By Alan Duffy

After initially ousting Jens Lehmann between the posts for Arsenal, Spanish 'keeper Manuel Almunia never really impressed enough to secure the no.1 jersey for the Gunners. Now, after spending over a season on the sidelines, the 35-year-old has finally been released by Arsene Wenger.

Wanted asset?

We all knew what's required of this break between seasons. For us fans to take a break and recharge our batteries in the same way as the players/coaches. Perhaps not from a physically tiring state like the players but definitely from the mentally sapping campaign that we just went through.

Wanted asset?

We all knew what's required of this break between seasons. For us fans to take a break and recharge our batteries in the same way as the players/coaches. Perhaps not from a physically tiring state like the players but definitely from the mentally sapping campaign that we just went through.

By Alan Duffy

Touted as England's shiny new talisman only a year ago, Arsenal schemer Jack Wilshere has seen his whole season pass by without kicking a ball in anger. While he was expected to be ready for the start of the 2012/13 campaign, news that the youngster is to undergo yet another operation is sure to have both Arsenal and England fans worrying about the midfielder's long-term future.

Wenger Praises 'Special' Van Persie

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has lauded captain Robin van Persie for scoring 30 league goals this season and said that the Dutch striker's achievement is 'special.'

Van Persie has become only the seventh Arsenal player ever to reach the 30-goal mark in a single season and, according to Wenger, the striker's historical accomplishment shows just how vital he is to the Gunners.

What he really wants. Trophies, not a return to Holland

After knowing that he has won the award for almost a week now, Robin Van Persie finally went to receive it. During the glittering ceremony, RvP also spoke about his love for Arsenal Football Club. The headline in that link will read as "but that doesn't mean he'll stay".

Arsenal in Pole Position to Sign M'Vila

According to The Sun, Arsenal FC manager Arsene Wenger has made up his mind to submit a bid for Rennes' defensive midfielder Yann M'Vila and the Gunners boss is confident that a bid of £17 million will get him his man.

In January 2006, we were in a bit of a mess.
Patrick Vieira, the lynchpin of three title-winning teams, had been abruptly sold in the summer of 2005 and we had failed in our attempts to buy a replacement. Fabregas and Gilberto did their best to strike-up an effective partnership in midfield, but couldn't cover up the fact that we had a hole in the middle of the side.

Stoke away has time and again proven the undoing of Arsenal, with the Gunners having returned from the Britannia Stadium with nary a point to show for their efforts on three of the past four visits. Add to that the troubling statistic that Arsenal has not won a league game in which currently injured midfield stalwart Mikel Arteta has not played and this match is far from a gimme.

Three games to go in this extraordinary season.

Three games to secure third place and a guarantee of Champions League football next year (not to mention the increased likelihood of retaining the services of a certain Dutchman who finds the net at moments of his own choosing).

Or three games to slip to fourth, maybe even fifth and re-ignite the poisonous debate about the future of our club and its most successful modern manager.

Three games to go in this extraordinary season.

Three games to secure third place and a guarantee of Champions League football next year (not to mention the increased likelihood of retaining the services of a certain Dutchman who finds the net at moments of his own choosing).

Or three games to slip to fourth, maybe even fifth and re-ignite the poisonous debate about the future of our club and its most successful modern manager.

Right at home

Trophy, that's where we will start today. Robin Van Persie has started the ball rolling by winning the first of many trophies to come for Arsenal Football Club. Fine, it's an individual award but he did achieved it while playing for us and without the support of his team mates, he wouldn't have won this trophy.

Right at home

Trophy, that's where we will start today. Robin Van Persie has started the ball rolling by winning the first of many trophies to come for Arsenal Football Club. Fine, it's an individual award but he did achieved it while playing for us and without the support of his team mates, he wouldn't have won this trophy.

Morning all, welcome to Friday. Last night I dreamt that I won a contract to paint the stadium but the club's insistence that it be painted with Tippex made it a very fiddly and time-consuming job indeed. It was taking ages, and I wasn't allowed to hire anyone to help me.

