Mikel Arteta – True Arsenal Captain Material by FD
The concept of a football captain as being an inspirational figure, a natural leader and on-field representative of the team's manager is probably more of a British phenomenon. I think back to such iconic captains as Billy Bremner, Billy Bonds, Bobby Moore and our own Tony Adams.
Your high point, low point and funniest moment of the season. by NS
Well, it's all over.
Overall, a frustrating season for Arsenal. That was a season of Deja vu for many. A promising start, strange team selections at the mid point, Rosicky returning late on, injuries to Diaby, captain sold and a monumental end to the season to catch and overtake Spurs to secure the 4th place trophy.
Robin van Persie returned to the Emirates for the first time today as a champion, ensuring that any Arsenal fan who had called him a "mercenary" for leaving was put straight on his reasons for joining United.
The Arsenal players applauded our team on to the pitch this afternoon, who then spent the majority of the first half as you would expect a team of hungover players.
The past three days have been quite football-y, as the rest of the non-football-following crowd on Twitter no doubt noticed. Yes, we're talking about Twitter again, and it's unforgivable especially when there's so much football to talk about. But it's just so all-pervasive.
When Arsenal agreed to sell Robin van Persie to Manchester United, it is fair to say that the Gooners were not happy. With just a year left on his contract, the Dutchman was refusing to sign a new one, leaving Arsenal little option but to take the offer of over £20 million from United. I would rather have taken less money and sold him abroad, but maybe the striker would not accept that once he knew of the massive wages on offer at Old Trafford.
The Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner found himself firmly behind Robin Van Persie in the pecking order during his time at Arsenal, and decided to force Arsene Wenger to farm him out on loan after famously saying he would never play for the Gunners again.
Now he is on loan at Juventus, who he considers to be much more ambitious than Arsenal, but he seems to have softened his opposition to returning to the Emirates in the future and thinks that he could still compete for a starting place in Wenger's team.
I really don't want to. Because it's got to that stage now when everyone is sort of going in asking 'how many' in United-Arsenal fixtures. In fact, we even had a post which is the blogging equivalent of a Santos half-time shirt-swap where an Arsenal fan put together a lot of numbers and charts just to make this very point before this game.
OG is the joint top scorer for Arsenal in the league this season and if he gets one on Sunday against Manchester City, then the chances are we will win. Hold on a minute, I hear you cry, have I gone mad or lost the plot? Neither, I am not talking about the Gunners' new French forward Olivier Giroud and I am not talking about Ice T Original Gangster.
Robin van Persie always seemed to return from International duty injured when he played for Arsenal. His last season at the club was the first time he had played in more than 28 league games in his entire career. When he was subbed off at half-time during Holland's game against Hungary, rumours quickly circulated that [.
In the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season, only two sides managed to keep clean sheets across eight fixtures, once again highlighting the value for entertainment held in the English top flight.
With Arsenal, Manchester City and newly-crowned FA Cup champions Wigan Athletic still to feature in this week's meetings, the action doesn't look likely to stop there, either.
David Moyes has six years to make his mark at Manchester United, and fantasy managers have two weeks left to make a mark on their mini-leagues. Let's take a look at this weekend's action. I. Swansea @ Manchester United: Sir ... Continue reading →
Manchester United striker Robin Van Persie has turned down the opportunity to take the club's number 9 shirt next season because he doesn't want fans to be out of pocket. RVP has worn 20 on his back this season and is reluctant to swap and disappoint supporters who have bought a number 20 shirt. The [.
Robin van Persie of Manchester United (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
When Robin Van Persie first joined Manchester United he took the number 20 kit that had once been worn by Fabio da Silva before he went out on loan prior to the arrival of RVP.
However, the departure of Dimitar Berbatov has left the number nine kit available for the Dutch striker that has more than taken over the vacated place of the Bulgarian hit man.
A bit of what's going on in Butt's Brain today after Dortmund booked their place in the Champions League final despite a 2-0 loss last night against Real Madrid: Jose Mourinho and Chelsea have yet to strike an agreement on ... Continue reading →
Whilst Manchester United were left joyous after Robin Van Persie's hat-trick made him the Premier League's top scorer and won his side the title, one Indian telecommunications consultant wasn't quite as enamoured. For Ravi Visvesvara Prasad, it just meant another busy night on social media wading through thousands of tweets offering him congratulations, simply because [.
Robin Van Persie ended his Manchester United goal drought from the penalty spot during today's victory against Stoke. He obviously thought his neat spot-kick had earned him some plaudits when Geoff Shreeves oversaw the presentation of the man of the match award during his post-game interview. The only problem being that Sky Sports viewers knew [.
England disappointed in the second half at Montenegro, and while we still have a long way to go before Brasil, it's nice to get back to the Premier League, our mini-leagues and fantasy selections. Let's sort through it all. I. ... Continue reading →
The most dominant Fantasy Premier League player of the last decade Cristiano Ronaldo was a joy to watch on our virtual teamsheets and in real life at Old Trafford he came of age in Manchester with 31 ... Continue reading →
Robin van Persie left Arsenal for Manchester United during the 2012 Summer Transfer Window. However, pictures of the striker with his ex-teammates appear in Arsenal's 2013 diary/agenda.
