Cesc and Van Persie commence training, still no mention of public transfer denial

Its been quite

Injury update: [Denilson, Gibbs, Djourou, Arshavin, Almunia, Emerton, Samba]

There is plenty of action in the Barclays Premier League this weekend, unfortunately the Gunners might field yet another depleted squad against 9th spot chasing Rovers at Ewood Park tomorrow.

Almunia, Denilson, Kieran Gibbs, and Johan Djourou won't play tomorrow.

Van Persie wants Echteld to supervise his rehabilitation

The Gunner intends to take control of his rehabilitation during the World Cup in South Africa by taking his personal physio Leo Echteld, with him to the Mundial.

The likes of Dirk Kuyt, Wesley Sneijder, and Arjen Robben currently employ the services of the physio who is not part of Holland's contigent (Holland are not planning to take the physio with them) to South Africa.

Arshavin blames injury woe on Arsenal's medical staff

The 28-year-old Russian midfielder is no stranger to controversy, Wenger recently complained of his behaviour, although the player claimed he was being misinterpreted by the media.

Andrey might not travel with the team to Ewood Park on Monday, and he is unhappy concerning the prospect of being omitted by Arsene Wenger due to his nagging calf injury.

Injury Update: Arsenal/City, and match referee

The North London outfit is losing momentum. Arsenal have lost their last three games, two in the Barclays Premier League [Tottenham 2-1, Wigan 3-2] and one in the UEFA Champions League [Barcelona 4-1].

The Gunners will be looking to secure their Champions League spot by beating fellow contenders Manchester City at the Emirates stadium tomorrow.

City will miss the services of Martin Johnson, Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott. But they are set to unleash former Arsenal stars Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure and maybe Sylvinho on their almost defenseless host.

Arsenal's injury situation this season has cost us dearly [virtually everything]. The Gunners have been without a lot of their key players [A. Song, William Gallas, Manuel Almunia, Andrey Arshavin] in recent weeks.
However, Arsenal's manager Arsene Wenger told Arsenal Tv Online that only Alexandre Song could be eligible to face the wasteful spenders: "Maybe Song. He has a test on Friday (today) and we will see," Wenger maintained.

"Apart from that nobody is back.
Andrey Arshavin is out.
Everyone else - Gallas, Almunia, Denilson - is still out too," he added.

¤Match Officiator

Mike Dean will officiate tomorrow's Barclays Premier League encounter between Arsenal and Manchester City at the Emirates.

The 42-year-old referee has overseen 40 games this season - giving out 139 yellow cards and 7 red cards in the process.
He will be assisted by Peter Kirkup and Rob Lewis.

Arsenal target Zidan out for 6 months

Arsenal's transfer target Mohamed Zidan who plys his trade in Germany for Borussia Dortmund is out for 6 months.

Zidan senior told the media some months ago, that the Emirates will be his son's preferred destination if he were to leave the German outfit.
The versatile player has being linked with Arsenal severally, but his plan for a move away from the German side was dealt a cruel blow by an anterior cruciate ligament injury he picked up in their Bundesliga match against Hoffenheim on Sunday.

The 28-year-old Egyptian International is expected to undergo surgery by the knee specialist Dr Jürgen Eichborn in Straubing.
According to BvD's team doctor Markus Braun, Zidan will be sidelined for approximately six months.

Arshavin: I've fully recovered and I'm ready to face City

Arsenal's controversial midfielder Andrey Arshavin says he is ready to duel with City on Saturday.

The Russian International was substituted against Barcelona last month in the Champions League after picking up an injury [calf], although the team persevered without him at the Emirates - we failed to capitalise on our early lead at the Camp Nou and Messi punished us severely for our meekness in front of goal.

The Gunner told Arsenal.com that his rehabilitation is going to plan: "I am recovering and I hope to be back for Manchester City," he enthused.

Just like his team mate [Nasri], Arshavin also, blamed our title barreness on injuries and implored his team mates to secure their Champions League spot by winning their last three games: "This season has been tough and tight. Sometimes it was even difficult for myself and the team but in general it was not bad. Hopefully we will win the last three games," he asserted.

