Ignasi Miquel to watch Arsenal V Aston Villa tomorrow

El Mundo Deportivo have today updated news regarding Spanish U16 defender Ignasi Miquel who is set to sign for Arsenal when he turns 16.

It was reported a week ago that Arsenal had reached an agreement with Union Deportiva Cornella for the teenager who started his career with Espanyol, moving to Barcelona for five years before the Spanish giants released him. Arsenal had to battle a number of massive clubs for the starlets signature, including Manchester United, Celtic, FC Barcelona, Osasuna, Atlético, Villarreal and Valencia.

Ignasi Miquel first visited Arsenal when Blackburn played Arsenal at the Emirates, after which Miquel was given Fabregas’ shirt by the midfield star. Miquel was also shown the facilities at the club and ate with the players at the training ground. Cornella’s Sporting Director and President then flew to London and laid the the foundations in “an agreement of collaboration” (the words of El Mundo Deportivo, leading me to think that perhaps there may be a first option agreement for their best players or something of a similar kind) with Arsenal.

And this week Miquel has again spent time at the club, as he traveled to London yesterday, accompanied by his family and also his representative Jose Manuel Gregorio, with the hope of seeing his residence that he will have while at Arsenal initially next season. Ironically enough, this is the same place as both Fran Merida and Cesc Fabregas have lived in previously. He will also visit where he will be studying and talk to the teachers there before watching the Arsenal match tomorrow against Villa at the Emirates.

 Next week, he will be with the Spanish U16 team, in Las Rozas.

For the source of this story, see here:

 http://www.elmundodeportivo.es/web/gen/20080229/noticia_53441194599.html

Hleb rejects Inter; Juve reject Flamini

Two very positive transfer stories today concerning two of our very best performers this season, French midfielder Mathieu Flamini and Belurussian playmaker Aleksander Hleb.

The news broke yesterday that Mathieu Flamini was close to accepting a contract offer from Juve due to factors he wasn’t happy with the Arsenal contract offer, and there were even some reports suggesting he’d already decided to accept Juve’s offer, but according to the Italian giants themselves, they are not even lining up a bid for our midfield battler.

Juventus’ Sporting Director Alessio Secco said: “There is nothing true. He’s a really good player, but we have never looked at him. Our chief officer has contacted the Gunners to reassure them. It’s a gesture that was needed considering the good relationship there must be between two big clubs like Juve and Arsenal, and that has been appreciated.”  

Hopefully this means that Flamini is set to stay, but I’m not going to bet on this being the last piece of speculation on the matter just yet. It is vital that Flamini is given a new contract that he finds acceptable though, and quickly too, as I made the point about in a previous article.

 Meanwhile, a far less likely looking rumour regarding enough star of the season has also been squashed, with Alex Hleb’s rumoured £14m interest from Inter being a non starter according to the Belarussian and his agent.

Hleb told skysports.com that “all I can say is from my side there is nothing going on. I am very proud to play for Arsenal.”

Meanwhile, his agent added: “I can understand why clubs would be interested in Alex. But Alex loves life at Arsenal. He feels he is at the best club in the world.”

Very promising news then, these two players will be vital for the rest of the season and hopefully have several more years to come at the Emirates Stadium before their careers at Arsenal come to an end.

Mark Randall impressing on loan

Burnley manager has singled out English midfielder Mark Randall for special praise this week following a substitute appearance against Coventry City this week, with the Arsenal loanee coming off the bench with just over half an hour of the tie left.

 Despite the limited time that he had though, Coyle has been impressed by what he saw:

“There were a lot of positives,” said Coyle. “Mark Randall gave us an extra dimension when he came on and showed what sort of player we all think he’s going to be in the future with Arsenal. He’s shown when he’s on form he can play. He’s got a natural flow to his play, a great eye for a pass and we think we can enhance his game and he can go back to Arsenal a better player.”

The Burnley fansite, www.clarets-mad.co.uk, also had several good things to say about the teenagers performance in mid week:

“It’s easy to forget the lad is just eighteen years of age; he looks so comfortable on the ball almost to the point of being too casual, and is always looking to make good use of the ball.”
“…..We followed that Jensen save with our best spell of the game and much of it was prompted by the impressive Randall. He had another shot at goal, this time a curler that just cleared the bar, but it was his confidence on the ball that stood out and his ability to bring others into play.”

Hopefully this wave of compliments will give Randall a first start for Burnley, with the Clarets looking to keep momentum going for their promotion push, in what will be a very difficult match against Watford at Turf Moor on Staurday.

