African football cup set to impact Premier League

January 5, 2010

The African Nations Cup is due to have a major impact upon events at both ends of the English Premier League table.

Leaders Chelsea have seen Ivory Coast forwards Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou as well as Ghana midfielder Michael Essien and Nigeria’s John Obi-Mikel, all depart for Angola where the 2010 competition starts on Sunday.

Chelsea’s Italian boss Carlo Ancelotti already has one of the best-equipped squads in England’s lucrative top flight and, if needed, can ask the Blues’ billionaire owner Roman Abramovich to bankroll some new signings during the January transfer window.

However, after overseeing holders Chelsea’s 5-0 FA Cup win over Watford, which featured two goals from 20-year-old striker Daniel Sturridge, his first for the London club since a pre-season move from Manchester City, Ancelotti said: “I think that we can do a good January, good performances without the African players.”

There have been seasons where Arsenal, now four points off top spot, would have had as many players on African Nations Cup duty as London rivals Chelsea.

This time around the Gunners will only be without Ivory Coast defender Emmanuel Eboue and Cameroon midfielder Alex Song.

Even so, with Robin van Persie and Johan Djourou both long-term injuries, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger would rather his squad was not disrupted by a tournament which, unlike the World Cup or European Championships, takes place while the English season is in progress.

“On occasions, the players come back affected by a negative experience,” Wenger said.

However, Wenger reduced his African Nations Cup worries with the pre-season sale of both the Ivory Coast’s Kolo Toure and Togo’s Emmanuel Adebayor to Premier League big-spenders Manchester City.

“They play the African Nations Cup every two years and I believe that when you have too many players who go in January, it is a big problem,” Arsenal’s French manager explained.

If any Premier League side is likely to be adversely affected by the tournament, it is basement club Portsmouth.

The cash-strapped south coast side are four points adrift at the bottom of the table and such is their dire financial position, Portsmouth have had a transfer embargo slapped upon them by the Premier League.

In the midst of all their other problems, Pompey are set to lose four players to the African Nations Cup in Ivory Coast international Aruna Dindane, Algeria duo Nadir Belhadj and Hassan Yebda and Nigeria veteran Kanu.

Frustrated Portsmouth boss Avram Grant, said: “I don’t know why FIFA allow this. I don’t know why they have the African Cup of Nations in January.

“The players go two weeks before and need one or two weeks afterwards to recover,” the Israeli added.

“We pay a lot of money, especially the big teams, to players who are not with us for two months,” the former Chelsea manager insisted. “I think FIFA need to think about this.”

LONDON (AFP) -

Tags: african nations cup, Alex Song, Angola, aruna dindane, big spenders, billionaire owner, carlo ancelotti, Daniel Sturridge, Drogba, emmanuel adebayor, emmanuel eboue, english premier league table, ghana, gunners, johan djourou, John Obi, kolo toure, london, manchester city, Michael Essien, Mikel, negative experience, new signings, Portsmouth, premier league, robin van persie, Salomon Kalou, table leaders, term injuries, Togo, Yebda

Wenger: “I can’t stand November”

November 4, 2009

Arsene Wenger expects a lot of accidents the following weeks. November is a headache of a month for the Arsenal boss when fatigue takes its first bite out of his squad.

“In England, you always get injuries in November,” Wenger said on the club’s official website. “It’s very frustrating.”

“You look at the statistics, they always happen in November and you know that in December you can win or lose the title.

“It’s the volume of games. You play on different pitches, players play international games, there is the end of the first phase of Champions League games and you could have played 20 games already.”

So far, the number of injuries seem to prove Le Professeur’s statement. Johan Djourou, Lukasz Fabianski, Samir Nasri, Denilson and Tomas Rosicky all suffered from injuries. Gael Clichy and Nicklas Bendtner will probably be sidelined for at least a month.

“Like every team, we want our players to be available,” said Wenger. “But the only side which seems to have all of its players available at the moment is Chelsea.”

Paul Haring

Tags: accidents, arsenal, boss, champions league, CHELSEA, Clichy, denilson, different pitches, fatigue, first bite, headache, international games, johan djourou, league games, lukasz fabianski, Nicklas Bendtner, professeur, Samir Nasri, statistics, Wenger

Arsenal´s Djourou out for six months

September 5, 2009

Arsenal defender and Switzerland international Johan Djourou will be out of action for about six months after he underwent an operation on his left knee, the Swiss football federation said Saturday.

Djourou followed doctors’ advice and was operated on his knee cartilage in Geneva on Friday, the federation said on its website.

The 22-year-old had been hoping for a permanent slot in the Gunners’ extremely competitive back four following the departure of Kolo Toure over the summer.