Arshavin refused to concede to the generality that the Arsenal has failed in totality, instead he concentrated on the positives of the season: "We have scored a lot of goals at the end of the games and we managed to stage comebacks. We have to use that spirit next season. We can fight again next season.

"It would be easier for us [if we had not had the injuries]. I can't say we would be Champions but it would have been easier for us," he concluded.

Injury News: [Song, Arshavin, Lennon, Palacios, Krancjar, Jenas and Gallas]

Arsenal and their London counterparts [Tottenham] are currently
counting their losses ahead of today's make/mar Barclays Premier
League encounter at White Hart Lane.

The hosts were dumped out of the FA Cup in the semi finals of the
competition on Sunday by relegation leaders Portmouth, and also
accumulated their injury woes in the process.

Arsene Wenger during his pre-match press conference confirmed that:
"Song is out. Definately out."
"He looks like he will be out for the whole week and over the weekend
he will not play as well," Wenger added.

The gaffer also shed a little light on the current injury state of
Arshavin and Gallas: "Arshavin is out. (It could be the) Man City
(game) for him, but I don't think he will make it.
"Gallas is not available for the next two or three weeks. I don't know
(If he will play again this season). I hope so, but it will be short
for him," Wenger concluded.

Meanwhile, Wilson Palacios of Tottenham is set to miss the match due
to suspension (he has picked up 10 yellow cards and as a rule must
serve a two match ban).
Aaron Lennon and Jermaine Jenas will not feature in Redknapp's
strategy against Arsenal later today. Both players are currently
nursing a groin injury.
Nico Krancjar has joined the injury list, he damaged his ankle on
Sunday against Portmouth.

Harry Redknapp coach of Tottenham told the club's official website
that he won't lose sleep ahead of today's match due to injuries: "We
have a few injuries and we'll have to wait and see who is available,"
the gaffer maintained.
"There might be an opportunity for one of the younger lads, that's in
my mind at the moment. But we will be okay, whoever plays."

Gallas out of Barca clash

The Professor has finally conceded to defeat in his bid to nurture
William Gallas back to fitness in time for Arsenal's Champions League
cracker with Barcelona on Wednesday.

Gallas suffered a recurrence of his calf-injury and he's set to miss
our Barclays Premier League match against Birmingham this weekend and
might watch from the stands as his team mates prepare to duel their
visitors from Spain at the Emirates.
The defender has served Arsenal well, irrespective of what he has done
or what he's capable of doing, the Frenchman is undoubtedly the best
man for the job. And I hope either Sol or Sylvestre will rise to the
occasion by ensuring our defensive frailties are non-existent or at
least kept at the barest minimum possible.

Arsene Wenger said: "He is back from his rehabilitation today and I
believe he will return to full training tomorrow (friday), Saturday or
Sunday.

"But he is too short to be available for our game at Birmingham this
weekend - and certainly as well for the midweek game with Barcelona."
The manager also, admitted that it was too early to ascertain whether
the veteran defender will be available for selection next week against
Wolves: "It is too early to say whether he will be back for our
following League game against Wolves - we will have to assess him next
week," he said.

Bendtner says he might not play against Birmingham

Nicklas Bendtner has revealed that he might not make the trip to
Birmingham to help Arsenal with their title ambition, because of an
injury he sustained during last week's clash with West Ham.

The Danish striker has been in stellar form lately - he has made it a
point of duty to prove his critics wrong by delivering the overdue
goods irrespective of whom we play. His absence will be hugely felt,
especially if he fails to shrug off the injury.

He maintained that he's a doubt for the make/mar encounter this
weekend with Birmingham and has not been able to train with his team
mates: "I twisted my ankle and already at half time against West Ham I
said I probably woudn't be able to play the full 90 minutes.

"Now I hope to be able to train with the others on Thursday (today) or
Friday because then I could play against Birmingham at the weekend but
I am not sure that will go so well.

"I have received treatment everyday and haven't been able to train yet."

Aaron Ramsey's recovery is going according to plan

The 19-year-old Arsenal midfielder, suffered a horrific leg injury at
Stoke. Though the perpetrator of the incident Ryan Shawcross, has
accepted his mistake and begged for pardon. You might agree that his
apology won't revoke the damage done - but in the spirit of
sportmanship we have to let go and forge ahead. So far, that we have
been able to do.

