Arsenal announces pre-season game in Malaysia

Credited : arsenal.com

Arsenal Football Club is delighted to announce that the first-team squad will be playing a pre-season friendly in Malaysia this summer.

Arsène Wenger’s side take on a Malaysia XI at the Bukit Jalil Stadium, Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, July 13, kick off 8.45pm local time. This game will be the first leg of Arsenal's Asian Tour. Details of the second leg will be announced on Wednesday.

Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis said: “Everyone at Arsenal Football Club is excited to be visiting Malaysia.

“The Club has a tradition of playing there going back to the 1960s. This will be our fourth visit to Malaysia, having last visited Kuala Lumpur in 1999.

"We enjoy huge support in Asia and this will help bring the Club closer to our fans out there.”
HRH Prince Tengku Mahkota of Pahang added: "It is an honour for Malaysia to host Arsenal, I don't think any other national teams get such opportunity. This is a rare opportunity for our Malaysian national team as they prepare for the Olympics and ahead of the World Cup."

Check Arsenal.com in the near future for ticket details, travel options and news about that second leg.

In addition, Arsenal has already confirmed the details for Emirates Cup 2011, which is being played at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, July 30 and Sunday, July 31.

Emirates Cup 2011 will see Arsenal joined by MLS side New York Red Bulls, who currently boast Gunners’ legend Thierry Henry in their ranks, leading French club Paris Saint-Germain and Club Atlético Boca Juniors - the most successful Argentine and South American club of all time.

Tom Fox, Arsenal's Chief Commercial Officer, hands a shirt to HRH Prince Tengku Mahkota of Pahang (Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah)

Wenger lost for words

Arsene Wenger was at a loss to explain why his Arsenal players struggled so badly in their 3-1 defeat away to Stoke City on Sunday.
Seemingly out of English Premier League title contention after another inconsistent season, Arsenal restored some pride with a 1-0 win at home to league leaders Manchester United last Sunday.
That victory provided the team renewed hope of claiming second place ahead of London rivals Chelsea.
But yet another below-par display at the Britannia Stadium - their seventh defeat of the league campaign - left Wenger with some serious questions to answer in the close season.
"Something has gone - you can see that today," Wenger said. "It was a disappointing performance."
"The competitive level for Stoke was higher than ours and overall I think we lost the game because they defended much better than we did, with much more purpose."
"On that front, we were not at the right level, certainly not in the first half."
"It is always difficult to say why, but it is a fact."
"You are never happy when you are not competitive enough. Basically, there is not a lot to say."
"Congratulations to them. We made too many mistakes to win a game like that. They defended well and it was always difficult for us."
Stoke manager Tony Pulis believes the win was a testament to the character of his players, who turned in a full-blooded performance despite Saturday's FA Cup final against Manchester CIty.
"It was pleasing in the respect of the effort and commitment the players have put in when they know that their next game is at Wembley in an FA Cup final," Pulis said.
"We have got a real good spirit in the camp and I think everybody understands and recognises that if they are picked to play for us, they have to run around, they have to work hard and they have to competitive."

"We have got some good players as well to go with that, so we are really pleased."

source : soccerway.com

what a day for arsenal....wenger can't said anything more...i think...

when facing with Man United previous game ...the team play in good shape..

but last night ....what a game...lost to stoke again...

goal from corner...n.............what to said

Stoke City vs. Arsenal

  

Here are some info about match tonight......

Credited to soccerway.com

Wenger - Football is about quality, not race

Arsène Wenger

Arsène Wenger believes that quality, not race, is all that should matter in football.

The Arsenal manager's homeland has been hit by controversy this week after Les Bleus' coach Laurent Blanc allegedly expressed support for a quota on the number of dual-nationality players at France's youth academies.

The World Cup-winning centre back is now under investigation and Wenger admits that Blanc's reported remarks came as a surprise to him. The 61-year-old is a long-time opponent of quotas and spoke out again ahead of Sunday's trip to Stoke.

