Ever since Patrick Vieira left Arsenal for Juventus, in the summer of 2005, there has been a void in Arsenal's midfield enforcer role.

Sure, Gilberto Silva helped clean things up for a few years, and the 2007-08 form of Matthieu Flamini was a revelation for Arsenal supporters. However, seeing both of those players depart in the same offseason, was a little too much for Arsenal to handle, and the results showed that.

Gallery, images, photos and pictures of Celtic v Arsenal, UEFA Champions League Play-Offs, Round 1, the 18th of August.

Includes Robin van Persie, Gael Clichy, Gary Caldwell, William Gallas, Shaun Maloney, Cesc Fabregas, Alexandre Song, Andrey Arshavin, Bacary Sagna and Scott Brown.

Continuing to surf on La Gazzetta's "Serie A vs. EPL" wave, here are ALL THE PLAYERS from UEFA Champions League's Arsenal vs. Roma. MANUEL ALMUNIA After the Lehmann-era, the Spanish keeper became a first-team choice almost by accident, without ever doing anything extraordinary to earn the choice of nº1 in one of most prestigious clubs of [.

Impressive Ajax man on Wenger Radar.

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Arsene Wenger is keeping tabs on Ajax defender Gregory van der Wiel.

Gunners boss Wenger has sent scouts to spy on the 21-year-old right back after van der Wiel's impressive recent form saw him break into the Dutch national team.

Italian giants eyeing up pair of Gunners.

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Juventus are weighing up moves for Arsenal duo Bacary Sagna and Emmanuel Eboue, according to reports.

Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie committed to Arsenal
Fabregas-and-Robin-van-Persie-committed-to-Arsenal.html" target=_blank>Full Article

Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie have both given indication that they intend to stay at Arsenal beyond the summer after Arsene Wenger's side booked a Champions League semi-final against Manchester United.

Manchester United v. Arsenal
Stadium: Old Trafford, England
Competition: UEFA Champions League, Semifinals, Leg 1
Date: 29 April 2009
Kickoff: 18:45 GMT, 14:45 EST

Manchester United and Arsenal will add to their storied rivalry as they'll clash in the Semifinals of the UEFA Champions League!

The polls are closed, you all have had your say, and you have voted for Bacary Sagna in 5th place of the 2008/2009 Gooners of the Year.

I'll admit that I'm a bit surprised. I fully expected to get up and write a totally different article but there was a push late yesterday and Sagna came in 5th.

I can still remember my first impression of Arsene Wenger when he took over as Arsenal manager back in 1996. He had the look of a geography teacher about him and came across as being very studious. A few of us in that Arsenal side were of an age where we were set in our ways, but also looking over our shoulders to see how long we had left in the game.

Let battle commence.

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Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has delayed finalising his team for Saturday's World Cup play-off first leg against France at Croke Park.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Update: Here's the official video! Enjoy. And shame on you if you ran away from a floppy eared bunny with a bucket.

Original post below.

Sometimes it's best not to find out the answers to the hard questions.

Arsenal players Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Andrey Arshavin, and Bacary Sagna have given up their Gunners kits for a day to team up with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. The four players got dressed up in furry animal suits as they filmed a promotional video for Arsenal's Charity of the Season.

The penultimate weekend of the season provoked plenty of Right Result activity at the top and bottom of the table.

Manchester United's day just about went to plan as they secured their 11th Premier League title with a nil-nil draw against Arsenal. It wasn't without a few jitters before the end of the game at Old Trafford, but such concerns should have been avoided.

It didn't take long for French International Bacary Sagna to rubbish rumours saying he would leave Arsenal if Real Madrid come knocking. Some papers wrote about the Spanish club approaching the Frenchman after failing to sign another Arsenal defender, Gael Clichy.

But the 26-year old told the club's official website:

I have seen the quotes attributed to me in the French media today and I just wanted to put the record straight.

Liverpool have wrapped up their signing of Glen Johnson from Portsmouth. The lingering doubt, though, is how much of a role can arguably Britain's finest full-back play in transforming Liverpool into Premiership champions.
On last season's form, Johnson is certainly England's best full-back.

