The boss hates the new squad limit rules it has been well publicised and I agree with him. But, how brilliantly has he stuffed their new rules down their throats it is rather spectacular...

Arsenal have named seventy players in their squad list to the FA, and none of the 20 are English:

Manuel Almunia, Andrey Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, Marouane Chamakh, Gael Clichy, Denilson, Vassiriki Abou Diaby, Johan Djourou, Emmanuel Eboue, Lukasz Fabianski, Cesc Fabregas, Laurent Koscielny, Vito Mannone, Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky, Bacary Sagna, Alex Song, Robin Van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen, Sebastien Squillaci.

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For the first time Premier League teams had to name a 25-man squad for the first half of the EPL season and there was a couple of surprises.

All 20 clubs had to submit a squad of up to 25 players containing no more than 17 players who do not qualify as homegrown. Homegrown players are classed as players who "irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday".

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According to Sevilla, Sebastien Squillaci will be traveling to London on Monday for a medical in preparation for a permanent transfer to Arsenal.

A statement on their website read: "A transfer deal has been agreed, subject to the player passing a medical."

An offer of £6.

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Arsene Wenger was hoping to welcome back at least three players to his squad against Blackpool today. As it turns out, all three are back, with two of them starting on the bench.

That is, Johan Djourou and captain Cesc Fabregas will be looking to make substitute appearances after missing out on the trip to Anfield last weekend.

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Join Premiership Talk for play-by-play coverage of Blackpool's visit to the Emirates Stadium to take on Arsenal.

While one would expect the Gunners to be heavily favored in this clash, it is quite interesting that their newly promoted visitors sit above them in the league table after the opening round of fixtures.

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Arsenal meet Blackpool at the Emirates: 10:00 AM (EST) ESPN2

Ian Holloway may or may not treat us to some new throwaway line but his side, Blackpool is coming to the Emirates riding the momentum of a 4-0 spanking of Wigan. It has been a roller coaster off the pitch though, with their chairman Karl Oyston resigning and facing bankruptcy charges.

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A last-minute equalizer at Anfield in their Premier League opener meant that the Gunners weren't about to hit panic mode, despite the absence of quite a few of their starters.

In the build-up to that crucial fixture against Liverpool last week, manager Arsene Wenger spoke with certainty about the absence of midfield trio Alex Song, Denilson, and skipper Cesc Fabregas.

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A last-minute equalizer at Anfield in their Premier League opener meant that the Gunners weren't about to hit panic mode, despite the absence of quite a few of their starters.

In the build-up to that crucial fixture against Liverpool last week, manager Arsene Wenger spoke with certainty about the absence of midfield trio Alex Song, Denilson, and skipper Cesc Fabregas.

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By TRAVIS CLARK

The Chicago Fire emerged with a 2-1 victory over conference rivals New England Wednesday evening, a valuable win for the Fire as they aim to climb back into playoff contention.

Substitute Calen Carr's 85th minute tally secured the victory, after the two sides exchanged first half goals.

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By TRAVIS CLARK

The Chicago Fire emerged with a 2-1 victory over conference rivals New England Wednesday evening, a valuable win for the Fire as they aim to climb back into playoff contention.

Substitute Calen Carr's 85th minute tally secured the victory, after the two sides exchanged first half goals.

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Hope to See that Smile Soon!!!

Seems like you Gooners are not praying hard enough for the club early on. Continuous injuries to key players has proven to be our nemesis for so long now, and early season, when we haven't come out of our shells yet, we have been hit by another one. Official sources have confirmed that Nasri requires a minor surgery for his knee injury that is definite to keep him out of action for a month.

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Another season is here, and yet again Arsenal has been hit by injuries to key players. The latest news coming out of the Emirates is that French midfielder Samir Nasri is set to miss the next month of action with a knee injury that requires an operation.

A statement from the Gunners revealed the news, saying: "Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri will today undergo minor surgery on his knee following a meniscal injury sustained during the match against Liverpool on Sunday.

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Arsenal's lack of centre-backs was highlighted yet again when newboy Laurent Koscielny was sent off against Liverpool last Sunday, and it has been assumed that either the inexperienced Havard Nordtveit would be thrown into the fray against Blackpool, or Alex Song would be played out of position as cover. Click to continue reading...

