Midfield maestro Samir Nasri has claimed the first of Gooner Talk’s Player of the Month award’s after a magnificent debut month in an Arsenal shirt.

The 21-year-old, who made two appearances as a substitute for France during Euro 2008, signed a “long-term” contract with the Gunners two months ago for a reported fee of £13.5million.

Nasri, who has been dubbed the new Zinedine Zidane, joined Marseille as a nine-year-old and made his league debut during the 2004-2005 season.

He can play on either wing or through the centre and won the French First Division’s Young Player of the Year award at the end of the 2006/2007 campaign, as well as being voted Marseille’s Player of the Year by supporters.

How Samir won the award

Samir begun his Premier League campaign in the most awesome of fashions with an early debut goal against West Brom.

A fantastic well-worked goal from the Frenchman, and there was much more to come from Samir in the following three fixtures for the Gunners.

An abysmall away defeat to Fulham mean’t that Arsenal dropped early points in the League. Despite this, Nasri continued to impress and proved to one of the most consistent performers in the side.

Nasri’s big moment came in the return leg of Arsenal’s Champions League qualifier against FC Twente. Samir scored the first goal after neat footwork which took him into the box before striking a sweet shot under the rookie ‘keeper in what managed to finish a 4-0 win for Arsenal.

The 21-year-old’s latest game was a 3-0 mauling of Newcastle. Samir was fantastic throughout and after being taken out by Joey Barton late on, he showed his cheekiness with a little kick out at the disgraced ex-convict.

Well done to Samir for the award, and hopefully he can continue his superb work for the Arsenal.

Arsenal bounced back from last weekends Premier League defeat to Fulham with a superb win over Steve McClaren’s FC Twente.

Nicklas Bendtner started ahead of below-par Emmanuel Adebayor while Kolo Toure was dropped to the bench mainly thanks to Johan Djourou’s previous performances in the side.

Arsenal Starting XI

Almunia
Sagna – Djourou – Gallas – Clichy
Walcott – Fabregas – Denilson – Nasri
Bendtner – van Persie

FC Twente Starting XI

Mihaylov
Wielaert – Tiote –  Douglas – Braafheid
Denneboom – Heubach – Brama – Janssen
Elia - Huysegems

First Half

A chilly north London evening welcomed the teams as they approached kick off. Arsenal certainly didn’t get the chills though, with the Gunners dominating early proceedings.

England winger Theo Walcott caused problems with his pace and won an early corner, Robin van Persie subsequently crossed it in but no red-shirts managed to get on the end of it.

Samir Nasri scored the opener in the 27th minute, giving Arsene Wenger’s team a three-goal cushion in the tie.

Nasri picked the ball up on the edge of the FC Twente penalty-area, beating two defenders to get enough space to shoot.

Goal: Samir Nasri (27)

His left-footed shot, from the edge of the six-yard box, slid through the legs of Twente keeper Nicolay Mihaylov to make it 1-0 in the second-leg of the match, and currently 3-0 on aggregate.

Robin van Persie missed a glaring chance to seal the win when, in the 40th minute of the match, he found himself free at the far-post, picking up the ball with plenty of space and somehow managed to shoot wide of the FC Twente goalpost, much to the distress of Wenger.

The game went into half-time 1-0 to Arsenal, who looked like they will qualify for the group stage of the Champions League.

Second Half

Emmanuel Eboue replaced Samir Nasri as the second half got underway. Nasri was rumoured to of suffered a stomach bug and was taken off as a precaution.

Nasri’s departure didn’t stop Arsenal’s attacking prowess though, William Gallas doubled the score on the night early in the second-half, latching on to a superb cross from Nicklas Bendtner and slotting the ball home from close-range to double the score.

Goal: William Gallas (52)

Steve McClaren instructed his team to push up and they certainly did that. Within minutes of Gallas’ goal, Deneboom ran at Gael Clichy with the Frenchman bringing Twente’s pacey winger down. The subsequent free kick was hit straight into the wall.

It didn’t take long for the third goal to come, Man of the Match Theo Walcott linked well with Danish strikr Nicklas Bendtner before beating two defenders and finishing emphaticaly past Mihaylov.

Goal: Theo Walcott (66)

Togolese forward Emmanuel Adebayor and Cameroonian midfield Alex Song replaced Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas as the game eventually died out.

Arsenal’s fourth goal came along in the last minute thanks to Nicklas Bendtner, the youngster missed several opportunities before hand but got his goal due to a superb breakaway from Emmanuel Adebayor. Bendtner looked to of lost the ball before Denilson took it and backheeled a cheeky flick to the Dane who cooly finished past the ‘keeper.

