Arsene Wenger admits that he was keeping tabs on Udinese midfielder Gokhan Inler last summer, but has today ruled out signing the combative star after constant speculation linking the 24-year-old with the Gunners.

Gooner Talk were the first to reveal Arsenal’s interest in the defence-minded starlet. Inler was on the verge of signing for the north London giants before being persuaded to sign a brand-new contract at the Italian minnows.

Wenger, speaking after the FA Cup win over Plymouth, said:

“Yes, in the summer,” he replied. “But not any more.”

Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey will make a fond return to his former club Cardiff City when Arsenal play the Championship high-flyers in the FA Cup fourth round next month.

The Ninian Park outfit boast a talented mix of youngsters and experienced marksman such as Joe Ledley and Tony Capaldi. They currently lie fourth in the Championship.

FOURTH-ROUND DRAW
Liverpool v Everton
Southampton/Man Utd v Tottenham
Hull/Newcastle v Millwall/Crewe
Sunderland v Blyth/Blackburn
Hartlepool v West Ham
Leyton Orient/Sheff Utd v Charlton/Norwich
Cardiff v Arsenal
Portsmouth/Bristol City v Histon/Swansea
Chelsea/Southend v Ipswich
Cheltenham/Doncaster v Aston Villa
West Brom/Peterborough v QPR/Burnley
Torquay v Coventry
Kettering Town v Fulham
Watford v Leicester/Crystal Palace

Fourth-round ties to be played on the weekend of 24 January.

Welcome to Gooner Talk’s highlights feature, ‘Rewind’. Rewind will provide you with post-match highlights to every single Arsenal first team game giving you the opportunity to watch the goals you’ve missed, or want to see again.

So, sit back, relax and enjoy the mighty Arsenal on your computer screen.

Arsenal 3-1 Plymouth Argyle

Three second-half goals saw Arsenal take their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup with victory over Plymouth.

Captain Robin van Persie put the home side in front two minutes after the interval before on-loan defender David Gray turned the ball into his net.

Karl Duguid pulled a goal back for the visitors on 53 minutes when he fired past a flapping Lukasz Fabianski.

But Van Persie netted his second on 83 minutes after keeper Romain Larrieu parried his first shot inside the box.

Read the rest of this entry »

Stand-in captain Robin van Persie scored two goals as Arsenal finally saw off the brave challenge of Coca-Cola Championship Plymouth 3-1 in today’s FA Cup third-round tie at Emirates Stadium.

The Dutchman struck at the start and the end of the second half to secure safe passage into Monday’s draw after Argyle captain Karl Duguid had grabbed a lifeline for the West Country side and their superb 9,000-strong support.

Fabianski
Sagna - Djourou - Gallas - Clichy
Eboue - Ramsey - Diaby - Nasri
Bendtner - van Persie

Read the rest of this entry »

Arsenal come into this match with the aim to qualify for the fourth round of the FA Cup by beating lower league opposition in the form of Plymouth Argyle when they meet at The Emirates Stadium.

For the record, under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal are unbeaten against teams outside the Premier League with their last FA Cup upset coming against Sheffield United way back in January 1996.

As for Plymouth, last season they were beaten by eventual winners Portsmouth and the season before they managed to reached the last eight of the competition.

However, they do not have a good record against teams from the top flight is not impressive with their last win coming against West Brom in the fifth round way back in 1984.

Arsene Wenger is likely to field a strong side here instead of a young side and that could mean Emmanuel Adebayor will start upfront since he did not feature in the high scoring 2-2 draw with Aston Villa as he was suspended.

Adebayor had Nicklas Bendtner as his striking partner for Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Portsmouth and they are likely to be retained although Robin van Persie could see action at some stage of the match. The likes of Eduardo or Carlos Vela could also be brought on if Wenger wants to give them a feel of the FA Cup.

Wenger could also give a rare start to Jack Wilshere who is a youngster in the team. However, the likes of Gavin Hoyte and Jay Simpson will not be available after they have been loaned out to Watford and West Brom respectively.

Norwegian defender Havard Nordtveit has returned to Arsenal after a poor loan spell with Spanish outfit Salamanca and he could find himself in Arsenal’s starting line up if Arsene Wenger decides to throw him on and rest his first choice defenders.

The likes of Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky all remain long-term casualties for Wenger while Denilson and Kolo Toure are unlikely to start this match after just recovering from small knocks.

Gooner Talk’s Predicted Starting XI

Fabianski (c)
Sagna - Gallas - Silvestre - Clichy
Eboue - Ramsey - Diaby - Wilshere
Adebayor - Bendtner

Match Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Plymouth Argyle - A comfortable outing for a mixture of fringe and first team players.

Gooner Streams will provide live stream links of this Premier League clash on GoonerStreams.com. Post-match highlights will be avaliable at midnight on Gooner Talk for those of you who were unable to watch the game.

Leave your views and predictions of today’s game - which kicks off at 15:00 BST time - in the comments section below.

Arsene Wenger insists Kolo Toure is happy at Arsenal despite the club rejecting a transfer request from the Ivory Coast defender.

Toure, 27, has failed to hold down a first-team place since recovering from malaria but the £10million-rated ace has been told to honour his Gunners contract.

Wenger turned down the surprise request and claims the central defender is now happy to stay at the Emirates Stadium and fight to win back his starting spot.

“The situation is that Kolo is a player who has two-and-a-half-year contract and will remain with us,” said the Frenchman.

“I am happy with players who are committed and Kolo is a big example.

“There was a minor incident that you can multiply by 20. It happens every day in every club which is sorted out. Kolo is happy here.

“We have a very young and compact squad and I don’t expect anybody to leave.”

Toure moved to north London in February 2002 and has gone on to clock up around 300 appearances for Wenger’s side.

Russia hotshot Andrei Arshavin will be an Arsenal player in the coming days, according to his agent Dennis Lachter.

Italian daily TuttoMercato says 27-year-old Arshavin will sign a 5-year deal at the Emirates with Zenit pocketing £18m from the transfer fee.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who is a known admirer of the highly-rated star, beat off competition from Premier League rivals Tottenham and Liverpool.

Arshavin’s representitive Dennis Lachter commented on the transfer, saying:

“Andrei is rated by Wenger who wanted him to sign [for Arsenal] last summer. This transfer would please everyone but we must wait a few days for confirmation.”

French tactician Wenger refused to say whether or not Arshavin could be an Arsenal player earlier last week, but replied with a cheeky smile - typical of the coy Alsatian.

Gooner Talk will keep you updated in the coming days on the Gunners transfer news, rumours and much more.

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has vowed to keep hold of Kolo Toure despite the Ivorian’s desire to leave the club - and join up with his brother at Barcelona.

Toure handed in a transfer request last month but Hill-Wood says it’s been rejected. Manchester City are keen to land Toure if he gets his wish to leave the Emirates, but the Catalan giants Barca are the team Kolo wants to move to.

The centre-back has failed to hold down a first-team place since recovering from malaria but the £10million-rated ace has been told to honour his Gunners contract.

“They seem to get unhappy rather quickly for odd reasons,” Hill-Wood told the Daily Star.

“I know about it (the transfer request), But we are not going to accept it.

“We are not looking to let any of our players go and he is under contract - and we expect him to honour it.”

Toure is one of the last remaining members of Arsene Wenger’s ‘Invicibles’ squad who won the Premier League in 2004 after going a season undefeated.

What are your views on this surprise transfer story? Should Kolo be sold in this brand new transfer window? Or should Le Boss give him a chance to shine in the Gunners back four?