Thierry Henry is Captain Team of Arsenal Football Club

Name; Thierry Henry
Born; August 17, 1977, in Paris, France
Position; Striker
Squad Number; 14
Previous Club(s); Juventus
Joined Arsenal August 03, 1999

"This is my last contract. It is where I belong." Those words, uttered by Thierry Henry as he committed his future to Arsenal in May, were music to the ears of anyone associated with the Club.

Quite simply, Thierry is one of football's most electrifying talents. The French striker's skill, pace, eye for goal and selfless team play would improve any side on the planet but he is happy to remain the jewel in Arsenal's crown.

Last season brought another deluge of goals and some notable individual achievements. Henry succeeded Patrick Vieira as captain and grew into the role, ultimately leading Arsenal out in Paris for their first-ever Champions League Final. He eclipsed Ian Wright's Club scoring record last October and broke the 200-mark at Birmingham in February, a little over three years after completing his first Arsenal century at the same ground.

The Arsenal.com Player of the Season didn't do badly at international level either. He scored three times as France advanced to the World Cup Final in Germany and is likely to be his country's talisman for a few years to come in the wake of Zinedine Zidane's retirement.

According to Arsène Wenger, Thierry is approaching his peak. The good news is that he will enjoy those golden years at Emirates Stadium.

[Source from; arsenal.com]

Wenger - We must find the mental strength to be clinical

"We lost and that is difficult to swallow. But there are a lot of positives in the game for us. We are not completely fit yet to finish what we create and we lack a little bit of experience in the back. There is a lot of disappointment in the dressing room because we want to do well and have a great spirit but I hope this will not affect our belief and our confidence. We will quickly start to win these sorts of games but we are not quite ready physically at the moment."

on the fitness of his side
"After the World Cup we knew we could suffer at the start of the season, especially with the Champions League qualifier. We have had a disappointing start also there was a lot of hope in the way that we play and we approach the game. We have to push that through and be strong enough mentally to continue with the way that we play and be clinical."

on not creating chances despite so much possession
"Yes we lack that a little bit at the moment. When you are as not as sharp as you should be that is where you see it the most. You could say that we overelaborated a little bit. Sometimes we could take our chances earlier and quicker. That was the case against Villa and Zagreb. It happens when you do not score early. But we know we have the quality to score goals."

on losing ground on the leaders
"It is very early. If you want to nominate a champion after three games then it is up to you but we have only played two. We will come back into the race don’t worry."

on the Ashley Cole situation
"This situation does not affect our preparation and our spirit. At a big club you have to be strong enough to cope with that. If it happens then it happens, it does not excuse our result today. It is not annoying. When a player wants to go, he wants to go. When we decide to let him go then we decide to let him go. We will have to live with that decision."

on City targetting Hoyte
"They went for long balls to Corradi and Sinclair. They targeted him but overall Justin had a good game. He had two misjudgements on long balls but he had quite a good game."

on the penalty decision
"I feel it was a penalty, I cannot argue with that. Just before that it was a foul on Fabregas I don’t think you can argue with that. Also there was a penalty on Robin van Persie. I have seen it on the tape and it is difficult to argue with that too."

[Source from; arsenal.com]

Arsenal 2-1 D Zagreb (agg 5-1)

Arsenal Football Club resisted the challenge of Dinamo Zagreb Football Club to book their place in the Champions League group stages.

The visitors went ahead when Eduardo reduced Dinamo's deficit to 3-1 when he fired in after Kolo Toure's attempted clearance fell into his path.

Robin van Persie almost ended Dinamo's feint hopes only to see a shot steered on to the woodwork and to safety.

But Freddie Ljungberg's late header and Mathieu Flamini's tap-in saw Arsenal to victory and a place in Thursday's draw.

There was an air of co-ordinated adventure about Dinamo's play early on as they looked to engineer an unlikely comeback in the second leg of the third round qualifier.

And the Croatian side were rewarded with an early goal to give them hope.

Eduardo thrust in from the left and played the ball wide to Etto before continuing his run into the Arsenal box.

Etto slipped the ball back to his fellow Brazilian and, after Toure could only steer his clearance into the run of Eduardo, the Dinamo striker pounced to slot in an angled shot.

Arsenal heeded the warning and exerted some pressure to go along with their superior possession and they were only denied by the frame of the goal.

Dinamo keeper Ivan Turina missed a Cesc Fabregas cross and Dutch forward Van Persie seemed set to score.

But his shot was blocked by the outstretched leg of Mario Cvitanovic before the ball cannoned off the underside of the bar and to safety.

The influential Van Persie then produced a sublime piece of skill and had an acute-angled strike saved.

