News and gossip from The Emirates in the past 24 hours.
Arsenal take on Aston Villa tomorrow evening at Villa Park. Villa come into the game off the back of a crushing 5-0 defeat against Manchester City while Arsenal defeated Montpellier in midweek off the back of a 5-2 win in the North London derby with Spurs. Arsenal will again be without Theo Walcott with a shoulder complaint while Andre Santos is also on the side-lines. Kieran Gibbs and Gervinho are pushing for starts after making the squad in midweek. Abou Diaby and Tomas Rosicky remain unavailable. Villa will be able to call on Darren Bent if wanted after he recovered from an ankle injury. Eric Lichaj also returns but Joe Bennett, Chris Herd, Charles N’Zogbia and Richard Dunne are all injured.
Arsenal have signed a new £150 million sponsorship deal with Emirates. It means the airline will remain the main shirt sponsors until the 2018/19 season while the stadium naming rights deal has been extended until 2028. It is a big commercial boost for brand Arsenal who are also reportedly on the verge of a massive deal with Adidas to take over from Nike as their main kit supplier.
The deal has reportedly foreseen a potential warchest being handed to Arsene Wenger in January. There had been speculation previously that Arsenal were looking to loosen purse strings for the winter window but now Ivan Gazidis has given the biggest clue yet that this may be a genuine possibility:
‘Arsenal have agreed with Emirates to bring payments forward so additional money is available to invest this year. The decision to invest is up to Arsene Wenger, but now more resources are available to him.’
Wojciech Szczesny believes that Arsenal can ‘do a Chelsea’ and win the Champions League this season. After defeating Montpellier in London The Gunners secured their rightful place in the second round once again and the Polish keeper sees no reason why this current outfit cannot go all the way to Wembley in May next year and win the ultimate prize in club football.
Arsenal are being linked once again with Barcelona winger Cristian Tello once again; but are not alone in their reported interest. Liverpool also hold a vested interest in the youngster, whose contract expires in the summer, while it is now believed that Italian giants AC Milan are also chasing him. The Serie A side is reportedly looking to make a £6.5 million bid in January in order to skip the process of the Bosman ruling and beat their opponents to his signature.
Manchester United have been linked with this player previously but now Arsenal have also been mentioned in connection with making enquiries for FC Copenhagen starlet Andreas Cornelius. The big striker has been a goal sensation scoring 10 goals in 19 appearances and the 19-year-old has also made two appearances for the senior Denmark national side. Milan are looking into a £3 million pound deal but after a tip off from Arsenal Scandinavia scout Bobby Bennett The Gunners are now looking at him ahead of a potential move in January.
What is your take on all things Arsenal FC on the 23rd November 2012?
image: © wonker
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