Modric suggests Rakitic deal done//Fabregas Out ?

Luka Modric has indicated that his Croatia
international colleague Ivan Rakitic's mooted move
to Barcelona has already been wrapped up.
- Delaney: Messi's Maradona moment
- Xavi to resolve future after World Cup
Widespread reports in the Spanish and Catalan
media said Sevilla midfielder Rakitic, 26, would
join Barca in a 20 million euro move, with Denis
Suarez moving the other way on a season-long loan
as part of the deal.
The transfer is expected to set in motion a chain of
events that could see Cesc Fabregas leave
Barcelona for Chelsea in a 36 million euro deal and
playmaker Xavi Hernandez move on after over two
decades at the club.
Speaking to Sport from Croatia's World Cup
training camp in Brazil, Modric said he would have
liked his club, Real Madrid, to sign Rakitic.
He added: "But in the end it could not be, and he
has gone to Barca. I am very happy for him -- he
deserves it. To go to a big club like Barca, with a
global dimension, is an important step in his
career."
Modric said Switzerland-born Rakitic, who
impressed as Sevilla won the Europa League and
finished fifth in the Primera Division, had shown
he had what was needed to succeed at Barcelona.
"Everyone has seen this season what he is capable
of doing," he said. "He is a great footballer who is
improving. I am convinced that his performances
in the coming seasons will be even better."
The part of playmaker Suarez, 20, in the deal has
yet to be confirmed by either club, but his likely
loan deal may include a set price to buy should he
impress.

Agent confirms Arsenal transfer interest in Porto’s Martinez!

It seems like Arsenal fans will have one
more reason to watch the World Cup
finals, as if we needed one. I don’t
know about you, but I am already
suffering from football withdrawal
symptoms and it has only been three
weeks since the Gunners lifted the FA
cup at Wembley.
Arsenal are already strongly
represented at the tournament in
Brazil, with 12 of our players taking
part, abd even when there are no
current Gunners involved in a game,
there is a good chance that there will
be a player that has been linked with a
possible move to us in the summer
transfer window.
One of those is the Colombia and Porto
striker Jackson Martinez, but it seemed
like our transfer interest in him had
cooled. Not according to his agent,
though, as a RexNews report reveals.
In fact, Peppino Tirri claims that we
are in a straight fight with La Liga club
Valencia for the striker’s signature.
He said, “In Italy we have had very
little contact, but for sure there have
not been any offers made by Roma.
“There are, instead, opportunities
abroad – Arsenal and Valencia in
particular are very interested in
Jackson Martinez.”
Martinez did come in for some
criticism by the Portuguese media for
his performances, although he still
scored 29 goals in all competitions.
The 27-year old is keen to move to a
bigger club and will be hoping to shine
in Brazil in order to increase his
chances. With Radamel Falcao not in
the squad, Martinez will be the main
man for Colombia, who face Japan,
Ivory Coast and Greece in their group,
with the first of those matches on
Saturday.
Will we be watching a new Arsenal
player?

WILL DIABY 'DO A VAN PERSIE' IF HE SHINES A SEASON WITHOUT INJURY

Abou Diaby after spending almost 13 months on sideline returns to action for the first time when he got 45 minutes on the pitch. 

Abou Diaby made his long-awaited return from injury for Arsenal's Under-21 side on Tuesday night.
The 27-year-old midfielder has been out of action since suffering a serious knee problem in the win over Swansea in March 2013.
It was the latest in a long line of injuries since arriving in north London for Diaby, considerably blighting his career for club and country.

• ·         From the Getty image above you can see the scares on his knee

 
But he was finally back on the pitch at the Emirates on Tuesday, as the Gunners' Under-21s lost 2-1 to Chelsea.Abou Diaby divides opinion like nobody else at Arsenal where as before I have been hopeful that this injury would be his last and he'd finally 'do a van Persie'.

Despite his injury nightmare, the French international recently insisted he had never thought about retiring.
He said: "I never had such a long break. I never had a knee injury and it is really weird. You can feel physically there is something different. But I learnt a lot from my injuries. I can keep things in perspective.
"I work hard without asking questions. I work hard because I know in the end I will play again.
"I am still a high level footballer in my mind, otherwise I would have given up. But I never think to give it up."

