Aaron Ramsey Injured In Training

Arsenal will be without the Welsh International captain Aaron Ramsey for their trip to Germany in the clubs first Champions League group game against Borussia Dortmund after suffering an ankle injury in training.

It is yet another blow to the Arsenal squad in terms of absentees, with an additional first team player, important to the side out with injury. Jack Wilshere is still out with his ankle problem, as is Abou Diaby, who underwent surgery on his ankle over the summer, and should be starting to come back into the Arsenal side within the next few weeks.

Thomas Vermaelen has been out for the past few weeks after having minor surgery on his ankle to remove an inflamed plantaris tendon. Sebastian Squaillaci also missed the win against Swansea on the week-end with a calf problem.

The medical staff at the Emirates really are earning their money, with the treatment room seeming to be an area of extreme familiarity for most of the Arsenal players. One must really start to question why all of these injuries occur - either the club are cursed with bad luck, or something in their training or preparation isn't right, although you would think with the vast managerial experience at the club, it surely wouldn't be the latter.

Arsene Wenger has taken an 18 man squad to Germany, including some of his summer signings in Mikel Arteta, Yossi Benayoun, Per Mertesacker and Ju Young-Park. Alex Song and Emmanuel Frimpong also return to the side after domestic suspensions, and will give the manager extra options in midfield.

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Time for Arsenal to move on

Guest Article, Written by @Kevin_Mega

I was saddened to see Cesc Fabregas leave Arsenal as I wasn’t expecting him to leave this season. I was so confident that he would stay that I made a bet at the end of last month that we would see him captaining Arsenal this season. But he’s gone now, he gave arsenal eight years of great service and he will be sorely missed but it’s now time for Arsenal to move on.

As Wenger built the side around Fabregas, I believe the team may struggle as no-one can replicate the service he provided to Arsenals attacking players. Statistics have showed that the teams win percentage decreases when he isn’t in the line up. So what now for Arsenal?

External Recruitment
Many fans will be calling for Arsenal to spend the money made from the Fabregas sale on a player who’s experienced and able to take over the creative duties. Many names have been suggested by the media including Mata and Jadson however Wenger ruled them out in his press conference this week.  A player who I would like for Arsenal to try and purchase is Wesley Sneijder but I don’t see it happening as he’s not your typical Wenger signing.

Acquiring new players will also depend on whether we qualify for the Champions League. Failure to qualify would be a catastrophe as it would lead to Arsenal not being able to buy the ‘super quality’ players Wenger wants, and the £25m we would receive if we win the tie would give Wenger the extra cash to invest in a new DM and a striker.

Frankly I don’t see Wenger being able to sign a player to match Fabregas’ quality so I see him using one of the many centre midfielders he has at his disposal.


Internal Recruitment
The players who can perform for Arsenal in the hole behind the striker are: Rosicky, Ramsey, Wilshere, and Arshavin. All those players at one point have played in the centre attacking midfield position, except for Arshavin who should at least be given a few games in that role to see how he plays as the other mentioned players have never really performed.

Before he came to Arsenal, Arshavin used to play behind the striker, so he would be more than capable of excelling in that role. I however don’t see Arshavin getting a chance to make his mark there as Wenger prefers playing him on the wing.

Rosicky played in that position last season and he didn’t exactly impress either. This season however, Wenger has placed him in a better position alongside Song and he’s played well in the few games we've seen.

Ramsey is a player I rate highly, who I know for a fact would have been playing alongside Song last season instead of Wilshere if it wasn’t for the recovery process involved in his horrific injury.

He still hasn’t recaptured his form, but with the departure of Fabregas, he could rediscover it and forge an impressive partnership with Jack Wilshere. We saw a glimpse of them playing together when they ran the midfield against Manchester United at the Emirates last season, and this is the option I would choose if I was the Arsenal manager, if not, play Rosicky along with Song and Wilshere ahead of them.

Change of Formation to 4-4-1-1
I doubt Wenger would do this but I would love if he bought a very good striker, possibly Benzema, who would partner Arsenal's new captain, Robin Van Persie in attack. I know RVP is great as a lone striker as he showed last season but he has tendencies to drift out of the danger area, leaving our full backs and wingers with no-one to supply crosses to.