Theo the man (boy) to step up?

In the aftermath of Eduardo’s injury, a big piece of news that has been easy to lose sight of is the momentous moment in Theo Walcott’s fledgeling career - his first Premiership goals for the club.

And the young Englishman has been speaking about his feelings on Eduardo and whether he thinks he can step up and make the second striker place his own. But before his own opportunity, comes the welfare of his team mate, and in the interview with Arsenal.com, Walcott expressed his thoughts on his Croatian team mate:

“Of course Eduardo has been on our minds,” Walcott told Arsenal.com. “It was a quiet coach ride home and felt just like a loss in truth. We had a couple of days off and then actually went bowling to keep our team-spirit up. A couple of lads went to see him yesterday and reported back to the rest of us. But we have tried to forget about it in a way and concentrate on Saturday. We don’t all want to rush there and then gradually stop. It will be more difficult for him in later months so we want to be there for him the whole time he is out.”

One man’s loss is another man’s gain in any case, and Theo is hoping that this time he will be able to get a run in the side which will see him progress towards the player he has the potential to be.

“I feel upbeat, I feel confident,” Theo said in the interview. “The goals helped and they gave me a boost so hopefully I can take that into Saturday. It was nice to get a poacher’s goal. My agents have told me I need more of those. Then the second was more about the kind of player I am. Left-foot too, which is something people have questioned me about. Now I just have to improve with every game and time will tell [if I can fill the striker’s role]. After all, the boss picks the team so when I do play I will just do my best.”

I strongly believe that Walcott can now prove his worth once and for all. A lot has been made of his career thus far, and a lot of it has been harsh criticism of him, from the moment Arsenal signed him in a deal of £5m, rising to around £12m based on clauses. The publicity surrounding him then doubled when Sven made the bizarre decision to take him to the World Cup but then didn’t even play him, and ever since every bad performance has been highlighted, whether by Arsenal fans or the media themselves.

Despite this I do believe he has improved as a player since he came to Arsenal, and idiots such as Stan Collymore who believe he should leave Arsenal and get regular football are wrong to say this is the only way he’ll improve. He has matured very well, and for any other 18 year old his position at the club is very good. He may not play every game, but he is an important member of the first team squad. Players like Febian Brandy at Man Utd and Ben Sahar at Chelsea are similar ages and are not untalented, but don’t get close to where Theo’s at in development.

He is the only option we have until van Persie is back, and who knows when that will be? Bendtner is too similar to Adebayor to be effective as anything other than a gamble as a substitute if we’re chasing a match. The little and large combination of Walcott and Adebayor may well prove vital come the end of the season, so everyone get behind him.

Is Flamini Juve bound?

 

This morning I woke up to the news that Flamini had agreed to join Juve at the end of the season. But it does not seem as cut and dried as that quite yet, with several confusing articles from various newspapers this morning saying slightly different things.

Firstly The Sun (not what you would generally call reliable) came out with the news that Flamini has decided he wants more cash:

MATHIEU FLAMINI is stalling on signing a new contract at Arsenal.

The French star has been offered a five-year deal and will become a free agent this summer if he does not sign. Flamini, 23, had agreed a massive rise from £20,000 to £50,000-a-week but Arsenal now fear he is set to dig in his heels for more cash. The Premier League leaders are also worried that he has been approached by another club. Flamini has formed an impressive midfield partnership with Spaniard Cesc Fabregas this season. And despite already agreeing terms, Arsenal may now have to increase their offer.

The Telegraph, meanwhile, reports on a story in the Daily Star that takes a slightly different take on it, saying that Arsenal think he has accepted an offer from Juve already:

Flamini’s contract expires at the end of the season and, according to a report in the Daily Star, his advisors have rebuffed Arsenal’s attempts to hold contract talks since the turn of the year. That has led Arsenal to conclude that he may have already accepted an offer from Juventus, with whom Flamini has been linked all season. Flamini was reportedly offered a five-year, £40,000-a-week contract before Christmas, but there has been no progress since then.

