The Spaniard Mikel Arteta, who has been appointed as the Arsenal vice-captain under Thomas Vermaelen this season, doesn't expect the fact that he is now approaching his 30th birthday will affect his ability to play at the highest level, in fact he doesn't feel old at all!
"I still feel really young and I always have that mentality," he said.
Match day. No sweeter two words after a 2 months plus break from The Arsenal. Unless of course
the two words are "Champions Now". Then again, that's not the way the game is played. There's the
entire season ahead of us and today is the beginning of it all. Another full season for us to
savour, enjoy or be upset about.
Thomas Vermaelen has made it clear that he won't change his ways after being awarded the
captain's armband, insisting that he will continue to focus on leadership qualities that have taken
him thus far.
Vermaelen has steadily grown into one of the Premier League's best defenders in recent years and
deputized as the vice-captain to Robin van Persie as the Gunners secured a third-place finish.
Yesterday, we talked about the goalkeeping situation. Today, we'll touch on the centre back
position. I won't be the first one to say it but I won't be the last either. Goals wins matches but
clean sheets or a tight defence wins championships. We conceded 49 goals in the league last season,
a number too high to even think about challenging for the title.
As I touched on in my article last week: with Robin van Persie surely set to leave Arsenal this
summer, the club is about to face yet another change in captaincy, with the Dutch striker having
only replaced Cesc Fabregas as skipper a year ago.
I suggested Bacary Sagna as a replacement in my last piece (that will not be the focus today),
but whoever gets the armband next will be the fifth different captain we've had since we last won a
trophy.
Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen is confident of the club's future prospects as long as the
players continue to give each other feedback with complete transparency rather than holding back on
important communication.
Vermaelen sat down with Arsenal Player to reflect on the club's chemistry off the field
and in the dressing room, which has been praised in recent weeks by the likes of Andre Santos and
Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal vice captain Thomas Vermaelen has revealed that the emergence of defensive partner
Laurent Koscielny this season is not much of a surprise to him as he knew the Frenchman's potential
was much higher than detractors could have imagined.
Koscielny secured a move to the Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2010 and was criticized for
lacking the strength needed to survive the tenacity of the Premier League at the end of his first
season.
Arsenal vice-captain Thomas Vermaelen has emphasized the importance of staying ahead of
cross-town rivals Tottenham Hotspur to ensure an automatic berth in the UEFA Champions League group
stage next season and also maintain an upper hand in the bitter rivalry.
The Spurs have been praised for their increasingly competitive mentality in recent years and
although the Gunners have generally been criticized for under-achieving during the same period, the
latter outfit always manages to finish with the better record.
Bacary Sagna has admitted that his Arsenal return a few days ago has coincided with an
unacceptable run of form and one that the Gunners desperately need to end if they are to avoid yet
another disappointment in this weekend's North London derby against the in-form Tottenham
Hotspur.
The Spurs emerged 2-1 winners at White Hart Lane thanks to goals from Rafael Van der Vaart and
Kyle Walker when the two teams met earlier this season but it could be more difficult for Tottenham
this time around given that they will be playing at the Emirates.
Arsenal vice-captain Thomas Vermaelen admits that the club's performance throughout last night's
humiliating 4-0 defeat away to AC Milan was unacceptable and even if progression to the UEFA
Champions League quarterfinals is nearly impossible, the Gunners must fight for pride in the second
leg.
When Newcastle United were thumped 5-0 at Tottenham on Saturday, Magpies defender Danny Simpson
credited the club's traveling fans as the night's only saving grace.
AC Milan's former Tottenham playmaker Kevin Prince Boateng has dismissed the credentials of
Arsenal ahead of tomorrow's Champions League clash at the San Siro, labeling the Gunners as
inconsistent and inexperienced.
Boateng, 24, has been one of Milan's standout players this season and even though the Italian
champions have also shown signs of struggle of late, the Ghana international believes that they
have the experience that Arsenal desperately need.
Liverpool vice-captain Jamie Carragher has hailed club teammate and compatriot Steven Gerrard as
England's best player in the tournament "by a long way".
Despite the England midfield's struggles to creating imposing opportunities on the offensive end
against both France and Italy, Gerrard played very well in a box-to-box role en route to resisting
defeat in both those matches.
Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson have all come under heavy criticism having
struggled to find their feet after moving to the Merseyside with expensive price tags .However
Liverpool vice captain Jamie Carragher insists that the club's new signings should not take the
blame for the side's poor performances this season.
Jamie Carragher is determined to enjoy Saturday's FA Cup final after admitting he does not know
how many big matches are left in his career
The Liverpool Vice Captain who has made 696 appearances for the Reds, lost his regular place in
the starting lineup after the impressive partnership between Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger.
The Liverpool vice-captain reckons the competition for FA Cup final places will help turn around
the Reds poor form as the Barclays Premier League goes into the final few games,but Carragher
insists that gathering three points, in order to push the Reds closer to their Merseyside neighbors
in the Barclays Premier League, must remain the priority.
Jamie Carragher believes it is "vitally important" to keep Luis Suarez at Anfield, insisting he
would not swap the striker for any other player in England.
The Uruguay international has expressed his desire to extend his stay with the Reds despite a
testing first full season which saw him serve an eight-match ban after being found guilty of
racially abusing Patrice Evra last October.