Ljungberg had an excellent chance after Adebayor's knockdown but placed his effort too close to the legs of grateful keeper Turina.

But Dinamo remained a threat and Luca Modric went close with a shot across goal and a deflected Etto strike just before half-time.

Arsenal striker Emanuel Adebayor should have put the home side beyond reach after 53 minutes but blazed high from 12 yards.

The game started to open up as the Croatian side became stretched in their attempts to score again and send a ripple of anxiety around the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal could not take advantage of the extra space in attack and manager Arsene Wenger introduced star striker Thierry Henry.

Henry's arrival gave his side more of a threat up front and Ljungberg headed in a Van Persie cross to mark his first game as captain with a goal.

Theo Walcott then set up his second goal in as many games as he crossed for Flamini to give the Gunners a win in their first European game at their new stadium.

[Source from; bbc.news.co.uk]

Wenger: Real Must Pay For Reyes, Gallas Must Take Pay Cut

LONDON: Manager Arsene Wenger was adamant that Spanish striker Jose Antonio Reyes will stay at Arsenal Football Club unless Real Madrid offer the right price for the football player.

As for Chelsea's William Gallas, the French defender is welcome at Stamford Bridge – provided he accepta a pay cut.

Gallas has been frozen out by Blues boss Jose Mourinho after rejoining the squad late for pre-season training and publicly voicing his desire to leave.

And Arsenal's England left-back Ashley Cole is in exactly the same position. His protracted transfer negotiations with English Soccer Premiership champions Chelsea have become increasingly strained.

Now it seems the two London clubs are set for a hectic spell of negotiations over the two ostracised football players before the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month.

“I like the fact he (Gallas) is a good defender. He can play right-back, left-back, centre-back,” Wenger said.

“We want the player because we made an offer for him. That is clear.”

However, the Arsenal manager stressed: “We have not spoken to the player yet. You need to agree personal terms. We have a salary cap here and he comes from a club with no salary cap.

“I do not know if it is possible to agree personal terms and agree with Chelsea.

“If he comes here, frankly, he will have to come for less money.

“We can make one exception (captain Thierry Henry) – but we cannot make five or six.”

“As you know there is always a lot happening in the last few days - but he is a player we have a chance to get.

“He wants to leave Chelsea, Ashley Cole wants to leave us.”

Wenger insisted there was no deal on the table from Real for Reyes.

“There is no deal with Madrid, I can assure you,” the Frenchman said.

“His agent flies 2,000 feet in the air - but he must come down to earth again.

“If you want to buy a player, you go in, 'I want this football player, I have so much money', if you like it, you take it or not ... but if you say 'I like a player, but sorry I have no money' - stay at home.”

Reyes has publicly said he would like to join the Spanish giants and Real are reported to have offered £8.5mil for the 22-year-old. But the figure falls way below Arsenal's valuation of the player.

[Source from; thestar.com.my]

Head to Head - Cesc Fabregas v Steven Davis

Arsenal v Aston Villa

Barclays Premiership

Emirates Stadium

Sat, Aug 19, 2006, 3pm

Two of the brightest young midfield talents in the Premiership Soccer go head to head when Emirates Stadium hosts its inaugural Premiership encounter on Saturday.

Cesc Fabregas, 19, lit up this summer’s World Cup with a series of mature displays for Spain and began the new campaign in style last week, scoring twice as Arsenal Football Club beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 in their Champions League qualifier.

Aston Villa’s Steven Davis, meanwhile, has declared himself fit for what will be Martin O’Neill’s first competitive game in charge of Villa.

Both players made 35 league appearances for their clubs last season although the Villa man clocked up over 300 more minutes than his Arsenal counterpart. Despite the shortfall in playing time, Fabregas [5] created four more goals for his team-mates than Davis [1].

But the 21-year-old Davis did manage one more goal - contributing a quartet of strikes to the Villa cause.

The end-of-season statistics for the 2005/06 campaign also indicate that Davis was marginally the better tackler last season, achieving a success rate of 67 per cent compared with the Spaniard’s 65 per cent.

But Fabregas leaves Davis in his wake in most other departments according to the stats. The Spaniard had a shot accuracy of 71 per cent compared to Davis’ 52 per cent and made more passes, [207] in less time, with a higher success rate [54] than the Villa man [196 and 51 per cent respectively].

Fabregas also comes out on top in the dribbling stakes with a success rate of 49 per cent compared to Davis’ 38 per cent. The Arsenal teenager did however pick up five bookings in the league last term while Davis avoided seeing yellow all campaign long.

