Aaron Ramsey has signed a new contract at Arsenal.

The 19-year-old has impressed both on the international stage for Wales and Arsenal ever since the club recruited him from Cardiff City in the summer of 2008.

Ramsey’s influential shows in midfield has seen him tipped as a future replacement for the unsettled Cesc Fabregas but the Welshman faced a potential dim to his bright future in the severe leg-break he suffered at the hands of Ryan Shawcross earlier this year.

Arsenal’s No. 16 has been sidelined since late February and is unlikely to return anytime soon, but the courage he has shown in his recovery process has earned him a new deal at the club.

Thus, Ramsey expressed delight at his new, improved contract.

    “I’m very happy here at Arsenal, it’s a great club and I’ve learned a lot since I’ve been here” he said.

    “Every player wants to play in a team where they can play football and I feel that this is the way it should be played, so that’s one of the reasons I signed a new contract.”

    “I think I can still develop my game a lot, and I’m in the right place to do that with the support of the manager and also a squad of very talented players. I’m convinced the next few years will be a time where my career kicks on to a new level, it’s an exciting time to be part of the Club.”

A year ago England couldn’t get enough of Theo Walcott. Not content with including him in the world cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra at senior level, he was also called up for the U-21 European Championship, against the wishes of the manager of the club that pays his wages.

Not surprisingly they sent him back broken. It was October before we saw him in an Arsenal shirt, and he scored against Blackburn. However a string of niggling injuries restricted him to just fifteen starts. Today, Theo learned the hard way that perhaps he should have taken more notice of Arsene Wenger last summer.

There are two sides to every story. I think a large number of Arsenal supporters would accept that we did not see the best of Theo Walcott this term. Denied a proper preparation and a full season he could not build on his excellent performances in 2008-2009, which of course included the hat-trick in Croatia that, more than any other result, convinced England they could reach South Africa.

So nobody could vehemently argue he warranted a starting place on merit. Clearly he does not. Seriously though, if England are two down in a critical game at the tournament, who would you want to bring on from the bench to provide a different and direct threat?

Arsenal fans know. Even in a poor season, Theo’s cameo in the home leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona contributed much to a remarkable transformation at a time when it was desperately needed.

Theo himself showed a degree of class and restraint with his philosophical acceptance of today’s decision.

Quote:

“I am very disappointed not to be included in the squad going out to South Africa, but completely respect Mr Capello’s decision. I would like to wish the team the best of luck and hope they have a really successful tournament.”

How ironic that the Football Association, who took him to the last World Cup in order to gain experience, should today have wasted the opportunity to add some validity to that futile exercise. For the second World Cup running they have subjected a young man to intense scrutiny and some scorn, and only a year after coming so close to burning him out.

Capello for Inter? Sounds good to me. I can’t get enthused by an England team managed by that man.

Arsenal are reportedly considering a move for Lyon’s impressive defensive midfielder Jean Makoun this summer as Arsene Wenger looks to bring in more experienced players to add to his youthful Emirates squad. The Gunners boss has been impressed with Alex Song’s rise to prominence but is still looking for reinforcements to help beef up his midfield.

Makoun moved to Lyon from Lille in the summer of 2008 but has seen the perennial Ligue 1 champions, who had won the domestic title seven successive times before the Cameroonian international arrived, experience something of a dip in form finishing the past two seasons in third and second respectively.

Wenger is known to be an admirer of the tigerish battler and is apparently ready to make a bid in the region of £15m for the 27 year old who will be on show at the World Cup this summer. Although of slight build and only 5ft 8in in height the Lyon man has developed a reputation as a tough customer and has also developed an eye for crucial goals and came to the attention of many with his fine finish against Real Madrid that saw the French side topple the La Liga giants in the knock out stages of the Champions League last season.

Barcelona have confirmed they have submitted a written offer to Arsenal for midfielder Cesc Fabregas and are now in "formal" discussions.
Fabregas has long been linked with a return to Barca, the club where he plied his trade as a youngster before moving to the Gunners seven years ago.
The 23-year-old is under contract with the north London outfit until June 2014 but last month expressed his desire to head back to the Nou Camp at a promotional event in the Catalan capital.
That wish could have moved a step closer to reality over the past two days.
Barca director general Joan Oliver told the club's website: "Everyone knows that Cesc wants to play for this club and everyone knows that we also want this. But there is a third major player, which is Arsenal.
"Any deal must go through them and June 1 was the beginning of the period of official negotiations.
"Until earlier there were informal conversations, but since Tuesday these are formal - and the usual mechanism is to present a formal and concrete offer.
"So on Tuesday afternoon, we submitted a written bid to Arsenal."

Arsenal Football Club has shown its ambition today.

Following Barcelona’s confirmation of an official inquiry for afbregas earlier today, the club has finally broken its state that:

Quote:

“Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is under contract with the Club until the summer of 2015.  He is a highly valued member of the team and part of our future plans. “We have followed recent speculation linking Cesc with a move away from the Club but as there has never been any official approach for him, only two informal exchanges, in which we made it abundantly clear that we have no interest in transferring Cesc, we have refrained from publicly passing comment.” “However, yesterday evening we received an offer from Barcelona for Cesc and in response, we immediately and resolutely told them once again that we have no intention of selling our captain.” “To be clear, we will not make any kind of counterproposal or enter into any discussion. Barcelona have publicly stated that they will respect our position and we expect that they will keep their word.”