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Arsenal face a Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona in a mouthwatering repeat of the 2006 final.
Manchester United will evoke memories of their 1999 triumph after drawing Bayern Munich in the last eight.
Should they progress the Red Devils will face either Lyon or Bordeaux while Arsenal would take on the winners of Inter Milan and CSKA Moscow’s tie.
The quarter-final first legs will be played on 30 and 31 March with the return fixtures on 6 and 7 April.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL DRAW:
Lyon v Bordeaux
Bayern Munich v MAN UTD
ARSENAL v Barcelona
Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow
SEMI-FINAL DRAW:
Inter/CSKA Moscow v Arsenal/Barcelona
Bayern/Man United v Lyon/Bordeaux (BBC Sport)

EUROPA LEAGUE DRAW QUARTER FINALS

Fulham v Wolfsburg
Hamburg v Standard Liege
Valencia v Atletico Madrid
Benfica v Liverpool

SEMI FINALS

Valencia/Atletico Madrid v Benfica/Liverpool
Hamburg/Standard Liege v Fulham/Wolfsburg

So there you have it. All being well we have an Arsenal vs Man United final but there is a long way to go and both Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have tough games to plan for before they can plan for any potential Champions League final heroics.

Thoughts on the draw? Good or damn tough?

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Arsène Wenger has identified the 18-year-old Ajax attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen as an Arsenal star of the future, although the manager may have to bide his time before he can conclude a deal for the Dane.

Wenger has received glowing reports on the player, who made his debut for Denmark as a substitute in the 2-1 friendly defeat by Austria two weeks ago, not least from Dennis Bergkamp, the former Arsenal striker who is a youth coach at Ajax.

Wenger’s attention may have been encouraged by Eriksen’s contractual situation: he is on a low-paid youth-team deal which expires next year. The Frenchman may also have considered Ajax’s worrying financial position: the Amsterdam club has incurred heavy losses and will have to raise funds in the transfer market this summer. Eriksen, though, appears set to sign a new, more lucrative longer-term contract and says he remains happy at Ajax.

Under Martin Jol, the former Spurs manager who took over at Ajax last summer, the teenager has been playing first-team football, although his recent appearances have been on the left flank, rather than in his preferred No10 playmaker’s role. (Guardian)

Juventus president Jean Claude Blanc has publicly declared that the Italian giants hope to hold on to Felipe Melo , who has long been linked with a move to Arsenal.

Blanc said: “Felipe Melo will remain with us but we won’t be commenting further on any future dealings.”

Arsenal were considered a likely destination for Melo as he has struggled at Juventus in 2009/2010 and had a run-in with the club’s fans at the end of the 3-3 draw with Siena on Sunday.

Felipe Melo was rumoured to be an Arsenal target last summer when he moved to Juventus from Fiorentina and in March Arsene Wenger said he was still tracking the Brazilian midfielder.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had said in March: “We still think he is a very talented player and with Gilberto Silva, Brazil have a very useful pair in midfield. We are still looking at Melo.” (IMScouting)

Meanwhile, there are reports linking Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger with a move for Ajax youngster Christian Eriksen, while long-time Gunners target Felipe Melo appears to be nearing the exit at Juventus. Then there is speculation over the future of Inter striker Mario Balotelli, who is wanted by both Man City and Arsenal. (ITV Football)

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Arsenal weren’t in fact still in the running for the two biggest prizes on offer to them given the amount of speculation doing the rounds in relation to potential Emirates additions, however these three proposed signings are all pretty useful players who could offer Arsene Wenger added strength in relatively weak areas in the Gunners squad.

Juventus chief Jean Claude Blanc is desperately hoping that Felipe Melo won’t leave the Serie A side but the Brazilian has fallen out with some of his teammates and has seen managerial changes since he arrived and appears very keen to extricate himself from the club who could miss out on a Champions League spot and experienced a rather poor display in the tournament this term. Wenger is clearly a fan and is expected to make a renewed bid for the former Fiorentina man.

