Arsenal defender Carl Jenkinson has admitted that he feels more settled this season after a difficult start to life at the Emirates last season.
Arsene Wenger signed the youngster from Charlton Athletic in June 2011 for a fee thought to be around the £1 million mark. To many people’s surprise including Jenkinson’s, the 20-year-old was selected for Arsenal’s home and away ties against Udinese in the Gunner’s Champions League play-off last season, just eight months after making his debut in League One for the Addicks.
Jenkinson told Arsenal’s official club website that he initially found the step up to the Premier League tough going, “Coming here last year I felt a bit blown away with everything. This year I’ve come back and felt like one of the boys. It was different this year and it was nice because you like to feel more comfortable and part of things. I’m happy with things at the moment and hopefully we just move on from here.”
The right-back has started every game for the Gunners so far this season in place for the injured Bacary Sagna. Jenkinson is part of a defence that has yet to concede a goal in the Premier League. This is a sharp contrast to the start of Arsenal’s campaign last season, where they went into the international break on the back of an 8-2 defeat away at Manchester United. Jenkinson says he doesn’t look back on the day with fond memories, “Old Trafford was a difficult day for me, and a difficult day for the club. It wasn’t nice but I felt like a learnt a lot from the game.”
The Arsenal defender admits that he wants to assert himself as first-choice right-back at the club, “My ambition for my whole career is to play for this football club. I want to be good enough and make my mark here. I won’t happy until I’m playing week-in, week-out. That’s what I want to achieve.”
Before England even begin to worry about the difficult task of actually winning the World Cup staged in Brazil in 2014, they firstly have to make sure they are there, and said qualifying begins this weekend in the brilliantly timed International break just as the season started to get going.
Roy Hodgson’s England face two games before the players return to their domestic duties hopefully injury free, and the first of those is away to Moldova this Saturday. Of course on paper England’s group looks like one they should be able to navigate in a fairly straightforward manner, but as we all know too well, this is England, and nothing is ever easy.
The trip to the Zimbru Stadium in Chisinau will not be an easy one for the players but it is vital that they get off to a good start in the group and claim the maximum three points. Of course the squad is depleted by the absence of star striker Wayne Rooney – something Hodgson is already used to dealing with after only a brief period in charge – and at least for the first game the absence of first choice left back Ashley Cole.
The partnership between Terry and Lescott looks like being a favourite for Hodgson, although Cahill will be looking to impress himself on the squad now he is fit again, with Johnson taking the birth at right back and a choice for Hodgson between Baines and youngster Bertrand to fill in for Cole. Of course behind the defence will be one of the very best keepers around at the minute and the best England have been privileged to have in a long time in Joe Hart and the defence will need to hold firm in a hostile stadium and impose themselves on the game.
Key Battle – John Terry v Picusceac
The Moldovan striker is a firm favourite of manager Ion Caras and has lead the line in the previous three friendlies for the side coming up with the grand total of 0 goals in all the games. If the striker struggled to score when facing the defences of Angola, Venezuela and El Salvador, it is highly doubtful he will beat John Terry either in the air or on the ground this weekend, and despite the Chelsea skipper suffering from a neck niggle he and the rest of his defence will be looking for a clean sheet.
The heart of the national side – the midfield is something that has caused no end of controversy and debate over the last few years with most arguing that Lampard and Gerrard are not able to play together, yet could well both feature against Moldova. Carrick has also returned to the fold with club colleague Ashley Young missing out. Hodgson has the chance to go with youth in players such as Oxlade Chamberlain, Cleverley and Walcott all in the squad, with no better time to start a fresh than during qualifying for a tournament.
Key Battle – Gerrard v Covalciuc
With skipper Gerrard a certainty to start, speculation is rife over who will partner him in the centre of midfield but that aside, Stevie G will have to worry about former Spartac Moscow player Serghei Covalciuc in the fight for midfield supremacy. Currently playing for FC Aktobe the 30 year old has his work cut out – the odds on Gerrard to score and England to win are 2/1 yet his odds for the very same are 40/1.