Anyway, on with early team news ahead of tomorrow's crunch game against John Terry's Philandering Flock, and the manager has confirmed Mikel Arteta's absence but says the injury is just a 'bad sprain' and nothing more serious than that.

Andre will miss seeing those abs

Feels a little weird to start off talking about another club in a match which doesn't involve us. Or does potentially involve us, seeing that if Chelsea do win the Champions League and doesn't finish in third place. Combined that with us finishing lower than where we are now, there will be no Champions League for us next season.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has hinted of a major change in his transfer market strategy by saying that he might use his entire transfer kitty on a few world class players instead of just buying talented youngsters like he usually does.

While he rubbished media reports that he has already wrapped up the signing of German international Lukas Podolski from FC Koln, he did admit that he will be loosening up his purse strings in the next transfer window if any high-quality players become available in the market.

It's believed that young English midfielder Jack Wilshere may still return to the Gunners before the season's over and could still play a part in the team's late-season run for third place and a guaranteed Champions League spot for next season. Manager Arsene Wenger hasn't publicly announced a timetable for Wilshere's return, but the Independent reports that he privately thinks Wilshere will return before the campaign comes to an end.

Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba suddenly collapsed in the 42nd minute in the FA Cup quarter-finals against Spurs. He was given cardiac massage, mouth to mouth, and de-fibrillated in an effort to resuscitate him before being stretchered off. Bolton issued a statement saying he was "critically ill.

Support on the way

Friday and it still hurts a little that we did not qualify for the next phase of the Champions League. But it's best we put that disappointment on the side and concentrate on the positives. We're on a small run now, small run of victories. Only 3 consecutive matches won on the trot but big wins each one of them.

Diaby is injured again! by KJ The French-international Abou Diaby is well documented for his continuous injuries and has been labelled injury prone by many Arsenal fans. Is it the right time to let him go? Arsenal had signed him from French club Auxerre for an estimated £2 million. Apparently he had turned down our [.

Following on from Rocky's finely researched post about the curse of the Carling Cup:

Another lunch time fixture, another outing for our dreadful blue away kit and a tough fixture.

I am from the generation which remembers Anfield as the toughest fixture of the season. Win up there and you were a quality team, you had to be because for many, many years Liverpool were supreme: The Liverpool side of the late 80′s was the best team ever seen on British soil until the arrival of The Invincibles.

Following on from Rocky's finely researched post about the curse of the Carling Cup:

Another lunch time fixture, another outing for our dreadful blue away kit and a tough fixture.

I am from the generation which remembers Anfield as the toughest fixture of the season. Win up there and you were a quality team, you had to be because for many, many years Liverpool were supreme: The Liverpool side of the late 80′s was the best team ever seen on British soil until the arrival of The Invincibles.

Come on!!!

First game after the massive thrashing we gave our version of the"noisy neighbours". I should think that some of the euphoria and boost should still be there with the squad going into the trip to Anfield. A part of it will no doubt be diluted by half the squad going away for what can only be deemed as a silly time to have international matches.

Liverpool vs Arsenal
3 March 2012
12.45 GMT
Anfield

History:
Total: 209
Liverpool Wins: 82
Arsenal Wins: 73
Draws: 54

Last Premier League Meeting: 20 August 2011 – Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool (Ramsey og, Suarez)

Form:
Liverpool: Fresh off their League Cup triumph, Liverpool will be looking to carry their form into a tough tie with Arsenal.

Andrey Arshavin has moved back to Zenit on loan and that means £80,000 off the wage bill. That's if the list of wages Arsenalinsider has been sent is to be believed.

The bulging paypackets for players such as Sebastien Squillaci (£60,000-a-week) and Abou Diaby (£50,000) are astonishing as are the huge amounts being paid to backroom staff.

Like Song, Vermaelen will get to play in the middle now

For a short period of time, we turn our attention elsewhere. There will be no worries of long ball tactics or roughhouse treatment or any of those "they don't like it when we get in their faces" attitude. At least not in the next immediate game.