"I feel your national football has to be identified by the culture of the football and the quality of your education, not by where people come from," said Wenger.

"It is on line with what I said before, that no matter where you come from if you are good enough you play. That’s why it is so important that politics is not involved in that. The quota system is an open door to mediocrity and doesn’t reward quality. We have one advantage in sport, it’s only down to quality.

"I was surprised by his comments but I know Laurent Blanc well," added Wenger. "At the start, it was a technical debate that has turned the wrong way and that they should have kicked out straight away.

"They were thinking that we want to educate our players better at 10 to 12 years of age and then one of the issues was bi-nationality. In France, we have many immigrants so many of them are Moroccan and French, Algerian and French. Many of them choose to play for their country because they have no real hope to play for France. Nasri plays for France, Zidane played for France, Desailly too.

"For many years, when we could not change more nationalities we blocked them early. Give him a national cap early for the Under-18s and then he cannot play for his country any more. On that front, we are not completely clean. So we cannot complain today that people go when they have no chance to play for France.

"I find it good that they play for their country. If they can improve the quality of the game in their country then that is good."

Despite the row enveloping his home country, Wenger insists that race is not a serious problem in France.

"I personally believe that France is not a racist country at all," he said. "The preferred personality in France is Yannick Noah. The captain of the French national team is Alou Diarra.

"I believe the racism issue that has been raised is wrong because France is not a racist country. But the least you can say is that the discussion at the FFF was clumsy and should not have existed at all."

News-From Arsenal.com

Arsenal 1-0 Manchester United: Ramsey goal blows title race wide open despite Vidic escaping penalty & red card for blatant handball

Visitors will feel aggrieved at their own neglected penalty appeals but in all, the Gunners good value for a win that reopens the door to Chelsea's Premier League ambitions

 

EPL,Aaron Ramsey,Arsenal vs Manchester United

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Arsenal rocked Manchester United at the Emirates, battling to a hard earned 1-0 win to allow Chelsea right back into the Premier League title race. With Cesc Fabregas absent from proceedings after taking a knock in training, it was his deputee Aaron Ramsey who came to the fore, netting an accomplished winner for the Gunners after Robin Van Persie’s cut back.
In a game where Manchester United never really clicked into gear, Arsenal were the better team throughout and their winner early on in the second half was a just outcome for their prolonged superiority in the matchup.
Whereas the result doesn’t quite drag Arsenal back into the title race – with just three games remaining – Chelsea will be thanking Arsene Wenger’s men, after seeing their deficit to United reduced to just three points ahead of their monumental clash next weekend.
The win proved a shot in the arm for the underfire boss, with the assured performance proving contrary to the constant criticism he has faced over his team’s resilience.
Evidently feeling like they had a point to prove, Arsenal started the game in buoyant fashion.
Sustained pressure early on led to a collection of half chances for the hosts – the most glaring of which fell to Jack Wilshere after Nemanja Vidic fluffed his clearance, yet the England man could only drag his shot wide from the edge of the box.
United struggled to impose themselves as the game developed, with Arsenal enjoying more than their fair share of possession. A fluid move culminated in Theo Walcott drifting in from the right flank to meet a whipped Gael Clichy cross, though the lively winger couldn’t keep his effort down.
It then took a fantastic piece of back post defending by Patrice Evra, in stark contrast to the lacklustre start by the Premier League front runners, to further keep Arsenal at bay. Van Persie rolled the ball into the far post and with Walcott again cutting in from the right to great effect and seemingly primed to side-foot home, Patrice Evra intervened to poke the ball out for a corner.
It wasn’t until the 25^th minute that United really got out of first gear. A short burst of incisive play from the visitors saw Fabio burst beyond the Arsenal backline, but an effective cut back from the Brazilian, with Chicharito waiting in the six-yard box, never quite materialised.

