Jens Lehmann doesn’t know when to stop talking, so perhaps we should take his comments with a pinch of salt. In a way, it’s refreshing to hear a footballer shoot from the hip, when so many players say relatively nothing when being interviewed. The former Arsenal keeper’s latest gem concerns Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, who had the audacity to nick the ball past Lehmann to win Euro 2008 for Spain, something a certain Barcelona striker used to do all the time at Highbury and the Emirates.

The Daily Mail reports that the shot-stopper is not content with laying into Sunday night’s referee for being so biased as to let lucky Spain beat their superior opponents (!), he’s also quick to belittle the Reds striker, whom he claims has got a long way to go before he can reach Thierry Henry’s level.

But when asked about Torres’s quality, Lehmann said: “Well, he scored and that’s what you have to do as a striker but you’re asking someone who played together for years with Thierry Henry and he was a God, performance-wise, when he was in England.

“So when you take him and compare him to other strikers, there’s a difference and Torres is definitely still not at Thierry’s level.”

While the Frenchman was one of the greatest players to ever grace the Premier League, surely Torres is virtually on a par with Henry right now? Pace-wise, there is little to seperate them, while it’s hard to imagine that Thierry would have done any better than the Liverpool striker during his first season at Anfield. Is Lehmann talking codswallop or is he on to something here?

The Gunners managed to head Milan off at the pass by slapping a hefty price tag on the head of Emmanuel Adebayor. However, there now appears to be another club in the running, where price might be less of an object. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Watching the Euros without England is a bit like Big Brother winner Kate Lawler [Read the rest of this entry »]

Some might argue that Theo Walcott hasn’t made a great deal of progress since leaving Southampton for Arsenal, although there are countless examples of Arsene Wenger signing a player and helping them progress into a world-class talent. Take Cesc Fabregas for example, or Kolo Toure. Maybe Thierry Henry instead, or Emmanuel Adebayor. Will Aaron Ramsey be a star of the future, or even next season, after agreeing terms with the Gunners according to the BBC?

Aaron Ramsey has joined Arsenal from FA Cup finalists Cardiff City in a £5m deal, BBC Sport understands.

Champions League winners Manchester United and Premier League giants Everton were also fighting to sign the 17-year-old Welsh wonderkid.

But Ramsey has chosen Arsenal after the Gunners flew him out to Switzerland for face-to-face talks with boss Arsene Wenger, who is at Euro 2008.

Cardiff confirmed that Arsenal was the “best cash offer” for the young star.

Once the midfielder was on that plane, Arsenal moved firmly into the driving seat to sign him, although it remains to be seen as to whether he plays much of a role next season or instead farmed out on loan to glean some Premier League first-team experience.

It’s clear that the Gunners got shot of Fredrik Ljungberg at exactly the right time. Injuries were beginning to take their toll on the Swede and, despite Arsenal offering him a one-year-deal last summer, the winger instead moved to West Ham on a lucrative contract and immediately got friendly with the physio team at Upton Park. Despite all this, the Daily Mail report that Ljungberg is still chomping his way through sour grapes by claiming that Arsene Wenger forced him to play while injured among other things.

He said: “It’s all about my injuries. Wenger simply doesn’t like those who show a weakness. With him, you generally feel as if you were in the army – it’s only in public that he may appear to be some sort of man of liberal views. In reality, his belief is natural selection. The truth is I picked up a knock doing my job and following Wenger’s instructions. I always played like this and, at some point, ran out of luck.

“So while I was being treated for the injury, they went out and found a different player for my position.

“After I recovered, I was given a chance in the typical Wenger way: I was expected to run and intercept and score just the same as before. He just didn’t give me enough time to do it properly. I had no time.”

“And also I still feel a bit offended about Arsenal. They showed the door to too many people. Why did they let Thierry Henry go? When I found out about his move, I realised that the Arsenal I used to play for was finished.

“So I went to West Ham in order to play against Arsenal as often as possible. I wanted to prove that Freddie Ljungberg hadn’t had his last word as a player. And at West Ham, no one gives you a puzzled look if you get called up for your national team and players are never asked to play on injections.

“I would like to stay there – if they offer of course.”

