonna look back on in the history books”

The winger then talked about Ryan Giggs and how he has one of the most impressive personal trophies in the world.

"Look at [Ryan] Giggs, a great example, and the trophies he's won. You want to show your kids what you've won and what you've achieved in your life and, um, nothing so far.”

The player then admitted that the only way for Arsenal to win anything, was if the team belived in themselves and really pushed each other till the last day of the season.

"We've been so close, the Carling Cup last year when I was injured, and against Chelsea in the [2007] final, when I got my first goal. Nearly there. So it's got to be this year. It has to be. We've got to believe we can do it with the slow start we've had."


Free agent Sol Campbell tells agent to circulate his name - even to Spurs (Merto)
Sol Campbell has put a number of coaching offers on ice and instructed his agent to offer him around all Premier League clubs - even former club Spurs - as he believes he can still offer something playing at the top level.


Per Mertesacker: Arsenal’s hard work is paying off

The German centre-back has praised his side's efforts following the 3-0 win over Bolton but has admitted that his own performances can improve in the coming months"We had a little bit more time [during the week] because of the Carling Cup match [against Shrewsbury Town at the Emirates].

"Some players had a little more rest and we trained a little harder, especially on the way we want to defend. It worked and on Saturday you saw we had a better defence. We were closer together.

"After the four goals against Blackburn we lost a little bit of confidence but we were very proud of our performance on Saturday. We want to go on with this way of defending.

"I want to do a good job, especially in the defence. That is my role. If the coach praises me then that is a great thing but I have to go on and keep on working. My performances can improve."

Olympiakos manager Ernesto Valverde: " Arsenal are the best team in the group" (Goonertalk.com)

Olympiakos manager Ernesto Valverde has heaped praise on Arsenal ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash between the two sides.

The Spaniard admits the task awaiting him is a difficult one, but says that the current Greek champions ‘won’t be going to the Emirates Stadium to lose’.

Speaking to Greek news outlet Contra, Valverde said:

“Arsenal is the best team in our group, one of the best teams in Europe and the favourite to take first place in the group. That says a lot about how difficult our task is.

“We won’t go to the Emirates to lose. Our goal is to play our best and get the best possible result. We’ll try to compete with them [Arsenal] and see whether we can do it [get a positive result].”

Theo Walcott passed fit for Arsenal games against Spurs and Olympiakos

Arsenal have been boosted by the news Theo Walcott is expected to be fit for their crunch clashes with Olympiakos and Tottenham this week, after a scan on his knee problem showed only minor damage.