England will have to make do without Wayne Rooney yet again and a recently revived and promptly injured Andy Carroll, but have plenty of fire power in Defoe, Sturridge et al. Hodgson will most likely place his faith in Jermaine Defoe who will be looking to make a major impression on the side and grab some goals to cement his place in the team. England may have struggled in the past without Rooney but with not only Defoe looking to make an impact but supporting players such as Walcott looking to rack up the assists and show why they should make up a potential 5 man midfield, Moldova could be in for a long night.
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Key Battle – Defoe v Racu
A striker of Defoe’s calibre and confidence will be looking to take a former striker turned midfielder turned defender – and free agent Racu to the cleaners on Saturday night and hammer home the goals. With his pace and clinical finishing skills Defoe looks odds on to get at least a couple of goals, and even if he fails there will be no respite for 25 year old Racu – who has spent most of his career at various clubs across Scandinavia with Sturridge and Welbeck waiting in the wings. At least Racu can breathe a sigh of relief Rooney is missing.
Long-serving Newcastle United goalkeeper Steve Harper has backed struggling striker Papiss Cisse.
Cisse’s incredible goal-scoring helped Newcastle United to fifth last year, but the Senegal international is yet to score this season, and missed miserably from the penalty spot against Norwich City.
The 27-year-old was not supposed to be taking the penalty with Hatem Ben Arfa having already converted from the spot this season but was handed the opportunity to end his goal drought by stand in skipper Jonas Gutierrez.
Harper told the club’s official website: “You have seen the spirit in the camp right there in that moment. It shows what fantastic spirit we have got that people want to get Papiss going.
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“He was incredible last season and just needs a goal this time. It’s a real team ethic here, and giving him the opportunity to score just shows that. It wasn’t to be, unfortunately, but Papiss will score for us – loads of them this season.”
Sir Alex Ferguson is happy to keep his opponents guessing when it comes to selecting his strikers and Wayne Rooney seems to agree, according to The Sun.
Ferguson left Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez all on the bench for United’s home defeat to Spurs but all came on to inspire an unsuccessful comeback.
“It is early doors but with the situation we have at the moment, I don’t know where I am going in the sense of what my best partnership will be because I haven’t seen Rooney and Van Persie together,” Ferguson told the Sun.
“But I am happy in the knowledge I have the options there.”
England striker Rooney is clearly determined to get back into the side as soon as possible but he understands the quality of his competition.
“There is a lot of competition up front but that is great for the squad,” Rooney said.
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“The manager will rotate when he feels it is necessary as there are a lot of games throughout the season.
“It means we can get a rest here and there to make sure we are ready for the big games towards the end.”
boss Brendan Rodgers has admitted that Luis Suarez must harbour the goalscoring responsibilities for the club, and that rotating or resting the forward may not be an option.
The Reds have a lack of depth in attack, with Fabio Borini and Suarez the only recognised frontmen at the club.
The Italian has broken a bone in his foot and as such requires surgery, leaving Rodgers with only Suarez in attack until January.
“I’ve rested him a couple of times knowing the squad we have and the games we have, looking to prioritise, but like most footballers he wants to play every minute of every game,” Rodgers told Sky Sports.
“It is something I need to assess. The most important thing is winning games – that is what we need to do and in order to do that as often as we can I need the best players on the field.
“Luis will absolutely love playing three times a week but I need to try to nurture him because there are still many games to play between now and January.
“And even in January if we bring someone in it may not be January 1, so that is something which, over time, I need to assess and we’ll look to manage the squad,” he continued.
Andy Carroll is currently on loan at West Ham, but the Northern Irish coach has stated that he has not considered bringing the England international back to Anfield as cover.
“It isn’t something I have considered, to be honest.
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“Andy has obviously gone out to get games. We have people watching when he plays and they report back on how he is doing.
