Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has conceded that last season was the toughest of his career.Wenger’s side had once again looked to challenge for honours for a significant part of last term, only to lose in the Carling Cup final, which in turn became a catalyst for a poor end to the season, resulting in the club’s sixth trophy-less campaign.

The north Londoners were eliminated from the Champions League and FA Cup by Barcelona and Manchester United respectively following the 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City at Wembley.

Speaking ahead of his side’s friendly with Hangzhou Greentown, the 61-year-old said: “The last part of it [the season] was certainly the toughest [of his career] because emotionally it was very difficult because we were on a low. You could see that the last three or four weeks were very difficult.”

“It was because I took full responsibility for what happened.”

“I knew at some stage that it was lost and I had so much hope for the team, because through November and December, you could feel that the team had really taken off and could win everything. And it was so close.”

However, the Frenchman believes that a further year of maturation for his side’s young players, and also a return from injury from a number of key figures, will pay dividends when the new campaign gets underway next month.

“I believe we are perfectly good enough. What we did last year, considering the age of the squad and the problems we had with injuries, was a credit to the team and we have a good opportunity now to show that we have the quality,” Wenger said.

“If you are a winner, you say: ‘We were very close last year, let’s do it this year’. You come back.”

“I believe that the real destiny of this team is now there. They know as well as I know that we were very, very close last season.”

“We intend to show everybody that we can do it. We are a young team and we can only be better. It demands the strength of character that the champions have. That’s what we want to show.”

Emmanuel Adebayor, Tottenham Hotspur striker. Those very words may stick in some Spurs fans throat, but it is a possibility that may very well become fact over the next few weeks. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has confirmed he is extremely interested in the former Arsenal frontman, who is currently looking for a new club. But should Spurs fans remain so angry towards Togo international, in light of his proposed move, and should many be against such a signing?

Adebayor was recently left out of Manchester City’s tour of America and has been forced to train with their youth team, after returning from his holidays. Suddenly unwanted in Manchester, he spent the second-half of last season on loan at Real Madrid after seemingly falling out with City boss Roberto Mancini, and has made no secret of his desire to make that loan move permanent, issuing several ‘come and get me’ pleas to the Spanish giants. Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho is said to be interested in making a deal happen, but Real are reluctant, having their cash tied up in chasing several other targets. This leaves Tottenham his most likely destination at this present moment, if Spurs chairman Daniel Levy can thrash out a suitable loan deal with City, which would leave some fans in an unhappy situation. But should they forget the players past and cross the divide?

Regardless of what many may think about Adebayor the man, Adebayor the player is a proven goalscorer in the Premier League, and a proven handful when he is on his game. With Peter Crouch out of favour, Adebayor is seen as his perfect replacement and an upgrade with a better all-around game. This is what manager Harry Redknapp no doubt sees and, as we all know, when it comes to crossing divides and leaving loyalties to one side, Redknapp is a man who’s been there, scene it and done it! He could prove one of the ‘buys’ of the season, if a cheaper loan deal can be worked out.

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Of course, Adebayor was a hate figure at Tottenham during his 4-year stint with bitter rivals Arsenal, scoring eight times in nine north London derbies. Although he moved on, two goals during a Champions League match against Spurs, whilst on loan at Madrid did nothing to suppress any lingering anger felt towards the former Gunner. But surprisingly, any anger from Spurs fans felt towards Adebayor may well be out-weighed when measured in comparison against what Arsenal fans feel. Once hailed at the Emirates, he is now firmly a villain in those parts, due to his acrimonious departure, seemingly in search of the new wealth which Manchester City had acquired. His goal against Arsenal during his first game against his old club, along with his now infamous celebration in taunting their fans, cemented his place as their new hate figure, possibly even surpassing any current Tottenham player. Various flashpoints and nasty incidents on the pitch, most notably against Robin van Persie, only served to enhance the hatred. Can you imagine the scenes of delirium, and equal anguish, if Adebayor was to perform his goalscoring antics against Arsenal, in a Tottenham jersey?

So, Spurs fans, who was it who said ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’?

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If you want to read more from myself including news, thoughts and views you can follow me on Twitter @fantasista1077 thanks!