" I am number one- take that Lukasz"

A late equalizer gifted off a blunder by Pepe Reina kept Arsenal from going down at Anfield. That is the headline in most news outlet. But that is just the tip of the story. Arsenal were far less impressive.

New signing Laurent Koscielny had a solid performance and was a physical presence in the middle but there were times when he was beaten to the ball - the pace of the English game is such.

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Jack Wilshere could see some face time at Anfield

Arsene Wenger completed one very important order of business signing a three year contract that sees him continue as Arsenal coach till 2014.

He also believes that his coaching philosophy- catch them young, watch them grow has reached its limit with the present group of Gunners.

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The Verminator!

When we speak about key men for Arsenal, we talk about Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie and even Andrey Arshavin etc but for me the real key man is Thomas Vermaelen.

Akhil Vyas, an intern with The Mirror, takes time out for 11G & delves into the same.

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Liverpool welcome Arsenal to Anfield in the stand-out game of the opening weekend of the Premier League.
New Reds boss Roy Hodgson will be hoping to set down a marker against Arsenal as he prepares for his first Premier League game in charge of Liverpool.
Both sides will be hoping to show their title credentials on Merseyside as they look to challenge the top two of Chelsea and Manchester United. Click to continue reading...

Okay, so my last post was in January, 7 months ago. I wrote about the fact that Arsenal were 4 points behind leaders, Chelsea, and played a ''relegation threatened'' Bolton. Of course, Bolton went on to finish 14th, thats a different story!
The top 3 remained as they were, double winners Chelsea, followed by Manchester United, and Arsenal. Click to continue reading...

Good morning, a new season is almost upon us. I know this because I can hear the sounds of rattles being repaired, burger vans being cranked up and Arsenal players hobbling their way to the treatment room.

The early team news ahead of Sunday's game isn't as promising as we would like. Johan Djourou is out (hamstring), Alex Song too (calf) while Diaby and Denilson will have late fitness tests.

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Arsenal's much anticipated Premier League campaign begins this Sunday with a trip to Anfield to face rivals Liverpool. The fixture is the perfect chance for fans to wet their appetites ahead of a long season for Arsene Wenger's new-look outfit.

The Frenchman promised experience would top his summer shopping list, and he didn't dissapoint.

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Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday. I was so shocked by Almunia somehow lifting a trophy without fumbling and dropping it that I was semi-catatonic and unable to write for the rest of the day. Several stories to mention:

First game highlights:

Second game highlights:

We won the Emirates Cup again.

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According to Arsenal's official website, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is still looking to sign another central defender as he currently has just Laurent Koscielny, Thomas Vermaelen, and Johan Djourou. Wenger said,

"I wouldn't like to give you any names .

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Wenger & Rice - Looking Ahead

Arsenal took just 90 seconds to kick-start their pre-season with a Andrey Arshavin goal. 2 more teams & 10 further goals later, they look in fine shape ahead of the Emirates Cup in a few days time. Barnet, SK Sturm Graz & SC Neusiedl were our opponents this time around, as we headed towards Austria like most summers.

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Arsenal beat SC Neusiedl yesterday by four goals to nothing. Nothing much to shout about considering the opponents are in the 3rd division of the Austrian league. Among the more noteworthy things to remember was Marouane Chamakh opening his goalscoring accounts for Arsenal albeit via a penalty. Johan Djourou was withdrawn at the half hour [. Click to continue reading...

Quite a few stories today:

First, Arsenal beat Neusiedl 1919 4-0 yesterday. You'd really expect Arsenal to beat an Austrian Third Division side by at least that much, but it was a decent run-out, and after over a week of hard training, the guys did look a bit tired. Several of the World Cup guys (Eboue, Sagna, Clichy, Vela) got their first action in an Arsenal shirt this season, and Chamakh scored his first goal in an Arsenal shirt.

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Germany defender Per Mertesacker is the player Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger wants to bring in to solve the club's defensive crisis, according to Mirror Football.

Wenger wants needs to make at least two defensive signings, with both William Gallas and Mikael Silvestre departing.