Goal: Nicklas Bendtner (89)

Bendtner’s goal was practically the last action of the night which proved to be a fantastic one for the Gunners. A smashing 4-0 win against Twente, Gallas answered the ‘captaincy critics’ while Theo Walcott’s calmly taken goal wrapped up what was to be one hell of an easy night for Arsene Wenger’s men.

Player Ratings

Manuel Almunia 6.5 – Rarely called into action to warrant anything more than an average grade.

Bacary Sagna 7 – Supported Theo well. Twente stopped the Frenchman from bombarding down the wing like he usually does.

Johan Djourou 7 – Senderos has gone, but Djourou can step in and be a bigger, better and more sufficient player the back. He certainly proved that tonight.

William Gallas 8 – Silenced the critics with his goal. Proved a surprising attacking threat and led well.

Gael Clichy 8 – Similar to Sagna. Gael did put some decent service into the box though.

Theo Walcott 8 – Was largely anonymous in Arsenal’s games thus far but showed great pace today that Heubach could not handle, forcing Steve McClaren to sub the left back at half-time.

Francesc Fabregas 8 – Showed Arsenal exactly what they missed in their three competitive games prior to this match.

Denilson 7 – Gifted Twente an early chance that they could have scored from had it not been for some wayward shooting. Found his feet as the game wore on, and set up Bendtner with a delightful back-heel.

Samir Nasri 7 – Took his goal really well. Sold three Twente defenders down the river, cut back on his other foot, took one touch, and then rolled the ball into the opposition net.

Robin Van Persie 7 – Showed some good signs of flair and skill early on. His delivery was far, far better than it was at Fulham. Missed guild-edged opportunities though.

Nicklas Bendtner 7 – An enjoyable performance from the big Dane. He tried so hard to make an impact but the balls just wouldn’t fall for him, but he took his goal well. He held the ball well, and looks more of a complete targetman than he did this time last year.

Substitutions

Emmanuel Eboue 7 – Did well. Got booed when he came on by the Arsenal faithful.

Emmanuel Adebayor 7 – Same as Eboue. Contributed to the fourth goal.

Alexandre Song 7 – Got on with the job. Simple and effective.

Arsenal looked a shadow of their usual selves against Fulham at the weekend and Arsene Wenger and skipper William Gallas have both demanded urged for a ‘top-class’ response as The Gunners seek to hold onto a 2-0 advantage over FC Twente and reach the group stages of the Champions League.

Arsene Wenger promised a new signing before the second leg against Twente but few Arsenal fans would have expected Mikael Silvestre to be that man. Certainly, with Philippe Senderos joining Milan and the Frenchman injured at present, last week’s events actually deplete Wenger’s options.

The Gunners will look to build on the two goals from Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor which gave them a 2-0 lead over Steve McClaren’s Twente side in Arnhem.

Arsenal Team News

Midfield maestro Cesc Fabregas should be back from a hamstring injury for the second leg Champions League qualifier against Steve McClaren’s FC Twente.

New signing Mikael Silvestre will not feature because of a thigh muscle strain, while Philippe Senderos has completed his move to AC Milan on loan.

Abou Diaby (thigh), Amaury Bischoff (groin), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) and striker Eduardo (leg) remain in recovery.

Predicted Starting XI

Almunia
Sagna – Toure – Gallas – Clichy
Walcott – Fabregas – Song – Nasri
Adebayor – Van Persie

Match Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 FC Twente

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

Arsenal skipper William Gallas has urged his young team-mates to bounce back from Saturday’s shock Premier League defeat to Fulham, by cruising through to the Champions League group stages with a win in tonights penultimate qualifier against FC Twente.

The 31-year-old captained a below-par Gunners’ side at Craven Cottage and believes tonights game gives Arsene Wenger’s men a chance to redeem themselves.

Goals from Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor secured victory in Arnhem just two weeks ago but the Frenchman still feels that Steve McClaren’s team pose a massive threat.

“It’s an absolutely must-win-game, we have to bounce back to victory before welcoming Newcastle because our group is getting better and better as soon as we win,” Gallas told his personal website.

“As a consequence we are going to play this game to win, despite the difficulties we faced against this team in the first leg.”

Gooner Talk will preview tonights game later this afternoon with a match report coming immediately after full time.

In other news, Lukasz Fabianski is going to be Poland’s Number One for the World Cup Qualifiers next month against Slovenia and San Marino, after Celtic’s Artur Boruc received an indefinite ban from the team.