He has been speaking with courage and confidence we hope he replicate that on the pitch and stay  away from the treatment table and give back Wenger  and Arsenal so much faith the have shown him, especially the manager who has received a lot of sticks from the fans. This is were we ask again will he finally 'do a van persie' what will the little boy in him tell him, will he move on to where he can win trophies? wont Arsenal become a mediocre club? willl his wife tell him she misses Paris? will he disagree with the direction the club is moving or he will join the brigade of nasiri and adebayor for higher pay cheque.

Barclays U21 Premier League - Arsenal v Chelsea   

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 22: Abou Diaby of Arsenal cuts inside Lewis Baker of Chelsea during the match between Arsenal and Chelsea in the Barclays U21 Premier League at Emirates Stadium on April 22, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

The emirate faithfuls deep down will like him to live to his full potential but the frustration at Arsenal football club is so unbearable that the cant continue living on such hope when the are the pogba's, bender's and so on that are buy able to help keep AFC as contenders. 

Do players take advantage of Arsenal policy, class and the way the handle situation concerning their players and other club issues? Van persie is a typical example, when he should have stayed injury free to win us matches he spent it entirely in the physio-room & wants to win trophy from there. He was one of the reasons we didn’t buy strikers but each season he kept his most preferred position (treatment table) after lighting us up at the beginning of each season. Everybody must take a fair share of the blame not just the management & the manager. After all the years the fans endured with his injury & supported him, he gave them back a season and left at the time we needed him most when the team was being given a new shape with  additions of good players and most annoying was his last comments before leaving us and psychologically his comments affected other players. Well fare well to van pursie at least we are in a better position today than when he was here. Am bringing Van persie into this because of the situation we find diaby today, if  he can’t give us two good season his contract should not be renewed  rather let couqelin come back and fight for a place in the team. He can become the viera and makalele else were instead of bringing us another heart ache when we would have placed our trust on him ‘if’ he starts doing well.

Have your say at the comment section. Will Diaby do a van persie?

 

PREMIER LEAGUE INJURY TABLE

2013/1014 season has been up and down on the injury front for some clubs in the premier league.
Perhaps they should be a trophy for the league leaders on the injury list, may be an award to physio team of such clubs. The number of players found in the physio room of a particular club sometimes raises a kind of alarm ,may be something is wrong somewhere. Football is a game of contact quite alright  but there are teams that cant do without having 5 to 6 players in the physio-room every week. Recently Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger spoke about lodging an investigation why his players spend more time in the physio-room than on the pitch.
Below is the injury table so far for 2013/2014 season. You can see why Arsene Wenger really has to look into the clubs management of its players in terms of fitness.

ARSENAL                                     270
ASTON VILLA                            189
TOTTENHAM                              188
MAN UNITED                             183
NEWCASTLE                              180
EVERTON                                    175
WEST BROM                               168
CRYSTAL PALACE                     158
WEST HAM                                 154
LIVERPOOL                                154
FULHAM                                     150
NORWICH                                   143
SWANSEA                                   141
MAN CITY                                  134
HULL                                           133
SUNDERLAND                           107
SOUTHAMPTON                       106
STOKE                                        102
CHELSEA                                    99
 CARDIFF                                     74  

BASED ON FIGURES TAKEN WEEKLY DETAILING NUMBER

         OF PLAYERS OUT FOR EACH CLUB ON 

                            PHYSIOROOM.COM

ONE PLAYER INJURED FOR ONE WEEK = ONE POINT

INJURY LEAGUE

To get more on premier league injury table, go to injuryleague.com

 

 

curled from injury league .com

Player Ratings: HULL CITY VS ARSENAL

Hull City 0 Arsenal 3: Player Ratings 

Updated April 20th, 2014.

Arsenal's precision passing made the difference as a scrappy Hull succumbed to the Gunners.

