Robin van Persie's new role at the tip of the Arsenal front three is sought to bring more variety to side's attacking play.
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Few would have had Thomas Vermaelen as Arsenal's top scorer in the early stages of the season, not least because he is a defender but the Belgian had also yet to kick a ball in the Premier League before his £10million move from Ajax and who others decided against signing because of his height.

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Arsene Wenger has traded the 4-4-2 with the 4-3-3 for the new season in order to reinvigorate his side but what is different about the new system?
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The problem facing Chris Barnard, the first surgeon to successfully perform a human-to-human heart transplant was rejection whether the patient's body would accept the new organ.

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The pessimism and negativity had been overwhelming. The doomsayers had ruled the roost to continue the chicken analogy.
And then the season actually started. Horror of horrors, Arsenal can actually play football. Of course, one swallow doesn't make a summer and on isolated occasions we were brilliant last year but results that were achieved at Goodison and Parkhead can only be good for momentum. Click to continue reading...

The AFC website mentions the former AEK midfielder in a few articles on its site. Rivaldo Scores at his AFC Champions League Debut The AFC also mentions Rivaldo in some other articles on the site. Click to continue reading...

Good stuff here from the gaffer on his preferred 4-3-3 system, his relationship with the club administration and the difficulty of a new coach getting the players to understand his philosophy. Click to continue reading...

We first reported on this signing four days ago, only to see it derailed supposedly by excessive wage demands by the player.  Well, now it's official.  The French born attacker, who plays for Algeria's national team, is quick, with a deadly instinct.  He'll bolster our attack and plug right into Donis's preferred 4-3-3. Click to continue reading...

This French-born striker, who plays for the Algerian national team (six caps, one goal), spent last season plying his trade for Panionios, appearing in 31 games and scoring 19 goals. Good stuff. He's fast, a reliable finisher and will bolster Donis's 4-3-3 system. Click to continue reading...

A new coach, several new players, new tactical systems...so I figured it was time for another team building exercise.

I can't resist this picture. It's Lyon to a T.

Between friendlies and the first few competitive games, we've gotten a vague idea about the kind of team Puel wants to form - tactically organized, defensively solid, players sticking to their roles (as opposed to last season, where players would be out of position all the time).

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