Fabregas: I will stay at Arsenal

Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas rubbished rumors of a move away from Ashburton Grove despite having visited Barcelona last Wednesday.

The player, who started his career at the Barcelona youth academy, has been heavily linked with a move back to the Camp Nou. He was rested for Arsenal's 0-0 draw with Slavia Prague, but surprised many by spending his break with Alex Hleb in Barcelona, watching the Spanish giants defeat Rangers, courtesy of a goal from former Arsenal talisman Thierry Henry.

Arsene Wenger was the first person to play down the Barcelona link, completely dismissing the reports.

"This is no story," he said. "Fabregas is under contract with us. If Barcelona want to buy any player under contract then I’ll give them my phone number. But I think they have it because they just bought Thierry Henry."

When asked if he would consider an offer, the reply was simple: "No chance."

But there's only so much a coach can do to keep a player at a club, and Cesc Fabregas had always said that he would move back to Spain at some point in his career. For the first time though, he has now stated that he would consider spending the rest of his career with Arsenal.

"When I first came to England I always thought I would return to Spain one day," he said.

"But the truth is that the longer I'm here, the more I like it. I love the city, the club, the people. Every day I get to know more people, I feel closer to the fans and to the team.

"To tell the truth, I feel I will stay here for a long time, even for my whole career.

"I don't know which league is better as I haven't had the opportunity to play in Spain.

"But I feel closer to the Premier League because it's very passionate, fast, direct and vibrant and it's the football that I like. Sometimes I watch Spanish league games and they don't do anything for me."

This is great news for an Arsenal side that has already lost Thierry Henry and Freddy Ljungberg. Fabregas has scored 11 goals this season, and at only 20 years of age, he still has time on his side.

Imagine, if he's already this good now, how amazing he'll be when he peaks at 27 or 28... let's just hope he'll still be at Arsenal in that time.

Juventus want Gallas and Gilberto

Juventus director Alessio Secco has added William Gallas to his already long wishlist of London-based players. Juventus were already reportedly interested in Arsenal's out-of-favor defensive midfielder Gilberto Silva, as well as Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard from cross-town rivals, Chelsea.

The Brazilian captain, at 31 and the French defender, at 30, are the two oldest outfield players in Arsene Wenger's squad. Gilberto is also the longest serving player at Arsenal, having joined the club from Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro for £4.5 million in 2002.

Gilberto's experience is valuable to a side which features a spine of young players including Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy, and Mathieu Flamini - Gilberto's replacement. However, the defensive midfielder will find it difficult to stay at Arsenal if he doesn't reclaim his starting berth soon. While he will want to stay at least long enough to win another Premiership title with Arsenal this year, he may be forced away from the club by up-and-coming playerss like Mathieu Flamini and Summer-signing Lassana Diarra. Unfortunately, I can definitely see this transfer materializing, maybe even as soon as this January.

William Gallas, on the other hand, is Arsenal's first choice partner to Kolo Toure at center-back, and with only Philippe Senderos and a host of midfielders competing for the spot, it doesn't look likely that he will soon lose his spot. However, while the French defender has stated that he is happy at the club, he has also made it clear that he will not stay for another season without silverware. While Arsenal are strong title-contenders (topping the league with a game in hand against our nearest rivals) nothing is certain in football, and I do believe the Frenchman would seek a way out if we fail to win anything this season.

Gallas must also be wondering how long he can last under Arsene Wenger. The Arsenal boss shows a clear affinity for young players, and has an inflexible policy of offering only one-year contracts to players over 30 years old. With legends such as Freddy Ljunbgerg, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, and Robert Pires being allowed to leave the Arsenal captain must be afraid that he will be the next to go, despite the fact that he was signed from Chelsea just last season.

I can't see Gallas' transfer happening any time before the Summer at the earliest, and if he is happy at the club, I would be happy to see him stay for a few more seasons (providing he is able to stay fit).

West Ham vs. Arsenal: Match Review

Match Preview

Arsenal remained at the top of the table today as they beat West Ham thanks to a 13th minute header from Robin van Persie. Manchester United have yet to play, but even if they win Arsenal will be 2 points ahead with a game in hand. Currently, our closest rivals are Manchester City who 3 points behind, having played one more game.

Arsene Wenger's gunners finally broke their bad spell against West Ham, making it 8 straight wins in all competitions. However, this win was not nearly as convincing as the 5-0 drubbing of Derby or the 3-0 victory over Sevilla.

Lineups:
West Ham: Robert Green; Anton Ferdinand, George McCartney, Lucas Neil, Matthew Upson; Lee Bowyer, Freddy Ljungberg, Mark Noble, Scott Parker; Henri Camara, Dean Ashton

Arsenal: Manuel Almunia; Bacary Sagna, Kolo Toure, Philippe Senderos, Gael Clichy; Abou Diaby, Mathieu Flamini, Cesc Fabregas, Alex Hleb; Emmanuel Adebayor, Robin van Persie

Arsenal came out of the gates galloping, and Emmanuel Adebayor missed narrowly wide in the first minute after a cross from Abou Diaby.

Dean Ashton had West Ham's first chance not too much later as he shot just over Almunia's crossbar in what was to be a frustrating night for the in-form striker.

