Arsenal centre-back Thomas Vermaelen has admitted that he will fight for his place should manager Arsene Wenger bring in another defender but also suggests that competition for places will bring the best out of him.

Vermaelen missed most of last season through injury with many suggesting the Emirates side would have done better than fourth had he remained fit.

“The club being linked with other players is a thing you have to deal with when you play for a big club. It’s always like that. If you know there’s somebody behind you and chasing you, then the best comes out in you. If you’re a good player you have to handle this pressure. Otherwise you don’t belong at this club.”

The Arsenal defender also claimed that Arsenal came very close to winning silverware last season and that their style of play will win them something.

“Last year, we came so close. Four or five weeks before the end, we were still fighting for the title. It was so close. It’s difficult. But I believe in this team, in how we play. I think that’s the way to play football. I believe in this. The way we play, we can win things. We’re really close. In football, you have the small details that make a difference and sometimes you don’t win. Maybe this year we will.”

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has criticised the actions of Manchester City chief Roberto Mancini following his pursuit of Samir Nasri.

The Gunners boss has been angered by his City counterpart's admission that he is hopeful of signing the French playmaker in the next fortnight.
Arsenal are desperate to retain Nasri's services in the light of interest from City and Manchester United even though he is in the last year of his contract and could leave on a free next summer.
Wenger selected Nasri for the draw with Hangzhou Greentown and afterwards told Sky Sports: "These comments are not allowed, it is against the basic rules of football and Roberto Mancini should be informed.
"I don't spend my time on what other people say. We are focused on playing our football.
"What we want is respect. We will not comment on any players at other clubs. It is time football in England came back to these basic rules."

Theo Walcott has made it clear that he would like to be used as a striker at Arsenal.

Walcott had opportunities as a centre-forward earlier in his career with Southampton, before joining the Gunners in January 2006.

Arsene Wenger felt that his abilities were better suited to a wide role and Walcott has spent the past few years as a winger.

However, the 22-year-old regards himself as a natural striker and believes he is now ready to make an impact in a more central position at the Emirates Stadium.

"I was signed as a striker - I want to play up front. I think I have done my trade out on the wing," said Walcott.

"I think a lot of people forget I'm not a winger. I see myself as a striker, but if I get played up front it will take me a few games to get used to playing there again because I haven't played there for about five years.

"I think I have done a fairly good job on the wing for Arsenal. For this team I will play anywhere, but hopefully the fans will start seeing me up front a bit more."

Thierry Henry was transformed from a winger to a striker during his time at Arsenal and Walcott hopes to take a similar path after showing signs last season that he had become more clinical in front of goal.

Walcott feels fully fit and has set his sights on the 20-goal mark this term as he strives to help Arsenal bounce back from a 2010/11 campaign that promised much before ending in disappointment.

He said: "I've been practicing my finishing after training. This season, 15-20 is my target.

"I know I'm not going to play every single game. I always work at a high intensity so I'm not going to be able to do every single game.

"The boss will know that as well. Hopefully I will be given a bit more of a free role as well. I'm intrigued to see what happens."

Walcott added: "I'm upbeat about the new season. "It will be interesting to see which players come in and what I get out of the pre-season matches, not just me but the whole squad: How we play together, if the boss is going to change anything- the formation or anything like that."

Лондонский "Арсенал" сделал предложение бельгийскому "Андерлехту" о приобретении нападающего Ромело Лукаку, сообщает The Sun.

Руководство "канониров" готово выложить за 18-летнего бельгийца 14 миллионов фунтов стерлингов. Контракт форварда с нынешним клубом действует до лета 2015 года. Напомним, что в настоящее время Лукаку ведёт переговоры с другим лондонским клубом — "Челси".

В минувшем сезоне Лукаку провёл за "Андерлехт" 50 матчей, в которых забил 20 мячей и отдал семь голевых передач.

Главный тренер лондонского "Арсенала" Арсен Венгер не скрывал своей ярости в связи со сделанным ранее сегодня заявлением Роберто Манчини, который выразил надежду, что сумеет до конца месяца заручиться услугами французского полузащитника лондонского клуба Самира Насри.

