Posts Tagged ‘Arsene Wenger’

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Wilshere signs professional contract with the Gunners

January 5th, 2009

Arsenal Boss, Arsene Wenger, was delighted with the fact that Jack Wilshere became the latest inclusion in his young side, after the midfielder signed a professional contract with the Gunners.

Wilshere, who celebrated his 17th birthday on New Years Day, is the youngest player to have ever represented Arsenal in the Premier League. He achieved this feat after coming in as a substitute against Blackburn.

Wenger said, ‘The club is delighted that Jack has now signed the professional contract.’

‘I feel that Jack is amongst those players, who have great potential. He not only has the ability to locate the final ball, but also can score goals with ease.’

‘He is a committed young player with passion for the game oozing out from him. I have never seen him in fear from getting tackled. I feel convinced that he is going to have great penetrating power within a short period.’

‘We have been monitoring him for a long time. Whether he is playing for the first team or at the training ground, his qualities are clearly visible. I am looking forward for Jack becoming an integral part of our first team.’

Wilshere scored his first goal for the Gunners during their 6-0 thumping of Sheffield United in a Carling Cup game. He is also the youngest player, who has represented Arsenal in Europe.

With important games coming up for the Gunners, Wenger would be looking for all his young guns, including Wilshere, to make an impact and get the club back in Premier League title contention.

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Posted in Arsenal, Football Transfer Market

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Nasri expected to make a comeback against the Reds

December 19th, 2008

Samir Nasri, Arsenal Forward, is expected to make a comeback in the Gunners squad for facing Liverpool on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium.

Nasri has been out of action, since their 1-0 victory over Wigan for an ankle injury. According to Arsene Wenger, he is almost fit and may make a return against the Reds.

However, Toure is struggling with his fitness and almost certain to miss out this important game for the Gunners.

Wenger quoted on the club’s official website, ‘There’s 95 percent hope of seeing Nasri on the field against Liverpool. However, I feel that Toure may not make it for this crucial game.’

‘Nicklas Bendtner is also having a problem in his knees, which he injured during training.’

Meanwhile, Wenger was confident of seeing the teenage sensation, Jack Wilshere, in the same league as Dennis Bergkamp, if he keeps playing in the same manner.

When Wilshere came of the bench for Arsenal against Blackburn, he became the youngest Gunner to do so at the age of only 16. He scored his first goal for the senior side against Sheffield United in a Carling Cup game, where Arsenal went on to annihilate their opponents.

Now, Arsenal Boss has no doubt that midfielder, who joined the club at nine, has the attributes of becoming a hero for the fans in the future.

Wenger said, ‘I feel that he’ll end up being a central-midfielder, playing off the forward, a role that Bergkamp managed wonderfully for years.’

‘He is going to have tremendous power of penetrating the tightest of defenses. Don’t forget that he’s only 16 and still has so much of strength. He might even become the next big thing of the Premier League in the coming four years.’

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Posted in Arsenal, Liverpool

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Wenger: We are not out of title race

December 17th, 2008

Arsenal Boss, Arsene Wenger, has rejected the claims of his side being far from the title of the Premier League in this season.

Rio Ferdinand, Red Devils’ star defender, reckoned that after their 1-1 draw at the Riverside Stadium, Gunners have left themselves with a lot of work for catching on leaders Liverpool, who are 8 points adrift from them.

However, Wenger is insisting that with the second half of the League games yet to happen, his side have a lot of time.

Speaking on the official website, Wenger quoted ‘We have been constantly improving. If you have watched the previous game against Middlesbrough, we had chances for scoring and were stable defensively too.’

‘I’m confident that we are going to make a comeback and will cover some ground before Christmas. After that, we’ll consolidate.’

‘I have belief in my players. I consider them being as good as the one I had in 2004.’

‘This is the question that we’ll be looking forward to answer in the coming months. We will have to show that it’s not only showing potential, but playing to the levels of expectation from our fans is important.’

‘At this moment, we are not able to play with the same belief on the field that we have inside us. We have understood this, as we lost games that we shouldn’t have.’

‘However, we’ve got time in our hands for showing our strengths to other club and reach the level that most believe we cannot at this stage.’

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Posted in Arsenal, Premier League

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Scolari: Terry is a born leader

November 29th, 2008

Chelsea Boss, Luiz Felipe Scolari, believes that in the form of John Terry, he has got the best captain in the world.

Chelsea will be facing Arsenal at Stamford Bridge with Gunners still reeling from dressing room turmoil, which forced manager Arsene Wenger strip Frenchman William Gallas of his captaincy.

This took place after French defender accused the youngsters of the club to lack the stomach required to fight for the Premier League crown.

Gallas revealed that he needed to separate arguing teammates before half-time during their 4-4 draw against Tottenham.

