Gooner Talk

Arsenal took on West Ham knowing that their title rivals Manchester United and Chelsea had earlier dropped vital Premier League points.

The surprise team news was that Emmanuel Adebayor rested to the bench following his midweek Champions League exploits while Nicklas Bendtner, Alex Song, and Mikael Silvestre were all handed starts.

West Ham:

Green
Faubert – Collins – Upson – Ilunga
Mullins – Parker – Bowyer – Di Michele
Bellamy – Cole

Arsenal Starting XI:

Almunia
Eboue – Gallas – Silvestre – Clichy
Walcott – Fabregas – Song Billong – Nasri
Bendtner – Van Persie

Read the rest of this entry »

If you haven’t heard already, (I’m sure you have) Spurs have terminated the contracts of Juande Ramos, Gus Poyet, Marcos Alvarez and Sporting Director, Damien Comolli.

Good news I hear you say? Well, possibly not. Tottenham take on Arsenal next Wednesday in an extremely important game for both sides. Harry Redknapp will be in charge of the White Hart Lane club for that game after leaving his managerial role at Portsmouth. Rumours suggest that Tony Adams could follow him out the exit door, but Redknapp himself admits it’s unlikely that he’ll join him on that side of north London.

In 1996, Damien Comolli joined Arsenal. He left for Saint Etienne in 2004 before joining the Gunners’ bitter rivals Spurs in 2005. Comolli could be on his way back to the Emirates.

Wenger brought fellow Frenchman Comolli to Arsenal as European scout where he spent seven years and was credited with being responsible to signing several players including defender Gael Clichy.

Comolli’s tenure has come under scrutiny in part because of the estimated fall in the value of some of his expensive acquisitions and some disagreements with Juande Ramos, the former Tottenham head coach. Darren Bent, Younès Kaboul, Ricardo Rocha and Kevin-Prince Boateng cost a combined fee of about £32million in the past 18 months, but they are now arguably worth half that sum. That led to questions about whether Comolli is delivering value for money.

Arsene Wenger is said to be keen on bringing his close pal to north London for the second time in almost 7 years. Stay tuned to Gooner Talk for the latest news, views and goals on Arsenal’s first team.

New West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola has a tough task on his hands when West Ham United take on Arsenal in the Premier League at Upton Park tomorrow afternoon..

The Hammers go into this clash with Arsenal hoping to get back to winning ways after defeat in their last two matches against Hull City and Bolton Wanderers. West Ham are currently 8th in the Premiership, but have not won since a 2-1 victory against Fulham at Craven Cottage in September.

Arsene Wenger’s team will go into this London derby full of confidence, having beaten Everton 3-1 last weekend at the Emirates Stadium and humbling Fenerbahce 5-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday. Wenger will want his side to come away with all three points in what has been a tricky tie for the Gunners in recent times.

Injury News

Zola will be without striker Dean Ashton (trigonum syndrome) as well as defenders Jonathan Spector (thigh) and Danny Gabbidon (groin), with long-term absentee Kieron Dyer (broken leg) also to miss the visit of Arsenal.

Arsenal are set to welcome back defenders Kolo Toure and William Gallas, who have both recovered from injury, while Bacary Sagna (ankle) is not quite ready to return against the East London side. Eduardo (broken leg) and Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) are still on the side lines at the Emirates, though Eduardo should resume full training soon.

Predicted Line-Up’s

West Ham Predicted XI

Green
Neill – Upson – Collins – Ilunga
Behrami – Parker – Bowyer – Etherington
Di Michele – Cole

Arsenal Predicted XI

Almunia
Eboue – Toure – Gallas – Clichy
Walcott – Fabregas – Diaby – Nasri
Adebayor – van Persie

Match Prediction: West Ham United 1-2 Arsenal

Catch all the post-match reaction and player ratings here on Gooner Talk seconds after the final whistle.

Leave your views and predictions of tomorrow afternoons game in the comments section below.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is rightly hailed for revolutionising the way English footballers look after their bodies.

The Arsenal manager’s influence has led to changes in diet and lifestyle which have set new standards for professionalism at Premier League clubs and beyond.

So it is a surprise (or maybe not) to learn that one of Wenger’s star performers, William Gallas was recently spotted leaving Movida nightclub with a reported ‘unlit’ cigarette in his mouth.

