Arsenal can now move forward after their star striker, Robin Van Persie, signed a new contract with the club. There had been rumours that Van Persie was on his way out of Arsenal after he was said to be frustrated by the reluctance of Arsene Wenger to play him on a more regular basis.

Van Persie has reportedly signed a deal that could keep him at Arsenal until he is well into his 30s and he is now set to get a pay rise to the level of somewhere around £80,000 a week. This is good and positive news for Arsenal because it means they are keeping one of the club’s best players.

A lot has been said since the close of last season that Arsenal needed to make good a massive gulf in class between themselves and the best clubs in Europe. The only way they were going to do this is by firstly trying to get their best players to sign on at the club and commit their future to the cause.

Arsenal fans will be hoping that other players will follow suit but it is unlikely that Emanuel Adebayor will be sticking around for much longer if a bid from AC Milan does actually make the table. He has made no secret of his desire to stay at the North London club, unlike Van Persie, and will be hoping that a repeat of last year does not happen where he was forced to stay at Arsenal as a deal could not be concluded in time.

Van Persie said: “I have been at the club for five years now and there is a really great feeling at Arsenal. We have a top class manager, a squad full of superb young players and brilliant supporters.”

Van Persie joins Arsenal’s captain, Cesc Fabregas, in stating his intent on remaining at the club and trying to help them get back to an era when they were by far and away the best football side in Europe. Many Arsenal fans will still look back on the era when they were possibly the most feared side in the world and the news of Van Persie’s commitment means that are one step closer to re-achieving this.

What Arsenal now need to do is not conform to what they always do each season in the transfer window, sit on their heels. They have some very good players in the squad and the addition of Andrey Arshavin last January was a superb and clever signing. Arsenal need some big and high calibre players to come into the team.

It has been all too obvious in recent matches that they are missing players that can boss and dominate the midfield, allowing the more creative influences to bomb forward and wreak havoc in the opposition defence. No doubt Wenger probably has a long list of player targets that he is working on but he has to realise that his philosophy of blooding youth in the Premier League needs to be tampered with and helped along because at the moment it is not working.

The other danger for Arsenal is that if they do not act and act quickly then they stand to lose ground to a lot of other sides in the league next season. Manchester City are making huge strides under the leadership of Mark Hughes as they continue to assemble a hugely impressive squad, which on paper looks like it could push for a Champions League spot. This is all not to mention the number of talented managers there are in the Premier League, all trying to break into the top six. For example David Moyes at Everton and Martin O’Neill at Aston Villa will be doing every thing they can to try and take ground away from Arsenal.

So the question is, how long will it be until Wenger gets going and starts bringing in some players that the club has needed for a long time? The answer is unknown but it is something that he is going to have to do soon or Arsenal risk having their worst season in the Premier League since it began, next year.

Arsenal have a lot of young and hungry players that are all very grateful to be at the club they are. However, the point is that this will only take the club forwards to a set point and sooner or later they will be found out on a weekly basis. The news of Van Persie’s commitment should be a sign to the manager and the entire club that Arsenal need to act and show that they mean business.

On their day they are still the best football side to watch in Europe as the passing and play links up perfectly, but the point is that these days are not consistent enough to have any impact on a big competition. Until the right players are brought in, Arsenal will have no chance of making a good go of success. There are too many clubs at the moment better positioned than they are and if they have not realised this yet then there are some very naïve people running the football club.

There has never been a better time for Arsenal to lay out one or two markers of intent and they need to stop trying to buy players when they are in their teens and turning them into the next Thierry Henry, it is not going to happen. The time has come for Arsenal to get out the chequebook and sign three or four high calibre and experienced players.

If they do this then they stand a chance of actually hanging onto their top four place next season but if they do not and Wenger continues with his current vision, which clearly is not working, then Arsenal will slowly slip down the Premier League table and eradicate any immediate chance of knowing what it tastes like to lift a trophy again. It is a sad scenario but it is one that will happen.

Arsenal front man, Robin Van Persie, is awaiting refreshed contract talks with Arsenal, as he appears keen to stay at the Emirates stadium. So far an agreement hasn’t been reached it may not be long before the Dutchman gets frustrated and seeks a move elsewhere.

