Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger set to give Park Chu-Young a run out in League Cup clash against Manchester City

The Gunners manager believes that the competition offers him a chance to rotate the squad and the South Korean striker will get his chance to impress on Tuesday night

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger confirmed that Park Chu-Young will feature in their League Cup quarter-final clash against Manchester City on Tuesday night.  
 

The Gunners have been on a good run of form but Wenger claimed after Saturday's 1-1 draw with Fulham that he needs to rotate his squad and Park will get a chance up front when they take on City at the Emirates.

“I have 90 per cent decided. There is still 10 per cent flexibility and because of this I cannot tell you who plays. It will be the usual blend of experience and youth," he was quoted by The Telegraph.

"I believe that some players are on the fringe of being really limited. I will rest some players, but I still want to play a team that has a chance to win the game."
He added: "Park is adapting to the level he is facing here and he has another opportunity against Manchester City tomorrow night [Tuesday] to show that he can do it."

The ex-Monaco striker has made three appearances for the Gunners so far with two of those coming in the League Cup, while the other one was against Olympique de Marseille in the Uefa Champions League.

source

read more

Exceptional Robin van Persie is on a par with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

The Gunners boss believes his captain's stunning goalscoring form, notching up 38 goals in all competitions in 2011, has him playing at the same level as the world's best

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says in-form striker Robin van Persie is playing at a level comparable to Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.
 
The Dutchman scored both goals in Wednesday night’s 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund, which ensures that the Gunners will qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League as Group F winners, to take his tally to 38 since the start of January 2011.

When asked if Van Persie could be considered on a par with the Spain-based superstars, Wenger told Sky Sports: “If he keeps going on like that, of course.

“Let him play and see at the end of the season. He is the leader of the team as well so what is important is that he leads the team to success.

“I feel he’s an exceptional player and happy that he can show that. He thinks day and night about his game.”

The Van Persie-inspired win means that Arsenal become the first English side to confirm their place in the competition’s last 16 this season.

When asked at a press conference if he was surprised at this, Wenger began: “I have to be very cautious what I say.

“I think 'yes’ as Manchester United could have qualified last night and everyone expected Manchester City to qualify.

“It is difficult at that level. You never play an easy game in the Champions League.

“It was a difficult group,” he continued.

“When we saw we were playing Udinese [in the qualifying round] we could not bet that we would go through as we did.”

Arsenal can now relax knowing that they will be under no pressure in their final group game, away to Olympiakos on December 6.

source

read more

'Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is a real talent' - Stuart Pearce hails Arsenal youngster after England under-21 hat-trick

The summer signing continues to turn heads for club and country, with the coach impressed with his cutting edge in the win over Iceland and praising his all-round performance

Arsenal youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been hailed by England under-21 boss Stuart Pearce as a big prospect for the future following another memorable performance on international duty.
The 18-year-old scored three goals against Iceland on Thursday night to cap off a win that took the Three Lions to the top of their Euro 2013 qualifying group, a performance that came a month after he set up a hosts of goals after coming on as a substitute in a friendly against Israel.

And Pearce was quick to praise the former Southampton man's display and his growth as a player in the past few months.

"Alex Chamberlain was outstanding," he told FATV.

"He’s a real talent and gave us that cutting edge. He’s a team-member as well, his general all-round performance was very, very good.

"He’s a talented boy who has come on in leaps and bounds since we had him with us at the back end of last season, which is very pleasing.

"Alex is very level-headed, but you have to say that anyone scoring a hat-trick on international duty has done very well and it’s very pleasing for any manager."

Oxlade-Chamberlain, who moved to Arsenal from Southampton in the summer, said that although he was thrilled to score, the most important thing was the result and the performance of the team.

“To get a hat-trick and my first international goals tonight, I’m happy with that," he said.

“But the most important thing was for the lads to win and to get more points to help us qualify.

“We knew if we respected the opposition, matched them and worked harder than them then eventually the ability and the quality the team has would shine through and we would win the game.

“We did realise that they were quite a dangerous team, especially on the counter and when they went forward they got a lot of bodies forward. But that was also their weakness so we could counter them. For my first goal I think we showed that."

He added: “It’s important in any game of football to get off to a good start, it stands the team in good stead.

“We did drop off a bit after that and the manager said at half-time that we need to respond and come out on fire. I think we did that, got another goal and pushed on.

“We’ve all got the same idea, we want to qualify and we’re going to do that by winning each game, keeping clean sheets and putting the ball in the back of the net.

“We’ve only conceded one goal in the three games this season, so it’s not just the boys up front who are doing a good job, but the boys at the back and in midfield.

"It’s definitely a team performance and even the ones who didn’t play tonight and are in the squad, everyone is pulling together. The quality of the training has made a healthy competition for places.

“We know it’s going to be another hard game for us and we’re going to approach it in the same way. But we’re confident in the ability of the squad to get the win.”

Pearce was happy with the way his side handled a tricky Iceland side, even if they got a bit complacent at times.

"Three goals away from home here in Iceland, and a clean sheet, so I’m very pleased with the result and a couple of performances within that. We did pick up a couple of injuries but we’ll address that," Pearce said.

"One thing that underpins us is a team ethic, and I think we showed that. I thought we got a little complacent during a 20-minute spell before half-time where we lost our way a little bit, we didn’t want to do the dirty stuff because we’d got a couple of goals.

"But we spoke about that at half-time and they came out and played more like they should have done. We just told them to maximise their potential rather than play within themselves."

source

read more

Aaron Ramsey blasts Arsenal’s ‘totally unacceptable’ start to the season

Wales captain also looks ahead to Switzerland clash, insisting there is a new found belief amongst the national squad following last month's victory over Montenegro

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has blasted his side's start to the Premier League season as "totally unacceptable".
The Gunners have found themselves in crisis following the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri from the Emirates this summer, with the north Londoner’s misery compounded by the 8-2 away defeat to Manchester United and last weekend’s 2-1 loss to rivals Tottenham.
Arsene Wenger’s side currently find themselves in 15th place in the league, a position which Ramsey does not believe a club of Arsenal’s stature should be in.
Speaking to reporters, Ramsey said: "Arsenal are one of the top clubs in England and where we are at the moment is totally unacceptable."
The Welsh midfielder turns his attention to international duty on Friday evening where he is set to captain his country in their Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland, and Ramsey insists there is a belief amongst the national squad as they look to build on last month’s victory over Montenegro.
"Belief is the main difference [following last month's games]. There is a belief we can actually compete against this sort of opposition,” he continued.
"Montenegro had done really well to be in their position in the group and against England we should have had a result. We have always had the ability but it is about being more consistent and hopefully we can start to pick up a few more points.
"Switzerland are a good team with a chance of qualifying so they will come out and give everything, but we will concentrate on ourselves and hopefully build on what we have done in the last few performances, keep the progression going and pick up a few wins.
"Our target now is to finish as high as possible and hopefully we can build in every game before the World Cup qualifiers next year."

source

read more