Gallery, Images, Photos & Pictures of Arsenal's Bacary Sagna 2009/2010 Season. Teams/Clubs: Arsenal Players/People: Bacary Sagna Events/Matches: Arsenal Emirates Cup Press Conference, 2009. Portsmouth v Arsenal Barclays Premier League, 2009. Manchester United v Arsenal Champions League, 2009. Arsenal Training Session, 2009.

Gallery, images, photos and pictures of Arsenal players out in the club. Includes Cesc Fabregas and Andrey Arshavin.

Football bloggers are busy today. We have a wide array of topics on the plate, including last night's win of Arsenal over Celtic, bitter journalists, the Champions League draw, and the obsession with younger players in the football community. Take your pick!

Bird scorned
Ageing, battle scarred, chippy, inarticulate.

Italian giants sniffing (not literally) around talented Frenchman.

Juventus have laid eyes on Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna as they draw up plans for the right side of their defence.

According to Tuttosport, Sagna is on top of the hit-list at Vinovo and director Alessio Secco is reportedly very keen to land him.

Samir: Let it go Fab, they can't help it if they're that bad

Ok. I'll admit if you think that's lame but that pretty much sums up the match doesn't it. Andrey Arshavin had a blast as Arsenal met (thrash) Alkmaar in the Champions League encounter last night. Qualification is not mathematically secured yet but it would take a miraculous set of results for Arsenal not to go through.

'Fundraising Day', a short film starring four Arsenal stars dressed as animals Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Andrey Arshavin and Bacary Sagna is released tomorrow (Wednesday 18th) in aid of the Gunners' Charity of the Season, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. To watch the film and to find out more go to beagoonerbeagiver.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Update: Here's the official video! Enjoy. And shame on you if you ran away from a floppy eared bunny with a bucket.

Original post below.

Sometimes it's best not to find out the answers to the hard questions.

Wenger wants in form Frenchman.

Get Arsenal Tickets at Fantastic Prices Now!

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Arsenal is the main target for highly talented Loic Remy 22-year-old Nice striker

Arsenal have been linked with another skillful French player.

Continuing to surf on La Gazzetta's "Serie A vs. EPL" wave, here are ALL THE PLAYERS from UEFA Champions League's Arsenal vs. Roma. MANUEL ALMUNIA After the Lehmann-era, the Spanish keeper became a first-team choice almost by accident, without ever doing anything extraordinary to earn the choice of nº1 in one of most prestigious clubs of [.

Fresh from the great minds of Gazzetta dello Sport, here is a look at ALL THE PLAYERS from UEFA Champion's League Arsenal vs. AS Roma. Enjoy! . . . . . . . . . . . MANUEL ALMUNIA After the Lehmann-era, the Spanish keeper became a first-team choice almost by accident, without ever doing anything extraordinary to earn the choice of nº1 in one of most prestigious [.

Sagna believes Arsene Wenger's team are capable of catching fourth placed Aston Villa and securing a Champions League spot. The Gunners had gone four games without a league goal - their worst sequence for 14 years - before Nicklas Bendtner struck twice in a 3-1 win at bottom club West Brom. It was the perfect game for [.

Ahead of Saturday's mouthwatering FA Cup clash with South London minnows Chelsea, Gooner Talk want YOUR predicted teams for the Semi Final at Wembley. Kieran Gibbs and Bacary Sagna are both doubts, with the latter expected to recover in time while fellow defenders Clichy, Djourou are both ruled out.

Morning all.

The games are coming thick and fast and we're struggling to cope - particularly at the back. The team news that emerged yesterday is that Kieran Gibbs is struggling to be fit for the Chelsea game after picking up a groin injury against Villarreal. Bacary Sagna is also struggling to be fit after his illness.

At the end of the day, it's the second leg that matters. Provided it's only a one goal deficit, anything can happen.
2 goals would have been decisive: Juve lost 2-0 in the first leg of the '06 quarter final and their performance in the second leg suggested what we all knew: that it was an insurmountable mountain for them to win the tie from then on.

Arsene Wenger's response to a question at last night's shareholders Q and A regarding what sort of transfer budget he would have in the summer.
For me, this epitomises why Wenger cannot be criticised for having a weak squad: possibly certain team selections/substitutions have been incorrect, but in acquiring this squad, he has done an outstanding job.