Hopefully the match will serve as a template for the upcoming FA Cup Final, where Arsenal will meet Hull again in about a month’s time.
The first half saw Hull force the Gunners to stay on their toes as they bombarded the Arsenal goal with a number of crosses. Arsenal, though, looked sharp on the break, courtesy of the return of Mesut Ozil.
Arsenal’s first goal was a move of beauty, featuring quick precision passing, and a lovely run from Aaron Ramsey which he finished off with a smart shot.
Arsenal were lucky when a Livermore strike bounced off the upright, Hull’s best chance of the game.
Just before halftime Arsenal struck again. A lovely crossfield pass from Giroud was bumped by Ramsey into the path of Podolski, who made sure with a well struck shot.
Lukas Podolski put the game to bed early in the second half when he finished off another wonderful move, courtesy of  Cazorla’s wonderful cross to Ramsey, who hit it at the goalkeeper, whose save fell straight to the feet of Podolski.
The rest of the game was comfortable for Arsenal, who might have scored one or two more, but were content to see out the match.
Player Ratings:
Szczesny  8.  Beaten once by Livermore, but the post came to the rescue. He was solid throughout, having to deal with a number of crosses into the area. Made a couple of good saves off Jelinek and Long as well.
Sagna  7.  A good solid game for Sagna, who kept his flank quiet and managed to get forward a number of times.
Mertesacker  7.  An early yellow card had me a little concerned, but he was solid for most of the game. Dominant in the air as usual.
Koscielny 7.  He had one or two minor miscues, but for the most part he was strong and dealt with whatever Hull threw at us.
Monreal 7.  Nacho’s best game in the last two months. He kept the flank relatively quiet and he managed to get forward a number of times.
Arteta 7 .  A good game for Mikel, a recipient of a number of physical challenges early on. He kept the back secure while Arsenal raided forward.
Ramsey 8.  My man of the match. A well taken goal, an inadvertent assist on the second, an assist on the third, and lots of running and movement. Getting back to his best form.
Ozil  8.  I thought Mesut looked good out there and he had a part to play in the first two goals. He made some good passes, particularly the early one to Monreal, which was called offside (we never saw the replay to that one). He held the ball up well and the players around him responded with good games.
Cazorla  8.  Another good game for Santi. Nominally he started on the right flank, but he buzzed all over the field. He assisted on the first goal, was involved in the buildup on the second, and he played the key cross in that led to the third goal.
Giroud 8.  He had an energy to his game and he proved a handful for the Hull defenders. Was involved in the buildup to the second goal and he might have scored when he ran down the goalkeeper. His resulting shot hit the crossbar.
Podolski  8.  Four goals in the last two games. Great finishing on the first goal and was in the right position for the second goal. He too, played with more energy.
Substitutes:
Flamini 7.  Came in for Ozil. He played a solid defensive shift for half an hour.
Oxlade-Chamberlain 6.  He made a number of energetic runs up the flank. Was eager to impress.
Sanogo. N/A.  Came on for a brief cameo

Premier League Team of the Weekend

 TEAM OF THE WEEK
by Amah Patrick
 After each round of Premier League fixtures, ESPN FC , REXNEWS brings you its Team of the Weekend. Our panel of experts carefully selects 11 star performers, along with a manager.
Do you agree or disagree? You can have your say on those picked or overlooked in the comments section at the foot of the article or on Twitter using the hashtag #patnet1

GettyImages REXNEWS Team of the Weekend: April 20.

Goalkeeper: Of all the things he might have expected to encounter at White Hart Lane, it probably hadn’t crossed Hugo Lloris’ mind that fending off a tactile Hugo Rodallega would be one. But the Colombian striker couldn’t help but offer a hug/headlock after the Frenchman made a wondrous stop from his powerful header as Fulham continued to threaten in the second half. Not only did he repel Rodallega’s nod, Lloris also saved Steve Sidwell’s penalty after Christian Eriksen was penalised for a handball. Gab Marcotti thinks he is a calming influence on a Tottenham defence that is still prone to the jitters, while Paul Mariner hailed his “crucial saves at crucial times.”
Right-back: A familiar face at right-back -- that of Seamus Coleman. You might have thought David Moyes would field someone other than tracking-back-shirker Shinji Kagawa on the left of midfield, but he didn’t and Everton ran riot down that side. Time and time again Coleman was allowed the freedom of the flank and it was no surprise that he teed up the second goal for Kevin Mirallas. The Irishman caught the eye of all our panel, chiefly because of those attacking instincts and his “boundless energy.” How ironic that Everton inflicted a first top-flight double over Manchester United since 1969-70 in David Moyes’ first campaign in charge.
Centre-back: It’s another one of those weekends, where our panel have put forward six different centre-halves for selection. So here are the candidates in all their glory: Laurent Koscielny and Wes Brown (Marcotti), Ryan Shawcross and Dejan Lovren (Mariner), and John O’Shea and Scott Dann (Steve Nicol). A Sunderland defender has to be in there after that heroic win at Stamford Bridge, and John O’Shea gets my vote. You only had to watch his postmatch interview to see how pumped he was having spent the afternoon winning header after header and tackle after tackle. His nous went a long way to helping the Black Cats dismantle Jose Mourinho’s fortress brick by brick.
Centre-back: No money has changed hands -- honest -- but I’m going for another Nicol selection by installing Scott Dann as O’Shea’s partner. In the face of a predictable aerial test from West Ham, Dann was lionhearted at the back, showing he can still put a shift in at this level after making the move from Blackburn in January. Nicol concurs, saying he was a “rock during the barrage that West Ham threw at Palace.” It topped off a fine week for the 27-year-old, who scored in the win at Everton and has played a full part in Palace’s stellar run of four clean sheets in five games.

