Thierry Henry praises Arsenal trio

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Dec 12, 2013

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry have given special praise to club trio Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil, even though they all fell to a 2-0 defeat to Napoli last night in the Champions League.

The former-captain and striker of the club was on the Sky Sports panel for the Champions League game and when he was questioned about new signing Mesut Ozil, he likened him to Robert Pires and admitted that he would have loved to play with him because of his talent.

“I would have loved to have played with him,” said the New York Red Bulls striker. “He reminds me in a different way of Robert Pires.

“He is the type of guy who if you give him the ball he will give it back to you. He plays like he’s playing at home in his garden and nobody is around him.

“It’s weird, but that’s the kind of player you want. You need to be composed on the ball and I think he’s brought that to Arsenal Football Club.

Henry then went on to talk about compatriot Olivier Giroud and admitted that he is showing the hunger to succeed in the Premier League.

“As a striker you need to pass the line of being a killer,” Henry added. “He has that in his eyes now. When he first arrived it was like he wanted to see what it was like in England, but now he doesn’t want to miss a game.

“He wants to be the guy that makes his team win or the guy that sets up a goal. He wants to be the guy and that is what you need if you want to be the guy. You need that attitude.

Finally, the Frenchman had some words to say about star-man Aaron Ramsey.

“Everybody knew that he had talent and Arsene even more so,” Henry said. “Some people gave him some stick for standing by him. He’s not really surprised me.

“What he’s been doing has been tremendous and hopefully he can do even more for us.

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

People will take notice of us now, says Milner

By

Alex Batt

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Dec 12, 2013

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Manchester United midfielder James Milner believes teams around Europe will ‘sit up and take notice’ of the Premier League outfit now after they beat Bayern Munich 3-2 in the Allianz Arena, despite being 2-0 down early on.

The game got off to a bad start for the visitors as they were 2-0 down before 20-minutes had even been played, but a goal from David Silva put City back into the contest and gave them a chance to produce a stunning comeback, which they eventually did.

An Aleksandar Kolarov penalty made it 2-2, before Milner completed the turnaround and gave City the 3-2 victory.

Speaking after the game, Milner spoke out about the rest of Europe having to take notice of what City can achieve this season.

“We’ll take anyone in the next round. We will just be concentrating on us. It’s going to be a tough team whoever we get but we’ll take confidence from this and know we can progress.

“It couldn’t be tougher than Bayern. They are the reigning champions.

“They’re obviously one of the top teams and have been the last few years. So to be able to come here and win is pleasing. Hopefully it shows the quality we have and gives us all a massive confidence boost.

“With them being champions, the manner in which we won was great.

“The way the game went with us being 2-0 down, and the character we showed to turn that around – it was pleasing to be part of that.

“I’m not sure teams will want to face us after that. We just need to concentrate on our own game. But it was a big boost for us to be able to come here and win our game and score three goals, because it’s important you can score goals in the knockout stages.”

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

Mourinho wants Drogba return.

By

Ben Reardon

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Dec 12, 2013

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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has stated that he wants to face Turkish side Galatasaray in the knock out stages of the Champions League when the draw is made on Monday morning, with the English clubs waiting in the wings to find out who they will be paired with.

A fixture with Galatasaray would see Didier Drogba return to Stamford Bridge, and Mourinho is realishing the opportunity to meet up with the former Chelsea great.

Drogba enjoyed a successful eight year spell at the Bridge, winningh three Premier League titles, with two of them coming under Mourinho’s management, as Chelsea won two titles in two season, as Drogba was a key figure in the spine of that Chelsea side.

Drogba left the blues in the summer of 2012, and his final act may have been his greatest, as the Ivorian slotted his Penalty past Manuel Neuer to win the Champions League for Chelsea at the Allianz Arena in the May of that year, with Drogba leaving on a free transfer to Galatasaray.