Напомним, что Манчини подтвердил интерес "Манчестер Сити" к нападающему мадридского "Атлетико" и сборной Аргентины Серхио Агуэро, предположив, что тот способен заменить Карлоса Тевеса в линии атаки "Горожан", а также к Самиру Насри, контракт которого на "Эмирейтс" истекает через год и которого "Арсенал" отчаянно хочет удержать.

И если реакция клуба на слова Манчини пока неизвестна, то Арсен Венгер уже высказал своё недовольство.

"Подобные комментарии не разрешены, - сказал французский специалист после сегодняшнего матча его команды с китайским "Гуанчжоу". - Они противоречат основным правилам футбола, и Роберто Манчини должен об этом знать".

"Мы хотим уважения и не делаем комментариев об игроках других клубов. Настало время, когда футбол в Англии должен вернуться к основополагающим правилам".

На вопрос о том, считает ли он, что Манчини проявил неуважение к нему лично и "Арсеналу" в целом, Венгер ответил:

"Я не мог сказать ничего другого. Подобные комментарии совершенно неприемлемы".

Arsenal ‘In Bid to Keep Fabregas’ – Report

Arsenal will lodge a last-minute bid to keep Cesc Fabregas at the Emirates, according to the Sunday People. The paper suggests the want-away midfielder will be offered £7 million a year – £140,000 a week – in a deal that will keep him at the Emirates until 2017 but that he will still turn it down in order to move back to Barcelona. Fabregas currently earns around £115,000 a week.

The offer on the table to Fabregas from Barca is said by the paper to be £2.5 million a year, although sources in Spain say it is more like £4.25 million a year. Whichever figure, it is less than Fabregas currently earns at the Emirates and much less than the amount supposedly on offer from the Gunners. But Fabregas has made his mind up to leave the Emirates and is more than happy to take a pay cut to move back to Barcelona and have the opportunities to win trophies.

The Spaniard will meet Arsene Wenger tomorrow in an attempt to resolve his transfer impasse. Both men are due at Arsenal’s London Colney training centre tomorrow but reports from Spain suggest that Fabregas will continue to do light training in the club’s gym alongside his personal trainer and does not expect to travel to Germany later this week for a friendly game with Cologne on Saturday.

The relationship between the two men is said to be tense in the light of Fabregas’s ongoing transfer saga and he fears that the end result may be the same as last year with no transfer and another season at the Emirates. Some sections of the Spanish press are reporting that Fabregas may be forced to put in a transfer request to force the issue.

There is no news regarding negotiations. Barcelona are quite happy to drag their feet and bide their time. The deal transferring Alexis Sanchez from Udinese is currently the priority for club president Sandro Rosell but the Chilean is currently taking part in the Copa America in Argentina where his side take on the unfancied Venezuela in tonight’s quarter-final. Movement on the Sanchez deal is unlikely to happen before the middle of this week at the earliest – perhaps later if Chile get to next weekend’s final – and that means that there could be little or no progress on the Fabregas deal in the meantime.

Barcelona have bid around £30 million and may go as high as £34 million, though that includes £1 million for youngsters Jon Torval and Hector Bellerin who recently moved from Barcelona to Arsenal. Arsenal are holding out for £40 million.

Rosell is determined to drive a hard bargain on his transfers as he operates on a budget that gives him little room for manoeuvre. The club have 43 million euros to spend following the 2 million euro arrival of Kiko Femenia from Hercules and Rosell has to extract as much value as he can from the Sanchez and Fabregas deals while preparing to part with some of his peripheral squad members.

The Sanchez deal reached an impasse this week with Barcelona and Udinese as little as 1 million euro apart in their valuations but with no resolution in sight.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Eboue is being offered the chance to move to Turkish side Galataseray.

Eboue was left out of the Gunners’ Far East tour and is expected to open negotiations with the Turkish giants that could see him end his six-year career at the Emirates.