“But with Fabio’s injury just coming up we will assess it from there,” he concluded.
Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor looks to set to come back into the Tottenham squad this weekend for their Premier League fixture against Wigan.
The former Manchester City marksman has been struggling with a back injury but his manager Andre Villas Boas confirmed that he will be available for selection, for the game at White Hart Lane this weekend.
The Spurs boss has called for the player to be patient in his return. It had been speculated that there was a rift between the player and manager but AVB was quick to also play this down.
However, it is clear that Jermain Defoe has left an impression on his manager with Adebayor not guaranteed a place in the starting XI.
AVB went on to tell ESPN : “Ade has returned to training and he will be available for the Wigan game.
“The trouble has been that he has not played so much this season, mainly because of injury. He missed six games for a period and then two more recently.
“Whenever he came on he did well and he wants to be part of the team, but Jermain Defoe is doing well. In nine Premier League games, he has five goals. This is the kind of goalscoring ability that you want for your team.”
Despite Adebayor maybe having to wait, AVB was quick to clarify the position of one of his defenders Steven Caulker.
“I’m extremely happy with him. He is 20-years-old and doing extremely well, coping with the best strikers in the world, Torres, Rooney, Van Persie,” AVB said.
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The Portuguese boss also played down the significance of the Serbian police charging Caulker after the brawl at the end of the England Under-21s’ Euro 2013 play-off last month.
Manchester United midfielder Anderson has dismissed any talk that he may be leaving Old Trafford either in January or in the summer as reported by Sky Sports News.
The Brazilian international has become a bit part player under Sir Alex Ferguson due to persistent injuries, but despite that the midfielder feels United would not let him leave Manchester.
The 24-year-old however did concede that if a move away from the Red Devils materialised, he would only ever want to return to Portugal to play for his previous club Porto.
“In Portugal, I have only ever played for Porto and if one day I came back, I would play for them,” Anderson told A Bola.
“But the return to Portuguese football is far from happening. United will not let me go and I will not put myself in that scenario.”
Anderson is now fit and ready to return to the first team and fight for his place in a midfield that can be chosen from up to 12 players.
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It’s for very good reason that Arsenal supporters demand excellence in the transfer market. The stance from the club to push ticket prices to the maximum, while housing a football team in one of the country’s most modern and impressive stadiums, drives the need for something inspired with regards to player recruitment.
Fans do not always want to hear about the latest wonderkid who may or may not turn out to be the new saviour or poster boy for the club. Arsenal have a fine tradition of attacking football under Arsene Wenger, thus forcing the demand for quality over bargain bin signings.
But every now and then, it always raises a sense of hope and a different level of excitement when a club pulls an ace out of their sleeve, a diamond in the rough and one who was a bargain signing in the most positive sense of the word.
Iago Aspas isn’t a name that would normally send the excitement levels rising among Arsenal’s supporters. The fans want something in the vein of Santi Cazorla, a player of exceptional quality with the reputation to back it up. For simply the lack of reputation, Iago Aspas certainly doesn’t strike the same chord.
That is unless you’re oblivious to La Liga beyond the stars of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Diego Simeone’s diamond of a striker at the Vicente Calderon. But Iago Aspas, currently of Celta Vigo and who last season played in the Segunda division, falls comfortably into that bracket of players who are exciting Spanish football and winning a host of admirers. There’s no glamour in looking to teams like Betis, Celta and Rayo, but this season is showing the incredible depth of quality right through La Liga.
Iago Aspas currently operates in the striker role for Celta, but is more than well equipped to handle the duties of a wide player. He’s a forward with incredible pace but also clinical enough to be his team’s focal point in attack.
When Celta went to the Camp Nou three weeks ago, it would have been easy to mark that one off as an easy victory for the Catalans. But Aspas put forward another excellent showcase of his talents, stretching the Barcelona back four and threatening Victor Valdes’ goal on a number of occasions.
