The Arsenal Blog

It may surprise you that Johan Djourou made his first Arsenal appearance back in the Invincibles year of 2004! He made his professional debut against Manchester City in the League Cup in 2004 and played in the competition several times but didn’t make his Premier League debut till 2006. Almost 10 years on since his first appearance for Arsenal and he has certainly had as inconsistent a career as I have ever known.  ...........Read more

One of Arsenal’s most promising young talents, 19-year-old goalkeeper Damian Martinez, seems to think that the next step for him is a move away from the club for a season long loan spell.

The youngster is the regular reserve keeper right now but he seems to think that following in Szczesny’s footsteps will eventually help him become a better goalkeeper than the Pole is and take his place in Arsenal’s first eleven.

“Wojciech said he wasn’t ready for the first team yet so he went out on loan and learned so much there.  ...........Read more

The Arsenal midfielder Andrei Arshavin secured a last minute deal to move back to his old club Zenit on loan until the end of the (English) season, just a few hours after Arsene Wenger said that the Russia captain would not be leaving the Emirates.

Zenit drove a hard bargain when he originally moved to Arsenal and Arshavin acknowledged that it is something he is getting used to. “Friday was a difficult day,” he said. “Everything was decided at the last minute. I guess my transfers cannot be resolved any quicker!”  ...........Read more

It has just been reported by SkySports that Arsenal and Zenit have agreed a loan deal to take the little Russian Andrei Arshavin back to his homeland for the rest of the season.

Earlier in the day it was reported that the negotiations were “suspended” but it now seems that a deal has been agreed. The Sky report said: Sky Sports sources understand Arsenal and Zenit St Petersburg have agreed a loan deal for Andrey Arshavin.

The young Japanese genius Ryo Miyaichi had an excellent first loan period at Feyenoord last season, and it was the sparkling reviews from Holland which prompted Arsene Wenger to bring him back to Arsenal this season to see him first hand.

But the emergence of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain along with the arrival of Gervinho has left the youngster with very little chance of breaking into the Arsenal first-team this season, so Wenger is planning to send him out on loan to an English side in the next couple of days.  ...........Read more

Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger seems to be frustrated about the fact that several big Premiership clubs are reinforcing some smaller clubs and thus creating an advantage for themselves.

According to the manager football players over the age of 21 shouldn’t be allowed to be loaned out.

“What I would like to see in the Premier League is that you are not allowed to loan players over the age of 21.”

“At the moment it is an opportunity for some clubs to reinforce other teams, without losing ownership of the player.  ...........Read more

Don’t ask me where this rumour could have come from, but I have just read that Arsenal are going to ask the Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp if they can have the wantaway defender Sebastien Bassong on loan until the end of the season.

The 25 year-old Frenchman was very impressive for Newcastle when he first arrived in the UK and Tottenham snapped him up in 2009 where he was a regular for the first two seasons until he seemed to fall out of favour with Harry Redknapp last season and has languished on the bench for some time.  ...........Read more

I have just read that the Bolton manager Owen Coyle is trying to sign Thierry Henry’s team mate Tim Ream on a loan deal right now. Ream is a defender with New York Red Bulls and one of the best in America, in fact he won the prize for Rookie of the Year in the season just finished.

The 24 year-old has been watched many times by Arsenal scouts and we reportedly even made an offer for him last summer, and even Owen Coyle admitted that he is keen for him to cover for Gary Cahill after Arsenal had first choice.  ...........Read more

After only a short period of time at Arsenal, club legend Thierry Henry doesn’t want to leave anymore and he already eyed the clash with Tottenham and wants to participate in the event which will occur at the end of February, after the date when he should report back to MLS side NY Red Bulls.

“It would be a dream to be part of a team playing against Tottenham. It all depends on what the boss decides on how long I am going to stay.

“Don’t forget I am very much a New York player and being captain I have some duties to respect.  ...........Read more

The rumours that Arsenal would not be able to come to an agreement with the New York Red Bulls in time for Thierry Henry to join the squad for the FA Cup match against Leeds on Monday have proved to be wide of the mark, and the Gunners have officially confirmed that the contract is now in place.

Arsène Wenger said on the official Arsenal site: “I am very happy. It was my desire and Thierry’s desire. We will have Thierry for January and in February. Then he will go back to the United States.  ...........Read more