Rosicky does not fear Blues

Tomas Rosicky has urged Arsenal to show more aggression in their Premier League clash with Chelsea on Sunday.

The Czech Republic midfielder believes the Gunners are the most gifted side in the division but admits they do have weaknesses.

They have struggled at times in the past when opponents have adopted a physical approach, with Sunderland battling hard for a surprise 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light last weekend.

Van Persie devastated by injury

Robin van Persie has admitted he is devastated by the ankle injury which may have ended his season.

Van Persie damaged his ligaments playing for Holland against Italy last month.

However, initial reports suggested six weeks at worst for the Dutch striker - who also went to Serbia for revolutionary placenta treatment, to try and speed up his recovery.

But further checks have now revealed that van Persie has ruptured his ligaments and now requires surgery.

Wenger questions Kakuta action

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes Chelsea have got off lightly over the controversial signing of young Frenchman Gael Kakuta.

Chelsea were banned from signing players until January 2011 after Fifa found them guilty of inducing Kakuta to cancel his contract with Lens.

Fabregas not leaving

Captain Cesc Fabregas has reiterated his desire to stay at Arsenal.

Outgoing Barcelona president Joan Laporta has hinted a deal is already in place to sign Fabregas next summer, but the midfielder wants to stay in London.

He told the Daily Mail: "I am so happy here. And I want to continue to be part of what is happening here. Definitely. If not I would have left when I had the chance. I don't want to fail here."

Arsenal set to lose target Marouane Chamakh as he could leave Bordeaux in January

One of Arsenal’s summer targets, Marouane Chamakh, may end up joining a different side as he’s ready to move away from Bordeaux this January.

With Arsenal facing injury problems after the announcement that Robin van Persie will be ruled out for five months, manager Arsene Wenger may make a move for a new striker in January although in an interview published last week, he clearly said he will not move for the French-born Moroccan player who however believes a move in January would be beneficial for both the club and his career.

Arshavin not over loss

Arsenal playmaker Andrey Arshavin is having trouble switching his attention to club matters after missing out on a place at the World Cup with Russia.

Russia saw their hopes of reaching South Africa crushed by Slovenia in the World Cup play-offs this month.

He told the Mirror: "When Arsene Wenger asked me what state I was in, I honestly told him that at the moment I just don't want to play football."

Thomas Vermaelen ahead of Chelsea, “If we lose though I still think we can win the league”

Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen believes the Gunners will still be in the title race if they lose to Chelsea on Sunday. Speaking ahead of the game, the Belgian International declared the home advantage will definitely play an important role for Arsene Wenger’s side.
He said:

Gallas a doubt for Chelski clash

Gallas may or not play against Chelsea after his clash of heads with Andrey Arshavin in Tuesday's Champions League win over Standard Liege and the doubts over his fitness only serve to remind us that we are short of decent cover in central defence.

Drogba, Ballack, Lampard and Ashley Cole all fit to face Arsenal

Just last week it was assumed that Chelsea’s injury list meant that Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard would not be fit enough to face Arsenal in Sunday’s crunch match at the Emirates, but the news today is that all three of them, plus Michael Ballack, will all now be able to play.
Didier Drogba broke a rib against Man Utd and was expected to be out for another fortnight, but he was fit enough to play against Porto last night.
Michael Ballack was injured while on international duty with Germany but yesterday managed to play over an hour as well, and will be fully fit for Sunday.
Ashley Cole has had a miraculous recovery from his fractured tibia. He was left on the bench last night but having resumed full training is fully expected to start against the Gunners.
Frank Lampard is the latest to recover early after his injury with the England squad was expected to keep him out for another week or two at least, but Carlo Ancelotti now thinks he will be ready this week.
“He has trained for the last two days and will train again on Thursday. We hope he will be fit,” said Ancelotti.
Lampard is the latest in a long line of Premiership players that have benefited from the “miracle cure” of placenta being massaged into the damaged muscles.
He flew to Serbia last week to see the controversial doctor Marijana Kovacevic, and yet again she seems to have been successful.

Fran Merida to miss Man City game after straight red card last night

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.

Arsenal's Champions League progression marred by injury worries

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was left counting the cost of qualification for the Champions League knockout stages as full-back Kieran Gibbs suffered a fractured metatarsal in the 2-0 win over Standard Liège and centre-half William Gallas was left facing a race to be fit for Sunday's crunch showdown with Chelsea.

Kroenke edges closer to takeover

Kroenke's latest acquisition, at a cost of some £85,000, continues the trend of picking up stock at regular intervals, recently buying 100 from chairman Peter Hill-Wood, yet without making a formal bid for overall control at the Premier League club.
A statement to the PLUS Market, where Arsenal's parent holding company are listed, read: "On 20th November 2009, Arsenal Holdings plc (the "Company") received notification that on 19th November 2009 Stan Kroenke, a director of the Company, acquired 10 ordinary shares of £1.00 each in the Company at a price of £8,500 per share.

Arsenal v Liege preview

Arsenal can clinch their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League by avoiding defeat to Standard Liege at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners moved to the brink of qualification with an impressive 4-1 victory over AZ Alkmaar earlier this month and need just one more point from their remaining two games.

Arsene Wenger will want his men to finish the job against Liege and secure top spot with a win ahead of the trip to second-placed Olympiakos in a fortnight.

Wenger – The reasons Arsenal lost…

The Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was not overly impressed with his players yesterday, and thinks that they had more than enough chances to beat Sunderland.
There were many reasons why Arsenal lost, according to Wenger.
1. Arsenal didn’t score!

Sunderland shock Arsenal

Arsenal crashed to their first defeat in two months as the Gunners fired blanks at the Stadium of Light.

The Londoners started the brighter of the two teams, but their final ball was missing and the hosts stood up to defend everything the away side threw at them.

Once again it was Darren Bent who popped up with the decisive strike to seal the victory.

There was a bit of luck about the strike which saw the Black Cats claim their second top-four scalp of the season on Wearside, and there wasn't a beach ball in sight.