Arsene Wenger who clearly saw something in him brought Van Persie to the League from Holland. He has an aggressive attitude, he is quick and physically very strong. These are all traits that Arsenal will need from a number of players if they are going to improve on the disappointment of this season.

The details of why a contract agreement can’t be reached are unknown. It could be details of finance as Van Persie justifies being one of the club’s best paid players or the player could be seeking assurances about Arsenal’s ambition and prospects for season yet to come.

Van Persie said today: “The club and I have not been able to make any headway. But maybe I will soon have something new to report. That is all I have to say on this now.”





It seems really just a matter of time until the club and the player’s representatives can reach a deal as the fuss must just be over one or two smaller details. There have been no strong rumours linking Van Persie with a move away from Arsenal and he appears happy to stay where he is if the new contract gives him all of the assurances he needs.

Arsenal would do well to sign him on for a good few years quite quickly. Wenger is going to have to play a big part in the summer transfer market this year and the calibre of players such as Van Persie will be crucial in getting better players to join the club. If he and the club fall out over negotiations then it could jeopardise future success even further.

Arsenal fans will also be hoping that he signs a longer deal because he embodies everything the modern day Arsenal side are about. He is a big presence in both the dressing room and the team. It has been all too obvious in the past that Arsenal need big players and leaders to stand up and be counted if they are to close the gap between themselves and the best teams in England and Europe.

Van Persie is one of the people that will help them to achieve this so the club should really give him whatever he wants in order to get him to stay. They will have their work cut out to hang onto the likes of Cesc Fabregas this summer, which makes the future of Van Persie doubly significant.

Arsene Wenger is a smart man and although he will not want the club to be held to ransom by Van Persie’s agents he will recognise the importance of getting him to stay. It could also help him persuade other players to stay put, players that look dead set on getting moves this summer.

Manchester United completely took apart a youthful Arsenal side last night to reach the final of the Champions League. United won the match 3-1 (4-1 on aggregate) to seal their place in Rome as they eagerly anticipate who their opponents will be.

Arsenal flew out of the traps rather predictably but were pegged back with an early Ji Sung Park goal, promptly followed by a 40 yard Cristiano Ronaldo free kick. It was a double blow that Arsene Wenger’s men never recovered from.

United’s third came again from Ronaldo in the second half as United put together a sublime counter attacking move as Arsenal pressed to get back into the game. The night was marred for Sir Alex Ferguson by the red card that was brandished to midfielder Darren Fletcher, resulting in a penalty that was duly put away by Robin Van Persie.

TV replays showed that Fletcher had clearly kicked part of the ball when he brought down Fabregas inside the penalty area and unfortunately it looks like the red card will not be turned over as UEFA rules states that only a case of mistaken identity can get the card banished. It was a thoroughly professional and efficient display from United, which came in the face of genuine anticipation from everyone connected with Arsenal.

However, Wenger admitted after the game: “Manchester United, I have to say over the two games, deserve to go through. The tie could have been over in the first leg and, even though I felt we had a good chance to come back tonight, they were the better side, so congratulations to them and good luck to them in the final. We were caught by a team that has the art to kill and take advantage of every mistake.”

“In three minutes we conceded two goals against a team that defends well and is sure to come out on the counter-attack. We were really up for the fight, ready for the game, but after the first 10 minutes it was impossible.”

United’s stand out performer was the ever present Cristiano Ronaldo who showed with his performances that even in the biggest games he is a force to be reckoned with. The entire United side worked their socks off to get the win and will no doubt now be given added emputis by the fact that Fletcher will not take any part in the final.

For Arsenal it is back to the drawing board. Wenger has to keep his squad in tact for next season but he must make some additions, he needs to quikcly lay to rest that he will recreate his golden Arsenal side and admit that the club needs to spend some money to get in some big names and leadership.

United’s performance ahead of the Barcelona v Chelsea match will no doubt show that whoever gets through that tie will have one hell of a match on their hands come the end of the month and Rome. United put on a display that we all knew they were capable of, but probably all didn’t expect.

Today’s Champions League semi final was basically over before everybody made it to their seats as Manchester United had a 2-0 lead over Arsenal at Emirates Stadium after just 11 minutes. Combined with a 1-0 win last week at Old Trafford, United had a stranglehold on the cup tie and Arsenal whimpered out of the game after that.