I really, really hope that the news, particularly the second story, is not true, as Flamini has been one of the keys to our success this season, and to lose him would not be a massive blow financially, but also to the strength of the team for next year. Not only that, even though Flamini is an excellent professional, if he has agreed to leave for Juve in the summer, his attitude towards the season run in may not be as good as it could be. We have seen the alternatives to Flamini this season, and they are not good at all in my opinion. Gilberto looks like he has now lost a great deal of enthusiasm for Arsenal, and he is not getting any younger either, and lacks the drive that Flamini has. Diaby, although we have not seen much of him centrally, definitely lacks the defensive capabilities to replace Flamini alongside Fabregas, while Denilson is a very promising player, but still does not have the defensive abilities of Flamini. That would mean we would have to find a replacement to buy in the summer, and there’s not too many players who are realistic targets for us who are better or as good as Flamini has been this season. The cost of a replacement as good as him would be anything upwards of £10-15m. Therefore if Flamini is just being greedy, give him the money, I believe at his age he is definitely worth the expense of a five year, 70K a week contract if thats what it would take.

The bottom line is: Flamini, stay here!

Jack Wilshere - Debut goal was “brilliant”

Away from the Eduardo injury, there has also been a good deal of other news stories about Arsenal that I could have posted about, although against what happened to Eduardo everything seems irrelevant really. Nevertheless, I will now try and update you on the latest stories around Ashburton Grove.

Firstly, Jack Wilshere has spoken about his goal scoring Reserve League debut against Reading last week. The 16 year old is highly thought of and his goal scoring form in the Under 18s this season has been staggering, with the poor run of results in the Under 18s coinciding with his absence from the team through injury.

“Neil told me a couple of days before the game that I would fit in on the left and I was so pleased,” said the 16-year-old. “I made sure that I prepared for it because it isn’t my usual position. I prefer to play through the middle but the boss wanted me out there so I was just happy to get on the field. I put extra work into my crossing so I was as ready as I could be. I was a bit nervous when he told me, and then I saw the team sheet with Liam Rosenior on it! But I just got on with my game as best as I could. “

“To actually score was brilliant. Nacer [Barazite] and Rui [Fonte] both did really well to create the chance and I just had to put a bit of pace on it and squeeze it past the man on the line. My Mum and Dad came down with some members of my family which was special. It was quite a big crowd, probably the biggest one I have played in front of, which gave me a bit more of a buzz. Hopefully now I can get a few more games at this level and ensure that we win the Academy league, then the play-offs and push on from there.”

Eduardo - Reaction from the professionals

A lot has been said by many different people within football this week about Eduardo, and I thought rather than only give my own opinion, I would gather the thoughts of many people connected to football, past or present, who have commented on his injury this week. Below are just a selection of comments that have been made this week:

“Unfortunately, strikers are fouled too much. You take knocks in football, but it was an ugly challenge on that poor Arsenal player [Eduardo]“ Roberto Mancini, Inter Milan coach

“I have also written to Eduardo and it is a tragedy for him, his club and his country and he is going to miss out on playing in the Euro 2008 finals. The signs seem to be good that he will make a full recovery and you hope that is the case and and he returns to full fitness.” Gordon Taylor, PFA Chief Executive

“My Eduardo won`t surrender. The operation went well and now the most important thing is to focus on his rehabilitation now“. Eduardo’s wife, Andrea

“At this moment, the most important thing for him is his family`s support and he can always count on his friends in the team.” Ivan Rakitic, Croatian International team mate 

“We wanted to win the title before but now we want to win it also for him. He is not going to be with us for a long time, so of course we want to win it for him. He is a friend before he is a partner in the team” Mathieu Flamini, Arsenal team mate

“We have a solid choice of strikers, but he is irreplaceable. I just want him to be well and fully recover. He’s not only a great player but one of the best guys I’ve met in my life so, of course, I’m totally sad. It’s terrible news.  He should be back big-time after a year, which is still sad, but the main thing is he’s going to come back. We have a good team but he’s our best player. You can’t find another player like Eduardo.” Slaven Bilic, Croatia manager

“Eduardo is a world class player and he is definitely in the right hands and I am sure he will come back.” Alex McLeish, Birmingham City manager

Eduardo - I am determined to overcome this injury

In a statement on Arsenal.com, Eduardo has spoken about his feelings regarding his injury and how long he thinks he’ll be out for.

“I don’t remember the incident very well and it is not something that I want to see again on television or in the newspapers. All I remember is that when I fell, I looked down at my foot and it had turned the other way. The rest is just a blank. It was an unfortunate situation but these things can happen in football.”
 
“I am unsure at the moment of the extent of the injury and how long I will be out of action for but I know that I won’t be able to play for Arsenal for the rest of the season or be ready in time for the Euros this summer.