Ramsey's injury came as a crude shock to all and sundry. He was
beginning to hit his stride and untimately the lad would have won
himself a permanent place in the team and automatically gaining the
much touted exposure and experience needed for his development. But that's wishful thinking at least for now.

The good news is our boy can now work without external assistance. And
our manager Arsene Wenger couldn't hide his joy at such a prospect:
"He has been encouraged to work without crutches and he is doing
that,"Wenger enthused.

The gaffer revealed further that so far, no complications have been
noticed and that all is working as planned: "The recovery is going as
well as you could hope for at this stage of the injury. He is, of
course, impatient as anybody would be in his position.

"But we have had no bad surprises. Until now, everything has been
going to plan," he concluded.

Van Persie might be out for the rest of the season

Arsenal's manager Arsene Wenger, has set the records straight by
insisting that the probability of Robin Van Persie returning to action
before the end of the season was minimal.

Van Persie, was injured whilst on international duty for his country
(Holland) almost four months ago.
Wenger now maintains that he won't gamble on the striker's fitness,
even if he were to be available next week. Adding that he would
recommend a three week rest for the striker if he eventually returns.
Nevertheless, he refused to rule out the possibility of such an event.

The gaffer made the revelation during his afternoon Programme notes
for our clash with West Ham - Whom the Gunners have beaten to go top
of the Barclays Premier League, albeit for 24 hours.

"There is still a little chance for Robin Van Persie this season," he
told the programme. "We are following his progress and physically he
is quite sharp, but once he is ready to kick the ball again and
returns from his rehabilitation, it will take him another three weeks.

"This means that, even if he comes back next week, adding another
three weeks in would still take him nearly into May."

Rosicky and Fabregas back for West Ham & the ADVERSE effects of scoring late

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, was visibly elated after his side stole
the show at Hull City yesterday, albeit they kept it late.
The gaffer admits he had fears that we were heading for the rocks
after wasting a handful of opportunities.

However, Arsene Wenger has offered us reprieve ( "reprieve" because I
think we are in for a rough ride) by confirming that our midfield duo
of Cesc Fabregas and Tomas Rosicky will be available for next week,
as Arsenal put plans in motion to entertain our London underachievers
(West Ham) at the Emirates stadium.

Fabregas has been conspicuously missing in action for the past two
weeks (no thanks to his nagging hamstring injury).
We lacked the motivation the youngster provides and almost paid dearly
for our unseriousness at the K C Stadium - we escaped by the whiskers
and avoided the loss of a couple of points in the process.
For the avoidance of doubt, every gooner knows how catastrophic a
point loss could be for the Gunners irrespective of whom and where we
play.
And we've got to get used to the new routine (90 minutes or no goal).

While, this unothordox tactic can kill off any resistance put in place
by the opponents. The adverse effects on us the supporters shouldn't
be understated. It can be likened to bearing the brunt of some one
else's misdeeds, yesterday was a classical example, Hull decided to
defend what they had rather than push forward, and Arsenal as expected
set up the machinery needed to infiltrate Hull's defensive unit, but
the home team were too united and focused to entertain thoughts of
commiting a mistake.
It took the mis-handling of Boaz Myhill (a keeper that was rumoured to
be better than Almunia) for Arsenal to break the dead-lock and silence
thousands of the Tigers supporters with less than three minutes of
stoppage time left.
What I am saying in essence is, can't we dispatch off our opponents a
little bit quicker and save ourselves the rush. . .
We've been lucky so far, but just like the proverbial cat with nine
lives, we've exhausted seven of ours. That goes a long way to prove
how much luck we've had so far in this unpredictable campaign.

Meanwhile, the boss spoke on the chances of Rosicky and Fabregas ahead
of our meeting with West Ham next week: "Rosicky and Fabregas have a
good chance to be ready for next week. Gallas, no."

Arsenal's central defender William Gallas, whose contract expires at
the end of the season, hasn't played for Arsenal since February,
and Wenger maintains that we shouldn't expect to see our influential
defender anytime sooner than next month after he aggravated his calf
injury last week during training.

