WILSHERE LIMPS OFF

Jack Wilshere was recently substituted much earlier in the recent 1-0 win over Tottenham during the weekend. This spelled bad news for England and Roy Hodgson because they have two crucial World Cup qualifying matches in the next few days.

England have already lost a number of key personnel just prior to this match. The likes of Liverpool defender Glen Johnson and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney are unlikely to be involved in the match after missing matches for the club during the weekend. Wilshere is seen as one of the important players for the England national team. Continue reading WILSHERE LIMPS OFF

Betting on Arsenal

Arsenal are still one of the top teams in the Premier League, as their odds of 11/1 to win indicate, but it would be fair to say that they are not considered the force they were a decade ago. This means that even though their title-winning odds are still quite high, they are still something of an outsider when compared with the likes of the Manchester teams and Chelsea – despite all the managerial changes and subsequent uncertainty which has beset those teams ahead of the kick-off.

A lot of football betting fans will instead be choosing to put bets on the Gunners to claim one of the Champions League places again – which they are one of the hot favourites for at 4/7 – but for the punter who prefers a little more danger, this is likely to be a uninteresting bet. Some may actually fancy Arsenal for the league at 11/1, although they would surely need to bring in several top class players during the summer transfer window before it would make any sense to bet on them to win it – while others may find the riskier mix of football and gambling that they are looking for by playing an online casino slot like Game On instead. Continue reading Betting on Arsenal

Thomas Vermaelen to remain Arsenal skipper

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger stated that Thomas Vermaelen will remain the club captain despite there being doubts about him being fit for the start of the new Premier League season as well as his ability to force himself back into the starting berth. The Belgian international has long been dogged by fitness issues and his recent injury woe has kept him out of the club’s pre-season tour of the Far East.

But according to Wenger, the defender is still central to his plans and will remain the club’s captain. The Arsenal manager dropped the centre back for the club’s UEFA Champions League win against Bayern Munich in Germany in March and the defender found him on the fringes of the action since then. He was left on the bench for the final ten Premier League matches of the club as the manager preferred the partnership of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny at the heart of the defense.

Only once when the German international Mertesacker was serving a suspension did Thomas Vermaelen did start in a home win against minnows Norwich City. Wenger admitted that the injury issues might force the player to miss the start of the new season amidst question marks over the future of the 27 year old at the club. Reports from Spain have suggested Barcelona has shortlisted the defender as a target to cover the ageing Carles Puyol. The Belgian international will also be worried by the fact that Arsenal is chasing Swansea City defender Ashley Williams.

And for Thomas Vermaelen, the next season being a World Cup year, he knows that he needs to play regularly if he wants to board the flight to Rio with Belgium who are looking good to qualify. But Wenger has reiterated that the media should not read too much into the player’s absence from the tour.

FIGHT FOR A FUTURE

Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen has said that he will fight for a future at the Premier league club Arsenal after falling out of favour with manager Wenger in recent months.

Vermaelen has been one of the best players from Arsenal since arriving at the club from Ajax in a £ 12 million deal a few years ago. His performances have even led to him being named as the captain of the team after the departure of Robin van Persie in the summer. However, there has been talk of Barcelona coming in for his services in the summer (as well as rumours of a move to Anfield by an lfc fanzine, which has apparently affected his form.

He has not been a regular first-team player for Arsenal since the turn of the year, while he has been consistently dropped in recent weeks. Wenger has been favouring Laurent Koscielny and Mertesacker in recent weeks, while they have also not let down the Frenchman by pushing Arsenal to several clean sheets in the last few matches. This in turn has had a positive effect at the club, as they are in with a chance of finishing in the top four. After being on the bench for the recent 0-0 draw with Everton, Vermaelen has said that he will work hard in order to regain his first-team spot.

Wenger also said that he has a future at the club.

“Thomas is one of the best defenders in England, like the two others. I told them at the start of the season we have three outstanding central defenders. It is about game by game that I make a decision, and it is about partnership as well. Vermaelen has been a substitute for quite a few games and he still plays a big part in the game. I don’t see him as a substitute at all,” said Wenger after the Everton match.

VERMAELEN DEFENDS WENGER

The Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has come to the defence of the manager Arsene Wenger by saying that he is the right man to lead Arsenal. A lot of questions have been asked about the ability of the manager to lead Arsenal to trophies.

Even though Wenger has been one of the most successful managers in the Premier league at the moment, he has not been able to achieve success in the last eight years. Since the 2005 victory in the FA Cup, Arsenal have not been able to win any major trophy. They are looking likely to remain empty handed at the end of the season as well after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat against Blackburn in the FA Cup recently. Continue reading VERMAELEN DEFENDS WENGER

SET TO PLAY

The captain of Arsenal, Thomas Vermaelen, has said that he will play in the match against Liverpool which is going to be played tomorrow.

Vermaelen didn’t feature for the Gunners in their last match against Brighton & Hove Albion because of the ankle injury. Vermaelen had discovered that injury while playing in the match against West Ham United last week. But, the skipper has confirmed that his ankle is fine now and he will return to action against the Reds tomorrow evening.

When asked about his fitness, Vermaelen said, “The injury that I had suffered against West Ham United wasn’t severe. I started training a couple of days back. I am feeling good and I will be available for selection in tomorrow’s match.”

“I had a bit of problem in my left ankle before as well. But, I kept playing with it and last week, it got worse. I landed on my left ankle while I was trying to make a clearance and I started feeling a lot of pain. But, now, it’s fine and I am looking forward to tomorrow’s game.”