Park Ji-Sung opened the scoring in the eighth minute after 18-year-old Englishman Kieran Gibbs slipped in his own penalty area and Park was gifted with a chance that he couldn’t miss. Barely three minutes later, Cristiano Ronaldo hammered home a 40-yard free kick which Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia couldn’t reach, and of course there were no defenders covering the posts to help him out.

Ronaldo added his second of the night in the 61st minute after a fantastic counter attack. Wayne Rooney darted up the left wing and slid a perfect pass over to the oncoming Ronaldo who promptly buried it into the roof of the net.

Arsenal pulled one back in the 76th minute and the fans who stayed around to stick it out saw Robin Van Persie slam it home from the penalty spot after the referee ruled that Darren Fletcher had pulled down Cesc Fabregas in the box. To make matters worse, Fletcher was red carded and will now miss the final on May 27th in Rome against Chelsea or Barcelona. After watching television replays though, it was evident that Fletcher clearly played the ball before Fabregas was upended.

It wasn’t a bad game, but Arsenal didn’t really have much to offer and their fans soon realized this. Perhaps they will also come to realize that it’s about time manager Arsene Wenger actually won something for the team or he should be replaced by somebody who knows how to manage the abundance of talent at his disposal.

The 35-year-old Almunia made a few good saves to keep the score down, but the talk of him becoming England’s goalie after he gets his British passport are ludicrous. The guy pulls off some decent saves once a while, but he’s not a world class keeper by any stretch of the imagination.

While up 3-0, Ferguson played with fire for awhile as Evra and Rooney were already on yellow cards and another one for either of them would have meant they’d be out of the final. Ferguson finally pulled Evra off in the 65th minute and then Rooney 60 seconds later.

United have an amazing run going in the Champions league now as they haven’t been beaten in a record 25 straight games. This is actually pretty impressive when you consider that Ferguson often employs the wrong tactics in Europe and plays too defensive. United are built for attacking and that’s the way they should play and they way they have to play in the final. If they can stretch their streak to 26 games in Rome, they’ll walk away as Champions League winners again, for the second year in a row.

When two English sides face each other in any competition other than the Premier League it always brings up elements of the game that we all love. The aggression, the passion, the desire and the entertainment, these are all virtues that the Champions League quarter-final between Manchester United and Arsenal on Wednesday promises to deliver.

United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, clearly wants the Champions League more than anything else, despite having won the competition twice already. Having just been knocked out of the FA Cup by Everton, United will have a renewed fire to go out and dominate this tie from the first minute to the 180th.

Arsenal go into this tie with massive injury problems. Both Mikael Silvestre and William Gallas are out and the combination of Emanuel Adebayor and Robin Van Persie up front are unlikely to play together. This no doubt will satisfy United fans but it places an incredible pressure on the rest of the Arsenal squad in what will be a huge atmosphere.

The current European Champions have only kept one clean sheet in their last seven games and are under huge pressure. United are going through a rough patch, of that there is no question. They have started to play better football but the Premier League game against Tottenham on Saturday showed they are still vulnerable in areas.

They benefit from the defensive pairing of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, both likely to start the game, who are clearly the best partnership that Sir Alex can offer forward.

The other massive blow to Arsenal is the fact that Andrey Arshavin will be cup-tied, this is a player just starting to justify why Arsene Wenger paid £17 million for his services, he would also have been one of the first names to go down on the team sheet.

It is looking like Arsenal will have to field a much more make shift team than United, placing pressure on their skipper, Cesc Fabregas. Regardless of who Arsene Wenger picks to play in the tie, Arsenal have to consolidate and keep United out. If the big occasion gets to one or two of the less experienced Arsenal players then United could effectively kill off the tie in the first leg.

United will be buoyed by the win they gained over Porto in Portugal, becoming the first English team to win there. This is accompanied by the fact that effectively their reserve side kept out the attack of Everton in the FA Cup semi-final, until eventually being defeated by a penalty shoot-out.

This match is very difficult to call. All of the odds are stacked firmly in Manchester United’s favour but Arsene Wenger is not a stupid man and if he gets his team and tactics right it could be a lot more difficult for United to get through.
One thing is for sure though, it will be one hell of a game.