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Arsenal continued their pre-season preparations by coasting to a 4-0 victory over Austrian part-timers SC Neusiedl 1919.

English forwards Theo Walcott and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas scored before the break before substitutes Marouane Chamakh and Carlos Vela added second-half goals.

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Sol Campbell who did quite well as Thomas Vermaelen's central partner after William Gallas was ruled injured for the rest of the season in April is all set for a Toon move.

Which obviously means that Arsenal only has Vermaelen left with substantial experience as Laurent Koscielny is too raw and Johan Djourou is returning after a year's layoff from injury.

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Here's some good news for Arsenal fans! In addition to securing the services of veteran defender Sol Campbell for another season, the Gunners have also received a pledge of improvement from Swiss international Johan Djourou.

While the 23-year old understands that the arrival of Frenchman Laurent Koscienly has already provided a much needed boost to Arsenal's defense, he hopes that this is the year where he rises to prominence in North London.

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Here's some good news for Arsenal fans! In addition to securing the services of veteran defender Sol Campbell for another season, the Gunners have also received a pledge of improvement from Swiss international Johan Djourou.

While the 23-year old understands that the arrival of Frenchman Laurent Koscienly has already provided a much needed boost to Arsenal's defense, he hopes that this is the year where he rises to prominence in North London.

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Arsenal defender Johan Djourou believes the Gunners need to show more aggression next season if they are to concede less goals. Speaking to the club's official website, the 23-year old Swiss International said how the team ... Click to continue reading...

A double from Samir Nasri and a goal from Henri Lansbury gave Arsenal acomfortable 3-0 win over Austrian side Sturm Graz at the UPC Arena.

French midfield maestro Nasri struck twice in the first half to put Arsenal in control before highly-rated youngster Henri Lansbury added a deserved gloss to the scoreline with a well-taken goal after the break.

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With Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger confirming that William Gallas and Mikael Silvestre will both leave the club, 23-year old Johan Djourou knows that next season will be of mighty importance for his career. Speaking to the ... Click to continue reading...

Well shiver me old timbers, the new season kicks off today and I'm really disappointed that both Almunia and Fabianski are the two goal keepers travelling to Barnet!

I think I speak for every fan here when I say I'd much rather seen Chesney and Mannone in the twenty-two man squad....

What can be made of that, is it last chance saloon for both Almunia and Fabianski?

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As the 2010-2011 season approaches (first match against Liverpool is just over a month away, first preseason friendly is on Saturday), it's worth taking a look at exactly who will be in the squad for Arsenal this season:

Another wrinkle is that this season, we have the "homegrown player requirement" thing, which states that the club needs to submit a roster of 25 players eligible to participate in league matches, at least 8 of which must satisfy the "homegrown" player requirement.

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Laurent Koscielny's technical style and ability to mix his game up will perfectly complement Arsenal's style.
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When questioned on how the centre-back may develop in the future, Thomas Vermaelen was unsurprisingly diplomatic on the subject, especially after having such a barnstorming debut season for Arsenal displaying the virtues of both extremes of the modern defender.

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It's no secret that Arsenal are set to sign the French defender of Polish descent, who has a dogs cousin that comes from Switzerland twice related, Laurent Koscielny.
In fact, according to this, it could even happen today.
Whatever the case I'm sure there will be a few grumbles about the imminent signing of him. Click to continue reading...

Laurent Koscielny has finalised personal terms with Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis and according to reports in France his move to north London is expected to be announced on Monday.

The 24-year-old is expected to sign a 4-year deal worth more than £10 million, with bonuses also included after negotiations stalled with Lorient officials on Wednesday evening.

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Laurent Koscielny has finalised personal terms with Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis and according to reports in France his move to north London is expected to be announced on Monday.

The deal is expected to sign a 4-year deal worth more than £10 million, with bonuses also included after negotiations stalled with Lorient officials on Wednesday evening.

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Wenger earmarks German international as potential Emirates partner for Thomas Vermaelen.

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Arsenal eye £10m Mertesacker as David Moyes urges Everton not to sell Phil Jagielka

Arsenal are considering a move for £10 million-rated World Cup star Per Mertesacker as they extend their search for defensive reinforcements.

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