Chelsea v Arsenal Live Streaming

Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen will return to the team to play Chelsea on Saturday  fit for his first Premier League match for more than two months.

The 25-year-old missed 33 league matches last year and has missed seven so far this season after sustaining a similar injury in August, while on international duty.

The Belgium international came through 85 minutes in last night’s 2-1 League Cup win over Bolton but came off suffering from cramp in his calf.

But Vermaelen has revealed it is nothing serious and is ready for the challenges ahead.

“It was great to be back in the pitch again,” he tweeted. “Great victory! Thanks for all the support. The fans were amazing today!!

“Btw, i had a small cramp at the end. Nothing serious. Just went out as a precaution.”

The Gunners have steadied after a poor start to the season and, with Vermaelen back in the heart of their defence, will be aiming for a fifth straight win on Saturday.

Meanwhile captain Robin Van Persie has backed the new generation of youngsters coming through at Arsenal to restore the club to former glories.

“I’m very much looking forward to seeing the guys play,” Van Persie told Arsenal’s Official Matchday Programme.

“I’ve trained with most of them, and watched them play, so I can tell you that there is a lot of talent in these players.

“What’s special for me is that they’re not scared – whether they’re playing at Emirates Stadium or the training ground, all they know is to play their football and enjoy it.”

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Arsenal v Bolton Live Streaming

Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has been named in his side’s squad for the Carling Cup clash with Bolton Wanderers.

The 25-year-old has recovered from the achilles injury that left him on the sidelines for two months.

With one eye on Saturday’s derby at Chelsea, manager Arsene Wenger will likely rest the likes of Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker and Robin Van Persie, and give starts to the fringe players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Francis Coquelin, Park Chu-Young and Emmanuel Frimpong.

Carl Jenkinson (knee), Abou Diaby (ankle), Kieran Gibbs (stomach), Bacary Sagna (leg) and Jack Wilshere (ankle) are unavailable.

Meanwhile striker Gervinho has declared it is important for captain Robin Van Persie to sign a new contract.

The Ivorian, who only arrived last summer, is only too aware of the 28-year-old Dutchman’s importance to Arsenal.

“We always need our best players so a player like Robin, frankly, we need him to stay at the club,” Gervinho said.

“It would give me pleasure if he stayed. I have just arrived and I would like him to stay so I can play with him a while longer.

“Psychologically, Robin is good for us. He is among the most experienced players on the pitch and when he comes on, he puts the opposition’s defence under pressure and that helps our game.

“Against Stoke, he came on and scored two goals. He is an excellent player and the team need him.

“You always have to have leaders in the group and he is a player who drags the team forward. He is the captain, his role is to galvanise the group and he assumes the responsibility.”

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Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has agreed a new contact to his commit his long-term future to the club.

 The 25-year-old joined from Ajax in the summer of 2009 and has signed a new deal to stay at the Emirates until 2015.

The Belgium international endured an injury-ravaged 12 months but enjoyed a memorable first season with Arsenal, scoring eight goals and earning a place in the PFA Team of the Season.

He suffered an Acilles injury while away with Belgium which sidelined him for the majority of last season, and has hampered his appearances this campaign.

But, with full fitness now approaching, Vermalen is delighted to have secured his future.

“I am really happy to have signed a new contract with Arsenal,” he told the club’s website. ”I always had the intention to stay here.

“I feel there is a big belief in me from the club, from the boss and from the fans and that is one of the reasons why I stayed.

“Arsenal is a fantastic club. We have great supporters, we’re doing well financially and we are playing with some quality young players now and they will develop, which is very good for the future.”

Manager Arsene Wenger was equally thrilled with the news, adding: “We are absolutely delighted that Thomas has signed a new long-term contract.

“Our plan is always to sign top-quality players and with Thomas extending his contract, we have done just that.

“Thomas is a special player, who has always made a huge contribution on the pitch and we are looking forward to him being a part of our future at Arsenal Football Club.”

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Arsenal v Olympiakos Live Streaming

Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has emerged as the key ingredient to ensure the club get their top two transfer targets in January.

The 25-year-old is currently sidelined with an ankle injury and is not expected back in the first-team until mid-October.