Many fans were highly disappointed when they went to open their agenda and happened to see the face of RVP clad in his Gunners kit celebrating with fellow teammates.
Santi Cazorla hit for a hat trick Monday evening against Reading, will one of Aguero, Tevez, Balotelli, or Dzeko do the same this weekend? Let's take a look. I. Aston Villa @ Chelsea: Quite the intriguing matchup. Chelsea continue their ... Continue reading →
Luis Suarez of Liverpool (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
This season in the Barclays Premier League there have been numerous shock performances whether it be West Bromwich Albion beating Chelsea 2-1, Norwich City working tirelessly for a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Carrow Road, or the firing of Roberto Di Matteo and hiring of Rafa Benitez.
Here we go. Manchester United beat Arsenal 8-2 last season at Old Trafford. With RVP wearing red this time around, will the score be similar? Let's jump right in... I. Arsenal @ Manchester United: Arsenal may have scored 7 against ... Continue reading →
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has publicly urged fans to give a positive reception to Robin van Persie as the striker returns to the Emirates for the first time since his summer move to Manchester United. van Persie decided to swap the Emirates Stadium for Old Trafford as he joined the Red Devils, and will square off against his old club on Saturday when the two sides meet.
We're back! After the international break that saw a pointless match of England vs San Marino and a contribution towards Wales' steady march back down the rankings, the little matter of Stoke turned up at Old Trafford expecting a decent match. The break saw Rooney and Welbeck both on the mark for England and both started with the hope of getting off the mark for Utd this season.
The midweek trip to Romania was a bit of unknown entity. All I know about FC Cluj is that they are a football team who send out 11 players to put the ball into the back of the net more times than their opponents. And they must manage it relatively well in their league as they're in the Champions League.
A bit of what's going on in the Champions League tonight as we prepare our Fantasy Premier League teams for the upcoming weekend... He scores when he wants, he scores when he wants, Robin van Persie, he scores when he ... Continue reading →
Manchester United came from behind to defeat 10-man Liverpool in an emotional encounter at Anfield. Much had been said before kick off about United fans' response to Liverpool's tribute to the victims of the Hillsborough tragedy, in the Merseyside club's first home game since the release of the Hillsborough report.
Paul Scholes celebrated his 700th game for United by scoring against Wigan, as the Reds blitzed the Latics in the second half at Old Trafford. Scholes was joined in midfield by Ryan Giggs, who became the first player to reach 600 Premier League appearances, Michael Carrick and Nani. Rio Ferdinand, celebrating his 400th games for [.
Ducky's Note: Here's Aniruddha's second post for us, as he looks into all
the rumours about Rooney being on 'shaky ground' at United.
It's been hardly a month since RvP arrived at United and he's already got lips wagging about the
future of Wayne Rooney the man without whom life at United would have been unimaginable any time
over the last three years.
Auf Wiedersehen to Barcelona and Real Madrid, it was certainly an amazing week on the continent as the top two German clubs proved their worth in the Champions League. But our focus is now back on the Premier League, and ... Continue reading →
A nice double gameweek is upon us, as Arsenal, Everton and Manchester United assets take centre stage. Let's dive in and preview the weekend. I. Everton @ Arsenal: This is a nice game for the neutral, as both teams battle ... Continue reading →
Merry Christmas. We have some football matches to preview, and some fantasy studs & duds to predict. Let's do it. I. Chelsea @ Norwich: Rafael Benitez's 'defensive' Chelsea just won 8-0 against Aston Villa. How will they follow it up ... Continue reading →
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has said that Mario Balotelli can be as good as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi if he worked harder in training. Will the mercurial Italian become a FPL force this season? A cheaper and more ... Continue reading →
Manchester City are out of the Champions League. Chelsea are on the brink of elimination in the same competition after a humiliating loss against Juventus. But the two clubs are in the Premier League title rice, and form the marquee ... Continue reading →
A few Carling Cup blowouts [Chelsea and Arsenal looked solid] and a few surprised [Manchester City beaten by Aston Villa] but we're back to what really matters- the league, so let's dive in. I. Chelsea @ Arsenal: The Gunners looked ... Continue reading →
Rio Ferdinand has voiced the opinion of football fans when claiming that the voting system for the PFA Award is flawed. With the votes cast months before the season has even finished, it often isn't a true reflection of the best player.
Robin van Persie is the top scorer in the country with 25 goals and lead United to win the 20th title, but the vote was taken during his goal drought, allowing Gareth Bale to scoop the prize.
United face an away trip to Reading this weekend, and everything suggests that they are bankers at 1.44 withBoylesportsto come away with all three points. Reading have won just once on their return to the top flight and, though that came in their last home game against Everton, they have been quick to revert to [.
Why is so much football not about the football these days? There used to be a time when all we were aware of football was the 2 hours that was fed to us through our tellies with able help from John Dykes and some not-so-able help from Shebby Singh. Everything that happened the previous week was discussed then, and only then, before getting straight into the fact of the matter, the football.
