Arsenal Lobby

Arsene Wenger has responded to Jose Mourinho’s comments last week in which the Portuguese eye-gouger of people with cancer suggested the Gunners always had favourable fixtures.

Speaking at his press conference today Wenger, who insisted he was dealing only in facts, said,

“It is simple – look at the fixtures and analyse it. I trust you will give an objective view. You will see Arsenal are behind all the other teams. In the last five years all the objective studies that have been made show Arsenal had less rest than any other team in the top four. That is fact. It has nothing to do with my opinion. It is an independent company that made the study that shows Arsenal had less rest than any other team in the top level.”

Mourinho had made the issue personal, but once again the Arsenal manager refused to be drawn into a war of words with an opposite number.

“It is not mind games. It is opinions,” he said, “but I don’t live with opinions, I live with facts and the facts don’t depend on me or Mourinho. It is depending on objective analysis. A day is 24 hours and you count how many times you have rest between games. I didn’t make the study, it was made by an independent company. I cannot influence that.”

There are those who will suggest it’s the boss moaning or, perhaps, bleating, but when asked a question about an issue what he’s supposed to do but answer it in the best way possible?

As it is he’s shown up the eye-gouger for the bluffing spoofer he really is. Job well done, if you ask us.
http://news.arseblog.com/2014/01/wenger-arsenal-get-less-rest-not-more/


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How's that for class?

Arsenal's Bacary Sagna: We are determined not to let Arsene Wenger down agai

Bacary Sagna says Arsenal are happy being underdogs in the title race and warns Chelsea and Manchester City they are ready to end their nine-year wait for silverware.

Arsenal sit top of the Premier League but there has been little talk of Arsene Wenger’s side being crowned champions. They are third favourites with the bookmakers and doubts linger about whether they can sustain a title challenge.

Sagna refuses to subscribe to the notion that Arsenal will fall away during the second half of the season but the defender is happy with expectations being on their rivals, which he believes will work in his side’s favour as they look to confound the doubters in the three-way battle to finish top.

“It is better for us because we can keep going forward without being under pressure,” said Sagna.

“Everyone is talking about Chelsea and City more than us but we believe in ourselves. The other teams know we have not won a trophy for a long time and maybe they think we will drop points. They do not see us lifting trophies but that is good for us because we can keep working hard.”

Arsenal lead the way in the Premier League, with just two points separating the top three. Jose Mourinho sees City as Chelsea’s main rivals for the title but Sagna is confident Arsenal can last the distance as they try to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004. “We have great quality and we can beat anyone this season,” said the France international.

“Teams are scared about us because they know we can make their life difficult on the pitch. We want everyone to be talking about us at the end of the season, saying we were the best team and deserved to win the title. Right now, we just want to stay focused. Every team will drop points but we are in a very good position.”

Sagna admits the players have let Wenger down in recent years and says they are determined to repay the faith shown by their manager. He believes this Arsenal side is different to the one that has disappointed in previous seasons. “He [Wenger] has faith in us and that transmits to us,” said Sagna.

“Every time I lose a game I feel bad because he trusts us. When you do not give something back when someone trusts you, it is quite embarrassing. If we win, it is for the players and the supporters but for the manager as well because we have let him down for a few years and he deserves to recognised as one of the best.

“I can feel a difference this season. We are more focused and no one scares us. We were not missing a lot to win a trophy but we did miss something. We lost the first game of the season against Aston Villa but there were never any doubts in the team.”

Arsenal want to strengthen their title bid by signing Schalke’s Julian Draxler but Wenger last week admitted he is unlikely to bring in any new players this month. Sagna believes the squad is strong enough to win the title without any new additions.

“For sure,” said Sagna, 30, who is out of contract in the summer and is in talks about a new deal.

“We can bring young players into the squad like Serge Gnabry, who is doing great. Against Coventry, Lukas Podolski had not played for a long time but he scored two goals. Olivier Giroud came on and scored. At the back, we have a good defence, so I would not be worried [if we did not sign a player].”

Arsenal face a run of games next month which could define their season. The Gunners play Liverpool and Manchester United in the Premier League, while they will host Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. Arsenal also play Liverpool at home in the FA Cup fifth round but Sagna insists there is no trepidation ahead of their crucial run of six fixtures in under three weeks.

“I am not sure Bayern Munich will be happy playing us because we beat them away last season and we want to show that we can go through,” he said. “February will be a big month for us but also for the other teams in the title race.”

Before then, Arsenal play at Southampton tomorrow, looking to extend their lead at the top with Chelsea and City playing on Wednesday.

