Arsenal face rivals Spurs in Capital One Cup

Arsenal have been drawn away to Tottenham Hotspur in the third round of the Capital One Cup.

The fixture will be played the week commencing Monday, September 21.

Arsenal face Bayern Munich in Champions League Group Stage

Arsenal were handed a tough draw in the Champions League group stages as they were paired with Bayern Munich.

The Gunners were knocked out of the tournament by the German giants in successive seasons in 2013 and 2014 and their presence in Group F represents a major challenge for the north London club, who have started the Premier League season with four points from three games.

Bayern were beaten by Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals last season but went on to complete a first ever domestic double and have reinforced their squad over the summer with the acquisitions of Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal and Shakhtar forward Douglas Costa.

Arsene Wenger's side, who were beaten at home by West Ham on the opening day of the season, also face Olympiakos and Dinamo Zagreb.

Manchester City were handed a similarly tough draw and will play last season's beaten finalists Juventus, Europa League champions Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach.

Jose Mourinho will return to Porto with Chelsea and the reigning Premier League champions will also play Dynamo Kiev and Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Group G.

Mourinho was in charge at Porto from 2002 to 2004 and won both the UEFA Cup and the Champions League during that time.

After a one-year absence, Manchester United will resume Champions League competition against PSV Eindhoven - meaning an early return to Holland for winger Memphis - CSKA Moscow and Wolfsburg. 

Current holders Barcelona drew Bayer Leverkusen, Roma and BATE Borisov.

The ceremony to draw the groups also included the presentation of the UEFA Best Player award, which was given to Barcelona's Lionel Messi.

Full Champions League group stage draw:

Group A: PSG, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Malmo.

Group B: PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, Wolfsburg.

Group C: Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray, Astana.

Group D: Juventus, Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Monchengladbach.

Group E: Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Roma, BATE Borisov.

Group F: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Olympiakos, Dinamo Zagreb.

Group G: Chelsea, Porto, Dynamo Kiev, Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

Group H: Zenit, Valencia, Lyon, KAA Gent.

Arsenal now turn to PSG striker Cavani

Speculation linking Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani to Arsenal has increased ten-fold overnight following Karim Benzema’s public declaration that he would not leave Real Madrid.

Benzema was highly-cited as Arsenal’s prime target to bolster the attack, whilst Cavani was seen as an alternative. However, following Benzema’s tweet, several outlets now mention Cavani on their back-pages.

They state that PSG do not want to sell Uruguayan striker Cavani but his name has popped up consistently in the past few transfer windows, with suggestions he is not happy with being deployed out wide to accommodate poster-boy Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

However with suggestions that the Swedish international could move on, it’s extremely unlikely that the French champions would also approve the departure of Cavani- which could cause troubles for Arsenal’s approach.

With Benzema ruling out an exit, the tabloids are likely to be flooded in the final week of the transfer window linking Arsenal to strikers- but it could prove to be a highly difficult void for Arsene Wenger to fill.

There’s a distinct lack of top-class strikers available on the European market, whilst in England the likes of Charlie Austin and Saido Berahino are being priced at around £15m and £25m respectively.

Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool : Match Review

Arsenal were held to a goalless draw against Liverpool in a game where they created little chances, with the first-half being a horror show.

Petr Cech was called into action on a number of occasions to save Arsenal, whilst Philippe Coutinho struck the frame of the goal twice. In the second-half, Arsenal came close when Alexis Sanchez hit the post but ultimately a night to forget for Arsenal.

There was a shock an hour before kick-off with the team news, with Arsenal lining-up without first choice centre-back duo Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny; with suggestions they were absent due to illness and bad back respectively.

Liverpool started the game in an electric fashion and saw Philippe Coutinho clatter the woodwork inside two minutes. Shortly after at the other end, Arsenal found the net when Aaron Ramsey poked home but the offside flag was incorrectly raised.

Francis Coquelin then got the Arsenal defence out of jail with a pinpoint last-ditch challenge, twice, with the reshuffled back-line at sixes and sevens. James Milner then forced a save out of Petr Cech, before Nathaniel Clyne had an effort deflected wide.

Gabriel Paulista then showed brilliant defending to dispossess Coutinho in a dangerous position and Christian Benteke then missed a golden opportunity, with Cech pulling off a point-blank save to keep the match goalless.

Minutes before the break Cech then showed his class once again with another superb stop, tipping Coutinho’s driven effort onto the post; ensuring that the tie would remain level at the break, with Arsenal needing major improvements.

Arsenal looked better in the second-half, giving Liverpool less chances to create, but with an hour gone the hosts were still yet to create a decent opening. That was until Giroud tapped the ball to Alexis Sanchez, who cannoned against the post. 

Liverpool then ended Roberto Firmino’s full debut and replaced him with Jordan Ibe, before Arsenal were denied a penalty claim as Giroud was about to pull the trigger; with Simon Mignolet pulling off a diving save.

Arsenal soon replaced Giroud with Theo Walcott as they looked to make their second-half pressure count, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also coming on to replace Francis Coquelin. Ramsey then forced a save from Mignolet with a deflected shot, a decent chance for the hosts.

Skrtel then came close to diverting the ball into his own net, before Mignolet was finally booked for time wasting. Liverpool’s tactic of grinding out the result worked though, as they left the Emirates with a 0-0 draw; maintaining their unbeaten record.

