Holla! After a one week plus hiatus, The Arsenal Press is back in town. Well, it has been a busy week on a personal note, dealing with different assignments and tasks. To all our Muslim readers, Eid Mubarak.
It so happens that our one-week long hiatus coincided with the so-called "Interlull", well international break to be exact. No wonder the excitement and energy return this weekend when proper football makes the ultimate comeback.
The Arsenal troops will once again continue their league campaign with a game against another Lancashire side, Bolton Wanderers today at 15:00 GMT. Formerly managed by current Blackburn manager Allardyce, the current Bolton set-up is in the hands of Owen Coyle, who has more or less changed the perception of Bolton as the "team of thugs" in the league by injecting the passing element into their game.
After thrashing Blackpool 6-0 and obtaining a satisfying 2-1 victory over Blackburn in their past two games, Arsene wenger will certainly want the good form of his team to carry on in this way. However, bad news after bad news were reported during the past 10 days as injuries start to pile up. How would this game turn out to be? Catch the game later.
Meanwhile, check out some of the pre-match news in today's blog entry.
Pre-match Talking Points
Injury room check-ins for van Persie and Walcott
Again?? Ok, let's take a look again. Robin is out for approximately 5 to 6 weeks with a twisted ankle that he suffered during the Blackburn game. He was substituted before half time by Chamakh in that game and bad news was already expected by that time.
As for Walcott, he damaged his ankle on international duty while playing for England against Switzerland. Walcott is another victim of international football when he was stretchered off the pitch which might have suggested the severity of his injury.
Things got interesting though during England post-match interview when Capello suggested that Walcott could only be out for two weeks. However, the Arsenal medical team re-assessed his injury and announced that he will be out for 6 weeks.
The latest setbacks for van Persie and the in-form Walcott might reduce the Arsenal's strength and drive towards claiming the Gunners' first silverware since 2005. Sigh.
Squillaci made his first Arsenal bow
Arsene Wenger's final signing of this season made his Arsenal debut in a Reserve game match against, yup, Blackburn reserves. Our reserve team won 4-3 but that wasn't too bad at all because Squillaci managed to play through the 90 minutes unscathed, partnering Djourou in the heart of defence.
His confidence and drive are high and of course, he will now anticipate for his chance to play for the Arsenal. He said in the post-match interview:
"Yes of course I'm ready to play against Bolton. But it depends on the coach and other players. If I want to play I must work hard during training."Talking about the intensity of the English game, he has this to say:
"I played 90 minutes for the reserves and felt good physically. Little by little I am picking up the rhythm. I played the whole game and afterward I didn't feel too tired which is a good sign."With his top-level experience at Lyon and Sevilla, much is expected from the Frenchman. oh ya, it was reported on Arsenal.com that Vermaelen will be out for the Bolton game. Squillaci is definitely in contention for the Belgian's spot in defence, probably partnering another former Ligue 1 player, Koscielny.
Coyle: No bad blood against Arsenal
Bolton manager has spoken about last season's game against The Gunners at the Emirates Stadium where the visitors lost 4-2. Former Arsenal defender Gallas was at the centre of a controversy before the Gunners equalised through Fabregas' goal.
Coyle explained Bolton's relationship with the Arsenal since then and said:
“It’s not frosty between us. I said my piece, as I always do. My responsibility is to look after Bolton Wanderers, my club, and do everything I can to make sure that happens. Sometimes people take things the wrong way but that’s the nature of the game. We all know managers will say things to look after their own clubs.”On today's game at the Emirates Stadium, he is confident that his team would display a good, strong performance. He said:
“I believe we are a better team than we were then, so we’ll go there with confidence looking to make a real game of it.Well, we, the Arsenal look forward to another Bolton challege again.
You want to play against the best teams in the best arenas, and the Emirates affords you that chance.”
Summer transfer deadline revisited / 2010-11 Squad Announced
The deadline day was a very quiet one for the Gunners. With expectations of having a new goalie signed before the window slammed shut, the fans were once again disappointed in the end.
On the following day, Premier League clubs were required to hand in a 25 man squad list, with these compulsory rules to be followed:
- Clubs have to declare a squad of no more than 25 players when the summer transfer window shuts, and then again at the end of the January transfer window.
- Players aged 21 and under can be selected without being registered in the 25.
- For the "homegrown players" rule, clubs have to name at least eight players in their squad of 25 players that have been registered domestically for a minimum of three seasons prior to their 21st birthday.
The following is the 20 man squad list:
First-Team Squad:
Manuel Almunia, Andrey Arshavin, Maroune Chamakh, Abou Diaby, Emmanuel Eboue, Lukasz Fabianski,Laurent Koscielny, Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky, Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen, Robin van Persie, Sebastien Squillaci.
Home Grown:
Nicklas Bendtner, Gael Clichy, Denilson, Johan Djourou, Vito Mannone, Alexandre Song, Cesc Fabregas.
The Injury Room Visit...
There you go. Enjoy the return of proper, sexy football! For those who are celebrating the festive period, enjoy too!
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