But boss Arsene Wenger hopes the Belgium international can convince Eden Hazard and Jan Vertonghen to move to the Emirates.

Vermaelen has formed a strong friendship with Vertonghen following their days together at Ajax and with their national side.

Wenger missed out on the 24-year-old in the summer because the Dutch giants wanted him to boost their Champions League chances.

But they are resigned to losing him and may sell in the January transfer window, although Liverpool are also expressing strong interest.

“The fact Thomas and Jan are friends isn’t lost on Wenger,” an Ajax source told the Daily Star. “Maybe a right word will make the difference for Arsenal.

“We know he’s leaving but not when – maybe in January.”

Wenger is also hoping to use Vermaelen’s family connections to lure Lille forward Eden Hazard to north London.

Again Liverpool are strongly linked with the 20-year-old but Vermaelen is Hazard’s cousin and Wenger hopes this can tip the edge in the Gunner’s favour.

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Tottenham v Arsenal Live Streaming

Arsenal have described the knee injury to forward Theo Walcott as “minor” and hope to have him back for the Champions League game against Olympiakos.

The 22-year-old pulled up in the dying stages of Arsenal’s 3-0 win on Saturday, with initial fears the winger had pulled a hamstring.

But manager Arsene Wenger has downplayed the seriousness of the problem and hopes the England international will face the Greek side and rivals Tottenham next Sunday.

“I don’t really know (what is wrong),” Wenger said. “I thought it was a classic hamstring but it is not.

“He felt a sharp pain in his knee and at the moment he is with the doctor.

“I don’t know what the diagnosis will be but it is completely surprising. There was no one near him.

“I don’t know what they will do, whether they will have a scan tonight, I will have to speak to the medical people.”

The worrying aspect for the Arsenal fans is this is not the first ‘minor’ injury the Gunners squad has faced that has turned into a long-term problem.

Midfielder Jack Wilshere was supposed to be out for only a couple of days after injuring his ankle in a pre-season game in August.

The 19-year-old will now undergo surgery and will not be back until after Christmas as the problem has failed to heal.

The Arsenal medical staff knew about his weakness and advised England not to pick Wilshere for the Euro U21 Championships because of it.

But instead of putting the player under the knife in the summer, the Gunners tried to let the injury heal itself but will now lose a star player for a long time.

The same issue happened last season with defender Thomas Vermaelen, with the Emirates staff hoping his achilles would naturally heal instead of needing an operation.

The result: Vermaelen underwent surgery and pretty much missed the whole campaign.

Another example is Abou Diaby, who the club instead of operating on his ankle at the start of the summer waited until August.

The Frenchman was supposed to back in September but is still recovering.

Cesc Fabregas, since moving to Barcelona, has shown no sign of the hamstring problems that dogged his Arsenal career over the last two years.

Maybe there is something they put in the Catalan water…

These issues need to be fixed, with big question marks hanging over the Arsenal medical staff and their efforts to keep their stars on the pitch.

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Arsene Wenger admits Arsenal face major battles to avoid losing another FOUR players next summer.

Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Thomas Vermaelen and Andrey Arshavin will all have one year left on their contracts at the end of the current season.

And Gunners boss Wenger may be forced to cash in on them, rather than risk losing the quartet on free transfers.

Arsenal opted to sell Samir Nasri this summer because he only had one year left on his deal – and Manchester City TREBLED his wages to £180,000-a-week.

SOURCE: Daily Mirror

Now this is interesting. Is there any chance whatsoever that Arsenal would consider selling any of this quartet? Well perhaps there is a likelihood that off form Russian Andrei Arshavin would be offloaded if a good price came in for the former Zenit man but there is surely no chance whatsoever that Arsene Wenger would consider offers for the rest of this group, regardless of contract issues.

Having lost three key first team players this summer, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy, and then watched as the North London side struggled for form, there is surely no chance that Wenger would look to sell any more of his first team regulars.

If contracts are the issue then clearly new ones will be offered and offers for Thomas Vermaelen and Robin Van Persie in particular, will almost certainly be lucrative ones as the Belgian and Dutch internationals are hugely important to Wenger and are two of the most reliable players Arsene Wenger has in his squad.

