Joel Matthews to present Fabregas award

Joel Matthews from Camberley has won the chance to present Cesc Fabregas with his EA SPORTS Player of the Season award.


Joel was one of thousands of registered members of Arsenal.com who voted for Cesc in our online poll at the end of the 2009/10 campaign.


He will attend a home game early in the new season and present Cesc with his prize before watching the match with a friend from complimentary seats.

"Cesc had his best season yet for Arsenal and it was a joy to watch him in action," said Joel.

"Who else would I have preferred to be in our midfield and be our Club captain? No one. Read More......

Wenger - Homegrown rule won't affect us

By Nick Teale

Arsène Wenger has confirmed the Premier League's new ‘homegrown rule' will not affect Arsenal.

However the manager is still against the new squad rules as he believes it could compromise the quality of football in England's top flight.

Under the new regulations each Premier League club will have to name a first-team squad of no more than 25 players, of which a maximum of 17 may not be homegrown players. Players born on or after January 1, 1989 do not need to be registered as part of the 25-man squad.

Arsenal's current first-team squad contains 26 players, of which 13 are counted as homegrown, and seven are Under-21s.

Nonetheless, Wenger is not in favour of the new ruling. Speaking during the weekend's trip to Poland, the manager explained why.

"The homegrown rule will not affect us," he said. "But I feel that when you want to be the best league in the world the restriction is bad.

"The only focus for me in life has to be quality in a competitive world and not [your] passport or where you have been educated.

"What is most important is that if you are good enough you can play where you want. If you want to be the best league in the world you have to respect that." Read More......

Bartley - Loan could put me in Pearce's mind

By Nick Teale

Kyle Bartley is hoping a season-long loan at Sheffield United will be the springboard which sees him leap into contention for both Arsenal and England.

The 19-year-old received praise from his manager and team-mates during a three-month spell with the Blades at the end of last term. The defender has now returned to Yorkshire for the entire 2010/11 campaign and, as well as wanting to get his loan side promoted, he is eyeing an international call-up.

"The aim is to go on loan and get myself into Arsène Wenger's thoughts," he told Arsenal.com. "And if you are playing week-in week-out in the Championship, England Under-21s and [their manager] Stuart Pearce might start looking at you.

"I have spoken to the lads and the manager at Sheffield United and they are all looking to get promoted this year. I think they have invested quite well.

"They've always been contenders in the last five or ten years and I think that will be the aim for this year."

Bartley made 13 appearances for Sheffield United last term and is looking forward to working with their manager Kevin Blackwell again this season.

"I got a taste for it last year," he said. "It was only three months so for me to go for the season will definitely do me good. I enjoyed every minute of it.

"I want to become a solid defender and from there I can work on other aspects of my game. But I am a centre half and if I can defend to the top level I'll have a good chance.

"[Kevin Blackwell] is very hands on, he'll tell you how it is and won't hold back. As a young player when I needed an arm around me he would do that. I've only got praise for him."
Read More......