The Gunners' first home game of the season starts against newly promoted team Blackpool at the Emirates Stadium at 15.00 (GMT) later today.It will be a whole new experience for both sides as the Arsenal and Blackpool have not met each other in the Premier League since its establishment.Under manager Ian Holloway, the Lancashire club has managed to gain promotion via the Championship Play-off final after beating Welsh side Cardiff City 3-2 at Wembley. The Blackpool team have also taken the Premier League by storm with their impressive 4-0 win against Wigan at the DW Stadium last week.
The Arsenal though have been hit by bad news after bad news after their 1-1 draw at Anfield. Consecutive injury news have started to force Wenger's hands but there were some good news which were announced by the Arsenal manager in his press conference on Friday.
The title says it all. World Cup winner and Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is back in the squad alongside Song and Djourou with both recovering from minor injuries. With Koscielny serving a one-match suspension after collecting a red card offence at Anfield, the Arsenal are only left with the only match fit defender in Vermaelen. Hence, Djourou's return will serve as a huge relief for the Arsenal fans.
However, Wenger has no intention to rush Fabregas and also van Persie back into the starting line-up. He said:
There will be more injury news later in the following sections.
With strong speculations regarding Arsenal's move for Schwarzer, it was no surprise that the current Arsenal number on Almunia has been severely disturbed and could consider leaving the club if the Australian keeper is signed to replace him.
Almunia said:
No matter how, the end of the summer transfer window is around the corner and hopefully there will be a win-win situation for both parties.
Remember the iconic Clock at Highbury? I believe the older Arsenal fans would have a clear memory on this. The Arsenal have announced the return of the Clock which has been so closely associated with the club for seven decades. Well, the size of the new Clock will be bigger than the one at Highbury and it will be installed at the south of the stadium. It is absolutely understandable due to the size of the Emirates Stadium.
Not to worry, there are still a few more changes come later today. It has also been confirmed that the stands in the Emirates Stadium will be re-named using the previous names of stands at Highbury, i.e. the Clock End, the North Bank (opposite the Clock End), the East Stand and the West End. This latest move would definitely receive huge support and welcome from the fans, bringing back the glorious memories of the Arsenal. In other words, it would be "Highbury" all over again, huh!!!
The Blackpool manager has been talking about his "love", well admiration is the more appropriate word, of the French tactician Arsene Wenger in the past week. Mr Holloway even has an idea of wanting to travel to London just to watch the Arsenal team train!
This is what he has said:
Earlier on, we mentioned that Fabregas, Djourou and Song are back in contention for the starting line-up. It is also common knowledge that Koscielny will be out due to suspension. What about Denilson?
The long-term absentees now have only Ramsey and Bendtner as its members, with Nasri being the "debutant" this season. Apart from that, the Arsenal have been fine.
So there you go. The Arsenal Press is already raring to kick off the first home fixture against Blackpool. You can catch our live commentary on our facebook page with the address shown below. Till then, have a nice match experience!
Pre-match Talking Points
The return of Fabregas, Song and Djourou
The title says it all. World Cup winner and Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is back in the squad alongside Song and Djourou with both recovering from minor injuries. With Koscielny serving a one-match suspension after collecting a red card offence at Anfield, the Arsenal are only left with the only match fit defender in Vermaelen. Hence, Djourou's return will serve as a huge relief for the Arsenal fans.
However, Wenger has no intention to rush Fabregas and also van Persie back into the starting line-up. He said:
Having said that, Arsenal's Dutch striker could probably feature in the starting line up if Wenger intends to switch to the 4-4-2 formation to support Chamakh like he did at Anfield."To have a good season you need a good preparation so we want to especially build up Cesc and Van Persie well.
They came back on August 5 and you need three to four weeks preparation if you want to do well in the Premier League."
There will be more injury news later in the following sections.
Wenger: Almunia is unsettled
With strong speculations regarding Arsenal's move for Schwarzer, it was no surprise that the current Arsenal number on Almunia has been severely disturbed and could consider leaving the club if the Australian keeper is signed to replace him.
Almunia said:
“Arsenal is a big club and speculation is always in the news. The only thing I can do is keep working because I have a contract here and I have to do what the manager wants.It was only last week when Arsene Wenger said that the keeper who started at Anfield would be his number one. Hence, one can understand the Spaniard's concerns, especially the Arsenal manager who obviously has no choice at the moment but to reduce the impact of the current situation to a minimum.
I have not spoken to him. If somebody comes in, I will have to talk about my future at Arsenal. I have to work and if one day I am not good for Arsenal, I will talk."
No matter how, the end of the summer transfer window is around the corner and hopefully there will be a win-win situation for both parties.
The Clock End is BACK!
Remember the iconic Clock at Highbury? I believe the older Arsenal fans would have a clear memory on this. The Arsenal have announced the return of the Clock which has been so closely associated with the club for seven decades. Well, the size of the new Clock will be bigger than the one at Highbury and it will be installed at the south of the stadium. It is absolutely understandable due to the size of the Emirates Stadium.
Not to worry, there are still a few more changes come later today. It has also been confirmed that the stands in the Emirates Stadium will be re-named using the previous names of stands at Highbury, i.e. the Clock End, the North Bank (opposite the Clock End), the East Stand and the West End. This latest move would definitely receive huge support and welcome from the fans, bringing back the glorious memories of the Arsenal. In other words, it would be "Highbury" all over again, huh!!!
Ian Holloway is a crazy fan of Arsene Wenger?
The Blackpool manager has been talking about his "love", well admiration is the more appropriate word, of the French tactician Arsene Wenger in the past week. Mr Holloway even has an idea of wanting to travel to London just to watch the Arsenal team train!
This is what he has said:
Despite all the "craze" and "crave", Holloway would try to beat the Arsenal using his style of play even if his team might end up losing with a big scoreline."I'd love to have a good natter with him. I've asked if I can go down there and I know Steve Rowley, their chief scout, well. So he is trying to fix it up.
I want to learn as much as I can and be as good as I can be."
You have got to salute for his effort to balance between his respect for Wenger and his team's attacking philosophy. Well, we have to see the final scoreline in the game to judge him then."You have to believe you can do these things. Who knows, we might end up losing by the biggest embarrassing scoreline ever in the Premier League.
If not, then people who have written us off may have to say different things about us, because we could pull off the shock of the century."
The Injury Room visit...
Earlier on, we mentioned that Fabregas, Djourou and Song are back in contention for the starting line-up. It is also common knowledge that Koscielny will be out due to suspension. What about Denilson?The Arsenal Press have also reported the loss of Frimpong to a long-term injury as he had "done his cruciate" and would be out for at least 6 months according to Wenger. In our Week in, Week out section, we have also reported that Nasri will be out for roughly four weeks after undergoing a knee operation due to the knee injury he sustained at Anfield."Denilson is still working, he is back in normal training but he still needs to work on his fitness. He will need one more week."
The long-term absentees now have only Ramsey and Bendtner as its members, with Nasri being the "debutant" this season. Apart from that, the Arsenal have been fine.
So there you go. The Arsenal Press is already raring to kick off the first home fixture against Blackpool. You can catch our live commentary on our facebook page with the address shown below. Till then, have a nice match experience!
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