GettyImagesSouthampton defender Luke Shaw keeps Villa's Marc Albrighton at arm's length.

Left-back: Mariner puts Leighton Baines forward, and the Scouser was excellent, but our other two pundits have plumped for Luke Shaw. In an otherwise drab encounter at Villa Park, Shaw was the standout performer, marauding down the left wing time and time again. One particular foray should have brought the opener for Adam Lallana, but for his inexplicable air shot. “Not a star of the future, a star of the present,” is the way Nicol describes the 18-year-old, while Marcotti calls him "his club's main attacking threat on Saturday and one of their best one-on-one defenders. At the same time. Not an easy task."
Right midfield: Never one to shy away from bold statements, Brendan Rodgers happily declared Raheem Sterling the “best young player in Europe” after his two-goal heroics edged Liverpool ever closer to title glory at Norwich. Unsurprisingly, he is a unanimous choice with our panel. Marcotti says he is “coming up big when it matters” while Mariner rightly points out how well he links up with Luis Suarez. Nicol thinks this display, which saw him rifle home the opener, set up the second and register the clinching third, will book him a trip to Brazil in the summer.
Centre-midfield: How Arsenal have missed Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman scored and set up two more goals in his first Premier League start since Boxing Day as Arsenal galvanised their top-four hopes at Hull. One could expect a film of rust given how long he’s been out, but Ramsey has hit the ground running, underlined by his smart finish after Santi Cazorla’s neat layoff. Marcotti thought he “ran the show” and proved his early-season heroics weren't a flash in the pan. Nicol and Mariner ponder whether Arsenal would have still been in the title race had he not been missing for three months.
Centre-midfield: Nicol’s nomination -- James McCarthy -- gets an honorable mention for his impressive shift during Everton’s dismantling of the champions, but Marcotti’s shout of Paulinho gets to sit alongside Ramsey in the centre of the park. The Brazilian grabbed his fifth Premier League goal of the season and gave a commanding performance that probably provoked a sigh from Sandro, Tim Sherwood’s latest nemesis. “A two-way performance from a guy who has the tools to be Spurs' midfield general,” says Marcotti.

GettyImagesDavid De Gea can't keep out Kevin Mirallas' shot which doubled Everton's advantage.