The veteran forward scored against Mourinho’s Real Madrid in Istanbul last season and set up Wesley Sneijder’s winner against Juventus to progress into the knockout stage at the Italians’ expense on Wednesday afternoon, after a weather effected tie in Istanbul. The seeding of the two sides now mean’s that they could now possibly meet in the next stage of the tournement, a possibility that Mourinho is looking forward to.

Mourinho said in his post match interview following Chelsea’s win over Steaua Bucharest.

“He [Drogba] deserves to come here,” said Mourinho when asked whether he would welcome facing a forward he admitted had almost given him “a heart attack” last season. “He deserves a reception here even better [than mine], because he deserves much more than me. He deserves to come here and get the reception I got against Hull City [on the opening weekend], but for Didier double or three times better and bigger than I had. I know what I felt. I think he deserves that. So, yes, Galatasaray is difficult. Very difficult. But I’d like Didier to be back here and feel what I felt.”

Chelsea won their group after beating the Romanian’s and will therefore be paired with either Galatasaray, Milan, Olympiakos, Zenit St Petersburg or Bayer Leverkusen in the next round. “Of course we look to the top ones that won the groups, and you see there the main candidates to win the competition, the favourites to win the competition,” said Mourinho. “But in the second position we have difficult teams. We have champions.

“You have the Russian champions, the Greek champions. A German team, Leverkusen, is always very difficult. The Turkish champions with King Didier, and Milan are Milan. They only won it seven times … so it’s hard. When we go to the knockout phase, things become very tactical one way, and very emotional in another way. It will be always difficult. The fact the second game is at home means nothing.

But, as I said before, there are teams in this moment in better condition to win the competition, or at least to be considered favourites. It’s easy to understand that Bayern Munich is a champion – they have the same team, they played three Champions League finals in four years. You have Barcelona, champions three times in the last five or six years. Real Madrid have the same players plus Gareth Bale, and reached three semi-finals in three years. So it’s easy to understand where the favourites are.

“We have to grow up, step by step. We go into new matches now for some of my players. Some of them haven’t played any games in the knockout stage of the Champions League before – they played in the group and the Europa League – so it will be a different scenario for some of them. Let’s go for the last 16. If we win, we go into the quarter-final and, with only eight teams, we can think a different way. I do not have targets, but we did have one: not to win the Europa League again. That target is done. Now we have to do the best we can in the Champions League.”

If Chelsea are paired with the Turkish side, Mourinho will come up against Wesley Sneijder, who was managed by Mourinho during his time at Inter Milan, where the Portuguese manger guided Inter to a Champions League win in 2010.

By Ben Reardon

@BenReardon1

‘I know I dive, but I won’t apologise’, says Young

By

Alex Batt

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Dec 12, 2013

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Manchester United midfielder Ashley Young has admitted that he dives in football games, but he has refused to apologise for his actions.

The Red Devils winger has won numerous penalties for his club over the years, even when there is no contact at all between himself and an opposition, but most of the time, he does in fact convince the referee and he does win a penalty.

Despite it being cheating and un-sportsman like behaviour, Young doesn’t feel like he needs to apologise for his actions.

“Of course I understand what you’re saying and everyone is going to have their say on it, but I’ve spoken to the previous manager and current manager, the referees are giving decisions and that is where I think it lies. It’s been talked about [to me] but that’s in-house. I’m not going to comment on what’s been said.

“I think it’s one to ask the referees – they’re the ones who are giving free-kicks and penalties. I remember getting booked against Palace and then won a penalty. Against Real Sociedad it was another penalty that was given. Referees have got tough decisions to make, they have a tough time out there making decisions, but they have made the right decisions, I think.”

“I don’t take notice of the headlines or the debates,” he said. “That’s obviously for the media to debate and people to have their say on it and everyone is entitled to have their say on it. For me, the referees have made decisions and that’s it.”

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

Wesley Sneijder happy at Galatasaray

By

Alex Batt

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Dec 12, 2013

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Galatasaray midfielder Wesley Sneijder has ruled out a potential move to Manchester United by revealing that he is happy in Turkey and doesn’t intend to move to the Premier League.