Jamie Carragher believes it is "vitally important" to keep Luis Suarez at Anfield, insisting he
would not swap the striker for any other player in England.
The Uruguay international has expressed his desire to extend his stay with the Reds despite a
testing first full season which saw him serve an eight-match ban after being found guilty of
racially abusing Patrice Evra last October.
Liverpool vice-captain Jamie Carragher insists he would not swap Suarez for any other player in
England.
The Liverpool No 7 has expressed his desire to extend his stay at Anfield despite a testing
first full season and Carragher believes it is "vitally important" to keep hold of the
25-year-old.
Dealt with the considerable aerial threat from Everton with consummate ease. Good distribution
and was tested very little by Everton.
Kelly 7.5
Strong in the tackle and showed plenty of pace going forward.Stuck to his task defensively
against Pienaar and Baines and also made a significant contribution at the other end with a
powerful shot which lead to Gerrard's opening goal
Carragher 7
The Reds Vice-captain may have lost some pace over the years but he's got a good footballing
brain on his shoulders and he used that against Everton.
The Liverpool vice captain admits losing his place in the starting line-up this season has given
him a new appreciation of his career at Anfield.
However, Carragher is not ready to give up on his footballing days just yet as he is keen to add
more winners' medals to the Carling Cup the club lifted last month.
The vice-captain insist a return to the Champions League football next
season should be the main target for the reds having played his part in ending Liverpool's six-year
long trophy drought.The 34-year-old came on as a second-half substitute for Daniel Agger during
Liverpool's cup final victory over Cardiff City at Wembley on Sunday.
Daniel Agger has been withdrawn from Denmark's squad to face Russia in a friendly on
Wednesday.The Liverpool center-back was forced off and was replaced by Jamie Carragher four minutes
before the end of normal time with an injury in the Carling Cup final.
Manager Kenny Dalglish said he thought the player had broken a rib in the after-match press
conference.
The Ideal Arsenal Staring XI for 2012/13, featuring Vertonghen, M'Vila, Podolski and RVP -
originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Arsenal have been through something of a rollercoaster season, starting very slowly before a
revival has the north London side 90 minutes away from a respectable third place.
Rangers FC in crisis: What lies in store for Bocanegra, Edu, and Bedoya?
Rangers FC is in crisis undergoing Chapter 13 or financial administration. The news gets worse
as players have been warned that many of them will be let go. As many as eleven face the axe. By
the end of the day we will get to know.
If you don't like John Terry, then prepare to root for Chelsea in the Champions League final.
The Chelsea captain was shown a straight red card after giving Alexis Sanchez a knee to the
backside in the 37th minute of their Champions League semifinal second leg match against Barcelona.
Though it pushed Chelsea towards certain doom, the rest of the team kept their focus and beat
Barcelona to earn a place in the final.
Que maravilloso! Following their victories yesterday, Atletico Madrid, Athletic
Bilbao and Valencia are all through to the Europa League
semi-finals with Sporting Lisbon taking up the final spot.
Lightning Strikes Twice in the space place in 3 days. This had Madridisimo collectively
groaning: "Oh Shit - Not Again!" .
Just a week after we started to fancy our Champions League odds by drawing APOEL Nicosia last
Friday while enjoying our 10 point lead in La Liga, we have all of a sudden decided to expose our
soft underbelly.
Roma head into the Derby Della Capitale in a state of flux. Last week's limp 4-1 defeat to Atalanta
has seen coach Luis Enrique's authority over the club once more coming into question. His position
has not been aided by a poor away form and constant off-field concerns surrounding his
vice-captain, Daniele De Rossi.
Abby Wambach will have a new title at the London Games.
Coach Pia Sundhage recently named the 31-year-old Wambach a co-captain of the U.S. women's
soccer team- or essentially the vice-captain to team leader Christie Rampone.
It makes sense, given that the dominant striker was already the team's go-to spokeswoman and
vocal locker room leader.
Ever since the Seattle Sounders started talking about being open to adding a Designated Player
during this transfer window, speculation ran rampant about who might be moved in order to make
room. If a report out of Colombia is to be believed, it appears that player is Alvaro Fernandez.
The reports, which remain unconfirmed by official sources, suggest Fernandez would go to Colombia's
Deportivo Cali on a one-year loan.
1. ‘Absurd day light hours, attractive high cheekbones, anti-social vikings – you boys
took one hell of an unremarkable beating!' Never riveting but reliable, Hodgson displayed his
trademark characteristics to bring England their first win in Norway for 32 years. 2. Brede
Hangeland got sold a dummy more easily than an irate parent desperate to pacify [.
With a new MLS season four days away, it's time to start up the SBI Fantasy MLS League yet
again.
We'll have our league set up by Thursday so you can select your teams and vie for SBI Fantasy
MLS superiority ahead of First Kick, but before we do that we want your input on which game we
should use.
I initiated contact with Georg Süss who writes for AIKBloggen.se to continue the tradition of
answering questions for the upcoming match. Geoff and Ryan were kind enough to let me ask the
questions.
The answers are fantastic. I asked a mixture of the usual report on the team but also asked
about the organization, its history and traditions.