But he quit the Swiss training camp before a friendly against Italy last month complaining of a revival in a recurrent knee pain.

Djourou hopes to regain fitness for a return to competitive football next March, in the hope of making it to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 if Switzerland qualify.

Switzerland are currently second in Group 2, level on 13 points with first-placed Greece whom they face in Basel on Saturday.

GENEVA (AFP)

Tags: arsenal, doctors, football federation, geneva, greece, gunners, Italy, johan djourou, knee cartilage, knee pain, left knee, revival, six months, South Africa, swiss training, Switzerland, Toure, training camp, World Cup

Wenger opts not to risk Silvestre, Djourou starts

May 6, 2009

LONDON (AFP) – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger opted not to risk France defender Mikael Silvestre for the start of Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Manchester United.

Silvestre has been struggling with a groin injury and was only fit enough to make the bench, with Swiss centre-back Johan Djourou starting alongside Kolo Toure at the heart of Arsenal’s defence.

However Wenger was able to welcome back Robin van Persie after the Dutch forward missed Arsenal’s last four matches with a groin injury suffered in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

As expected, Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was fit to play following the rib injury he sustained in the 1-0 first leg victory over Arsenal last week.

Patrice Evra, United’s French left-back, was also named in Sir Alex Ferguson’s starting line-up despite suffering a leg injury at Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Wayne Rooney started up front on his own for United, with Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez on the bench.

Tags: alex ferguson, bench, carlos tevez, champions league, CHELSEA, dimitar berbatov, English Premier League, FA Cup, France, groin injury, johan, johan djourou, leg injury, Manchester, manchester united, middlesbrough, Mikael Silvestre, patrice evra, Rio, rio ferdinand, Robin, robin van persie, Silvestre, sir alex ferguson, starting line, swiss centre, Toure, wayne rooney

Adebayor eyes Old Trafford hat-trick

April 29, 2009

MANCHESTER (AFP) – Emmanuel Adebayor has set his sights on completing an Old Trafford hat-trick after shrugging off a hamstring problem in time for Arsenal’s Champions League showdown with Manchester United on Wednesday.

The Togo striker, who scored at United’s base in the league last season and notched the winner there in September 2006, is aiming to claim another crucial European away goal on Wednesday evening in the semi-final first leg.

“When you get onto the pitch the people around will be singing against you, they will be hating you, and that can give you more motivation,” he said.

“I know they do not like me there because I managed to get a goal, and you just feel like ‘Okay, I will show you again how good I am.’

“In three games there I have scored two goals and I know it will not be easy to get another one, but I will give 100 percent to do everything it takes to score or to help my team win the game.”

Adebayor knows Arsenal will have to be close to their best if they are to emulate their November league win over the defending champions.

“We know how good they are and it is going to be an exciting game for English football,” Adebayor said. “It is going to be tough, but we just have to believe we can do it, that we can win this cup. That is why we are here.

“We have the quality in the squad and are in form.”

With leading scorer Robin van Persie injured and Russian playmaker Andrey Arshavin cup-tied, Arsenal will rely on Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri getting forward from wide positions to support Adebayor while captain Cesc Fabregas slots into the spaces behind the centre-forward.

“We always look to keep a clean sheet and, with the attacking players we have got in this team, we can score goals from all sorts of positions,” Walcott said.

“If we can get a goal, that would be a brilliant result for us. The tempo is going to be very quick, a bit like a Premier League match.”

Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre is hopeful of being fit to face his former club despite sustaining a back injury against Boro, but regular left-back Gael Clichy is still out, so youngster Kieran Gibbs will be pitted against Cristiano Ronaldo.

Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia and centre-back Johan Djourou both made a timely return to action at the weekend and are expected to feature at Old Trafford.

Tags: all sorts, arsenal, Clichy, emmanuel adebayor, english football, English Premier League, hat trick, johan djourou, kieran gibbs, Manchester, manchester united, Manuel Almunia, match, Mikael Silvestre, motivation, old trafford, playmaker, premier league, robin van persie, ronaldo, samir, Samir Nasri, Silvestre, slots, striker, theo walcott, three games, Togo, wednesday evening

Van Persie ruled out of Arsenal-United first leg

April 24, 2009

LONDON (AFP) – Robin van Persie, Arsenal’s leading scorer this season, has been ruled out of next week’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Manchester United.

The Dutch striker, who has hit the net 17 times in the current campaign, is struggling to recover from the groin injury which forced him to sit out the 4-4 draw with Liverpool this week and manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed he will not be available for Sunday’s Premier League match against Middlesbrough or the trip to Old Trafford three days later.