Mario Balotelli is another talented player who is not too happy with life in Italy right now. The Inter Milan man seems to not enjoy the greatest of relationships with Jose Mourinho and has made repeated noises about wanting to leave the Italian champions. This summer may see him finally leave the club and what better place for a top notch youngster to move to in order to fulfill his massive potential than Arsenal? The bustling forward could also adapt well to life in the Premier League and would clearly add to the Emirates’ list of attacking options.

The one player of the three who does seem a little unnecessary is Christian Eriksen. Do Arsenal really need another up and coming attacking midfielder? In fact do the north London club need any more up and coming players in any position? It seems to me that the club has had enough of transition periods and now appears the right time for Arsene Wenger to populate his young side with solid players of decent experience that he thinks he can get the most of, much as he has done with the likes of Thomas Vermaelen this term.

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One can only hope that the Gunners can replicate the successes of the Bertie Mee side but perhaps we can end our silverware drought this term rather than hope for some of the 71 magic rub on the current crop of Gunners. There appears to be a retro vibe present in a lot of recent kit designs and it makes a change from the usual act of making the slightest little change to a shirt so as to force the purchase of the latest bit of merchandise.

Thanks to The Gunner Blog for the heads up on this latest pic.

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Lazio’s highly-rated keeper Fernando Muslera has spoken of his pride at being flatteringly linked with a possible move to Arsenal this summer.

The North London club are understood to be monitoring the Uruguayan shot stopper as Arsene Wenger looks to bolster his goalkeeping options.

The 23-year-old joined Lazio in 2007 and his performances as the Italian club’s undisputed number one have led to interest from the Premier League, notably Arsenal.

Wenger is said to be keen and Muslera who admits he is pleased and flattered to on the radar of one of England’s top clubs.

“It is important that a Premier League club like Arsenal have been monitoring my progress and it motivates me to play even better,” he said.

Muslera, who will be going to the World Cup with Uruguay this summer, is reportedly close to agreeing a new four-year deal with Lazio, but might be tempted otherwise if interest from abroad becomes more serious. (Give Me Football – Official PFA Website)

Ask any Arsenal fan which area of their line up they could improve on with new additions and more often than not it will be a toss up between a defensive midfielder in the mould of Yaya Toure or a new keeper. The Emirates outfit could well do with a competent man between the sticks as Manuel Almunia fails to live up the high standards he set himself in a successful season last term.

Lukasz Fabianski seems to take two steps backwards for every one step he takes and his consistent blunders may well mean he will leave in the summer. Vito Mannone has shown great promise but is by no means ready to be the first choice starter and is a baby in Goalkeeping terms.

A number of potential additions have been discussed and speculated over in recent months and the likes of Artur Boruc and Joe Hart are options that if possible would be great signings. However a more likely capture would be Lazio’s Uruguayan keeper Fernando Muslera who appears to be issuing a ‘come and get me plea’ and now that the 23 year old is in his third season in Serie A he appears to be a potential signing with a solid grounding of high level experience and therefore may be able to smoothly make the transition to the Premier League.

The £8m rated goalie has been one of the rare pluses from a poor season for the Rome based club. Even though the club sits in 17th place, just two points from the relegation zone, Lazio have only conceded 32 goals in Serie A which is the same as third placed Roma and shows just what a fantastic job Muslera has done and clearly the Montevideo born mans comments suggest he needs to move on from a club in freefall and a move to the Gunners would suit all parties.

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Arsenal Football Club are being linked with a move for Artur Boruc.

The Poland international has been a big in hit in Scotland since his move to Celtic in the summer of 2005, and he has since been linked with a move to England.

According to reports in the Scottish Sun, the Bhoys are keen to tie the 30-year old to a new contract, amidst suggestions Arsene Wenger could make an offer for him in the summer.

It is widely accepted that the Gunners would benefit from a new shot-stopper to challenge Manuel Almunia, with Lukasz Fabianski failing to impress at the Emirates Stadium.