Left midfield: It won’t have been lost on David Moyes that two of his biggest signings at Everton were the ones that inflicted the damage at Goodison Park on Sunday. Leighton Baines slotted from the spot and Kevin Mirallas had one of those days where he struck a perfect balance between finesse and industry. You got the feeling this was personal for some of Moyes’ old players, and the Belgian worked harder than anyone else on the field, scoring a fine goal past a brilliant goalkeeper from a seemingly impossible angle. It was his goal that earned him Nicol’s vote, and surely Mirallas’ was one of the outstanding displays all weekend long.
Striker: Luis Suarez scores against Norwich -- shocking. In fact, had Neil Adams gotten to pick one team he absolutely didn’t want to face in his first home match in charge of Norwich, it surely would have been Liverpool. There’s something about the Canaries that brings the best out of the Uruguayan, who ploughed a lone furrow up top in the absence of Daniel Sturridge. His 30th Premier League goal of the season duly arrived, and he was a threat all afternoon long. Mariner says he is hands down going to be the PFA Player of the Year, while Marcotti toasted Suarez’s hunger. His decision to stay put is surely going to result in a championship.
Striker: To continue the theme, if there was one trip Garry Monk wanted to edge Swansea ever closer to safety, it would have been Newcastle. The Swans duly grabbed a vital victory that widened the gap between themselves and danger, thanks to a double from Wilfried Bony. The Ivorian has had a fine first season in England, shouldering the burden of Michu’s absence, and finding the net 13 times. Even though half the Toon’s team are already on the beach, they might have nightmares about Bony’s physicality under the parasol, after he nodded home in the first half, then slotted home coolly from the spot in injury time to lock down a crucial three points.
Manager: Mariner tips a wink in Tony Pulis’ direction for his resurrection of Crystal Palace, but there is only one man for the gaffer’s gig this weekend: Gus Poyet. Let’s face it: Anyone who can provoke such a nonsensical "four point" rant from Jose Mourinho is bound to be a shoo-in. Poyet’s men have taken four points from trips to the Etihad and Stamford Bridge this week, inflicting a first home Premier League defeat on Mourinho as Chelsea manager. A disciplined and committed showing helped them secure a second deserved victory over the Blues this season, reigniting their bid to stay up and dazzling Marcotti and Nicol in the process. It’s just a shame they can’t play Chelsea every week.

Arsenal's famed youth academy in decline|| continues to churn out some top quality

Youth progression to the senior team

Arsenal youth system: recently we have not seen much progress from the players in the youth team to the senior level may be this is due to a lot of factors surrounding the club in recent years. The trophy drought; financial policy; Arsene wenger; the board; the Fans in emirate; lack of believe in arsenal youth players; or  the scouting system. We will take this one after the other

                TROPHY DROUGHT:  the lack of silverware in arsenal locker may be a contributing factor why we have seen slow progress of youth players to the senior team unlike earlier days of wenger era. The is more pressure on the team to secure any silverware capital one cup, FA cup, premier league or the Champions league. Much priority is not being laid on a particular cup because the club desperately needs silverware. The pressure of securing silverware has led to not given much chance to the youth players like we have always known wenger for especially in the league cups & FA cups.

                FINANCIAL POLICY: Is it due to financial constraints the club placed on itself that has led to slow progress of the youth? Money has eaten deep into sports today. May be parents & guardians don’t allow their kids to the club because at the end of the day if the kid makes a good progress he will not get a good pay cheque. Am just saying & wondering what might be the cause of this new trend in our dear club maybe this has got me thinking rationally or irrational can’t really say, or  is it that due to the financial implications, we don’t pay much for young players anymore? Arsenal football club is known to pay a lot to secure the services of young players across Europe & all through the globe that can become super stars after the go through the youth ranks, education & facilities of the club. We really need to look into this to know where this problem lies.

                ARSENE WENGER: The man that brought a lot to Arsenal football club is his ideals & ideology ebbing out? Has he lost it? Tactically is he out of age with the modern tactics, has his policies failed him or the players he has been recruiting, is it the wage structure & limited transfer warchest in the system? Is he just being stubborn or is it his honesty & loyalty to his employers (protecting the board at all time).

Often times we argue with other club fans when they claim arsene is a big share holder in AFC could this be true that he is cautious of his financial balance. “So many questions & rumors” about AFC that needs answer & clarification. Though I know the later is just rumor & jest makers. Arsene Wenger during his early Arsenal career was a manager every upcoming player & established players wanted to play under we have heard it from a lot of professional players today, pogba was an arsenal fan & had a dream to play for arsenal, victor ikpeba,david trezeguet,Mario jardel etc. but today we don’t know how many wish to be here. We can never under estimate what Mr. Wenger has brought to this Club but when are we going to stop dwelling on that. This has gone as far as having a divided fan base, even at times some of our fans wish we lose a match you may call them plastic fans but I call them glass because they can easily break into pieces. We have the AOB and the AKB in one fan base this highlights the rise & fall of this era. Wenger or no Wenger we are still the red army and in our history we can never forget his achievements. The pressure of trophy less seasons may have led to the decline in our youth system, the progression of young players hopefully the jinx will be broken this season & this will kick start a new era in arsenal with lé prof if he stays.