Arsene Wenger who took sole responsibility for Gallas' condition has
also played down suggestions that Sol Campbell, is capable of
featuring for Arsenal in every game.
Wenger said: "When we play once a week, it is okay. When we play three
games per week it is a bit too much."

Arsene also defended his team's performance yesterday at the Kingston
Communications Stadium by insisting that the title race is still open.

"Like some people before Christmas, I believed we were out of the
title race but now I really believe we are back in the hunt."

Cesc says he misses football

Cesc Fabregas has blamed his injury woe for his inability to make the
trip to the Kingston Communications Stadium in Hull, with his team
mates.

The 22-year-old midfielder missed Arsenal's Champions League cracker against FC
Porto, and he's set to miss today's encounter with Hull City, who are
cooling their heels within the relegation confines of the Barclays
Premeir League.
The influential captain inspired Arsenal to a four-match unbeaten run in the Premier League and he believes they can extend that run
for the first time this season, when they face potential relegation candidate
Hull City, at the K C Stadium later.

Cesc said: "I never (ask to be rested). I love playing football, I was
feeling good (when the injury happened against Burnley) and you never
know when that is going to happen. As long as you are feeling good you
just want to play," He enthused.

The eccentric skipper maintained that his hamstring injury isn't as
serious as we might think, and that a long run of games actually
triggers the hamstring.

"All the time it is the same hamstring and last season I missed the
Manchester United game because of the same thing.

"It's four or five times now in the same area, I don't know what is
going on, but that is why it is better that I take my time and come
back when I am ready.

"It is not that I have strained it, it is just a little bit of fluid
that is there and it keeps me out for between five and six days," the
Spaniard concluded.

We might do it again without Cesc

Arsenal might have to improvise again on Saturday against Hull City in
the Barclays Premier League, as Fabregas hamstring woe lingers on.

The Boss admitted it will take a "miracle" for the 22-year-old
midfielder to gain fitness in time for our trip to the K C Stadium.
The young Spaniard recently reiterated his desire to stay at the North
London outfit, and has been struggling to shrug off a nagging hamstring
injury, which kept him out of our recent Champions League match against
Porto, which we comfortably won.

And as clearly stated earlier before that encounter, the Arsenal Boss
won't be gambling on his captain's health even though he understands
the peril involved in paying a courtesy visit to the Tigers without his influential skipper.

"His chances of playing are 0.5% - that means unless a miracle
happens, he will not play. At the moment, Cesc is out of Saturday's
game," said Wenger. "We have a little doubt about (Tomas) Rosicky
(groin), but we will check that on Friday morning.

"Nobody else is back, but we will lose (Alex) Song, because he is suspended."

Our injury list is still extensive and some regular names are still
scribbled on the list. Most notably, William Gallas, who aggrevated
his calf injury last week and faces up to a month on the sidelines.
His replacement and our new defensive darling Sol Campbell, has to
knock off his cramp if he's to stand any chance of been included in
Wenger's strategic plan.

"Campbell looks better than expected. Sagna has an ankle problem, but
we will assess that on Friday," Wenger said. "We will see how it
develops, who is available, who I can play.
We know we have 48 hours to prepare for this game and it's quite needed."

Nasri - we won't give up on Ramsey

Contender for goal of the season scorer Samir Nasri, is confident the
Gunners are capable of running the Epl and Ucl show for Rambo.

The young midfielder who will miss the remainder of the season due to
a horrific injury inflicted by Stoke's Ryan Shawcross during Arsenal's
match against the Potters at the Britannia is feeling better as claimed by the Frenchman.

Nasri who has been showing glimpses of what we are to expect from him,
made up for his lackadaisical attitude in front of goal by dribbling a
handful of Porto defenders before rifling his shot past the
bewildered Helton.

The 22-year-old midfielder has expressed his dissatisfaction of his
team mate's injury, but he's optimistic the teenager's plight will
influence the Gunners title chances positively.

"At the start of the season I broke my leg too, but it was not like
Aaron's injury. We could tell on the pitch that it was something very
serious.

"I was talking to Djibril Cisse, my former team mate at Marseille,
last week because he had the same injury, and he's optimistic about
the future for Aaron.

