It's the first clean sheet of our Premiership season and it's a very comfortable win the one registered this afternoon at the Emirates, but unfortunately, there's still a question or two which will be asked in the coming days.

Many will ask how come Fabregas didn't celebrate the fourth goal, is it an injury or something else?

I was curious what the repercussions of the stomp by D.C. United goalkeeper Josh Wicks on Seattle's Fredy Montero would be.
Who better to provide the info than the Washington Post, and here's what Paul Tenorio had on Goff's blog.
Here's a team statement followed by some inside stuff:

Here is the statement:
"D.

Pardon the overly extreme headline and this will be a short one, I promise but it's things like these that rub bloggers or independent reporters the wrong way. You would expect the mainstream media to follow basic journalistic etiquette; if it's a quote you attribute the source, or give credit where it's due.

Manchester City away from home last season was when we really hit the bottom and you would expect to see changes and lessons learned after that.

Unfortunately, not for us. Same old players, same old mistakes, same old tactics and same old players out of position. I wish I could say I don't know why Nicklas Bendtner, who clearly said he hates to play on the wing and did so well as a central striker for Denmark was played on the right, but I have the answer.

Lady luck is back, it seems. A lot of questions will be asked after last night's performance, starting with why on earth seven, eight, maybe more highly-paid professional footballers decide to approach a Champions League game with such an uninterested approach.

I don't know, it seemed many didn't want to travel to Belgium or maybe thought that wasting time against such a weak team was not in their plans.

Carlos Vela ensured Arsenal's youngsters enjoyed a smooth passage into the League Cup fourth round as his live-wire display inspired a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday.

If reports in the Portuguese media are to be believed Rodrigo Possebon, who was loaned out to SC Braga, has returned to Manchester. Google translate is not the best, but according to this link, he's been axed because of a squad trimming exercise by the coach.

I also saw it mentioned on the United Youth site in its roundup of our loanees.

Many Arsenal fans were left frustrated after last Saturday's penalty kick awarded to Manchester United as they believe Wayne Rooney dived.

On the issue, the player said:

I think everyone who watches me play knows I am an honest player who tries to be as honest as they can.

UM02 May want to get ready to welcome Becks...
Could David Beckham teaming up with the ever vocal, Joey Saputo? Strange as that may sound according to at least one insider the two have spoken of the possibility.
Courtesy of Jack Bell's Goal Blog at the New York Times:

And according to a person with knowledge of Beckham's planning who spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns about jeopardizing any potential deal, Beckham and his management team at 19 Entertainment (led by Simon Fuller) and Creative Artists Agency (led by Jeff Frasco) are interested in partnering with Joey Saputo, the owner of the Montreal Impact (the club now plays in United Soccer Leagues' First Division, one tier down from M.

He leído la mejor reseña y análisis del Argentina vs Brasil, de lado argentino. Una genialidad de redacción, orden de ideas, pero sobre todo de lucidez futbolística y un sentido crítico necesario cuando las cosas no van.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger opted to sign no players on the last day of transfer market and Thomas Vermaelen remains the Frenchman's only signing of the summer.

Having sold Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure to Manchester City, the Gunners were linked with a number of players including Marouane Chamakh and Brede Hangeland but Wenger decided to stick with his squad, which he believes is strong enough to challenge for the title.

Robin Van Persie scored Holland's first goal in the Orange 3-0 win over Japan in today's International friend game.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed he is keeping an eye on Italy's Mario Balotelli ahead of the future. The 19-year old has impressed with Inter Milan but failed to make it into Jose Mourinho's first-eleven.

The Frenchman said:

I consider Inter an excellent squad who can do really well in the Champions League.

If you read this blog often you'll notice that I am of course a soccer fan but that I love the Montreal Impact and the Bordeaux Girondins. So when I heard the news that David Beckham was interested in being part owner of the Montreal Impact and helping them find their way into the MLS I nearly hit the roof.

As per his usual, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger provided an update on the injured players ahead of the next game, with the Frenchman clearly frustrated with the news on Andrey Arshavin.

Wenger said:

We are upset because he should not have played. He was not in a condition where he could afford to play 90 minutes.

Harry Redknapp supports Arsenal!
Full Article

Harry Redknapp is associated intrinsically with West Ham United, so it was refreshing for Spurs fans to realise how much the White Hart Lane club are in his blood.

As a kid he trained with Spurs, met the club's greatest legend, Bill Nicholson and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Dave Mackay, John White, Danny Blanchflower and Cliff Jones.

A diferença não se chama Pep
"Concordo que ele não seja um bom treinador, mas discordo quando o SPORT centraliza o mau futebol que Messi apresenta na seleção na figura de Maradona. Diego vai mal, toma decisões equivocadas e tudo mais. Mas não é só isso. O Barcelona é muito mais time que a Argentina, coletiva e individualmente.

Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky is finally back. After suffering a bizarred injury which kept him out for a very long time, the Czech International is ready to help the Gunners end their lack of silverware.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, the 28-year old said:

It was a great feeling when I came back and I got a great reception from the fans,

I am fired up to win a trophy and enjoying being back.

Fabregas rips into banned Adebayor
Full Article

LONDON — Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has hit out at former team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor's violent conduct which led to a three-match ban for the Manchester City striker on Thursday.