Yesterday, the manager of Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, had also confirmed the recovery of Vermaelen. When Wenger was asked about the injury of Gunners captain, he had said, “Thomas is fit now and it’s really good news for us. He will be back in the match against Liverpool.”

Arsene Wenger had decided to rest some of its key players in the FA Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion. Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs and Theo Walcott had warmed the bench in that match. But, Wenger made it clear that all these players would be back against the Reds.

Arsenal had defeated Brighton & Hove Albion in a close match by 3-2.

 

 

ARSENAL WILL PERFORM

The Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has said that he expects the team to perform well in the match against Bayern Munich. Arsenal will be facing the German club in the last 16 stage of the Champions League. This is one of the standout fixtures in the competition this season because the Premier league club will be coming up against the team that finished as runners-up last time. The first and the second leg will be played in the last and first week of February and March respectively. Even though Arsenal are struggling a lot in the league, Vermaelen believes that they can cope with the German giant.

Arsenal have been knocked out of the Champions League at the last 16 stage on numerous occasions in the past. They have even been defeated by Bayern Munich back in 2001 when the Germans went on to win the competition. Due to the fact that Arsenal have qualified for the knockout stages in the 13th consecutive time, Vermaelen believes that the experience that the club has had over the years will help them get past Bayern Munich. Arsenal will have to face one of the top clubs due to the fact that they finished second in the group stages.

“Most of the time in the Premier League, the one that is the most consistent wins the league, but the Champions League is a [cup] tournament, so anything can happen. It is only about two games, one home and one away. You need a bit of luck in the tournament as well, so we will see how far we can get. Bayern Munich are doing well in the German league,” said the Belgian defender, who has been criticised this season for his inconsistent performances. Arsenal are fourth in the Premier league after a poor start to the season.

STAY CLOSE

The Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has said that it is time that the Arsenal players stayed close and managed to put the poor run of form behind them. Arsenal come into the weekend’s Premier league encounter against West Brom having not tasted victory in the last three matches. As a result, they have slipped closer to the bottom half of the table, which is a far cry from the Champions League aspirations that the club had at the start of the season. Despite losing the likes of Robin van Persie and Alex Song in the summer, Arsenal were at least expected to make it into the top four positions by the end of the season.

Arsenal have been in extremely poor run of form since the month of October. Since then, they have managed to achieve just a few victories in the league and in the European competitions. Thomas Vermaelen has said that it is indeed difficult time for the club, but the players need to stick by each other and work together to get the results. He has also accepted the fact that there was a lot of negativity amongst the Arsenal fans, who have criticised Arsene Wenger in the wake of the poor run of results. Arsenal will once again have a tough match against West Brom this weekend.

“I agree that this is a difficult time, but the only thing to do is to stick together. There seems to be a lot of negativity among people outside the club at the moment, and I don’t want to go along with that because it’s not the way to achieve anything. Some people seem to like being negative, and it appears to make them happier somehow, but that’s not the attitude you’ll get from me or my teammates,” said Thomas Vermaelen.

 

WILSHERE WILL BE GREAT

The Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen has said that he expects the midfielder Jack Wilshere to become one of the best in the world after he successfully made his comeback after more than a year out with an injury. Jack Wilshere has suffered a long-term injury problem in the season before last. It has meant that he has missed the even major tournaments and crucial matches for Arsenal during this 18 month period. There have been many fears that he may never return play football again to the same level, but he recently made his comeback in the 1-0 win over QPR during the weekend.

He played more than an hour in the match, which was extremely pleasing for the Arsenal supporters. Even more surprising was the fact that he was the bright player on the pitch in an otherwise for Arsenal team, which failed to create many clear-cut chances. In the end, they managed to win through a solitary goal that helped them stay in touch with closer to the top of the table. Jack Wilshere was making his first start for Arsenal after 542 days, but Thomas Vermaelen believes that he can go on and establish himself as one of the best in the world.

“I think he can be one of the best midfielders in the world because what he did in his first year was great. And you could see he looked sharp. In midfield he was on the ball a lot and he can only get better in the following games and he can grow. He’s an amazing player,” said the Arsenal captain after the win over QPR on the official website of the club. Arsenal will be making little to Manchester United this weekend. Arsenal had just won one of the last three matches.

ARSENAL WILL DO WELL

The Arsenal midfielder Thomas Vermaelen has said that he is extremely confident that Arsenal can do well when they face the first big test of the season against Manchester city on Sunday. Even though Arsenal have faced Liverpool at Anfield this season and won comfortably, playing against Manchester city will be the real test for the club according to Thomas Vermaelen. Arsenal won the first match of the season against Liverpool 2-0, which was followed by a crushing 6-1 win over Southampton. Lukas Podolski seems to be hitting top form for the club after drawing blank in the opening two matches of the campaign.

Manchester city, on the other hand, will be coming into the match on the back of disappointing results against Liverpool and Stoke city. It has been a tough opening few matches for Manchester city because they have conceded a lot of goals. They made a great start to the season last time around, but it has been very difficult at this time around. Further, they will be coming into the Arsenal match after having played against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions League group stages, which will not have any effect on them according to Thomas Vermaelen.

“Manchester City are the champions from last year so it won’t be easy. We have to go there and play our own game – I am confident we can get a result there. The team has a strong bond in the dressing room and outside as well. It feels good. All of the players, especially the guys who came in, look good. Everybody plays with a lot of confidence and that is good. We have to stay focused because there are a few hard games coming up,” Vermaelen told Arsenal Player ahead of the start of the Champions League group stages.