The Red Devils have wanted the Dutch midfielder for some time now, but have failed in their pursuit for him time and time again, with this attempt looking like another failure for David Moyes and the United officials.

Moyes is desperate to land a top-class midfielder for his new side in January, but speaking after securing last-16 status for his side, Sneijder played down any reports linking him with Old Trafford.

He told NOS: “I know just as much as you. I don’t even read the newspapers, but I’ve heard about the reports. At the moment it isn’t an issue, but every time the transfer window is open, I get linked with all kind of clubs.

“Sometimes it’s frustrating, because I have to clarify it with the fans. Here in Turkey, the supporters are very emotional. They have a lot of passion and I don’t want to explain things that I don’t know about.

“Again, I know just as much as you do. I feel very good at Gala, and I’m glad we’re through in the Champions League. You’ll never know, but at this point I’m happy here.”

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

Coutinho is like Ronaldinho, says Sandro

By

Alex Batt

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Dec 12, 2013

0

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Sandro believes Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho is similar to the Barcelona legend Ronaldinho.

The two teams will go head-to-head on Sunday at White Hart Lane, and despite Luis Suarez being the obvious threat to Spurs and co., their Brazilian midfielder believes it’s his counterpart that could be the dangerman come Sunday.

Sandro said: “With the ball, Coutinho’s passes are like Ronaldinho’s. His passes are good, man. He doesn’t move a lot. But his passing! You think he is going to pass here and he passes there instead.

“He does the same as Ronaldinho. You think he’s going to do one thing, and he does something completely different. He changes. Ronaldinho was the best player, but I think their style is similar. I’m happy for him. He is young but he starts good at Liverpool. It is difficult to do that at Liverpool.

Coutinho, who has struggled with fitness lately, will be fit enough for the big clash on Sunday, and Sandro is hopeful that he can deny Coutinho the space and time the pull the strings throughout the match.

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

Thierry Henry talks Arsenal

By

Alex Batt

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Dec 12, 2013

0

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry made a rare TV appearance last night as he joined Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp on the Sky Sports panel for The Gunners’ game against Napoli in the Champions League.

After seeing them lose to a 2-0 defeat in Italy, the questions were put to Henry about the current Arsenal squad and their current performance this season.

Here is what he had to say on certain things happening in England this season.

Thierry on… Arsenal’s current campaign

“[I’m impressed by] the belief that they have again. Knowing that they can beat any team at any moment.

“I think, if you remember well, the game against Bayern Munich, away from home, did a lot for them.

“Knowing that they can beat the Champions – they didn’t know it at the time – away from home, and well, did a lot for the team.

“Since that game, everything changed. For me.”

Thierry on… Arsenal’s backline

“The best way to defend for me, is to keep hold of the ball. To avoid pressure. And every time, what do they do?

“I watched them the other day against Everton, instead of staying flat at the back, they always put one man dropping with the centre forward and the other one covering. It’s way easier to defend.

“And they keep the pressure on the opposition and they stay in their half and they have less running.

“They stay there with the team high on the field and they’re clever.

“The other day they did it with Lukaku and it worked well. And they’ll keep on doing it.”

Thierry on… Arsenal v Man City

“My only concern now, is are they going to be able to play against Man City.

“That’s two games now, they had to defend a lot, especially the last 30 minutes against Napoli.

“So the game is Saturday, early kick off, so they’re going to have to recover now and be able to face a Man City side who have left five or six players the other day out of the starting line-up and still managed to win the game.

“Now it’s all about recovery and they have a difficult task against Man City. That’s actually my concern now.”

Thierry on… Arsenal’s Champions League chances

“I remember the year we went to the final. Everybody laughed when we beat Real Madrid.

“You know, I remember them leaving the draw and saying we’re happy with Arsenal. Then we beat them.

“Then we went to play Juve, and everybody was like, that’s an easy one for Juve. Then we went through.

“But that’s not the road you want to take right. You don’t want to play against those teams, but that’s the way it is.