Boruc and two of his team-mates, Dudka and Majewski, broke a curfew after Poland’s friendly in the Ukraine, which ended in a wild party and severe damage to a hotel room.

Boruc, Dudka and Majewski issued a grovelling apology on the Poland FA website but it didn’t save them from the axe.

Fabianski has only played around eight games for Arsenal in the last year, but with Lehmann leaving for Stuttgart he is now the firm second choice behind Almunia. He has also made seven previous appearances for Poland.

Arsenal midfield maestro Cesc Fabregas is set to return from a hamstring injury as the Gunners’ play the return leg of their UEFA Champions League qualifier against FC Twente at Emirates Stadium tomorrow evening.

Switzerland international Phillipe Senderos won’t play though. The 23-year-old was today undergoing a medical with Serie A giants AC Milan.

New signing recruited from Manchester United, Mikael Silvestre, will not play due to a thigh muscle strain which will keep him out the side until mid-September.

Abou Diaby (thigh), Amaury Bischoff (groin), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) and striker Eduardo (leg) remain in recovery.

Predicted Starting XI

Almunia
Sagna – Toure – Gallas – Clichy
Walcott – Fabregas – Denilson – Nasri
Adebayor – Van Persie

The match kick’s off at 8.05pm tomorrow evening and is live on BBC3 and you can catch all the game build-up here on Gooner Talk with a match preview later this evening and a match report immediately after full-time tomorrow night.

Arsenal went into tonight’s vital Champions League qualifier against Steve McClaren’s new side, FC Twente, with a multitude of players injured.

FC Twente bossed the first half with some slick passing but Arsenal gritted their teeth and ground out an ugly 2-0 victory to go into the second leg with a very comfortable lead.

FC Twente Starting XI

Boschker

Wilkshire – Wielaert – Douglas – Braafhied

Brama – Tiote – Janssen

Denneboom – Arnautovic – Elia

Arsenal Starting XI

Almunia

Sagna – Djourou – Gallas – Clichy

Eboue – Ramsey – Denilson – Walcott

Van Persie – Adebayor

First Half

Adebayor and Van Persie got the vital game under way as FC Twente raced out the blocks to put the Gunners under early pressure.  The side more many of the early 50-50s and an early attack saw an FC Twente header go safely wide.  The home fans were in good voice as FC Twente started to look more and more comfortable on the ball, provoking some inpatient fouls from the likes of Gallas.

Arsenal were finding it hard to muster up an attack, but a good through ball to Van Persie saw Arsenal steal a corner, only for the resultant ball to hit Walcott’s arm.  FC Twente had a dangerous break denied confidently by Djourou as Arsenal still searched for much more possession.  Djourou displayed why he is a defender when a promising run came to absolutely nothing following a below-par pass as Arsenal struggled to find a foothold in the game.  Hearts where in mouths after Van Persie carelessly gave the ball away in midfield and Elia had to be denied by an alert Almunia.

Clichy suffered a rare lapse of concentration as he allowed Denneboom to cut through into the area, but fortunately for the Frenchman, the shot was blasted over the bar.  The lack of Fabregas was frustratingly evident as the Gunners found it challenging to string together any effective passing moves.  Ramsey attempted an abition long-range drive, but the 17-year old could only watch as it sailed over and wide.

Poor Arsenal defending saw Arnautovic clean through on goal, but the striker who hasn’t scored in 18 games stumbled and allowed Almunia to come out and block to the rushed shot.  Arsenal raced back down the park looking to counter and Van Persie snuck in a dangerous cross, appearing to get injured in the process.  A very worrying sight.  Clichy fancied his chances from outside the area and his well-struck shot nearly bore fruit from the rebound, however a hasty Sagna snatched at the ball and shanked the shot wide.

FC Twente continued to boss the game from the midfield as the referee blew for half-time, to the relief of Arsenal, as a goal just before half-time would have been a hammer blow to the Gunners.

Second Half

Arsenal started the second half by belatedly stringing together a promising move which ended in Van Persie’s stinging strike being shut out by the Twente defence.  Arsenal appeared energised after the break but were still being rushed on the ball leading to yet more sloppy passing from the midfield.  The Gunners lacked any sense of urgency as Twente were relentlessly bearing down upon the likes of Denilson, luckily Braafheid could only muster up one of the worst shots that these eyes have ever seen.

Twente were beginning to make some careless errors at the back but Eboue’s touch was poor when he was handed an easy break and possession was lost, again. A free kick was won a few feet inside the opposition half and Van Persie floated in a high ball, Twente’s defence failed to react whatsoever and Gallas bundled the ball in the back of the net with the least amount of style possible.