Adebayor was handed the ban by the Football Association for stamping on the face of Arsenal's Robin van Persie during a stormy Premier League match which City won 4-2 last week.

I was a bit disappointed to see Fabio da Silva sent off against Wolves in midweek. The Carling Cup has been a platform for our young players to show their mettle and prove themselves. So I was really keen to see them line up against Wolves and put on a performance. So, being reduced to 10 men wasn't going to help them prove their worth was a shame Macheda had to be sacrificed as a result, but I digress.

Ready to get that taste out of your mouth? The U.S. Men return to qualifying action Saturday against El Salvador before facing Trinidad and Tobago next Wednesday. A pair of wins here or a win and a draw would go a long way to solidifying the USA's place in next summer's FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby was all over the news last weekend following an incredible own goal which gave Manchester United the lead at Old Trafford.

Manager Arsene Wenger believes the 23-year old will recover from that and can go on to become a main figure in the Gunner's midfield.

The Frenchman said:

If he stays injury free, he can be an athlete and powerhouse.

After Tomas Rosicky announced he is ready to play for his national side despite not 100% fit, Russian midfielder Andrey Arshavin declared he has a good chance to face Wales on Saturday.

The Arsenal player, who scored a fabulous goal last Saturday against Manchester United said:

I definitely won't be ready to play against Liechtenstein.

Chelsea have been red-carded out of the transfer proceedings.
English Premier League club Chelsea has suffered a serious punishment, as FIFA has banned the club from registering new players for two full transfer periods. While Chelsea will appeal, the sanction would prohibit them from bringing in new players until January of 2011 if the ruling stands.

In the new this week are three massive stories that are worth comment.

Saturday September 5th I am going to be hanging out and speaking at the Brandon Soccer League Kickoff Party in Brandon, Mississippi!! The league has all their teams coming in and they will be doing an Olympic style opening ceremony to introduce each team. I am not going to be passing a torch or anything but I will be giving a quick speech and trying to get the club pumped up for their season to come.

Afternoon people, this isnt going to be the longest blog I have ever written because quite frankly there is not an awful lot out there and what is out there, is utter crap.

That is what The Sun are leading with today and it absolutely stinks. The chances of Usmanov ever completing a takeover of this club are nil as far as I'm concerned, I don't think the board (with the money of Stan Kroenke) would ever be swayed by Usmanov's billions, it must also be remembered that Usmanov has lost a lot of money over the past year or so sitting 200 places lower than Stan Kroenke in the rich list and with a wife who is even richer.

In a complete interview published by Goal.com, Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas spoke about the Gunners' start to the season, the never-ending cheap transfer rumours and his future with the North London club.

On the 2-1 narrow defeat against Manchester United, the captain said:

It hurts to lose in that way, but we were denied many opportunities and it was a very physical game maybe too physical but we showed that we will not be bullied by anybody.

One of the first posts I ever made was about how official gear from the stores in the USA is just awful. There's not really any selection and it looks like the merch that is sent here are only the things that wouldn't sell in the UK. As excited as I am about piggy banks and slippers, I would really appreciate it if someone would throw us a t-shirt that looked cool.

Festivities to kick off at 6:45 ET, with live MFUSA Soccer Show to immediately follow. I've put the relevant blog, player, and chat here for your convenience. We now have a phone number for you to...

I completely forgot to mention this in my blog, but as I feel so special, I shall give it it's own blog and not just an UPDATE on the other one.

Sitting yesterday after the match I was seething/stewing/ranting, sometimes it was one at a time, sometimes all three. Anyway, You're on Sky Sports was on and I decided I'd send them an email.

Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue was "happy" to see former team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor banned for three games after his violent conduct in the Manchester City vs Arsenal game on seven days ago.

The Ivory Coast International said:

I have no idea why he acted like this. We always respected him.

2-1

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4-3

"Video: Man Utd 4-3 Man City" was originally published at Red Rants - Manchester United Blog.

The Game

Having lost their last two away games in the Premiership, Arsene Wenger's side will be looking to end the away negative run as they face Roy Hodgson's Fulham. And, with Chelsea losing away at Wigan, simply put, the Gunners cannot blow such a golden chance to close the gap at the top.

Hello and welcome to Longpier.com's coverage of Southend's biggest free arts, drama and music festival - Village Green at Chalkwell Park. You've arrived at the live photos page (below).
Check out the LIVE VIDEO and the LIVE BLOG from the event. And CLICK HERE for the event schedule.

With Chelsea losing away at Wigan, we simply HAD to win this afternoon and so we did. It could have easily ended in a draw or worse if it wasn't for Vito Mannone, the Italian goalkeeper who many including myself thought he was there just to make numbers. Instead, he played full of confidence, excellent in leaving his goal and incredible in denying the home side.

The following quote comes from FCD training Monday.

The Rapids Undercurrent, has a new post with some stuff from coach Gary Smith with a bunch more on Ihemelu and Moor.

American international Heath Pearce has signed for Turkish First Division side Buraspor (just south of Istanbul).
The Gators are currently in fifth place on seven points after the first four matches of the season.
For more details, check out LFV pal Greg Seltzer's report over on his blog No Short Corners.

It is vacation time for me.

Yes indeed it is that time of the year for me and as some of you already know by now if you follow me on Twitter or just know me personally I am also getting married this weekend. My vacation/wedding/honeymoon begins tomorrow so the posts on here will be very, very few and far inbetween.