There was better news for Wenger on the fitness of Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togo striker has recovered from a hamstring injury and is set to feature as Arsenal seek to extend their unbeaten league run to 20 matches against relegation-threatened Boro.

First-choice goalkeeper Manuel Almunia and defender Johan Djourou are also ready to return following ankle and knee injuries respectively, which will come as a relief for Wenger who made no secret of his frustration at the defensive errors that contributed to all four of Liverpool’s goals in midweek.

“We will rotate a little bit again, but we have no major injuries from the Liverpool match,” the Frenchman reported. “Manuel Almunia was in full training on Thursday and we will see how he responds. Djourou was in full training also so we will see how he is too. Both could come back into the squad.

“Emmanuel Adebayor should come back into training on Saturday but Robin van Persie is definitely out for Sunday and for Manchester United.”

Wenger also revealed that France left-back Gael Clichy will have a scan on his back injury on Monday and could be involved in the Champions League match if the results are positive.

Tags: arsenal united, back injury, champions league, Clichy, emmanuel adebayor, English Premier League, first choice, France, frenchman, frustration, groin injury, johan djourou, knee injuries, Liverpool, london, manager arsene wenger, Manchester, manchester united, Manuel Almunia, middlesbrough, midweek, old trafford, premier league, robin van persie, striker, Togo, UEFA Champions League, Van Persie, van persie arsenal

Gerrard to miss Arsenal match

April 21, 2009

LONDON (AFP) – Liverpool are set to be without injured captain Steven Gerrard for Tuesday’s Premier League match at home to Arsenal.

The England midfielder is expected to be ruled out for a further seven to 10 days with the groin problem that has forced him to miss Liverpool’s last two matches.

A draw for Liverpool at Anfield would see them go top of the table although champions Manchester United would regain first place if they defeated Portsmouth at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Arsenal will be without their top scorer Robin van Persie (groin) and fellow striker Emmanuel Adebayor (hamstring).

However, full-back Bacary Sagna has recovered from a virus and could feature at Anfield, along with fit-again Croatia forward Eduardo.

Lukasz Fabianski, who had a shaky match during Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final loss to Chelsea, is set to continue to deputise for the injured Manuel Almunia (ankle) while defenders Gael Clichy (back), William Gallas (knee) and Johan Djourou (knee) are all out of action.

Arsenal are fourth in the table and seemingly assured of qualification for next season’s Champions League now that they are seven points ahead of Aston Villa.

Gunners manager Arsene Wenger may be tempted to rest key players ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final with United.

Sir Alex Ferguson, who himself fielded what was all but a reserve side during United’s FA Cup semi-final loss to Everton last weekend, was banking on his French rival’s competitiveness.

“I don’t know what Arsene will be thinking about tomorrow but no matter what, Arsenal always try,” United manager Ferguson said Monday.

“That is the mantra of Arsene himself. He is a winner.

“Providing they try, it is all I can ask for.”

Tags: alex ferguson, anfield, captain steven, captain Steven Gerrard, CHELSEA, Clichy, competitiveness, croatia, Eduardo, emmanuel adebayor, England, English Premier League, FA Cup, Fabianski, groin problem, gunners, johan djourou, Liverpool, london, Manchester, manchester united, Manuel Almunia, midfielder, old trafford, Portsmouth, robin van persie, seven points, sir alex ferguson, Steven Gerrard, thinking about tomorrow, top scorer, William Gallas

Wenger prepares Arsenal for Chelsea match

April 18, 2009

LONDON (AFP) – Arsene Wenger on Friday urged Arsenal to view attack as the best form of defence in their FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea on Saturday.

The Gunners manager has seen his defensive resources decimated ahead of the trip to Wembley, with Manuel Almunia (ankle), Wiliam Gallas (knee), Johan Djourou (knee) and Gael Clichy (back) all ruled out through injury.

Wenger had been hoping Bacary Sagna would have recovered from a virus, but the French full-back was sent home from the club’s London Colney training ground after being examined by medical staff.

To compound Wenger’s woes, Kieran Gibbs, who has deputised for Clichy at left-back in Arsenal’s last two outings, is also considered a major doubt with a groin strain and will face a fitness test on Saturday morning.

A selection crisis of that magnitude would leave most managers aiming for little more than damage limitation against a side of Chelsea’s calibre, but Wenger is refusing to dilute his expectations ahead of his first FA Cup semi-final since 2005.

Instead, he wants his myriad of attacking talent – which has notched seven goals in the last two matches – to make up for any defensive weaknesses and ensure a return trip to England’s national stadium for the final on 30 May.

