The forthcoming season of world football is set to be the most thrilling in recent history concluding with one man holding aloft that hallowed golden trophy in Jo'berg next summer.

As top-flight action kicks off around the globe, who should we be looking out for? Which players are capable of bursting on to the international scene and emulating the famous exploits of an adolescent Owen during France '98?

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Wenger revealed that Merida had agreed a new contract deal at Arsenal Football Club, but he has not yet signed it.
Major speculation loomed this week on the future of Arsenal's promising young midfielder, with his current contract expires next summer, and rumors has it that Atletico Madrid is keen to keen to bring Merida back to Spain. Click to continue reading...

Over recent years the Arsenal youth academy has introduced some fantastic players into English football.� On Tuesday night Arsene Wenger's side take on Championship high-flyers West Brom in the Carling Cup in a game where we may see the next crop of Arsenal youngsters make an appearance.

Wenger likes to use the Carling Cup to test his fringe and youth players and this season should be no different, even if they are under pressure to end their trophy drought.

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Good morning,

another day another Arsenal match. Tonight we kick off our Champions League campaign with a trip to Belgium to play Standard Liege. Last time we played these chaps was in November 93 on the way to Paris 94 in the Cup Winner's Cup and we spanked them 7-0 (including this goal by Eddie McGoldrick).

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Over the past few years, we've got used to playing European matches against sides close to home Chelsea, Liverpool and United have all been recent opponents in the Champions League, and all three have knocked us out.

This time our opposition do not come from the Premiership, but north of the border, and some will say Celtic should be a breeze after watching us dispatch Rangers so ruthlessly in the Emirates Cup.

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Highly-rated midfield star Jack Wilshere has been included in Arsenal's travelling party for the Champions League play-off match with Scottish giants Celtic. 17-year-old Wilshere game to prominence during last seasons Emirates Cup tournament, and he produced similar performances in this years popular pre-season competition. Click to continue reading...

In the aftermath of Arsenal's perhaps suprising but fully deserved 6-1 victory over Everton in the Premier League's opening weekend, the confidence mustered by many of the Celtic fans following the Champions' League qualifying draw may have just evaporated away.

Arsenal were simply breathtaking.

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The start of the new season brings with it hope and expectation for everyone, fans, managers and players alike. It does not matter what happened last season or in the summer, the slate is wiped clean come August and we are all allowed to dream.

For the precocious teenagers at clubs around England they are hoping this will be the season that will make their dreams come true.

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Arsenal's pre-season campaign has shown some promise but it is very much a work in progress as there is a need for greater understanding of one's role if the team wants to perfect it's fluid style.
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With every match, the Arsenal doom-mongers seem to put forward another flaw in Arsenal's game.

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Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack cross over, score a goal with a sizzling kick.

Fabio Capello sees a bright future and if all goes well and Arsene Wenger plays him more and more, Wilshere could see action in the 2010 World Cup. He dazzled in the Emirates Cup and has carried that form forward in all the other preseason friendlies.

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With the new season under a week away, we once again await what impact new signings and emerging youngsters will have on their respective teams. There has been an increased emphasis on value for money this summer and this has led to a number of clubs searching for lesser known players that can add quality to a club while other clubs try to groom youngsters to improve their sides.

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Following last week's performance in the Emirates Cup, Jack Wilshere has been tipped by many to be amongst those to travel to South Africa to the 2010 World Cup Finals.

On the matter, England coach Fabio Capello said:

He surprised me. Really. I saw him last year two times because he played in the Carling Cup and he has improved a lot now.

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Days away from a new Premier League season and reporter Oscar Chamberlain takes a closer look at the up and coming stars ready to make their mark this term.

Jack Wilshire (Arsenal)

You only need to speak his name around an Arsenal fan and they will tell you how much is expected of him in the coming season.

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This was an intelligently arranged fixture, obviously organised a while ago in the knowledge that we not only had the first game of the season to follow but the probably more important Champions League qualifier three days later. We drew Celtic but it could just as easily have been Athletico Madrid and that would have been playing them on a day when they meant business rather than on the training game mode that we witnessed during the Emirates Cup.

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After lifting the 2009 Emirates Cup, the Arsenal are back in action against a Spanish side as they face Unai Emery's Valencia.

Van Persie and Bendtner start up-front as Abou Diaby teams up with Alexander Song in midfield. Theo Walcott is on the bench.

Valencia

Coming Soon.

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If you haven't heard already, Arsenal and Celtic have been drawn together in the Champions League qualifiers. Just days after pitting their wits against Scottish champions Rangers in the Emirates Cup, Arsene Wenger's side have to face another top team as they travel to Parkhead for the first leg on Aug 18/19. Click to continue reading...

So the draw has just been done and Arsenal have been drawn with none other than Celtic f.c. After much hype from Sky sports all week along with BBC sport; arsenal can be drawn with celtic, Arsenal to be drawn with celtic, arsenal and celtic can possibly meet� i find it sooo predictable and quite annoying that we have got celtic.

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Photo via prikol.forumprosport.ru

When you see photos like these, it makes you wonder why Andre Arshavin did not enter the lucrative fashion industry. That face would've made him an instant hit on The Exorcist 9 : Return of the Russian Priest. And when Blondie over here celebrates his goals, his facial expressions kinda get out of hand.

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The CL draw will take place today. The choices are Fiorentina, Atletico Madrid, Celtic FC, RSC Anderlecht, and FC Timisoara. So who will it be?