Robin van Persie scored the first goal for Wenger's young guns in the 13th minute, heading the ball in after a spot-on cross from late inclusion Alex Hleb.

Ashton then thought he had a second chance, but was flagged for a dubious offside call. There weren't too many complaints though, as Manuel Almunia (who looked secure in goal throughout the game) came out to block his shot.

In the 31st minute, Alex Hleb was taken off after a rash tackle from Mark Noble saw him injured. Wenger had an able replacement for the right wing in Emmanuel Eboue, but it would be disappointing if Hleb were to be sidelined for an extended period of time.

The game's pace started to slow as the end of the first half approached, and despite 5 minutes of added time, nobody else could find the net.

The second half started as the first had - with frenetic pace. Dean Ashton once again missed two great chances to put West Ham ahead in a half full of near misses.

In the 57th minute, Ashton looked sure to score following a cross from Lee Bowyer. However, his weak header fell straight into the hands of Manuel Almunia, rather than in the back of the net.

Then, in the 84th minute, Ashton once again latched onto a cross (this time from a corner) only to see his headed cleared in front of goal by the left foot of Robin van Persie.

Arsenal missed their fair share of chances as well though, as Adebayor failed to round Robert Green in a 1 on 1, and Mathieu Flamini saw a few long distance strikes parried away by the West Ham 'keeper.

Regardless of the missed chances, Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal board will be happy with the win and the extended period at the top of the table. With a midweek Champions League match against Steaua Bucharest coming up, it also looks as though Arsenal's winning streak will be extended to 9. A great result for any Arsenal fan...

West Ham vs. Arsenal: Match Preview

Arsenal are set to play an exciting match on Saturday as they take on West Ham, the only team ever to beat Arsenal at the Emirates. West Ham are something of a bogey team for the Gunners, having won their last 4 Premiership meetings, and Arsenal will not be happy if they lose to recently departed Freddy Ljungberb. However, Arsene Wenger's boys will be heavy favorites to win this match, especially considering form that sees them undefeated in 17 games (since the loss to West Ham last season). Both teams have been performing well recently though, as Arsenal are in first, and West Ham not too far behind in seventh.

Arsene Wenger has told Arsenal.com that Alex Hleb may or may not be ready in time for Saturday. In other injury news, Emmanuel Eboue returned from injury against Newcastle, but probably won't feature on Saturday, as he is not match fit. Alex Song has also been added to the injury list, although he probably wouldn't have featured anyway. The other injured players are all still out, although Wenger did put something of a time frame on their returns.

Edit: Hleb is now fit but Eduardo is injured and Theo Walcott is set to be rested

“William Gallas is maybe a week or 10 days away,” said Wenger. “But I would not like to set a time on it really. As for Rosicky you can probably fix the date for Sunderland [next Sunday]. Jens Lehmann will be another week.”

Arsenal come off of the 5-0 defeat of Derby County last weekend and a 2-0 win over Newcastle in the Carling Cup on Tuesday. They will therefore be high in confidence - especially Emmanuel Adebayor and Cesc Fabregas, who have each scored 6 goals this season. Fabregas has scored a goal in each of his last 4 Premier League games and Adebayor recorded a hat-trick in the win over Derby.

Other starters will most likely include Bacary Sagna, Philippe Senderos, Kolo Toure, and Gael Clichy in the back line. It will be interesting to see who Wenger opts to play in the midfield, although Fabregas, Gilberto, Flamini, and Diaby are the most likely candidates if Hleb doesn't manage to return in time. Up front Arsene will most likely start Adebayor and van Persie, although Eduardo and Theo Walcott are also possibilities. Maybe we'll even see Nicklas Bendtner come off the bench.

Whoever we start, we should certainly be playing for a win, even against a bogey team. Craig Bellamy and Dean Ashton have been on decent form for the Hammers this season, but our defense shouldn't have too much trouble handling them if there are no errors from Senderos. We should get another clean sheet, and I expect a few goals from our side as well. I don't want to be too optimistic by predicting 3-0, so I'll go ahead and say that we should win 2-0, to stay at the top of the table.

Match Review

Arsenal Transfer Window Summary

Recent interviews with Arsene Wenger and Gilberto Silva have heard both say that Arsenal don't need to spend big to be competitive in the Premier League and it was this philosophy which Arsene Wenger followed in signing new players this season, despite the fact that the powers that be at Arsenal have been constantly telling the fans that we have copious amounts of transfer money available.

Here are the transfers to and from Arsenal this summer (all transfer prices are what's listed on wikipedia):

IN - All Undisclosed
Bacary Sagna
Eduardo da Silva
Lassana Diarra
Havard Nordtveit
Lukasz Fabianski

OUT
Fabrice Muamba - £4 million
Mart Poom - Undisclosed
Thierry Henry - £16.1 million
Jeremie Aliadiere - £2 million
Arturo Lupoli - Free
Freddy Ljungberg - £3 million
Jose Antonio Reyes - Undisclosed

Its clear that we've made a profit on transfers during this transfer season - we are the only big 4 club to have done so, and yet we are 2nd in the league (behind Liverpool on goal differential) after playing a game less than Chelsea and Manchester United. Does this mean that we can indeed keep our Champions League place, or even challenge for the title? Only time will tell, but we're well on our way.