Arshavin, Clichy and Bendtner are Gonners as Wenger planning shock Arsenal clearout
Arsene Wenger will wield the axe in a summer shake-up after finally losing patience with his Arsenal flops.
The Frenchman has given the green light to an end-of-season rebuilding plan at the Emirates which will see a number of the club’s top stars depart – including
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is hoping to secure two Premier League signings to help beef up his defence as the Gunners manager looks to make successful moves for Man City keeper Shay Given and Bolton centre back Gary Cahill.
The North London club are reportedly in search of a reliable goalkeeper having seen Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianksi and youngster Wojciech Szczesny all make elementary mistakes this season. Arsene Wenger had attempted to sign Fulham veteran Mark Schwarzer last summer and has been linked with moves to capture Liverpool custodian Pepe Reina.
Having made enquiries in the past Wenger is now hoping to persuade Man City to sell Irish international Shay Given this summer. The former Newcastle United man has found himself frozen out at Eastlands and has not played a single minute of Premier League action this season but there are doubts that Roberto Mancini may not be willing to sell to a rival club.
Wenger also hopes to haggle with Bolton over their somewhat inflated
The ambitions of new Eintracht Frankfurt coach Christoph Daum extend far beyond securing the club’s Bundesliga status.
Daum, 57, joined Frankfurt on Tuesday following the dismissal of Michael Skibbe.He arrives to find the team 14th on the Bundesliga table, just three points clear of the relegation zone with seven matches left to play. While Daum acknowledges that his priority is to keep the team in the top flight, he also has grand plans for the future. “I’m not a fireman, I’m a concept coach,” Daum said.”Laying on of hands isn’t enough. I will work for Eintracht 25 hours a day.”"I want to create a spirit of optimism in Frankfurt. Eintracht are a traditional club with huge potential. I’m not thinking about the 2. Liga (second tier).”Daum, who has coached Bayer Leverkusen and Fenerbahce along with four other clubs in a 25-year managerial career, believes developing the right mentality within the squad is the key to success. “The head always plays an important role in football,” he said.”When it works properly then it is a third leg and can make the difference.”"The most important thing is to make ourselves safe as quickly as possible.”After the international break, Frankfurt’s next match is away to fellow strugglers Wolfsburg on April 3.
Wed 23 March, 2011The ambitions of new Eintracht Frankfurt coach Christoph Daum extend far beyond securing the club’s Bundesliga status.
Daum, 57, joined Frankfurt on Tuesday following the dismissal of Michael Skibbe.He arrives to find the team 14th on the Bundesliga table, just three points clear of the relegation zone with seven matches left to play. While Daum acknowledges that his priority is to keep the team in the top flight, he also has grand plans for the future. “I’m not a fireman, I’m a concept coach,” Daum said.”Laying on of hands isn’t enough. I will work for Eintracht 25 hours a day.”"I want to create a spirit of optimism in Frankfurt. Eintracht are a traditional club with huge potential. I’m not thinking about the 2. Liga (second tier).”Daum, who has coached Bayer Leverkusen and Fenerbahce along with four other clubs in a 25-year managerial career, believes developing the right mentality within the squad is the key to success. “The head always plays an important role in football,” he said.”When it works properly then it is a third leg and can make the difference.”"The most important thing is to make ourselves safe as quickly as possible.”After the international break, Frankfurt’s next match is away to fellow strugglers Wolfsburg on April 3.
Wed 23 March, 2011Everton captain Phil Neville believes finishing above arch-rivals Liverpool is still a realistic target for David Moyes’ side.
The Toffees have had a wildly inconsistent season, but a 2-1 win over Fulham on Saturday leaves them unbeaten in four games and in eighth place on the English Premier League table.
That run leaves them well-positioned to challenge for a Europa League berth and get one over their cross-town rivals in the process.
“The thing with the league this year is that there have been so many times when we’ve thought we can push into the top half and make inroads into the top seven and we’ve always faltered,” Neville said.
“We’ve just got to finish as high as possible. There are eight games left and I don’t think one team from that middle section have put a run together yet.”
“We aim to be above Bolton, Sunderland and Liverpool. If we finish in front of Liverpool and don’t achieve anything, that’s still a failure for me.”
“We need to do the basics. That’s what the manager said after the Birmingham game and we did it against Fulham. On the quiet we’re developing a nice little run.”