Aspas has comfortably been Celta’s standout performer this season, just as he was last season when they won promotion. He’s also a player who is playing well above his current level, and a move to a bigger club even in Spain shouldn’t be out of the question.
It was Guillem Balague, however, who brought up the idea of Arsenal looking at the Celta forward, alongside Fernando Llorente and Adrian Lopez. Off the bat, it’s easy to see why Wenger may look to Aspas as an option for strengthening his attack at the Emirates. The Spaniard is incredibly quick, but plays with the technical excellence you’d normally associate with Wenger’s recruits. He has a fearless attitude about his play, something that should be looked at from that performance against Barcelona. There’s no hiding away for him from the bigger and much more powerful opponents; this is very much a player who knows how good he is and how much damage he can do.
At 5’9 it would be a little foolish to completely write-off his potential contributions to Arsenal and in the Premier League. Luis Suarez is doing an excellent job in leading Liverpool in attack, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez are the regular starters at Manchester City over their bigger team-mates, and Arsenal’s leading players this season have been Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta – all under 6 foot.
There should be no reservations about Arsenal targeting a player of Iago Aspas’ quality. The club will never willingly splash out on players who command fees of £20 million and up, but it is imperative the club identify the best players who do fall into their price range.
Aspas is still building towards his prime, being only 25, but everything he’s displayed so far this season ticks the boxes of a typical Arsene Wenger signing, even more so than Llorente and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. As mentioned, he’s quick and very mobile, but his versatility will also be a big help to the club with his ability to play on the flanks when Olivier Giroud takes up the target man role.
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But above all, the fee to land the Spaniard should be minimal. He’s already expressed a desire to stay with Celta, having recently signed a contract extension and having come through the Galician team’s youth set up. But should an approach from Arsenal be put forth, the player would almost certainly jump at the chance to elevate his status in European football.
What Wenger could have here is another project, another opportunity to turn a very good player into an exceptional one. He has a poacher’s instinct, and only needs the right environment and coaching to transfer his 23 goals of last season in the Segunda division into 20-plus in the top-flight (he already has five goals in 12 appearances for what you’d obviously call a poor Celta side ).
He is by no means the glamour signing that Arsenal need to give them a lift and a new lease of inspiration, but he’s very much a player of quality who will improve the level of depth in the squad at the Emirates.
Marouane Fellaini has outlined qualification for the Champions League as Everton’s main goal for the season.
The Toffees have made a fine start to the Premier League season, notching 26 points putting them fourth.
Fellaini has been key in the Merseysiders’ performances so far, weighing in with vital goals and assists.
He believes that finishing in their current position is the squad’s main aim and believes that with some hard work it could be possible:
“Everybody wants to play Champions League next season.” He told the club’s official website.
“So we work hard for this and hopefully we can finish in the top four.”
The Belgian has been used by manager David Moyes in a more attacking role this term, with positive results.
The 25-year-old was named as the player of the month for November and is happy with his current form:
“At the moment I am playing well. I am happy – but the most important things are the team and the club.
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“I try to give my maximum in every game. The manager likes it when I play in attack. I’ve been scoring the goals and I work hard on the pitch.”
Fellaini has been linked with a potential move away from Goodson Park, with Arsenal rumoured to be interested.
With the incoming January transfer window, many a Premier League club will be looking to bolster their ranks and improve their squad before they enter into the business end of the season.
A typical problem of New Year transfers however, is that managers have to settle for what they can get as opposed to what they want, leading to clubs eventually signing well over-priced, completely useless footballers in a bid to resolve their problems, who eventually make things a lot worse.
So here are 15 Premier League footballers who other clubs should avoid at all costs in January or else fall into the trap that the month-long transfer window always presents.
Some are dangerously under-performing, many are over-priced, others are simply rubbish and a few are just far too old.
Click on Stewart Downing to check out the top 15 footballers Premier League clubs should give a wide berth to this January
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