I’m sure West Ham fans will be delighted to hear that Ljungberg’s primary motivation for signing at Upton Park was the opportunity to play against Arsenal last season! It’s a shame that the player has to continue bad mouthing his former club in such a way, especially as he must have so many happy memories of turning out for the Gunners.

It’s not the first time that Manchester United’s boy wonder has missed a penalty this season. In December, he was also guilty of hitting a spot kick wide against West Ham, something which led to his team’s 2-1 defeat. At the Nou Camp, the Portuguese forward did it again, although the Daily Mail report that Cristiano Ronaldo is confident of putting Barcelona to the sword at Old Trafford.

He said: “I did not change my style of taking the penalty. I have scored in that corner before this season. Now I will score next week in Manchester.

“It was a difficult game as they kept the ball well, but we defended very well and a 0-0 draw away from home is a good result.

He added: “I don’t understand why the referee did not give me the second penalty but it won’t matter.”

While United are still favourites to progress to the Champions League final, a one-goal advantage would have ensured that they could have attacked more freely on Tuesday. Instead, they’ll have to be extremely wary of Messi, Henry & Co on the counter-attack, knowing the concession of one away goal will leave them needing at least two if they’re to make it to Moscow.

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The business end of the football season is interesting for many reasons. You’ve obviously got the Premier League title race and relegation battle to be decided, the Champions League semi-finals and the question of who will be promoted from the Championship.

However, this is also the time when many high-profile players (Lampard, Henry, Gerrard, Barry) get linked with a move away from their current club. Another one is Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal’s jewel in the crown and supposedly happy to stay at the Emirates, according to the objective news source that is the official site.

“My future belongs to Arsenal, and it is the truth,” he said. “I do not know why [it was brought up]. It is always the same with my situation, always putting my name in another team.”

At this stage, the Arsenal official stopped twisting Cesc’s arm and patted him on the back. So why do people put Fab’s name in another team? Perhaps it’s because he makes these sort of comments, as reported in The Times.

“I hope my future belongs to Arsenal”

Perhaps the youngster is the same as Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry and simply wants some commitment from his club that new signings will be made to bolster the squad. Along with an extra few thousand in his weekly pay packet.

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William Gallas is one of the most talented players in the Premier League. He was one of the unsung stars during his time at Chelsea and the Gunners did a tremendous piece of business by acquiring the Frenchman in exchange for the ‘little ratter’ that is Ashley Cole.

However, whether or not Gallas is cut out for captaincy is another matter, with the Daily Mail reporting that Arsene Wenger is keeping his options open ahead of next season. At times, the defender appears to have buckled under the strain of wearing the armband, with his protest after conceding a penalty at St Andrews in February a very clear-cut example.

“I cannot answer the question of whether Gallas will be captain next season at the moment. I want to analyse the season after it finishes.

“He will be my captain until the end of the season. I will say that he has learned a lot about captaincy this year and that his commitment and his desire to do well was exceptional.

“For the rest, I wouldn’t like to go into any individual assessment at the moment because I made that decision to have him as captain and I have to stand up for it.”

It’s clear that Wenger was short of captaincy options at the start of the season, especially with Thierry Henry no longer at the club and Gilberto Silva no longer a regular first-teamer. His other current options are Kolo Toure and maybe Cesc Fabregas, with the latter sure to get the armband at some stage if he stays at Arsenal.

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Arsenal seem to be managing just fine without their former star striker this season, although Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has revealed that he asked Thierry Henry whether he fancied moving up to Merseyside before the Frenchman opted instead for the warmer climes of Barcelona. Sporting Life reveals that Gerrard not only revels as a player at Anfield, but also as a scout!

“I sent him a few text messages seeing if he fancied it,” he said.

“I would have loved to have seen him in a Liverpool shirt, just like the supporters would have.

“But he wanted to play in Spain and for Barcelona, so you had to respect that decision.

“However he’s got a lot of respect for Liverpool. He speaks really well about us.”

It’s clear that Reds fans would have loved for a player of that calibre to sign on and terrorise opposition defences rather than the Liverpool rearguard as Henry has done for the past few seasons. However, in Fernando Torres, they have a world-class forward all of their own.

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