This January's Arsenal transfer news was relatively quiet at the Emirates Stadium, with Thierry Henry returning to the club on loan from New York Red Bulls and German teenager Thomas Eisfeld arriving from Borussia Dortmund for a modest fee.

However, activity has not always been this sedate at Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger making some surprising and at times, blockbuster signings in January.

This January's Arsenal transfer news was relatively quiet at the Emirates Stadium, with Thierry Henry returning to the club on loan from New York Red Bulls and German teenager Thomas Eisfeld arriving from Borussia Dortmund for a modest fee.

However, activity has not always been this sedate at Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger making some surprising and at times, blockbuster signings in January.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has alleviated concerns about Arsenal's perennially high injury list, stating that it is about to shorten in the coming days.

Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski made a long-awaited return in the goal during yesterday evening's 3-2 FA Cup win at home to Aston Villa and Wenger believes that midfielders Abou Diaby and Jack Wilshere are also recovering better than expected.

Football is supposed to be a glamourous career. Scoring goals in front of adoring fans and all that crap. Not if you're name is Khairul Amri it ain't though.
The poor bastard spends most of his time injured. He's 27 in March, should be at the peak of his powers but guess what? He's gonna be out for the next 12 weeks with another injury.

Many Arsenal fans may have already given up on ever seeing Abou Diaby in an Arsenal shirt again after his continuing series of ankle problems, which started just after he arrived at the Gunners in 2006. He was apparently close to a comeback last month but Arsene Wenger announced that he had he had had [.

It's January, and in the footballing world January means only one thing. The winter transfer window, where player names are bandied about as potential new players and the ones we love to hate are bound and gagged in hopes that someone will take them off our hands.

For the next twenty one days, rumors will abound.

The good thing about the festive period is that any disappointments can be quickly offset. Today we face QPR having dropped a couple of points against Wolves and it's crucial we take all three today.

In terms of the team news I was expecting some changes today, the most obvious of which was a rest for Robin van Persie.

The Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby was hailed as the "new Patrick Vieira" when he arrived at Arsenal five years ago, but he immediately broke an ankle which it would appear has never fully healed. He has never made more than 20 appearances for the Gunners in a season, and has made more comebacks than Frank [.

Yoann Gourcuff has been linked with a move to Arsenal for a long, long time.
Since the summer this 'rumour' has grown bigger than Gervinho's forehead and won't go away despite Arsene Wenger denying it will happen.
Wenger's reason for not bringing in Gourcuff is that Jack Wilshere and Abou Diaby will be back from injury soon and there will be a lot of players in the midfield area.

Tom Goom is a physiotherapist and Gooner. He loves Arsenal, cheese and shooting thirty yards over the bar. He hate grass munching, racist centre halves, and former Manchester United strikers who look like Black Beauty's ugly diving younger brother.

This week, the grisly details of Abou Diaby's ankle injury:

May 1st 2006.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed that midfielder Abou Diaby is again injured and will be out for at least ten days. Speaking to Arsenal Player as well as in his pre-Wigan press conference, the Frenchman explained ...

Good morning to you.

We have the Carling Cup to contend with this evening and we take on the richest club in the world, with the biggest, most expensive squad in the world, and a manager who is complaining about a fixture pile-up. To be fair to Roberto Mancini, he's got a point. Playing Sunday then Tuesday is tough for any team but when you can replace all 11 players and call on the likes of Kolo Toure, Kolarov, Dzeko, Adam Johnson and others who didn't start the game against Liverpool then it does make life a bit easier.

There was something poignant about the moment, mid way through the second half, when Arsène Wenger made his first two substitutions.

Gervinho and Abou Diaby were bouncing on the touchline: primed, eager and ready while the fourth official fiddled with his number board.

Three yards away from them, on the pitch, a small Russian man was standing on his own, looking downcast and waiting for the inevitable appearance of the number 23 on the official's board.

While Abou Diaby and Tomas Rosicky look to have been confirmed as available for the Gunners, Fulham Arsenal's opponents on Saturday evening have far more significant injury concerns. Republic of Ireland international Damien Duff is out of the clash at the Emirates with a calf problem and countryman Stephen Kelly's groin injury keeps [.