If Wenger buys a great striker it would allow Van Persie to play like his idol, Bergkamp. He already has his shirt number, and now it’s time for him to play in his role behind the striker. This I believe, would be a better option than the ones I’ve already mentioned, but again, I don’t believe Wenger would consider this option because it would halt the progress of Ramsey and if he was to change formation he would have done so in pre-season.

To conclude, I hope Wenger doesn’t build a team around one player because that’s why Arsenal seem to be collapsing. The invincible team was great because it had 11 quality players performing, and many more on the bench. It is time now for Arsenal to work as a unit just like they did in 2007-08 season after Thierry Henry left. Wenger is already looking to the future with the acquisitions of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain,  Carl Jenkinson, Ryo Miyaichi and the promotion of several youngsters into the first team like E. Frimpong, Henri Lansbury and Benik Afobe. I support building for the future but at the moment we need more experienced players.

Guest Article, Written by @Kevin_Mega

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Watch: Arsenal 1 - 0 Manchester United

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Arsenal defeated Manchester United through an Aaron Ramsey goal in a very disappointing game for United in which their troubled away form came back to haunt them. The players didn't seem up for the fight at a sunny Emirates stadium, and Arsenal dominated from the start of play.

 The Gunners were restricted to only a few goalscoring opportunities, with a Vidic handball being missed by both the linesman and referee in the first half. United had a few penalty claims themselves, with Michael Owen clearly being brought down late on when he was clean through, but the Emirates was a penalty free-zone.

 However, Arsenal did not need a penalty to claim the win, as Robin van Persie set up Arsenal's Welsh midfielder who had come in to replace an injured Cesc Fabregas. Arsenal were able to hold on to the lead which they grabbed in the 56th minute, but in truth, United never really offered too much in the attack.

It was not a classic game between the two, but in terms of the title race, it has quite large consequences to United if they fail to beat Chelsea in their next Premier League game. Chelsea could overtake United with a win, and this performance will not have Chelsea afraid of a visit to Old Trafford, especially as United have the added distraction of a Champions League semi final second leg.

All in all, Arsenal deserved the win due to their dominance, without being troubled by an non-threatening attack. United didn't use their wings as much or as well as they could have, with Nani unable to have an effect on the game - unlike previous visits to Arsenal. As a result, the deliveries into the box were either poor, or few, so Rooney and Chicharito couldn't make much of an impact. Chicharito thrives on his delivery, but in it's absence, there was no hope for him among some big defenders.

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Watch: Wales 0 - 2 England

England played impressively on away soil at the Millenium Stadium today, with two early goals separating the two sides. The three lions proved too much for the one dragon as England breezed to victory without any real problems at the back whilst performing very well in the midfield and out wide. 

Watch the Goals below:

Ramsey Scores First Goal Since Arsenal Leg Break

On loan Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey scored his first goal since his double leg break for Cardiff on Tuesday night, and now feels he is getting back to his best.

He was playing his sixth game for Cardiff against Leicester City as his one month loan to the Welsh club comes to an end in the latter stages of February.

Ramsey said:

"I wanted to get a goal before I go back and I was glad it came at home

"I feel I'm getting there. That is what these games are for, to get me back in the swing of things and I feel that is coming and I'm getting better and stronger with each game."

Dave Jones, the Cardiff manager is apparently going to ask Arsene Wenger if Ramsey can stay at Cardiff for longer than the agreed loan period, and he is confident that the Arsenal midfielder is over the horrific injury that left him on the sideline for what seemed like ages:

"He is over the injury. What he needs is games and you probably saw in the last 15 minutes is he is not at that top level yet.

"For us it is good enough but for the next level he is probably just a few games still short."

Ramsey required surgery to fix fractures to both his tibia and fibula in his right leg following a challenge from Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross. That happened almost exactly a year ago, on the 27th February 2010, and today, on the 23rd February 2011, Arsenal will take on Stoke City once again - this time at the Emirates in a bid to win another three points and gain ground on Manchester United in the title race.