Neville said it was important to grind results out and not let points slip away in the remaining eight games, and said his team-mates needed to follow the example of veteran defender Tony Hibbert.
“The teams around us are all scrapping too, and maybe we have to go back to three or four years ago when we had to grind out results,” Neville said.
“This club is ingrained in that kind of spirit and that’s what the manager wants from us now.”
“Tony Hibbert epitomised that. He was dogged as ever (against Fulham) and he’s a great defender. It was a special day for him because this is his 10th year at the club. He is an unsung hero in the dressing room but epitomises everything we’ll need in the next eight games.”
“Tony Hibbert is well respected at this club, I don’t think he realises how highly sometimes.”
Mon 21 March, 2011Israeli playmaker to return at the Britannia Stadium for Stamford Bridge club.
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Great win for the Gunners yesterday against Leyton Orient. Clichy’s well chuffed with his goal. Figures it was probably better than Nick’s hattrick. Good for him. Conor Henderson enjoyed his debut. He’s of course focused on the reserve team and taking his chances when Wenger brings him into the first team. I thought he did pretty well and looks to be a good prospect for us. The FA Cup quarterfinals will be played on the March 12/13 weekend and here are the teams that made it through:
Birmingham v Bolton
Manchester United v Arsenal
Stoke v West Ham
Manchester City v Reading
It’s going to be a short month for us in March with respect to fixtures. We’ve got Sunderland at the Emirates on Saturday, followed by trips to Camp Nou and Old Trafford next week. The only other game scheduled is West Brom at home on the 19th and then there’s an international break where our players will proudly represent their country and probably get injured for the rest of the season.
Speaking of injuries, it looks like RvP could be out for close to six weeks. Shocker. They say between four to six, but you just know it will be six. Heeeeeeeeere’s Wenger!:
“I am not a specialist but he overstretched his knee at the back when he made the volley. He got kicked or blocked by the defender and overstretched when he hit the ball. In fact we lost Van Persie after 30 minutes, we tried to keep him going in the second half but he was injured.
“It is a ligament at the back of the knee, a tear in the ligament. It is three to four weeks, I take the short delay because I am an optimist but it could be four. As well it is the international break during that period so whether it is three or four [weeks], for us it is the same.
“We have two weeks to play now and then there is a two-week break because of international games. We have to hope it is only four; he cannot play before the international break, that is for sure. Let’s hope he can play after the international break.”
Ok so Wenger is saying three to four and he’s thinking three because he lives in Magical Happy Wenger Land where van Persie never gets injured and all of the happy Gunner midgets frolic around with their limbs intact singing tra-la-la-la-la on their way to the Premiership trophy. There are some journos tweeting that they’ve heard six weeks. I guess we have to see. It’s possible he will be fit around the time of the international break, which basically always seems to happen with him doesn’t it? Then he goes off with the Netherlands and finds himself with some niggly setback or even more serious injury. Sigh. I leave you to pick a return date and begin your rehearsed “RvP has an injury” ritual and pray to the footballing gods.
In other injury news (you didn’t think that was it did you? Ha!) Cesc is running again and says he doesn’t feel any pain. That’s good to hear. He won’t feature on Saturday, but Wenger says Fabregas will train on Sunday and have a final test on Monday to see if he can play in the Barcelona tie. Knowing Cesc, he’s going to do everything possible to play in that game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him lead the side out on the pitch on Tuesday.
Saturday’s tie against Sunderland is a big one now. Win it and we go within a point of United. Lose or draw, and gooners everywhere will be crying bloody murder. Martin will take a look at what we’re up against in tomorrow’s blog. Until then!
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Category: Arsenal News, Arsene Wenger, Cesc Fabregas, FA Cup, Gael Clichy, Injury Report, Robin van Persie, Video
Tags: Arsenal News, Arsene Wenger, Cesc Fabregas, conor henderson, FA Cup, Gael Clichy, Injury Report, Robin van Persie, Video
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Birmingham manager Alex McLeish will be happy to survive in the Premier League on goal difference – if it gives him another chance to emulate Saturday’s opponents Stoke City next season.
Birmingham take on Tony Pulis’ side at St Andrews with McLeish’s side in 16th and Stoke on the fringes of Europa League qualification in ninth.
The points difference between the two ‘small’ clubs is just six but McLeish is targeting survival and not a pretty points tally.