"As for Aaron himself, he is doing well, his morale is good - he has
all the support from the fans and when you have an injury like this
that is really important.

"We had good news about his surgery this week so we are glad about
that and hope he gets well soon."

Arsene Wenger regrets Gallas' gamble

Arsene was infuriated with his decision to push William Gallas back to
fitness in a late bid to prepare him for action.

But the French International couldn't recover from his calf injury in
time to help the Gunners translate their European dream into reality by beating FC Porto in tonight's UEFA Champions League cracker.
Instead he broke down in training and the manager who has already lost
Cesc Fabregas admits that the 32-year-old is "back to square one" and
he faces a long time (up to a month) on the bench all because of his
impatience.

Arsene Wenger is alarmed at the number of Arsenal players injuries
have brought down in the last five years, and has since launched an
investigation in a bid to unravel the mystery behind our injuries and
to curtail future occurences.
Albeit the gaffer also said that he was unhappy with the
unsatisfactory results the findings have shown and he's certain he
will get to the root of our injury problems.

The Boss on Gallas' injury: "Gallas has been out for a month and now
he has had a recurrence of his calf injury. He felt very well on
Saturday and went out, but he has gone backwards again.
We are back at the starting point with Gallas unfortunately.

"We don't know how long it will be. He will have a scan and we will
assess it from there, but for Hull this weekend, for example, he has
no chance.

"We were impatient with him and we pushed him and he wanted to
get on as well, that is why maybe it has happened. But there is no
obvious sign as to why it keeps coming back. He has no pain at all,
then goes for a jog and then it goes again."

Though we are gonna lack Gallas' authority and experience at the back which
makes us more vulnerable to a full-fledged Porto attack, we can at least take
solace from the fact that we play as a team and that is one huge
disadvantage of Porto, whose majority play selfishly. And also derive
some joy from the news that Fabregas who will miss the encounter with
Porto tonight, will not be going under the knife in a bid to end his
nagging hamstring injury.
Fabregas was missing in training yesterday as a result of his
lingering injury and Wenger decided not to gamble on the young
Spaniard to avoid escalating his already bad situation.

Meanwhile, the skipper said he would have loved to play against Porto
but was restricted by the doctors attending to him.
"I wanted to play but the doctors recommended that I rest and avoid
any risk. I am very sad to miss out because Porto is important to us.
I will suffer far more than usual, having to watch from the side."

Today it's gonna be for Kieran Gibbs, so go and make us proud boys. . .
We are counting on you.

Fabregas misses training

Captain Arsenal won't be participating in Tomorrow's epic showdown in
classy Emirates.

The 22-year-old Spaniard's recurrent hamstring injury which forced him
out of action for three weeks after his brilliant cameo
that turned things around for the Gunners at the Emirates during the
closing stages of December last year.
The eccentric playmaker was missing in action at Arsenal's training
ground today and has gone for further tests on his nagging injury.

With Porto's Valera, Hulk, Raul and Falcao. All roaring to prove they
weren't play-acting at the Estadio do Dragao. Our skipper would've
provided the much needed inspiration. But that not withstanding we've
got a team that believes in its capability to rise to the occasion.
Hopefully the Gunners will raise their game Tomorrow to ensure Falcao
and Hansson are put to shame.

In the mean time, Samir Nasri has been given the go ahead by the Boss to dictate proceedings Tomorrow and he has the benefit of playing in a more favourable central position.

"Wenger said: "He is very versatile. You ask any player and they love to play in the middle but he has the pace to play on the flanks.
He can play defensive midfield, attacking midfield and on the flanks. We have a few players like that and I love that.
"He has adapted very quickly. He's a very intelligent boy, a quiet boy.
He analyses what is happening on the pitch very quickly. He has good technical potential. He is the same as Cesc, 22-years-old so very young."

Wenger - Fabregas is better than Rooney

Arsene Wenger is weighing the options available to him after admitting
it'll be a huge risk to gamble on Cesc Fabregas.

The Frenchman claimed his talisman and Captain is a better and focused
player than Manchester United's Wayne Rooney.

