Gooner Daily

Argentina managed to get their fair share of revenge when they beat Nigeria in a friendly match at Bangladesh but it wasn’t still enough because Nigeria won on friendly aggregate by 5-4.

Messi was without the two Barcelona players he performs with but he was still a constant threat against the Super Eagles with his direct style and canny dribbling skills.

Arsenal also had its ambassadors representing their national teams last night. Four goal Dutch hero Robin van Persie fired blanks when Holland beat Finland to put one foot in next summer’s European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.

Nicklas Bendtner put up a Man of the Match performance by scoring two goals for Denmark in their Scandinavian derby win over Norway.

Aaron Ramsey led his Welsh team to a 1-0 boring loss to England. The World’s best left-footed Chimpanzee Gareth Bale was on song with silky movement and sultry skills on the flanks but it wasn’t enough for Gary Speed’s side that’s sitting pretty at the foot of the table.

Wales had a glorious chance to level the tie but Robert Earnshaw chose to kill a bird when the net was closer than ever. However, Ramsey won the Man of the Match award.

Park Chu-Young was on target again when Korea Republic drew with Kuwait in an Asian qualifier.

In a Gunner vs Gunner game, Wojciech Szczesny and Per Mertesacker were on the opposing sides in Poland’s 2-2 draw against Germany. Szczesny set the crowd alight with a magnificent save that was even praised by the great Oliver Kahn himself.

Arshavin also led Motherland Russia to a draw against Ireland. I wasn’t chanced to watch the game but I learnt that he put up a great performance for his country.

Arshavin also took out some time to tell the media Vultures that Wenger’s new signings have improved the squad:

“When people say that no one is irrreplaceable, I don’t agree. With Arterta and whoever replaces those that have left, we will play a different type of football.

“Arteta and Benayoun have proven themselves and they are not bad signings. We needed strengthening in that position.”

With Wilshere out for a good chunk of the season, Arteta and Benayoun have to do well to impress the gooners. Arteta on the other hand, has told the media Vultures that he cannot wait to get started:

“I can’t wait to start playing, I can’t wait to play at the Emirates, I think it’s an unbelievable stadium. I’m so excited.

“I have always been a big admirer of the Arsenal philosophy, the way they play, the way they do the job, and it’s always exciting watching Arsenal play. In England there is no better team to watch than Arsenal.

“Hopefully I will not take long to adapt but obviously you need to meet new characters, new personalities and new players with different abilities so you need to pick that up as soon as possible to get an understanding on the pitch.

“But I have been watching a few videos and have got some work done before training and hopefully that will help me.

I’m drooling with the prospect of watching Arteta play Swansea on Saturday and I’m pretty sure that he’ll give the gooners a debut to remember.

Arteta also said that he has a great career ahead and he’s best years are ahead of him.

Kieran Gibbs was touted as Arsenal’s number one full back for the season ahead but his injury problems gave Wenger something to think about so he opened the club’s cheque book to sign Andre Santos.

Gibbs might be an able deputy for Andre Santos but he was quick to express his gratitude to Gael Clichy for his role in his development as a player:

“Gael Clichy was a fantastic servant for Arsenal, I’m looking to follow in his shoes and try to do what he and other players for the Club have done.

We had similar injuries when he done his metatarsal and I’ve done the same, we both came back and then had another setback after it so he taught me about being patient and not try to come back too quickly because you could have problems from that.

And then obviously on the pitch, his work rate, his tenacity, just watching him in my last two years, he has helped me, he has helped me a lot.

It’s a big chance [for me], when players leave and you get an opportunity you just have to enjoy it and take it and I’ll do that. I’ve been playing at left back for two years now and it is something that you have to keep learning and keep progressing with. The more I play, the more I will get used to that role.

[Gervinho and Andrey Arshavin?] It’s important to respect what they do, offensively. They have received some [negative criticism] in the past, that they should do more defensively but we play that type of football, with that risk, I could only say to them, as long as they’re providing offensively and they do their bit then it’s good.”

He also said that Arsenal’s full backs can be a threat this season:

“We can do a lot of damage to teams, me and Bac and the others, when we play. We play very high up and we like to play that type of football. Hopefully we can make it even more effective this season.

“I’ve been playing at left back for two years now and it is something that you have to keep learning and keep progressing with. The more I play, the more I will get used to that role.

“You have to be more concentrated [as a full back], especially with the formation that we play. We are an offensive team and we play exciting football, so we have to be more aware defensively.”

Kieran Gibbs is a player that has massive bags of potential and I’m positive that his talent will be harnessed by Wenger this season. That’s if he stays fit though.

The club’s official website Arsenal.com has published great news over Thomas Vermaelen’s injury situation:

Centre back Thomas Vermaelen is expected to be back in training with the first-team squad in around a month.
 
Vermaelen has undergone a minor procedure to remove an inflamed plantaris tendon from his left ankle.

This is the same treatment that he had on his right ankle in January this year and has nothing to do with his Achilles tendon.
 
The action was taken after consultation with specialists who advised this was the best thing to do to prevent it becoming a persistent problem.

With initial reports emerging that he was going to be out of action for two months, this is definitely great news and it’s more pleasing to know that it was published from the club’s website instead of some media Vulture column.

In other Arsenal related news, the club has submitted its squad list to the FA and Emmanuel Frimpong has opted to play for Ghana instead of England.

It was supposed to be an issue with Song representing Cameroon but it seems as if Song will be around in January because Cameroon might not qualify for the African Cup of Nations.

Even the rich Samuel Eto’o couldn’t help them this time.

The quote of the day goes to Shyam:

Shyam: “Q: Did you hear that the British Post Office has just recalled their latest stamps?”

A: Well, they had photos of Manchester United players on them and folks couldn’t figure out which side to spit on.”

Sayonara.

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