Ramsey's sweet strike | Aaron wins it for the Gunners

The first half’s major talking point came after Walcott again marauded down the right and sent in an inviting ball to Van Persie in the box. With the lone front man primed to power a header home, the ball took a slight nick off Vidic, diverting it to safety. On closer inspection, the ball definitely caught the Serb’s hand.
As the first half came to a close, Manchester United looked a lot more sure footed, with Wayne Rooney become an increasingly influential figure, though unable to craft any clear cut errors on goal.
The voracity with which Van Persie argued his denied penalty appeal as Chris Foy blew for half-time was an indication of Arsenal’s frustration not to have capitalised on their superiority at the Emirates.
Arsenal emerged for the second half with Andrei Arshavin replacing Samir Nasri but were lucky not to see themselves a goal down almost immediately, after Rooney ominously curled a free kick into the top corner of Szczesny’s net only for the Pole to turn it away at full stretch.
Such danger for the hosts proved an isolated incident, however, as Arsenal eased back into the fluidity that characterised the game’s opening 45 minutes. Though, for all their endeavour, efforts on target came at a premium, with Bacary Sagna’s driven shot from range flying just wide.
Finally a breakthrough came in the 55th minute when Ramsey justified his start by finishing off a Van Persie raid down the right after arriving late in the box. The Dutchman picked up the ball and probed as he entered the visitors' penalty area. With the chance looking like it had been and gone, Ramsey caught up with play, received the cut back and swept an assured finish with his right foot into the far corner.
The goal seemed to shock Manchester United into life though, for once, Arsenal’s defence looked steadfast - especially when confronted with the disconcerting number of sloppy errors made by the visitors in the final third, who were nowhere near their potent best.
As the game entered its latter stages the attritional and niggling nature of the tie worked in Arsenal’s favour. Looking bereft of ideas, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side continued to knock but to little effect, prompting the introduction of Dimitar Berbatov with just under 20 minutes remaining.
The switch almost paid dividends right away, with the Bulgarian releasing Antonio Valencia down the right, yet the winger’s insipid ball across did little to threaten Szczesny, who had previously looked confident in beating away similarly uninspired efforts from Nani and Rooney.
As the clocked ticked down, United were denied their own penalty appeals, most significantly when substitute Michael Owen was chopped down by Clichy. With the impetus on the visitors to snatch an equaliser, Arsenal continued to look dangerous on the counter, yet they remained stout at the back to see out a well-earned victory.

Credited to By Josh Clarke goal.com for this content

RUmorS Transfer

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is reportedly interested in signing Blackburn defender Phil Jones in a €5.3 million deal.
The News of the World claim Wenger’s chief scout, Steve Rowley,
With doubts surrounding Gary Cahill potential move to the Emirates, Jones is reportedly an alternative for Wenger.
Jones, who has only just returned to action for Rovers, after suffering a cartilage injury, can also play in a defensive midfield role but is currently covering at centerback due to the injury to Ryan Nelsen.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is considering a move for Feyenoord defender Stefan de Vrij after chief scout Steve Rowley watched the teenager against Den Haag on Sunday, according to the Daily Mail.

Rowley was also monitoring the development of Ryo Miyaichi, who is loan at Feyenoord from the Emirates, but the scout left impressed by the performance of the De Vrij.

The Gunners have been on the lookout for a new defender following injuries to their first-choice centre-backs this season, with Bolton's Gary Cahill also linked with a switch to the Gunners.



De Vrij, who is a Netherlands youth international, is valued at around £3.5 million. 

RUmorS

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is reportedly interested in signing Blackburn defender Phil Jones in a €5.3 million deal.
The News of the World claim Wenger’s chief scout, Steve Rowley,
With doubts surrounding Gary Cahill potential move to the Emirates, Jones is reportedly an alternative for Wenger.
Jones, who has only just returned to action for Rovers, after suffering a cartilage injury, can also play in a defensive midfield role but is currently covering at centerback due to the injury to Ryan Nelsen.