Cesc Fabregas has been appointed as the successor to Gallas by Wenger. However, Scolari isn’t worried about the commitment of Terry to club’s cause.

Scolari said, ‘Captain is face for coach on the football pitch. When I captained teams in Brazil, I did the same for my coaches.’

‘I told everyone on the field what the coach wanted. I find the same spirit in John. For me, he is a born captain.’

Gallas, who also played for Chelsea, will be returning to Stamford Bridge to play against his former club, but Scolari didn’t envisage reactions from home fans.

‘Gallas played excellently for Chelsea, so I don’t think there should be a problem.’

Scolari will also be looking forward for this contest eagerly and hoping that his side widens their current gap over London rivals to 13 points.

‘If we play intelligently, then we’ll have plenty of chances for counter-attack. Arsenal does have a solid defense. But in attempt of attacking more, they do leave spaces in their defense. We only need to cash in on these opportunities, if we need to come out as winners.’

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Posted in Arsenal, Chelsea FC

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Ronaldo aims to clinch his side’s first win at Emirates

November 7th, 2008

Portuguese winger, Cristiano Ronaldo, feels Manchester United must strain every nerve to strengthen their hopes for winning against Arsenal on Saturday.

In shaping up United’s trip to Emirates Stadium, the attention has been mainly on an injury-hit side of Arsene Wenger.

Red Devils has already dropped important points against Everton & Newcastle. Ronaldo feels that Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have much to prove for shortening the distance to get a hat-trick of Premier League title.

He said that in order to win the title, they have to get three points against the London Club.
While speaking in an interview, Ronaldo said, ‘I am unaware of the fact that whether it is tough for our rival at this moment or not. However as both the teams have same number of players, it has to be difficult as always.’

United almost came out victorious in one of their matches at Emirates, which ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw.

In his statement, Ronaldo paid due respect to the spirit of Gunners and admitted that he cannot find any reason for Arsenal’s poor performance in second half to stay the way it is right now.

He added ‘This was exactly what came in their way in the previous season or else, they would have ended up on a high.’

‘May be this time, just the opposite happens and they (Arsenal) would lose points in the beginning and win the same in the ultimate bit of the session.’

Red Devils will be looking forward to score a win at Emirates, so that they can continue their bid for the title. If their performance in the second half of the Champions League game against Celtic was anything to go by, then Gunners should know that they have another tough battle in hand.

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Posted in Arsenal, Man U

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Arsene Wenger tired of underperforming Gunners

September 30th, 2008

Following the unbelievable 1-2 loss to Hull City this Saturday at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, has stated that he is tired of the performance given by his players.

This defeat meant that the Gunners slipped to the fourth spot with 12 points following a weak at the top of the table. Arsenal has already lost twice in their first six games of the Premiership with their first defeat coming against Fulham.

English Premier League newcomers Hull City defeated Arsenal, contenders for this year’s Premiership, after trailing by a Paul McShane’s own goal.

Wenger went ahead to say ‘What the Gunners delivered on Saturday was not enough to impress, and that is known to all players and fans!

He remarked that there will be changes in the squad for the Arsenal squad for Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Porto.

Arsenal’s last match against Porto was a 1-1 draw, a lucky one, because the point saving goal for Gunners came in the dying moments of the match.

‘For the club having all the ingredients to be at the top of the Premiership, a tame submission to a newly promoted team is nothing less than shame.’

The Frenchman, while talking of Hull said that the Tigers were technically the weaker team, but showed the heart and commitment to play in front of a much better team in their den where they were undefeated for more than 15 months.

Captain William Gallas has warned the players about a downfall, if the recent trend continues of loosing in dull encounters primarily due to overconfidence amongst players of taming their opponents.

According to Gallas, ‘Club needs to avoid giving chances like those that went to Geovinni and Cousin on Saturday, and has to be more attacking, rather than possessive’.

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Posted in Arsenal, Premier League

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Fabregas: Young Gunners are truly sensational

September 26th, 2008

Cesc Fabregas, who had a wonderful time in EURO 2008 with Spain, hailed his ‘sensational’ young teammates from Arsenal.

According to the midfielder, there is nothing that the young Gunners couldn’t achieve in the coming games.

He came up with the statement after his side romped home for a 6-0 win over Sheffield United in the Carling Cup 3rd game on Tuesday, when the average age of the club playing in that match was 19.

During the launch of the game ‘Real Football 2009’ from Gameloft, Fabregas said ‘Tuesday’s performance was truly sensational.’

‘A 6-0 win can only come when everyone plays their role properly and all of us did. There were 56,000 in attendance to witness the game and I’m sure that none would have been disappointed with our brilliant display.’

Adding to the complement on young Gunners, Fabregas said ‘I and the rest of Arsenal’s squad expected a similar response from these young players, as we have been playing against them. We know what they are made of and now every one of our opponents will also have an idea of the same.’