                THE BOARD: The board has many things to explain to the fans who spend their hard earn money on the club, the pay the highest ticket fee in UK and they are the most loyal top club fans in the Europe. Recently we heard they are a lot of empty space in camp nou. This is just lose inform not that they have stayed a season without a trophy, yet of all the loyalty from the Arsenal fans the board has kept mute & has refused to really explain what is going on in Arsenal football club. We all know we have built a very good stadium that is expandable in the near future & could be all covered as well and we have almost settled our debts that we are supposed to finish settling in 2018, & also in a financial stability right now. We laud them for all this along with Mr. Wenger that has tried in keeping us at the top level within this period of transition.  The board should not hide under this because they are indications that we can compete better on the pitch with our financial strength right now. The field achievements is what keep the fans happy the most and wanting to commit more for the support of the club. The field achievements help attract super stars to the club. Imagine were super stars play the arsenal way week in week out how the atmosphere will be like at the emirates. Ivan Gazids and the board really need to step up we need to know the direction our club is heading to. Last year we were at the semi finals of next generation champions’ league, this year we lost to Barcelona at the semis as well in under 21. Yes the youth are among the best but how many of our youth players make it to the senior team or even move to other clubs to stake their claim at big clubs. Arsenal management needs to check our system again on how we acquire this youth players and their education not just focusing on physical structures alone. Though this physical structure is part of laying a strong foundation for the future like the proposed hostel for students in AFC, we need not forget the progression of this generation youth as well.

                THE FANS: the fans at the emirate stadium, are the really representing the passion, love, commitment and support to the fullest? Despite our short comings on the pitch most times our stadium is filled up on match day, can’t take that away from the fans. Many at times we have heard players complain how quiet the emirate is on a matchday compared to other home fans who support  their teams. Though this has changed this season we need to keep the passion , love & the heat burning  to support our dear team this will go all round to affect the passion, commitment  and the mental strength of the players even at the youth level. The players will know it is a great honour to wear the red & white. Every player will become a fan and will be ready to defend the red army on the field. And every youth player will dare to wear the red & white at the senior level. It is only the atmosphere at the emirate that will arouse this spirit, the spirit of never say never ,the spirit of never say die, the spirit of never give up, the spirit to defend the colossal of the emirate, the spirit to defend the red army. I remember last season at old traford though we lost 2:1 we out sang the home fans till the end of the match. I have never been moved like that before. Cheers the gunners, never give in, keep the faith, we got class, the cant buy class, we are the arsenal, and we are the red army we keep matching on, the club that change football in England. Can’t forget to thank the away fans this season so far it  has really helped.

                LACK OF BELIEVE:  Do the youth  players lack believe or has the club failed them that they have lost hope they will not make it to be super stars through the club system .we have great potentials in players like chuba akpom, chuks aneke who is on loan, zelalem, olsen , bellerin, ottewill, alex iwobi, benik afobe, Miguel(on loan)jon toral, eisfield , gnabry whom we have seen so many times with the senior team and so on. All the names mentioned here we have seen them in one or two occasions and no doubt they have got immense talent waiting to blossom. The club need to do a lot better to give them the believe they are in a system that is rosy when you work hard to improve your game. We have state of art facilities but we need the extra motivation that will hand them the believe that they are the soldiers of the red army and they are here to defend it with intelligence, professionalism ,passion ,love , loyalty, commitment, hard work and support for glory days, making history & winning laurels.

                THE SCOUTNG SYSTEM: has the scouting system changed or the personnel in the scouting system are not really doing what they should do. In several years we have failed to get even good senior players. Who recommended Andre Santos, park chu young, squilachi, kim kallsromand so on.in the past we bring in young players and turn them to super stars players like van persie,fabregas, nasri,Walcott, reyes,clichy,hleb, flamini .we have had average players like senderos,Larson, penant,  but for long now non of the youth players have made it to the top nor average players turning into super stars. The scouting system need to be checked, the personnel handling them ,the criteria and the scouting system.

We all know what money has caused in the world of football, a youth player going to a club he has little chance to play with the senior team  due to  the allowances attached to the contract instead of sporting reasons.