However, the jury is open as to whether Boruc would be good enough to succeed in the English Premier League, and Wenger may be instead decide to look elsewhere. (Fans FC)

I think its fair to say that Manuel Almunia is not the keeper who impressed for large period of last term and that Arsene Wenger may well be looking to strengthen the keeping area at the Emirates. Celtic goalie Artur Boruc is one of the best around and has made noises about a potential move away from Parkhead for a while now and after seeing the SPL title chase well and truly blown out of the water by rivals Rangers and a less than perfect Europa League campaign, the Polish international may well feel that now is the time to make a Glasgow exit.

The Gunners boss will be encouraged by the early signs of potential shown by Vito Mannone but less than pleased with the abject displays by Lukasz Fabianski and with Spaniard Almunia making more than his fair share of mistakes of late a move in the summer for a top notch keeper may well be on the cards and there are few better between the sticks right now than Artur Boruc.

Celtic will not be keen on selling Boruc but may feel that they have no choice to do so if he made it clear he wanted to leave. He has given the club five years of great service and may not stand in his way if he does want to make the step up to the Premier League this summer.

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Andrei Arshavin continued his good run of form to give the Gunners the lead but Sol Campbell was adjudged to have brought down Jan Vennegor in the box and Jimmy Bullard duly put away the spot kick with aplomb.

The Emirates side then bombarded the home side who had George Boateng sent off for an awful challenge on Bacary Sagna. Nicklas Bendtner then popped up with a crucial winner in the dying moments to further strengthen the north London sides push for the Premier League title. The Dane tucked away the winner after Boaz Myhill could only palm away a terrific 30 yard effort from Denilson.

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Hull City 0-1 Arsenal (Arshavin)

Hull City 1-1 Arsenal (Bullard)

1st Half Highlights

Hull City 1-2 Arsenal (Bendtner)

Full Highlights

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Roma, the club with more front than Margate, are reported to be eyeing another Arsenal ace. As the First Post reported yesterday, the Serie A side despatched their “dealmaker” Daniele Prade to London earlier in the week with the aim of persuading defender William Gallas to sign along the dotted line for next season. It now appears that Prade, who sat in awe in the Emirates as Arsenal crushed Porto 5-0 in the Champions League, is trying to lure Gallas’s Gunners’ teammate, Emmanuel Eboue, to Roma instead.

Gallas has apparently cooled on the possibility of joining run-of-the-mill Roma – whose only European silverware was their Inter-Cities Fair Cup’ triumph of 1961 – after Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger reached out a hand of friendship to his fellow Frenchman. “I am not concerned,” Wenger replied when asked if he thought the 32-year-old Gallas would leave at the end of the season after his four-year spell at the Emirates. “He is under contract until the 30th of June. We have not found an agreement yet. I meet his agents again next Thursday and we will try to find a solution. I feel I have to respect both parties and not to come out about the details of negotiations. William is speaking to us and our desire is to keep him here. I think he wants to stay here.”

So with Gallas likely to remain a Gunner, Italian daily Gazetta dello Sport is reporting that Roma have ordered Daniele the dealmaker to turn his attention to Eboue. The paper says Roma “are attracted by the versatility” of Eboue, who can not only play in defence or midfield, but who can also score stunning goals as he showed on Tuesday when he netted Arsenal’s fourth against poor Porto.

The 26-year-old Ivorian international joined Arsenal in 2004 and has grown in stature ever since thanks to Wenger, the man Eboue refers to as “the daddy”. Not surprisingly, Eboue’s agent, Franjo Vranjkovic, has been quick to address the rumours, saying: “It isn’t true that Emmanuel is close to Roma. He is happy in England, he has a nice role. I don’t understand why this news has spread in Italy.” (First Post)

Roma, must like Juventus, appear to be very interested in raiding Arsenal for any player who may consider leaving the Emirates but the Serie A side may find that Arsene Wenger is not keen on losing either of the Stadio Olimpico targets.

With William Gallas hoping for a change of heart and contract policy from the Gunners boss and Emmanuel Eboue performing well when called upon, it seems neither player would be keen on making a swap from the Premier League to Roma even though in the Ivorian’s case, they could offer regular first team football.