“If you want to win the Champions League, you have to eventually go through one of the team we have listed on the screen right now [Real Madrid, PSG, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona].

Thierry on…Who he’d avoid in draw

“Atletico Madrid is the team I wouldn’t like to play. I’ll tell you why. Because you play Real Madrid, they’ll come out. They’ll play.

“Sometimes you would say that some of the players would not come back and track back. The same with Paris St. Germain, you might say that. The same with Barcelona sometimes, they can leave themselves exposed sometimes.

“But I saw Atletico play this year and they don’t give you 1cm. They all look good. I’m saying Atletico because I had to choose one to not play against, but you basically don’t want to play against one of those teams, but if you want to win it, you’re going to have to play them at some stage.”

Thierry on… Manchester United’s struggles

“When you miss Robin (Van Persie), it’s always a massive thing.

“The only thing is, when we used to go to Old Trafford, I can say it now, you know, you knew they were going to come out strong.

“But now, when I see teams going to Old Trafford, they’re not even scared. They play.

“Like some teams didn’t used to even pass, and when I see them play now, teams are comfortable. They pass the ball around. They have more opportunity than them.

“They need to recreate the fear that people used to have going to Old Trafford, and they’ll be alright.”

Thierry on… Chelsea’s striker crisis

“Well you would like a striker to score goals right, especially away from home. But I’m confident that they’re going to come good at some point.

“You know, I used to play with Samuel Eto’o and he’s a great striker. Demba Ba can prove that he can score and hopefully Torres can come back and score some more goals.

“They’re going to have to do it soon, and hopefully it can happen for them.”

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

Chelsea to bid for Wayne Rooney in January

By

Alex Batt

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Dec 12, 2013

0

Premier League giants Chelsea are preparing to make a January bid for Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, after they failed to sign him in the Summer, when they saw two formal bids rejected by David Moyes and co.

Reports have come out from Old Trafford that they are not prepared to discuss a new contract with the striker just yet, but he only has 18-months left on his current deal, and this is something that gives The Blues hope in their pursuit for a world-class striker.

Jose Mourinho’s men have struggled to score goals in the striking department with Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto’o and Demba Ba all failing to shine so far this season, and it is thought that the manager is ready to spend big in order to get a proven goalscorer.

In the Summer, they had a £24million bid turned down by United, but with no contract being put on the table for the striker, Chelsea are feeling confident that they can secure the deal come January.

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

Larsson puts new contract on hold

By

Billy Foster

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Dec 11, 2013

0

Seb Larsson is the latest Sunderland player putting their contract on hold. There are a vast majority of the black cats players who are nearing the end of their contracts however due to the clubs poor performance they aren’t interested.

Sebastien Larsson said: “At the moment, we’re just worrying about the football. Nothing’s really been said and you’ve just got to get on with it.”

“There’s no problems from me because we haven’t really spoken. It’s about getting the team to where it should be and making sure the club is in the Premier League for next year.”

“This is a big club and then things will take care of themselves after that. But now is not the right time to be talking about it. I don’t want to put any pressure on the club.”

Larsson joined the club from Birmingham City and has claimed that he never regretted the move.

“I’ve loved my time here,” he told the Sunderland Echo. “We’ve obviously had our ups and downs.”

“When the time is right, and they feel like they need to discuss people’s future, we’ll do it. Hopefully we’ll be a Premier League team and things sort themselves out.”

By Billy Foster

Schwarzer sets Champions League Record!

By

Billy Foster

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Dec 11, 2013

0

Mark Schwarzer made his Champions League debute tonight for Chelsea at the age of 41 years and 66 days. Schwarzer joined the blues on free agent after leaving Fulham. The Australian international has had previous european football history with Middlesborough & Fulham. Whilst at Craven cottage he made the Europa league final.

The 41 year old had recently retired from international football after breaking the cap record of Australia when he made 109 caps.

By Billy Foster

Who the English clubs could face.

By

Ben Reardon

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Dec 11, 2013

0

There could potentially be a tough set of fixtures for the English clubs in the Champions League knock out stage draw, which will take place on Monday afternoon.