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Universidad Cesar Vallejo were not able to make home advantage count in the first round of the Copa Sudamericana.The Peruvian side had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their tie against Colombia’s Santa Fe on Tuesday.

Cesar Vallejo controlled the early stages, with Uruguyan forward Mario Leguizamon giving them a fourth minute lead – an advantage they would hold until half time.

But Oscar Rodas salvaged a draw for the visitors with the equaliser on 52 minutes, giving them the advantage heading into the second leg in Bogota on August 28.

In Tuesday’s other first round tie, Uruguayan side Bella Vista could only muster a 1-1 draw at home against Universidad Catolica.

The hosts went ahead on 24 minutes through an Ignacio Nicolini penalty, but Pablo Calandria’s goal for the Universidad side 12 minutes later ensured the Chilean side have the upper hand ahead of the return leg in Santiago on August 17.

Newcastle have completed the signing of Davide Santon from Inter Milan on a five year contract, with the fee undisclosed by the Premier League club.

The Magpies have been in the market for a left back following the sale of Jose Enrique to Liverpool, and the 20-year-old is expected to slot straight into the St James’ Park first team.

The seven-times capped Italy international first broke through at the Giuseppe Meazza under Jose Mourinho, but has found opportunities in Serie A limited of late, and spent the second half of last season on loan at Cesena.

“We are delighted to bring to Davide to Newcastle. He is a quality left-back and an established international who also gives us flexibility in defence,” manager Alan Pardew told the side’s official website.

“Davide is a young lad and a great signing for us and I am sure he will adapt to the Premier League very quickly.”

The player was happy to sign for the Tyneside outfit also, and his agent revealed yesterday that he chose Pardew’s men over Roma.

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“I am really pleased to sign for Newcastle. The chance to play in the Premier League and in front of 50,000 fans at St. James’ Park was too good to turn down. This is an ambitious club who want to move forward and help them achieve,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Newcastle’s search for a new striker is set to go down to the wire, as they chase Manchester United’s Federico Macheda and Sochaux’s Modibo Maiga.

Arsenal will have to wait to see the extent of Theo Walcott’s knee injury, as the player undergoes a scan on Monday.

The England winger pulled up whilst sprinting for the ball late in the game against Bolton on Saturday, and initially was thought to have strained a hamstring.

However, it has been revealed that the attacker has actually damaged his knee, and may miss some important upcoming fixtures for The Gunners.

We don’t really know the extent of it,” manager Arsene Wenger told Sky Sports.

“It looked like a classic hamstring injury when Theo went down but he said he had a sharp pain in his knee.

“He’ll need a scan so we can assess what kind of damage it is,” he concluded.

Arsenal host Olympiakos at the Emirates in the Champions League on Wednesday, before taking on North London rivals Tottenham on Sunday.

A serious layoff would compound Wenger’s misery, as he is already without a number of key players, including Jack Wilshere, for the foreseeable future.

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Spurs are riding high after a 4th successive Premier League win has put the North Londoners in the top 6 in the table. Last weekend’s victory was sweet for all concerned and perhaps an indication that the baton of power has been passed up the Seven Sisters Rd.

At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Spurs blogs that includes what Levy wants he may not get; Redknapp is proved right, while Tottenham’s stance won’t change anything.

We also look at the best Spurs articles around the web this week.

Has Harry Redknapp been proved right?

Caption Competition: Tottenham and Arsenal relations sink lower

Can the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool strike the financial balance?

Engineering himself a move from White Hart Lane?

What Levy wants he won’t necessarily get

Tottenham and City’s stance won’t change anything

The passing of the baton in North London?

Tottenham need to stump up €20m to secure deal

Everton beat off Spurs to land £2m Bantams ace

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Taxi for Modric: cancelled! – Spurs Musings From JimmyG2

Martin Cloake On Danny Blanchflower, Spurs’ Geezers and the Current State of Play – Tottenham On My Mind

What A Pilchard – Harry Hotspur

Their empire of dust needs to be swept under the carpet – Dear Mr Levy

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Click on Miss Sanford below to see her in all her glory

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Arsenal have been the whipping boys within the press this week as the media do their level best to unsettle the Red side of North London. Arsene Wenger has remained defiant this week, although has suggested that the title maybe beyond them week.

