Is Jack the lad preparing for his Arsenal comeback sooner than we thought? I am only asking as the wonder that is Wilshere seems to be in the mood to play again and we know this because he has a new pair of boots made by Nike especially for his return from injury.

Our very own wonderkid, 20, has had the boot stitched with the name of his new son on it and surely this can only mean he is ready to get back in action (Lord knows we desperately need him) any time soon?

It's funny how the English media mock the quality of Major League Soccer, but guess where Premier League teams turned to this month to help their sides? Yep, MLS.

First we had the Galaxy's Landon Donovan going back to Everton on loan and then the NYRB's Thierry Henry returned to Arsenal, where he promptly scored the winner in their FA Cup tie against Leeds.

Good morning to you and welcome to Thursday. The week is flying by. Must be all the high jinks and fun. Can't think what else it would be.

Let's start this morning with Jack Wilshere. Apparently he's 'stunned' doctors by being ready to make his comeback ... erm ... pretty much on schedule. When he limped out of the Emirates Cup in late July there was no indication he'd be out this long but since the need for surgery we've been told he'd be back in full training by the end of January, ready for a mid-February comeback.

Arsenal will go to Nigeria as part of this summer's pre-season tour.

With Ivan Gazidis announcing that this year's Emirates Cup would be postponed due to the London 2012 Olympics, the club will head to Africa with the objective of extending the Arsenal brand in Nigeria as well as the African continent as a whole.

12.01.2012 - "En fútbol se pasa de puta a monja en cinco minutos", supo decir Joaquín Caparrós (ex DT Athletic, actual Mallorca). Días "D" de Diego. Al Wasl volvió a caer y ahora a quedar elminado de la President Cup. Fue 3-2 vs Al Wahda y con "venganza" incluida.

After a week of unexplainable boat parties, posing awkwardly next to bird statues and unbearable training sessions over New Year's in Dubai, AC Milan finally had enough, screamed 'BASTA!' and took home the Emirates Cup last night.

It's always nice to win something even if it was only 1-0 thanks to Pato's goal.

Arsenal traveled across town to Fulham on January 2nd for a Premier League match. Both teams were looking to win. Arsenal's rivals had slipped up in recent days which presented a great opportunity to tighten the title race. Fulham were looking for points to give them breathing space from the relegation zone.

As they say in Italy... Felice Anno Nuovo! As you may know, AC Milan are now in Dubai for their training camp to escape the harsh winters in Europe and do fun things like run on the beach. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to eat grapes or get properly wasted over the New Year, although Robinho looks suspiciously capable of doing so!

Seventeen years ago today, I fell in love again. My heart had been broken a decade before. So to be seduced again, at last, made me appreciate that much more how precious and fragile such a relationship can be. I don't know what made me take the Tube that morning to buy tickets to Highbury for the derby between the Arsenal and Queen's Park Rangers.

By 1970's Gooner How will Henry fit into this Arsenal team? I was at the Emirates Cup as a guest of Arsenal Football Club and I had the chance to see Henry play against us. I was not impressed. He played as the front man in a 4 5 1 formation and was not up to it. He was too slow and didn't have the pace to chase down balls.

Arsenal are set to offer club legend Thierry Henry a two-month loan deal but is coach Arsene Wenger right to resign the French striker? There can be no doubt that Thierry Henry is Arsenal's greatest ever forward and having been voted as the Premier League's best ever foreign import in a SKY One poll – [.

AC Milan recently held a Christmas party (of course, 'Natale' is incredibly important for the land of the Pope!) where players, coaches, staff and sponsors were invited to mingle, eat cheese and look bloody fabulous. Everyone needs to take a leaf out of these smoldering Italians' books.

And so the conjecture continues. No, no, not speculative tittle-tattle focused on which new wunderkind recruits are coming to the Arsenal in the January transfer window, I am talking about where we will tour next summer. Granted, it is still supposition but anything to turn our attentions from the endless stories linking us with the world and his wife (as well as those poor unfortunates heading for the Emirates exit).

And so the conjecture continues. No, no, not speculative tittle-tattle focused on which new wunderkind recruits are coming to the Arsenal in the January transfer window, I am talking about where we will tour next summer. Granted, it is still supposition but anything to turn our attentions from the endless stories linking us with the world and his wife (as well as those poor unfortunates heading for the Emirates exit).