English team’s could possibly face several of Europe’s top sides, and as Arsenal and Manchester City finished second in their respective groups, there maybe a testing draw for both sides when the draw is made.

Here are the potential fixtures for each side.

Manchester United won their respective groups, as United came through their group in emphatic fashion, a far cry from their Premier League form. David Moyes side could potentially.

United could be tied with Turkish giants Galatasaray, who overcame Juventus in awful weather conditions in Istanbul. United would face a tough challenge against a strong Turkish side, containing Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder.

United could also come up against, Olympiakos, Zenit St Petersburg or Italian giants AC Milan, containing former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli, Kaka and highly rated Stephan El Shaarawy.

Chelsea will play either: German side Bayer Leverkusen, who came runners up to Manchester United, there could be a Stamford Bridge retun as Didier Drogba could return with Galatasaray, Olympiakos, Russian side Zenit St Petersburg or AC Milan.

Manchester City came runners up to Bayern Munich in their group so City will play either:

Spanish sides Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, FC Barcelona, French champions PSG or German side Borussia Dortmund.

And finally Arsenal who will also face a tricky test in the last-16, as they will face one of:

Real Madrid, PSG, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid or Barcelona. It’s going to be tough for Wenger’s boys.

So a mixed bag for English sides.

By Ben Reardon

@BenReardon1

WATCH: Neymar JR Hat-Trick Goals HD ~ FC Barcelona vs Celtic (11/12/2013)

By

Alex Batt

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Dec 11, 2013

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Buttner: Win Gives Us Confidence

By

Footballisgood

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Dec 11, 2013

0

Manchester United defender Alex Buttner admits the players do look at their own performances when results go badly but hopes their Champions League victory over Shakhtar Donetsk will provide a springboard to improved domestic results.

The 1-0 win courtesy of Phil Jones’ second-half strike ensured David Moyes’ side topped Group A and avoided a third successive home defeat for the first time since 1962.

United have not won in the Premier League since November 10 when they beat leaders Arsenal at Old Trafford but they head to Villa Park on Sunday looking to get their season back on track.

“We are the players and if we lose we have to look to ourselves but I think we did well against Shakhtar,” the Dutch left-back said.

“It is hard for everyone when we don’t win at home. That is why we fought for every ball and you could see everyone doing that.

“It was good for the team and after recent games to win is good for confidence. It was a very important win.

“We have been a bit unlucky in the league but we have done well in the Champions League and hopefully we can go on a run in the league and beat Villa in the next game.”

Buttner was deputising for the injured Patrice Evra against the Ukrainian club but after only 20 minutes of football since the end of October he started to struggle late on and was eventually replaced by Antonio Valencia.

Moyes said Evra’s injury was not too serious so the Frenchman may well come back for the Villa game but Buttner is ready to take his chance should the opportunity arise.

“I had cramp in my calf because I’ve not played for a long time, that was my first game in a month and the last few minutes I was tired,” he added.

“I am okay for the weekend. I don’t know whether Patrice’s injury is bad.

“It is nice to play more games and I hope I can play but I have to wait as it will be the choice of the manager.”

Striker Wayne Rooney, captain for the night, admitted victory was the only acceptable outcome after their recent struggles.

“The most important thing was to get back to winning ways and top the group so we’ve done that,” he told uefa.com.

“It could have been better at times but thankfully we got the win. (It was) win at all costs – after the last two games we knew it was vital.

“We got a good result and if you’d have said beforehand that we’d win the game after the last two results, we’d have certainly taken that.

“The campaign has been good this year in Europe so we just have to try and get that consistency in all our games, whether it is Europe or the Premier League.

“Hopefully we can do that in the upcoming games and get back in a good position.”

Written by George Coomber

Arsenal through in Europe.

By

Ben Reardon

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Dec 11, 2013

0

Arsenal have confirmed their place in the next stage of the UEFA Champions League, despite a 2-0 defeat against Napoli in a hostile game in Naples, as Arsene Wenger’s side scraped through by the skin of their teeth against the Italians.