At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Gunners blogs that include one aspect that is positive for Arsenal; Wenger faced a referee induced crisis, while a change could set Arsenal back further.

We also look at the best Arsenal articles around the web this week

Arsenal simply in a referee induced crisis

Caption Competition: Tottenham and Arsenal relations sink lower

One bright aspect in a season of gloom for Arsenal

FIVE things Arsenal fans learned from the North London derby

Tottenham and Arsenal on transfer alert as contract talks stall

Atangana confirms Arsenal interest

Time at Arsenal for a re-distribution of income, wealth and talent

Will Arsenal star ever win over his critics?

Why change could set Arsenal back even further

Lost in translation at Arsenal?

Best of WEB

 

English hardman is the ideal replacement!! – Highbury House

Wojciech Szczesny lines up Barcelona but Jack’s happy to stay, for the moment anyway. – Le Grove

Something Is Missing And It’s Called Heart – Online Gooner

Captain’s Log: The Cross Of Changes – A Cultured Left Foot

Lyon midfielder tops Arsenal’s winter list – Gunnersphere

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Everton winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov has admitted that he is eager to leave Goodison Park come January, as first-team opportunities are few and far between.

The wideman joined the Merseyside club from Lokomotiv Moscow two year ago for £9 million, but has been a fringe figure in David Moyes’ plans.

The Russia international has Euro 2012 in mind, and fears that if he continues to waste away in the doldrums at Goodison Park he will miss out on inclusion in Dick Advocaat’s squad next year.

The Eastern European had initially stated that he was willing to stay in England and fight for a starting berth at the Premier League club, but he now seems to have admitted defeat, and will look for a move when the transfer window re-opens.

“At my club I almost don’t play and therefore I’m of no interest to Dick Advocaat as a first-team player in the national team,” the 26-year-old told Mirror Football.

“I’m not satisfied with this and while there’s still time until Euro 2012, I have to change something,” he concluded.

Cash-strapped Everton may well be keen to cash in on Bilyaletdinov come the new year, as he seems surplus to requirements at Goodison.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Arsene Wenger’s recent comment that attacking full backs win games highlights the rise and rise of the position. Players like Djalma Santos and Nilton Santos in the Brazil team in the late 1950s and later Roberto Carlos and Cafu set the trend for the multi tasking defender and it is a position that has been built upon greatly. Take the top English teams for example: Man Utd have Rafael and Evra, Man City have Richards and Clichy, Chelsea have Cole and Bosingwa, Arsenal have Santos and Sagna, Tottenham have Walker and Assou-Ekotto and Liverpool have Johnson and Enrique. How many of those players’ defensive abilities would have warranted them a place in the famous Arsenal back four of the nineties, or Liverpool’s defence in the eighties? Perhaps Evra, Cole and Sagna but the rest have sacrificed defensive solidity for attacking prowess. That is not to say they are not good players, far from it: they are all good players, but the style of their play is indicative of what is now expected from full backs. If Wenger was looking for a defender whose main asset was his defending then he would not have bought Andre Santos; however that does not detract from his usefulness – he has already scored against Chelsea in the league and Olympiakos in the Champions League.

Integral

The rise of full backs has coincided with their role as a tactical necessity for many teams in world football. Take Dani Alves for example. The right back spends more time in the opposition half than he does in his own. Why? Because every time Barcelona line up against a team that isn’t a real threat (so most of the time) the opposition half will play the game with ten men behind the ball. Subsequently the need for extra men to break down the opposition defence for Barcelona requires players like Abidal and Alves to get forward. Not even Barcelona can break down opposition defences all the time Alves plays a crucial part in making sure that it happens more often than not. The same can be said for Marcelo at Real Madrid, or Maicon at Inter or Phillip Lahm at Bayern Munich. In fact how many young brilliant full backs coming through academies do you hear of these days that do not have the extra weapon of going forward as one of their attributes? It has become a necessity.

