Gooner Talk

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger gave home debuts to summer signings Marouane Chamakh and Laurent Koscielny as the Gunners’ pre-season preparations were cranked up another notch with a 1-1 draw with AC Milan in the Emirates Cup.

Wenger’s side are hosting the weekend feast of football for the fourth successive summer, and are defending the trophy – the only ‘title’ they won last year.

Moroccan centre-forward Chamakh, a free signing from Bordeaux, took just 36 minutes to win over the Emirates Stadium faithful, slotting home with aplomb after good work by Andrey Arshavin.

Arsenal’s Starting XI

Fabianski
Eboue – Koscielny – Vermaelen – Gibbs
Wilshere – Frimpong – Rosicky
Nasri – Chamakh – Arshavin

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Everton defender Phil Jagielka’s potential move to Arsenal has been put in doubt after the 28-year-old reportedly suffered a recurrence of his troublesome knee injury.

Experienced stopper, Jagielka would add considerable Premier League know-how to the Arsenal squad and bolster the Gunners’ defence. However, reports suggest that this fresh injury could put him out of action for 6 weeks – preventing any possible transfer to the Emirates.

Meanwhile, Wenger has also been scouting a number of other defenders across Europe and, despite having already spent £8.5 million on French defender Laurent Koscielny during this transfer window, has an available transfer budget comfortably in excess of £20 million.

The other priority is the goalkeeping position, with Wenger having recently made the stark admission that he did not feel like he had an obvious ‘No 1’. Arsenal’s main target is Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and a fresh offer is thought to be imminent.

In other news, Barcelona’s vice-president has said that the Spanish giants will “respect” Arsenal’s wish not to sell skipper Cesc Fabregas.

Stay tuned to our Twitter feed for the latest news from Arsene Wenger’s pre-Emirates Cup press conference.

Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas has openly revealed to Spanish magazine DIR Emotions that he is a Barcelona supporter, but also said that he wants to continue to “fight for every title possible” whilst at the Emirates.

The 23-year-old, who has been linked with a move back to former club Barca all summer, admitted that the last conversation he had with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was one of the “most difficult” he’d ever had.

Fabregas told the popular magazine:

“He [Wenger] doesn’t want me to leave. My last chat with him, in London, was one of the most difficult moments in my life. It was very hard.

“Wenger is a second father for me, the most important person in my life after my dad. He treated me like a son, I’m part of his family.”

“I’m Catalan, from Arenys, I grew up at the Masia, Barcelona’s youth academy…”

“I’m a Barça fan. I’m a club member, my grandfather too, my uncle, my cousin… I feel those colours since I was little.”

Cesc finished by telling everyone what we already know. The Spaniard’s aim is to continue to win trophies with Arsenal – most importantly the Champions League.

“I want to continue to fight for every title possible, because I am a winner.”

Arsenal fans who were hoping to see AC Milan star Ronaldinho at the Emirates Cup have been left disappointed by the news that the Brazilian is set for a month on the sidelines with a muscle injury.

The 30-year-old former World Player of the Year had to abandon training on Wednesday night after he complained of feeling a twitch in one of his flexor muscles, and it doesn’t look good.

Voices from Milan suggest he will have a scan later to determine the extent of the injury. The Rossoneri have stayed quiet over the damage, but their official website did confirm the player will have to undergo further medical tests.

Emirates Cup Fixtures

Day 1:

Celtic v Olympique Lyonnais
Arsenal v AC Milan

Day 2:

AC Milan v Olympique Lyonnais
Arsenal v Celtic

You can see the Celtic, Lyon and Milan squads for the Emirates Cup here.

Arsenal are set to rekindle their interest in Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer after former Manchester City boss Mark Hughes agreed to become the club’s new manager. 

It was originally thought that Hughes had priced himself out of the job by demanding to bring in his own backroom staff, but these reports appear to be wide of the mark which means he is now on the verge of replacing Roy Hodgson.

Fulham’s appointment of a new manager is likely to speed up the departure of Schwarzer, as the veteran is not expected to be in Hughes’ plans for the new season.

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Germany defender Per Mertesacker is the player Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger wants to bring in to solve the club’s defensive crisis, according to Mirror Football.

Wenger wants to make at least two defensive signings, with both William Gallas and Mikael Silvestre departing. Sol Campbell’s imminent medical at Newcastle also means that Arsenal are left with just two senior defenders, Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou.

The latter sustained an injury in last night’s pre-season friendly win against SC Neusiedl 1919, which leaves Wenger itching to bolster his weak back line before the Gunners’ first game of the season at Liverpool next month.

Mertesacker, 25, has been on the Arsenal’s radar for some time with German scout Thomas Kost – who spotted Lukasz Fabianski and Philippe Senderos - regularly making personal checks on him in action for club side Werder Bremen.

Wenger has been linked with several defenders this summer and recent reports suggest that he’s made a paltry £6million offer for Everton’s Phil Jagielka.

Arsenal continued their pre-season preparations by coasting to a 4-0 victory over Austrian part-timers SC Neusiedl 1919.

English forwards Theo Walcott and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas scored before the break before substitutes Marouane Chamakh and Carlos Vela added second-half goals.

The Gunners are still yet to concede in their pre-season campaign so far.

Arsenal’s Starting XI

Almunia
Nordtveit – Djourou – Koscielny – Gibbs
Wilshere – Frimpong – Nasri
Walcott – Emmanuel-Thomas – Arshavin

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