It has been revealed that Maarten Stekelenburg has received no offers from bigger clubs around Europe.

The Dutch international has been linked with a number of top clubs in recent times, including Arsenal, Manchester United, AC Milan and Juventus, but his agent Rob Jansen says there has been no official interest as of yet.

“There’s nothing going on at the moment,” he told calciomercato.it.

“There hasn’t been any contact with Italian teams or with other foreign teams. With no team at all.”

Jansen also said that the 28-year old could quite easily remain with Ajax.

“Whether he prefers to move to a foreign league? I can’t confirm anything at the moment,” he added.

“There’s still the possibility that he’ll sign a contract extension with Ajax, too.”

Arsenal’s Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen could make a surprise return to the team just as the season draws to a close. The 25-year-old has had a horrid season in which he has missed most of the Gunners’ campaign due to injury. After a great first season at the club he suffered an Achilles injury while on international duty with Belgium. He was thought to only be out for a short while, but as with many other Arsenal players, weeks turned into months.

On the 26th of April Vermaelen played his first 90 minutes of football in 8 months when he took to the pitch in a reserves game against Manchester United. Now he may be able to take part in the remainder of Arsenal’s season, although there is little left to play for.

Johan Djourou suffered an ankle injury in the win against United at Old Trafford last weekend and Vermaelen may be ready to jump right in to take his place in the team. The next game for Arsenal is against Stoke on Sunday.

It seems that every season Arsenal has to contend with one or two major injuries and this season it was Van Persie and Vermaelen who were side-lined. Luckily Van Persie only missed the first part of the season but Vermaelen has only played three games this campaign where he was expected to be the rock at the back for Arsenal.

Arsenal’s Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has been benefiting from the experience of Jens Lehman on the training ground. Lehman was brought in on an emergency loan when Szczesny, Almunia and Fabianski were all out of action through injury. Although Lehman only played in one game it turns out he is contributing to Arsenal behind the scenes.

Speaking in the Arsenal Matchday Programme over the weekend Wojciech spoke of Lehman’s involvement in training. He said: “”It’s very interesting actually – after every game he talks to me in great detail. He also takes me to one side at training, or when we’re doing some stretching, and gives me a lot of advice about little aspects of my game”.

He continued: “It’s not about big things, because I haven’t made many massive mistakes, but he spots little details and uses his experience to help me. That’s really useful and I’m very grateful for it. It’s been enjoyable, and I’m looking forward to working with him more because I do learn a lot from him. He definitely has the qualities to be a very good coach – he has an ability to give out information in a very clear way, so that you can understand all his advice”.

Lehman is unlikely to play in any of Arsenal’s remaining games but Arsène Wenger will be glad that he has been able to educate the younger players with his experience off the pitch.

Aaron Ramsey is in line to start at the scene of his worst nightmare, as Cesc Fábregas, the Arsenal captain, is not expected to be fit for Sunday's Premier League visit to Stoke City.

Arsène Wenger has been assured by the medical department that Thomas Vermaelen is ready to enjoy his first action at club level since 28 August, following his well-documented achilles problem. His comeback prospects will increase if Johan Djourou fails a fitness test on an ankle.

But it is Ramsey's return to the Britannia Stadium to face Ryan Shawcross that will provide the afternoon's principal sub-plot. The 20-year-old midfielder suffered a horrific double leg fracture in a challenge with Shawcross, the Stoke captain, on 27 February last year that ruled him out for nine months.

The subject is an emotive one and it has served to shape relations between the clubs, with Arsenal believing Shawcross's tackle was reckless and emblematic of what they perceive to be Stoke's overly physical approach. Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has likened their tactics to those of a rugby team.

Unsurprisingly, his Stoke counterpart, Tony Pulis, has taken issue with this and has always said Shawcross's challenge on Ramsey was an honest attempt to win the ball and that he was beaten only by the Welshman's nimbleness.

Ramsey made his comeback on 29 November, while on loan at Nottingham Forest, and he stepped up his rehabilitation during a second loan spell in the Championship, at his former club Cardiff City, in January and February. Since his return to Arsenal, he has made five appearances, two of them as a starter in the Premier League. On the second of them he scored the only goal of Sunday's game against Manchester United.

If the result kept alive Arsenal's mathematical chances of an unlikely league triumph, it was notable for Ramsey's assured performance alongside Jack Wilshere in front of Alex Song, in a tweaked midfield formation.