“The goal is to stay up, you can’t guarantee that but it’s what everyone is striving for whether it’s on 30-something or 40-something points or on goal difference it doesn’t really matter and I don’t want to speculate about these things,” McLeish said.
“I’d like to get all the points but I know how difficult it will be and it will be a huge challenge for us and the other teams will want to have something to say about it. If we show the same commitment we’ve shown in recent weeks then we can’t fault the players.”
McLeish has admired the work that Pulis has done at The Britannia, so much so that he hopes to copy their success.
“I said last year that we should try to emulate Stoke and they are a sort of role model for us,” McLeish said.
“They have spent a few quid, people call them ‘little Stoke’ but they have spent some money wisely and Tony Pulis knows what it takes to win and he gets his side over the line.”
McLeish could give a debut to former Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins, who joined on loan from Rubin Kazan in January, and Stoke could have their hands full if the Nigerian carries his training ground form into the game.
“He has trained this week and looked good, it was good to see him get his visa and I think he can bring something to the squad. He’s looking very sharp so I will consider him,” McLeish said.
Striker James McFadden and defender Scott Dann are both long-term absentees.
Ben Foster was left out of England’s midweek friendly with Denmark with a thumb injury but is in contention to play at the weekend.
Thu 10 February, 2011Birmingham manager Alex McLeish will be happy to survive in the Premier League on goal difference – if it gives him another chance to emulate Saturday’s opponents Stoke City next season.
Birmingham take on Tony Pulis’ side at St Andrews with McLeish’s side in 16th and Stoke on the fringes of Europa League qualification in ninth.
The points difference between the two ‘small’ clubs is just six but McLeish is targeting survival and not a pretty points tally.
“The goal is to stay up, you can’t guarantee that but it’s what everyone is striving for whether it’s on 30-something or 40-something points or on goal difference it doesn’t really matter and I don’t want to speculate about these things,” McLeish said.
“I’d like to get all the points but I know how difficult it will be and it will be a huge challenge for us and the other teams will want to have something to say about it. If we show the same commitment we’ve shown in recent weeks then we can’t fault the players.”
McLeish has admired the work that Pulis has done at The Britannia, so much so that he hopes to copy their success.
“I said last year that we should try to emulate Stoke and they are a sort of role model for us,” McLeish said.
“They have spent a few quid, people call them ‘little Stoke’ but they have spent some money wisely and Tony Pulis knows what it takes to win and he gets his side over the line.”
McLeish could give a debut to former Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins, who joined on loan from Rubin Kazan in January, and Stoke could have their hands full if the Nigerian carries his training ground form into the game.
“He has trained this week and looked good, it was good to see him get his visa and I think he can bring something to the squad. He’s looking very sharp so I will consider him,” McLeish said.
Striker James McFadden and defender Scott Dann are both long-term absentees.
Ben Foster was left out of England’s midweek friendly with Denmark with a thumb injury but is in contention to play at the weekend.
Thu 10 February, 2011Birmingham striker Cameron Jerome has ruled out leaving the club in the January transfer window.
The former England Under-21 international has been strongly linked with a move to Stoke, but the striker insists he does not want to leave Birmingham, unless he is told he is not wanted.
Jerome said: “There has been speculation in the papers about me but no-one has come to me and said you are going anywhere.
“I’m quite happy here, I’m playing every week, I am learning my trade here under a great manager.
“I’ve been here five years. I’m Birmingham through and through at the moment.
“Until I’m told here I’m not wanted, I’m happy to do the job I do every week.”
Birmingham striker Cameron Jerome has ruled out leaving the club in the January transfer window.
The former England Under-21 international has been strongly linked with a move to Stoke, but the striker insists he does not want to leave Birmingham, unless he is told he is not wanted.
Jerome said: “There has been speculation in the papers about me but no-one has come to me and said you are going anywhere.
“I’m quite happy here, I’m playing every week, I am learning my trade here under a great manager.
“I’ve been here five years. I’m Birmingham through and through at the moment.
“Until I’m told here I’m not wanted, I’m happy to do the job I do every week.”
Old Trafford prepare move for Ajax star.
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Is progress being made at the DW Stadium?
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What exactly is needed at White Hart Lane?
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Reinforcements needed at Stamford Bridge.
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Evolution or revolution at Ewood Park?
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Big changes expected at Villa Park.
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