The 27 year old utility player has come a long way since his barracking from the Arsenal faithful who felt he wasn’t putting enough effort or ability when selected and now even though not a regular starter Eboue offers the north London club a solid option in a number of positions and as such will not be someone the club would want to lose.

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Arsenal are in prime position to sign Egyptian striker Mohamed Zidan, according to the player himself.

Zidan has been linked with a handful of clubs over the previous month, but now Arsenal are thought to have made second contact with the player’s agent after his impressive performance against England.

Speaking on Monday, Zidan said: “My agent spoke to me after the game and told me about Arsenal’s interest. He asked me to try to impress them, and become the first Egyptian to play for the Gunners.”

Manchester United and Barcelona have also been heavily linked with the player, with his father telling Dream TV that the clubs made original contact about the Borrusia Dortmund striker after the African Cup of Nations success.

“Arsenal, Manchester United and Barcelona have talked to Mohamed’s agent,” said Abdullah Zidan.

The 28-year-old striker has plyed his trade in the Bundesliga since signing for Werder Bremen from Danish club Midtjylland back in 2005.

A successful loan stint at Mainz 05 led to a reported €4.5 million move to Hamburg in 2007, and a year later a deal was made that saw Zidan switch to his current club in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Frenchman Wenger has been linked with a string of strikers at the Emirates since the injury sustained to Robin van Persie. Lacina Traore, Marouane Chamakh, Edin Dzeko and Bojan Krkic are just four ‘big name’ strikers in a long list of rumoured targets on the wish list in north London.

It appears that Zidan is now the number one choice for the Gunners though, and signs are starting to point towards a possible summer move when the transfer window opens again. (Give Me Football – Official PFA Website)

It has been apparent for some time that Arsene Wenger wants to add some new striking talents to his Emirates squad. He has admitted on more than one occasion that he needs to strengthen his options in the final third and tried in vain to bring in a player or two in January but now it is reported that the Arsenal boss will make a renewed effort to land a big fish in the summer.

Of the five named in this report I believe the player that should most excite Gunners fans is Edin Dzeko. The Wolfsburg man helped the German side to a surprise Bundesliga triumph last season and even though his side have not performed well this season the Bosnian has managed 20 goals this term. He seems destined to leave the German side this summer and whilst the likes of AC Milan have shown an interest it is believed that the 23 year old would welcome a move to the Premier League and Arsenal appear to be leading the chase.

The relative unknown Lacina Traore would be an expensive risk to take as the Cluj striker is valued at an inflated cost by his Romanian employers. Marouane Chamakh is of course the cheaper option as the Bordeaux man is available for nothing in the summer and is apparently pretty much a Arsenal player already, depending on what paper you read.

Bojan Krkic is of course another player Arsenal have been linked with for some time but do the north London side really need another young starlet? Clearly the Barcelona man has great potential but then the same was said about Giovani Dos Santos before he was sold to Tottenham where his career has stagnated. Also it seems very unlikely Pepe Guardiola will be offloading any of their young talent, quite the opposite, the Catalan side looks to be putting even more emphasis on their youth policies as the club looks to rein in costs.

Mohamed Zidan is a different player to the others listed as he doesn’t play as an out and out striker and at 28 is significantly older than the others named by this source. The Egyptian has spent five years in Germany without really making a huge impact. A great creative talent but one who often fails to deliver, he would be a luxury player to bring in and I can’t see Wenger making a move for the Borussia Dortmund man.

There is no doubt that injury issues have shown the thinning resources Arsenal have to draw from in the striking area but perhaps its worth noting that the injury crisis the club has had is severe and when everyone is fit the club has many top notch strikers to call upon. Robin Van Persie is still the chief tormentor to call upon to frighten the life out of Premier League defences, but he always tends to lose about 10 games a season through injury. Eduardo has had niggling injuries of his own and has rarely been at full fitness since his time out following that horror tackle from Martin Taylor. Nicklas Bendtner is beginning to show what he is capable of and the likes of Carlos Vela and Sanchez Watt show promise for the future. So perhaps all that Wenger needs is an experienced campaigner to call upon in times of need, much like Sir Alex thought when he brought in Michael Owen.

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