“Southampton are a bit like the Arsenal team of a few years ago,” said Sagna. “They are one of the best sides I played against last season. We just want to stay at the top and the best way of doing that is acting on the pitch. We are ready to fight until the end.”

Wenger channeling his innter-Benitez there

We have today received confirmation from the Premier League that the following games involving Arsenal have been rescheduled as a result of TV selections:

Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal
Sunday 16th March 2014 (originally Saturday 15th March)
Kick off: 4.00pm
Live on: SKY SPORTS
_______________________________________________

We play Munich away on 11 March. Extra day to recover.

Great posts Sri. Wenger typically classy, Bac showing some loyalty in wanting to repay Wenger. Appreciate that.

@Sina, I'll do my best mate haha.



That extra day

For our next two months, that could a vital day. Hell, our City game got pushed back two hours as well, that could also prove to matter

MJ<3

I am so excited to see Sanogo lol

Gazidis confirming Arsene Wenger will be extending his contract:



"As I've said before, Arsene will be extending with us and at the right time we'll make that announcement."

...he announced.

Southampton v Arsenal preview online in an hour or so guys.

MJ

The FA Cup game against Liverpool will be played on Sunday, 16th of February and 16:00 UK time. This means we'll have a days less rest for the Bayern game.

More positively, the club have made this a category B fixture, so cheaper tickets for travelling fans.

The first live televised football match; between Arsenal and Arsenal Reserves. London, 1937.

James Olley ‏@JamesOlley

One other #afc line: Flamini is in fact only banned for three matches, not four as first thought. Will miss Palace (h), Liv (a), Man U (h).
at least will be available for FA Cup!

Banned for four matches It's like rules are being made up as time goes on

Yeah I don't get why it's an extra match, because he was already banned this season?

It was deserving of a red but as many pointed out. Same tackle, same referee, two different decisions. Disgusting.

Rafael gets yellow
Flamini gets red

http://player.arsenal.com/player/4667-january-goal-of-the-month

My Top 3
Cazorla's 1st vs Fulham
Giroud vs A.Villa
Podolski' 1st vs Coventry

class performance
took more risk with his final ball back then

now he has gone some levels up obviously and tries it when the pass is On
given that have slow Giroud up top and Theo and Aaron out that pass is rarely on though https://i.servimg.com/u/f43/16/93/79/64/37329810.gif https://2img.net/r/ihimizer/img96/5076/trolldolski.gif   

Premier League: Crystal Palace striker Marouane Chamakh keen to prove point at Arsenal



Marouane Chamakh is convinced leaving Arsenal for Crystal Palace last summer was the best move possible for his career.

The Morocco striker took time to settle at Selhurst Park after being drafted in by former manager Ian Holloway following a disappointing three-year period at the Emirates.

Chamakh, who scored eight goals in 40 games for Arsenal following his move from Bordeaux in May 2010, scored just one in his first five months with Palace.

However, since new boss Tony Pulis took over last November he has added another three, contributing to Palace's rise to 14th place in the Premier League table, four points off bottom spot.

And Chamakh, who admits he 'learned a lot during his time at Arsenal', is desperate for his side to maintain their recent fine form when they take on his former employers this Sunday.

Player Profile
29. Marouane Chamakh

   Appearances 20 (3)
   Goals 5
   Assists 1
   Yellows 8
   Reds 0
   Current Season

"I think I've got a lot more confident since coming to Palace because I've had

a lot more experience playing matches," he told the club's official website.

"The team as a whole is feeling confident too after the 1-0 win over Hull City and we are confident we'll be ready for the game against Arsenal.

"I'm very happy to be going back and playing at the Emirates again and I'm looking forward to seeing the players, the manager and the fans. I have some very good memories from playing at Arsenal.

"I learnt a lot there on my initial arrival in England. I learned a lot about discipline, learning and understanding the English game.

"I also learned about getting used to how to move and pass on the pitch as an attacker in this league. I've continued to learn a lot more since coming to Palace."

Aaron Pursuing different career while out Injured

Aaron Ramsey has signed a new deal - with modelling agency Elite London.:

What is wrong with Giroud? his celebration are kinda weird?     

Sorry for the delay in the Crystal Palace preview guys. I told RG I'll step in for him, but I have been sick since last evening (too much drinking on an empty stomach, etc.) and still in bed. I have requested Anjl to cover for me. The preview should be up in some time.

Nah it's ok. I thought the match was today so that's why I asked you yesterday.

But I can do it today since the game is tomorrow.

Get well soon!

Frimpong sent off after 30 minutes of his Barnsley debut

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

More time to #deeeeeeeeeeeeench on Twitter

Two yellow cards in the space of 6 minutes