“But I’m not worried about that.  My concentration and determination is on making as quick a recovery as possible.  I am determined to overcome this injury.
 
“I would like to thank the medical team here at Arsenal for their efforts as well as the staff at Selly Oak hospital who carried out the operation on Saturday night.  Everyone there made me feel as comfortable as possible.  I would also like to say how touched I am by the many messages of support I have received and to be surrounded by my loved ones at this time.”

All I can really say to this news is that his attitude is spot on and as I would expect from a player like him, and that everyone wishes him well and with any luck he’ll soon be back playing again.

Match Ratings - Birmingham City Vs Arsenal

Almunia - 5 - Didn’t have that much to do. Can’t be blamed for either goal really. An average performance.
Gallas - 6 - Huge desire to win shown towards the end in a controversial manner. Other than that, a quiet game.
Senderos - 7 - Solid. Handled McFadden pretty well.
Clichy - 5 - Stupid mistake at the end, got the ball in my opinion but should never have got into that situation. Crossing was poor throughout the match.
Sagna - 7 - Supported Walcott reasonably well, crossing was slightly better than Clichy but that isn’t saying much….
Flamini - 6.5 - Fights for everything, but did not show too much quality yesterday.
Fabregas - 7 - This game and the Milan game show promise of Fabregas coming into a bit of form. Should have scored.
Hleb - 6.5 - Great trickery and creativity in the second half, but really needs to shoot more.
Walcott - 7.5 - Great to see him score even if it was overshadowed by other events. Second goal was taken brilliantly, and hopefully this will take a lot of pressure off him.
Adebayor - 5 - Why didn’t he score?! If he had taken just one of the chances he got we would have been home and dry. Unfortunately, he didn’t do that.

Eduardo - N/A - So, so disappointing. Eduardo has really looked part of the first team since the Christmas period, and now he is out for no one even knows how long. Hopefully he’ll recover well and won’t have been affected too much, although that is a big ask.

Substitutes: 

Bendtner - 5.5 - Struggled a bit, but overall wasn’t too bad. If only Adebayor had seen him running through on goal….  

Denilson - N/A
Gilberto - N/A

Shocking….

 

Yesterday could well be a milestone in the title race to look back upon and wonder about what could have been. But I don’t care. The career of Eduardo, if not completely finished, will at least be heavily damaged and as Arsenal fans the injury to a very promising player is without doubt the most important thing to reflect upon.

 I will cover the Eduardo incident in far more detail in another post later on, and try and keep to an accurate account of the match for this article, as difficult as that is given the bearing the injury had on the match.

When Taylor got shown the red within three minutes I thought that the game was in the bag, the three points guaranteed, but when it became clear the effect of the challenge on not only Eduardo but his stricken team mates around him,the game suddenly seemed far less important to both the fans and the players, and this showed in the first half. It took twenty minutes for Birmingham to capitalise on Arsenal’s shock, with Birmingham getting a free kick on the edge of the penalty area after a 50:50 challenge from Flamini that could have gone either way. Mcfadden stepped up and showed his class by curling the ball into the top right corner of the net. In a disjointed and poor first half, Muamba was immense in central midfield for 10 man Birmingham, and McFadden also showed glimpses of class, and probably should have doubled his tally one on one with Almunia, but bizarrely mis kicked the ball wide.

The second half couldn’t have been more different though, with Arsenal seemingly resolved to win the game for Eduardo. Fabregas and Hleb picked up the pace in particular, with both being denied by the diving Taylor from outside the box. Hleb also had a well struck shot from the edge of the area turned over by Taylor as Arsenal pressed. From the corner Taylor could not grab the ball off Adebayor’s head, and the Togolese strikers header fell to Walcott whose neat finish gave the young Englishman his first Premier League goal. Walcott’s new found confidence from the goal told immediately as his brilliant first time ball set up Fabregas only for the Spaniard to hit the post. And Walcott was again at the heart of the action moments later, picking the ball up at speed, going past one defender before slotting home from the edge of the box. 2-1, and seemingly job done, with Arsenal going close repeatedly from Adebayor and co. but unable to get the third and decisive goal. Then, with just moments left, disaster struck as Arsenal’s reluctance to hoof the ball clear got Clichy into trouble, and as the Frenchman dallied he was force into a challenge with Parnaby, but despite getting the ball the referee pointed to the spot. With 94 minutes on the clock McFadden stepped up and cooly converted, leaving Man United only three poins behing the Gunners with eleven games left to play.