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VERMAELEN CONVINCED ON TOP 4 SPOT

Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has said that he is convinced that Arsenal can finish in the top four this season. The possibility of Arsenal qualifying for the Champions League next season has been under major doubt right from the start. However, Arsenal had been putting a run of form recently, which has made them the favourites to finish in the top four.

Teams currently competing for this position include the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham, and Liverpool. Even though Liverpool remain the outsiders, Arsenal need to perform well in the remaining matches in order to finish in the top four.

Even though Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger may have stated in the past that Champions League money is not essential for their survival in the near future, it is definitely important for the attraction of top players in the world. It would also be essential for Arsenal because they need to entice star striker Robin van Persie to stay in North London.

Arsenal have managed three victories in a row against top teams like Tottenham, Liverpool, and AC Milan. It is this form that has convinced the Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen that they can finish in the top four amidst the competition, which is quite strong.

Arsenal News

RVP WILL STAY

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has said that the club are not prepared to let Robin van Persie leave the Emirates in the summer. Robin van Persie is out of contract in the summer of 2013. Hence, there have been reports that Arsenal will be willing to negotiate a deal with other clubs interested in signing the Dutchman.

This is very similar to the move Samir Nasri made to Manchester City. Despite being in the last year of his contract, Arsenal managed to negotiate a £ 25 million deal for Samir Nasri. Even though it may have had potential repercussions in terms of the performance on the field, the financial situation of Arsenal has become even more healthy.

Hence, there have been some suggestions that Arsenal will also be interested in discussing a deal for Robin van Persie, who is the current top scorer at the club. Manchester City and Real Madrid are the clubs interested in the Dutchman, who has scored 34 goals in the previous calendar year alone. It is thought that Robin van Persie has grown tired of life at Emirates due to the lack of trophies. The exit from the Champions League this season also seems to be confirmed after the 4-0 loss at the hands of AC Milan recently.

“Arsenal are not stupid. If he sees out his contract he will be 30. Real Madrid and Barcelona are not going to recruit him at 30. Van Persie feels powerless and anxious. There is no way any club will pay £40m for him this summer, because of his age. This makes him a £20m player and Arsenal don’t need to sell him for that,” an insider told about the decision made by Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis. Arsenal are currently fourth in the Premier league table.

Arsenal News

WENGER TIPS THE OX

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is a player who reminds him of Wayne Rooney or Cesc Fabregas.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been one of the impressive players for Arsenal in 2012, despite the fact that Arsenal have just won their first game of the New Year in the league. Arsenal demolished Blackburn Rovers 7-1 in the latest Barclays Premier league match.

Incidentally, this was the first victory Arsenal have managed in the league in 2012. Apart from it being extremely special for Arsenal due to this reason, it was also special due to the Robin van Persie hat-trick and incredible performance on the part of the youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The youngster scored two goals and was also responsible for setting up numerous others. The 7-1 thrashing is expected to provide Arsenal the impetus to take on the rest of the teams in the Premier league over the last few remaining matches. Arsenal are not currently in a position to qualify for the Champions League next season. Thus, Arsene Wenger is expected to make qualifications to the Champions League a priority. Arsenal are currently in the sixth position in the table, which will not even ensure them Europa league football next season.

Arsenal Chasing Unknown Omanian?

Arsene Wenger, the manager of Arsenal, has decided that he needs a left back to be brought into the club by the end of January. He is desperate to ensure that a left back is brought in and this has resulted in one of the weirdest deals ever to have been faced by Arsenal…

They have decided to take in Saad al-Mukhaini on trial and after a two day trial they might finalize the deal if they like what they see. If the deal is finalized, then Saad al-Mukhaini will be only the second Omanian player to have been participating in the Barclay’s Premier League.

Arsenal have been associated and linked with a diverse set of names this season, including those of Wayne bridge, Taye taiwo, Aly Cissoko and many others. But experimenting with an unknown Omanian is something which has not happened in quite a while and the outcome might well be surprising.

Arsenal News

GUNNERS TARGET HENRY RETURN

Arsenal will be offering a two-month loan deal to former legend Thierry Henry, who has been training with the Gunners for the last few weeks.

Thierry Henry represented Arsenal for an eight year period from 1999 to 2007 and is regard at as one of the greatest strikers ever to play in the Premier League. He is also the record goal scorer for Arsenal and he left for Barcelona in 2007 for £ 16 million.

Since then, he has signed for MLS side New York Red Bulls, and the hope of him returning to his old stomping ground has all but been ruled out. However, the two-month break in the MLS season has now provided the 34-year-old with an opportunity to return to the Emirates Stadium.

A number of newspapers in England have been reporting that Arsenal will consider offering a two-month loan deal for Thierry Henry. This would mean that Thierry Henry would be at the disposal of Arsene Wenger for up to 7 Premier League matches, which is extremely good considering that Arsenal are set to lose a few players during the African cup of nations. Even though a lot has been spoken about the fitness of Thierry Henry, it is calculated gamble by Arsenal because they have nothing to lose.