The 22-year-old suffered a hamstring injury which unfortunately for
him is a recurrent problem and might miss our Uefa Champions League
cracker against FC Porto tomorrow. He lasted only 39 minutes on the
pitch and Wenger had to substitute him on Saturday against Burnley.
Fabregas has been a superlative performer for Arsenal this campaign,
he has single-handedly ensured Arsenal left "no stone unturned" in
their quest to wrest power from Manchester United and Chelsea.
With his current form, the bench won't be a welcome development for
the Spaniard, who suffered the same injury in the same area in his
right leg before Christmas. And he endured three weeks on the bench.

The Boss didn't hide his thoughts about his influential Captain and as
expected, refused to accept that Manchester United and England
playmaker Wayne Rooney, is better than Cesc Fabregas.

"You look at the numbers and statistics of Fabregas - it's amazing.
"He has scored 14 goals 15 assists. He's a fantastic player, with
fantastic attitude and commitment.
"And what people forget an unbelievable work rate too. He's everywhere
and this season he has made a big step forward, massive. It was
interesting to see that he has already played at 16 but at 22 he has
matured."

Arsene Wenger also maintained he won't be having his way at the
expense of the midfielder's health and insists that he may have to
gamble on the youngster's fitness.
Meanwhile, he has Alex Song, Andrey Arshavin, and Abou Diaby available
and his more preferred central defender in the person of Sol Campbell
as he strategises and plots Porto's downfall at the Emirates.
"But we were 1 - 0 up and I thought we shouldn't take a gamble so we
took him off. He has little chance, yes. I haven't spoken to the
medical people yet we will have to assess that.
"It depends how big the gamble is. I'm ready to take the gamble. But
if it's more than 50 per cent chance his hamstring goes I will not
take it."

Fabregas came, saw, equalled Pires' record and left injured

Ever since the Gunners decided to chart their own course, after
suffering back to back defeats to Chelsea and Manchester United. The
League has and is still experiencing what can be likened to an
uprising.

And I'm glad we're doing it the hard way and fortunately for us also,
we are gradually restoring parity.
We've been clamouring for a team that isn't scared of conceding for
the mere sake of their inability to strike back.
The unresolving character the lads are displaying is the catalyst
that has energised and increased their ability to hit back (playing
beautifully) when bullied.
Last week is a fresh example and the same attitude was evident at the
Emirates today.

Arsenal decreased Burnley's survival options as they survived a
second-half scare to confine Burnley to the Epl relegation zone.

Captain fantastic had a great game as usual, kick-started the
proceedings via a sublime finish and left the pitch with a smile of
fulfillment.
The Club has since issued an official statement on the midfielder's injury.
"He has a hamstring problem and we don't know how big the damage is
yet because it is too early. We'll see tomorrow or monday.
We have to make a late decision over whether he plays on Tuesday,
certainly. It is the same hamstring (he hurt against Aston Villa
earlier in the season)."

The Gunners displayed maturity and courage when it mattered and showed
no trace of the "Eduardo situation".
However, they made a few mistakes. Emmanuel Eboue was the unlucky
culprit as his clearance was headed back by Leon Cort enabling Nugent
to embarass both the defence and the goalkeeper. To hand Burnley a
temporary lifeline.

Walcott is steadily finding his rhythm and when he does, like he did
today you can definately expect nothing less than a World class finish
that can only be matched by Andrey Arshavin's last gasp strike.
The youngster has been the subject of hasty criticism following his
below par performance during England's international friendly against
Egypt which they eventually won.

At least he has created some space for himself with his performance today.

Tonight's worst performer is none other than Nicklas Bendtner - he's
capable of doing wonders when he's in the mood, especially with his
head but I don't think the same can be said of his legs.
His awful finishing quickly reminds me of Thierry Henry, if not Van
Persie trademark finishes.
The youngster's finishing is unacceptable, he lacks the ability to
deliver the killer punch. Worst of all his speed is nothing to write
home about as well as his recovery rate. Wenger has to inject a bit of that magic (I don't care how he does it) but it's pertinent Bendtner improves, our title hopes might rest on the youngster's inexperienced shoulders.

Even though, victory was ours for the taking credit has to be given to
Burnley, they've shown they can contain the Big Boys. But I'm afraid
they've to do better than that if they don't want to be switching
places with a more adventourous Championship side come May.