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Formation

With a change in formation the role of the full backs has also become more important. With more and more teams playing 4-3-3 than ever before the full backs are required to come forward to fill the gaps where the wide midfielders of a 4-4-2 would otherwise have been. This is most noticeable at teams like Arsenal and Barcelona. Obviously Arsenal utilised attacking defenders even when they played 4-4-2 but since they switched to their current formation the full backs have become more and more attacking. Without their full backs advancing up the pitch teams who play a 4-3-3 risk being dominated in the midfield due to their play being too narrow

Centre-backs

A need for an attacking element to your game is not just confined to the full backs either. More and more we are seeing centre backs who not only posses better technique but who also enjoy marauding into the opposition half. Recent arrivals in the Premier League such as Vermaelen, David Luiz, Sebastian Coates and Christopher Samba are all demonstrative of this. In other leagues to Pique, Pepe, Thiago Silva, Vertonghen and others all represent a new era of defenders, defenders from which managers demand an extra gear to their game.

Football is like any other aspect of life in that there will always be a form of evolution changing and driving on our sport. It is only natural for not only managers;’ tactics but also the roles of all positions to become more complete. Just in the same way that wingers must defend and strikers must be involved in build up play then defenders must attack. Isolated cases throughout history suggest that this is far from a totally new phenomenon but what is new is the frequency and importance of such players. You will never again see a team like Arsenal with the back four they had in Wenger’s first couple of years just in the same way that you won’t see Liverpool like that either. Some will consider that a shame but whilst it may not be working out perfectly for either of them at the moment any evolution has teething problems. The future for full backs is bright, and it contains a lot more than their used to too.

Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay

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Two teams desperately battling for safety meet at the Reebok Stadium with Bolton knowing they need a win to cut the gap between themselves and Wolves.

Wanderers have had a truly awful first half of the season and sit four points away from safety after losing to Newcastle on Boxing Day. Boss Owen Coyle has been given the whole of January to turn things around at the Reebok Stadium and he’ll be keen for his side to kick start their survival bid against fellows strugglers Wolves. The imminent sale of defender Gary Cahill won’t help Bolton’s cause with the England man set to become a Chelsea player in the New Year. However the rumoured £8 million fee will give Coyle some room to manoeuvre in the transfer market and bolster a squad crippled by injuries to key players. Bringing in a defender to replace Cahill and a striker who will supply a regular source of goals is sure to be top of his list. Summer signing David N’Gog has failed to do just that since his move from Liverpool and Coyle will be hoping his side can start 2012 on a winning platform.

It will be difficult against a Wolves side who held Arsenal to a draw at the Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day. Mick McCarthy was delighted by his sides resilient display in North London as they gained a valuable point in their battle to avoid relegation. Wolves have endured another poor season slipping back towards the bottom three after stringing together a number of positive results in the opening weeks of the campaign. Two wins in 16 games since the end of August put them on a steep descent towards trouble although their performance against the Gunners will have provided a huge confidence boost heading into this game. With Steven Fletcher back in the goalscoring groove and Matt Jarvis returning to the form that won him an England call up McCarthy will be optimistic that his side can triumph over Bolton.

Bolton Wanderers 19th : 12 points

Team news: Gretar Steinsson could return from illness to face Wolves leaving seven other first team players in the treatment room.

Key Player: Mark Davies

Since returning to the starting eleven in the last month or so Davies has been a shining light for Bolton putting in some enterprising performances in midfield. He’ll be a big player for the Trotters in 2012 as they battle to beat the drop.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 16th : 16 points

Team news: Nenad Milijas is suspended after being sent off against Arsenal although David Edwards could return from a groin injury to replace him.

Key Player: Wayne Hennessey

The Welsh international was unbeatable against Arsenal on Boxing Day pulling off five or six unbelievable saves to ensure his side travelled home with a vital point. Hennessey has improved remarkably this season and will be expected to maintain his impressive form in 2012.

PREDICTION

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Bolton just can’t seem to win home or away this season and will be further debilitated by the loss of Gary Cahill. Wolves have the means to win this game with Steven Fletcher banging in the goals up front and they should move clear of the bottom three after this one.

Score: 1-2

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