“He is a great opportunity for us. But I’m not the manager. I am happy training with him. He is playing well. Training against him is a great experience. He shows his class. He has the same attitude he showed in a lot of Arsenal games,” Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker said when asked about the possibility of Thierry Henry returning to the Arsenal team. Thierry Henry’s last season in Europe with Barcelona was a disappointing one, as he managed only three goals in the entire season.

Arsenal News

Wenger curses his luck

Arsene Wenger was left cursing his side’s bad luck after two key decisions went against Arsenal in their 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.

David Silva’s goal was enough to hand all three points to the Sky Blues and return them to the top of the Premier League, but Wenger believes that things could have been very different had the officials awarded his side a penalty and not ruled out a Robin Van Persie effort for offside. The Dutch striker was also involved in the penalty incident, which occurred when his shot was deflected into the path of Aaron Ramsey who then went down under a challenge from Kolo Toure.

Although his manager admitted he had not had chance to watch a replay of the incident, he was happy to accept his striker’s word on what has happened.

“Yes [I thought it was a penalty]. Honestly I haven’t seen it but Van Persie is adamant it was a 100 per cent penalty,” Wenger said.

Speaking about the offside goal, he added: “I haven’t seen it again but we know that these decisions can turn the game and they didn’t go for us today. We were unlucky with the decisions but we have to take it on the chin.”

ARSENAL RELIANT ON RVP?

Arsenal have staged a quite impressive comeback in the League and the Champions League ever since suffering a horrible dip in form during the early parts of the campaign. However, their impressive comeback is threatened by the amount of reliance they put upon the striker Robin van Persie and also the recent draw with Fulham. The 1-1 draw was extremely surprising, as Arsenal could have easily lost the match. In order to be competitive in the league, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that Arsenal should not be dropping any more points in the campaign.

This is quite a powerful statement considering that Arsenal to rely a lot upon the players like Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott. The return of Jack Wilshere in January should add some much-needed strength to the Arsenal line-up, although the Christmas fixtures could prove extremely costly should Arsenal suffer any more injuries. The sale of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas has severely weakened the team, but the rise of Robin van Persie as a real quality strikers has compensated for it. Despite drawing against Fulham, Arsene Wenger may have a lot of positives to take away from the match given that they are on a nine match unbeaten run.

Thomas Vermaelen scored the goals at both ends in the match against Fulham. Speaking after the match, Arsene Wenger said, “Overall I must say that the spirit in the squad is so good that I’m confident we’ll improve even more. The spirit was exceptional [against Fulham] – you could see that when we were 1-0 down the team responded by giving absolutely everything to come back.”

Andrey Arshavin has been one player who has come under intense criticism this season, but Arsene Wenger was quick to defend the Russian for his lacklustre performances this season.

Van Persie Backs Walcott

Arsenal Striker Robin Van Persie has been the stand out performer for the start of the new Premier League Season. This week the Dutch striker came out and heaped praise on teammate Theo Walcott. Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie has suggested that his “connection” with teammate Theo Walcott as a vital factor behind his exquisite form this year.

After a captivating end to last season, Van Persie has scored 11 goals already during the current campaign and paid honour to the playmaking expertise of Walcott.

“After each and every goal, the fans and press ask me, ‘Who set it up?’ and I have to tell them ‘Who do you think set it up?!’ We just seem to have a connection. It’s like I know what he is going to do, where he is going to go, and I think thats very important. It’s almost vital to have that type of player around me, as a striker – someone who knows how I move, where I move, where I want the ball to be played – into feet, behind, etc.”

This sudden rush of goals has seen Arsenal shoot up the table after a rocky start to the season. They now look very much more likely contenders for the Top Four position they so greatly crave. However the question does have to be asked that, without Van Persie, Arsenal look like they are lacking something. With Robin on the pitch, even the most anti-Arsenal fan would be comfortable backing a win on the Arsenal betting index. But should Van Persie face a long spell on the sidelines one does wonder how Arsenal would cope. This is a worrying proposition for Wenger and one he may have to solve in January.

However for the time being Arsenal fans everywhere will be rejoicing in their rich vein of form and will be hoping it continues for the foreseeable future and should their talisman stay fit it looks likely that they will continue their assault on the Top Four – and the current Premier league betting odds make them favourites to get there.

Arsenal News

Arsenal expect RVP Stay

Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger has said that he expects striker and captain Robin van Persie to stay at Arsenal. The dutch striker’s contract is up for renewal at the end of next season, but if he doesn’t sign one before January 2013 he will be free to discuss moves to other clubs, and will leave the North London side for nothing.

If Van Persie did go, he would be following in the footsteps of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, who both left the Emirate stadium in search of trophies and Championships.

Wenger was confident of holding on to the striker. “He has 18 months to go and I’m confident he’ll sign a new deal. I’m always confident.”

Arsenal News

talkSPORT launch new website

With 2.5 million weekly listeners and live and exclusive Premier League commentary rights, the UK’s largest commercial sports radio station has even more good news – the launch of talkSPORT.co.uk

The new talkSPORT website will see the arrival of an online platform to match the radio and magazine output that has made talkSPORT the home of great sporting debate.

These are exciting times at talkSPORT Towers and the newest addition to their digital family will offer up-to-the-minute sports news, all the latest transfer rumours, football results and great competitions. They’ve also linked up with footballscores.com to make sure fans are always up-to-date.