Arsenal 0-2 West Ham : Match Review

 Arsenal had the worst possible start to the season by losing 2-0 at home to West Ham.

Arsenal normally don't have the best of starts in the opening fixture of the season but Arsenal fans had high hopes when they had a brilliant preseason by winning the Asia cup over in Singapore, the Emirates cup, the highlight being a 6-0 thrashing over Lyon, which don't forgot are a champions league side and the Community shield over a very strong Chelsea side.

Petr Cech endured a nightmare debut as he flapped for a Dimitri Payet free-kick, allowing Cheikhow Kouyate to head home, before the 11m signing. Was caught out by a long range effort from Mauro Zarate.

Arsenal had the first chance of the game when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fired a fierce volley over the bar, with the Gunners being sloppy in possession at times by giving the ball away too regularly and placing a number of stray passes

Olivier Giroud was central to Arsenal's attack, with a number of deft touches to his team-mate, but the complacency had still not left the game after 25 minutes with the stray passes continuing. Oxlade-Chamberlain surged down the wing to cross to Santi Cazorla, who lofted a volley onto the roof of the net. 

Arsenal's urgency had improved by this stage and Aaron Ramsey came close to opening the scoring when his volley cannoned off the back of Aaron Cresswell and looped on to the top of the crossbar with Adrian well beaten.

Dimitri Payet showed there was too sides in the game when he drifted into the middle, before curling a deflected effort over Petr Cech's bar. Ramsey than had a chance at the other end when he dragged a shot wide, as Arsenal began to start ticking.

However it was the Hammers that took the lead, capitalising on a free-kick opportunity to loft the ball into Cheikhou Kouyate, who headed an easy header into the net as Petr Cech was caught in no-mans land, not the first impression he would have wanted

Giroud smashed an early shot into the side netting early in the second-half, making the most of the opportunity, but West Ham then extended their lead. Mauro Zarate struck a low shot which squirmed into the bottom corner of the net, another poor moment from Cech

Arsenal needed a major turnaround and brought on Theo Walcott as they attempted to do just that, coming on in place of Francis Coquelin, whilst Alexis Sanchez soon followed by replacing Mathieu Debuchy.

By this stage West Ham were sitting back, well aware that barring a miracle their work was done. Despite Arsenal throwing everything forward, there was still no sign of things turning around but there was a scary moment when Giroud was knocked-out but still allowed to continue.

Oxlade-Chamberlain rifled a shot into the side netting before Cazorla forced a save from Adrian but Arsenal still has not created a decent opening,

Arsenal Concede Benzema move unlikely

Arsenal are reported by Goal to have conceded that a transfer bringing Karim Benzema to North London is unlikely- but the Gunners will retain their interest as a late move could be on the cards.

The 27-year-old seems likely to remain with Real Madrid this summer, with boss Rafael Benitez stating this week that he sees ‘no reason’ why the French international would be leaving the club this summer.

However, reports indicate that Arsenal will keep their interest fresh as they plot a late move after holding initial talks with Benzema’s camp and Real Madrid officials.

The club feel a move in the manner of Mesut Ozil’s deadline day transfer from the Spanish capital to Arsenal may be possible and Arsene Wenger’s side will wait- but it is stated Wenger is happy with the club’s other striking options if the Benzema pursuit ends up fruitless.

Benzema is currently injured for Real Madrid’s pre-season games in the Audi Cup and faces a battle to be ready for the new season but may find himself sidelined, with indications Real will use Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in central positions.

Arsenal Target Lacazette wants to leave Lyon

Alexandre Lacazette could be ready to push through a move to the Premier League as L’Equipe state the reported Arsenal target will tell Lyon he wants to leave.

The 24-year-old is stated to have seen his relationship with the French side sour over the summer, leading to the striker wanting to force an exit from the club- which hands Lyon a massive blow ahead of their Champions League return.

Lacazette set a Ligue 1 record last term by scoring 27 goals, helping Lyon push Paris Saint-Germain for the title and winning himself the golden boot.

His performances attracted a wealth of reported interest, including that of Liverpool and PSG, but Lyon wanted to sign the player down to a new contract to eliminate the possibility of the striker leaving.

Lacazette could now be a big mover in the final month of the window but Liverpool are unlikely to launch their interest due to the acquisition of Christian Benteke, though PSG might with Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ future in doubt.

Arsenal’s prime-target is Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema but the Gunners may swift their attention with the news.

Serge Gnabry Joins West Ham on Loan

The 20-year-old forward recovered from a spell out with injury last term to play for Arsenal Under-21s and represent Germany at the Under-21 European Championship in the Czech Republic this summer.

He enjoyed an impressive 2013/14 campaign, making 14 appearances for Arsenal’s senior side and netting his first goal for the club, in a 2-1 victory at Swansea City.

Gnabry, who joined the Gunners from VfB Stuttgart in 2011, heads to West Brom for the opportunity to gain further first-team experience in the Premier League. 

Arsène Wenger said: "We know Serge is ready to play in the Premier League, but we know as well that what is needed for him is to get 25 to 30 games to show that he can produce it on a regular basis and cope with it physically."


Source: http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20150807/serge-gnabry-joins-west-brom-on-loan