Shawcross should prepare himself for a frosty reception, as many Arsenal fans refuse to forgive the high, leg breaking challenge that led to Ramsey's career hitting rock bottom.
Arsenal fans will however be delighted that their starlet is well on his way and back on track to breaking into the Arsenal first team again, and in the future helping them to some trophies. It is always great to see injured players come back and be successful, and I wish Ramsey all the best.

Stoke Manager Complains Arsenal are less Disciplined than Stoke

Arsene Wenger has complained in the past about Stoke City's aggressive play and crunching tackles, especially after their defender Ryan Shawcross broke Aaron Ramsey's leg. But now, Tony Pulis has hit back at Arsenal and Wenger ahead of the match between the two teams at the Emirates on the week-end.

Pulis said:

"Arsenal have got more red cards than us this season, more yellows than us and committed more fouls,"

"It'd also be nice to tell the ref that before Saturday - I just have? Good! People have perceptions and you struggle to change those.

"You speak to the layman and its 'bad old Stoke going to The Emirates.' But the facts don't back up that."

Pulis has obviously looked up the statistics on the two teams in preparation, because what he said is correct. Arsenal have conceded 224 fouls this season to Stoke's 194, and the Gunners have received 4 red cards to the Potters' 1.
The statistics are true, but many of the yellow and red cards Arsenal have received were from silly challenges and not dangerous ones. Wenger agrees:

"He's right. We've got more yellow cards. It's surprising about our yellow cards. Like the other night (against Manchester United) we picked up yellow cards but I thought it was a fair game."

Pulis and Wenger have often had a difference in opinion when it comes to discipline. Wenger and Arsenal fans were furious with the horrific challenge that left the Welsh midfielder, Aaron Ramsey with a terrible broken leg which threatened his career. Pulis argued that his player didn't purposely injure Ramsey, and Shawcross "has no bad blood in him whatsoever", while Wenger called on the FA to act swiftly to severely  punish Shawcross for the tackle.

Pulis is obviously frustrated with the reputation his team have when it comes to discipline, and although Ramsey is now healed from his leg break, the anger that sparked from the orignal tackle is still verymuch in the air. Stoke shouldn't be surprised if certain players are get a frosty reception from the Arsenal fans on Saturday.

Denilson to Wolfsburg?

According to several news sources, the former England manager and current manager of German side Wolfsburg is very interested in signing the Arsenal central midfielder for around £11 million in the January transfer window.

It is thought that Wolfsburg are prepared to let their centre back, Simon Kjaer leave for Chelsea, who are keen to strengthen their defence with the £7 million signing so that Wolfsburg can then use the money in the Kjaer sale to help facilitate a move for Denilson.

The 22 year-old has played only 8 time in the Premier League for Arsenal this season. His lack of game time may persuade him to move away from Arsenal instead offighting for a first team place against the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky and Jack Wilshere - who can all and have all played in a similar position to the Brazilian. Aaron Ramsey is also likely to return from his loan spell at Nottingham Forest in January, which would leave Denilson in the midst of a massive fight for a first team place.

Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey Joins Nottingham Forest

Pic: Ramsey is on a one month loan deal

The young Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has joined Nottingham Forest on a loan deal lasting until the 3rd January 2011.

It is hoped that the more games the 19 year old gets, the more match fit he will become as he admitted that he is a bit behind in his fitness levels compared to his team mates after his first competitive match for Arsenal since he broke his leg 9 months ago.

"I'm as fit as all the rest of the lads but [playing in a competitive game] proved I am a bit behind"

An Arsenal statement said:

"Everyone at Arsenal Football Club wishes Aaron the best of luck during his time with Nottingham Forest and we all look forward to seeing him once again in an Arsenal shirt in the New Year."

The Welshman made 29 appearances in all competitions last season for Arsenal before his injury, scoring four times. Ramsey had planned on staying at Arsenal and fighting for his place in the first team, but if anyone knows how to nurture a young player it is Wenger, and sending him on loan will increase his confidence with the ball on the pitch as well as improving his fitness.

A broken leg doesn't just damage a player physically; there are obviously mental barriers to get through and it takes a strong minded character to get through them. Time will tell whether Ramsey will ever be as good a player as was hoped before his injury, but there is no doubt that he has the ability that got him noticed at Cardiff.