Theo Walcott can of course be an exasperating player to watch at times, obvious talent more often than not limited by lack of consistency, however last term the England international did get his scoring boots on, netting nine in 19 Premier League starts, and could be a vital link between the wide areas and strikers if he can just make the right decisions with his final ball or attempt on goal.

This season is a crucial one for the club and Wenger individually and clearly things have not started well but it’s too early to say just how the campaign may pan out and indeed whether the club would seek to offload this quartet of talents.

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Arsenal have been dealt another hammer blow after Thomas Vermaelen was ruled out for up to three months.
The centre-back is believed to have undergone surgery on his left ankle – handing Arsene Wenger another major headache as they attempt to kickstart their season.

Jack Wilshere is already sidelined for between two and three months, leaving Arsenal desperately short of experienced heads as they bid to lift themselves after the 8-2 mauling at arch rivals Manchester United last month.
Vermaelen is understood to have visited a specialist in Stockholm on Monday for surgery in the latest setback in his Arsenal career.

SOURCE: Daily Mail

Given that Thomas Vermaelen is very much the only truly solid and reliable centre back Arsenal possess, at least until the recent arrival of Per Mertesacker from Werder Bremen, this is not good news for Arsene Wenger.

Couple this news with the fact that England youngster Jack Wilshere is also out for a prolonged period and the fact that Gervinho, Alex Song, Carl Jenkinson and Emmanuel Frimpong are all out suspended and Laurent Koscielny may also be out injured and it appears that Wenger will once again be down to the bare bones for the coming fixtures.

The arrival of Mikel Arteta, Andre Santos, Yossi Benayoun and the aforementioned Per Mertesacker will of course help to cover for these omissions but once again show the relative threadbare nature of Arsenal’s senior squad options.

Mertesacker will therefore in all likelihood have to partner with either Johan Djourou or Sebastian Squillaci, two players who are hugely inconsistent.

The North London side take on Swansea City at home on the weekend and whilst the fixture would appear to be a home banker it is worth noting that the Welsh side are above Arsenal in the Premier League table at present.

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Udinese v Arsenal Live Streaming

Danilo v Robin Van Persie

Danilo helped keep Arsenal at bay in the first-leg in what was his first competitive game for Udinese since his summer move from Palmeiras.

But he did not have to contend with the suspended Robin Van Persie, who returns today and will be desperate not to become the first Arsenal captain to lose a Champions League qualifier.

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Following the £35million departure of Cesc Fabregas and the rather inauspicious start to the 2011/12 season, Arsenal are in major need for new arrivals.

The goalkeeping situation seems to have sorted itself out with Wojciech Szczesny making the position his own, but the defence still causes problems.

A centre-back is needed to add organisation and add depth with fitness concerns over Johan Djourou and Thomas Vermaelen.

The left-back position is also in need of looking at with Kieran Gibbs injury-prone and Armand Traore untested. Vermaelen, although capable, is wasted there and is needed more in the middle.

Fabregas’ exit and Samir Nasri’s possible switch to Manchester City has left a creative void in the middle with a playmaker and winger now wanted.

Robin Van Persie is a quality striker but too much is dependent on him. Marouane Chamakh is average and delivers little goal threat. Nicklas Bendtner has his critics but is likely to be sold.

So Arsene Wenger should be very busy for the next two weeks otherwise the club he has built could come crashing down around him.

We give him in a hand in selecting 10 realistic signings he could make to strengthen his title ambitions.

Mamadou Sakho (PSG) – position: centre-back/left-back; price: £18m

The French international could be the answer to all of Arsenal’s defensive problems. His versatility means he could solve the problems at centre-half and on the left, hence Wenger could buy two players in one. The 21-year-old is captain of the Ligue 1 side showing he has great leadership and organisational skills. One problem could be that PSG do not exactly need to cash in on him.

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Marouane Chamakh v Danilo

With striker Robin van Persie suspended, manager Arsene Wenger will ask Chamakh to lead the attack.

He will be hoping the Morocco striker can recapture the form he showed at the start of last season but has not found the back of the net since March.

Danilo joined Udinese from Palmeiras in the summer and will be keen to make an impression at Emirates.