The Gunners tried to settle into the game early on, with both sides jostling for possesion in the midfield, as the Gunners were forced to defend for their lives as the Italian’s looked to hit Arsenal on the counter, with Spanish maestro Jose Callejon dictating the play.

Napoli, who knew their result in their own fixture may not be enough to see them through to the knock out stages, as German side Borussia Dortmund needed to match Napoli’s result in the south of France, as Jurgen Klopp’s side faced Marseille.

Olivier Giroud saw his shot well saved by the Napoli goalkeeper.

As the first half drew to a close tempers started to fray but not before Christian Maggio had chipped over the bar after Wojciech Szczesny had norrowed the angle, as the gunners hung on heading into the break, in a feisty affair.

But the Polish goalkeeper almost conceded a howler, as a routine pass back was played to Szczesny on a rather bobbly surface in Naples, as the keeper smashed his clearance straight at Napoli forward Gonzalo Higuain who put his header wide of the post, as the Napolitains dominated the game.

Both sides took to the field after the break and focused on attacking, with Olivier Giroud wasting a guilt edge chance early on in the second half.

Arsenal attempted to play free flowing football, as Santi Cazorla dictated the play in the middle of the pitch as Arsenal looked to counter.

Napoli came forward on the attack, as Napoli midfielder Pablo Armero broke through by failed to beat Szczesny with a tame shot, straight at the Polish shot stopper.

Gonzalo Higuain also forced Szczesny into a decent save as Napoli looked even more dangerous.

Arsene Wenger brought Aaron Ramsey on for Santi Cazorla with 20 minutes to go but Napoli continued to push and took the lead in the 73rd minute.

Arsenal thought they had done enough to stop the impressive Higuain, however the Argentine scored a superb goal for the host’s, as the striker turned brilliantly inside the penalty area and fired home past a beaten Szczesny.

Arsenal’s chances took a real blow as Mikel Arteta was sent off for a clumsy tackle, which lead to a second bookable offence and when Dortmund scored late to go ahead in Marseille a single-goal victory was no longer enough for Napoli.

Napoli pressed and were able to add one further goal as lively midfielder Callejon skipped Jenkinson and chipped the ball over Szczesny to make it 2-0, but Napoli will have to settle for a spot in the Europa League.

Arsenal defender Per Metersacker stated to sky Sports

“We were always on the back foot, we took a little break today I think but we will be back on Saturday. It’s always the same, you give 10% less mentally because we knew we were through.”

Manager Arsene Wenger also added.

“We are happy to be through because it was very difficult. We took it very seriously but in the second half we dropped physically a lot, we had a game on Sunday. Naples played very well tonight but we were a little bit on edge for some minutes, it was nervous in the end, but we got through.”

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger on Mikel Arteta’s red card: “He’s absolutely convinced that he didn’t make a foul and it was very harsh but he already had a yellow card. It’s always difficult in the middle of the park. I felt it was a very harsh second yellow card.”

By Ben Reardon

@BenReardon1

WATCH: Jose Callejon Amazing Lob Goal Napoli vs Arsenal 2-0 HD 2013

By

Alex Batt

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Dec 11, 2013

0

SillySeason.com

Thierry Henry praises Arsenal trio

People will take notice of us now, says Milner

Mourinho wants Drogba return.

‘I know I dive, but I won’t apologise’, says Young

Wesley Sneijder happy at Galatasaray

Coutinho is like Ronaldinho, says Sandro

Thierry Henry talks Arsenal

Chelsea to bid for Wayne Rooney in January

Larsson puts new contract on hold

Schwarzer sets Champions League Record!

Who the English clubs could face.

WATCH: Neymar JR Hat-Trick Goals HD ~ FC Barcelona vs Celtic (11/12/2013)

Buttner: Win Gives Us Confidence

Arsenal through in Europe.

WATCH: Jose Callejon Amazing Lob Goal Napoli vs Arsenal 2-0 HD 2013

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