Arsenal Team and Transfer News

- Arsenal have invited TP Mazembe striker Tresor Mputu for a ten day trial with a view to purchasing the DR Congo player.

Salomon Idi Kalonda, Mazembe boss, remarked, "We have agreed that Mputu will leave the country later this week for trials with Arsenal.

"We have several offers for him from clubs in Europe particularly Belgium and France.

"But Arsenal offers him the best opportunity of becoming a world-class player."

Kalonda believes that the hype surrounding 'the new Samuel Eto'o' is well justified.

"He is one of the most talented players to come out of Africa in the past two years. Indeed, Mputu was the top scorer in the continent-wide Champions League competition this season, netting nine goals in just six matches as the Lubumbashi-based club failed to make the group stages.



- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is confident Eduardo da Silva will come good at Emirates stadium.

Eduardo has taken time to settle after his summer move from Dinamo Zagreb. But he has been a consistent performer for his adopted country Croatia during the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign and he is likely to face England on Wednesday.

Wenger said: "He is getting sharper now, and we will see the real Eduardo after January."



- Arsenal forward Theo Walcott says he is a far more aggressive player this season, having recovered fully from a shoulder injury.

"I am working on being more aggressive," said the 18 year old. "Not aggression as in kicking players, but having the confidence and aggression to run at players.

"My shoulder is fine now and that has helped because I feel more confident holding off players. I know I can run at players now without having to worry about it popping out.

"I'm also playing more for Arsenal now and I think that is starting to show in my confidence on the pitch.

"I'm getting my touch back now after a period where I didn't play for a very long time. When you're in and out of the side all the time it's very difficult, but I'm more settled now.

"I'm still only 18, which people sometimes forget, and the future will look after itself."



- Carlos Vela is happy at Arsenal as he continues to learn his trade away from London on-loan at Osasuna.

"I signed for Arsenal because they are not only one of the best clubs in the world but also a club that dares to give opportunities to young players, and with great success, as we all know," Vela told the Official Arsenal Magazine.

"Arsene Wenger is also enough to make you want to join the Club. The atmosphere is very nice and supportive and so are the players. They make you feel they are counting on you.

"When you watch Arsenal on TV it looks so smooth and easy, but there is hard work behind it! I just hope I get the chance and hope that I will be able adapt to the team's playing style quickly and that it doesn't take me long to be successful."



- Aston Villa are determined to hang onto striker Gabby Agbonlahor.

The Daily Mail says Villa's determination to crack the upper echelons of the Premier League will make it easier for them to resist a £15m bid from Arsenal for striker Agbonlahor.



- Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has revealed how necessity forced him between the posts as a kid growing up in Spain.

He revealed: "Running quickly would give me asthma attacks back then. It gave me a lot of problems and so my dad used to take me to the park and take a few shots at me.

"It was the only position I could play."

Almunia added in the Daily Express: "I know I'm in a privileged position. Sometimes, when we score goals and our defenders come back to their positions, I say to Kolo Toure: 'How on earth did we do that?'"



- Arsenal have often being criticised for a lack of English talent in their ranks, with Theo Walcott and Justin Hoyte the only regulars in Arsene Wenger's first-team squad.

However, the Gunners have a strong home-grown contingent in their youth set-up, and hopes are high for the likes of Henri Lansbury, who has featured in the Carling Cup.

Arsenal Academy coach Steve Bould told the club's website arsenal.com -

"What's important is that we are getting a lot of good kids in and it is a big bonus that lots of them are English and I have to say that they are very, very good players.

"We certainly don't know how far they are going to get - but we have a lot of good English players.

"That is great for the club and the fans want to see English lads in there, and they also want to see good players and we have plenty of those from home and abroad."


Up The Gunners!