Wenger, who is credited with introducing a more disciplined approach to diet and lifestyle to English football, said Gallas needed to take his responsibility as a role model more seriously.

“I didn’t see the picture. I have been informed, but I don’t like that,” Wenger said Friday. “I will check that with him. He has a responsibility as captain of Arsenal Football Club. That cannot be accepted.”

Gallas is not the first Arsenal star to fall foul of the sneaky papparazi though. In December last year, Gunners striker Robin van Persie was snapped smoking a cigarette whilst departing from Amsterdam Airport.

Fellow countryman Zinedine Zidane, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov, though, have all been pictured smoking in recent years, suggesting that not all professionals have followed the prescribed course.

31-year-old Gallas has been pencilled in to start on Sunday afternoon against West Ham after recovering from a hamstring problem.

The big man has returned. Yes, you guessed it, Abou Diaby is back in the Arsenal frame after a injury lay-off which kept the gangly midfielder out for two months.

What do you make of Diaby? He’s played as a left midfielder last season, after being used as a central midfielder and deep-lying forward previously. He fluctuates between an exciting player who’s fantastic on the ball and pushing play forward, and a player who’s anonymous. Before the season started, I thought he would be the player to replace Flamini, and partner Cesc. But now, after watching his attacking performances against Everton and Fenerbahce I feel that his best position is certainly a deep-lying forward.

If I’m not mistaken, and it’s probable that I am, the boss will have to choose 2 among these 3 to face West Ham this weekend: Diaby, Walcott and van Persie. Will he get it right?

I tend to be a supporter of big Abou, firstly, because he’s a typical Wenger player, and secondly because he looks like he has the potential to be a outstanding player. I’d like to see him play a kind of Rivaldo-type role. What do you think though? Is this Diaby’s chance to breakthrough into the starting XI or will unforseen injury circumstances hamper his progess in the Arsenal first team?

Your view counts, on Gooner Talk.

After Saturday’s rousing comeback against Everton, the Gunners looked to maintain their form with a tough away tie in Istanbul.

With Toure, Gallas and Sagna all missing from the usual back four, summer signing Silvestre and Alex Song provided the centre back paring with Eboue fitting in at right-back.  Wenger opted for a more defensive 4-5-1 formation, with Abou Diaby taking up the previously promblematic defensive-midfield position.

It was up to goalkeeper Manuel Almunia to lead Arsenal out into the infamously atmospheric Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium in search of another Champions League win.

Fenerbahçe Starting XI:

Volkan
Gökhan – Lugano – Edu – Roberto Carlos
Maldonado – Sahin – Alex – Boral – Senturk
Guiza

Arsenal Starting XI:

Almunia
Eboue – Song – Silvestre – Clichy
Walcott – Fabregas – Diaby – Denilson – Nasri
Adebayor

Read the rest of this entry »

A trip to Turkey is always a tough challenge for Premier League sides used to the relative calm of English grounds. And for Arsenal’s young team this is set to be a growing-up experience as they face the fierce Fenerbahce crowd.

Arsene Wenger has already ruled out injured captain William Gallas and fellow centre back Kolo Toure, but in Theo Walcott he has English football’s golden and a player able to unlock any defence. Emre Belözoglu, Deivid de Souza and Gökhan Gönül all missed Saturday’s league win over Kocaelispor for Fenerbahce.

After that match boss Luis Aragones said:

“I’m not happy with my players’ performances in the first half. However, they managed to get back and do what we had asked them to do.”

The Gunners remain unable to call on the services of Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) and Eduardo da Silva (broken ankle) but Abou Diaby is set to reclaim a starting place after impressing during the 3-1 over Everton.

Luckless Fenerbahce could be without the talented Gokhan Gonul. They are likely to with start with Spain powerhouse Daniel Guiza up front on his own and Semih Senturk in a supporting role.

Predicted Arsenal Line-Up:

Almunia
Eboue – Song – Silvestre – Clichy
Walcott – Fabregas – Diaby – Nasri
Adebayor – van Persie

Match Prediction: Fenerbahçe 1-3 Arsenal

Catch all the post-match reaction and player ratings here on Gooner Talk seconds after the final whistle.

Leave your views and predictions of tomorrow nights game in the comments section below.