With the likes of young players like Denilson, Gael Clichy, Alex Song and Cesc Fabregas, who is only 21, already having a place in the squad, the future is all bright for Londoners.

Fabregas went on to say that it was an honor playing under current Arsenal Boss, Arsene Wenger. According to him, Wenger is the only one in the current batch of managers, who selects squads based on current form rather than their past performances.

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Posted in Arsenal, Premier League

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Arsenal’s team meeting sheet ‘leaked’ ahead of Carling Cup match

September 24th, 2008

A motivational team meeting sheet, which was handed to Arsenal players before their match against Watford, has been leaked in the media.

The sheet was just a small paper with motivational and team-spirited ‘thoughts’, probably been written by a psychologist.

Arsenal had played two difficult away games in a few days’ span, and the team was facing a tough task going to face Bolton at Reebok Stadium.

The motivational sheet had two main parts: the first was about what a team is, and the second part about various encouraging instructions & suggestions to the players stating what to do and what not to do as a team and as individuals.

While many world class managers make their players go mad with full-on details of the other team’s style of play and individual statistics, this sheet was quite small in comparison.

Things like never giving up and being a part of the team through thick and thin were the main agenda of the sheet.

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger was today ‘attacked’ by the UEFA head Michel Platini on his support for introduction of video replays to improve refereeing decisions in the game. He was blamed for having a business mentality rather than a football one.

Meanwhile, Arsenal is set to play their round-of-32 match against Sheffield United today in the Carling Cup.

Arsene Wenger is almost sure to set up the youngest side ever to feature in the League Cup, with Wales U-21 Aaron Ramsey, 16 year old Jack Wilshere, Keiran Gibbs and reserves captain Gavin Hoyte.

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Posted in Arsenal, Premier League

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Arsenal Vs Bolton Wanderers: Gunners moves to top position with 3-1 win

September 21st, 2008

Arsenal continued their winning run in the Premier League and moved to the top of the tables after they defeated Bolton Wanderers 3-1 at Reebok Stadium.

London Club, now, has 12 points from 5 completed games. Chelsea, who is positioned third after Liverpool, has a game in hand against Manchester United and can still regain the top position.

It looked like Bolton will continue their streak against Arsenal at Reebok Stadium, when striker Kevin Davies’s header went past Alumina to take the home side ahead in the 14th minute.

However, Arsenal fought back with 2 goals in span of 2 minutes to take the game away from Bolton. First it was Emmanuel Eboue in the 26th minute and then it was Nicklas Bendtner, who hit the net in the 27th minute.

Although Kevin Nolan, Bolton Captain, tried to chip a ball over Alumina, but the Spanish keeper was quick to react and saved a possible equalizer.

Arsenal’s victory was confirmed when Denilson scored from an Adebayor’s pass to make it 3-1 for the away side.

This result is just what Arsene Wenger, Arsenal Boss, was looking for. Now with Liverpool held to a goalless draw by Stoke City at Anfield and a crucial encounter between United and Chelsea not that far away, his prediction of holding on to the lead might come true.

Elsewhere, Blackburn defeated Fulham 1-0 at Ewood Park to have seven points from 5 games. Newcastle United, a club without any manager, continued their poor run, when they lost 3-1 to Hammers at Upton Park.

Roy Keane’s Sunderland also scored their second victory of the season after defeating Middlesbrough 2-0 at the Stadium of Lights.

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Posted in Arsenal, Premier League

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Wenger: We need to capitalize on United-Chelsea result

September 20th, 2008

Arsenal Boss, Arsene Wenger, is hoping that his side will be able to capitalize on the result of Manchester United and Chelsea game at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and take the top position of the Premier League.

Gunners will be looking forward to be at their best in Reebok Stadium against Bolton Wanderers, who recently have got a good home record against them.

Speaking to Arsenal TV Online, Wenger said ‘We need to score full points from our game against Bolton and then hope the two sides to drop points.’

‘If we eventually come up with the goods, then there will be an eight point gap on the Premier League Champions, Red Devils. Although the gap is manageable, still such a significant gap might work in our favor.’

‘There are many games during the season where side drops points during important games. If we hold on to our position, then capitalizing on those situations will become easier for us.’

Wenger didn’t overlook the fact that with this game, Man U would have played their rivals in away games, which would then leave the Old Trafford Club in a stronger position.

Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson, Red Devils Boss, continued his mind games against London opponents, Chelsea, when he said that playing against Gunners was far more difficult for him.

With chances of Portuguese Star, Ronaldo, to be back in the starting eleven, Ferguson will be looking forward to get his side back in form after a recent slump and move into title contention once again.

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Posted in Arsenal, Man U

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