“We are short in numbers but not short in quality,” Wenger said. “I focus on our strengths and how we play the game, and we know we are approaching this game on full cylinders. We know we can score so let’s go for it.

“Two or three months ago, people said we couldn’t score goals, but now we are scoring a lot so it’s linked with confidence. Everyone knows how we play – we don’t sit back and wait for Chelsea to come at us. We want to dictate the play.”

Arsenal’s season appeared to be in tatters at the turn of the year but they have since embarked on a rousing run, progressing to the Champions League semi-finals, where they face Manchester United, and tightening their grip on fourth place in the English Premier League.

When coupled with their progress in the FA Cup, this season represents the club’s best chance of ending their four-year trophy drought.

Wenger’s faith in his long-term project at the Emirates stadium has never wavered, although even he has been surprised at the speed with which his latest generation of talents has matured.

“This is a very young team,” he added. “Normally players get there at an older age but we already have the quality and mental strength which is important at this level. I feel the desire is there, the talent is there, the hunger is 100 per cent to win.

“I never thought, in 2005, that it would be this long until we won another trophy. You always try and stay positive.

“People say that we have disappeared since 2005 but we haven’t. We were in the Champions League final in 2006, we were in the title race last year, so we never went away. We have had good teams.”

Wenger’s biggest concern ahead of his visit to the revamped Wembley as a manager concerns the pitch.

The Frenchman has received reports that the turf at the north-west London stadium could cut up on Saturday, a far cry from its bowling-green reputation of past years.

“I loved the old Wembley and I am not too impressed by the new one,” he added. “When I was young, we played on bad grounds and we wanted to play on marvellous grass at Wembley.

“When I heard they had bad grass at Wembley, it was a little bit disappointing. I expected a good pitch but the noises I get are not convincing.”

Tags: arsene wenger, calibre, CHELSEA, Clichy, emirates, England, English Premier League, FA Cup, fitness test, groin strain, gunners, johan djourou, kieran gibbs, london, london colney, Manchester, manchester united, Manuel Almunia, medical staff, return trip, sagna, score goals, semi finals, t score, tatters, Wembley, west london, woes

Arsenal brush aside Villarreal in Champions League

April 16, 2009

LONDON (AFP) – Arsenal turned on the style to crush 10-man Villarreal 3-0 in the Champions League quarter-final second leg on Wednesday and set up an all-English semi-final showdown against Manchester United.

After spluttering through much of the season, Arsene Wenger’s side are coming good at just the right time and their 4-1 aggregate victory was deserved reward for a ruthless performance.

Theo Walcott gave Arsenal the perfect start at the Emirates Stadium with a superb chip before Togo forward Emmanuel Adebayor struck to put the Gunners in control after half-time.

Robin van Persie’s penalty underlined Arsenal’s superiority and Sebastian Eguren’s red card for complaining about the spot-kick only compounded Villarreal’s misery.

The north Londoners will now face reigning European champions United in a mouth-watering last four clash after Sir Alex Ferguson’s side eliminated Porto.

Adebayor’s stunning bicycle kick in Spain last week had given Arsenal a priceless away goal and Wenger’s players knew a 0-0 draw would be enough to send them through.

But Wenger insisted it wasn’t in his side’s nature to approach any game negatively.

It was just as well he hadn’t planned a rearguard action as Arsenal were without an entire back-four – William Gallas, Gael Clichy and Johan Djourou were all injured while Bacary Sagna pulled out late with a virus – as well as first choice keeper Manuel Almunia.

From the first minute they lived up to Wenger’s promise to attack. Walcott surged away down the right and, after Adebayor just failed to reach his low cross, van Persie’s header looped over.

Walcott’s next contribution in the 10th minute was even more effective.

When Cesc Fabregas flicked a backheel towards the England winger, Diego Godin should have cleared, but he completely missed the ball.

Walcott took full advantage as advanced into the penalty area before lofting a sublime chip over Diego Lopez.

Arsenal were playing with such abandon that it was easy to forget they had already done enough to go through.

They were desperately close to going further ahead when van Persie’s free-kick was parried by Lopez. Adebayor headed the rebound goalwards, only for Gonzalo Rodriguez to clear off the line.

Walcott continued terrorising Villarreal’s defence with his searing pace, but neither van Persie or Adebayor could convert a pair of teasing crosses that flashed across the visitors’ defence in quick succession.

Manuel Pellegrini’s team still only needed a goal to get right back in the tie but, with influential Spain midfielder Marcos Senna injured and former Gunners winger Robert Pires lacking his old spark, they found it hard to generate any momentum.