Fiorentina: The Violas were in the news recently with a possible Felipe Melo transfer to Arsenal which fell through. He eventually went to Juve. The club finished fourth in the Serie.

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The Club are due to confirm the existence and severity of any injury suffered by Tomas Rosicky at the pre-season press conference today. If this is a simple hamstring confirmed on scanning, then he will be out for 4 to 6 weeks but should be able to return to full fitness. His desire to join the Czech National squad has been derailed, but these setbacks need not be considered a major problem unless he fails to return on time.

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The Club are due to confirm the existence and severity of any injury suffered by Tomas Rosicky at the pre-season press conference today. If this is a simple hamstring confirmed on scanning, then he will be out for 4 to 6 weeks but should be able to return to full fitness. His desire to join the Czech National squad has been derailed, but these setbacks need not be considered a major problem unless he fails to return on time.

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Various things to discuss this morning and I'm gonna start with the marmite like story of Eboue; You either want him to go or want him to stay, theres nothing else to it. Well the latter has won because it appears he will be staying at Arsenal.

Fiorentina announced last week that the deadline for the deal to complete was Wednesday, and they also said Arsenal had to lower their asking price of £9 million, in my opinion understandably so.

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by CARL ELDRIDGE First Samir Nasri. Now, of all the players we didn't want to see bleedin' injured, Tom Rosicky has done his hamstring and could be sidelined for six weeks. Unbelievable.

The Sun reports that the Czech midfielder pulled up in training yesterday and will be out until mid-September.

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by CARL ELDRIDGE First Samir Nasri. Now, of all the players we didn't want to see bleedin' injured, Tom Rosicky has done his hamstring and could be sidelined for six weeks. Unbelievable.

The Sun reports that the Czech midfielder pulled up in training yesterday and will be out until mid-September.

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Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour was full of praise for young Jack Wilshere after the 17 year old's performance in last weekend's Emirates Cup.

He told Sky Sports News:

Jack Wilshere at the weekend was absolutely different class and that's a benchmark for these young kids.

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Anyone who saw the results or headlines from the two preseason Emirates Cup games will no doubt be impressed with the 17 year old Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere. He was easily Man Of The Match in both games, including scoring 2 against Rangers, the second of which was a glorious rising drive on the half-volley into the top corner. Click to continue reading...

Gallery, Images, Photos & Pictures of Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner 2009/2010 Season. Teams/Clubs: Arsenal Players/People: Nicklas Bendtner Events/Matches: Arsenal v Portsmouth Premier League, 2009. Arsenal v Atletico Madrid Emirates Cup Cup, 2009. Arsenal v Manchester United Champions League, 2009. Click to continue reading...

Gallery, Images, Photos & Pictures of Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner 2009/2010 Season.

Teams/Clubs: Arsenal
Players/People: Nicklas Bendtner
Events/Matches: Arsenal v Portsmouth Premier League, 2009. Arsenal v Atletico Madrid Emirates Cup Cup, 2009.

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After the Emirates Cup, a few things stuck out in my mind. Firstly, Arshavin and Eduardo are crucial to any title hopes we may have. Next, the balance of the side is so important and may well enable the better players to play where they are, at their best. Lastly, Wenger really is stubborn sometimes regarding certain players, especially the defence!

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Morning all, and a long overdue 'morning all' it is.

I've barely been able to get on the pooter recently, I don't know what's going on.

I did snatch parts of the Emirates Cup over the weekend all the parts except the goals. I sat through the first 75, goalless minutes of the Atletico game before being called away to feed the animals, then managed to miss the first 20 minutes of the Rangers game.

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The Telegraph has an article on the Arsenal youngsters who might be ready for the big stage.

Jack Wilshere is already making waves. He is now officially the most exciting talent in English football since Gazza. His performance in the Emirates Cup was singled out by Wenger.

"I've been especially pleased with the performances of Wilshere over the past couple of days because he has shown how much he has progressed over the past 12 months and he clearly has a promising future ahead of him.

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The Sun is reporting that Salomon Kalou could be Arsene Wenger's next signing. The Blues have been offered £6m for the Ivoirian winger although they are holding out for £8m. Kalou has been been offered a generous increase in his weekly wages, actually double, to £60,000 and a five-year contract.

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Before I start talking about that, I think a few words on the Emirates Cup? I think we showed why we reached the CL semi-final last year as we comfortably outplayed Aletico and Rangers. While Rangers were out of their depth, Atletico didn't embarass themselves and it required Arshavin's eloquence and no non-sense, a determination to eke out a positive result to produce a victorious scoreline. Click to continue reading...

Gallery, Images, Photos & Pictures of Arsenal's Robin van Persie 2009/2010 Season. Teams/Clubs: Arsenal Players/People: Robin van Persie Events/Matches: Arsenal v Rangers Emirates Cup, 2009. Arsenal v Atletico Madrid Emirates Cup, 2009. Arsenal Training Session, 2009. Arsenal v Villareal Champions League, 2009. Click to continue reading...

Gallery, Images, Photos & Pictures of Arsenal's Robin van Persie 2009/2010 Season.

Teams/Clubs: Arsenal
Players/People: Robin van Persie
Events/Matches: Arsenal v Rangers Emirates Cup, 2009. Arsenal v Atletico Madrid Emirates Cup, 2009.

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