[Source from; www.arsenal.com]

Francesc Fabregas is the Best Midfielder of Arsenal Team

Name; Francesc Fabregas
Born; May 04, 1987, Vilessoc de Mar, Casal de Curacion, Spain
Position; Midfielder
Squad Number; 4
Previous Club(s); Barcelona
Joined Arsenal; September 11, 2003
Arsenal Debut; Rotherham United (h), Carling Cup 3rd Round, October 28, 2003, Drew 1-1. Won on pens

Cesc has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past two seasons and is now one of Arsenal's greatest assets - at the tender age of 19.

After a promising breakthrough season at Highbury, Cesc Fabregas stepped into the void left by Patrick Vieira's departure last summer and was a revelation in the centre of midfield. Technically excellent, Cesc rarely wastes a pass and dictates the pace and rhythm of Arsenal's attacks as he probes for openings and picks out the runs of Thierry Henry and company.

Cesc is not just a creator though. He scored five times last season, including the goal which broke the deadlock on the night Juventus were humbled at Highbury and the young Catalan eclipsed his former team-mate, Vieira.

The teenager was rewarded for his outstanding displays with a call-up to the Spanish national side. He kept his place for the World Cup and emerged with his reputation enhanced after coming off the bench to inspire a comeback victory against Tunisia in the group stage.

Fabregas became the Club's youngest football player and youngest goalscorer shortly after joining the Gunners in 2004. On the evidence of last season, Arsenal's 'Fab 4' will be an influential figure at Emirates Stadium for years to come.

[Source from; www.arsenal.com]

Player of Arsenal Football Club 2006-2007

Arsenal Football Culb have the best football player in Premier League Football Club (The Best England Football Club)

STRIKER

THIERRY HENRY(14), JOSE REYES(9), ROBIN VAN PERSIE(11), EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR(25), JEREMIE ALIADIERE(30), THEO WALCOTT(32)

MIDFIELDER

FREDRIK LJUNGBERG(8), GILBERTO (19), CESC FABREGAS(4), TOMAS ROSICKY(7), ALEXANDER HLEB(13), MATHIEU FLAMINI(16), ALEXANDRE SONG(17), VASIRIKI ABOU DIABY(2)

DEFENDER

ASHLEY COLE(3), KOLO TOURE(5), LAUREN(12), GAEL CLICHY(22), PHILIPPE SENDEROS(6), PASCAL CYGAN(18), JUSTIN HOYTE(31), EMMANUEL EBOUE(27), JOHAN DJOUROU(20)

GOALKEEPER

JENS LEHMANN(1), MANUEL ALMUNIA(24), MART POOM(21)

The Best Superstar of Arsenal Football Club - Henry

Arsenal captain Thierry Henry signed a new four-year contract on Friday, pledging his future to the north London club just two days after they lost the Champions League final to Barcelona.
"At one point the thought (of leaving) crossed my mind. My heart told me to stay," the 28-year-old France international, who had been linked with a move to the Spanish champions, told a news conference.

One of the most coveted strikers in the world, Henry has kept Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and fans on tenterhooks for months by postponing his decision until after the season's end. "The club, the fans - I couldn't let them down. The love that the fans showed me was more than amazing," he said.

The best striker in the world, according to Wenger, Henry joined Arsenal from Juventus in 1999. He is Arsenal's all-time leading scorer and has been the Premier League's top scorer in four of the past five seasons. Last season he scored 27 league goals to ensure Arsenal play in the Champions League next season by finishing fourth.
He will now also lead the club out at their new 60,000-capacity Emirates Stadium after they ended a 93-year association with Highbury. The brave Arsenal performance in Wednesday's 2-1 defeat by Barcelona in Paris, when they played most of the match with 10 men after goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off, was instrumental in helping make up Henry's mind.

"I wanted to get into the Champions League final. Once that was done I was pretty quick to make up my mind," said Henry, who has an English wife. "There is a lot of potential here."
Team's Heart "My team showed me I didn't have to leave. They showed me they had heart," he told Friday's edition of The Sun newspaper.

"Everything was up in the air for a very long time. But at the end of the day, the team raised their game.
"Don't get me wrong, I love Barcelona. But on Wednesday night, Arsenal showed me they had heart.
"After we lost on Wednesday, I went over to our fans and clapped them and they clapped me."
Wenger, who coached Henry at his first club, Monaco, made him captain after Patrick Vieira left for Juventus in the 2005 close season.

"I cannot think of a single player in the Premiership who is more exhilarating, dynamic and exciting to watch than him," Wenger said last week.
"He is a wonderful athlete who not only decides crucial games with outstanding individual skill, he is also paramount to team play ... at times, I believe he is close to being the perfect footballer."

Henry was named the English Football Writers' player of the year last month, the only man to claim the award three times. Arsenal have won two league titles and three FA Cups with Henry.
[Source from : xtramsn.co.nz]