Inspired by the imperious Fabregas, Arsenal had no intention of sitting back. They kept pressing and Adebayor delivered the knockout blow on the hour.

Fabregas won a header in midfield that fell for van Persie and the Dutch forward sliced open Villarreal’s defence with a perfect pass to Adebayor, who kept his footing to slide a fine finish into the far corner.

Adebayor and his team-mates sprinted to the corner flag for a spot of synchronised dancing, while the sight of Wenger indulging in an eccentric fist-clenched celebration of his own showed just how much this meant to the Gunners.

It wasn’t long before Wenger was on his feet again. In the 69th minute, Godin launched into a lunging tackle on Walcott, making contact with the ball just as he clattered into the winger.

Wolfgang Stark immediately awarded a penalty to the fury of Villarreal’s players, who surrounded the German referee. Stark soon lost his temper with their protests and sent off Eguren.

Van Persie wasn’t fazed by the fuss and calmly drove his penalty past Lopez to put the result beyond doubt.

With Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea in mind, Wenger was even able to take off Walcott, van Persie and Adebayor in the closing stages. It was that kind of match for the revitalised Gunners.

Tags: aggregate victory, alex ferguson, bicycle kick, CHELSEA, Clichy, diego godin, Diego Lopez, eguren, Emirates Stadium, Emmanuel, emmanuel adebayor, England, european champions, fabregas, final showdown, gael clichy, gunners, johan djourou, london, Manchester, manchester united, Manuel Almunia, manuel pellegrini, marcos senna, north Londoners, PORTO, robert pires, robin van persie, sagna, Sebastian Eguren, sir alex ferguson, Spain, theo walcott, Togo, UEFA Champions League, Van Persie, walcott, William Gallas, winger, Wolfgang Stark

Injury problems mount for Wenger

April 11, 2009

WIGAN, England (AFP) – Arsene Wenger has had no shortage of challenges to face in this turbulent season for Arsenal, but the most daunting of all is yet to come.

Greatness remains within touching distance for the Frenchman’s young squad but, to grab it, they will have to conquer not simply the best sides European football has to offer, but also an injury crisis which has struck at the most inopportune moment imaginable.

William Gallas is out for the rest of the season with a knee problem, while Manuel Almunia and Gael Clichy will be sidelined for at least the next fortnight.

The trio will be missing for a period in which Arsenal face four defining matches: they travel to Wigan in the league on Saturday, then host Villarreal in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, play Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals before a league trip to Liverpool.

Such a fixture list would furrow Wenger’s brow at the best of times, but given his current lack of resources, it has a particularly ominous look as he seeks to cement another top-four league finish and win his first piece of silverware since 2005.

The absence of Gallas could be felt most keenly of all. The French centre-half has been in sterling form since being humiliatingly stripped of the captaincy by Wenger for one public outburst too many in December, and Arsenal have no ready-made replacement.

Mikael Silvestre and Johan Djourou are the obvious candidates to step in, but neither are in Gallas’ class.

Silvestre has been bedevilled by his own fitness problems this term and, is susceptible to searing pace, while Djourou, though improving, lacks the nous that only experience can bestow.

He might have cursed his fortune in private, but Wenger was doing his best to be bullish as he revealed the extent of his selection problems for the trip to Wigan, where Arsenal will be seeking to stretch their unbeaten league run to 18 games and maintain momentum ahead of next Wednesday’s visit of Villarreal.

“It is a big blow but the squad comes in,” he said. “We are on a strong run in the league and want to keep the run going. We did that even without the injured players.

“It is super important to keep the run going. Consistency is the real sign that we have improved and at the moment we are quite consistent. Until now we have dealt well with our problems.”

Wenger has learnt the hard way never to under-estimate opponents – Arsenal have already tasted defeat at Stoke, Fulham and Manchester City this season – but the Frenchman should expect even a patched-up squad to emerge unscathed from Wigan, whose form has dipped alarmingly since mid-January.

Steve Bruce’s side have won just twice in 11 games and were crushed 4-0 by Everton in their last outing. Bruce has also had his ire stoked by his errant on-loan striker Amr Zaki, who failed to return on time from international duty with Egypt, claiming he had suffered a hamstring injury.

Bruce is planning talks with Zaki – who has already been fined two weeks’ wages for his indiscretion – but a permanent move to the JJB stadium now looks certain to be scrapped.

“We will sit down with the player and his advisors in the next 24 hours and see where we go from there,” Bruce said. “We have to listen to what he has to say but I expect him to apologise not just to his team-mates, but to the people who employ him as well.

“You cannot have one rule for one and another for the others. It’s left such a sad and bitter taste because he had such a good start with us.”