Goal – William Gallas (63 mins)

Van Persie was booked for an thoughtless push on Wielaert, the striker was clearly venting some of his frustration, albeit needlessly.  Arsenal were looking to add to Twente’s misery with another away goal achieving a higher percentage of possession, but the cutting edge in the final third was still missing.  The Gunners were starting to sit back and focus on defending their narrow 1-0 lead as McClaren’s side appeared to be running out of ideas.

Arsenal’s defence fell asleep again, as a through ball found its way through to the ineffective Arnautovic whose only option was a left-footed poke that hit the side netting.  Still Arsenal strived for the second goal and a visionary long ball from back met Walcott’s run on the left who pulled it back simply for Adebayor. The Togo front man kept his cool and calmly slotted the ball past the sprawling Boschker.  Every Arsenal fans’ favourite link up.

Goal – Emmanuel Adebayor (82 mins)

The second goal gave Arsenal a much higher comfort level as the team notably relaxed, passing the ball around with ease, something they had made hard work of in the first-half.  Randall was brought on for Walcott as the game slowed down considerably with Twente effectively giving up.

A poor first half from the Gunners, but the players dug deep and pulled out a crucial 2-0 victory.

Player Ratings

Almunia: 7 – Very sharp, and had to be due to some sloppy defending from the back four. Did very well to prevent Twente’s one-on-one chance.

Sagna: 6 – Not as prominent as he usually is and could have put the team up 1-0 had he not be so hasty.

Djourou: 6 – Some edgy moments but coped well with the call up and make some solid tackles

Gallas: 6.5 – Offside trap was beaten far too easily but redeemed himself with the vital first goal.

Clichy: 5 – Completely out of sorts tonight. Let Twente players by him far too easily and was careless in possession

Eboue: 5.5 - Quiet throughout the match and failed to make much of an impression on the game.

Ramsey: 6 - Another quiet night from a member of the below-par midfield. However looked tidy in possession.

Denilson: 6.5 - Looked threatening at times, but again, not as dominant as he should have been.

Walcott: 6.5 – Was blocked out the came physically by Twente but showed kept going and supplied Adebayor with a good ball to slot home.

Van Persie: 6 – Let down by the midfield and couldn’t have done much more. Had his shot not been blocked it may have been goal bound.

Adebayor: 6.5 – Had to be patient due to the lack of supply from the midfield but was rewarded with his goal in the dying minutes.

Substitutes:

Randall: N/A – Only on for 5 minutes.

Bendtner: N/A – Only on for 5 minutes.

Man of the Match: Almunia - Looked the sharpest player on the pitch and kept the players’ heads up by preventing some dangerous moments that came from Twente’s attack.

It’s worrying times already for Arsenal fans and the season hasn’t even kicked off yet! Tomorrow afternoon the Gunners’ kick off their Champions League campaign with a big-money qualifying game against Dutch side FC Twente. Arsene Wenger’s side are missing the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Abou Diaby, Kolo Toure and Samir Nasri with long-term injured Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo also out.

Steve McClaren must fancy his chances against Wenger’s men especially as Arsenal’s squad seems to be getting thinner and thinner by the week. The Gunners are not the only ones suffering problems of their own – Blaise Kufo – their top goal scorer from last season is suspended for the first leg, luckily for the Tukkers he’ll be back for the return game at Emirates.

FC Twente Team News

Former England boss McClaren will look to keep a compact defence while upfront McClaren has to decide whether to go for the lanky Marko Arnautovi, or the quick forward that is Romano Denneboom.

Theo Janssen is certainly one to look out for, the 27-year-old signed from Vitesse in the summer and could prove a serious danger to Arsenal’s weakened defence if the Gunners fail to stem Twente’s attacking threat.

Predicted Starting XI

Boschker

Wikshire – Douglas – Wielaert – Braafheid

Tiote – Janssen – Brama – Elia

Denneboom – Huysegems

Arsenal Team News

Arsenal are missing five major names and the long-term sidelined Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo as we said above.

It leaves Wenger relying on youngsters like Aaron Ramsey and Denilson to inspire his squad to a crucial victory in Holland.

Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs and Mark Randall make up an inexperienced bench while the trusted partnership of Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie is expected to continue upfront.

Predicted Starting XI

Almunia

Sagna – Djourou – Gallas – Clichy

Eboue – Denilson - Ramsey – Walcott

Adebayor – Van Persie

Match Prediction: FC Twente 1-2 Arsenal

Leave your predictions and views in the comments section below.