Before I crack on with the second instal(l)ment of the player ratings, I have a little message:
This blog very rarely ventures into politics. However, for those who live in the UK tomorrow (Thursday) is European and Council election day. I don't mind who you vote for, but if you are eligible to do so, please HELP KEEP THE BNP OUT!

Vieira didn't make the squad. Domenech said he needs games to back into the team. Here's who did make it:

Goalkeepers
Hugo Lloris (Lyon)
Steve Mandanda (Marseille)
Cedric Carrasso (Bordeaux)

Defenders
Eric Abidal (Barcelona/ESP)
Julien Escude (Sevilla/ESP)
Patrice Evra (Manchester United/ENG)
Rod Fanni (Rennes)
William Gallas (Arsenal/ENG)
Bacary Sagna (Arsenal/ENG)
Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla/ESP)

Midfielders
Alou Diarra (Bordeaux)
Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid/ESP)
Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux)
Florent Malouda (Chelsea/ENG)
Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse)
Jeremy Toulalan (Lyon)
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich/GER)

Forwards
Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea/ENG)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/ESP)
Thierry Henry (Barcelona/ESP)
Andre-Pierre Gignac (Toulouse)
Loic Remy (Nice)

Ribery is coming back from injury and Domenech hinted that he would probably be used sparingly.

Midweek and it's kinda quiet. The open training session took place yesterday and was streamed live by the official site. It was quite interesting to watch but the non-stop commentary made it sound a bit like a footballing Eurovision - only a little more camp.

It looked like fun for those that were there.

Speaking after last Tuesday's 0-2 win against Celtic away from home, Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna was delighted the squad kept their focus from start to finish.

In an interview reported by FIFA.com, the Frenchman said:

It was hard to stay focused on the pitch. It's difficult to play against this kind of atmosphere.

by CARL ELDRIDGE The newspaper spotlight falls on Theo Walcott this morning with Arsene Wenger apparently telling us he won't rush the youngster back into action after he suffered a back injury.

AW had hoped to have him back for Saturday's clash with Portsmouth but now says Walcott could miss the visit of Celtic to the Emirates on Wednesday in the second leg of the Champions League play-off and the game against Manchester United next week.

It is International Week in the footballing world, and club matches, at least in Europe will not take place. The World Cup Qualifiers and Friendlies will take place this week. We bring you a list of Arsenal players representing their countries today (5th September):

• Cesc Fabregas (Spain) - Spain Vs Belgium (WCQ)

• Thomas Vermaelen (Belgium) - Spain Vs Belgium (WCQ)

• William Gallas, Abou Diaby, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna (France) - France Vs Romania (WCQ)

• Phillipe Senderos (Switzerland) - Switzerland Vs Greece (WCQ)

• Eduardo (Croatia) - Croatia Vs Belarus (WCQ)

• Tomas Rosicky (Czech Republic) - Slovakia Vs Czech Republic (WCQ)

• Robin van Persie (Netherlands) - Netherlands Vs Japan (Friendly)

• Nicklas Bendtner (Denmark) - Denmark Vs Portugal (WCQ)

• Andrei Arshavin (Russia) - Russia Vs Liechtenstein (WCQ)

• Alex Song (Cameroon) - Gabon Vs Cameroon (WCQ)

• Emmanuel Eboue (Ivory Coast) - Ivory Coast Vs Burkina Faso (WCQ)

• Wojciech Szczesny (Poland) - Poland Vs Northern Ireland (WCQ)

GO GUNNERS!

Fullbacks Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy return to the fold for tonight's game with Alkmaar. The latter makes his comeback from injury, while Sagna returns after being rested during the weekend's game against Birmingham. Vito Mannone keeps his place in goal and Emmanuel Eboue also starts.

Turin side interested in Gunners pair.

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Arsenal full-back Bacary Sagna is the latest member of the Arsenal defensive line-up to be linked with a move away from north London.

Count the years off one by one. Every single year in this decade we have played Spurs home and away in the League. And out of twenty matches we haven't lost a single one. Not a single one.
Even if we had lost one, we could still reflect on the annual difference between the teams shown by the League table.

There it is. I just knew it was going to happen soon. This one problem could derail Arsenal and Gooners hope for silverware this season. Will the decision not to replace the Togolese idiot come back to haunt Wenger? Or will someone rise from the misfortune of his team mate and stake a claim for his place?