20.11.2011 - Pocas horas antes de que su mamá, Doña Tota, volviera de urgencia a ser internada en la Clínica Los Arcos (Buenos Aires), Diego Maradona salía a la cancha para dirigir a Al Wasl en su visita a Al Ain (Emirates Cup 6º jornada).
Al Ain venció (1-0)(Yasser ´29) y Diego soportó las bravuconadas de , equipo que dirige Diego Armando Maradona, cayó hoy por 1 a 0 ante Al Ain, coml rumano Cosmin Olaroiu (DT Al Ain) después del único gol del partido que dejó a Al Wasl con 9 puntos en tercera posición del grupo A (con dos puestos de clasificación: Al Jazira 13 y Al Ain 10).

12.11.2011 - Con gol de Juan Manuel Olivera (´59), Al Wasl venció (1-0) al Al Ain como local y sigue en carrera por la Emirates Cup.
En un partido cerrado que mostró como figuras convocantes a Mariano Donda (ex Godoy Cruz) de un lado y a Ignacio Scocco (ex Newells) y Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain), Al Wasl supo aguantar el golazo (de volea) del uruguayo Olivera para llevarse los 3 puntos necesarios.

12.11.2011 - Con gol de Juan Manuel Olivera (´59), Al Wasl venció (1-0) al Al Ain como local y sigue en carrera por la Emirates Cup.
En un partido cerrado que mostró como figuras convocantes a Mariano Donda (ex Godoy Cruz) de un lado y a Ignacio Scocco (ex Newells) y Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain), Al Wasl supo aguantar el golazo (de volea) del uruguayo Olivera para llevarse los 3 puntos necesarios.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you have no doubt heard of Jack Wilshere's latest news- he's a dad! Oh yeah, he got injured, or something.

First of all, congrats to the Wilshere's for one more person with Arsenal DNA making it to this world. While the fact that Nikola Tesla never got to reproduce but a teenage footballer did saddens me, it's always good to see one of our players get to experience such a happy day.

15.09.2011 - En el debut oficial de Diego Maradona como entrenador del Al Wasl (Emiratos Árabes), su equipo cayó derrotado (4-3) visitando al Al Jazeera en el Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium en partido por la Etisalat Emirates Cup.
"Después de estar abajo 3-1, con un penal en contra y gol en offside y de manejarle el trámite del partido al mejor equipo de los Emiratos, me parece que el Al Wasl fue más.

Morning all, sorry about the technical issues if you were trying to get to the site this morning. Gremlins. And not the cool kind that you get when you make Junichi Inamoto wet after midnight. Should be cool again now.

And speaking of gremlins, Jack Wilshere has got them in his ankle. Turns out that story yesterday in the Mirror was on the money, sadly, and Jack confirmed he'd be out for 2-3 months on his Twitter.

In dire needs of quality injection in the midfield, Arsenal left stranded in the desert again as after the departure of Cesc Fabregas and soon Samir Nasri, Arsene Wenger's team still can't field their talented Englishman, Jack Wilshere, due to injury set back.

Revealed by Wenger himself ahead of the Gunners' Champions League tie against Udinese on Wednesday, August 24, the French tactician stated that Wilshere might need another two or three weeks to recover.

Nasri leaves for £24M, to add to the departures of Cesc £35M, Eboue £4M and Clichy £7M. That is £70M so far, with Bendtner (£9M), Arshavin (£7M) , Squillaci (£1M) and Almunia (Free) to follow. Arsene's total sales could generate nearly £87M. Yes Arsenal fans look at that number £87M generated through sales this summer.

Arsenal vs Liverpool 2011 Highlights Goals 0-2 Video August 20 is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Arsenal vs Liverpool 2011 Highlights Goals 0-2 Video August 20 is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Arsenal vs Liverpool 2011 Final score and result:- Arsenal vs Liverpool 0-2 ( Aaron Ramsey own goal, Luis Suarez) Emirates Stadium, London- 20 August, 2011- 12.

It's been a long season for the New England Revolution (4-11-10, 22 points) who find their playoff chances all but gone with nine games remaining. For the Revs closest rivals, the New York Red Bulls (6-6-13, 31 points), the last four months have almost equally as torturous.

When the two sides face off at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night (7:30 p.

Deja vu could well be the most commonly used phrase by Arsenal fans during the summer break (among other slightly more inappropriate ones). It was supposed to be the summer that Arsene Wenger finally opened his famously closed eyes, the summer that he addressed the weaknesses within the Arsenal squad, that appear to be obvious to all but the Frenchman.