Ramsey started after Fábregas had taken a kick to the thigh in the final training session on Saturday and he has not practised fully since. He is rated as a major doubt for Stoke and he has targeted next Sunday's home game against Aston Villa.

It will be the first time Ramsey has played against Shawcross and Stoke since the fateful game but not the first time that the defender has played against Arsenal. He was barracked by the Emirates crowd during his team's 1-0 defeat on 23 February.

"I got booed and abused when I went there and it didn't really affect my game," Shawcross said. "If anything, it spurred me on to play better. I'm sure I'll get more of the same this time but I'll be able to deal with it. Our fans and players love putting one over on Arsenal. There's a bit of rivalry there because of past games and the fans will be as loud as they always are when Arsenal come to the Britannia."

Djourou turned his ankle against United and was forced off in the second half but Vermaelen could be the beneficiary. The Belgium centre-half, who has trained fully in the last couple of weeks, came through 90 minutes of the reserve-team fixture against United last week. He was injured on international duty last September.

Abou Diaby, the midfielder, continues to struggle with the calf problem that he suffered at Tottenham Hotspur on 20 April.

BARCELONA will bid for Cesc Fabregas again this summer – with the Arsenal skipper looking certain to go.


The Spanish giants are ready to go up to £45m – £10m more than they offered last summer. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is facing a seemingly impossible task persuading the 23-year-old to stay.

Wenger got another year out of the midfielder last summer, after the just-elected Barca president Sandro Rosell revealed signing Fabregas was not a priority.

The Frenchman seized on the comment to persuade Fabregas to remain at The Emirates, where he has been the heartbeat of the team.

But Fabregas has had an unhappy season at Arsenal, blighted by a series of injuries – most of them hamstring problems – and enduring a sixth successive season without a trophy.

He has often cut a gloomy figure at the club’s training ground, especially after seeing what he missed out on when Barcelona outplayed the Gunners totally in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Despite this, Fabregas’ commitment to the club has not been questioned. Yesterday he was training – even though team-mates had a day off – to boost his chances of being fit to play at Stoke on Sunday.

Fabregas missed the win over Manchester United at The Emirates on Sunday after picking up a knock on his thigh in training on the eve of the game.

Despite Arsenal winning that game their season has tailed off dramatically – crashing out of the Carling Cup, Champions League, FA Cup and Premier League title chase in the space of two months.

It meant Fabregas’ medals haul for his country – he has a Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010 winner’s medal – remains better than that for his club, where he has just a gong from victory in the FA Cup Final of 2005.

Полузащитники Абу Диаби, Самир Насри и Цеск Фабрегас из-за травм пропустят воскресный выезд "Арсенала" в рамках Премьер-Лиги к "Стоуку".
Напомним, что Фабрегас не принял участие в матче прошлого тура против "Манчестер Юнайтед", повредив мышцу бедра на последней перед игрой тренировке. До сих пор не залечил икру Диаби, отсутствие которого длится с дерби против "Тоттенхэма" 20 апреля.

В отличии от двух своих партнеров Насри сыграл против "Юнайтед" на прошлой неделе, однако в этом матче французу потребовалась вынужденная замена из-за травмы подколенного сухожилия. На "Британии" его появление исключено.

Эти проблемы в средней линии практически гарантируют, что место в стартовом составе сохранит Аарон Рэмси, который и забил единственный гол в ворота "красных дьяволов". Для молодого капитана сборной Уэльса предстоящий матч будет особенным, ведь именно на "Британии" в прошлом году он получил страшнейшую травму ноги.

На пресс-конференции в пятницу главный тренер "канониров" Арсен Венгер сообщил, что небольшие болячки залечили защитники Гаэль Клиши и Йохан Джуру. Кроме того существует вероятность, что впервые с августа в стартовом составе "Арсенала" выйдет Томас Вермален.

"Диаби, Насри и Фабрегас вне игры. У Насри и Фабрегаса небольшие шансы поправиться к "Астон Вилле", но не к "Стоуку". Йохана Джуру мы обследовали вчера, и с ним все нормально. Небольшие сомнения у нас есть относительно Клиши. Его вчерашнее состояние было удовлетворительным. Они оба могут сыграть в воскресенье".

"Томас Вермален готов играть, и он будет в заявке. Очередной шанс получит Аарон Рэмси. Я бы даже сказал, что он точно сыграет", - сообщил Венгер.