Okay, fine, I've been gone for a while. Like, a while. At least I can tell you that, in the past seven weeks, I've learned that the Israeli soccer league is surprisingly good, and that mixing Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa is a serious no-no. Yes, I've been in the Promised Land for the past two months, and, I know, I probably should have told someone, but hey, at least not all of my readers have disappeared, right?

On a busy London street, two Ancient Greek philosophers from 1980s Brazil happen upon one another. They are dressed in particularly fetching togas, with yellow tops and blue bottoms. It's confusing, but not in a bad way.

SOCRATES: Zico, to where are you hurrying on this fine summer's day, down the Holloway road?

Arsene Wenger has had 41 days of the transfer window to bolster Arsenal's squad, yet just three days until the start of the Premier League and six until their Champions League qualifier against Udinese, he has failed to address any of the important issues facing his team.

With Arsenal's monumental implosion at the business end of last season, much was made of their need to purchase experienced players with the mental grit to set an example to the horde of talented youngsters in the squad.

Thierry Henry: A Picture of FrustrationIt's getting harder and harder to envision the New York Red Bulls as a playoff team, much less a contender for the 2011 MLS Cup. A season that began with the ridiculously grand vision of a Supporters Shield now seems destined to end in bitter disappointment for fans.

Returning from London where they won the Emirates Cup, you would think that the pre-season tournament would have given New York Red Bulls a lift especially when confronted with a trip to Real Salt Lake.

It wasn't so as the problems plaguing the club have re-appeared and you can sense the frustration on the field.

Arsenal's disappointing 2-1 defeat to Benfica was not the only object of manager Arsene Wenger's concern this weekend as he was left sweating over the knocks that some of his key players took ahead of the season opener in less than a week.

Forward Robin van Persie, full-back Kieran Gibbs, and injury prone center-half Thomas Vermaelen have all reportedly joined Jack Wilshere in a race against time to be fully fit when the Gunners take the field against Newcastle United at St.

It's our last friendly game of the summer and after disappointing results, last week, in the Emirates Cup, let's hope to end our pre-season with a win, with a convincing win. As always, please find below ...

As I write this, we are just under 3 hours away from Arsenal's final game of this pre-season, which will see The Gunners take on Benfica at the Estádio da Luz in the Portuguese capital.

Yesterday, Arsene Wenger and his 19-man squad landed in Lisbon, without both Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

That's right, folks; to go along with the laundry list of accomplishments the Metro Bulls have attained in their illustrious history, you can add 2011 Emirates Cup Champions to it. Now while it's no La Manga, it ranks right up there with the Mickey Mouse Cup of 2010. Hey, this is about the only Red Bulls news I can get excited about nowadays, so get off my back.

Paul Scholes scored a wondergoal as he celebrated his Manchester United testimonial against New York Cosmos with an emphatic 6-0 thrashing at Old Trafford. The United legend pulled the curtain down on an illustrious 17-year career with his boyhood club after May's Champions League defeat at the hands of Barcelona at Wembley.

Photo credit: Dan Dickinson
Good afternoon! It's a glorious Friday here in RBNY Land. Our team is back in League action tomorrow, @Rio Tinto Stadium, and it's must win time. That's right! The Red Bulls must start to pick up full points or face the prospect of missing out on the playoffs altogether.

I'm sure I'm not alone in being fed-up from a fortnight of friendly fixtures, looking forward to a return to league competition as the Bulls visit Rio Tinto tomorrow night. I am, though, still quite giddy over the sight of Henry lifting the Emirates Cup on the pitch at Ashburton Grove this past Sunday.

Another fantastic, full-length, episode of this RBNY-themed podcast. This week, Mark & Dave discuss the last weekend's stunning Emirates Cup victory and preview tomorrow's massive fixture @Rio Tinto. Their guest this week is The RSL Show host Chris Enger. As usual, Bull & Cow of The Week and great listener emails round off this one.

Being seventeen and relatively football-ignorant is a wonderful thing. We were gearing up for the start of the 08-09 season; and I was jumped by a ephemeral, white- sheathed figure as I walked home from school.

‘Boooooo!' the figure said, rattling its chains, moaning and groaning and sounding not unlike some Arsenal supporters at the Emirates Cup the other weekend.

I had an interesting interaction via Twitter with Georgina Turner who writes about the Prem for Sports Illustrated on the topic of the booing of ones own team. The cause of the conversation was the ugly conclusion to Arsenal vs. New York Red Bull in the final match of the pre-season Emirates Cup. For those who didn't watch (or read about it), Arsenal supporters channeled their inner